That's awesome, I love my crockpot, although it's not quite sparkly anymore as I use it all the time.:D My best thrift store find so far was an eden pure heater for $25.

I agree! And to those who said they are looking forward to that perfect home when kids are older, don't forget the grandkids!:D

Sloppy joes in a thermos, taco meat would work this way too.

We've used sonlight for 8 years now and loved it. I did sometimes add things like games, activities, or cooking projects to help son remember but the books were great and he learned his history well enough to test into public school high school a year ahead.;)

Cornbread, fried taters, coleslaw, or serve em up on a pile of mashed potatoes.:D

OOOOOOH Yuck!:001_huh:

Or teenagers with out haircuts:confused:

That's not a bad idea, SL core 1+2 was our very favorite year. We used the Story of the World activity guide to add hands on activities and had a great time. We did everything from making a chicken mummy to dressing in togas.:D

We too have enjoyed Christian Cottage Unit Studies in the past and find them easy to implement. I also like that they cater to all age groups. Another plus is that there are lots of science projects.

I agree. This recipe looks good. INGREDIENTS: 7 small onions, cut in half and thinly sliced (about 7 cups) 1 tablespoon butter or margarine, melted 2 tablespoons sugar 2 dried bay leaves 1 1/2 pounds beef stew meat 3 cans (10 1/2 ounces each) condensed beef consommé 1/4 cup dry sherry or apple juice 1 cup apple juice 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves 8 slices ( 1/2 inch thick) French bread, toasted 2 cups shredded Swiss cheese (8 ounces) DIRECTIONS: Toss onions, butter and sugar in 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Top with bay leaves and beef. Cover and cook on low heat setting 9 to 10 hours or until onions are deep brown. Stir in beef consommé, sherry, apple juice and thyme. Increase heat setting to high. Cover and cook 10 minutes or until hot. Remove bay leaves. To serve, spoon into ovenproof soup bowls and top each serving with slice of toast and 1/4 cup cheese. If desired, broil with tops 6 inches from heat 3 to 5 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and begins to brown.

Hi Julia, My favorite site for comprehension guides is http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/litlibrary/ And I also really love http://www.homeschoolshare.com/Lapbooks_at_HSS.php for unit studies and lapbooks to go along with many books and subjects for all ages. They even have lapbooks for the littles to go along with books like "The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The best part is both these sites offer their products for FREE;) Blessings Paula

If you're more interested in World History and your older dd reads at a higher level, why not start with core 6 and order the readers and language for younger dd at her level, after all the younger readers sets that go with cores K-2 don't really match the core anyway. Core 6 uses the SOTW books and you could add the activity guide for younger dd to draw her in. If you don't think this will work then I think I would go with core 3.

I started this early with dc using manipulatives. For instance I would get the button box out and they would do 4 x 5 by making 4 piles of 5. My dc were doing this before starting ps kindergarten. My oldest is autistic and we occasionally do some math workbooks even though he is out of school. He still wants manipulatives but he prefers seasonal edible ones, for instance candy hearts at valentines and marshmallow pumpkins at halloween, he does get the concept though.

I agree, you can't go wrong with Betty Crocker. I also love the Dining on a Dime cookbook. Not only does it have lots of down home, inexpensive recipes but lots of cute quotes and stories and housekeeping ideas.

No but I did use sonlight core 1+2 our first year for 2nd grade and added the SOTW AG and we had a wonderful year.

I would LLATL to be more literature based than classical, it is a good program though and I got some good writing projects out of my son with it.

The foreign cars are a little trickier on repairs sometimes. The shop had my DH's infiniti for a month because; 1. The part had to be special ordered. 2. Once they got the part they couldn't figure out where it went and no one could tell them.:glare: Sorry to hear you are having to go through this. It drove me crazy!

We really enjoyed the bird kit from Sam's science club. There were some neat experiments like using different items like spoons to make beaks and trying to pick up things like bird seed and worms (spaghetti) to understand why different birds have different beaks. Ds also enjoyed disecting the owl pellet. I would also recommend the book or even the movie, HOOT. The whole family enjoyed the movie and ds and I loved the book.

I agree, start with core 1. I started homeschooling with core 1+2 since my son was a bit older and it was great but there is really no need to hurry. You don't have to finish the core this year, just start at the beginning and work till summer break, then just pick up where you left off next year.;) No rule that you have to finish the curriculum in a year or that you have to start your school year any particular time. I also purchased the Story of the World activity book and used the schedule from Paula's archives to match it to core 1. It was my son's first year at home and we had a great time. It really helped him remember what he learned. Hard to forget ancient egypt when you make a mummy or Hannibal and the elephants coming over the alps when you make elephant ear doughnuts to eat while you're learning about it.:D Just be sure and get the readers that are suited to each child and take your time and enjoy yourselves.;)

If you decide to can your tomatoes, they turn out very nicely if you cook them in the crockpot. I've finally got to the point that I can make diced ones like the ones in a can but in a jar.

If you decide to stick to the American history there are many online sites that offer unit studies, lapbooks, notebooking pages, and worksheets. One such site is http://www.guesthollow.com/ She offers a complete American history curriculum parts 1 and 2. Maybe you could find some creative writing projects or hands on projects your ds might enjoy here.

My ds always wears basketball shorts under his jeans and if he stays over he sleeps in the shorts and his jeans still look good the next day.:confused:

We really liked Abraham Lincoln Photobiography which was in sonlight core 4. I also agree with Turn Homeward Hannahlee as it gives a girls view. there are also some civil war era books in the Dear America or My America series. I recall two diaries that were for younger children about a little boy that started out a slave. Another suggestion is the American Girl Addy books, she was from the Civil War era and these books would work for her age.

Mine is a bit different. I always use drained canned green beans and instead of mushroom soup we use a jar of cheese whiz and then the big can of onion rings. It is awesome and everyone loves it. We call it Cheesy green beans.:001_smile:

What about Phase 10 Phase 10 Dice Skip Bo Pick Up Sticks - I used to have a set that had garden tools on the end, they were so cute.;)