I don't know all the specifics. I used Karen for 6 of my births, knowing full well that direct-entry midwives were illegal in MD (where 3 of my births were). She IS legal in PA, I believe. Anyway, I sought out a midwife who would do a VBAC at home and Karen would. It's not that she didn't WANT to get a license...she COULDN'T b/c MD doesn't and won't recognize her. Make sense? As for VA, I don't know the reason she didn't pursue getting that stupid piece of paper. Probably b/c she doesn't do many births there to begin with. This case was obviously an exception. Karen has delivered many breech babies. I feel so heartbroken for the family involved but it isn't even them bringing the charges! This is simply a case against ALL MIDWIVES and HOMEBIRTHS, IMHO. And Karen is well-known and well-loved. High profile. The whole thing just stinks. :glare:

The state is pressing charges. That is what makes this so blasted frustrating. It's NOT the couple...it's the state! Thy are just going after Karen as a "scapegoat" for ALL midwives who do homebirths. Make sense? The birth itself was in September...6 months before her arrest! I tried calling her this morning to see if she was okay but got her voicemail.

Thanks for the link to the news story. I couldn't find it anywhere! Karen is a tremendously skilled and knowledgeable midwife. She is very pro-homebirth but she would NEVER put the life of a mother or baby in danger. My last child was delivered by Karen. I had some bleeding during labor and when Karen arrived and checked his heartrate, it was "faint". She looked at me and said, "we need to get you to a hospital NOW!". She doesn't take unnecessary risks. As it turns out, my baby was just in an awkward position and his heartrate was fine. I delivered him at home 20 minutes later (an ambulance was called just in case) and he was perfectly healthy. This case sounds odd. Karen will advocate for the mother and her choice but never would she do this at the expense of a baby's life. NEVER. And, she has delivered MANY breeches w/out complication...even footlings. This is tragic, don't get me wrong and my heart goes out to the family involved. I'm not blaming anyone here...just wanted to share.

I just received a letter from a new non-profit,http://www.inservicetowomen.org telling of her arrest on March 16, 2011 and asking for donations for her defense. She is being charged with involuntary manslaughter, child abuse and practicing medicine w/out a license. I don't know many details. I am simply heartbroken. Karen was my midwife for 6 out of my 7 children. She delivered 4 of my children (2 ended up as transports...my choice). She is probably one of the most skilled and experienced midwives I know. I know that many of you here have had homebirths or used a midwife for your births and are supportive of homebirth and midwifery. Karen's trial begins on June 7, 2011 and she faces up to 30 years in prison. :001_huh: If you pray, please pray for her. The outcome of this trial will not only effect Karen's life and the lives of her 2 daughters and her grandchildren, but the future of midwifery in general. If you feel led to support Karen with a donation, please visit http://www.inservicetowomen.org or "like" them on FB. Thanks for reading and praying. Oh, and I really don't want this thread to turn into a debate about midwifery or homebirth. Please.

The HOD board CAN seem like a mini-cult, can't it? Even the mere mention of another program on that board sends many die-hards into a tizzy. :tongue_smilie: That being said, I do LOVE HOD and figured why ditch a great curriculum b/c of such silliness? Anyway, you wanted reasons NOT to use HOD! So...1) You will end up loving it and then not want to switch back to other programs, potentially missing out on the other awesome programs out there. :D 2) Gets expensive to run multiple guides...esp. w/ the older guides. 3) Can't combine ALL dc

When my dd5 was just about 2, she wandered out our front door when I was in the middle of a lesson with my older kids. She ended up in the middle of our very quiet street. A neighbor up the street, whom we know well, was driving by and had to stop b/c she had plopped down right in the middle of the street. :001_huh: He saw her, recognized her and delievered her to me. Needless to say, I was a.mess. First, I didn't even realize she had left the house (b/c the door was closed and locked!) and second, she could have easily been run over by somebody less careful. Things like this happen...even to the most careful parents. Not excusing leaving a 2yo outside alone w/out supervision...but perhaps there was more to the story? So glad you found him though and brought him home safe. :001_smile:

I will soon be running 3 guides. :001_huh: I don't know how long BLHFHG will take. I am doing Preparing and LHFHG now. My 11yo and 12yo do Preparing mostly independently so that frees up a lot of time. Next year I will have 2 dc in RtR, 1 ds in Bigger and 2 dc in BLHFHG. I expect that my RtR kids will do it almost 100% independently. Have you asked this question on the HOD board? The ladies there are great with scheduling help and there is even a scheduling sticky there. Somebody once posted approximate times for each box of the different guides. That was helpful to me.

You are not alone. I have tried and tried to get up before my kids but I am so not a morning person. It HURTS to get up. And I am not exaggerating. :glare: My ds2 and ds11 get up at 7am. :001_huh: Ds11 gets breakfast for him and his brother. Then, ds11 usually starts to work on his independent schoolwork while ds2 watches tv. Ds8 and ds9 typically get up around 8 and have breakfast and watch tv or play legos. I am lucky to get up at 9 these days. Dd14, dd5 and ds12 typically get up around 9:30. It's not optimal. But, it works. Dd14 starts her schoolwork after she eats. I get school started after my coffee kicks in. :D

Endless Love...my wedding. :001_smile:

December, 1963 (Oh What a Night) puts me right back in the Lambda Chi frat house, dancing with my friends. Eye of the Tiger sends me back to my childhood when my bff and I did a gymnastics routine to that song.

We have sponsored a child throught Compassion for about 10 years now. Compassion is quite reputable. I'm not sure where to look for the breakdown of how money is spent but I bet the website has that info. World Vision is another child sponsorship company that is reputable. I know there are others.

:iagree: that the HOD older guides/packages are quite pricey. I have tried to purchase used but realize that with RevtoRev you can't b/c it is NEW! Is it worth it to purchase JUST the guide and see if you can find the books used elsewhere or at the library? I haven't looked at RevtoRev as we won't be using it until 2012/13 so I don't know. For me, it is worth the $ b/c I love HOD and find it so rich and thorough. Perhaps I won't be thinking like this in the coming years though. :001_huh:

Have you looked at So You Really Want to Learn Spanish by Galore Park? My dd14 uses it and my ds13 will start using it next year. It is for middle school and up. Grammar is taught as well as listening, reading and writing skills. You could use it along w/ RS since you already have it. I also just found this inexpensive little book called Madrigals Magic Key to Spanish at Amazon. Looks very interesting!

Katrina, I am certainly NOT a wise HOD Mom! This is our first year using HOD (although I did toy around with LHTH 2 years ago). I have 7 children and KNEW that I could not do 3 guides this year. Soooo...I HAD to combine. Dd5 and ds7 fit well into LHFHG. Ds12, ds10 (now 11) and ds9 fit relatively well in Preparing and I wanted to do an overview of World History so...I chose Preparing. I had a feeling that it would be a stretch for ds9 b/c of his "challenges). He is bright but HATES school and fights me tooth and nail about getting work done. He is capable of the reading and the narrating (oral) but the writing is too much. He is still learning cursive and was/is NOT ready to copy lengthy passages in cursive like Preparing has the child do. He is also not capable of written narrations w/out substantial help (I ask him to orally narrate while I right down his narration and then have him copy it). Bigger would have been a MUCH better fit for him, but I knew my own limitations. I am now looking to next year and wondering what to do! Dd5 (soon 6) and ds8 will be in Beyond (if I choose that over Adv.). Ds11 and ds12 (soon 13) fit perfectly into RtR (skipping over CtC as we have done Ancients recently and don't want to do it again!). Ds9 (soon 10!) could very easily go BACK to Bigger and be fine. But that would mean 3 guides for me. :001_huh: And then there is my 3yo! :lol: (Insert primal scream here). I thought about doing MFW Adv. b/c I could combine dd6, ds8 AND ds10 (just beefing it up a bit for him). I am no better off than you in choosing, see? :lol:

To the OP: In looking at the ages of your dc again (and thinking a bit more clearly now :D), I *think* that Beyond would be a good fit. Why? Well, a few reasons. First, as a pp said, the guides do build on each other. It is perfect for your dd going into 1st grade. As for your oldest (3rd gr), you can easily use a higher level of R&S if R&S2 is too light (but I don't think it would be!). And math is the same...just use the level/program you are comfortable with, kwim? Content-wise, Beyond only covers Amer. History from 1500-1800s. It goes more in depth in some areas than Adv. likely did. In fact, I have heard (and see in the guide now), that there is a heavy emphasis on the Colonial period. If I decide to use Beyond instead of Adv. (sure wish I could make up my mind! :tongue_smilie:), my dc will be the same ages of your dc. (dd6 and ds8). My ds8 is a bit "slower" than his sister with reading and so we haven't even covered grammar yet b/c we have been focusing on reading so much. I'm looking forward to next year with Beyond (or Adv. or both!). HTH you a bit.

I am so sorry. :grouphug: Lifting you and your family up in prayer right now. So tragic..:crying:

Placement in HOD is less about age and more about skill level. Where does your dc place SKILLwise? For example, my ds9 places right in the middle of the Preparing ages (8-10). BUT, skillwise, he was a better fit for Bigger and I SHOULD have placed him there. Hindsight. :glare: I've not used Bigger, but hear that it is a jump in skill from Beyond. And, Preparing is a jump from Bigger. :001_smile: Content in Beyond would be similar to ADV. but not a carbon copy. There is only 1 book (the one you mentioned) that is duplicated. So, you did Adv this year and loved it? I still can't decide btwn that and Beyond. :D Did I already ask you if you were going to sell your Adv? :tongue_smilie: I think I've asked just about everybody.

My sympathies. :grouphug:

Check over on the HOD board. I know Julie (my3sons over there) just started a blog (finally!). I know there are more, but I can't recall who else right not.

Susan goes w/out saying! She is super-awesome, generous and helpful and so much more. :D This board HAS to be the single-most important resource in my homeschool. Thanks, Susan!

I am close friends with Maggie Hogan of Bright Ideas Press. She just recently gave away a ton of her own personal book-stash as well as some BIP curriculum. She sent me some awesome living history books, tons of laminated maps and...The Ultimate Geography and Timeline Guide! :D That was a surprise. She's the best. :D

We are using Preparing with a 4th, 5th and 7th grader (using extensions only for 7th) this year. I am not of a reformed denomination, but I haven't come across anything at.all. in Preparing that has bugged me or caused me any concern. It is Christ-centered. And honestly? If I hadn't read from a poster in another thread about HOD using books that are "reformed" I would have never known! There was one book in LHFHG that I had issues with (Devotions for the Childrens Hour) and so I just skipped over the parts I didn't agree with. As to being too easy for a 5th grader...IMO Preparing is perfect for that age. My 5th grader is right on target with this. It isn't too challenging or too easy. Just enough. IMO it is a bit challenging for an 8yo. But that is just my opinion. :D It certainly isn't impossible, just challenging. I encourage you to check out the placement chart on the HOD website to make sure you are placing your kids appropriately, though. It really does make all the difference with HOD. We are loving Preparing and I am so sold on HOD for my boys that we plan to use it all the way through High School now. HTH

My dd14 uses SYRWTL Spanish Book 2. I am counting it as 1 credit of Spanish 2 for 9th grade. I make her copy all the vocab words, listen to all the audios, and I test her (orally) on the vocab. We also converse daily. :D I purchased mine from Horrible Books. Ray orders from Galore Park regularly and ships for free (I think). He also included some FREEBIES in my order (some books in Spanish, etc.). Best customer service, IMO. HTH. I also purchased a very inexpensive book at Amazon called Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish: A Creative and Proven Approach. I plan to add that to dd's studies and start my ds12 on it this summer. As for speaking and listening, we also have Tell Me More Spanish by Auralog and I think it's "okay". Not great, but certainly sufficient if used in conjunction with a good grammar-based program. Just my 2 cents!

Camera, FaceTime, video capability on iPad 2. I would save the money for the newer one myself, but then again, chances are I will be saving for a VERY long time anyway!

Goodness, so many songs remind me of *somebody*. LOL. Here are a few: "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul reminds me of an ex boyfriend in high school. I still remember driving to his house blaring this song and singing at the top of my lungs, all the while wondering WHY I was still with this punk! "The Kind of Love You Never Recover From" by Christine Lavin reminds me of when I fell in love with my dh but also reminds me of the guy I dated before him. :glare: HE was the guy I thought I'd never get over, but did b/c of dh! "Save the Last Dance For Me" by the Drifters and "Rocket Man" by Elton John remind me of dh b/c he put them on a cassette "mix" and gave it to me when I left for a semester abroad in Spain my senior year of college. He proposed to me in Paris that Thanksgiving. :D