My girls loved them, but they're sort of used to me reading slow and plodding books. :) I'd say they get better and better as more characters show up. We're big fans of the twin sister characters Port and Starboard, but I'm not sure when they show up because it's been a few years since we read them. Don't give up!

BIG enthusiastic thumbs-up on the Edward Eager books. Some might think that the My Father's Dragon series is too young for ages 9 and 6, but I am still recommending it. My dd loved the Wolves Chronicles series by Joan Aiken (starts with Wolves of Willoughby Chase) but those get pretty odd as they go along, and not everyone likes that. Also, I can't leave without recommending my all-time favorite Roald Dahl book, Danny the Champion of the World. It's different than other Roald Dahl books; still somewhat zany, but very sweet and tender, too. HTH!

Hi, Beth, I don't have experience with Omnibus, but I do have a 14yo/9th grade dd who is using Notgrass American this year. We have always done a literature-based history approach, but she actually asked for something with questions, quizzes, etc, and we chose Notgrass. She loves it. Notgrass does not have a TM; it has two student texts and a question/quiz exam book. Also (and this is what sold me on it) it includes a chunky book full of source documents/literature readings that accompany the text and are scheduled right into the chapters. Maybe you already know all of this. My dd has found that the reading of the history is very manageable, but sometimes the extra reading can be time-consuming because it is in the writing style of the day, which can be somewhat flowery and confusing. Often she'll ask me to read these portions to her and I enjoy doing so, because it gives me an education I never had! Also, I can help interpret some of what they say, though sometimes even I am baffled! I've done some adding and substituting for the literature, too, but that's just my preference. Feel free to ask me anything and I'd be happy to share! I should note, too, that we also own Notgrass Gov't and World History, and neither of these are as plump as the American History. So, unless you have a specific reason to do American History first, you might start with World History (that is, if you decide on Notgrass overall). My dd started with American because she really wants to do the gov't course and I recommended she study American history first, since the last time she studied it was with Sonlight in about 4th grade. :001_smile: HTH!

If you go to the Apple site, you can buy refurbished iPods at much less than new ones. My dd and I just split the cost of a 8 gb Nano - it was $99, free shipping, and arrived nicely packaged with ear buds. Now the new 8gb's are only about $50 more, but the $99 was 1/2 what that one sold for new. You can get Shuffles really cheaply there, too. We are using it for downloading free audiobooks at the moment, and we love it!:001_smile:

At the moment, my favorite ending belongs to The Chorus, a French movie - when the teacher is leaving the school, with paper airplanes zinging out the window toward him, and when he decides to take Pepinot with him after all (this will sound ridiculous if you haven't seen the movie, but if you have......:)) And Strictly Ballroom, OF COURSE!!!! Everyone on the dance floor, Scott and Fran.....if you haven't seen it, you MUST!!

I completely understand the dizziness thing! I can't even go on swings anymore without feeling nauseous. There are certain movies I just won't watch, and certain ones I won't watch except at home on DVD, so I have the option to leave the room if things get too disturbing. (And for me what qualifies as disturbing baffles my dh and older dd). Since being a dad, dh has a hard time with movies involving children being helpless and abandoned. There's a scene in The Patriot that he can't even TALK about without getting teary-eyed.

I'm a name fanatic and I like it when people have creatively-spelled names. I do think parents should take into account when they name their kids that if they spell their names TOO creatively, their kids may have to endure lifetimes of mispronunciation. Although, I have to say, even what seems like an obvious spelling can be mispronounced by someone who isn't familiar with the name. My name is Erika and I can't even tell you how many teachers on my various first days of school called me "Eureka.":tongue_smilie:

From about 4-6 months, when they're roly-poly, full of chub and creases, and they generally can't protest against my ardent squeezing. Fat baby forearms send me over the edge!!:tongue_smilie:

I'm a grammar geek, too, but I think if a student can use grammar well in his/her own writing, there's no need for a separate program.

My younger dd will be 10 on 10/31, and she weighs about 60. She is the shortest of all of her agemates, but they seem to vary widely. She knows a girl several months younger than she is who weighs 110, and another who wears a women's size 8.5 shoe. Whew! Her older sister was much taller, heavier, more developed at this age. All kids are so different!

A few years ago, we adopted sibling kitties from my dh's boss, who had found them as strays in the foothills behind her home. They're females, a calico and a tortie. We wanted to name them after sisters in literature. At the time, we were reading the Swallows and Amazons series, which contains (in some of the books) twin sisters who are nicknamed Port and Starboard because of their avid sailing skills. So, Port and Starboard our kitties became. :001_smile: (We also have two other cats anmed Anabelle and Joe.)

We are studying Civil War, too (high school student) and I'm hearing great things about the Ken Burns Civil War documentaries, so we plan to watch those. Definitely look up recipes for hardtack and different food that Civil War soldiers ate. There is a book called The Boys' War that is very affecting, the story of young boys who fought in the war or were otherwise involved. Also, read the book Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco. Just a few thoughts!

I would have to agree about the literature selections in American history versus World. We have both curriculums, and the book of source documents for American is about twice as thick. I've had to help my dd through several of these, which has shown me how inadequate my history education was. Sometimes I think I homeschool for my own educational benefits!

I've heard many start with Notgrass World History because it is a lighter study than the American history. Looking through it, I'd say that's true. Still, my 9th grade dd is in a hurry to get to studying government, and I recommended she study American history before gov't, so she's doing Notgrass EAH this year. I'm pleased with this because I plan to substantially augment the world literature selections, which I think will work better when she's older.

Just finished Jane Eyre for the first time, then downloaded Pilgrim's Progress from Libravox.

I LOVE my Kitchen-Aid. I got it as a Christmas gift last year, to my total surprise. Up until then, I had been using my mom's 50-year old Sunbeam, which was a wedding gift to her and my dad. It still worked well, but I like the KA even better, and it's fire-engine red!:001_smile:

Polite nod, distant smile, inward resolve not to give up. :)

Definitely look up online the directions for mummifying an apple. Fun project!

My dd, who used SL for history as a younger kid, is using Notgrass American History this year for 9th grade. She loves it. It was hard for me to give up a literature approach, but this has been exactly what she needed. We don't use the English portion. I'm going to focus on teaching her to write a good essay. If you are considering Notgrass, you might want to join the Notgrass Yahoo group. You can get lot of ideas there. HTH!

I have spiraly curls, too, and not combing or brushing is the key here, too! It sounds crazy, because we're all so trained to brush our hair, but for me it's scrunch in the gel or creme when my hair is wet and leave it alone. If my girls get the urge to brush my hair out, I let them, and it becomes a gigantic cloud of frizz around my head. :tongue_smilie:I don't show myself in public like this.

One thing I've done for years with my two dd's is to keep a journal with them. I write them notes and place the journals on their pillows, they can write back whenever they feel like it, or not at all if they don't. They are allowed to write whatever they want (positive or negative) but I keep my writing positive. This has served a different purpose in each of my girls' lives, but I've always been so happy that I started it. It's especially fun to look at my younger dd's journal because we started when she was pre-writing (she wanted one like big sister) and it goes from those wonderful little pretend-writing scribbles to the current, increasingly articulate expression (she'll be 10 on 10/31). Something about the permanency of writing in a little book is both more special to me than writing notes (which might get lost, have a smaller space, etc) and also causes me to be more careful and thoughtful in what I write. I would encourage anyone to do this, being as simple or elaborate as you want to. It's been a blessing here.:)

I second the suggestion for Complete-a-Sketch. These are fabulous books, and there is now a more advanced Complete-A-Sketch series (available on CD-ROM to print out.) My dd LOVES these, and they fulfill her desire to be precise and structured in her drawing. (She does free-form art, too, but she loves using the tools, KWIM?) You can go to the Insight Technical Education website to see all their products. We love 'em!

Gussy Fink-Nottle should pop in anytime now!

One time our PSed neighbor kids came to our door trying to sell us overpriced goods, complete with a little school-sponsored rant about how they had to do this because our current governor had voted against increasing education spending. We actually laughed out loud. :lol: We didn't buy anything. Kids in our state are funded to the tune of $10,000 per kid per year. That's a lot of cookie dough, KWIM?

We're just getting ready to watch this series, so it's good to hear these things. We have watched a few Ken Burns documentaries, though none as long as this, and one reason I so want to watch this one is that I'm always impressed with the music he uses. My dd is a music lover (well, we all are) and I know that hearing music from the Civil War era will be a great enhancement to her studies.