I bake bread, by hand (aka no bread machine or Kitchen Aid mixer) daily with my kids. Everyone loves the process and the results!

Funny...I was just thinking the same thing! I will be paying attention to this thread 

I don't have level A, we started with B, BUT...just email the author. I wanted a calendar sheet for a year that was not included in the text and she not only replied within the hour, but included a PDF of the calendar sheet I wanted. I've been more than happy with RS customer service! HTH, Val

In my previous life (prior to HS) I was a teacher for the deaf/ hard of hearing, so I am particularly sensitive to your issue. We used all kids of neat manipulatives including: Mini erasers (buy in bulk from Oriental Trading Co) Rubbery dinosaurs/bears/sea animals/fruits (Lakeshore Learning) Foam blocks (Target) Vinyl cling shapes (use on small dry erase boards/windows/even walls) Small food items (cereal, Nerds candies, Mini-M&Ms...) Beads (wooden/plastic) Plastic ants (this was a favorite!) AL Abcus...though if the kids don't learn to use it calmly/respectfully, the sliding sound of the beads did bother some of my students. HTH, Val

I have done this as described above. You CAN delete the whole lesson from the gradebook page where it shows the total correct for the lesson. Right next to the lesson number there is a little "D" for delete. Hit that and you're all set to redo the lesson.

My daugter hates word problems as well. I love these suggestions...keep 'Em coming!:bigear:

We all get dressed, eat breakfast, do the "teeth-face-hair" routine and the kids practice piano with dad before he leaves for work in the morning. Then we start school.

No good reason, in my opinion. We don't do them. I do have my dd(9) tell me the "gist" of a book (orally) after she's read it and without any direction, has turned this into a narration exercise. Perfect application of the WWE we do and I didn't even suggest it! That is it for us.

I can't speak to R&S, but my 9yo dd started with FLL 4 (this is our first year of hs) and is doing just fine. She is "language-y" and has learned a great deal, but it is not overwhelming at all.

:lurk5: Thankyou everyone! I am getting very mixed reviews of this program. I'm still thinking I will give it a shot, though, and resell if necessary. Something has to work better than what we're doing...

I make handmade (not machine made) bread almost daily. What type of bread are you referring to? If it is Struan or some other sandwich/toasting type bread, after you have sliced what you want for that meal, immediately freeze the remainder of the loaf. I've found that this works best to maintain the original texture of the bread. HTH, Val

Please tell me about this program. I'm not happy with SWR and I'm considering making this switch. Any input appreciated!! Thank you! Val

I've been having the same problem, but when I just pull the book out and do it, I find it really isn't taking THAT much time. My kids really like it, maybe it's just that I have never LOVED history and so I, somehow, avoid it? Bad mom...I know. Lately, I have decided that I need to teach it. I don't feel good about skipping it, so it has become what we START with in the morning two days per week. That way we (I) can't say we didn't have time...and somehow all the other teaching I always do still fits in on those days, too...huh. So, for my kids (1st and 4th) I think it's really important.

RIghtStart! My DS (6) is over half way through B and my DD (9) has been doing Teaching Textbooks and watching her little bro have fun with RS. She begged and begged to ADD RS (she's still doing TT) to her schedule. We are almost done doing the transition lessons and she will start level E in February. FWIW, my DS is "mathy" and my DD is not...she is artsy and hands-on. They both like RS. (Oddly enough, he wants to do TT as a supplement as well...I'm going broke buying math curriculum!)

Brock Magiscope! We got the complete set for Christmas, with extra slides and the field bag and my kids can't leave it alone! Well worth the $250 I paid for it. They have already played with it more than the Wii we've had for 2 years!