Another fan of Apologia elementary science. We've done Astronomy and Zoology 2, and we're halfway through Zoology 1 right now. We'll finish it next year and then do Botany. Zoology 2 was my favorite, but we've enjoyed all that we've done so far.

The intermediate should be fine for them. There is an application section in the TM that I use, as well as interjecting application as we're reading through the Scripture.

Ooops, forgot to mention. He will hopefully be getting that from the homeschool group as well as the art and music, in addition to swimming, surfing, and cycling.

How old is your dc? I've been using this for years with my 4 and we've only used the older version of the pages. The new pages come out about a year after I need them. Anyway, they don't have advanced pages in the older version, so I've only used beginner and intermediate and I've found them both very age appropriate. They use beginner from 4-7 or so years old and then intermediat from 8-12 years old. My oldest is 12yo now, so I don't know about older dc. HTH Blessings.

Bible - Bible Study Guide for All Ages Math - Singapore 5A & 5B and supplements Grammar - Growing with Grammar 5 Vocabulary - Wordly Wise book 2 Spelling - Spelling Workout E Writing - Writing Skills Book A, then Jump In Logic - Mind Benders, Building Thinking Skills, Reading Detective Latin - Lively Latin Spanish - La Classe Davidera Science - Apologia Zoology I, Apologia Botany Geography - Mapping the World by Heart History - Sonlight Core 5 Other - Beginning Outlining, Outlining, Reading Non-Fiction Art - hopefully get involved in homeschool group art activities Music - hopefully get guitar lessons So how does it look? Am I forgetting anything?

What an incredible story! I'm speechless.

Thanks for the suggestions, ladies.

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We're finishing our 8th year of homeschooling. I can't believe we've been doing it so long.

No, I'm not British. I'm an American who's been living in the UK for almost 8 years. (I can't believe it's been that long!) Anyway, yes, home educating (as it's called here) is on the increase. When I got here I knew of no other homeschoolers within 45 minutes. A year and a half ago a homeschool group started and there are at least 20 homeschooling families within a half hour of me now. I've seen statistics for the nation that back this up as well, but I don't remember them exactly so I won't misquote.

In a strange way he's right. Traditional subjects are a stepping stone to wealth. That's the whole point. They became required in the schools just because the government wanted even those in the counsel houses to have the ability to bring themselves up to the middle class. To be well educated and get a good job. So does he now want to go back to a class segregated system where the lower class will always raise children who are capable of nothing other than sweeping floors because they've only been taught the basics? They'll know how to recycle and make compost, but they won't be able to get a decent job. The upper class will continue sending their kids to 'public schools' (which over here means fancy private schools like Harrow), where they will be educated properly and maintain their wealth and power. It's no wonder that homeschooling is on the increase over here.

Dh has said the same thing.

I buy used from another homeschooler when I can, but usually it's not convenient because I live in the UK. I always have our materials brought over in late July by people who visit annually. If I'm organized early enough and have the cash on hand, then I'll try to find used materials here on the boards. Often I'm not ordering until late June, and then it's a lot easier to buy new so I'm sure it will all make it over here.

All my dc's first names are just names that dh and I liked. They all got middle names after a relative. Ds#1 has a middle name Charles after my paternal grandfather and my father. Ds#2 has a middle name John after my maternal grandfather. Though he's not named after dh's brother, the brother is also named John. Dd has a middle name Margaret, which just happens to by my mom's name, my mil's name, and my name (Megan is a nickname for Margaret). And ds#3 has a middle name Michael after one of dh's other brothers.

This is amazing! Thank you so much.

I have a friend with that type of trash can. They got it when they renovated their kitchen. She said that of all the mod-con's they put in for the renovation, that trash can gets the most comments! It was very cool.

Ah, now I understand. I think one big bedroom would be great. And if they could each have their own closet, that would be a bonus. But, another option, would be to leave the two room separate and make one a bedroom and the other a playroom. Our last house had two small kids' bedrooms. They shared so many toys that I didn't want to give each kid a room. Separating the toys would be too difficult. So they had one room for a bunkbed and dressers, and the other room was a playroom. That made it easy to keep the rooms tidy with toys and clothes kept separate.

I'm confused. You'll have 3 boys sharing one room. Does the room have 3 closets? Is there a separate room for a play room? We had 2 boys sharing a room and I wanted to give each of them their own 'space' so we bought them both loft beds and the space under their bed was 'their own'. They each had a shelf with their stuff that they didn't have to share with brother and they each had a chair under there. The rule was that they weren't allowed to enter the other brother's space without permission. The rest of the bedroom was communal, but the room had 2 closets, so they each had their own closet. This went pretty well for a couple of years. Then they decided that they wanted to have low beds again and were willing to give up the space under the loft beds. A few months later we moved youngest ds in with them, so now there are 3 boys in the room. They each have their own shelf. The two oldest each have their own closet, and the youngest has a wardrobe cabinet with his clothes.

How frigtening! I'll be praying for her safe return.

Oh, yeah. I thought of one more freezable - big pan of cottage pie! Yum.

I'd pull my Once a Month Cooking book off the shelf and devote 2 days to preparation. Some easily freezable things that come to mind: big pan of ziti chicken in teriyaki sauce (1/2c soy sauce, 1/2c sugar, 1 1/2T red wine vinear, 2t vegetable oil, 1 minced clove garlic, 3/4t ground ginger) chicken oregano (1/4c lemon juice, 1/3c olive oil, 1 crushed clove garlic, 1T crushed dried oregano) The chicken dishes can be served with rice and a frozed veg. A super easy crock pot recipe: 8 oz cream cheese (though I use less) 1 pkg dry Italian dressing mix 1 can cream of chicken soup or melt 1T butter in saucepan, stir in 1T flour, stir in 1 1/2c chicken broth Mix the above together and pour over chicken in crock pot. Cook on high 4 hours. Serve with rice and frozen veg. Hope this helps. And hope your dd's surgery goes well.

Oh, my heart goes out to you! I hate moving, and I know all about $ stress. I'll be praying for you, for everything to go smoothly, for the check to arrive (and maybe an extra, unexpected check, too), and for the kids to be really well behaved. Oh, yeah, and peace for you. (((Andie)))

I've never been in your situation, but I think what I would do is to teach all subjects in English, as you have been doing, and then add in French as a 'foreign language'. So, yes you would be adding it into your schedule, but it shouldn't add too much if it's treated as you would a foreign language. I teach my kids in English and then I teach Latin, which takes 30-45 minutes per day. This way they would get vocabulary, spelling, and French grammar all taught together. And I would probably assign them some reading in French each day as well, maybe just picture books from the library. I didn't notice how old your kids are, but it sounded like they were pretty young, so you probably wouldn't want to commit 30-45 minutes for the French study, maybe 15-20 minutes per day or something like that. I'm not familiar with French programs at all, so I can't recommend one, but I know that here in England French is the most often taught foreign language. You may be able to find a French foreign language curriculum produced for British schools. Check Galore Park, Oxford, Cambridge, CGP Books, and Ichthus Resources. I've used Latin materials from Galore Park, and they're very good, but I'm not familiar with the materials from the other companies. I did notice, however, that Ichthus Resources has a French curriculum for young kids. Hope this helps. Sorry you're having such a hard time with the authorities there. Blessings, Megan

I have enough trouble controlling their 'screen time' without them having anything in their room. I can't imagine allowing anything in their room right now. When they're teenagers and have proven that they have self-control and are responsible, I may allow some electronics, but not right now.

Here's my current schedule. I'm up at around 6am to do devotions, exercise, and shower. 8am kids get up, we all have breakfast, kids get dressed, etc, and we all do our chores 9am school starts with Bible study for everybody 9:30 I go over 12yo's assignements with him and do his Latin lesson while 10yo does reading 10:00 12yo is on his own to finish his work in whatever order he prefers, 10yo does copywork, math drill, and typing, I work with 5yo 10:30 I do 10yo's lessons - math, grammar, Latin, logic, etc 11:00 10yo is sent off to do his seat work; I work with 5yo again 11:30 I start making lunch 12:30 read aloud with 10yo, then science and history 2:00 art and music, though we don't get to it every day The times are very approximate. Often we start 10 or 15 minutes late and those 30 minute time slots often take 45 minutes to complete. So, though we should be finished with school by 2:30, we're sometimes not finished until 3:30. Your schedule will depend a lot on your children - how many you have and what their ages are. I've been homeschooling for 8 years and our schedule has changed tremendously over the years. The book Managers of Their Homes is very good for teaching you how to schedule your day.