*bumping* in hopes of some responses...

I did my forum duty and searched before posting this but to no avail, so I am going to put it out there and beg for some really good recommendations! :D To be specific I am looking for a great Earth Science and Astronomy spines to use with my upcoming 6th grader. I've been looking through a few DK Eyewitness books but haven't gotten my paws on anything else yet (ignore the Science in my tag ~ that's been nixed and I just haven't changed it yet :) ) Looking forward to all the great recommendations :bigear:

am thinking about "no I haven't, but will at least read it personally (not to dc yet) in order to base a fair opinion on it." does that help muddy it up? :lol: btw your tag = hilarious, I was thinking that just the other day about the 'evil history' ;)

:rofl:

while I don't have any real words of wisdom, as I am just starting out, I am noticing a real trend on the board this morning and am beyond relieved that it is all but normal to feel overwhelmed and in over my head (even 'seasoned' hs'ers seem to get this from time to time). All I can say right now is :grouphug: and cheers to everyone! Afterall what we're doing is an awesome thing and the one thing we can be sure of is that our children will understand above all else, that they were so very loved! Thanks for the op and for the responses, okay I'll settle down now :bigear:

Trying to wrap my head around it all, but oh my goodness the amount of information out there/here is making my head spin! I've heard over and over when starting out take it slow, give yourself and your children time to adjust, ramp it up, etc..but since I'm starting halfway in with my oldest dd (6th grade) I am so afraid I am going to mess this up and she isn't going to get the education she needs. I am having the most trouble with Science. I just cannot decide what to use! While we are Christian I would prefer to use a secular Science program and incorporate Christian viewpoints as I see fit, as opposed to having the curriculum author decide for me based on their po. DD wants to study earth science and I have gone back and forth with Pearson Interactive Science but like I said just.cannot.decide. Then there is just the planning of it all. I need a good way to write down daily lesson plans, monthly lesson plans, need a good student planner etc. I know I could do a search and probably find a lot of info on here about what I'm talking about but due to the sheer amount of info, I am overwhelmed trying to weed through it all to find what I'm looking for. I'm hoping to get some good advice and insight here, because *pant, pant*, I am freaking out here! :willy_nilly: Thanks in advance for talking me down :lol:

Ooh okay, so this one I know! I actually have (as a last resort to saving too much leftover spaghetti) frozen it and defrosted successfully. After the spaghetti is cool just toss it into a gallon sized freezer bag and freeze flat. Then when you're ready to use it run the bag under tepid water to loosen the edges so it'll come out of the bag easier. Then put all of the spaghetti into a strainer run hot water over it and voila! Spaghetti in five minutes :D I started doing this in smaller baggies with other noodles so I could heat them up with some frozen veg for a quick meal when we're in and outta the house all day but need to avoid the drive-thru. I have also made large batches of homemade marinara and frozen it like pp said, in a gallon zip lock flat. I am curious to hear more ideas though, I like the pre seasoned meat idea..although mine would be preseasoned faux meat, but same general idea ;) Great thread!

Being new to the whole homeschool scene I was so happy I found this board first (after lurking for a bit of course) ;)

seriously just to 'hear' someone else say this, is enough relief and comfort to bring tears to my eyes

I could not agree more!! :D

:iagree: All of it, my thoughts exactly!

:001_unsure: hmmm...thinking i jumped the gun because after watching the video and reading the FAQS it really does just seem like a wiki-ish type of thing...while I'm sure there is good enough information to be had it isn't quite what I originally thought it to be. *shrug*

:lurk5: anybody??

Now I know I am so very new to homeschooling and what's out there, but my dh just told me about this and my head exploded :w00t: California Open Source Text Project http://www.ck12.org/flexr/ I have yet to even really delve deep into it but I just could not wait to post about it! Is anyone already privy to this? Opinions on it? Okay I'm off to explore it now!! :D

:lurk5: 'cause I wanna know po's as well! :)

Did you check the alternates as well? Someone posted earlier about access from the Lampstand website.. http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=186026 :001_unsure: hoh

oooh sounds intriguing! Wonder if there's a way to 'try before buy'...?

Can we participate even if our state is already listed?

*psst, whatcha like best about Singapore?..trying to whisper so as to not hijack the thread* ;) yea, I know, is what pm's are for, just thought someone else might wonder the same thing too..? :)

May I just throw out there the general summarization of what it seems everyone is actually agreeing on? The point is that a huge part of our deciding to be home educators to our children is because we want to be able to not only decide how and what they learn but also know everything that they are learning so as to be able to give them the attention and explanation that would otherwise not be done in a classroom of 20+ students? Yes? Okay well then should it not also be common sense that to base judgement on an entire curriculum, authors of or even so far as users of, because of one book recommendation, is a bit hasty to say the least? I truly think it is safe to say that no one who has participated in this thread is looking to train their children up in the ways of forementioned 'evils' so why not just shake on that and let it rest. The horse is dead. Good points have been made, wonderful recommendations have been given, opinions have been expressed. Peace? (or should I duck because a copy of TCoO is about to be thrown at me?) ;)

This thread has been a HUGE help to me, already have my copy of Liping Ma's book on reserve @ the local library ;) Had already ordered LoF's decimals & percents and fractions books prior to reading this but still wonder if I should be supplementing with something per WTM. However it also seems LoF has very recently incorporated more review and 'drill'ish type areas as suggested by current users, so I guess as it stands right now we'll go with just LoF and play it by ear as to whether or not to supplement with a whole 'nother curriculum or just free online stuff will suffice...:confused: *pant, pant* *proceeds to take chill pill* I do really love all the advice and opinions though, really and truly! TY

Wonderful! Thanks much :D

While I have yet to actually put the curriculum into practice I can say that I went back and forth with the same reservations as you until I found their online tutorial with "notes". http://www.tapestryofgrace.com/sample/ I printed off the weekly plan as suggested and went page by page through each week of the tutorial and took, my own notes on the printed out copy. This reallly helped me make sense of how to use the curriculum, but like I said I have yet to actually begin TOG yet so it remains to be seen if it will continue to make sense ;) As for skipping through Ancient Egypt here is the link to the break down of Y1 http://www.tapestryofgrace.com/year1/#2 looks like maybe only skipping the first unit would suffice? Again I hope I am not speaking out of turn, seriously just my thoughts since i've been fine toothing this curriculum for the past month before taking the plunge! HOH :)

Okay, yes, that does make total sense, thanks :)