We really enjoyed Cores 3 and 4 (D and E), doing each for a year. I can't imagine zipping through that much history in one year as a combined core. My children were 8 and 11 during Core D and 9 and 12 during Core E. They loved it. And we are likely back to Sonlight Core F this coming year for my now 11 y/o daughter!

My daughter, grade 6, is interested in studying the history and geography of Eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa. I am aware of Sonlight Core F Eastern Hemisphere covering this quite nicely and am wondering if there are any other similar programs on this subject area?

Yes, you would choose Core G, but remember that Sonlight Core G covers the time span that Biblioplan covers in Years 1 and 2, so you would slow it way down. HERE and HERE are lists of Sonlight books arranged by the WTM 4-year history cycle. You are correct; BP does not include books. It has things that Sonlight does not have, including worksheets, real maps, a comprehensive Companion, and hands-on activities, and does not tell you exactly what to read each day which is a relief for our family!

And if you are using it for levels other than high school (who will read the whole thing), I would recommend buying the hard copy rather than printing it yourself, even if you have a color printer. The color-coded sections do not appear distinguishable in black/white, and Year 1 Ancients Companion is 300 pages long, so it would not be cost effective at all to print it in color yourself.

It sure seems this way! I need a younger batch of kids now that I have experimented with so many things on the first one!

I have had four Brother printer / copiers over the last seven years. I will not buy another one. They have programmed their printers so that a cartridge will only print X # of copies even if there is a lot of toner left in the cartridge. There are ways of overriding this, such as putting black electrical tape over the sensor hole and re-positioning the gear on the side of the cartridge, but these do not always work, and sometimes I throw away half-full cartridges because the printer will not accept it and will only take a new one. My friend who has an HP says hers does not do this, but I don't know if she has a newer model or not. The older Brother models did not do this either. I have thrown two away because over time (2+ years) they develop gray/black streaks down the page, and the local repairman said it was cheaper to buy new than repair. That said, I have two Brothers in my office right now: HL5250DN, which is not a copier but is just a printer (pay attention to this if you buy online!), but it prints duplex which I LOVE! DCP-7020 which is a copier, printer, scanner. For sure get a laser, unless you require color. They are so much cheaper to operate and print quickly with no dry time. You can buy toner and drums very reasonably priced on eBay. Look for high-yield cartridges. HTH!

Kellen

You won't need food if the world ends! :tongue_smilie:

I am wondering what is included in a BJU DVD course when you purchase only the class and no books. A schedule? Tests and Keys? Student Notes?

We chose Spanish in our homeschool for two main reasons. 1. I had three years in high school, so there was really no thought about doing another language because of my history. They learn so much more by using it. I talk to them in Spanish and expect responses in Spanish and make them think about it outside of lesson time. 2. Spanish is so usable. Nothing wrong with taking a few years' break and pick up a foreign language later.

Grammarlogues is a grammar computer program for middle and high school levels.

Scholaric does this. The Scholaric Blog is where to look first for answers to your questions. I have found the developer is also very helpful with questions. It is very reasonably priced at $1 per month per student.

Sonlight has 20th Century World History, Core 300, but it's aimed at 10-12 grades. I haven't used it to know if it would work for a 7th grader. It would be very open and go.

I love my Scotch Laminator!

We used cloth diapers for all three of our kids. I always did a final rinse with APPLE CIDER VINEGAR. It kills bacteria and balances the pH. They would break out if I didn't add this to the final rinse. I do not remember the quantity as the baby is now 11, but I am thinking it was a cup or so. I put it in the rinse dispenser opening. I had a top-load washer then, and this may make a difference versus a front loader because front loaders use so much less water and may not clean the diapers as effectively as a top loader ... ?

:bigear:

KISS Grammar is free.

Your problem went away when you switched out the dryer? I'm trying to figure out if it is the washer or dryer.

I have Whirlpool Duet washer and dryer and would not purchase them again for this reason: one of them leaves brown streaks on clothes. I have not been able to determine which one is leaving the streaks because it is extremely difficult to examine each and every piece of laundry x many loads per week. The streaks do not come out by washing them again. The machines have ruined hundreds of dollars worth of clothes, and 80% of the ruined clothes are mine because I wear mostly light and medium colors. This is not a problem affecting only my machine; this is a well documented problem for the Whirlpool Duet series in online forums about these washers/dryers. I have been unable to find a solution. Some of these forums say to use powdered detergent, but this did not take care of the problem in my machines. Some say to wipe down the inside regularly; this does not help either. I am going to try the machine cleaner next. My temporary solution, until I have saved enough to trade them in to the company where I bought them, is to turn everything I care about, if it is light- or medium-colored, inside out. This is a real drag because then I have to turn it back right-side out! Turning things inside out doesn't always solve the problem either; the brown streaks can show through to the outside on white shirts.

Yes, The Phonetic Zoo by Excellence in Spelling. It is very independent (even reads the correct spelling to the student) and good for grades 5 and up. You can read about it on the Excellence in Writing website. Teaching Textbooks for math? It has an automatic gradebook through Algebra 1 level with the higher levels being re-done with the automatic gradebook over the next few years. Switched on Schoolhouse? We tried this one year but found the answers had to be pretty exact to be counted as correct, and this could be frustrating for a child with learning disabilities, but if their bend is computers, this might be a good fit. BJU DVDs? You'd still be reviewing some work. The teachers do go over and correct some of the workbook pages with the student during the DVD lesson. Having used BJU DVDs for two years exclusively (every subject on DVD), I warn you about student burnout with watching so many classes. It begins to feel like PS. Also, BJU English is tough and would likely require your help even with the DVD teacher. Science at that age can be an Animal Encyclopedia and book basket approach with nonfiction animal or other science books from the library. History could be audio CDs of The Story of the World or Mystery of History along with audio or book biographies from the library. You are tired. Are you getting enough vitamin D?

I haven't read all the answers you've gotten, but this is what we do. Lavender essential oil is great for burns. Put it on, and when it starts burning again, repeat, then repeat again until the burning is gone. It really works in taking the pain away and promoting fast healing.

How old are your kids? Notgrass America the Beautiful has worksheets.

Green beans. If you have something for it to grow up on, like a trellis or pole, you could get a pole variety and get lots more beans for the amount of dirt space.

eBay. Just read the listing very carefully to be sure it isn't a starter cartridge. You can often get multi-packs for an even better price than just one. As a homeschooler, chances are you WILL use it! I also buy fridge water filters and air cleaner filters there. MUCH cheaper.

You could look at Consumer Reports on printers and the cost to run different models. If I remember correctly, they estimate the cost to be 1/2 penny per page for B/W. In my experience, lasers are much cheaper to run after many years with inkjet and six years with laser. I buy cartridges and drums on eBay and rarely buy the name-brand cartridge unless it is the cheapest. They sell on eBay for 1/3 of the price in Office Depot. All printers get expensive, however, when the manufacturer programs the printer to allow a cartridge to run a set number of pages even when there is lots of toner left. I currently have Brother laser printers (one a double-sided printer for printing books, one a copy/scanner), and the cartridges will not print after X number of copies. Online I have found ways to make the printers print past the set #. I use black electrical tape over the clear view ports on the end of the toner cartridge so the light shining through thinks the cartridge is still full. I have also learned to reset the gear on the side of the toner cartridge so the printer thinks it is a new cartridge. I have also had problems with my three Brother machines with lines and gray shading and do not plan to purchase another printer of this brand and am hoping to find a company that is not wasteful and allows a toner cartridge to be used until truly empty.