We've never been with a pet, either. He is about 8 months old, and we are committed to socializing this dog like crazy while he is young. He loves to ride in a car, so I am hoping it will go well.

There's no way either one of us would get on a zip line, but we love to watch people on them. That's something we definitely have never done.

We have both done the art route. Been to Cherokee. She has never been to Deep Creek or Cataloochee that she can remember. I start getting nauseous just thinking about that road to Cataloochee. :) I will have to think about it because I really like it there once I've arrived. We are staying between Gatlinburg and Crosby, so Deep Creek is probably out this time. Roaring Fork is already on our list. It is really beautiful through there and dog-friendly. September is a fabulous time to go. I want to plan a trip (without the dog) to go and just hike. My dd has never done any hiking, and I want to take her to my favorite places. Thanks for the ideas!

This is on our list the day we take the dog to the day care. My daughter is a pretty serious rider (English), so I'm trying to convince her that trail riding will be fun and relaxing. She thinks it's going to be boring just following some horses along on a trail. Ha. Ha. It's not my thing at all, but I know she will love it once she is on the horse.

I've hiked a lot in the smokies, but my daughter hasn't. I am thinking of hiking to Max Patch outside the park. Our dog is well-behaved, but they are just not allowed on trails in the park due to bear activity. We have never tubed in Townsend. That's an idea. I wonder how the dog would handle that. He has a life jacket. If you have any ideas of hikes outside of the park, I would love to hear them. I would like to keep it fairly short (under 4 miles round trip) and well-traveled due to the fact that we are two girls alone.

We are headed to the smokies on a camping trip in a couple of weeks. I need some different, unusual places to visit while we are there. We have been a number of times, so I am feeling a little uninspired as to what we will do. We have a fantastic camping spot that we have used before, so that is taken care of. I will be traveling with my teen daughter and our dog, so we won't be able to hike this time around. We will have one day that we are putting the dog in doggie day care, so that day I am open for anything. We probably need to stick to the outdoors most of the time. We have visited most of the touristy things before. I feel like we have thoroughly visited the place, but we are too adventurous to drive 9 hours and sit by a fire for 5 days. :) Does anyone have any ideas? Thank you!!!

Don't worry so much about attire. If you needed to wear something special, your instructor would have told you. Around here, in English classes, attire in the 99 degree heat is a polo shirt, riding pants and a belt, and full boots or paddock boots/half chaps. Even in more serious shows, jackets are sometimes waived in the summer. The heat is brutal here.

Our local high school is giving MacBooks to all entering 9th grade next year. Hopefully they got a great deal on those. To me the worst part of this system of generic school supplies being shared by everyone is that manufacturers have just about stopped making cute school supplies. For those of us addicted to office supplies, this is a travesty. :crying: This year's school supply shopping trip was depressing.

That's awesome! My dd took lessons there for about 5 years. I know there are a few current and former Ballet Magnificat families that frequent the board. They are an awesome organization!

I see beginners in cowboy boots all the time at our barn. That is totally reasonable. OP, I also agree about borrowing the helmet. Our barn has a huge rack of helmets to be loaned out. When you get ready to buy chaps and pants, you can order online at Dover. I know that there are cheaper places to order, but I have found that usually you can chat with an associate (who actually rides) who can help you find the right size. They have size charts for nearly all their products. I do have to send things back occasionally, though. When you do order things like chaps, remember that the cheaper ones are not going to last as long because they are not real leather. This is fine for you because your daughter is growing. My daughters are also synthetic because I spent so much on the full boots for competition that I could only afford the cheap synthetic chaps. :) No worries because she prefers to wear her old worn out ones anyway. Chaps have to be fitted just right, but the person at Dover can tell you how to measure and show you a selection that would fit her. As far as pants go, my daughter loves the riding tights instead of full pants. They have a more elastic waist and fit more like tights. They are also easier to fit when you order because they stretch. The barn favorite is Kerrits. It's awesome that you have a place to shop, but it sounds like our place which is a western store with 2 choices of paddock boot, helmets and insanely expensive leather chaps. It is all really competition wear.

I need a picture of this. Hmmm. I would think that any baggy type pants that were gathered up like this would really rub the legs if you rode that much in them. We live in an extremely hot climate. Sweat and wrinkled up denim against a horse doesn't sound fun. But then again, I don't ride. I just watch. For a beginner, it doesn't matter as much. She might be able to get away with some cheap leggings. They at least fit well, even though the inside seam can still rub if you are really working on the horse. There are beginners at our English barn that will start out in a pair of jeans and cowboy boots.

I would probably start with a good pair of paddock boots, and then buy the chaps later. Chaps can be difficult to fit, but if you have a good riding store nearby, that's not a problem. We have to measure and order everything. It is a HUGE pain. I have a box of stuff to send back sitting in my foyer. The helmet should be snug. If the medium cannot be adjusted snugly to her head all the way around with the pads, you need the small. It can't wobble around at all. My dd actually started with just a pair of hiking shoes. Her instructor was very strict and made her ride without stirrups for about 6 months which made the type of boot irrelevant really. About 6 months later she bought a pair of Ariat paddock boots with her Christmas money for about $100. Two and a half years later, she is still wearing them. They have lasted a really long time. If your daughter is still growing, you might want to ask for a hand me down pair. Most barns are fantastic about passing down equipment and clothes. Riding is an expensive sport, so we try to help each other out.

I am glad to hear that Mr. Harmon is a good teacher. My daughter loves BJU online and wants to skip earth and space and go into physical. I tried to talk her out of it, but she said she has done astronomy and earth way too much in elementary and wants to move ahead. I'm afraid it's going to be tough for 8th. She did BJU science for 6th and 7th, so she knows how much work it is going to be. I guess we'll see.

I looked at both BJU and Apologia physical science side by side about a month ago trying to come up with a lab class for our co-op group. We were the only ones who wanted to use BJU, but I wanted to make it work with both. I took both tables of content and looked at it pretty closely. BJU is more an intro to chemistry and physics while the Apologia is lighter and includes earth and space. BUT, Apologia Physical is not meant for high schoolers, so there is that. I was also like the OP. When I was making the decision for 7th grade science, I looked at Apologia general. My daughter had already done most of the experiments in elementary school, so it didn't really seen as worthwhile. I definitely thing BJU is much tougher. I do think that Apologia, though, is probably more than adequate for kids who are not headed for a science major at college.

yarrow and coreopsis

If you will go to the piano adventures website and look at their digital catalog, you will find a ton of supplementary material that will correlate with whatever level. Just go to the page of their level book and it will be divided into classical, popular, etc. This is the easy way. The most fun way is to give them each about $10 and take them to a music store. They will find something there for sure that will interest them.

Writing: IEW Elegant Essay with some kind of grammar through local co-op Math: Videotext Algebra through local co-op supplementing with something else, not sure what. I will have to look at this videotext more before I decide. History and Literature: The Great Conversation 2 with Wilson Hill Latin: Latin Alive II through Veritas Press Science: BJU Earth and Space or Physical Science. I haven't made a decision here, but it will be BJU online. Spanish: Rosetta Stone 2, video only informally. Extracurricular: Horseback riding Does anyone have input on videotext or what I should do about science? My daughter is science oriented and wants to continue with BJU. I just need to make a decision about which one.

Anyone?

Does anyone have any experience with this organization? My daughter is about to go to her first rally, and I'm still not sure what to think. Some days it is a great educational experience and others it is a drama fest. :lol: So, what has been your experience? Thanks.

It looks nice and cool! Those days are long gone here in Mississippi.

Ice packs and benadryl also helps with whatever OTC pain medicine works best for her. I also find it helpful to drink/eat something cold if I can do it before the nausea hits, like a snow cone or popsicle.

In my area, group riding lessons are $25-$35 per hour with a max of 4 riders who each have their own horse or pony. I don't think that $80 for 4 hours with one pony is a good deal at all. There's only so much you can learn unless you are physically on the pony. Even if you are learning to groom a horse, more than 2 kids per horse is too many. I'm not sure where you live, but you may be able to find a better deal elsewhere.

If your students are not in a public school or private school, you are a homeschooler in our state no matter what that really looks like in the day to day teaching. Three days a week in a hybrid school--homeschooler. All classes taught online by other people--homeschooler. I would think that if you are teaching at home whether or not you even choose the curriculum--homeschooler.

We are using Latin Alive. I haven't really compared it to Wheelock's, but I know it is spread out over 3 years for the 2 high school credits. I think it moves fairly fast, but my dd doesn't have as much Latin as your students.

We are not to this stage either. I think it might be helpful to view these as exercises to learn a particular model of writing. Once the model is learned, it should be transferred to things more meaningful for your student.