We have a Kitchen Aid blender ( I think it was about $100), and we really like it. It is very loud, but it works so well for fruit smoothies and blending soups.

I am praying for you, Melinda.

Ours is included in our $30 per month YMCA fee. Once you get to yellow belt it is two times a week. We have to pay for testing and uniform. It is a absolutely amazing program.

My mom is one of my best friends -- she is is amazing!

The only thing I could think of was leaving an apple in your wooden shoe for Sinterklaas' horse... But I have never heard of chocolate apples given to the children.

Find the area of the large triangle: 95 x 80 x1/2 = 3800 Find the area of the small triangle: 45 x 80 x 1/2 = 1800 Then subtract the area of the large triangle from the area of the small triangle: 3800-1800 = 2000 square cm

I love it more and more because it lays such a great foundation. I have used all four levels, a few more than once. It is quick and easy to teach. We skip sections if we know it already.

Thanks for the laugh... my daughter keeps asking why I am laughing! I have a very, very poor speller here too, so I can totally relate.

Everything is going well so far... still loving Singapore, SOTW, and ETC. I was a bit worried about ES Earth Science for the Logic Stage, but we are loving it! And WWS1 is going well so far too! Very, very relieved everything is working so far!

In Ontario, there is no red-shirting. My daughter, who was born on December 30, 2008, would be starting senior Kindergarten -- I would not be allowed to hold her back a year. I have heard that a very few December boys have been given permission by their principal to be held back a year...

You need the teacher's manual and the student text. The worksheets are optional, but nice to have to review difficult concepts. Oh and the test booklet is great!

My six year old does a couple pages in ETC, a few words in AAS, very simple copywork about 2 times a week, and his own note writing. I will add WWE in a few months, but I don't want to frustrate him. He enjoys writing the little he does!

We did not like Soaring With Spelling at all. It was too much busywork, along with frequent typos. We love AAS and Rod and Staff, just like the PP.

Duplos sandbox cars plastic animals dolls with food/clothes/dishes

Just make sure you aren't doing all the work and teaching. It is nice that you want to help her out, but you have all your children to put first.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Orphaned Pup Middle Moffats My 6 and 9 year olds have loved all three!

I am not an expert, but when I worked in a school many years ago, we had worries about mold in a classroom. A company came and tested the air. We did end up having high levels of mold spores and they had to do some fixing. I know there are environmental doctors... mostly for businesses, but perhaps you could check that out. God bless you, Melinda. I continue to pray for your family.

I just read his blog about resigning from Apologia, and he stated that he was planning to launch a new curriculum in three years. That blog was dated August 14, 2010... That means you probably only have a month and a half to wait!

I received this email from Dr. Wile... Big fan now! Julie -------------- Hi Julie, Thanks for contacting me. I am glad you are excited. You could use the course in a co-op setting. I would think a co-op would be great for doing the experiments. The students could do the experiments for 2-3 lessons at the co-op, and then they could go home, and the parents could cover the reading, etc. Unfortunately, due to contractual obligations with the company I used to own, I cannot reveal the date the course will be available in the U.S. However, you can tell people to follow either my Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/jaywile or my blog: http://blog.drwile.com When it is available in the U.S., it will be announced at both those places. God Bless, Dr. Jay

I got an email from the Learning House (Canadian supplier of Jay Wile's books), and they thought that it would be available in the States in August.

Learning House has it: http://learninghouse.ca/store.php?ordernum=SC540 It really looks great... I had never heard of it before this thread!

I found the jump from three to four to be the hardest. I had a 6 year old, 4 year old, and 2 year old when my fourth was born. everyone had told me that the jump from three to four was easy -- I think that expectation didn't help when it was harder than I thought it would be...

Looks great. We use Rod and Staff spelling and prefer it to SWO. We have never used a vocabulary program, and my kids have fantastic vocabularies. We read great books and discuss difficult words we come across. We will start to do Vocabulary from Classical Roots in Gr. 7.

My nine year old has quite nice handwriting, but his spelling... sigh. He has always been a slow and steady kid, and I remind myself of this daily.

R&S is wonderful! I much prefer it to SWO too!