I understand the addiction to free books! (Or even those that cost a little. Or a lot. . .) What I want to know is this: are Glencoe texts incremental? When we started with K12, I noticed immediately that they introduce a concept, cover it for a unit, test on it, and then drop it for eternity, or so it seemed. That is devastating for a 4th grader--are they really going to remember how to add fractions when they studied it in September and don't see it again until assessments in April? Saxon shows it to them every day, or at least every week, for the entire course. They don't LET you forget concepts. Maybe some educators believe high schoolers are better able to retain information for a whole school year, but I'm pretty sure they are less retentive than I am, and I can't remember what I had for breakfast. So does Glencoe teach something and build on it, or do they teach concepts as individual units and never tie them together? Same questions apply here for Beecher/Peena/Bittinger Trig and Stewart Calculus, too. And on the California question, I want to know why everything causes cancer in California. Apparently lab rats in California are far more susceptible to every known/unknown toxin in the world. We are building a house, and it seems that every component we purchase wears a label that announces it is known to cause cancer in California. (Why not New Jersey? Or Oklahoma? Arkansas?)

When you figure out the Latin angle, let me know how to learn Logic before teaching it!

Eldest DS is entering PS after being homeschooled K-8. Our local school uses Glencoe Algebra 2, and Geometry. We have been extremely satisfied Saxon users. We started K12.com for DS's 5th grade year, and were sorely disappointed in their math program because it is NOT incremental. So all 4 kids have done K12 math AND Saxon each school year, using the K12 as somewhat of a review/overview. What should I expect with Glencoe? How about Stewart's Calculus? Bittinger Trigonometry? Thanks for any observations!

This program came out just when we finished FLL, and it was really a great next stage. . . Anyway, I ditched the dictation early on and use the daily vocab words for dictation. Maybe I shouldn't have done so, but I have 2 kids in the 6th grade level right now--one dd who can do everything in her sleep, and one ds who struggles with pencil allergy. I then have them read the lesson aloud, we do the practice problems, then usually the first half of the review set verbally. The last 15 problems are done independently.

Uses: Opening packaging on UPS boxes. Cutting string on hay bales (okay, probably not highly applicable in your environs). Losing/laundering (my experience is that the pocket knife is a big deal until the first change of jeans, then it becomes part of the detritus on top of the washing machine) Cleaning under the fingernails, depending on the blade--some are too pointed Whittling (good hand-eye coordination training as long as he is old enough to safely handle the knife--my kids all started whittling by age 7 or 8) Not acceptable uses: Carving furniture Whittling the cat Threatening friends and siblings Rules: If I see unsafe use, the pocket knife is mine for the rest of the day. If I see a second unsafe use, the pocket knife is mine for the rest of the week. And so on. Hope this is what you were looking for!

I've been a little disappointed with Red Herring Myteries in that they don't give you the information required to solve the mystery. That said, my eldest DS, 11, LOVES them. The others, ages 10, 9, and almost 8, think they are "okay." I also thought they were pricey. I always think that about the Critical Thinking books, though I admit we are Mind Bender junkies. Another suggestion is to check out your library's collection of . . . coming up blank here . . . who is the fifth grader who solves the crimes his dad, the police chief, encounters? Leroy Brown, Boy Detective? Each mystery is a few pages long--and each is self-contained so you can do one or five or whatever--and all the pertinent details are provided. Okay, what's the kid's name?!? It's not Leroy Brown. . . Help!! Also, we used some Building Thinking Skills books. Again, I think they are pricey--though cheaper than Mind Benders, per page! One student loved them and did them independently for fun. The other three couldn't have cared less.

Thanks, all! So I'll hold off on the formal logic until later. We've been using Anita Harnadek's Critical Thinking 1 as a read-aloud, discussion text. I have one student copy (used 1992 version, I think) and no teacher manual. We might be missing some of the answers without the tchr book. I had in mind that we would go through it again in a couple years in a more formal fashion and with the teacher manual. (It is already helping in the family setting--I overhear my kids squabbling and one will pipe up with: That's NOT a logical argument!) As for Fallacy Detective, etc, should I have a copy for each student or is it a share/read-aloud. Thanks again! You all have saved me a lot of money and a lot of hair! I've had a couple of Canon Press items before that got stowed in the back of the closet and never looked at again. (Anybody want to buy the 3rd grade history? Barely used!)

My big question is this: I'll be using it with 3 students at once (grades 4,5, and 6). Do they each need a student text or can we share? Do I need the teacher guide? The test booklet? Has anyone used both Canon and Memoria Press enough to compare them? What other questions should I be asking?

Anyone (else) out there sick of hearing about Kansas State Assessments? I was doing fine homeschooling without K12 before and if LVS loses accreditation, I'll be better for having known them but I won't shrivel up and die. In fact, I'm considering ditching K12/LVS for next year partly because of the assessment infatuation. Are the PS's like this, too, and I just don't hear about it? Thanks for letting me vent!

OH, AM I SO GLAD TO HEAR YOU ALL SAY THAT!!!!! My dc (grade 2-5) do cursive in their handwriting texts but print almost everything else. I write in a hybrid sort of print, so I figure they may, too. Gee, I love my dmil's Palmer style handwriting, but I've tried teaching it and--besides the fact that it is difficult to teach--I can't do it very well, either.

I think I've tried ALMOST every writing program. Well, okay, only 3 or 4. I guess I'm seeking that perfect, hands-off, teach-itself program. Apparently, we have to actually teach writing. My new thing: every day, I have each dc (grades 2-5) write a page on the same topic (youngest dictates to me). One day, they write about an animal, next day it's a favorite holiday, then a poem, etc. Then I sit with them individually for a couple minutes and go over grammar, vocabulary, punctuation, etc. It takes very little time. We also do Classical Writing's Aesop 2-3 days a week (when the weather is nice:)--more if it's yucky outside!) I sit all 4 dc at the table and we do 15-20 minutes of some or all: reviewing parts of speech, diagramming a couple sentences or checking out spellings of some of the words in the story, retelling/reading the story, re-writing, etc. I used the manual more or less as intended for a while then adapted it to my own taste.

Thoughts? Impressions? Ease of use? Stifling?

Ditto to the above. We are Catholic and tried R&S. I like the rigorous learning involved but the King James Bible version is not my cup of tea. When they ask you to unscramble a sentence with thee and thy, I can't always figure it out (maybe I'm a little slow but as an author with a doctorate, I kinda think I have a handle on the English language-- I just don't speak very fluent King James). I love FLL, haven't tried WWE but I am sorely tempted, even though I shucked out a lot of $ last year for Classical Writing. I am betting WWE is a lot more user-friendly for the teacher, if it's like FLL. One of my dd's wanted to try the R&S last year because it was on the shelf (collecting dust because of my previous experience) so we gave it a few weeks. She begged to return to FLL for Level 4. Theoretically, R&S could be a more independent book because the kids can read the lesson in their own book, unlike FLL where you have to have the teacher's manual. However, my experience was that they either couldn't or didn't want to read the lesson and do the lesson work independently.

I tried R&S briefly for lower grades but had already started with FLL and loved it. The thy and thou stuff in R&S confused my kids, especially when unscrambling sentences! That aside, I started using Saxon for 5th grade last year with 2 students and I love it. It is comprehensive, academically strenuous, and, like Saxon math programs, incremental. It is set up similarly to FLL, IMHO. One thing I didn't like was that it took a while to figure out how to use it. The teacher's aids are somewhat convoluted for a distracted mom. Once I got it sorted out, it worked okay. For example, I had a hard time finding the exams. I kept finding the corrected exams. A couple of tabs fixed the problem but it did take a while. The kids LOVE the stories where they have to fill in, say, an adjective, a collective noun, an adverb, etc. then read the finished version with their words in the story. Okay, I'm getting punch-drunk tired; I'll quit! Hope this helps!

It definitely gets more interesting when the fourth one hits the books, doesn't it?!? Fortunately, my now-2nd grader (youngest) is a very early riser. His parent-at-elbow courses (math, English, phonics) are usually finished by breakfast at 6:45. That means starting around 5:30am. Then he practices piano for a half hour while I'm helping others, finishes hovering-parent courses (spelling, penmanship), reads, plays with his tractors, does chores, etc. We use a pretty rigid schedule and have to stick to it. Science and history are all together (grades 2-5). I admit there isn't as much writing from any of them as I'd like in history and science. But I hope they are retaining the information, anyway. None of this is different than any of the other posters but I add it just to show that we're all kind of on a similar track. And I'm having several simultaneous conversations. Hope some of this makes sense!

Anyone out there using a microtome to make your own microscope slides? In searching the internet, I found most microtomes cost many thousands of dollars. In a catalog I received, there is one for $35. Hmmm. . . Ideas? Comments?

I forgot your Q about scientific value: the Rookies are age appropriate for an advanced 6-yo. I have a science background so I don't like watery materials, either.

My library was tossing their older (1960's) Rookie science series so I snapped them up. At the time, dc were 3-6 and we used them as lap books. Now, the ages 7-9 crowd will pick them up and read them for fun or I can assign them at those times when someone is finished with something and awaiting my assistance with another subject (and pestering a sibling!). I don't know what the new ones cost, but they will last your dd for a few years. Maybe you can find them used?? Our library will get us just about anything through interlibrary loan. Perhaps yours has a similar program?

PSS came to my mind, too. As for the surviving pig's mental state, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Animals are mighty adaptable critters. Humans are too, but we tend to overthink. Pigs just figure: he was here yesterday; he's not here today. Guess I get all the grub to myself from now on.

:iagree: Our kids have a day of the week that they get to pick what we have for breakfast (and help fix it, set the table, clean up), and sometime during the day, wipe the bathroom counter. Saturday mornings, ds10 empties all trash cans, replaces the bags, takes everything to the outdoor receptacle; dd9 washes the doors, inside and out; dd8 straightens the DVDs and dusts the television & cabinet it sits on (and usually dusts the rest of the house, too; ds6 sweeps the front and back porches (very small porches) and stairs. In addition on Sat. morning, someone cleans the toilet, someone cleans the bathroom floor, someone sweeps the kitchen floor, someone mops the kitchen, and someone vacuums. Everyone straightens the living room and school room and their own room. (Maybe I should admit to you that our house is the size of a well-made closet.:lol:)Also, laundry sorting, folding, putting away, etc. We issue "stars" on a chart on the fridge. Each job requested to be done gets a star, a job done on their own gets a heart! At the end of the month, I add up the stars/hearts and issue a nickel each. (They also do a lot of ranch chores--feeding, weeding, mowing, etc.) They are saving up! They do these jobs whether it is school time or not because I vowed not to have the problem a friend of mine had. Her 18yo dd went off to college and called after the first week, in tears, because she had no idea how to do her laundry. BECAUSE SHE HAD NEVER DONE IT. Her mom thought dd needed to focus on "being a kid". I figure I'm not raising my kids to be kids. I'm raising them to be adjusted, capable adults! Just a thought! And for summer--with all that exuberance and excess energy (that is, fighting!)--I'd say let them dig in and help. As one old-timer I know says: They ain't gonna learn any younger!

I suspected it was the mousepad. . . My dh likes to tap to click. . . Hmm. Maybe I will set up different User accounts for us and disable for me, enable for him. Thanks, all!

My hubby is also a lawyer. Recently, he had a client with a similar situation. This person had cashed the check, knowing it was in error, and--like someone else just posted--the company realized the error several months later and demanded the money back. Hubby said there was no remedy except to repay it. The client had already spent the money. It was recommended he contact the company to make a suitable payment plan. So, as someone else suggested, I would cash it but hang onto it for at least a year. Also, keep a copy of EVERY correspondence you possibly can, even handwritten notes of phone calls with date, time, name of contact person, and nature of conversation.

We have a new Dell laptop and when I'm typing, especially when I stop for a moment, the cursor will automatically jump to where the mouse was last positioned--usually where I made the most recent correction. This means that I'm now typing in the middle of a previous paragraph and by the time I look at the screen, I have no idea where I am! Any computer gurus out there have suggestions how to alleviate this? It's unnerving!

Thanks for all the support! I knew I could count on my fellow HSers! As a follow-up: Yesterday was my dd's 8th Bday so we went to the dentist. (Hey, it was her choice. She thought it would be fun on her Bday!?) While in town, we dropped in at the local museum and were about to rush out the door when we were highjacked by an educator-in-residence who invited us into a conference room for a little demo. We entered a room with a long table in front. On the table were a dozen jars. Each jar contained a SNAKE!! What a hoot! In the past year, I've learned everything I can about snakes. Forewarned is forearmed. I'm far less afraid of them now than I was last year. (I also have taller boots and very thick leather chaps. :)):) Everybody give your kiddoes a big hug today!

Our extended family gets together twice a year to make sausage. It's so much better than store bought and so much less fatty. I've never liked ground sausage before just because it is so greasy, but not so with homemade. (You can trim it any way you like. We do put just a little fat in to make it cook better.) We use casings on the "fat" sausages--about 1.5 in. diameter. For breakfast sausages, we just double grind or grind with a smaller size plate (whatever you call the thing that goes on the grinder that the meat squeezes through) and then run it through the press. Someone turns the press crank, someone holds the stream of sausage, and a third person cuts with kitchen shears. The rest of us place them on cookie sheets and pans and set them in the freezer until they're pretty nearly frozen. Then we bag them in gallon sized zip freezer bags. Yum!