I kept the parts of your original post that I can particularly relate to--I could have written it! My dd12 is bright, but slow to work her math (though she works slow all day right now!). I, too, feel like I don't want to compromise on the mixed issues of sloppy errors, long math hours, math accuracy, etc. We are in Alg 1/2 this year and new to Saxon, so 30 problems hit us both hard at first. I made her do them all and correct them all until she was so weighed down by the task that we both were a mess. NEW trial plan (dh's idea): Since sloppy errors are the primary issue here, we allow her to do evens and check her work...this still takes almost an hour. If she gets 100% then she does not need to do the odds that day. The result? Much more careful work, checking her work, asking more questions of me when she has trouble, and a real desire to do well. I think it has actually improved her math understanding. Truthfully, she still has to do the odds most days but we have gone from about 8-9 wrong out of 30 (ALL of which were sloppy errors, not from misunderstanding the concept) down to 3 or less. And it's a system where she knows & accepts the consequence. If we can stay at this accuracy %, I'll go back to having her do all 30 next year and allowing approx. a 90% average before going on. But for now, the change in dd's approach to her math from her attitude to her execution has been worth it. Good luck with whatever you try!

These are basically grab & go plants! I pulled some up at our old house (they were poking through the fence). We literally yanked them up, tossed them in the truck for the move across town and casually put them in the ground here without much care. They won't give fruit that first year, but just hang tight and you'll get fruit the 2nd year. We are now 6 years in and have plants all over the place, some "planted" by birds. :)

I think this combination is a great idea! We now have lots of homeschooling families at our church (a new development in the last 3 years or so) and a day like this for everyone would be wonderful, especially with a curriculum display. Hmmm...I might have to start planning this as well!

Yes, wireless would be ideal. We can probably make that happen, but like you, I'll have to block other websites or something so as not to get distracted by the stuff I'm trying to avoid by getting away in the first place!:tongue_smilie:

Jennifer-Thanks for sharing this again! I think I may have read about this in 2009 because the idea has been on my mind for a while, likely thanks to you. I just re-read your 2010 entry and I think SWB's audio lectures would be perfect for our getaway.

Seriously...I've been thinking about this Do-It-Yourself idea with a few local friends. None of us are that interested in the speakers at our state conventions because they are the same EVERY year, more or less. And while I am a Christian, I don't go to conventions for ideas on how to include a devotional time in our day...I go for new and creative ideas about SCHOOLing. So, we are thinking about planning our own weekend retreat--an inexpensive getaway with just a few homeschooling moms and we will use our best resource: each other! We all have gifts and talents and areas of strengths and experience. Why not have some focused sharing time in these areas? I can talk about some of the successful changes I've used in our writing program, how I've gone back to TWTM methods for outlining & how that's worked, or how I've made TOG work for us, and my other friends can share their successful pursuits--math, science, literature, organizational ideas, etc. Probably, within a small group, we can share ideas and brainstorm new ones and come home feeling refreshed and energized? And in some regard, isn't that part of the goal too? I think we sometimes sell ourselves short. The hive is wise, experienced, and ready to improvise, improve, and imagine new ways of teaching our kids. I think a small assembly of ourselves could be a spark for something great and unexpected in our own homeschools...without the traditional convention. So my friends & I are looking at booking a weekend in April together (borrowing an off-season vacation home for nearly nothing)--any thoughts on what your own DIY homeschool retreat might look like or what we should include at ours?

Dear Susan, I am so grateful for having been handed TWTM when I first considered moving my oldest out of public school, because your book was what really helped me commit to this adventure. I will never forget reading those opening chapters and cheering inside that someone was actually speaking to me about the way I believed education should really happen, but I could never have put into words like you. It was like you took the chaotic ideas I had squashed down deep while studying to be an educator in college and organized them into the "manual" I had always wanted! So, while we diverge from true WTM methods from time to time, I always always always come back to your book to get grounded again, focused on what I had originally intended to pursue with my children, and energized to journey on. Now, with my youngest, I am finding that WWE is the perfect fit and I am again grateful to have you and your materials as part of our routine--what a gift you are to the homeschool community! Thank you!

Praying for you right now! I'm so sorry you're going through this scary time, and I'm so glad you've asked for prayer.

Thank you all so much for your quick (and varied!) replies! I am trying to compare each of these programs to each other and to the LC I & II materials I have on hand. I really need to figure out if I'm getting in my own way or if buying another program will be the fix we need. What do these programs have that I don't own already? That's what I have to consider before spending more money... I think at this time of year, and after 6 years of homeschooling, I'm just feeling like a change might be what invigorates us to get Latin "done" but it's so hard to know if that will be the fix or I just need to buckle down and get this on our schedule. Thanks for all your help and suggestions!

Thank you!

Oooooh, I might have to look at this as well. (Veritas Press online course) We don't do any online classes and I'm looking to maybe try that out for her--she loves being on the computer but has no need to in general. This would give a little more purpose to online time. Have you done this course and found it effective?

This is a great approach, no matter the program I think. I've been hearing a lot about Henle for high school and with that in mind, I do need to do some catching up to have her be ready and get the Latin wheels spinning a bit. Summer work would be okay with her I think. And I'm okay with it being "a breeze" as long as she'd be prepared for whatever high school level program is next. What is GSWL? I'm straining my brain to make a Latin program title out of this?! I'm sure I've seen it but this isn't ringing a bell...

I will look into this today--thank you! Haven't heard much about Galore Park from any local friends, and I bet there are some other threads here to refer to as well. :)

Oldest dd is 12 now and we have only "played" at Latin over the years, never finishing anything with Prima Latina and only dabbling in LCI. Why? Busy schedule? Hard to get into the LC style and approach? Honestly, none of us love it and while I am diligent in getting all other subjects done well, I've let Latin (and Logic also :glare:) slip. I own it all--the dvd's the books, etc. but it's not getting done. Now that we're nearly done grade 7 I'm wondering what to do--continue LCI & II and just force ourselves to do it?? Or is there something more engaging and interesting for this age since she's likely outgrown that program's target age? Looking ahead, I don't know what language we will pursue in high school, but if it's Latin (which is my hope) I want to be ready for that and I want her to be prepared for a high school level program. My concern is that I don't know how we'll fit it in, but if I'm willing to work that part out, I want to at least use a Latin program that will engage my child more than LC has...she loves Life of Fred for math, so dry humor and wordy texts are not a problem here. Thanks for any suggestions you may have!

Name: Melissa age of dc: 3 girls, ages 12, 9, and almost 7 how long homeschooling?: almost 7 years...we pulled dd12 out of ps in the middle of 1st grade have you taught these ages/grades before?: I taught ps 7th grade for several years, but that seems like a lifetime ago now and very little of that "classroom experience" actually applies to the homeschooling environment! In many ways, my oldest is very much the test subject. Do you follow a particular style of education? WTM has always been my guidebook, and I have tweaked things over the years, but ultimately, I always end up back at the WTM concepts as best practice for our family, especially with narrating, writing, and reading. Do you plan to homeschool high school?: Yes. No other viable options exist for us. As time goes on, I am more & more confident in saying it too...(after years of saying "we'll see...") Any favorite quotes or wisdom that get you through the day?: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Phil.4:13) I am SO SO grateful for this sub-forum for Logic stage. I don't post very often but I read almost daily, and this entire forum has been a gift from day one when I lurked on the old boards.

Thanks for the responses. Lots to think about...We would be just starting Homer B if I were to pick it up now. I'm just not convinced that all the detailed analysis is really worth all the time it takes. If I had all the time in the world, I'd be inclined to push through but it was taking us nearly 2 weeks to finish one "week" in Homer A, and not becuase she's not a capable writer...just that the analysis, scenes, etc seemed to not change the resulting piece of writing. And I felt we were only doing one kind of writing, over & over again with only slight variations. I'm not sure I can do more of that right now. I'm not ready to sell it all yet and I did buy Diogenes already in hopes of getting there one day. Regarding reading comprehension, what I've found is that her TOG readings are getting "done" but when we do the discussion questions it's all gone. Even if I have her write out some answers with resources in front of her, it's just a search & find mission which is tedious. My conclusion right now based on our conversations about this is that she's unfocused in her reading time, just kind of zoning out, and therefore not really engaging with the material. I was thinking that outlining would require more engagement while reading and would make discussion time actually productive. I'm going to check out that link though...I feel good about her reading level & comprehension ability based on the literature she can tackle well (and talk about). It's the history that's getting us stuck. Anyway, thank you so much for your input! I see you posting a lot on here about CW, RS math (which we adore!) and TOG which is another favorite of mine and you seem to do them all so well. Wish I could figure out how to balance 3 kids and their mom-intensive writing programs. I have to have some subjects be a little more independent for the oldest right now so that there is enough of me to go around.

Here's the story: We have had Aesop & Homer going on here. I love it. I don't mind the prep, the teaching, the "work" of it, and I can't say the results are bad, BUT we just don't have time for all of this. It was good last year, but his year it's not getting done with our new schedule. My dd12 doesn't love Homer and it was SO time consuming for her. I could skip parts, but I feel that for what we're actually getting through, I could likely get similar results with a simpler program. Meanwhile, her history readings aren't "sticking" and I have been trying to figure out what we're really missing here. I *think* that dropping CW will solve both these problems. My dd9 is in Aesop and hates it. She finds it boring to constantly retell fables and I can't say that I love Aesop now either after about a year of it. Boring. Meanwhile dd6 is doing FLL & WWE and I LOVE it. We are new to WWE (she's the first in our family to benefit from this book) and being back in an SWB program made me wonder what I was thinking with all this CW stuff...what I mean is, have I made writing too complicated, too time-consuming, and too burdensome for us all? So I pulled my book off the shelf again and re-read some parts, and I got the 2009 edition from the library to compare & make sure I'm not missing anything. The plan now (I think!): Drop all CW. Go back to WTM recs for outlining in history & science, with related writing in those subjects. This plan for outlining would also probably solve dd12's problems with history retention I suspect. We would also add in literary writing (analysis) which I have accidentally gotten away from. Meanwhile dd9 would have more freedom to have more varied writing assignments on content-area topics which I know she would prefer to Aesop. I might even pull out my dusty Writing Strands books and fill in some gaps on the kinds of writing I feel we've gotten away from with the CW approach. I know TWTM book is not the only valid recommendation for homeschooling plans but honestly, it resonated with me so much in year 1 that I'm not sure why I meandered away! UGH! Anyone else come to this conclusion? Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome. Should I be listening to the SWB audio lectures on writing? Thanks for any input!

We've got a crazy-fun "pool" going here in our house with my husband at the helm...constantly chasing us down for our pre-game picks! Seriously, he even ordered 3 vuvuzelas that I now endure during each game. I'm sure the neighbors love us--the 8yo can belt out a brain-numbing sound! We love World Cup excitement, and I'm not losing the family pool entirely. I missed on Ghana, but was right on Uruguay & Paraguay! Yay! This weekend will be hard to pick. Brazil v. Holland?! Yikes. Our family is split, which only makes it even more fun to watch the game together with live vuvuzela noise... Here's to a fun few days!! :)

Glad you got "sold" on this during the sale! :) It's amazing software with tons of possbilities. My personal preference is to create & order a bound book, usually of a themed event or trip. The individual pages are nice, but I really like my traditional books to stay just that, traditional. I do make all kinds of simple birthday invitations with the software, and if you print an invite as a 4x6 photo, you can address, stamp, and send it as a postcard invite. Too easy. Have fun!

No, not yet.

I handle memorabilia in a few ways with digital books: If I'm ordering an actual book (stitch-bound finished book), I simply scan or photography my memorabilia so it can be included as an image on a page. If I'm doing what they call "hybrid" scrapbooking, I would do exactly what you (Kfeusse) suggest--attach to the actual digital print or, more likely, the opposing page.

It's easy to use and makes beautiful books. I like that it's software you install, so you need not be online to use it, constantly refreshing pages as you work. I'm biased, and in the interest of full disclosure, I'm a consultant with the company, HOWEVER, I was unsure about this software initially, have experimented with others to see what's out there on my own, & have come to love the CM product. Check out the tutorials on the website to see how it works if you are wanting to see more. Hope you find what you like. I completely understand the time crunch issue which is why I am just barely still active with CM at all as a business, so I'm really enjoying the digital for my own books.

I agree with recs for Farmer John's cookbook--it has made us LOVE our new CSA veggies over the years, and you can search by veggie & by season. For kohlrabi, I highly recommend kohlrabi mashed potatoes.

I've used it this year and like it. I like the weekly two-page format, and there is enough room for me to put info in for each of my 3 kids. I also like the sections that are unlabeled for other subjects beyond math, history, etc. that we use for Latin, Literature, and other daily tasks like piano practice. In addition, the columns on the right side of each page are great for ongoing notes, to-do lists, and menu planning (which I have done & find convenient). A pp mentioned about the excess of pages between months, and honestly, after reading them, they could be torn out if you like. I do sometimes use the perforated shopping list pages though--they're fun & convenient when I can't find a paper scrap for a list. I like the print version for the same reason as someone else--it's in color. It would be far too expensive to print this in color at home, and I do like my girly planner book vs. a black & white one that came out of my printer. For next year, I got the middle school planner for my oldest who has been using her own planner for years already, usually bought from Staples. This was similarly priced with the Buyer's co-op, so I got her a pretty one too. :) Other things I like (feeling verbose this morning!): the field trip logs, the numerous grading & documentation charts, and the report cards! This matters for us because my in-laws "reward" the other grandchildren at year's end and my girls get zero recognition unless they bring something official...which I have (until now) failed to do on my own. So, this year they will have glossy cardstock report cards, which I'm sure will impress the family...:tongue_smilie:

Freedom Trail is a must-do and would lead you to all major locations that you might want to see and will take you to the Old North Church, and the USS Constitution, among other places. Bunker Hill isn't far. I highly recommend the Duck Tours! Pricey ($35 per person or more) but worth it. It's a fun and very informative tour which includes lots of details you won't always see in a history book. :) Dining is plentiful but I love Legal Seafood which is right downtown. I also love Regina's Pizza (casual) in the North End, plus if you like Italian, you can get some fantastic canoli & other treats at Mike's or Modern Pastry shops (it's fun to taste-test and see whose is best--dh & I vehemently disagree!) Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Science, and New England Aquarium are all downtown sites worthy of a visit. Fanueil Hall marketplace has good eats in a more food court style. Have a wonderful trip! We love Boston! :)