Like the PP said, depends on the subject. Anything that will be made into a bound book at the end of school gets put on white printer paper or graph paper if lines are needed. This way when it is time to get the books made the edges wont have any holes in them to weaken the pages for the printer. If the work is not going to be saved then it will be in a notebook. I don't use loose leaf much except for rough draft work or for the lines where we then cut out the work and glue it to printer paper.

Not exactly what you are looking for but thought I would mention Beautiful Feet books has a curriculum on the History of Science. They are a Christian company and this curriculum has a Christian bent to it. We really enjoyed it and it does compare thinking of the scientists with Biblical backing or things along those lines.

Next week hubby and I will be married 25 yrs. We will do the dinner thing but I would like to get him a small (not expensive) gift. I am stumped. I know he LOVES chocolate and I usually get him some special chocolate but wasn't sure I want to get that for him this year since it is a big one. Any ideas?

Just picked it up at the library and am curious. The jacket flap mentions this being by J.K Rowling writing under the name Robert Galbraith. So if the jacket lets you know it is really J. K. Rowling writing it then why all the flap about her secret identity being leaked? Was there another jacket for the book before this news was leaked? Also has anyone read this...is it worth my time ?

Henry and Ribsy books Diary of a Wimpy Kid Bad Kitty books Wally McDoogle books (some Christian content) Geronimo Stilton books

The Theodore Boone books are written by Grisham for children/youth. We have listened to the first one on audio and I never felt there was anything in it that would be too mature. My 8yr old enjoyed it as well as my 16yr old and me. We plan on listening to more. There are some things in the adult Grisham books I would not let a 12 yr old read yet.

For fun he could read the Theodore Boone books.

I have a notebook that has the full 12 years planned out for each child. This of course gets changed each year along with notes added. It is fun to go back and see what I had planned out for each child and wonder "what was I thinking?"

I don't like the fact that quotes can be moves about. Some quotes taken out of context could bring a different meaning to the quote. If it is in a social group you cannot access how can you know your quote is being used correctly or not altered in any way? The more I think about it, I don't like this at all.

Masterpiece Shakespeare's Secret

I ship books with media mail but I insure it. This gives a tracking number plus peace of mind. I find if the item is insured it will arrive with minimal handling damage.

No and no.

Ahh. I think most kids think they never get enough free time. My 8 (almost 9) gets about 8-9 hrs free time a day M-F and all day on weekends. We school from 8:30 -about 1pm with an hour to hour and a half break in the school day. After that she is free for the rest of the day minus setting table and cleaning up after dinner and bath time. ETA: Forgot to add the free time before school, she gets up at 5:30 or 6am

The calls might just be a general thing they do for all children in the school district. I see no "intent" other then your child is on a list and they call. My children have never attended PS in Iowa or any other state but I get calls for everything from the school starting an hour later due to snow to letting me know there is a ice cream social coming up. If a teacher calls up (just had this happen) to let me know she is the 3rd grade teacher and would like to set up a parent teacher child confrence I just politely let her know we are homeschooling. She apologized for bothering me and that was that. No agenda to sway me or look down at my choice. OP is there a reason you feel these calls are going to be confrontational? Just because you dropped papers off at the school does not mean the teacher has any idea what is happening. She has a list of students, probably created before your paperwork was dropped off, and she is going down the list.

I never thought about it. If the child gets all their work and chores done that can have as much free time as they like. If a child starts causing trouble or lazying about (day after day, lazying about every now and then is fine) I make suggestions and issue a warning of do something/ stop whining or I will find something for them to do. Most of my kids, except one, handles(d) their free time wisely: reading, creating, exploring, pretending, planning, bike riding, and so on. OP, Is there a reason you are asking this question? (not asked with attitude, just curious what prompted the question)

I would not add anything to the list. core G has writing but I would only pick about 10-12 of their writing assignments and work on the full writing steps from rough draft to a polished piece. At this grade I start focusing on quality writing instead of quantity. Lightning Lit 7 is a great program someone mentioned above but I would not use it if you keep everything you have now. That would be too much. I am one that feels by this grade they have had enough grammar and it is time for a writing/literary focus. Part of the writing process is revising and correcting which is a perfect time to review specific grammar where and when it is needed. I would not do a writing program AND a grammar program at the same time anymore.

This. We stop formal phonics once reading is pretty well underway and utilize spelling, English, and reading programs to cover any word work.

Honestly for an 8yr old I would not spend that kind of money on a writing program. If he is enjoying writing letters to authors I would let him write those and work on his writing there. I would focus each week on a skill: punctuation, writing in sequence, dialog, capitals, adjectives, and so on. Show him a picture (funny ones are best or ones that show adventure) and let him write about the picture, do story starters type of writing where you make up the beginning of a story and he finishes it, let him pick a topic to write about. With each piece pick a specific thing to work on but hold writing wise. IEW is extremely expensive and they want you to buy the teaching discs along with the children's discs. I was extremely disappointed with it. The first few lessons were okay but then it got too formulaic and the pieces all sounded the same, very forced with the dress ups they wanted in each piece. After about the 8th thing my son wrote he begged me to let him quit.

Sounds good to me. You are going at her speed. Right now it seems fast to you but as long as she is grasping what is taught and wanting more then move ahead. I thought the same thing with dd, she was devouring curricula at lightning speed. At the rate she was going she would be finished 12th grade by 6th. However she started slowing down around the middle of her 2nd grade stuff. When she was in devour mode I let her know she could let me know if she needed to slow down or take a break (sometimes kids feel they have to keep going or it is a fail). Just reassure your child she could slow down and then let her lead the pace.

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: My grandmother (who is my kindred spirit) is in hospice. Each time the phone rings I brace myself for bad news. So again... :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

There is no real order except within a Bible book like Genesis, there are 3 books for that, and Daniel, there are 2 books for that one. I would pick a book that covers a Bible book that might interest your child (Daniel is real good). Most children know Genesis and might get bored with spending 6 weeks on just creation (it was extremely good though and I can guarantee my dd understands chapters 1 and 2 of Genesis plus how old the earth is using Biblical proof) so that might not be one to start with. I found the one on John good because it gets your child familiar with who Jesus is. We are flip flopping back and forth between one study on an Old Testament book and then on a New Testament book. Each book will reference back to the How to Study Your Bible for Kids study book but will also show you what is needed to mark your Bible or study a verse so I did not start with this book. Also after looking through it I felt it was just too much for a young child. They get small portions of it within the other books as they need it

Wordsmith Apprentice is my favorite writing program for 4th-6th grade age. It is easy and not expensive and gives a fun year of writing. It is a writing curriculum plus grammar/English lessons. You are an apprentice reporter and make your way through each area of a newspaper writing different pieces to fit the section of the paper you are working in.. You write: application for employment haiku poetry help wanted/ for sale add writing definitions invitations thank you notes recipies household hints news briefs comics sports stories news articles editorials plus "imagination stretchers' through out the book Wordsmith" a creative writing course is an excellent followup or to use for a 7th grader.

We do a lesson a week (working on the 2nd grade HAS) but some lessons may take 2 weeks to do if you dedicate only one day a week for art. You might get 25 or more working weeks out of a level. If the lesson talks about an artist we might spent the next week looking at pictures from the artist and reading about him/her to help stretch the lessons out over the year.

I am on the same page. I am thinking hard about Christmas this year because we are implementing a minimalist type thing for the first time. Last year we way out and bought more then needed. So with the few small gifts they will get this year I want them to be big on meaning. Needless to say I am wracking my brain and stressing over this. Less will = more but only if the less are gifts they feel are special.

I posted here http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/480745-at-what-point-do-you-get-rid-of-the-dog/ about our dog and thought an update was needed. After talking things over with a vet, we decided to try re-homing first or at least look into it. The Animal Shelter here does re-homing and that is who the vet recommended. However after talking with the lady in charge she feels the dog is not a candidate for re-homing and thinks the dog might have dementia. Tomorrow we go to have the dog put to sleep. The children understand and are not showing any over the top feelings about this. They are upset but both understand it is best for our family and the dog. I will say I was glad to talk with the lady from the re-homing section of animal control. She shed some light on normal behavior and what was not normal behavior with our dog. She made me feel better about the choice I have made to put Bella down and that having this dog for 7 yrs means we have tried to make it work. Also with the increase in aggression we need to take action now before it is a very big problem later. Just last night she snapped at me because I wanted her in her room (a neighbor was knocking on the door and Bella was viciously barking). We have great pictures of the dog with the kids plus video of her playing in the snow and with her new toys at Christmas. She has been our pet for the past seven years and will be missed.