I decided that I needed to get to my 30 minutes of cleaning this morning before the kids woke up so as to not be distracted. Today, I washed all the cabinets in my kitchen. Inside and out ( I have a small kitchen). Also, when I went to open the pantry door, the knob was covered in something sticky! So I also wiped down every door and knob in the house. (only 8 doors, not that big a deal). Tomorrow I have decided to conquer our dreaded "junk drawer". Send a search party if you don't hear from me in a couple of days!:001_smile: Happy cleaning!

I'm in! A half- filled glass bottle of soy sauce fell out of the refrigerator door this morning and sent glass and soy sauce across the kitchen floor. While on my hands and knees cleaning up the mess, I noticed all the kick panels (is that what they're called?) on my appliances were distugsting. After the kitchen was glass and soy sauce free, I spent the next 20-30 minutes cleaning the bases and kick panels of all my cabinets and appliances. I think I am going to focus on 1 room at a time above my daily work. I easily blow 20-30 minutes a day on nonsense that I can redirect toward a cleaner house:001_smile:.

:lurk5:

I am looking for a good non-fiction book that covers the Great Depression. I am looking for something along the lines of Fields of Fury by James Mcpherson or Russell Freedman's The War to End All Wars. My 7th grade twins have been studying Ameican History this year and I have found these other treasures for the Civil War and WW1, but I haven't found anything good yet for the Great Depression. I looked over The Forgotten Man but I think it is too difficult a read for them at this age. Any suggestions? As an aside, we also love The Good Fight by Stephen Ambrose for WW2 in case anyone is studying the same time period in American history this year.:001_smile:

We just played it all last week. All of my school-aged kids enjoyed it very much. :001_smile:

I will have 8th grade twins next yr. Here's what it looks like so far... TT Algebra US gov't/civics Winning w/ Writing 7 Grammar Voyage and Middle School Killgallon book 1100 Words You Need to Know Science through FLVS French for DD, Italian for DS Keyboarding elective w/ FLVS Ad Hoc "family book club"-I anticipate covering 6-8 novels and several short stories Hockey and baseball for DS, figure skating,dance and horse riding for DD

My 2 sons age 9&12 have hockey 4 days a week. Three of my daughters have ice skating and dance once a week each. They all have tennis together once a week. My oldest daughter rides horses once a week. I think we would probably do the same activities whether they were in school or not. The great thing about homeschooling is that we can do our private lessons (horse,dance,and tennis) during regular school hours so our evenings are not so busy.

Just wondering as I am a little bothered by the amount of $ it may cost me.:glare:

I am a family physician who did OMT as part of my practice. Yes, I would schedule another appointment. I have had patients come to me weekly for a while for treatment and others who only one visit was enough. It's all so individual. I wouldn't worry that you were scheduling another visit too soon. Hope you get some relief quickly!:)

Is the funnix math program really going to be free at some point? I am really interested in it, but all I see is that the price will be going up March 1st. No mention of anything free.:confused:

My 4th grade son does math, grammar, spelling, writing, reading daily. Then 3 days a week, on alternating days, he does history, science and geography. In general, he has 5-6 subjects per day plus reading time.

I voted yes, because I did. I am a physician and gave up my job to stay home 12 yrs ago. I'd do it all again.

Specifically, what text do they use and how are the lessons laid out. Generally, do you like it? Would you recommend it? Thanks.

anyone?:lurk5:

anyone?:lurk5:

Does anyone have any experience with the Alg I class offered through the FLVS? Thanks.:001_smile:

I am looking at a few classes at FLVS for my 8th graders next year. Has anyone had any experience with the Alg I or comprehensive science 3 classes? Thanks!:001_smile:

the following are our votes for favorite superhero: Iron Man 3 votes Ghost Rider 1vote SpiderMan 2 votes

Awesome! Thanks so much!:001_smile:

I have twin seventh graders who have never taken a standardized test. We have always used portfolio reviews for our annual evals for the state. I overheard a conversation between a couple of moms the other day and they were talking about SAT prep for their 8th graders. I would like my kids to get comfortable with the different tests for college entrance before they really count. I know practicing will be valuable to them, but I can definitely think of other ways to spend the testing money. They have NO IDEA what they would like to study in college and I can't be sure where in the country we will be living when it's time to apply to colleges so I'm thinking they will probably take both the SAT and ACT when the time comes. It seems like taking the PSAT in 10th is pretty common before it actually counts in 11th. Anyone do anything else? Thanks in advance.:001_smile:

I bet no one else has got a birthday card from Magic Johnson for their 18th birthday or was invited to the US olympic trials for badminton.

:bigear:

I have twin 7th graders who are using Derek Owens' pre-alg course this year. I was able to purchase the whole course instead of the monthly online class so we gave it a try. I like it a lot, but he does not have an algebra class available for purchase. It works well for us that the kids can watch someone go through the lesson before they need to do their own work. So, I am looking for an alg course that either has online videos or dvd lectures as part of the insruction. It has become too difficult with schooling 5 out of the 6 kids this year for me to be their sole math teacher. Because of the juggling act I seem to attempt each day, I would like to do the least amount of supplementing possible. They are not extremely mathy kids, but hold their own. They both have also expressed interest in science related careers so rigor is certainly a consideration as well. Any and all suggestions welcome!:)

I have 5 of the books in the series. We just look at them informally now and again. We look at the picture and I read the caption. I usually then ask them what they think of the pic. If no discussion ensues spontaneously, I read the questions frm the book. Easy, simple, painless.:001_smile:

This may not be common thought on this board, but I don't necessarily think that every kid has a "passion". I was an extremely good student, loved to read, watched TV, was a highly decorated athlete, but never really had a passion. I liked lots of things but nothing I'd die for, so to speak. Later, around 16-18yrs old I became very interested in sports medicine. That then directed me toward medical school, but not until I was a sophomore in college. I have the unique experience of having 12 yr old twins. They have been raised as identically as possible, yet they couldn't be more different. My daughter's passion is horses. HORSES. HORSES. HORSES. My son is interested in things, but nothing I would consider a passion. My only suggestion would be to make sure he has opportunities as your family schedule and budget allow. I limit screen time as I completely agree that too much screen time definitely kills any creative energy. He wouldn't read much at all if left to his own devices, so he also has mandatory reading time. I never put any stipulation on what he can or cannot read, just that he must read. Also, physical exercise for boys this age can't be stressed enough, in my opinion. I believe that in time, one of his interests will blossom into something more than the others, or something new will emerge. Quite a long-winded way to say---I feel your pain.:001_smile: