This is exactly one DS11 of mine! I let that child use it as copywork while I read it out loud over his shoulder to the other two that can handle it. We, however, are not doing anywhere close to what has been described. Ours is usually 1-3 sentences. That is struggle enough for mine! I would drop it and if the selection is that important let your child copy it.

I haven't bought it yet but have budgeted on a spreadsheet multiple times. By using Powell's Books, Amazon, Christian Book, and then ordering from TOG on the ones that weren't cheaper I was able to do it for just over $700 (had I ordered it all that day a few weeks ago) for two levels but that was year one not year two. Using DE +print and then just about everything else. I think it really depends on what you can find where though. I was willing to do used and like Powell's better than Amazon. Don't know if that helps at all :001_smile: (I spent WAAAY too much time hoping I could do TOG this spring btw)

Yay! I can't wait until my curricula ordering time! Have fun!!

Yes when I go to the yearly festival in Newberg it is just overrun with everyone I grew up with! SW side is much nicer these days!

I should have been more specific sorry :tongue_smilie: Gresham is HORRIBLE these days! I had a couple of friends that lived in that area when I was younger and it was pretty nice. Now there is scariness over there in some parts of the Gresham area. We were on the southwest side-Beaverton/Tigard/Sherwood area.

I've lived in OR most of my life and the opposite is true there in the tri-county. If they find out you are a theist or conservative there are issues lol. The suburbs are nice. Newberg, OR is an extremely friendly town. I am in UT now and I find it very surface friendly. People are very kind and helpful. If you aren't part of the homogenous population though (esp in the southern end of SL valley) it is VERY hard to break into the group of people to actually be friends with them. However as acquaintances, the people are super duper nice. I do feel really isolated here though. I don't think it is intentional however, just they are very busy with their group of friends in their wards. Eastern TX people were just bend-over-backwards-friendly and would chat with a perfect stranger for hours. I really liked it there! I think a lot of it was that our values aligned closely with things such as men opening doors, saying yes ma'am and no ma'am, etc

NM same as previous poster

My nanny always said you can have educated children or a clean house but not both. lol I think that is why she was always so relaxed. She focused on what she decided her primary job was and then if there was time did the house. While I spend all day trying to make everything perfect. Thank you for the reminder! :)

I haven't read Stone Fox but I just asked DS11 about it as it is one of his favorites. He just told me it wasn't sad at all :001_huh: but someone gets stabbed with a knife :confused: Maybe my child should be in counseling or something... I just sent him to get it so I could read it! ETA: I just read the last chapter and was like omg this isn't sad DS!?!? He says well I guess the dog dies but the ending is very nice with the very nice Indian man.

Not really. He works to pay for everything I want to buy. He is the "principal" (he actually expelled my DSS for a while and signed him up for Connections when he was refusing to do what I assigned!) He couldn't teach our kids, he says it all the time. They require an excess of patience that he does not have!

My twins are with a previous poster's children. Any school-related art project/craft they rush through and moan and complain about. However, they are constantly using a ton of tape, paper, glue, cereal boxes and anything else they can get their hands on to "make projects". They ask all the time, "Mama may I make a project?" What they mean though is may they create something they make up without my direction or intervention that they will then want to keep for at least a year somewhere in our house. They definitely do not mean a parent/teacher led project, no matter how much fun or glue is involved, especially if it is about a school assignment. Halfway through MFW ECC I gave up on the country's art projects, that day of the week goes so much more smoothly now. Thank goodness some children don't learn through crafts and that those children belong to me because I HATE crafts. Dioramas and the like that were supposed to make learning "fun" made me ask if I could just write a report instead. (I couldn't.) We do have them recite poetry though and present information more formally sometimes for public speaking practice. Speaking in front of peo terrifies me and I want my children to be more comfortable with it.

I know what you mean. It is never okay, but in special needs with EXTREMELY violent children parent support groups this has been brought up more than once. You can't know unless you have been there with such an extreme child. I fully agree that you need help of some kind, whether anger management or more effective ways of parenting a particular child or even removing the child to a foster home/inpatient facility that can deal with a child with particular needs. Something needs to be done and changed immediately but :grouphug: :grouphug: there can be other reasons besides being a horribly abusive parent. This is why many times CPS offers other types of help instead of removing a child from the home. This is in no way supporting abusive parents just pointing out/agreeing that there can be other reasons besides horrible parent/person.

I prefer bagless because of how often we vacuum. I used to have to constantly buy bags and they aren't that cheap.

I would HS as it would allow a lot more flexibility for exploring :)

I prefer expository but am glad that different pastors to different things as I am sure there are people who aren't just like me :lol:

We are most of the way through MFW ECC and the kids just love it. It has been much easier for me than our previous curricula. While the kids never got bored, I have once and so we just did a lapbook for that country. I also let each child (I have three participating) choose a country to add in and a science subject. I added that week into the continent their country was on. One chose England and big cats, one chose Israel and frogs, and the last chose Nigeria and dinosaurs. They spent the whole time eagerly wanting to get to "their" country and that really spiced things up too. When we got to Europe we did England for one week after Norway. Then Nigeria after Kenya and Israel after Saudi Arabia. We did field trips to Brazilian restaurant, Mexican store, Roman Catholic Church for mass, and an Eastern Orthodox church for mass and that has really made it interesting too. I can't speak for the other curriculum you asked about but I vote MFW based on our experience! (And my kids don't even like the cooking or art projects so we haven't done much of them. I cook a traditional meal for each country as a family dinner but they just rush through the crafts since they hate doing that type of thing.)

When we lived in the country in the more temperate PacNW my twins did this easily. I would check on them often but a lot of it they were playing on their own. They really liked balls, bikes/trikes, and Tonka trucks but beyond that they did pretty much what they did inside: ran, climbed, jumped, etc. It was very rarely parent-led. For about an hour a day I would go out with them and teach them to catch, throw, bat, and kick the ball. For the most part they just played. It makes me sad now that they can't do that like they used to but between the temperatures here, the inversion (smog), and daycare kids it just isn't feasible.

I am interested in all the replies. My family has always done special presents just for the girls from Dad and special presents just for the boys from Mama. Then everyone gets a few of the same things. Usually Dad sends flowers that are delivered :)

My Canon MP 980 has the hinge that adjusts for books. I like it a lot :)

We moved far away from away from everyone and use Skype, it is just like a phone call to us except it gets accomplished faster since we don't have to pass a phone around and do one person at a time. Skype isn't anything like a dvd to me, it is just a video call like you can do on tons of phones except on the computer

:iagree: I have children from abusive backgrounds and homeschooling has changed their behavior soooo much. Still not a cake-walk or anywhere close to normal but it has provided the stability they really needed and helped to build positive relationships.

:grouphug:

I guess I never really have, at least not since they were tiny and in a bassinet. The twins slept with me all night until they were 7 or 8. So we just all went to bed. Then for a year or two they fell asleep in my bed and I moved them to their own. Now they come in and snuggle for a few minutes and sometimes I read to them, depending on how late it is, then they kiss and hug and go off to their own bed. But I never really went into their room and "tucked them in" like my mom did.

Yes! I read that book because I love historical fiction and it was highly recommended. Now I can't bring myself to read anything else by her because I was so disappointed!

That is what I expect from him but it isn't necessary of Protestants. I know a lot of Protestants who believe that, while we interpret sections of the Bible differently, the Catholics don't believe "untruths". I can disagree with a particular view without going to the extreme that they are completely wrong or "heretical". Some issues in life are like that, many of us don't believe this is one. I just hate the thought that Catholics view "all us Protestants" as thinking them "heretical". Many of us don't :001_smile: Thank you so much all who posted helpful links. These threads are so enlightening for me and I am sure other lurkers like me! The Catholic Church is so often misrepresented that it is hard to know what they truly believe and these links help a lot!