We've used MUS for years, then he came out with all the different levels: gamma, delta, epsilon, etc...I think my guy is not ready for Intermediate, but is between delta and eps. I'm so confused, maybe I'll be straight in the a.m.

for 6 grade? Our 11 yo ds going into the 6 grade and is a struggling reader, although doing much better, is reading Around the World in 80 Days (abbr ver.) and has not gotten much practice with multiplying, fractions/decimals, or dividing. I think MathUSee Delta is not the right material eventhough it's next in line for him-just finshed Gamma (he should be farther in this program) and the other levels are prabably too advanced. So, what do I do? Get the Delta and hop-skip through it then jump into the next book or take a couple of months, do something like Spectrum or MCP from BN, work quickly to cover these concepts and then look at a higher level in MUS? Of course, if there's something he doesn't "get" right away we'll stop and hover there until he gets it, then move on. I'm just not sure what he understands and what he doesn't. YK? This should be a simple decision, I'm just stuck...and feel there are gaps? maybe? Any thoughts? ~Stephanie

Hey Jean, I've been out of the loop for months...taking care of personal/home stuff....may I ask what is "wordless wednesday"? I can assume...but know that's not always good :O) ~S

Hey, chica :o) just sent you a message. and I agree I wouldn't test in the early years, either. However, if a young child 'wants' to be 'tested' I'd make up one. You know, for the child who has to experience things. Our middle (ds17) had to have tests b/c his older brother had them. So, I'd give him one, made it very serious, not pressured, but serious. That way he knew he was getting a 'real' test and later when he actually had rests he took them seriously. I think his first test was a coloring book page, or wrtiing all the letters of the alphabet. Good luck. ~S

I vote for the vinegar and warm water, that's what we've used on our hardwood floors for 10 yrs now and they still look as pretty as the day we moved in. ~S

I feel this way at least 2ce a year. I wish I had prayed harder and listened more closely to the answers. I never would've allowed my guys to enter into public school. I am having to regroup and revisit several issues in my own home because I was weak. I know everyone's situation is different; however if you feel it is right and you're being lead by God - then listen and know you are not alone. If I had better answers and suggestions than the ones already offered here I would share them with you. Many blessings, Stephanie

wasn't sure if i would enjoy any of it. sounds sad - can't do sad right now.

and you guys/gals helped me cement it. He left home last week, has decided he doesn't need to be on his own (even if with another family) and is coming home today w/the promise of finishing school (High School) and going on to college. I wanted to be able to present these things to him once things settle here and at elast have the option of homeschooling him this final year. I don't know if he will school with me or register at a high school. I know this must sound bizarre but under the circumstances this is the only way this can go - him being the one to make this decision. Back ground: bad friends/bad girl friend-he won't give up, suspected drug usage - going to start today at a counseling center (if he'll come home), was supposed to start last week, but left home, has a great heart - very easily clouded/not sure where he is in there a this point. Any thoughts on this?

and or other course if he has to take them?

DS only needs two core courses - Spanish 2 and Eng 4. Is it possible to only teach what he needs or do we have to teach 5 courses. With the 2 he needs he'll have well over 30 credits. I'd like him to do dual credits at our local Tech. College, but as of right now he's not even home. Long story...I'm not sure what we're doing at this point. Anyone?

he picked up books he wanted to read, I sat with him, he would read until tired, then I'd finish the page or chapter, just to keep it going and not to let him get bogged down. Some days he wouldn't want help and would mark his page, to pick up tomorrow.

hardly ever stayed in there. Now they go with me to work and study all over the place. C mostly stays with me in the office, while S goes in the office across the hall or reads in the Sanctuary. Same at the house - they go where they're most comfortable. We used to sit at desks, have a white board, the whole classroom setting. To me it was necessary for a structured school environment. It worked and I sometimes would like it that way again, but the more laid back approach works for us right now. ~S

nm

I have a question: How are they getting your address? If it's b/c you fill out an attendance slip (which we have at our church) you could put on there something like "we prefer a call or card, not a visit" and/or don't give yur address We usually send a post card wishing them well, inviting them to return, thanking them for visiting... This might be a repeat - I didn't read the others. Good luck. ~S

rub them down and/or soak with/in vinegar and rinse. For the shoes...sprinkle with foot powder (lightly) everyday they're worn (before and after you wear them) I've actually sprayed a pair down with fabreze:O) Good luck, ~S

No worries... sounds normal to me and fun.

Both of them. We tried everything from no drinks after 6pm to no sugar to pull-ups and eventually adult diapers - it was humiliating for them. Finally, with ds#1 we found an expensive program to the tune of $1000. What we found out was that he was going into a deeper sleep in REM than normal and literally couldn't wake up. he had to retrain himself - it took about 10 mos. He slept on a pee-pee pad (that's what the family called it, anyway) and we had to write down everyday what he drank, how often, when he went to sleep, when he woke up - all kinds of things. When he would wet in the middle of the night the pee pee pad would sound a shreeking alarm, oh, it was awful. Scare ya to death. That would wake him and everyone up, then more logging of how large or small the spot was, how long did it take him to wake up, he had to splash water on his face, tell himself in the mirror he was not going to pee tonight, that he would wake up before it happened.... Finally, he stopped and hasn't had a problem since. OMG, that was a long year. So, when our ds#2 couldn't stop either at 9 we couldn't afford another $1000 program so we made our own using the same directions except we didn't have the pad b/c once the program was over we had to mail the bell that connected to the pad back to the company. What we did was purchase through the mail a buzzer thing that attached inside the underware and ran an alarm up to his t-shirt at the shoulder so that when he would pee the buzzer would wake him, we wrote all the 'stuff' down, splashed the water, looked in the mirror etc. just as if he were going through the same program. This took almost 8 mos. Another long period of time. I don't think the pee pad would of worked with DS#2 b/c he sweats at night and that alarm would've been going off all night. We tried the fussing, the trying to understand, even down to DH (on his worst day) making them feel terrible b/c they wet the bed. Nonoe of that worked and many harsh words came out that didn't need to; to this day I look back and think we could've handled ourselves better. As far as our youngest DS who is 10 now, never had a problem, stopped wetting everything at age 3 and was sleeping in underpants at 3.2 :O) I would suggest taking your dd out of any diaper type thing/pullups or whatever, putting a plastic sheet on her bed (makae it up like you normally would) and letting her sleep in big girl pants that she picks out. The wettness will be felt, she won't want to pee in new panties and maybe she'll stop. If not after a week or two and you're interested in what we did, I'll be glad to give you more information. ~Stephanie

I wasn't looking for anything today, just checking in and found this thread. Wanted to say thanks. I think I've found what we'll be doing this year - Mapping the World - the one that goes with the ellenjmcheny link.

I was working as a preschool director, went to my yearly check up, was told the job was going to kill me (lots of stress), and that if I wanted to have a healthy family again and be healthy myself I needed to hand in my bookkeeping ledger and checkbook, the apron I wore when I cooked all the meals, the director's "hat", and stop altogether. So, I left the job that I so loved but was truly killing me and took a year to get my head together. At the time B was in 2nd grade and S was in K. I had plenty of time to help in their classrooms - what an eye opener. I saw for the first time in 2 years how jacked up the system was, how my DSs and the other children were left behind or pushed into direction they had no idea of where they were going. Frustration everyewhere. The quick kids were held back the slower kids were ignored. The only ones benefitting were the ones in the middle lane. There were times that if I hadn't gone in to volunteer there would be no one in the class room b/c the teacher would be in the hall or worse yet down the hall in the principal's office with a misbehaving disruptive student. Sometimes she was taking up money, talking to parents, all kinds of things that teachers shouldn't have to do during class time. Great teachers - both of them. We just saw flaws that we didn't want our DSs to be a part of. I had enough, my dh was tired of hearing about it; so, one day he brought home the laws of homeschooling and we decided this can be done. They were homeschooled ever since. Now, ds18 is in colllege, ds16 is coming home again after a year of public school and ds10 continues to homeschool happily. The end. :O)

Hi Jean, It's been a long time. How's your DH? I'm over whelmed at the idea he'll be home again, grateful for the 'answer', but a little leary of grasping it, kwim? I'm looking into Format Writer as well as some others. We have several guides here at the house, I just need to locate them...I know they're around here somewhere.... Thanks for the suggestions. As far as literature, we'll probably make a rounded list of classics he's not yet read. I forget what he read in the past compared to what 'B' read. I'm going through the files tonight with DH. 'S' seems okay with the idea of coming home. He told his friend last night as they were talking about him switching schools, that we wanted him home next year because he has one more year before college and he didn't put his best foot forward this year. (that's an understatement, but whatever) ~Stephanie

I'm double checking this with our registration group; I'm thinking he has all requirements - if he passes Alg 2 and Spanish 1 - to graduate on time. He had 28+ credits going into his junior year, so I don't think that'll be problematic. It's mostly English I'm concerned about. If he were more mature I'd sign him up at the local tech. college for English and another class for dual credits, but he's screwed up his GPA, I'm not sure if it's possible. Plus, as our 18 yos said, "Mom, "S" just needs to come home for his last year of school, and reboot." Tell me we don't live in a technical world. :O) I'm looking at Seton's 12th grade literature using Poetry and Prose of England and Vocab for the college bound. We have numberous writing guides - I'll have to pull them all together. I'll get back with you on what we have. Also, I'll go through his file to regroup my head on what he has done thusly fro me in the past. This year in English 3 they read bits and pieces of The Crucible and bits and pieces of The Great Gastby. Anything else? I'm not sure. I wasn't privy to most of it. Wordsmith Craftsmen was mentioned, anyone have success with it? ups/downs? friend or foe - the layout of the materials, I mean? Thanks again. Keep the thoughts flowing. I'll get on later with more details of past assignments. Heading off to the office. ~S

Yes, we are going to homeschool our 16 yos, soon to be 17 yo Senior in HS. Looks like he may or may not pass Alg 2, he's missed days in Spanish 1 - possibly too many for credit, lost his English ($60) book when he ditched school tossing it into bushes, thinking it would be there 3 days later... Enough about all that... he's coming home, it's final. He will get whatever credits he's earned this year from public school and we'll pick up from there in the fall for 12th grade. What I need to know is what you've done for English as far as papers, literature, etc. for 12th grade. All of his other requirements are fulfilled - except Spanish/foreign language. I'm not sure what he learned in English this year. I can only guess that he'll need all the basic paper formats, etc. and a few good books to read. Any suggestions? I love you ladies and guys :O) ~Stephanie

we used them sometime ago for a few years. If you haven't seen LIFEPACS, they're 10 wkbks in each set w/a teacher's manual (if purchased all together in the set) you can actually but them individually, I would suggest getting the whole thing esp. if you're teaching the whole subject...anywho...within the wkbks there are practice tests and smack in the middle of the wkbk is the "final exam", take this out before giving the wkbk to your child the first time and file it in a safe place :O) where you can find it later or you'll have to type up your own test that first time :O) can you guess how I know this? In the past, we've used A/O lifepacs (the year we decided to use all of one type of curriculum for the older guys - Eng. Sci. Hist. Math...) - it was boring for them b/c it never changed, the tone, wording, everything was the same for all subjects, so eventhough, I loved the format, they didn't. Since then we've been eclectic :O) We've used A/O lifepacs, Apologia (all grades - from the newer ones in elementary to high school biology) and there are tests in the older students' series - haven't looked at these in a few years... Y'all are making me wokr too hard this morning, getting me sidetracked on thinking about curriculum and such... hum... what am I using next year? Oh well, good luck to you. ~Stephanie

and liked both for different reasons. EG b/c it was easy to follow, the work got progressively more difficult (within grade levels), they each had a wk-book to work in, we could use it for more than one child at a time, differnt levels and wkbks each year (or when the last wkbk was finished)...I think I'll start my 10yos on EG this summer, hum...? and then maybe do a page in WG as we get to each new grammar section...hum??? WG b/c of the cue cards, was easy to follow, was strickly grammar, there's a second book (advanced) that we used as well... With WG my guys were young (2-4th grades or 3-5th?) We would work on 2-4 sentences/phrases each day, that was enough for them b/c of their ages. Now they are 11th grade and 2nd semester college - doing well in English subjects. To me they are both great resources, easy to use, and follow, great refresher (for me - anyway). It can be confussing and get annoying/frustrating when trying to choose the best curriculum for your child, believe me - we all know this...Good luck to you. ~Stephanie

I'm glad to be here too, Unicorn. The thing is he doesn't drive, and this is the reason. He has his permit, but DH will not allow him to get his DL, b/c of his actions. Good call I think. Ladies, I thank you and the HS board. I think we have our heads on one page. DH is going to pick ds up from school everyday from now until...whenever. He is still going to be able to ride the bus for now - that may change though, we'll see. Anyone interested in what they said, hop over there...great stuff! ~Stephanie