Biblioplan sure does look good! I'll check into the swap board for MFW...but I'm thinking that biblioplan might be just what I'm looking for! Thanks!

I like MFW. Don't get me wrong. It's just a bit pricey for me right now. I have a limited budget. We are consdering bringing dd12 home from ps. The one "gap" she has is this time period. Well, she actually has lots of gaps...like Rome - Reformation. But, if she stays home for high school, she'll get to that in 10th...I plan to try MFW Ancients for High School. Anyway, is there something similar than MFW for this time period? It doesn't even have to be all inclusive b/c I have science, writing, math, lit. all covered for her. Thanks!

And I will add that I use my dh as my barometer. I always ask him if he would have cause to "stumble" if he saw another woman dressed in what I was wearing. If his answer is a quick no...the outfit is a go. If he hesitates...it's back to the drawing board. Personally, I think I probably walk a fine line. :tongue_smilie: Mommaduck...:lol::lol::lol: I shouldn't really be anywhere near that pole.

Not gonna debate but just want to say: THIS IS WHERE WE ARE HEADED PEOPLE! I had a friend (old high school teacher) die from a curable disease b/c of the LACK of treatment she received while living in England...all b/c of a health care system that is so "amazing" that our gov't decided they want to copy it! Nuff said. :glare: Sorry...didn't want to debate this but it really, really burns my you-know-what. Admin...delete if you find it inflammatory...I won't be hurt.

Def. 1. Cm/Ct are typically easier to write in the 5 paragraph essay format.

Thanks for the encouragement, everyone. Lots to think about. Chris, my concern with bringing her home now and then sending her back later is that she'll be remembered as the girl who gave ps a try for a month and couldn't hack it so she ran back home to mommy. Silly, I know. And that's not the reason we would pull her out. She CAN hack it...very well so. My dh and I think we can give her a better education at home...one that will better prepare her for the REAL world and one that can be tailored to her specific "bents" and interests. There really isn't a good reason she couldn't go back in 11th or even 12th. Another issue is this: She is a "young" 8th grader...only 12 when most of her peers are 13 going on 14. She started school early and back then it was the right decision b/c she was ready, socially and academically. But now, I can see areas where she is still very much a 12yo 7th grader and NOT an 8th grader (writing for instance and socially as well). One of the reasons I want to pull her is to give her that "extra" year if she needs it. I don't know how that would work with the district and paperwork b/c she is on record as being in 8th gr. I suppose we could "hold her back" and then if she ever re-entered ps for high school, we could have her tested to see where she is academically. Anyway, so much to think and pray about. Chris...I've been praying for you and hope you are doing better.

Here is my dilemna in a nutshell. DD12 (8th gr.) has been homeschooled since 4th gr. She went back to ps this year for a few reasons (she wanted to give it a try, my emotional health wasn't great last year, my youngers weren't getting enough of my attention, etc.). Since being back in ps, dh and I are both re-evaluating whether or not this is the best thing for her. Her classes are easy for her (with the exception of Spanish). Dh and I do not think the grading system (or lack of it!) is up to par at the school (or the other middle school for that matter). She isn't being challenged. She has expressed interest in coming back home. Socially, she has made new friends and is a fairly outgoing child. I don't worry about her socially. If we decide to bring her back home, it will be for good...meaning we hs through high school. Can I really do that? Will she miss something? Academically, btwn my dh and I, I know we are quite capable of teaching her. But, can we provide her with the opportunities that a public high school can? I'm thinking science labs in particular. Some words of advice from those who have btdt would be appreciated! Thanks!

It's what I've been saying all along...happy to have a real MD backing it up.

Well, glad to know my ds is not the only one...I think! I just thought his spelling was better than that. Many of his mistakes were careless, but many were ones he's made before. Elizabeth, I like the idea of the spelling notebook. I think I might also try the Phonics Road for a good foundation. I know not all kids/adults are good spellers. And, there are many teachers out there who don't even care about good spelling. I do. And I do think it is important...even in this age of Spell Check and autocorrect functions. Poor spelling is one of my pet peeves. That's just me. Thanks again....we'll just keep plugging away!

I second Growing With Grammar. We loved it here. Most student can even do it independently. Workbook format. If you really, really want a formal grammar program at this age (seems like you do), I would check it out.

Seems my ds11, ds9 and ds8 are good readers (ds8 is excellent) but atrocious spellers. For example, my ds9 (4th gr.) brought home a language paper where he spelled the following words incorrectly (I'll write how he spelled them first): familly (family) corse (course) realy (really) lernd ((learned) gaet (great) towrd (toward) thou (though) enufe (enough) :001_huh: Yikes...I didn't think he was *that* bad. What do I do? Could I use The Phonics Road with him and progress quickly through to give him the basics on which to build? I have it already and am using it for ds6 and ds8 at home. I think I might need to afterschool spelling with this child and obviously SWO and LLATL did not work to give him a good foundation (those are the curriculla we have used in the past for him). Help?

I'm so sorry. How tragic. Praying here...must be so very difficult for that family. I can't even imagine the grief. So much tragedy recently...so sad.

swamwich for sandwich "gee" for blanket (derived from blankey) nookie for pacifier crab sprinkles for Old Bay seasoning (b/c we usually see it on crabs and b/c of the picture of the crab on it) My oldest son has the cutest little voice that he uses to "talk" for our baby boy (16 mos. old). He "translates" the baby talk into real people talk. His favorite expression for Jesse is "How are you doozing?" and "Heeber Thnabbers" (which can be a noun, verb, adj. or adverb!). So, we all now say "how are you doozing" instead of "doing". I know, silly...sort of a "have to be there" thing.

Funny you should post this, Lisa, b/c I was just thinking about this last night. Check out the different chapters of the book and the DIVE b/c they will most probably mesh to some degree. I "think" that the newer 8/7 included more PreAlg., but I'm not certain.

Doesn't it stain their hands? I thought Kool-Aid stained. I'd love to try this...as long as it doesn't turn my kids hands (or my furniture) red, blue, green, etc.!

I'm sorry you are having a rough time. I do know what it is like. It wasn't until my dh and I took Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace Univ. classes that we were finally able to get a budget (cash flow plan) together and stick to it. We do the cash envelope system and it really helps. For the first time, we were able to pay for car repairs and new tires with CASH and not use credit. It's rough at first and there are some months (many months) we just don't have it in our budget to do anything extra (eating out, gifts, entertainment, etc.) One thing I will suggest is making a budget starting with your essentials first...food, housing, gas, utilities, etc. Whatever is left over you should allot to the other categories like gifts, entertainment, misc., etc. Cut out all unnecessary items...newspaper subscriptions, magazines, bday gifts for other people, etc. Also, as crazy as it sounds...payments toward credit cards are LAST in your budget. Do a zero-based budget. Start with how much you make each pay period and deduct expenses until you get to zero. Whatever falls below the zero mark, doesn't get paid that period...i.e credit cards. Simply tell the cc companies that they are below the line. But, you must take care of the essentials FIRST in order to live! PM me if you'd like info. on Dave Ramsey and his program. Praying for you!

A bit pricey, but I highly recommend The Phonics Road to Reading and Spelling. I'm using it with ds6 and ds8 who can read well, but not spell well. We are starting at the beginning and just progressing quickly through to where he gets stuck.

I just purchased it and I do like the activities. We are also doing FIAR b/c I have older dc. B/c your oldest is 5, why not do FIAR? Your younger could listen in on the stories and the FIAR forum has great ideas for act. for younger kids. OR, you could do B4FIAR and just add in some more advanced activities or lapbooks (fold n learns from FIAR site) for your 5yo. I love all the books in there, too!

First, :grouphug: You are not alone. Last year, I fought with all of my school-aged children every.day. There were 5 of them, a preKer and a baby. It wasn't fun. I wanted to run away, cry, take a chill pill every.day. Now, my oldest 3 are in ps and I am fighting only with the ds8, ds6 and dd4...and running after a very active and in-to-everything toddler. Boys sometimes just can't (and I really mean can't) sit for long periods and do written work (when they say their hands hurt...they mean it!). Crazy, I know. Sounds like excuses, I know. But it is true! They are just made differently. Some suggestions: Give him a 10 min. break after each subject..make him run around, jump on trampoline, whatever. Alter the subjects heavy on writing so he's not doing one right after another. Oral language lessons are good. As for reading, has he been checked for any type of vision problem...perhaps vision tracking difficulties? It was suggested that my ds11 might have that problem. Do a simple check: tell him to hold his head still and follow your finger with only his eyes as you move it side to side and up and down. His eyes should follow smoothly w/out any "jumps" or jerks. There is more to it, but that will give you an idea. Don't give up. If you want to cry...go for it! Here is my virtual shoulder. You need to take care of you. Please take some time for you when dh gets home. Take a bubble bath, go running, shop, dinner w/ a friend, etc...anything to recharge your battery so you can take on the next day. PRAY and read the WORD. I'm sure you do anyway, but I know when my days are just crappy it's b/c I didn't start w/ prayer or Bible reading. Ask your son what he WANTS to study (besides the basics) and then perhaps try a unit study approach. More work for you, but if he is INTERESTED in the subject, he'll likely complete assingments more efficiently, kwim? Try a lapbook if he is crafty. Sorry so long...I have 5 boys and all mine are fidgety, fight me with schoolwork, hands-on, interest-driven, BRIGHT kids...just like I'm sure your ds11 is! Don't give up. Don't make a decision in low tide. I'll be praying for you!

HOAC has a lapbook about Deer. It was a quarterly freebie a few months back. If I downloaded it, I'll be happy to forward it to you (I think that would be okay since it was a freebie and I didn't pay for it). I'll check and get back to you.

You could try AAS. If he needs something more hands on or rules-based, AAS would def. fit the bill. I have also fallen in love with The Phonics Road...it is not just spelling but reading, phonics, handwriting (a bit), grammar, literature study (in the later levels) and then on to Latin. I never thought I would like it...but I really do. We use the tiles from AAS sometimes for my more hands-on child (who hates to write anything he doesn't have to :)) HTH. FWIW...SWO never really worked for us either.

I'm actually very jealous, Chris. Dana is such a sweetheart and while I am so blessed to have her as part of my family...she lives so far away :glare: I really wish she were closer.

You are truly blessed to have a friendship like that. Reading your post, Chris, has made me realize what I am missing and what I need to pray for. I have friendships where I am the one sharing and asking for advice and then ones where I am the encourager/advisor...but none where there is a 2-way street. Does that make sense? I'm so happy you have 2 friendships like that. I get more "realness" here on the board than I do irl sometimes!

My best friend is a woman I met 8 years ago at our old church. We worked together in children's ministry (she and her dh were the children's pastors) and one day, during a particularly difficult time in my life, I phoned her for prayer and we met for lunch. We got very close after that and she is my primary confidant when I need a shoulder. I have 2 friends from high school that I still see regularly. And, of course, my dh is one of my best friends...he's just not the one I usually go to when I need emotional support.

Congratulations! What a beautiful name. Prayers for a speedy recovery from your c-section.