Next best thing to working at home is to just work part time. I work part time for the company I worked full time for before I started homeschooling, and my mother-in-law retired at just that time too and was free to babysit, so it all worked out. How about becoming a pharmaceutical rep? I would think your chemistry background would serve you well in that.

Great suggestions... thank you!

Planning early.... I'm in SOTW1 this year and doing it alongside Ergemeier's Bible Story Book. For next year, I'd like to do the same thing only with church history. The History Lives series looks like what I'm looking for, but it also looks like it might be too advanced even as a read-aloud for a 6.5yo. Would I be better off saving those for logic stage? That's what I'm leaning towards, except it leaves me with a void for next year. What are some good books about saints and other heros of the faith? (prefer Protestant viewpoint). Another concern I have to consider is that it is hard to find this sort of book at my public library (they are sorely lacking in Christian juvenile literature - is it just my town or do a lot of you have that problem?). Whatever I use I have to buy myself, which makes anthologies more practical than a hardcover picture book for each saint, KWIM?

A whole fryer chicken is $.88/lb at the grocery store. 5 lb bag of potatoes is around $2. Bag of frozen vegetables from Walmart $1. Or instead of baked potatoes, a $1 package of pasta. Cook the chicken in the crock pot and then toss the pasta with the juice from the chicken. Yum!!

Just started God's Design for Life with my 1st grader last week. This curriculum is designed for multiple grade levels, and each lesson has two reading sections: a very simple and basic section for the younger kids and a more in-depth section for the older ones. I would think that a 7th grader should be able to handle the more in-depth reading, since the idea is that you would start your second cycle through the set in 5th grade. The reading section is still only about 1 to 2 pages. Then there are highlighted boxes with more information or more advanced experiments that you could choose to do or not. And, he could always jump back to the more basic section for early elementary if it is all too much.

That's what I'm doing. Dry erase markers dry out quickly and we were having to replace them frequently. So then I bought the wipe-off crayons and expect them to last a long time - plus, my son gets more colors to choose from. You have to use a little more oomph to erase them and the sheet protector can wrinkle in the process. Also frustrating when the plastic scoots around. Paper clipping it to the page helps. Besides being able to save the book for my next one, an immediate advantage is that if he needs extra practice, I can have him do the same worksheet over again.

Well, thank you everyone for your input. This helps me know what to do. I read one of the online sample sections of SOTW to my son and... he liked it! I found a chart matching up Egermeier's Bible stories with SOTW on Paula's Archives, so that will be what we do this year. On to a new question... SOTW Activity Guide? Don't need the activities or suggested reading since I've got that resource already. Son doesn't like to color. Not sure if I need the map activities... would the mapping exercises in MOH line up well enough? The main reason I think I might want the Activity Guide is for the review questions and narration prompts. Have you found that part useful? Can I survive without that? I feel silly for thinking I really need it, but I've tried having him narrate our Bible readings back to me before and he can't give me anything. We're doing WWE too...maybe after a few weeks I'll have a feel for coming up with it on my own?

I ordered Mystery of History to use with my son, starting first grade this year. I just got it a week ago and looking through it, I realize that although it has activities for a very young child, the actual lesson text seems to be just too advanced for him. I am sure that he won't understand any of it. Help! Has anyone used this for a first grader that can offer some advice? How did you adapt it? My other options are to shelf it until 5th grade and find a different curriculum (but which one???), or not use one at all and just use it as an outline to read supplementary books from the library. Since I'm a homeschooling newbie, I am not totally comfortable with the last option. But finding a new choice... I spent so much time researching in the first place and MOH was the one that had everything I wanted... I wanted to be able to cycle through world history in no longer than 4 years, I really liked SOTW but wanted something in that format only with a Christian perspective and biblical history woven into it. I also don't want to pay a ton of money just for one subject. What else is there? Thanks in advance for any advice you can share!

Decided not to post my question... doesn't look like there is a way to delete it altogether.... is there?

I know what you mean because I sort of thought the same thing when I read the introduction to WWE. However, when I look at my own education, I know that I was bright and had excellent knowledge of grammar and sentence construction. I always did really well in English until high school. And then all of a sudden, I had no idea how to write an essay. Suddenly I was a poor English student. Thankfully I had a really awesome teacher for Senior English who taught me how to write. AND, not by coinsidence, she was the only teacher I ever had that had the class do copywork. I have always thought that being a big reader is what gave me the ability to write. So it makes sense that taking it a step further and copying what you are reading would be that much more effective.

I'm just going to be starting out with Saxon 1 next year. I really struggled with the decision after reading so many reviews that the early Saxons were too easy. But, doing Kindergarten with my son this year, I got into trouble jumping ahead into more advanced material that I thought he was ready for. He wasn't. So I have learned to just keep going over the same material that to me seems boring and repetative. (I made the same mistake with handwriting). Even though it all seems too easy to me, he is happy just doing the same thing every day. I have to remind myself that even if he understands a concept, he still needs lots of practice to get it drilled into his brain, so it becomes automatic instead of having to think about it every time. So, I'm going with Saxon 1 next year and I plan to supplement with SM Challenging Word Problems.

My son will be a young (5 1/2) first grader this year. I was planning to wait to introduce foreign language study, but someone gave him a Kidspeak CD-ROM and he just loves it. So I decided we should start now while he's really interested. I'd like to do latin but haven't sold the idea to my husband yet... so... I'm looking for a good Spanish program. It seems like everything out there is written for students much older. I really need something that comes with an audio CD, because I haven't studied it myself, so I don't want to mess him up on the pronunciation. I also can't affort to buy a really expensive kit. I'm interested to see if anyone knows of a program that will work for his age and my budget. Thanks!

I have been wondering the very same thing. I've spent all year long researching online for what I want to use next year. My son will be in first grade so I haven't used anything before. I've got my list of what I think I want to use, but I have never gotten to look through the books in person before. Problem is, the homeschool convention in my state is the last week of July, and I am planning to start schooling the first week of August. I am anxious to get my hands on the textbooks so I can start planning. So... do I order online in time to get the books when I want them, or wait for the convention to review everything in person? And as far as cost... I am planning to buy mostly from Amazon, CBD, and Rainbow. Does anyone know if those places are cheaper than convention prices?

I have worked in admissions for a university for 10 years and I can tell you that for homeschoolers, we don't really care about the diploma. A parent-prepared transcript with straight A's isn't necessarily going to be taken very seriously; you have to have something else to validate the grades. Scoring high on the SAT or ACT is important and it is also really helpful to have some college credits with high grades. We have admitted and awarded scholarships to plenty of homeschoolers with those two things.

Okay, well I'm someone who became a Christian after watching a series of videos on creation/evolution. The first one I saw was a bunch of interviews of evolutionists and how idiotic they sounded. Now mind you, at the time I watched this, I was an evolutionist myself. I thought creationists were stupid. And there I was, for the first time in my life, seeing all these scientists making evolution sound absolutely absurd and ridiculous. I haven't thought about this for years, but after reading this thread and thinking about it, I remembered the title. I did a search for it and I don't see any videos, but there is a book! That Their Words May be Used Against Them by Henry Morris. It doesn't look very kid-friendly, though. The other videos I saw were by Roger Oakland. I've been to his website (Understanding the Times) and the ones I watched back in 1998 aren't there anymore, but he has a 4-disc set that looks like it might be equivalent. I don't remember whether any of it presumed that the Bible was true, but I do know that I personally didn't hold that assumption going into it, and was convinced.

Can't wait until my daughter is old enough to read all of my favorites... The Little Princess & The Secret Garden Little House Books The Borrowers Ramona Quimby books All of a Kind Family

Ever After The Parent Trap

Okay, thanks for those links! I haven't totally decided not to buy the student materials, but it is an expensive curriculum, and when I was looking at the sample lesson online, it looked to me like copies of what went on the flashcard were in the guide. Is this true? If so, it would be worth it to me to save $12 and just copy the info onto an index card myself.

I've read several posts suggesting to buy just the AAS Teacher's Manual and skip the other stuff. As far as I can tell, the only place to buy AAS is the AAS website, and you can only buy the TM and the student materials pack bundled together. Is there another place to buy this curriculum? Or maybe it used to be sold separately but not anymore?

We just read through our Egermeier's Bible Story Book each morning, usually a couple chapters at a time. I make sure he understands what is happening in the story, and what was "good" and what was "bad". There are review questions for each story in the back which most of the time I don't bother with. I feel that my son is getting a solid understanding of who God is, His character, His commands, His will, the blessings of following Him and the consequences if you don't. It is easier than a formal curriculum, yet he is learning just as much. And we didn't spend any money other than for the book. The only thing he has missed with this plan are the writings (like psalms) & epistles. This fall I plan to transition to the actual Bible and we'll just start with Romans and just go straight through, looking at just a few verses a day and skipping the ones he doesn't really need to think about yet or have too many hard-to-explain words/concepts. Another option is I found this free curriculum online which I am using for my Sunday School class, and I don't see why it couldn't be used at home too: http://www.calvarychapelutahvalley.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17&Itemid=32

I am just finishing up Kindergarten with my son. We have been going through OPGTR and he can read just about anything now. The most important thing I did this year, besides the reading lessons, was read to him. He always followed along and he picked up phonics rules on his own. Now when we sit down to do a lesson out of OPGTR, he already knows the words. We go through the lesson just so he can learn the rule. The other really important thing he got out of us reading stories together was reading comprehension. We went from short picture books the first half of the year to now reading chapter books. I don't think I could have just picked up "Charlotte's Web" and started reading it to him if he hadn't been developing the skill. The other thing I learned was with math. I started by following the advice in WTM, not to use a formal curriculum and just teach him very basic skills. That lasted about a month. It seemed to me he had it all down and was ready for more. So I decided we needed a structured study and ordered a kindergarten math workbook. We blazed through that in just a few months. So then I decided he must be ready for first grade math and got a math book. That worked out okay for a little while, but we've hit a wall. I finally realized that even though he catches on very quick, there is only so much his little mind can grasp right now. So I've decided to spend the rest of the year doing free worksheets I found on the internet. They're easy for him, so he enjoys it. If I had it to do over again, I probably would have just bought one of those basic skills workbooks from Costco and let him work through it all year, and not worried about whether it was too easy for him. Other than reading, stories, and math, we read bible stories and practice handwriting. He finished the ZB book in just a few months so I have him doing very short copywork now. I learned that I can't let him do that on his own. He will get lazy and sloppy. I have to stand over him to make sure he does it neatly and carefully. At the moment this is causing the biggest pain. He hates it! He drags it out forever. Wish I could give you some advice in that department, but I haven't figured out the magic way to do that one yet!

I read the intro pages on the online sample of the teacher text for WWE and it really rang true to me. I read various posts in this forum on the pros and cons of using just the teacher text vs. the workbooks, and decided that I would rather create my own exercises based on whatever books we are already reading. Looking at the sample lesson plan pages of the teacher text online, it looks like all we do is read, ask questions to test his comprehension, and then give him a section to copy. As we progress, the passages to read and copy get longer and we transition from copywork to dictation. If that is all there is to it, I think I can manage just fine on my own without buying the guide. Am I missing something? Is there any other valuable information or helpful guidelines in the teacher's text that I really need?

I'm planning on just buying the three student manuals for God's Design for Life next year. I didn't think I needed an answer key and I could make up quizzes and tests myself if I need it. But reading through some of the other threads sounds like everyone is using them. So... should I spend the money and buy one or both of them? And why? What's on there that is so useful?

I'm starting my son with first grade next year and I think I have finally settled on using Mystery of History Vol 1. From some of the reviews I read, it sounds like the elementary level activity suggestions for each lesson are rather weak. History was always my least favorite subject so I really want to make this fun and interesting for him. For those of you using MOH - do you like the activities? Can you suggest other activity guides? I was considering Diana Waring's Elementary Activity Book for Ancient Civilizations, and maybe "Old Testament Days: An Activity Book" and "Classical Kids: an Activity Guide for Ancient Greece and Rome". OR, how compatable is SOTW Activity Guide with MOH? If possible, I would like to just buy ONE to save some money.