Praying

Thank you everyone for the comments. I honestly wasn't sure what to think of his essay. He worked really hard on it and was quite pleased. Nan, I believe you are right about using a formula to write. He didn't take the Comp 1 class that was offered last year and jumped straight into Comp 2. He is having to move at a pace that is very fast for him trying to keep up with what is review for most of the class.

:grouphug:

Have you looked at Mystery of History? It is geared for 4th-8th grade.

I was gifted with SL Cores D and E. We are really loving Sonlight, but really don't want to spend 2 years on American History. Does anyone have any recommendations on how to combine these two cores, short of buying the D+E IG? Thanks!

The assignment was to write an Observation Essay using sensory.

My DS14 wrote this for his composition class he is taking at a co-op. He is definitely a reluctant writer and only writes becuase he has to. I would love to hear what others think of his paper and welcome any suggestions on helping him become a stronger writer. Oral Surgery At Its Worse It was very surprising to hear how many people undergo oral surgery every year while talking with my surgeon. There are several common dental procedures such as dental implants, tooth extractions, and tooth exposures. I recently experienced just how serious oral surgery really is and would advise others to avoid it if possible. It is one of the worst things I have gone through. I do not recommend having oral surgery unless it is absolutely necessary because of the excruciating pain, horrendous sounds, and unbearable tastes involved in the procedures. The first thing I remember about my surgery is the excruciating pain. The surgeon began by placing multiple stinging shots into my gums. A scalpel was used to cut into the roof of my mouth to expose a rotten little tooth. Then there was the burning sensation from the instrument he used to stop the bleeding. The pain from the surgery continued for several days after. It is definitely something I do not wish to experience again. During the procedure, there were many horrendous sounds that echoed through my ear canals. The saw buzzing in my mouth was the first annoyance. I could feel the blade tearing into my gums. Each time a tool hit against the metal tray, it made a clanging noise. I can still remember how each of these noises resonated through my ears. The unbearable tastes from the surgery were second only to the pain. There was the blood that pooled into my mouth. Burnt flesh fell from the roof of my mouth hitting my tongue. Then there was the taste of the residue coming off the saw. There are not enough words to describe how punjent each of these were. Oral surgery is a terrible thing to go through. From the excruciating pain to the unbearable tastes, this is an experience that I would not wish on my worst enemy. Many people suffer through this experience, but are able to undergo it with anesthesia and do not remember all the details. My memory of my procedure may not be typical of many patients. This is one procedure I will caution others to avoid if at all possible.

You know, thinking back, I do remember alot of the same attitude with my ds who is now 17 and goes to ps. I just thought most of his was because he was having so many health issues at that time. I didn't connect the dots of it being typical behavior. Today is definitely going better. He is cooperating much more today, as opposed to the can't get away from you fast enough attitude of yesterday.

Thanks so much for the perspective. I have learned that there are two classes that we tend to butt heads more than others and I have commissioned those out to others, so I do hope that will help with some of it. I'm actually relieved to know that it is not an uncommon stage.

How do you manage through the high school years without losing your relationship with your child? It seems that all day long, it is a constant battle with emotions running high. Any critique made is taken as a personal attack, no matter how it was worded. Any additional work assigned results in ds 14 wanting to get as far away from me as possible. I am at a loss on what to do. While I know it is my place to push him academically, I do not want it to result in our relationship being shattered. Sorry about the vent, I just really need to hear that it will be okay and we will get through this season.

We just got a new HP Touchsmart. I love it. My brother works in IT and recommends HPs extensively. We have a Dell laptop and it is the worst computer we have ever had. I had to replace the hard drive in it three times in the first 18 months. I most definitely would not recommend a Dell to anyone.

My dd 10 loves Justice for Girls. She also likes Aeropostale.

Thanks!

Thank you for all the suggestions. I think we are going to have to really work on the youngest being more independent with some of her work this year, so if I get pulled away to take a call she can keep going. Unfortunately, we don't have space for dh to have a separate office space. He did just put desks in the eat in area of the kitchen for the kids to work at to try to help decrease clutter. I will be the one taking most of his calls during the day if he is at appointments. He works in the service industry doing window and door replacements and warranty work, so there will be many times he will be on a job and I will have to field the calls coming in. I think there will be many times he is popping in and out, which is where I think the distraction will rear from. I think we are going to have to take it as it comes and see what works best for all of us so we are able to get the most out of each day. Thanks again for the suggestions. If anyone else has any, please keep them coming.

Well, it is official. My dh's last day of employment was Friday. He is now officially self-employed. My problem/dilemma is whenever he would come home during the day for lunch or just to stop by, our day would completely come to a halt for however long he was here. Be it 30 minutes or an hour and a half. I really need suggestions from those whose dh's work from home. How do you coordinate his being home and getting all work completed with the kiddos? I know I am going to be getting customer calls, as they started on Friday to schedule appointments for this week. (He will be contracting from his previous employer and they started giving out his number to customers so he can schedule appointments.) How do you manage all of it and not let it pull you away from school? I'm pretty sure I am rambling and thank you if you have read to this point.

I don't have him do any extra writing assignments as they are writing 2 3-5 paragraph papers a week. One week is doing the sloppy copy and the next is editing and writing the final papers. I don't think he would be very cooperative if I had him do more. That said, he will have to do some extra writing with Biology and History as the year progresses. Yannah

I completely understand where you are coming from. I have this exact same issue with my ds14. I decided when he was 12 to "pawn" his writing off onto someone else and signed him up for a paragraph writing class that year. This year he is taking Comp 2 at the same co-op. He really just responds totally differently to writing when it comes to being accountable to someone other than me. I know it is the correct thing to do for him as when trying to help him edit a paragraph for class earlier this week, we had a very heated discussion on a simple editing technique. I hope your daughter's experience will be as successful in her co-op class as my son's has been.

Have you checked out donnayoung.org? She has tons of forms for Apologia.

Praying for you!

What about having them do TT7 the first semester doing 2 lessons a day or taking the tests until they hit a point they don't know a concept? They would be able to finish TT7 rather quickly that way and be able to move on to Pre-Algebra afterwards this school year.

The only one I have found that doesn't make my eyelashes fall out is by Honeybee Gardens. It is a botanically based mascara. Only draw back is that it isn't waterproof.

I'm so sorry. It is pretty scary especially when they are such new drivers. My ds 17 was in an accident on his way home from work in April. We got the property settlement from the insurance within 2 weeks, most of it was waiting on the appraiser to come look at the car and then waiting for them to come back with a real offer after I vetoed the initial offer. The best advice I was given, is to know what your daughter's car is currently going for in your area. I would check craigslist and the local paper to see what it would cost to buy the exact same car. I had to fax them copies of ads we had found on craigslist before they would come even close to what it would cost. Don't take the first offer, as it is usually a low ball offer. But, with this being your insurance it might not be that hard to deal with. We were dealing with the other driver's insurance and are still trying to settle for medical bills and pain and suffering. She will probably be skittish for a little while. My ds is much more cautious now than he was prior to the accident. :grouphug:

Ds17 has never been homeschooled and will be graduate from ps next May. Ds14 attended ps from pre-k to 5th grade when he requested to come home. Dd10 attended ps from pre-k to 1st grade (actually only 3 months of 1st grade). This was definitely not a path I thought our family would ever venture on, but now I honestly don't see either of my youngest returning to ps unless there were major changes in our family.

Thanks so much for the replies. I have been very intrigued with Sonlight and now that I have the opportunity to use it, I am excited to get started.

I am going to be using SL Core 100 combined with Notgrass for my ds14. Someone has gifted me with SL Cores D & E to use with my dd10. How difficult is it to have kids working on two different cores at the same time? I was really excited when it was offered to me and I want to make the most of it. Am I being too ambitious to do separate cores with each kid?