Today, I spent a while pulling together my usual annual records and "portfolios" for my kids. This year was different. The graduation ceremony is done, the transcript is at the university. I will still have two more at home, so I decided to make a little extra room for the upcoming 5 more years. I removed from my desk file, all of the graduate's years of homeschooling portfolios, from 5th to 12th grade and put them into ONE---LITTLE---BOX. The finality hit me. And I cried. She worked hard. I worked hard and made lots of mistakes. But I would not change the path chosen. It was such a blessing and an honor to walk this journey with her. Now I will homeschool with one less child around. Big scary changes ahead, but I will figure it out just like I figured out how to homeshool. So glad I've had this forum and web-site for support and guidance. Thank you all.

I guess it depends on where they are going. It is excruciatingly hot in Texas so the weather should count for something. A cami wouldn't bother me in a pool party situation of some sort, but to go into the library, not so much, even if it is hot outside. They do make some thicker strap less clingy tank tops that are ribbed. And they are probably cooler and more comfortable than the skinny strapped, clingy kind. Happy Summer!

Sending prayers

My highest fee was $18:tongue_smilie:. But if you go to www.libraryelf.com and your local library is a member, they will reliably give you a heads up 3 days before your books are due. And when you set up your account, you can opt for more reminders. It has saved me a TON of money. A nice library clerk told me about it.

What a relief it was to hear all of your responses. I thought that my twins were just abnormal--or that I just was failing to get them to get along. And you all confirmed my instinct to teach them separately for those subjects where they might excell. I feel much better now. Thank you, thank you, thank you:001_smile:

After homeschooling my oldest DD for 4 years, I think I now have the courage to take my 9 year old twins out of ps (finally) to homeschool them too. They are reeeaaaallllllyyyyy competitive b/g twins. Both are bright, but one has a real natural ability to grasp mathematical concepts and retain them very quickly. I am using Saxon with my older DD now and I really like it. I will use it with my twin DD, but I'm not sure it would be a good fit for the math whiz DS, and his speed in getting through the material would probably cause us all pain, especially twin DD. So my question here is twofold: any suggestions for a good math curriculum for a student who excells at math at the fourth grade level? and Any suggestions from mothers of twins for handling the competitiveness? Thanks to all.

Anyone use History Scholar with Biblioplan, year 2 - medieval? I'm planning on using Streams of Civilization as the spine and I'd like to use the History Scribe series for notebooking. Before I re-invent the wheel, I thought I'd ask if anyone has made or seen a correlation chart putting the two together. For week 1 I've already made some adjustments to the templates, so I suppose that's what I'll do on a week by week basis if necessary.

A walk-in homeschool "pantry" would be great for storing stuff. I would love a 3 car garage and a big laundry room near the bedrooms, where the clothes are. Bigger rooms for the kids and tons of cabinets everywhere to hide stuff away. Those old fashioned ranch style homes with the hallway lined with built in cabinets are fabulous. Oh, and lots of windows overlooking beautiful gardens which, of course are maintained by a full-time gardner.:lol: But, back to reality, I wish we had paid attention to how the electrical and plumbing was laid out in the attic. We have a maze of wires and pipes which makes it difficult to utilize that space for storage. Another mistake was having the garage open into the laundry room. We've had guests traipsing through our tiny laundry room to get into the house--it's uncomfortable. I love having tall ceilings, a foyer, and a family room overlooking the backyard. Congratulations on the new home.

My twins also fight constantly and are terribly competitive. I don't HS them yet, just their older sister, because I'm terrified that I'll have to deal with that all day long, all year long. But, I'd love to bring them home soon. This summer I'm trying something to "train" them to think before they fight. We've been at it for almost a week and so far so good. I made a chart that allows me to evaluate behavior every hour from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. When they get 20 check marks, I take them to get a scoop of ice cream. When we first started, I had to remind them when things (frequently) started escalating. Sometimes it didn't matter to them. Now they seem to react more quickly to more gentle reminders. So far so good. I can't keep up this forever, so when the chart is full on Monday, I'll tell them that now, it gets harder--25 for ice cream. Hopefully it will train them over a few weeks to think before they speak/act. (I hope so, because those ice cream scoops take a chunk of change.) I'm enjoying reading everyone's solutions. Lots of great ideas here. Maybe I can do this hs thing with twins after all.

Any one have any ideas on where to go to take a PSAT for the first time for an 8th grader? We are in North Texas near Dallas. Thanks.

I'm in the same boat--with an 8th grader. These suggestions are a comfort. I guess I have some reading to do.

Congratulations!!! Get that Level 2 U/S. It will ease your mind. I have B/G twins, too fun...

I just got a copy, but I havent used it. The questions are general ones that work over major catagories. ie. government related questions, culture related questions, everyday life questions, etc. It's sort of a mini-version of the TRISMs question sets.

Oh I like that website. I'd never seen it before. Thanks.

I have a plan through 12th grade (started in 5th) but re-evaluate every year.

Would it be possible to start at 4 a.m. or so, and split the driving duties with your husband? Then you could do it in one day. I've never driven that length with my own kids, but that's the way my sister with 5 kids handled long trips. The advantage of leaving so early is that they sleep for 3 or 4 hours of the trip and by the time they wake up the trip isn't quite so long.

How to load a dishwasher efficiently. That if the paper misses the trash can, you should bend down and pick it up and try again:D

Well, I like to buy History curriculum. Have bought TRISMs, TOG, SL, History Odysseyall for the same time period. I just couldn't decide so I looked at all. Should have gone to a book fair:D This year I'm restraining my self and only getting one--biblioplan. Err, I also bought Guides to History Plus as a supplement.:blush:

I haven't delved real deeply into the IEW methodology, but I like the way they handle teaching how to add interest into writing with the use of "dress-ups" and other tools. It seems to be an easy way to get a reluctant writer moving. My DD is a good writer and I used pieces of it to get her thinking more deeply about using a variety of interesting words.

I always told mine they could read when they knew how to recognize multiple words to keep confidence up and frustration down. To adults I referred to it as learning to read.

My problem is that I don't want to get rid of anything that I might use for when I take my twins out of PS. So I keep things I never used with my older daughter:confused:

A friend "held back" her daughter one year, simply because she felt she wasn't ready to let her graduate even though she had fulfilled all the requirements. It didn't cause any problems at all. Follow your instincts.

try freetrip.com. I've never used it but it looks fun.

I'm sorry that this is not going well. It's a hard road. :grouphug: