My answers: 1. 37 2. probably about 6 hrs. 3. 60-65 mph...I've been caught speeding too many times in the past :tongue_smilie: Dh's answers: 1. 36 2. about 8 hrs. 3. 60 mph. HTH

I'm just going to keep her in this class. It will be an easy year and a chance to really solidify all she has learned. Might be good for her self-esteem, too. I am having an incredibly difficult time with this. I.just.don't.like.it. I want them home. Dh got sooo frustrated tonight b/c he couldn't help ds11 with his math. HAH! I just looked at dh and said, "what? you can't help him? why not?" Dh responds he's never seen it before. I laughed and said, "welcome to Everyday Math!" and walked away. See, my dh was singing the praises of EM and wouldn't hear me when I told him how awful it was. Well, he does now. Anyway, thanks everyone. I appreciate your advice.

The Bible notebook and reader are what appealed to me as well! It sounds like MFW 1st would be a great fit for your dd. I'm a big fan of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" but sometimes the Lord just leads us to change something "just b/c", kwim? So, if He's leading you toward MFW 1st...I would follow. Just my 2 cents. :)

:grouphug: You are not alone. I thought you were describing my house...dirty walls, dings, dents, holes everywhere (5 boys here!), sticky floor, crumbs everywhere, clutter, disorganization, laundry piled high in the office/laundry room...it's horrible. I live in what Fly Lady calls CHAOS...Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome! I am not a gifted hostess. I have friends who are...their gift is certainly hospitality. Gorgeous homes, clean but not immaculate, cozy, worm, inviting. The total opposite of mind. I hate having people over. When people come to the door I find my blood pressure rising and my stress level shoot through the roof. I hate when my kids want friends over b/c I am so embarrased about the condition of my house. Not just the cleanliness but the overall appearance. I don't have friends over. My neighbor...that' it. I've been told to just get over it, but I can't.

I can't speak specifically about 1st or Adventures. I am using K right now and I really like K. We used ECC last year and I just didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped...neither did my kids. It was a rough year last year, but we just didn't like all the Geography stuff and and even the missionary focus, which originally sounded awesome, just didn't "fit" us. KWIM? That being said, I am loving MFW K, looking forward to doing 1st with ds6 in a few months and absolutely can't wait until Adventures next year b/c I've heard so many great things about it. It will be a toss-up btwn that and HOD but MFW is looking better right now. HTH a bit...sorry I can't give more reviews about 1st or Adv. yet.

First of all...:grouphug: and lots of them. I am in the same boat this year w/ 3 back in ps. I HATE IT! And today is only day 3. Back to school night at ds11's school last night was painful at best. His Soc. Stud./Math/homeroom teacher (whom I already do not like) said she gives hw on Fridays and to that I laughed and said, "Oh no...that will not work for us" (I think I said it out loud...ooops). She looked rather dumbfounded and I explained that 5 days a week, 30 hours a week + hw 4 days each week was quite enough and that weekends were our FAMILY time. If she couldn't teach them what they needed to know in that amount of time then perhaps she needed to be more efficient. Silence. Not the best start to our relationship, but the woman had already irked me by making some rather condescending remarks about homeschooling. Grrrr...... So...I hear you. I'm already regretting my decision to put them back in ps and wish I could go back. Dh doesn't even want to listen to me complain so I have nowhere else to vent except here. So, I feel you...:grouphug: for us both!

Thanks Judy...and everyone. I think I will keep her in the class she is in and see how it goes. Two of her friends from the neighborhood are in the class and when I spoke of moving her, she got this terrified look. :glare: So, unless it is really, really easy for her...I'll just bite my tongue and keep her in. I doubt this child is going on to pursue a career in math or science anyway...but you never know! If she wants extra enrichment at home, I have plenty to keep her occupied. This is just so hard for me.

If I had been there w/ the Youth Worker I might have been pretty snarky and said something like "Perhaps you should have been homeschooled, too, if you need to ask a 9yo the answers to such easy math questions." I just HATE that sort of stuff. Back to school night at my ds11's ps...his homeroom teacher was just FULL of condescension b/c I homeschooled my ds11. All the teachers, when I asked how he was doing so far, answered me that he seems to be getting along nicely with his peers or something about social skills...:glare: Yeah, forgot to tell you, we lived in a bubble...no socialization. None. Grrrrrrr.....so sorry you had to go through this.

My first thought? LESS is definitely MORE! My curriculum list looked much like yours. I overwhelmed my kids AND myself and burnt out by the second week of school. This year? My mantra is LESS is MORE. Having 3 back in ps this year and seeing their schedules really encouraged me that we are still doing more than most ps do. My ds11 has about 4 hours of core subject instruction per day (math, la (reading, spelling, writing, grammar if any), science and social studies). The other 2 hours are taken up by lunch, specials (art,music, pe or library) or wasted hall-walking, homeroom nonsense time. 4 HOURS! You could cut out half of the books on your list (or alternate) and you would still have a very rigorous schedule. JMHO...

We are doing the same thing this year! Ds8 cannot stand busywork and will fight me tooth and nail every step of the way. This year, we are using FIAR and hoping that more hands-on, fun activities will liven up our hsing day. We are also implementing workboxes...though I'm not sure what we are going to use yet. Be encouraged...you are doing the right thing!

She is in 8th. She started school at age 4 b/c her bday is in Nov. and in MD at that time the cut-off was Dec. 30. So, she is a young 8th grader. I just got back from my son's back to school night (in the 5th/6th gr. building) and asked a bunch of questions about the math. Now I am really angry she is in this pre-alg. class. Her math skills are way above her brothers (even at his age) and it seems that the is the "basic" class for math in 8th grade...the one my son will have and he is considered to be in an average math class right now, if that makes sense. I am just so frustrated with this whole ps experience. I HATE IT!

Here is my dilemna. Dd12 complete Saxon 8/7 last year and did well. She is in ps this year and was placed into a 2nd level pre-algebra class (Foundation for Algebra level 2). The school tested her on Monday (the day before school started) by giving her the Pre-Alg. final exam that the ps students took last year. :001_huh: After a 3 month vacation from school, they give her the final exam from last year and expect she will do WELL? I don't know how she did...they didn't discuss it with me! So, I'm looking over her Pre-Alg. book and she covered every.single.topic in Saxon 8/7 last year! PLUS, there were more topics that Saxon covered that she won't even do this year! What would you do? Should I fight to get her into Alg. 1? Should I just afterschool her using Saxon Alg. 1 this year? This is so frustrating. Why amd I putting this child in ps when I'm doing just as much work as I did homeschooling last year? I HATE THIS!

So, 3 of my dc went back to ps today...my ds9 for the first time since PreK. All 3 had a great time (first day, who doesn't right? It's the "honeymoon period", lol). I'm speaking with the testing coordinator who tested ds11 and she informs me of all the "holes" in his knowledge base. :glare: First of all, they tested him after a 3 month vacation from schoolwork. :glare::glare: I think he'll catch up and on very quickly. BUT, I find that we'll have to do remedial reading for fluency, MUS to keep up his math confidence (The school uses Everyday Math...need I say more?), not to mention the history I wanted to get in. Ds9 is weak in writing according to the school. I couldn't care less, but I do want to keep up the copywork and dictation with him. Dd12 is too overwhelmed right now for me to even mention afterschooling. BUT...they placed her in their second level of Pre-Algebra instead of Alg. 1 and won't switch her right now. :glare: So....if they don't eventually switch her, I want her doing some higher level math b/c SHE ALREADY DID SAXON PRE-ALGEBRA LAST YEAR! Grrrrr.....So dd12 understands that we might be doing a bit of Saxon Alg. 1 mixed in or MUS Alg. 1...whichever she chooses. Anyone else find that afterschooling is just as time-consuming and stressful if not more so than normal hsing?

I also hate to cry and rarely do. I am the opposite of you all though. I hate to cry alone! However, there are very, very few people I will trust with my tears. Even my husband has only seen me cry a handful of times (besides during childbirth). People say that crying is a catharsis but for me, it isn't. It just makes me feel worse. Go figure.

I would have listed it as "good used condition" and tried to describe any defects like that. However, I have made mistakes with wording in the past and unforunately had people upset with me. I always try to be scrupulously honest and here on the WTM boards...I think most people are like that. You never know on Ebay. But, I do like to give people the benefit of the doubt. I would just write the seller and explain your disappointment. Can't hurt and maybe she'll take better care in describing her books next time!

Wow! Lots of super ideas. I knew you all wouldn't let me down. :D Elizabeth, thanks for the link to the McGuffey readers...those will be fantastic and Angie, I am familiar with DIBELS and that will work out well, too. I was hoping not to spend any money, but I will look at Reading Rescue. I so much prefer to tutor him at home than have him go in early or stay late to be tutored at the ps. Thanks again everyone for the awesome ideas!

I want something that is quick and painless for my dc (4th, 6th and 8th). None of them will get anymore World History until High School. :glare: And then it is a whirlwind, one year study in 9th or 10th I think. Dd12 has been Amer. Historied out and will study it again this year (through WW1). I would like her to have "some" world History before starting high school. We did some Ancients last year but not much. I have Diana Waring's What in the World is Going on Here CD's for Ancients and thought I could just have them listen to those once in a while. We also have the Drive Through History DVD's. Any other suggestions for something quick and painless...they would really complain if it was too much more "work", kwim? Thanks!

FIAR would be perfect for the ages of her kids. Great books to read, lots of activities to do, lapbooks if the kids are crafty like that. We love FIAR...just started doing it. It's just like a unit study using a storybook as the springboard for many awesome science explorations, history, geography, language arts, math, art, music, etc. MFW would also be good...looks like maybe 1st grade for one and K for the other? Or she could just purchase some lapbooks of topics they like and do those! You could spend weeks on just one! Currclick.com has some unit study e-books as well. HTH

Thanks for reminding me. We did this a bunch last year and this summer. He does love a good audiobook. I'll have to start researching more at our library to see what is left for him to read on audio!

My ds11 has never really enjoyed reading. When he does read (when forced!), he reads vvvveeeerrrrryyyy slowly. He's back at ps and the teacher who tested him last week told me that his fluency is not good at all and that his reading is really at a 5th grade level. That honestly does not surprise me. I would like to help him w/ this at home. Does anyone have any suggestions for what to use to improve reading fluency? Thanks!

We love Word Whammer (all LF products, actually!). LF taught my ds8 to read...he was using the Fridge Phonics ABC toy at age 2 and knew all his letters and sounds. Then came Word Factory and he could read CVC words at 3. Incredible. Dd4 knew her letters/sounds at age 3 b/c of Letter Factory DVD. Did I say we LOVE LF products? :D

We have a large family. 7 children. The line of questions usually goes something like this and in this order: "Are they all yours?", "Are you a Christian (we are but like you have to be to have a large family?), "Oh, do you homeschool, too?" It's the standard order of questioning. I should print out little cards with the answers on them and pass them out. :)

Thanks. :tongue_smilie: I am so excited about this I am almost giddy! Isn't that crazy? It is great that dh and I communicated...that he actually listened to me (which is rare these days). Can't wait to start school with them next week!

Perhaps the biggest change is my attitude. I will be more relaxed this year and not put so much pressure on my kids. I'm hoping that one change alone will set a more pleasant tone for our year. We are also doing FIAR which I hope will add in an element of "fun". I want to do more hands-on projects (art, science, etc.) this year, use less "workbooky" materials, finally do a Nature Study/journal, stay connected with other homeschoolers and generally just re-ignite that passion for learning that my ds8 and ds6 seem to have lost last year. Hoping Phonics Road will be a hit with ds6 and ds8 and that we actually DO MFW K with dd4. We'll see...

:grouphug: first of all. I am where you are. Some days are better for me than others, but caffeine is still necessary to get me moving. I also have hypothyroid and am on Levoxyl for that. My levels are "normal" right now. I have dealt with moderate to severe depression for years now and it got very severe this past year. I've been in therapy for a year now. I can tell you that therapy has been the most helpful b/c it gives me a place to vent, sort out my thoughts, get help in changing my thought processes (many of which are very negative and self-defeating and honestly very exhausting). I have been on 3 different anti-depressants during the past 6 mos. and I'm still not certain the one I am on right now is the perfect one. Sometimes it takes several tries before you hit on the right one or combination of one. Wellbutrin didn't work for me, but it does have an added stimulant that might work to give you the added "pep" you need. But, please, the first step would be to see a psychiatrist who is knowledgeable about the diff. meds. My mistake was seeing my family doc. first. :glare: Exercise is also helpful, albeit difficult when you have little ones at home all day and are trying to school and clean and cook, etc. Perhaps take a walk with them each afternoon? And, I def. feel better when I am eating well...fruits, veges, salads, whole grains, lots of water, minimal processed food and fast food. I will be praying for you. I know how you feel and it's not fun. If you would like to chat more, please PM me. I'm a good listener!