I have a set of the Book of Knowledge-year 1955. These are not the New Book of Knowledge. I specifically searched for an older edition because I had them as a child and myself and my siblings devoured this set. They are very different from the average Encyclopedia. They have detailed sections for poetry, science, culture, literature etc. in each book and there are 20 volumes. We love our Book of Knowledge set. It is nice to see the kids settle in with one and just read. Here are some links that help explain my reason for getting this particular book set: http://www.collectorsquest.com/blog/2008/09/11/the-book-of-knowledge/ http://www.hstreasures.com/bookofknowledge.html http://merecomments.typepad.com/merecomments/2006/06/the_book_of_kno.html http://blog.johnath.com/2006/01/03/what-causes-chilblains/

Science Detective, Mind-Benders, Think-A-Minute, Reading Detective, Editor in Chief, Word Roots, Doo-riddles, Think Analogies. My children all loved Grid Perplexors. We also did Revenge of the Logic Spiders but weren't that impressed with the software.

Congratulations! When we got our dog, we enrolled her in a local puppy class and we all learned a lot from that. It was fun too! We also watched Dog Whisperer and read Cesar's books. The books have great tips. I haven't taken any of these classes but I know Universalclass.com offers dog care classes online too.

My girls do ABeka Math and they do it independently. For the most part, I grade their work and help them if there are any corrections. I've found it to be a low-stress but academically solid math. You might check out Calvert CHOW for History. Their kit has a nice student workbook that is straightforward and would be easy on you as far as input. It is designed to be done independently. The optional CD is a fantastic addition. My girls loved the CD that went with this program. Critical Thinking has the Science Detective Series with would be one option for science. I would use it in conjunction with something like Singapore My Pals Are Here. Both of these are good independent work options. Wordly Wise is good for Vocab and Growing With Grammar for grammar are designed to be done independently. Not so sure about composition since we do CW and that is teacher intense. For Lit, you might check out the Elson Readers (we did those and I just reviewed the comprehension questions orally-fast and fun). Hope some of this is helpful. :)

For reading, I used Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Lessons. They were very young (2) so I didn't do the lessons exactly like the book (it would have been too much). They learned the sounds of the letters and made flash cards that we reviewed. As we progressed through the book, they learned the blends etc. It took almost a year. I actually taught them to read before concentrating on the alphabet. They could recite the alphabet song easily but actually learned where the letters were in relation to each other in more detail as we learned them phonetically. I liked doing it that way because we killed two birds with one stone. :001_smile:

How about The Bronze Bow by Speare? We have enjoyed that one.

You might check out Hewitt's Lightning Literature. :)

They're in my thoughts. Please keep us posted. :(

We like Hake. It is straightforward. Easy to do daily and it has diagramming.

Thanks for posting this! We're planning on doing Forensics next summer. I found an interesting curriculum at: http://www.the-simple-homeschool.com/simple-schooling-forensic-science.html It is for grades 8-12 and mine are middle school so I thought I would use it as my spine. I'll check into your book too.

That was really well done! And funny too! Those are cute kids! :lol:

Free time is spent with my Kindle or crocheting Amigurumi or seeing friends. I also like to indulge my curriculum junkie side and read curriculum reviews. :D

I just made a transcript and have no problems with double-dipping as long as the units are legitimately interchangeable. Personally, I didn't have to double-dip because we had more than enough units for the required classes but had the need arisen and I had a class that honestly met both requirements, I would have done it. It is my school...my rules. My rules say double-dipping is efficient too!;)

Swimming, Martial Arts, Yoga, Weight Training. These are some that work for us.

Science is taking the biggest chunk of the budget. Normally we do FLVS but the kids are a year ahead so we are spending this coming school year doing something different. We just finished a Chemistry Unit (summer). We are doing Physics this fall and that involves purchasing the curriculum and a LAB setup for fall, Physiology/Anatomy for Spring and Forensics for next summer. We are also doing Computer Programming and Game Development this year and technology courses at the Science Museum.

We used to live in CO before FL. In FL we have a/c and can't seem to live without it. In CO only about 2 weeks a year were unbearable and we used fans. If you dampen a washcloth and put it on your neck the fan will keep you cooler. Keeping the house closed up during the hot part of the day helps too. We would go to the mall and walk around and spend time at the bookstore too.

She looks creepy (the no neck thing and facial expression) but honestly I don't think it is 'return' worthy. Was that the picture on the screen when you ordered? If it was the old picture you probably have grounds to return. :001_smile:

I tend to avoid the unschooling homeschoolers. I have no issues with their philosophy. If it works for them then that is fine. It doesn't work for us. We are very structured. I have been in groups that have included all types of homeschoolers but have found them, for the most part, to be little more than playgroups and some of the parents are very reluctant to require their children sit still and stay on task. Academically speaking, these groups have had very little to offer us. The lack of discipline is distracting and all too often ends in chaos with a teacher who is frazzled. I stress manners but some parents seem to think it is an expression of 'creativity' when their children are unruly. I would not knowingly participate in a group that consisted of homeschoolers that were strong unschoolers or that consisted of parents that didn't share my same educational/behavioral goals. I think it would be asking for drama. Drama=non-productive waste of time.

:grouphug:

Regis University, Denver CO - 1994: BS Business Admin. Some Graduate - USF, Tampa FL - Public Admin.

We do year-round and do pare back a little but not much.

I was thinking this too. I think there needs to be some exploration into the 'who, how and why' of this dog. Dogs don't typically run away from a shelter so I wonder if your son's friend's family adopted the dog from the shelter and then decided they couldn't keep it and offered it to your son? I'd want to know all about the dog before keeping it. Most shelters microchip now so I would run him down to the shelter for a quick scan. If he is microchipped, you might learn a lot.

I love those Terminix commercials! The pizza bug cracks me up when he asks if he can just come in to put down the pizza. :lol:

They sent me 2! I only needed one and probably could have easily done without that one. Seems every time I order, they send one a week later.

Check into Welding. When I worked for Services, one of my clients (a woman) trained for welding and got a great paying job! Last I heard she was pursuing underwater welding because that pays even more.