When TOG is at a convention, can you purchase the printed year plans at their booth? I know I will be buying year 3 for next school year, and I figure if I can get it at the convention, it will save on shipping costs.

We also use Bastien. The series was recommended to me by a piano teacher, and it has been a good fit for us. My dd started on them when she was 5 or 6, but I didn't keep up with it ( new baby, etc, etc). However, she has been doing the books this year and whizzing through them. We have only been using the piano and theory books ( not the other two mentioned) and it seems like a good amount of practice and material right now. I plan to continue with the series.

We were in a similar situation last summer. After the insurance company decided to total our car and sent the check, we were given one more week with the rental. We used that week to scour the state for a reliable, affordable car. We used craiglist and auto trader primarily and looked in several cities (our parents live 2 hours and 4 hours away, so we also looked in their cities to expand our search radius. We found a used Toyota Sienna in excellent condition for $7,000. We have been extremely happy with it and do not look at it as a temporary car. I would set a budget and not go over it. The amount you've been offered will get you a good car. Go ahead with your plans for the other money.

My husband started wearing hats about two years ago. He never goes anywhere without one. He has a fedora, a panama hat, and a newsboy hat. I think he looks good in the hats, and he gets compliments on them (mostly from older men, which reassures me that he's not out to impress the ladies).

I may look into listening to the lecture, but I'm not sure about WWE. As much as I love TWM, I have not liked the materials SWB has produced for children. I've read SOTW, and we used FLL for half of this year. Neither of those have been a good fit for our family, so I have serious doubts about WWE.

Next year, my oldest will be in third grade. She has always been a reluctant writer even though she has very good handwriting and the physical act of writing is not difficult for her. However, when it comes to writing assignments, her goal seems to be to write as few words as possible. She also has trouble planning out her writing. This year, we have worked on paragraph writing with a topic sentence, detail sentences, and a wrap up sentence. She can do it, but she still requires a lot of hand holding. She does copywork every day, and we use Rod and Staff for grammar. I like the looks of IEW. It seems to be a really good program for sluggish writers. However, I don't want to overload the child. I already plan on using TOG 3 next year, and I want her to do some of the writing assignments from her history and literature studies. Will this be too much with IEW? What do you think? Or do you have a different recommendation for this situation?

Next year, my oldest will be in third grade. She has always been a reluctant writer even though she has very good handwriting and the physical act of writing is not difficult for her. However, when it comes to writing assignments, her goal seems to be to write as few words as possible. She also has trouble planning out her writing. This year, we have worked on paragraph writing with a topic sentence, detail sentences, and a wrap up sentence. She can do it, but she still requires a lot of hand holding. She does copywork every day, and we use Rod and Staff for grammar. I like the looks of IEW. It seems to be a really good program for sluggish writers. However, I don't want to overload the child. I already plan on using TOG 3 next year, and I want her to do some of the writing assignments from her history and literature studies. Will this be too much with IEW? What do you think? Or do you have a different recommendation for this situation?

My kids are 7, 5, and 2. This year, we've read aloud the Hobbit, books 1-5 of the Narinia series, Misty of Chicoteague, and Kipling's Just So Stories. We read a chapter or two at night after dinner and the older two have really enjoyed these books.

There are a lot of speakers to choose from for each session. As someone else mentioned, the heavily faith-based ones are marked, but there are a lot of non-faith ones. I've always thought there was a good mix of vendor workshops, practical "how-tos", and uplifting/encouraging pep talk sessions. And the vendor exhibit is huge! I have been for the past three years and really enjoyed it.

At a comedy "monster show" the m.c. asked the kids if they knew what a vampire was. My dd was called on and explained that a vampire was a bat that lived in the Amazon.

and rottweiler?

Here is the answer from their website: With which book should I begin? The books do not need to be done in any certain order. I recommend you begin with which ever book you and your children believe to be the most interesting right now. Follow your interests. If you choose to do Zoology II before Zoology I, your child will not get a detailed look into animal classification or endangered species. These two topics are discussed in the first lesson of Zoology I. However, this first lesson of Zoology I is the sample lesson available for download from Apologia and this website. You are free to print it up and discuss these topics with your children if you desire for them to learn about them before you begin Zoology II.

I'll second the previous poster's comment about the rooms being cold! I almost always forget a jacket on the first day and it is SO uncomfortable.The first time we go into the vendor hall, we just stroll up and down the aisles without really stopping. The second time through, we start looking for the subjects and curriculum we're interested in (we make a list of what subjects we need to look at and what programs we're interested in before we go). The magnitude of the vendor hall seems less intimidating if we know what we're looking for and how the vendors are laid out.

Thank you! TOG is totally doable with younger kids. I have a 7, 5, and almost 2 year old and we will be finishing year 2 of TOG this year. We love it and I wouldn't change it. It can be a good program for young kids. I recognize that it doesn't work for everyone, and if you are looking to get talked out of it, then by all means, go with that feeling. However, if you really think you would like it, then give it a try. Purchase the print copy so that you can resell it if you don't like it (resale value is very good). Then, if you decide that you do like the program and want to keep using it when your children are older, you can upgrade your print to DE/print for only $35 and get all the upgrades that the company has made to the program during the years.

I'm getting ready to order Latin for Children A. What do I need to purchase for a good first year of Latin? Will the workbook and answer key suffice, or should I get the DVDs and chant CDs?

OK, I'll buck the trend. We like Rod & Staff We tried FLL 1/2, but it was just too slow and repetitive. We switched to R&S 2 mid-year and it's a much better pace for us and includes a good combination of oral and written exercises. We don't do everything, but I like to have the options.

Do you all take your kids to the dentist? Who do they see? A pediatric dentist or a regular one? How much does an average appointment cost, and how do you pay for it (insurance or self-pay)? My dd7 had an appointment with the dentist today, but I was called to reschedule the app't because they recently switched management and are closed on Fridays. Fine. I then tried to schedule an app't for my 5 yo and they said "Dr. X doesn't see patients under 13 anymore." :confused: Didn't they just schedule a new app't for my 7 yo daughter??? When I pointed this out to the receptionist, she asked, "so would you like to cancel her new appointment?" They refer all patients under 13 to a pediatric dentist. So, now I am looking for a new dentist who will treat young children, and it seems my only option is a pediatric dentist and WOW! Are they expensive!! The former dentist was a regular dentist and charged $99 for x-rays, cleaning, and office visit. The pediatric offices that I have called charge anywhere from $213-302! :blink: So, it made me wonder what does everyone else with children under 13 do?

Thank you so much for these replies. I appreciate all the advice, and I will look into the different programs. Thanks:001_smile:

Hi, My oldest will be in 3rd grade next year and is a proficient reader. We're planning to add Latin to our curriculum next year. IF you teach Latin in your home, how do you do it? Do you have a program or curriculum that you would recommend for beginning Latin? TIA

Here is a link to a site that has a lot of photos of lapbooks that children have done http://lapbooklessons.ning.com/ Some are more advanced than others. Your kids can definitely do them, but it will require a decent amount of involvement on your part. Basically, a lapbook is a collection of small papers, pictures, flaps, envelopes, etc. that are pasted into a large folder. With my kids, we call them "flapbooks" because that makes more sense to me than lapbooks (I couldn't answer their question "Why is it called a lapbook?" so I changed the name). This is our first year doing this type of book, and the kids are liking them. Every week, we make a couple of new flaps for whatever topic we are studying. We then put the flaps into a gallon-size ziplock bag. At the end of the quarter, we empty the bag and paste all the flaps into one folder and decorate the cover. So far, we have a Medieval Times flapbook, a Renaissance flapbook, and we're working on a Colonial America flapbook. For the Medieval Times book, we have flaps about knights, castles, important people, and places. For the Renaissance book, we have flaps about explorers, kings, scientists, artists, etc. Some of the flaps have a lot of writing, others are just drawings. My oldest (7) does her own writing, but I do most of the writing for my 5 year (he dictates). We just make our own topics, but you can also print lapbook templates that have pictures and things for your children to fill out or color (might be better for your kids). I'm sure other people will have more ideas or links to websites, but I thought I'd share how we use them.

:bigear: I'd love to get some new ideas as well. I currently have a 7 year old and and an advanced 5 year old doing school. We all do school together, and I try to keep them together as much as possible. Here's what our schedule might look like: Bible Time all together copywork for oldest while I work on phonics & oral reading with younger science together (I'm keeping them in the same Apologia book) oral reading & writing with the oldest, free time for the younger history read aloud together spelling for oldest, handwriting for younger break for lunch after lunch they both do math together, but different levels and we generally have another read aloud. I'm fortunate to have two kids who are similar levels for the most part. We sit at the table with each of them on one end and me in the middle. I go back and forth between them as they need help, but I try to arrange it so that one of them is working independently while I teach the other. They're both too young (or distractable) to complete their work without me sitting on top of them. I'd love to see other ways of arranging the day since I have a toddler coming up the ranks.

Last year, we used the Abeka readers, but frankly, I think they're rather dull. My 1st grader didn't mind reading them, but she wasn't excited about it either. This year, we were given a set of public school literature books for grades 1,2, and 3. You know the kind - they have several stories in them with lots of pictures and questions at the end. My kids LOVE them. They are divided into weekly units, and we read a unit/week. They contain stories that are fiction as well as newsy historical or scientific articles. My kids have read ahead in all of them. I know the Well Trained Mind doesn't like this type of reading material, but my kids really enjoy them, and they are higher quality literature than the leveled reading books you can get at the library. For next year, a Christian school was closing down and donated all their books to our church to give away to homeschooling families. I picked up several Scholastic literature books that I will probably use next year. For me, our reading material has just "happened" - it's not been planned or purchased curriculum. If you are interested in something similar, perhaps you could check at used book sales or call schools to see what happens to their old books when they change to a new curriculum.

This is what we have done too. I started my oldest on Abeka phonics, writing, and math for K4 and continued for K5, wanting to work on the basics. I used Galloping the Globe to bring in a little geography/social studies. When oldest began first grade, we started with year 1 of TOG to begin our three cycles through history. It has worked just fine for us. I kept her in Abkea phonics for the year to increase reading skills and fluency because TOG doesn't include any thing like that. She's in 2nd grade now, and I still add in extra reading for her to improve fluency and comprehension. I love TOG, but there's not enough child-read material in lower grammar IMO.

Just thought you might want to know... If you purchase the print edition of Tapestry of Grace, you can upgrade to the print/DE combo for $35 extra at any time. I just talked with TOG this morning and they are committed to keeping that offer good for the foreseeable future (I asked because we bought year 1 print last year and I think I will want the DE when we cycle back around in a few years since they are doing so many changes to year 1). I also asked about my year 2 edition. I purchased a used print copy and figured if I wanted DE, I would have to buy it for $170. But no, as long as you have a valid print only edition, you can upgrade to DE/print for $35. You have to mail them your loom CD and promise not to resell the print (just like when you purchase any of their DE plans). That's all. :)

I am waiting to get an ipad, too. I'm so excited. LIke you, I want the smaller, more portable size. No one knows exactly when the ipad 2 is coming out. Apparently Apple likes to keep things secret as long as possible, but most people who seem to know about these things are guessing March/April 2011 (just do a google search for ipad 2 release date and you'll see several "techie" articles about it). Again, due to Apple's secrecy, no one knows what the new ipad will have exactly, but some educated guesses include front facing cameras (for skying and whatnot), usb port, slimmer case, and faster processing. We're looking at getting the ipad with wifi and 3G. You can purchase a 3G plan on a month-to-month basis. So, say you're traveling one month and you want internet access wherever, then pay $15-25 for the mont. However, you're not locked into any contract, so you can cancel the next month. For the times that you don't need 3G, it just uses wifi. The wifi/3G ipads are more expensive, but I like the flexibility of the 3G (especially since I don't own a smart phone with data service).