I agree... A Trip Around the World and Another Trip Around the World (both published by Evan Moore) are great. They cover almost the same countries as GTG, but no missionaries or bible study suggestions. You'll still want to check out library books, but the structure is there.

We've pretty much considered EVERYTHING in terms of our ds, but he doesn't seem to meet all the criteria of Aspergers or another form of autism--I think primarily because he communicates very well and is so outgoing. Yes, he's 6, but he converses easily as fluently (vocabulary and diction-wise, but not picking up on social cues) as many teens that I know. He'll strike up conversations with anyone from the cashier at the grocery store to waiters to people walking by on the street... which, of course, is part of the problem. Other kids see his very gregariousness as being odd.

Got an 80.5... not sure if that's good or bad? But it was kind of fun to sing the old songs again. I graduated in '88, if that matters.

Ours are allowed to read (or listen to audiobooks), although the 4yo can't really "read" yet. He tends to conk out early. Our 6yo is a night owl who reads 1-2 hours every night. We very rarely enforce lights out, because he just sleeps later in the morning if he needs to. We'd rather sleep later ourselves! But if it gets to be midnight (which does occasionally happen), I may go in and confiscate the reading lamp.

My list would be--- 1. Housekeeper 2. Personal assistant (to run errands, keep calendars up to date, deal with paperwork, shop, etc) 3. Masseuse 4. Gardener 5. Personal trainer

Sounds like there is interest and some folks are using them, so I guess I'll try to do pages for SOTW 2 as well. It will be a couple of months before I get them done, but I'll let you all know.... thanks!

I'll hold you, your friend, and his family in my prayers.

Haven't been around for a while (combination of too busy, and too technically overwhelmed), but sorry to hear about life being hard now. My only advice (besides all the good self-care stuff) is to thing about good counselling for both of you, or just for yourself if he won't go. Whenever Doug and I hit a rough patch we drag our unwilling behinds back into some sort of therapy, and even just the making the effort of more intense communication is good for us. If he won't--having a safe place to go and talk our your own feelings (beyond this virtual community) and get some professional perspective can be a great thing. Take care.

Socialization.:( OK, so my 6yo ds is... awkward. Geeky. He comes by it naturally. He also is one of those kids with a raft of "maybe" issues--ADHD, SID, etc, etc. He's super smart, accelerated learner, and communicates and speaks beyond his years. All of which makes interaction with other kids iffy at best. So yesterday at Karate--he did well in class. Other than frustrating some of the older and more able kids with his awkwardness ("I have to be HIS partner?"), he behaved and listened well. Of course, he doesn't seem to mind or notice being the odd one out. Which is good for his self esteem, I guess, but he totally misses all the social cues, and the fact that he is a non-stop talking extrovert doesn't help. As we were leaving I overheard the following conversation: Ds: "I'm the master of fire type Pokemon!" Boy (maybe 9 or so): "Yeah, whatever." Ds: "Really! I love to play Pokemon... I enjoy the card game and the video game and I play it on my DS too. Do you play Pokemon?" Boy: "Yeah. I did. It was stupid." Ds: "No, it isn't stupid! It's the best game ever! I'm on level 49 right now with my Charizard.... (technical info about pokemon here)" Boy: "Who cares. I beat the whole game." Ds: "I'm still playing it... most recently I beat gym master (more info about game)" Boy: "I beat the whole game 12 times." Ds: "That's very impressive! Have you ever faced gym master (continuing to talk)"... at this point the boy has turned his back, and is walking out the door while ds is still talking to him (we're all leaving after class), and I have to take his hand to keep him from following the boy and continuing the "conversation". When I try to explain that responses like "whatever" and "who cares" are social cues that people are not interested and don't want to talk to you, he is shocked and almost in tears on the way home... My dh keeps saying that when he was 6 he already had lots of friends, many of whom he still knows and is in contact with. Our ds just doens't have friends--we do Karate 4 times a week, church once a week, swimming twice and homeschool playgroup once (though we've missed for a while). And while ds loves to play, there haven't been any friendships developed. Our neighborhood itself doesn't have any other homeschoolers, or really any kids who play outside at all (we live in townhomes in Los Angeles). Part of me thinks that school would just make him more socially awkward and let him realize how different he is, which he doesn't really "get" yet. He'd have the same struggles, but be unhappy. My dh believes that he needs to meet other weird little kids like himself--and that would happen in school, and he's not sure how else to make it happen. Argh! Advice! Advice!

If you go to lulu.com and search by the number I gave, it should be the only thing that pops up. If you don't have a lulu account, you may have to register--which is worth it. There are quite a few great free WTM resources on there-- copybooks, etc.

The instructions in my workbook pages assume you have the activity guide--so "do mapwork" means: turn to the activity guide, and follow the mapwork instructions there (the map page itself is included in the activity guide, but the instructions are in the teacher's section). I bind the activity guide student pages with the workbook pages, but the teacher pages as a seperate book when I put my set together. There is no reason a child couldn't read the instructions themselves and check off the boxes... I usually supervise my ds who is 6 and no where near "self motivated" yet! Speaking of which, I better get downstairs and figure out what he's up to...

and apply it to SOTW right now. She enjoys the subject, you have the skills... So do your history geographically rather than chronologically this year if you want! Add even more library books and outside resources and get the most of your activity guide (play all the games, cook all the meals). There doesn't have to be a dicotomy between "unit studies" the way you have been doing them and "history". You have a teaching method that works for you and engages your daughter--even though you've moved on to a new subject matter doesn't mean you can't bring your own teaching methods right along with you!

Chatsworth.

Some of you may know that I made a free set of "workbook pages" to accompany/organize the SOTW 1 and AG last year. We've used it successfully with our 1st grader this year, and I did have a bunch of people download it when I posted it to Lulu last year. It's ID # 796912 on Lulu.com if you want to check it out. What I want to know is: If you downloaded it, did you find it useful? I'm trying to decide whether I want to put in the energy to do a public SOTW 2 set of pages, and I only want to do so if some folks actually found it helpful. Otherwise, I can just update it for personal use without worrying about the public format, copyright issues, etc.... but I'm happy to share if it was really something people liked. If I do go ahead, what changes might you make for the transition to 2nd grade? Much smaller writing lines--what width do you use for 2nd grade-- or about the same? Any other suggestions (or just inspiration) would be welcome!

and I never seem to get to use my classes in Nuclear targeting theory as a pastor. Hmmm.... I really want to go back and get a PhD some time, just for my own personal growth and "fun" (as I love school!). My dh barely scraped by with his BA, and doesn't want to go back at all!

Mostly because they all live so far away. We're in California, closest family is Chicago (my SIL), and our parents are in Virginia (parents in law, my mom & stepdad) and Florida (my dad and stepmom). We see each of them at least once a year, some of them twice a year, and that's about it... though that is usually a 2-3 week visit. I wish our kids had more extended family closer. We talk on the phone each week, and encourage close relationship, but it is a challenge.

Mostly on eating out, entertainment, books, and "fun" stuff. Also, trying to follow a meal plan more closely and make the most of our Costco trips rather than the regular grocery store. Times are tough.

Apparently it was too much related to "new posting" to be allowed on the main board. But I guess I thought it was a general question... what method/habits have you found helpful using the new board, rather than specifically how and why. Plus, wanting to say "Hi" after being gone for a month. So, who moves the posts? Are we more structured in what can go where?

Did I do that? How? Where is it? Why is this so hard? Rep points? Ranks? I'm lost! My first day back and I can't even keep one post straight. Seriously... what the heck did I do, and where did my post go?

I was on vacation when the board changed, and too busy when I got back to learn all the new doo-dads. It seemed like there were a lot of new names... glad to find some old friends here too!

Oh no! I finally decide to jump on the new format, and Abbey is gone? :( I'll have to dig up her email and beg....

Hey, boardies! After a two week vacation in Florida, I returned to find all new boards :eek:. OK, I got a couple of email heads-up, so I wasn't THAT shocked. My question is: How do you manage your board reading? I'm not familiar with the tools and format yet. Is there a way to see more posts on one page? How do you mark what you are reading/have read? How far back do you go when you check the boards--I know updates move up, but is there a way to tell how far back you have scrolled? In the old format I could scroll top to bottom, see the whole thing in a few minutes. Since I've been back, I've tried to read a couple of times, and ended up wandering off in confusion. Old habits die hard. At this rate, I'll never be a larvae! Help me, Obi-Wan, you're my only hope!

I'm Kay in Cal... two sons, ages 6 and 4. I've been on the boards since before my oldest was born, since we've always planned on homeschooling. I'm a United Methodist minister, live in Southern California, and enjoy playing games, reading books, and being with my kids.