have you looked at http://www.guesthollow.com free American History curriculum? Geared for around 3rd grade but can easily be "tweaked" if necessary.

We let our 3 oldest go back to ps last year after 4 years at home. The 2 oldest wanted to and the 3rd didn't have a choice. They all had a great year. Dd13 chose to come back home for high school, ds10 didn't really care and ds12 was adamently opposed to coming back home. He had his "freedom", school was easy, he had his friends around him all day long and...his attitude about home changed for the worst. So, he's coming back home and yes, he does resent me for it. A lot. In fact, I would venture to say he hates me although he would never say it. It bothers me, but not enough to send him back to ps. We are different anyway in so many ways...homeschooling is just a piece of it. My youngers have never known anything different although ds7 talks frequently about mom "not letting me" go to REAL school. :glare: Oh well...that's why I'm the mom and they are not, right? :D

I do think Preparing would be too challenging for most 6yos. My 7, almost 8yo will be using LHFHG (but he is just starting to read). I'd look at Beyond or Bigger if you want to combine (after checking the placement charts) or use 2 different programs if their skills are too far apart.

I have an old HP that I used to love but that relationship quickly turned sour. :glare: Acts up a lot, but still prints well when it is working. The ink doesn't last and it is costly to replace so I wouldn't consider HP again. That being said, we just purchased an Epson Artisan 810 wireless. It's all-in-one and does duplex printing/copying. I did a ton of research. My choices were btwn Epson and Brother for the low cost ink replacement and the ability to change only ONE color cartridge at a time (only the one that runs out). Epson had the best ink for the price. I'm hoping I will love it as much as I loved the reviews.

I just made one for all my kids and for my dd5 and ds7, I used little pictures so they could "see" what they were to do. Mine is done in Publisher and is based on 3 times during each day (morning, after school and bedtime). I don't know how to link it here so if you email me I can send you a copy either as a pdf or the Publisher form. Our reward system is allowance and is based on "points". My kids have the opportunity to earn 4 points each day...1 each for morning routine, schoolwork, after school and bedtime. Each point is worth a specific denomination of money (for my 7yo it is 10 cents). We pay them every 2 weeks so they can earn 48 points every two weeks or for ds7...$4.80 plus any extra points he earns (extra chores or being extra helpful, extra good attitudes, etc.). The kids don't earn points on Sunday. We are rarely home anyway. Ds checks off each day on his chart. My older kids have charts with just words and places to check off each item. Dh and I determine whether or not to award the points each day based on attitude, completion and work ethic, etc. A bit complicated, but it is working so far. HTH.

I have to agree with the PPs who said it works better if the child knows how to read. I started it with an older child who could read well and used it mainly for spelling. Then, I started my 7yo beginning reader with it. He is doing well. I use a separate handwriting program b/c imo PR is not enough. Solid program and well worth the money but I would rather have a written tm. However, I found that once I watched several of the DVDs and got a feel for the program I was okay.

I have the same edition, purchased from the co-op. I have "browsed" through it myself and played around with it to get a "feel" for the program. I like it. However, I wouldn't use it as a stand-alone, especially for high school credit. That is just my opinion. I am supplementing with Galore Park's So You Really Want To Learn Spanish. My dd has had a year of Spanish in ps and will likely start Auralog at the Beginner level (not the total Beginner) and Galore Park in Level 2. My 7th grader hasn't had ANY spanish and will start Auralog at Total Beginner and GP at Level 1. I can't say if you would need more levels at the end of the year. I guess it depends how quickly she learns. I hope that helps a bit.

Would LOVE to! :D As for the time...not so much. Just got sucked into THAT thread...:tongue_smilie:

I read THE thread and I got sucked into the craziness. :tongue_smilie: I want to plan out my year and do the filing, etc. I got a box and had file folders and everything I needed. I sat down to file and just stared at everything that lay before me. I looked at my HOD guides and thought, "Why are you doing this you silly woman? It's all right here for you!". HOD is so "open and go" that it all seems so redundant and a waste of my precious time to file. We use R&S for grammar (a text), Saxon or Singpapore for Math (Saxon is a text). The HOD guides will keep me on track as far as knowing what we need to do. It's all there! The only thing I would be filing is the paper the kids would use! I have a supply list all typed out for ME to use to see what supplies I need weeks ahead of time. It is in a binder with my yearly schedule layout, my 7th graders weekly schedule, other schedules, etc. Tell my WHY I should file or HOW I should file?

The best "curriculum" for learning a language is exposure. Getting a native-speaking tutor would be awesome! As for curriculum, I am still new to language curriculums but have not been impressed with many. La Clase Divertida is, as you said, good for exposure and for fun. I plan to get it for my elementary aged kids. I recently purchased Galore Park's So You Really Want to Learn Spanish for my 7th and 9th graders. 9th grader has already had a year of Spanish in ps. I'm not sure Galore Park's would be appropriate for 4th gr, though. It does look to be the most solid that I've found as far as instruction. Rosetta Stone was a bit pricey for us. We bought Tell Me More when the co-op had it for sale a year ago and I do like it but not as a stand-alone program...not enough grammar instruction which I do believe is "key". I would go with finding a tutor first. Simple communication w/ a native speaker along with flash-cards might just be enough. Listening to children's books in Spanish (your library might have some), songs, etc., just to get a feel for the language and how it is spoken is also good.

Congratulations, good luck and best wishes on this new "leg" of your journey! :) Sounds like you have such peace about this and that is soooo very important.

:lol::lol::lol:

All is well! He is very quick to respond. Thanks everyone.

Yeah, well there is that tiny little problem... :tongue_smilie:

OK. So, I checked my "sent" box and lo and behold...NO EMAIL! AAAGGGHHHH! I KNOW I sent one! I sent a quick email HOPING it's not too late. Deadline was midnight (hmmm...CA time or my time?). Hoping it was CA time!

Hmmm...a used Mac! So...Stacy in LA...are you selling any of yours anytime soon. ;) Heehee. Well, thanks for all the reviews (good and bad). I'm leaning toward the Macbook Pro and a Brother printer. Maybe. Still praying for a good deal somewhere!

I just place an email order with Ray at horriblebooks.com for our Spanish curriculum from Galore Park. The cut-off date for his next order was today at midnight. I place my order a few days ago. I haven't heard back from him about my total or how/when to pay. Will I? I'm concerned b/c this is our Spanish curriculum for this year and already, with this cut-off date, the order won't come until early Sept. Any experiences ordering from him?

but the best laid plans all seem to have this quirky way of blowing up in my face! :glare: I was ready. I AM ready...excited even! All my curriculum except Spanish is here and we have all our school supplies, etc. Well, then we visited my Mom's today and she let's us know that my brother and his family are visiting on Tuesday (we see them perhaps once a year even though we only live an hour away). So we have to go see "the cousins"! Then my Mom invites my 4 middle boys to sleep over until Tuesday when the cousins come. :D So I just have my 2 girls and the toddler. Then my dear brother shows up in "desperate" need of a babysitter for his step-daughter and since Mom's house is already full :D I offered to take his dsd. She's such a sweet girl anyway and my girls get along famously with her. So, plans to start my oldest dd tomorrow have been blown to smithereens. Tell me it will be okay to push our starting date ahead a week? Tell me to just enjoy these last days of summer before they are gone. I just hope I don't lose motivation to start, kwim?

This computer would be primarily for ME. So, that means I would have all of my homeschool related stuff on there (files, programs, lapbooks, etc.). I would also use it for photos/editing (thought not so much), videos, music, any school programs that we use. Oh...I wonder if I could use the Tell Me More Spanish from Auralog on there? Ugh...Anyway, we still have a semi-functional PC that the kids can use (although there isn't any sound :glare: broken sound card :glare:) and a friend is giving us her old desktop although I'm not sure what sort of shape it is in. Can I network all the computers together for printing and internet even though 2 are PCs and this will be a Mac? Hadn't thought about that. Anyone use a Kodak printer...heard it has the most inexpensive ink. Lots of questions, I know. Thanks!

Instead of a pc? Just can't get over the pricetag...and then there are the "extras" like iWork or Office for Mac. And then we'll need a new printer b/c our old one will not work with the Mac. So, talk me into it! (It won't take much :tongue_smilie:). Oh, and if I decide on the Mac...a few questions: 1. Macbook or Macbook Pro? 13 or 15in. screen? 2. iWorks or Office for Mac? 3. Not Mac related but...which printer? Will NOT go for another HP...:glare: Thanks so much!

I think Heart of Dakota does a terrific job teaching from a Christian worldview. History, science, music, art projects, la, math, etc. I was impressed with how HOD teaches to the heart of each student and not just the mind if you kwim. Christ is def. the center of all parts of this program. MFW is another good program that teaches from a Christian worldview. Set up a bit differently than HOD, it does include history and science. You choose your own math and la. You really couldn't go wrong with either. As a pp mentioned, Apologia is fantastic, but isn't an all-in-one as HOD and MFW and some others. It all depends on what you want.

You could always print your own off off donnayoung.org. Use high quality paper and use the "fast draft" function of your printer to save ink.

An FYI for those of you thinking about ordering Galore Park's Spanish...you can get them from horriblebooks.com at a 20% discount off the US$ equivalent of the British lb. So, for instance, the Homeschool bundle sells for $39.99 x 1.6 x .8 gets you $51.19 for this pack in US$. Ray is making an order very soon and I believe if you get your order to him by Aug. 9 (midnight), he will ship out on the 12th. or so. FREE SHIPPING! http://www.horriblebooks.com HTH somebody. I'm putting my order in this weekend.

I had planned to use La Clase Divertida for my elementary ages children. We already own Tell Me More by Auralog and I do like that for the older children, but will add in a written program that focuses more on grammar. After much research, I decided to use Galore Park's So You Really Want to Learn Spanish. It looks sound. My thought is that with combining the written with the computer-based listening and speaking, my kids will get a solid program. I do think Galore Park's program is more for the middle-high school years. HTH.

I finally broke down and pulled the majority of our board games out of the original boxes. That was tough for me. I just loved all those pretty boxes, but we just didn't have the space. Here is what I did. I had a Sterlite 12x12, 3 drawer container. I labeled all the game boards with Sharpie (silver) or put a label on them and put them in the drawers and labeled the drawers (game boards). I then put all the game pieces, etc. into ziploc bags, labeled with the correct game. I put all the baggies into a shoe-box size plastic box and labeled it "game pieces". I think I had to use 2 boxes. I also have a separate shoe-box for card games and such. Games that had too many large parts were kept in orig. boxes (What's Gnu?, Boggle, etc.) and stacked on the shelves in our linen closet turned school/game closet. I love how it is organized now and I have so much more space for other things. HTH. The hardest part for me was destroying all those pretty boxes. :tongue_smilie: