Congratulations! My problem is that I declutter, but I have boxes of stuff that need to go somewhere, not just the trash. Like books to sell, or clothing to donate. How do you deal with the stuff while you are waiting to sell it or whatever?? Tricia

We were in the same boat as you a few months ago. As a math teacher in public schools I was trained to dislike Saxon, and I did think it was repetitive and boring in a classroom. I did Singapore up through 3A with my daughter, and she liked it okay, but we supplemented with Miqon and Math Mammoth when I was worried she wasn't getting something (which was all the time!). I heard someone say that if your child isn't thriving with a curiculum then switch. Thriving wasn't the word I would use to describe her math. I borrowed a Saxon 5/4 and almost started it, but then thought I'd give Rightstart a try. She does not like Rightstart, although I make her play the games because I think they are great for reinforcing things. And now for the end of the story, I ended up getting Saxon 6/5 this school year and she loves it. SHe loves writing out all the answers in her notebook. She loves being somewhat independent of me in reading the lesson and trying it on her own first. She loves grading all the problems when she's done. All the stuff I thought she'd hate is the part she likes. We're not thriving yet, but this may be close! She's 11 by the way.... Tricia

I have a little bit different perspective since I started WWE 1 with my 10 year old last year. We did one week's worth of lessons in 1 day. She has writing problems so that is why I chose the program. The comprehension questions are very easy for her. I don't think she ever missed one. We're almost done with level 2 now and still doing a week in one day easily. My point is that I think if you are reading good literature and letting her tell you or someone about what she's heard and learned she will be able to do these questions eventually. I would just use easier passages from things that you are already reading. Tricia

As long as she is consistently spelling words correctly when she writes then I'd say there is no need for spelling anymore. The vocabulary idea sounds great! Tricia

I just realized this is an old post, but I thought I'd add my vote for Apples and Pears. My dd is 11 and a very self conscious poor speller. We started in level A this year and she is finally spelling high frequency words correctly. She sees in patterns--she told me that she finally remembered how to spell "little" instead of "littel" because it's all tall in the beginning and then it gets short at at the end. This is an easy program to use, just pull out the teacher's bok which is scripted and have the student write in their book. No other equipment needed. Tricia

Yep, I would continue with phonics. My dd is now 11 and we quit the phonics when she took off in reading. I realize now that she has a hard time sounding out hard words, but she thinks phonics lessons are babyish. It's better to keep doing it now! Tricia

I just signed up for homeschoolradioshows.com today. I heard about it on homeschoolfreebie. You get a free download of Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates. I have a Sansa MP3 player, not an ipod, but I just plug it into my computer and drag the file to it and it's on there and ready to go. Tricia

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Small liberal arts colleges will love her! I teach at a small college in the midwest and they actively recruit homeschoolers. Regardless of the school's ACT requirements you can always get in based on interviews. There are always exceptions to the rules. About the memory--have you tried putting the vocabulary etc to music? It may make things stick. My daughter has trouble memorizing things that essentially have no meaning for her, but she can name all the countries in Europe after listening to Geography Songs :) Tricia

Yeah, it took me a minute to get it, too :) I love it! Tricia

I second the cloth diaper suggestion. After we switched to cloth diapers and wool diaper covers no more diaper rash problems. Good luck! Tricia

We tried this when we did Real Science 4 Kids chemistry and it didn't work either. We chewed and chewed. Sorry I don't have any suggestions--just know you are not alone! Tricia

I double second the Venus reccommendation. I had been using the Venus for a few months when I ran out of blades and grabbed whatever was on the bathroom shelf--somthing hard and plastic and I could not use it. There is a big difference imho. Tricia

Thanks for the laugh!

Can we join--We are MULE people :) My daughter has been taking English riding lessons for about 2 years and wanted her own horse. Instead we bought the sweetest mule around. Esther (the mule) is 14 years old, 14 hands, rides English or Western, jumps, and will give the neighbor kids rides up and down the driveway all day. I'm city girl living the country life now. Boy have I learned a lot :) Tricia

I thought you were describing my daughter! With her it is horseback riding though, instead of dance. I am so tired of the grade issue. I never officially started her in Kindergarten, but the rest of the world did! I am trying to train her to answer the grade question with something like "I'm 10 years old. We homeschool on many levels so I don't have an official grade." Some things we are looking at: The book the Gift of Dyslexia by Ron Davis, Verticy Learning, online school geared for learning disabilities using the Orton Gillingham method of teaching reading Sue Patrick's workbox system A lot of other good ideas have already been mentioned--thanks eveyone! Tricia

I'm going to hire one in the fall. I hint all the time to my husband that a great gift for me would be for someone to come clean the house one day as a surprise. He doesn't get it. I finally realized the other day that I am not a "stay at home mom." I am a homeschooling mom. There is a world of difference. I think we have this image in our mind of being the perfect homemaker. But we don't have the time to do everything. My sister can bake homemade cupcakes for the bake sale at school--because her kids are at school all day. It dawned on me that I don't have to feel guilty for not doing everything homemade or for not having the house spotless-- because I work all day! So don't feel guilty! Enjoy it and count your blessings :) Tricia

Avocado, cucumber, tomato, and mayo. Peanut butter and pickles. Tricia

I second the Costo reccomendation. It is organic and has only peanuts and salt and for some reason it stays spreadable even in the refrigerator. Our second favorite is Maranatha brand. You have to be careful with the "spreadable" kinds, they usually have sugar and other things added. Tricia