We use Brainpop daily.

When someone calls the house and asks for Mrs. Trish, I have always responded "This is she," -- now, maybe because I've always considered it phone etiquette I don't think of it as sounding odd. But do other people say, "This is me?" Or "this is Mrs. ZZZZ?" Or just, "Speaking?" To me "speaking" sounds even odder than "This is she."

Well, just wanted to add what I've decided to do for the time being. With MOSDOS being on the expensive side for a student text ($52 plus another $16 for the student workbook), I went with their short story Silver Collection with instructor guide. That way I can sample the program without spending too much. Also I thought the grade level books were too long to get through in 6 months, so if we go that route we can do it next year. I do like the looks of the samples on the website.

Isn't grammar ultimately about being able to write correctly? So, does one or the other approach help more to that end? I wouldn't know structural grammar from a resident of Area 51, but I CAN write my way out of a paper bag. Of course if you're going on to be a professional grammarian like Prof. Higgins it might turn out to be a critical issue. I also agree that we should be allowed to obsess over whatever topics we think are worth obsessing over. I just want to provide comfort to those of us who don't want to worry about a "structural grammar deficiency."

All American History Volume I (sadly I bought II before realizing this wasn't going to work out.) My son waded through the whole Explorers period before begging for unit studies. (We are now doing "Ancient China" for fun, and I am learning a lot!) All American History was a bit dry and textbooky for my taste. I didn't look forward to opening the book, either, so when he came up with an alternative I was ready to go for it! He said, "I can learn about colonists ANY time, we've done it every year since kindergarten." This is our first year hsing and he's in fourth grade. However he's been watching Liberty's Kids on our lunch break (the video series from way back when), so I feel like he's at least getting SOME American History.

We use it daily, love it, I consider it one of our "best buys" for the year (without being sure beforehand how useful it would be.) We have plus but I don't really know how it compares to basic.

We will be finishing up Lightning Lit 7 in the next month. My son and I both really enjoyed it, and we want to save LL8 for next year. Any ideas on what might make for a nice second half reading/lit program until we get there? We have a few Progeny Press guides. Another thread had mentioned Mosdos as a hidden gem. Not sure how long it would take to get through that -- if longer than 6 months, maybe I should be getting the next level up? Anyone have any experience with Mosdos that could recommend or not, or any other half-year ideas for reading/lit? :bigear:

I never have a problem getting people to eat homemade cookies.

Campus life is totally different based on whether you go to a Commuter School or one where most people live on or near campus.

We just got our pre-algebra economics book in the mail today! About halfway though the first pre-algebra book. I agree that there's no point "cheating" on the examples because you have to understand the concepts for the Bridge material.

Well first you de-friend her from Facebook...after that you de-Mom her. You've got to protect your family from the toxicity. Doctor's orders. Nobody comes within 200 yards (two football fields) of Mom. There's a severe allergy. True she gave birth to you, but sometimes as we get older our bodies change and we develop lactose- or toxicmom-intolerance. Sorry for your situation!

I don't know that it's any easier to believe that there is no God, and therefore suffering in this life is meaningless, than it is to believe that there IS a God who loves us and whose plan for us will become apparent eventually. Our Creator is a God of the broken, and broken-hearted. The proud, the confident, the self-sufficient (in a spiritual sense) don't need Him.

I'm sorry your family is going through such a tough time! But, I guess since I view our salvation as the ONLY thing in our lives too valuable to lose, there is NO person/group/church/Christian/pseudo-Christian/whatever that I will allow to get in the way of that. I would not give them that power. If I had a problem with (whichever of those), I can certainly QUIT (whichever of those) in order to maintain my sanity and keep my ties to God. I have my preferred denomination for bringing me closer to Jesus, but if that denomination became an actual OBSTACLE (for whatever reason) I would certainly seek out either a different denomination or just go it alone, but I would not give up my belief in God based on Human Events. No one had more reason to do that than Jesus' own mother (based on human events -- her OWN denomination put her Son to death, for St. Peter's sake!) So it isn't like this road hasn't been traveled before. If you feel your faith itself is wavering, ASK God for help! "Lord, help my unbelief!" Jesus responds to all who ask with a sincere heart. Best wishes to you, it must be quite a situation to have you questioning your faith, and many of us have been there with you. May God show Himself to you during this Christmas season.

Hmmm, so Amazon was okay with the child molestor book, but not okay with corruption being exposed at the highest levels? I'm going to be VERY interested to see the upcoming Wikileaks info on a major U.S. bank. :lurk5:

And my fourth grader LOVES it. I was worried a bit because I thought he wouldn't have the patience for it. He's strong in language arts but I bought the beginning level, Island etc., because I wanted to capture the flavor of the whole program. I knew I was going to like it....but this is my student who is always asking "can we abbreviate this?" and "can we skip that?" and is bored unless he picks out the subject. Well, with Grammar Island he just wants to snuggle up to the book! He laughs at the imagery. He's repeating some of the memorable lines in the book several days after we covered it. He brings it up randomly during the day when we're not doing school. He saves Grammar for the last subject of the day because "it's fun." We're going through at a faster pace than I'd planned because he always asks if we can do a few more pages. I have no regrets about starting at the easier level, we're both enjoying it so much. He laughs more with this than any other curriculum. And I'm liking the "new way to think about language" aspect. :lol:

Really, they need advice like, "plug your outdoor Christmas lights into your neighbor's outlet," that sort of thing.

I really like everything you said, and how succinctly you said it!

I like the freeze-ahead idea. My organized friends do that -- don't make "one" meal -- make two or three of the same thing, and freeze the others. Second, does everything have to be made "from scratch?" Can't some of the meals be simpler? Usually our breakfasts are quite simple. Lunch, no one eats the same thing anyway, they have limited choices from the "lunch menu" of what we have on hand. Can the olders help with the food preparation, at least for breakfast and lunch? (sorry, should've looked at the ages) So you really need lists of exactly what food options you have for various children, make sure the key ingredients are on hand, and especially "what to do if I need something quick," etc. (I'm not downplaying the stress of all this. I feel like a short order cook myself sometimes.) But MAKE SURE you're doing what NEEDS to be done, not just serving because you've always done it this way. (I had to break myself of certain habits because I was just "used" to buttering their toast, etc. when they were old enough to do it themselves.) Re: the 2-year-old, would gates help? Can you assign an older to be "in charge" of the 2-year-old when you cannot actively supervise? Can they take turns? Stuff that they don't want broken needs to go "up high" when they're done playing with it. We are able to put the cats in the laundry room and shut the door when they get too obnoxious. (the litterbox is in there) If that isn't an option, a good-sized crate or other temporary area might do it for your peace of mind. Maybe try to tackle this problem in bits, and it can gradually get better. I'll pray for your situation!

I wandered into the website and he said end of 2011, but not to hold off on Beginning Algebra if you're done with biology and economics. Now I can't find where it said that, but that's what I remember.

The Holy Family knew how you're feeling.

I like to get the air cleared on Super Important Issues before marriage. But I suppose if you don't there are endless possibilities for conflict. I guess in a secular sense I'd say the default option is the Not Trying To Have Them when one person doesn't want them. However the Catholic default position is quite the opposite, so none of this would pose a conflict. Re: the abortion, at that point of course I'd argue the baby's interests supercede any others, but that's the Catholic viewpoint. But wow, for an s.o. to request an abortion, that would just stun me on a relationship level. It's hard to be objective about these things.

We're doing LOF pre-algebra with biology right now. (the biology does not detract from the math lesson, it enhances it) Plus the stories are great and it holds my son's interest -- he ASKS to do LOF. A common theme with the Fred series, I guess. I hadn't heard of the Economics book. Is it somehow redundant, or would it make sense to do that book following pre-algebra with biology? We would have time to do a second book this year as long as it isn't a repeat of what we've already done (from a math perspective.) Anyone know?

I needed that laugh, thanks!

Agree face to face would be best, or a phone call if that can't be arranged easily. A parting gift of some kind might be in order as a thank you.

I was reading something by someone who majored in science in college. She said she was a classic textbook learner and still is. Well something done in N.L. science by her kids helped her TRULY understand a concept that she had never fully understood, even having taken all kinds of science in college. (not sure what her exact major was) Yes, she understood the textbook definition of (whatever it was), but she had an honest-to-goodness "aha" moment when teaching this same concept via N.L. Science. Not saying it's a good reason to spend the money, but it's the type of reason that gets my attention. I've just bought the program and started it this week. So far we have really enjoyed our first two days. I hope the whole program is like this, and you're right, it gives you everything. Somehow it was easier spending a large amount at an "off" time of year. Good luck with what you decide. I'm hoping this program fosters an enjoyment for science and a curiosity -- in some ways that's as valuable as the actual concepts themselves. I want them to look forward to higher levels of science, and if this program helps achieve that goal, it will have been worth it.