I'm using Jensen's Format Writing w/ my kids right now, and working on 5-paragraph essays. They use "we" in the same way you mention, but I was trained otherwise, so my kids are learning to say "This paper will explore...", etc., instead of "We will explore..."

I read those a long time ago. I loved them, too.

How comfortable are you with teaching writing? I found Writing Strands difficult for my kids, because the assignments weren't specific enough, and I couldn't teach it well...maybe those aren't the right words, but WWE has been a much better fit for us. It's simple to use, and the kids know what to expect each day. If you start with WWE 3, but want to get to WWS for 7th grade, you could double up assignments--but there's no rush, IMO, as long as your dc is continuing to improve his skills. Or you could give your dc the evaluation to see if they need WWE 3 or WWE 4.

When mine were younger, we always started with memory work. For some reason, that seemed to center them.

Only Singapore, Lial's, Life of Fred. But I've also tried Horizons, Rod and Staff, and MUS.

1. I worked as a McDonald's manager after college 2. Dh and I have a 16yo, 14yo, 11yo, and 9yo, but we've been married 12 years. 3. My father hasn't spoken to me in 16 years, when I told him I was pg with ds#1, and that my "baby-daddy" (now my dh) was African American. 4. I harbor a secret desire to play the trombone. 5. I harbor an irrational fear of ending up in rising water while in my vehicle. 6. Drinking wine makes my face get really red and hot. I drink it anyway. 7. I read Watership Down 18 times when I was a teen. 8. I can't stand the bottom of someone's foot touching me. Ew. 9. I love cats, but am highly allergic, so no furry pets in my home. 10. I could eat mushrooms every day of my life and not tire of them.

I remember one when we lived in Alpine, in West Texas. It was weird.

Beans, lentils, rice...are those gluten free? Is quinoa? I think those are pretty cheap and you can make soups, etc. Cook ground turkey in a skillet, throw in some chopped onion, garlic, cabbage, and mushrooms, salt/pepper, basil, oregano (whatever seasonings you like) and put in a little chicken broth. Once the cabbage is cooked to your liking, melt grated cheese over the whole thing and serve. Don't know how helpful that is, but I know how hard it is to cook on both a restricted diet and a restricted budget. We're not gluten-free, but low carb.

Want to also say I particpated in that nightmarish evacuation for Hurricane Rita, and I was quite traumatized by the whole thing. Since then, if I think I may want to leave, I go way early. For Rita it was 30 hours to get to Austin--normally a 3-4 hour trip. For Ike, I was in Temple in 3.5 hours (normal time).

I voted to stay if it's a Cat 1 or 2. But Ike was a Cat 2, with a storm surge more like a 3 or 4. Apparently they are now rating hurricanes by windspeed (Cat 1, 2, etc.) and predicted storm surge as two seperate things...so even if it's a cat 2, if the storm surge was predicted to be greater than a cat 2, I'd leave. I live right on the border between the Cat 3 and Cat 4 evacuation areas, BTW.

The Redwall books? Not similar to the ones you mentioned, but my ds loved those at that age. He says there's no magic, etc., in them (I haven't read any of them myself).

I voted other. I have ironed maybe 5 times in the past 1o years. Recently, however, I've started ironing dh's chef jacket as a service to him, who often is last in the pecking order around here. So, that's one chef jacket, 5 days a week. And my mom's cleaning woman recently quit, so the kids and I are going to clean her house and do her ironing. I'll get paid $1 per piece of ironing every two weeks--my mom likes all her clothes, even knits, to be ironed. But my own clothes or my kids'? Fuhgeddaboutit.

1) Dh is a chef. 2) He has a dream of owning his own restaurant. 3) He can't stand the sound of me using my neti pot. 4) He calls his mom 2-3 times a week. 5) He hates mushrooms and sour things like yogurt, sour cream, etc. 6) He quit smoking 3 times, and the last time worked. 7) He loves scotch. 8) He takes care of my mom and her house, since her husband recently left her. 9) He makes me laugh, and our kids, too, which is good because I'm too serious much of the time. 10) He really thinks before he speaks on important issues.

No. You're not the only one. {sigh} This year we're getting up earlier than I'd like so we can get a few hours of schoolwork in before the classes, co-ops, etc. And dc will have work to do after, as well. It's their choice, though, as I would be happy to sit at home and do school all day. ;-) But I do wish more of these homeschool things would start later in the day.

Thank you both! I'll be sure to look at the books you recommended, 2J's mom.

Thank you so much. I'll definitely check those out!

anyone?

Lori, I think this is brilliant. I keep thinking that there has to be a way for kids to enter adult society without college, the military, or just floundering around, but haven't been able to picture what that is. Thank you for this suggestion, even though I'm not the OP.

Are you considering work as a non-nurse midwife, or a certified nurse-midwife? I ask, because the training and work conditions can be very different. Non-nurse midwives usually have less "school" involved, so a shorter time of training, and less expense. They only attend out-of-hospital births, and are on call all the time. Some states do not allow non-nurse midwives to practice legally. Non-nurse midwives don't make as much money as their CNM counterparts, especially when it's broken down by hours spent working vs. pay. Certified Nurse-Midwives are master's degree trained, so 6 or more years of school at university--and all the expenses that goes with that. Many CNM programs want you to have worked as a nurse first for at least a few years. They practice legally in all 50 states, but because they are required to have a physician act in a supervisory manner, many only practice in a hospital, as they cannot find a physician willing to act as "back-up" for out-of-hospital births. OTOH, CNMS often work in a practice group with other CNMs or with OB/GYNs, and so have scheduled, rotating call time instead of being on call all the time. CNMs can make very nice salaries. And maybe you already know all that, but it wasn't clear in your OP which route you were considering. FWIW: My step-sister's ex started as an x-ray tech back in the early 90s. He continued to take trainings and earn certifications, eventually getting certified in nuclear medicine. By the early 2000s he was earning a six-figure income. ;)

Thanks, that is very helpful! Anyone else?

have been asked to teach music composition to two students in our co-op. I have a BA in music, but I only took one composition course, and have no idea where to begin with teaching high school aged kids this subject. I will only have two students: both are motivated, one has some LDs and has struggled with music theory, the other has no problem with theory. The previous teacher for this class used the "For Dummies" book for music composition. By the end of the year (only thirty 30-minute class periods), each student had completed a one-line composition for his/her own instrument. I can do that if all else fails, but I wondered if there was something else out there. I am willing to put my own course together but I don't know where to start. Any music folks out there who can help me? I have two weeks to pull something together. :willy_nilly: TIA

I have been asked to teach music composition to two students in our co-op. I have a BA in music, but I only took one composition course, and have no idea where to begin with teaching high school aged kids this subject. I will only have two students: both are motivated, one has some LDs and has struggled with music theory, the other has no problem with theory. The previous teacher for this class used the "For Dummies" book for music composition. By the end of the year (only thirty 30-minute class periods), each student had completed a one-line composition for his/her own instrument. I can do that if all else fails, but I wondered if there was something else out there. I am willing to put my own course together but I don't know where to start. Any music folks out there who can help me? I have two weeks to pull something together. :willy_nilly: TIA

I have made chore charts for my kids on small poster board. I want to use contact paper to cover them, and then use either dry or wet erase markers so they can mark off the chores as they do them. Then we can erase the marks and use them again week after week. Will this work? Thanks

I think it looks good. Do you have time/inclination for logic or rhetoric? That would be the only other thing I would suggest.

Like, "I'm hoping to be done in 3 hours," or "dc has soccer at 2 p.m., so we need to be done by 1 p.m." That would make a difference in how you schedule. If not, I would not make a schedule for a child this age. I would just make a checklist for what he should do each day. Not knowing what your resources are, I can't with certainty say how many days per week you should do each subject, but I would most likely do something like this: Day 1: Math Language Arts Latin History Day 2: Math Language Arts Latin Logic Day 3: Math Language Arts History Logic 5-10 min. review of Latin vocabulary good luck!