Yes, that's it! Thanks, Julie!

Is this just inexperience and paranoia that my children will turn out to be uneducated blobs unable to compete in the real world? Does anybody else feel this way? I'm plagued with this feeling of doubt that I'm not doing enough for my kids. Do they write enough? Well enough? Will they get enough math and in time for PSAT's? Should we do more Science, History, ARt, Music? It goes on and on. Will this pass as we get more years of hsing under our belt? OR, will it plague me forever?

just not with the Dungeon and Dragons flair? It was mentioned on our old boards and I lost my link. You could assign points for chores, collect rewards online on the site, etc. Much like Chore Wars only not the Dungeon and Dragons theme. Anybody remember? TIA

while I'm thrilled at the rebate (6 children x $300 is a bunch!), we won't be adding much to the economy by spending on luxury items and such. Most will go toward my midwife for prenatal/delivery costs, a few homeschool supplies, credit card bills (eek!). We already did the overspending, KWIM? Anyway, I don't get the mentality, but the rebate will be nice!

but some do. $5 a book or so? If you are talking about the other components like the wooden shapes, playdoh shapes, etc. you could post a WTB request for some used. I have a few TM's available if you are interested. I forget which ones. I'll have to look...perhaps the printing and cursive (not preK).

We would point it out to her every time and she would just get mad. I would go as far as mimicking her (don't do that!) b/c I just thought it was a bad habit! Like, my ds9 hops when he walks. He takes a few steps, hops, takes a few more and hops again. We call him "Hippity" and once when his tennis shoes squeaked we called him "Hippity Squeak!". BTW, dd11 eventually stopped of her own accord. Thank God! It was really annoying.

my ds9 (the one I wrote about!), dd11 and ds8. BUT, all are very familiar with the keyboard already. Typing was one of those skills I'll never regret learning early.

we go over the oral exercise orally (duh!). My dd is working through RS5 and she doesn't mind at all (even coming from a workbook last year). With the writing exercises, I allow her a few days. Like today, assignment was to write a report based on the outline she wrote last week, recopy and do final copy PLUS another report based on another outline. Her eyes bugged out when she read it! I reassured her we'd accomplish all that in about a week...not a day! Now, my ds9 had major problems with the text format and so we switched to GWG. He enjoys grammar now instead of hating it. To each his/her own, right? I did the lessons mostly orally with ds9 when we did RS4 but w/ 5 others kids to teach/look after I just couldn't afford the time every day. Thankfully, dd11 doesn't mind writing out her answers!

1. I think they are a waste of time and 2. When my child is ill, I certainly take them in to see a dr. if necessary. Now, of course, here in PA, I must take them for a school physical each year. Don't feel bad...gee, you can think of ME as the bad mom if you want! LOL!

Ds9 just doesn't like the physical aspect of writing out his narrations. He loves, however, to type it on the computer. He does handwriting practice each day, writes for spelling and can often be found writing a story in a little notebook I gave him. It's not like he doesn't hand write anything. I'm cool with it, b/c his pages actually end up looking really nice, but was just wondering what you all thought.

what is best for YOU and your dc! It's not wrong. If I had the option, I'd seriously consider it..esp now that the new baby is coming. I hope it works out to be exactly what you need to get back onto and even keel. You have a lot on your plate and we cannot be expected to do it all.

she would have gotten MUCH more out of it if she were older. I think 8th is perfect for Hakim's material. I really enjoyed reading her books (and I never liked History). My only wish is that she presented from a Christian point of view but we just edited (esp. the beginning chapters of book 1).

For example, my dd11 is doing Saxon 7/6 with ease. She's good at math. However, she too, doesn't understand her mistakes sometimes. You mentioned not quite getting why a larger quotient is problematic. My dd11 comes up with answers that to me just scream WRONG! To her, they must be right b/c she did the problem the right way. I just go over the problems and make sure she understands the whys as we go along. For example, in your division problems, (My dd has done the same) I would ask her what happens to a number when it is divided (does it get smaller or larger). She'll usually say, "smaller, duh!". Then I ask her to look at her answer. At this point, she usually has the "ah, hah!" moment and it clicks. SOmetimes it is laziness, sometimes it is just lack of experience. Give it some time and patience (as hard as that is, I KNOW!) and he'll get it. Try MUS if you really think he's struggling...Steve Demme really has a gift for explaining math (even Algebra!) in concrete terms.

1. My dh has been struggling with bursitis in his knees for 2 mos. It's gotten worse and he is in constant pain and hobbles around like an old man. Please pray for complete healing in his knees. 2. I've been extremely overwhelmed recently, feeling very beaten down and oppressed (not depressed). Just feel as if there is too much to do and only one me. Prayers for peace. 3. As my due date approaches, I'm feeling a bit anxious b/c my last 2 births were planned home births but I gave up and went to the hospital. I don't want to do that again. Please pray for a fast, smooth labor and delivery (esp. the delivery part) AT HOME. Thanks for praying ladies. I'll be praying for all the other requests as well.

we just kept plugging away. Now, he can do them completely independently. It took a good month of my reminding him and working with him, explaining the concept in different ways until one way eventually stuck (don't ask me which!). I would stick w/ it. It's just one concept. If he does well with the rest, why switch? Unless, it's Saxon's methods in general. My ds9 was having a tough time (I'm guessing it's 5/4?) with Saxon and some wise woman on this board told me that 5/4 is sort of a transitional year. It's tough going for a while but it will eventually click. I think we've clicked! Don't give up yet!

I think this is what I'm going to do. The new texts (softcovers) have been revamped so that 8/7 has much more Pre Algebra included. The recommendation was to use 8/7 after 7/6 IF you are using the NEW books. If you are going to buy second-hand and get an older edition, go with Alg. 1/2. Somebody on this board had said she spoke to a Saxon rep. who said you could use 8/7 after 7/6 with the second edition and above. I'll most likely buy used and will probably go w/ Alg. 1/2. You can always call Saxon and ask them what they think as well.

Could be that I'm 7 mos. pregnant w/ #7 and very irritable and hormonal. Could be that I'm just feeling WAY overwhelmed. But, esp. with my first grader I'm wondering if he and I would stop getting along like oil and water if he were in school. I feel as if I'm constantly yelling at him to stop doing this or that or pay attention or whatever. But, we are committed to hsing our kids unless something very extreme happens to change that. So, I'm the one who must do the changing but for the life of me I just don't know how. Sorry I can't offer you tips or suggestions on what to do. Just know you aren't alone. THe days I feel most volatile, I either call my good friend to pray for me (it always makes me feel better) or just do more fun stuff. My biggest source of aggravation is the condition of my house. I'm not a very organized person. I just don't know where to start and with such a small and crowded house, it just gets overwhelming. Seems as if I clean one day and the next it looks just as bad or worse. I get very jealous and resentful of my dh who comes home and gets to do all the fun stuff w/ them while I finish dinner or cleaning or laundry or whatever. I do hope it gets easier. I'll be praying it does for you.

She does very well on her tests and can even remember the words to spell them the next week. When she writes, her spelling is atrocious! She misspells words that a second grader could spell correctly! My take on this: Her brain is working so hard to put her thoughts down on paper that there isn't much brain power left for spelling. I'm hoping this will come in time. When writing gets easier, I'm guessing the spelling will improve in her writing. As for a program to help...I'm at a loss. Dd11 does SWO but I just wonder if ANY program will really cure the atrocious spelling in her writing. I wonder what SWB would say about that?

from forming on the potatoes. Haven't tried it, but I think it was a Food Network suggestion or perhaps Martha Stewart. I'd keep onions separate from everything, though.

Last time we had a mouse problem we tried this method. Looked simple enough, but it didn't work. We have the catch and release trap now which worked, but our problem was way beyond that by that time. When I heard one in our bedroom one night, I called pest control the next morning. I didn't care how much I had to spend. Once they invaded MY space, they were DEAD! LOL! Thanks for the link, though!

Had to get pest control out here last year about this time for a mice problem. Well, they are back. Ds saw one downstairs and when I went to look, lo and behold there is this very bold little mouse sitting in the middle of the floor. Nice. I hate mice. I loathe mice. How do they keep getting in? We thought pest control sealed off all possible entry locations. Guess not. How do we keep them out? My house is far from squeaky clean (no pun intended) but certainly not "mouse material" if you KWIM. Sigh...I won't be sleeping well tonight. We teased my ds9 that he needed to tell his hamster to stop inviting his "friends" over.

and absolutely LOVE it. I mainly work on weekends (just a couple each month) but sometimes have a weekly gig at a restaurant in the evening (not now though b/c the baby is due soon). Pays very well, it's fun, I feel like I'm contributing to our family income, etc. One year, we were blessed to have so much work in one week during the summer that our summer vacation was completely paid for. That was something. Anyway, if you want to look into any aspect of childrens entertainment, just email me! Lucrative field...you know how some parents just want to do EVERYTHING for their child's bday party or big event! If I had the money...I would too!

I'm the same way. 4 boys and another on the way and I've been very critical of all of them (even dh!) recently. While my girls have their moments (dd11 and dd2), it just seems like the boys are ALWAYS messing up something, breaking something, yelling, fighting, missing the toilet, etc. It's horrible to feel that way. I find myself praying this baby were a girl. But, that's not fair. I know how you feel. I've been just trying to spend time w/ my boys doing what they love (which right now is basketball, football, building). I focus on the praiseworthy stuff. Schoolwork done in a timely manner and neat, building projects they make (some are really phenomenal), good attitudes, helpful attitudes, how great they all are w/ dd2 (all are older than her), etc. It really helps me. Also, I focus on the fact that God doesn't make mistakes. He created EACH one of my boys for a purpose and I'm excited to see what that purpose is and how it will play out. HTH

We always get blue stains in our tub from limescale buildup and other nasty brownish stains as well. I tried everything from Soft Scrub to Comet to bleach and nothing worked. One day, my SIL spent the night and took a shower the next day. She cleans houses as a part-time job and went out to her truck and got Kaboom! I was amazed at how clean it got my tub. Just spray, let sit for a few minutes and rinse. Magic!

of teaching. There are a lot of good points to it, but I've found that not all my dc can thrive in this model exclusively! When I first read TWTM, I was WAAAYYY overwhelmed and I tried to stick to the method exclusively. It drove me and my dc crazy. Now, I'm trying to be much more relaxed. Some components I really agree with and use. Others I don't. Really, we are very ecclectic in our hs. I'm sure your older dc turned out just fine and your youngers will as well...regardless of whether or not you've read or read TWTM (although I do highly recommend it as a reference at the very least b/c it's so full of great recommendations, ideas, how-to's, etc.). I refer back to TWTM often when I'm "stuck" or feeling like I'm not doing "enough". Anyway, don't worry. So many methods to hsing...classical is just one.