My personal vote is for MFW too:iagree:--we used Winterpromise last year, but are going back to MFW. Both curriculums have MANY similarities, however I find MFW to be more organized and with shorter concise lessons (something important to me!). NHSM

Hi Ladies, Just wanted to know if I was alone in this. Due to health issues I've been experiencing since February, dh is unsure if we should homeschool this upcoming September. I'm recovering from surgery --very well, Praise God! and awaiting doctor's visit to see where I'm at with my condition. I've ordered some curriculum in May and have done all the contact work with my school about h'schooling my girls ( Dh and I were in agreement to do that --curriculum can always be returned.) Though I have to admit, July & August have typically been my "planning" months and this limbo is a bit distressing. :confused: Any thoughts Hive? NHSM

This year I wanted to plan a special breakfast and present my two girls with new supplies in a pretty bag:001_smile:. I always remember the smell of new clothes and supplies--September is still my favorite month of the year. NHSM

Hey, So glad you joined us! It really is a great community and is a huge wealth of information, support, and fun. Blessings, NHSM:grouphug:

Wow, Looks great to me and much more than I have planned. Can you post around November how it's all working out, I would love to see. Great Job...Good Luck with it All. NHSM:001_smile:

This year my precious dd will be using Abeka Language Arts and tagging along (as always) with big dd age 9 who will be using My Father's World Rome to Reformation. NHSM

I just love free stuff! Thanks so much-I will really be able to incorporate these dolls into next year. NHSM:)

As a mom who has read many of the Pearl books, receives their newsletter and has recommended their books to others--I feel terrible about these allegations as well. Unfortunately, this happens when you put yourself out there as "child specialists" and "marriage specialists". People, will gravitate to your help becuase they need it, however, they (THE PEARLS) have no control over what those same people will do with the information given. Moreover, this article seemed to me more about a young woman with GREAT intentions (homeschooling, proper discipline, helping the needy children...) but, she was sadly unprepared for the task(s). She obviously was not prepared--as I have grown to understand preparedness, to be a mother...let alone the mother of a large family. Seems that she had a lot to learn about marriage, parenting, discipline and unfortunately she placed herself in a situaiton where a mature, well founded woman would have struggled to do the same. So many woman/families are unprepared for life and lack the maturity/knowledge/self-discipline needed to create a happy and healthy family environment. SO SAD!!!!! I personally couldn't do LIFE without Christ, His Church Family and my Family. It takes a village...:sad: NHSM

21 and still married to the best husband for 17 years. Praise God! NHSM

We went to the dollar store and purchased several unlined sketch books ($1.00 each...what a steal!!!)--which my girls just love. I let them draw anything they see outside, whenever they want and we just talk about it. My older dd I ask to write a caption for her drawings, where my younger dd just draws. I have saved them over the last two years and it is amazing to see the growth in my dd's books. I guess for us they have turned into sweet momentos.

Well...I guess PHD stands for--atleast in this case-- Pretty Hopelessly Dumb!!! NHSM

Thanks for sharing. NHSM:001_smile:

We used Stratton House Science this homeschool year. www.homeschoolscience.com . We found the curriculum to be easy and quick to use--with lots of fun activities. It is also inexpensive--they sell individual science kits or kits of three. Good Luck!!! NHSM

Our older son used Summitt Christian Academy and loved it! He had access to teachers who emailed him whenever he had a need, and he was able to use the curriculum he preferred --Switched On Schoolhouse.

I used Winterpromise Quest for the Ancients this past year and their notebooking pages were wonderful. Their products have a high level of quality (Paper quality, Illustrations)--I would recommend them. Their customer support is excelent and very personal, they gave us a great schooling experience. Blessings, NHSM:iagree:

:iagree: That's the mistake I had to work through all this year. I will not make the same mistake next school-year. NHSM

We used Winterpromise Timeline and their timeline figures. My girls really enjoyed placing the timeline pieces on the timeline and recounting history each week. One thing I recommend is to make the timeline visible--we kept our timeline on the wall for the whole school year. www.winterpromise.com NHSM

We use ETC online as a reinforcment of dd's reading and we have used BJUP Phonics, Phonics Pathways & Reading Pathways. Understanding syllables has been key to my daughter reading well and fluently. I have seen that it allows the children to apply the phonics rules in larger words. One example would be understanding that a vowel in an open syllable is long, like in moment, (Mo-ment)-the "O" is long. The child has to develop the habit of recognizing how a word is broken up and seeing the rule that would apply. A different example can be seen when my dd reads a word with an "e" at the end. She knows to have the vowel say its name. Reading Pathways helps the child to attack big words by breaking up a big word into its syllables-applying the right rule and decoding the word. That's my experience with it. HTH NHSM

I would really appreciate if someone could email me about this whole library categorizing thing...It sounds like something I would love to use. TIA--NHSM

Well in NY we are a highly regulated state-which many feel overwhelmed by (especially if they have several children) so detailed record keeping is important. I'm not sure what type personality I am- but I love record keeping. It gives me a sense of accomplishment when I look at all we have covered for the year, a great reminder on the days when I feel like we've accomplished nothing. I use the homeschool planbook which has a category for everything and I certainly take my time to fill it all in--for me that is! Not sure if this is what you are looking for, but it's my 2 cents... NHSM

Well my dd has finished Primer, Alpha and Beta and she still uses her blocks--the curriculum recommends that in the lessons. My understanding is that they want the children to see the Math concepts rather than trying to just work the Math. Her use of the blocks has helped solidify the Math concepts, though I don't find that she has developed a dependence. I shared your concern initially, but I really do see my daughter doing some advanced Math concepts rather easily and with/without her blocks. When she struggles with an answer I remind her to use her blocks and the confusion is gone. I guess this approach may work for a visual learner which my dd is and I have found I am too! Hope This Helps, NHSM

What a great time in our nation to have an African American Man that may be elected president. I love our Country--Go USA!!! NHSM

I would do what really works for you and your family--that's the beauty of homeschooling! Where do you live? NHSM

I havent's gone all CM, but still feel I had something to add to this thread. Our History, Science, Music & Art & Math is CM approach and I chose to use a workbook for all my Language Arts. That is how I keep it simple for me! I accomplish this through My Father's World (www.mfwbooks.com) for: History, Science, Music, Art. Math u See for math (obviously!) this (Math-U-SEE) IMO fit the CM ideas of how math should be approached -though others may feel differently. Over the summer we use QueenHomeSchool copywork for Language Arts which is a CM approach for language that we love. Just my 2cents---NHSM

We've been homeschooling for five years...I still feel like, "Where has the time gone?" Each year has been such an accomplishment--I love that! Blessings. NHSM