What is a good grammar program for 9th? My dd13 has had adequate grammar to this point including diagramming. I would like her to continue but do not know what to use! Any suggestions? She would likely be doing it over the summer. Thanks.

We have 7 kids and a relatively small house. Sufficient, but small. It used to look like Toys R Us threw up in our basement! I was recently convicted to PURGE about 75% of what they had. We kept "sets"...like Legos, Duplos, Knex, Little People, Lincoln Logs, blocks, Thomas trains, cars/trucks, Star Wars toys, etc. I hated having that "misc." toy bin! Stuffed animals got stuffed into a box. Now, my basement has just a few large rubbermaid totes with the toys in them! Yeah! In my kids' rooms are toys that they like to keep separate. All the toddler toys are in my toddler's room as well as his sister's toys (they share a room). We used to have a large community of Barbie dolls (I loathe them!) but pared down to just 5. It is so much nicer. I can actually breathe now. And you know what? My kids do not miss the toys I gave away! Simplicity is good!

Thanks, Steph. I will look into using 5 for ds12. He probably doesn't remember much from GWG4 and having not had ANY grammar this year...a good review wouldn't hurt him any. :001_smile:

Thanks...that is what I was thinking after looking at the samples.

I am taking ds8 through PR1 right now. We are currently doing 1 week per day as well. Soon, we might have to slow down, but for right now...he hasn't had any major problems with any words. Ds10 and ds12 will likely cruise all the way through Level 1. I just got PR2 today so I haven't looked at it to see how fast they could likely go. I am hoping to get through both this summer and start PR3 in Aug. Doable? Ya think? Chocolate chips are a GOOD idea! :D

I can't believe I am even considering going back to R&S. My boys loathed it, but I thought it very thorough. So, here is my question: Where should I start them? Ds12 has used GWG4, some ILL and LLATL before going back to ps this year where he had ZERO grammar. :glare: Should I start him back a level or 2? 5 or 6 perhaps? Ds10 has had some formal grammar but no diagramming. I was thinking Level 4 for him. And ds9 has had very little formal grammar. He knows nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. Could I do level 4 for both ds10 and ds9 and then what level for ds12? Thanks!

Anyone? :D

:grouphug: I know many women who are in this position right now. Wishing they had thought it through more. I am sorry that you are there now. After we had our 7th, many, many of my "friends" told me that having my tubes tied or having my dh get a vasectomy would be in our best interest. Well, we didn't and I'm glad. However, dh doesn't want any more children and I, well, might. :tongue_smilie: As for a reversal. I have a neighbor who had her tubes tied and then had a successful reversal. She just had a beautiful little girl who is 6 mos. old and is pregnant with another as I type. It is expensive, but so is adopting, right? I pray that either God will give you peace about your family size or that He will somehow give you the ability to have more children! Praying for you...

Yeah, around here "school" must be synonymous with "lunch"...no matter what time it is. :glare: They are always hungry whenever I tell them it's time for school...it could be 5 min. after breakfast. And then there is the toddler issue.

So hard to choose, isn't it? I feel your pain. We have switched math programs several times...esp. for my ds12 who is in ps now, but coming home next year! Did you not like MUS? I have no experience with CLE (have heard good things, though). I did not like the elem. Saxon years (K-3) b/c it was way too teacher intensive for me. I do, however, like Saxon from 4th grade on (the textbooks). I love Singapore. My ds10 (in ps this year but also coming home) did very well with Singapore and now my ds8 is doing fairly well, too. He is struggling, but he isn't a mathy kid. We just go slow. No rush, kwim? Good luck choosing!

:grouphug: Praying for you and your family Chris. This must be so difficult for you.

I have a rising 5th grader and 7th grader who I am contemplating taking through Phonics Road at a speedy pace. The 5th grader's spelling isn't solid, but has improved this year. However, he has NOT learned the "rules" or "whys"...he just memorized words. The 7th grader has never been a great speller. He, too, has improved this year but does not know the "whys" either. It is all memorizing, phonetic spelling or asking Mom how to spell! I LOVE Phonics Road for my ds9 and ds7...I have seen such improvements in ds9's confidence in spelling since using it. 5th grader and 7th grader will be home next year for school and I was hoping to start NOW by taking them through PR1 and PR2 (which I already have) and then hoping to get through PR3 and PR4 by end of next year for them. Does this sound doable? How would you suggest doing this speedy pace? I will skip the readers in PR1 b/c their reading is right on target. This is more for spelling. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I think it is a wonderful idea. If it is working for you and the kids, then it is good! We used T4L with my ds8 b/c he was fighting me so much on ALL his schoolwork. I mainly used it for the math and LA as well but didn't purchase after the trial. I couldn't afford it at the time. I have been looking into it for the summer, but again...can't afford it for all the kids and I KNOW they will all want to do it once one starts!

Regret orientation. I, too, suffer from that quite frequently and it can very easily send me into a downward spiral into the pit of depression. I find my thoughts turning to mistakes made 20+ years ago as well as those made much more recently...like 10 minutes ago! :) I have the tendency to obcess and brood and cry over the stupidity of my youth. But, I do know that God has used those mistakes and will continue to use them. I will learn from them and hopefully teach my children NOT to do what I did, kwim? I hope to steer them in a completely different path. Mistakes I made in my youth led to some rather nasty situations that still haunt me today. It is very difficult to put those thoughts out of my head sometimes. But, I pray and I ask God to simply take those thoughts away and replace them with positive things. And He does...in time.

At least you have the benefit of OT. My dh's job requirement more than double in the spring/summer simply b/c of the nature of his work (he works in high school reform and planning time is obviously in the summer when school is out). He doesn't get OT nor will he get a raise this year. He travels to Philly once a week during the Fall-Spring but will likely be up there 3x plus each week come summer and likely from now on. Please remind me that we are blessed that he even has a job! :) And good luck to you...OT or not it is difficult to do what we all do when dh works a ton outside of the home. No rest for the weary, right?

I will try to add pix. I like the idea of adding the extra shelves or at least the hanging shelves. We do have some of those. I could also look into putting away the less used books. That would free up some space. I am looking into buying another bookshelf. The baker's rack was simply a temporary fix that turned into a permanent one due to lack of finances, kwim? We are on a very tight budget. I think I might just need to re-evaluate what really needs to be on each shelf. My primary concern is how to organize my kids' school materials on that one built-in since that is where we school the most. If I move my husband's treadmill down to our basement, I could squeeze one more set of shelves in this laundry room. That might help. Thanks everyone! I'll try and get pix!

We don't have a room that is used specifically for school. Our dining room doubles as our school room and it has a 5 shelf built-in bookshelf. I have 2 rolling carts (each with 6 drawers) that hold our manipulatives, paper, puzzles, etc. Right off the dining room is the laundry room/office in which we have our computer, 2 more 5 shelf bookshelves and a baker's rack (3 shelves) that I use for books. It's a medium-sized room but can't hold much more than it already does. Every inch of bookshelf space is being used. Our linen closet was turned into a space for games, art supplies, school supplies, etc. Here is where I need help: The built in bookshelf in the dining room holds each child's materials for this year, my teacher manuals, and other books that we use on a daily or weekly basis. I am looking to next year when I will have all 7 kids home again. Last year, each child had half the shelf space for his/her books and materials with the top shelf being for my teacher stuff. It worked out fairly well. Dd13 has her books in her room b/c her room is on the main floor where we school. I need a new system for next year. I'd love to do workboxes, but we don't have space for that. I tried using workfiles, but it didn't work for us. How would you organize those shelves to maximize the space? If anyone has an "eye" for this type of thing, please help me! Thank you!

More food for thought. Danestress...thank you for those insightful words. I should have had more will power last night and not engaged. She pushed my buttons and she knew it. The name calling and disrespectful tone...she knows those are my hot buttons. :glare: I am def. going to try to back off completely from now on. No engagement. No words. Nothing. Let her talk and talk and yell and yell. Next day, she will realize the consequences of how she behaved. No phone, no tv, no computer, no driving her anywhere. I have so much to learn raising a teenager!

Oops...guess you beat me to that!

Here is a link to that very question on the MFW message board and the answer from Marie Hazell herself: http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=365

I apologized to dd almost immediately after I called her a liar. I told her that I raised my voice and called her a name in the heat of my anger and it was wrong and I was sorry and asked her to forgive me. Honestly, I do not think I was out of line at any other time. I mostly just ignored her, telling her occasionally that I did not like the way she was talking to or about me and she needed to just stop talking before there were consequences. I do plan on talking to her today after school. Each consequence she received was doled out at a different time...not all at once as she "escalated" and I got angry, kwim? First was sleepovers, then the more she continued it was phone privileges and then when she threatened to call her youth pastor, it was the cell phone. Not that I was afraid or anything, just ticked off that she would even say such a thing. Sundays are always long days for us all. Up early for church, sometimes a trip to my folks (an hour away from here) but then there are some weeks we just hang out at home and relax. I like the idea of having her make it up to me or at least apologize. Extra chores are another option for future infractions. Thanks all!

A few things: Chris, good idea about the contract. I will definitely try that with her! I really did not lose my cool with her last night, I was preoccupied bathing my toddler and doing laundry but could still here her "spouting off" while she was in her room, kwim? I really did not even converse with her at all until she yelled that she didn't care if she had to walk to the bus, that it was good exercise and something I should really take up! I calmly walked to her room, told her that she really hurt my feeling when she said that and she denied saying it. Then, I lost my temper a LITTLE bit and told her she was a liar, that my ears work fine and she DID say that. Anyway, it seems that Sundays are the day where all the early mornings and full days just catch up to her. Fri. she spent the night at a friends, had to get up early to come home and help watch her siblings while we did some home projects and then church on Sunday, trip to my folks house (typical routine). She just seems to really "melt down" on Sun. evenings. Tracy, we ARE bringing her home next year! :D In fact, ALL my children are coming home next year. I am excited. Michelle, I will look into that book. I have read Grace-Based parenting and I tend to err on the "grace" side too often I think. This child needs a bit more "truth". Thanks for the suggestions. My punishments were not out of anger, I don't think. I remained calm, issued warnings and then punishment when she refused to close her mouth and stop. I think a contract is in order, though. That way she KNOWS that when she steps over that boundary line into disrespect, that SHE is choosing her consequence. Any suggestions for how to word this? :D

There will be bias and inaccuracy in any text/book you read. It is human nature to "let slip" our own viewpoints in our writing...even when we are careful. As for inaccuracies, even the most noted historians will sometimes make a mistake. As for Hakin, my dd13 found it a rather "painless" read when she was using K12 in grade 5. I rather enjoyed reading her matieral myself, except for the overly liberal bent and absence of any Christian flair, kwim? I got Zinn from the library and immediately threw it back in the library bag to be returned. I will not have my son read material with such an obvious socialist tendency at such a young age when he hasn't even been exposed to what it really is! Chris, I know you don't want specifically all Christian...you seem to want a more "rounded" approach, correct? However, we are going to be using Drive Thru History America this coming year. Once I figure out how to actually "teach" it and implement it, I think it is going to be a terrific program. I am also having ds12 read through A Child's Story of America and will probably have him choose a lapbook or other hands-on project to do on the topic of his choice. So tough to find material that is suitable isn't it?

In a nutshell, we are having respect issues with dd13. I know, she is a teenager and testing her limits. Most normal "hormonal" stuff we just let go and ignore. However, she tends to cross the line from "hormonal" to outright disrespect rather quickly these days (i.e. telling us how we should be parenting her siblings or criticizing our parenting, calling us a liar (which we are not) or other names, demanding we do this or that, etc.). It doesn't happen every day and mostly when she is tired (Sunday evenings) but I cannot let it go. When I realize she is "spiraling" I always warn her to just close her mouth and go find something physical to do to vent the anger, frustration, etc. or just "chill" in her room. I think a 13yo can heed that warning and obey, don't you? So, last night she was on one of her "rolls" with the disrespect and I warned her...twice. Then, she got worse and called me names I won't repeat. :001_huh: After 2 warnings, I first took away sleepover privileges for one month. She kept at it. I took away her cell phone when she threatened to call her youth pastor and tell her that we were "abusing" her (b/c we took away sleepover priveleges). She kept going. I took away ALL phone privileges for one month. She finally got the picture that I meant business. Oh, and b/c of her demanding and whiny behavior, we told her that dh would not drive her to her bus in the am for one week (the bus stop is about 1/8 mile away...closer than her friends house to which she walks daily). So, did I go too far? This is a chronic behavior of hers...thinking she can talk to me and dh like we were any common peer or worse. Besides that, she is a very responsible and thoughtful child...a true joy to parent. And I do make sure I tell her that. :)

Amazing! Can't wait to show my kids...that is my human kids. :lol: I am really impressed with the knowledge your dd has about goats and birth, etc. Wow.