So can you do your planning on the iPad or do you have to plan on your computer and then you can see it on your iPad? I was hoping for something that is a one time purchase but maybe there isn't anything.

Anyone know of a good homeschool planner app for iPad? I want something that can shift assignments forward if we take a field trip day or something and I don't have to manually move everything. It also needs to be able to do multiple students/kids and have a check off for assignments. Is there anything like that out there? Ive looked at the istudiez app and it's close but not quite. Any suggestions? Thanks!

I really like t-tapp. Lots of people are get "good bang for their buck". And it would probably be rehabilitative for your knees too. http://www.t-tapp.com

If you are wanting to learn how do make your own things (papers, elements, pages etc) from scratch you need a good how-to. I bought this book a month ago and it's very thorough: http://thedigitalscrapbookteacher.com/book.html It is used with Photoshop Elements. Then you can simply upload your pages and print. I've printed pages at http://www.scrappingsimply.com and they do a good job. I thought their prices were reasonable too. Jennifer

Would you be willing to share your list?

I tried to use the multiple quote thing but didn't get it to quote how I wanted to so some of these are the OP words... (Needle) How will I know? I mean, I will check, but if I inserted it and thought it went all the way up, will I be able to tell the difference?? If you loosen the screw enough you would be able to push the needle up and it might slide up a little more. If I remember correctly, when the needle is all the way in the down position you should just barely be able to see the eye of the needle showing underneath. (When you look straight into the bobbin area). (Timing) I'm honestly wondering if that is the case. BUT -- if it was a timing issue, wouldn't it have shown up right away?? and not after 30 minutes of perfect sewing? (or, well, not perfect, but relatively problem free???) That's why I'm wondering if maybe something was loose and with a little sewing it finally slipped. If the thread is getting stuck around the hook (the little pointy thing that runs around the edge of the "circle" (hook race) that the bobbin snaps into) (Bobbin case) Okay....I only get a click if I put the bobbin case in w/o holding out the little wing. when I hold the little wing and let go it doesn't push in any further, but it doesn't click. If I put it in w/o holding the little wing, it clicks in. the wing is just to help you insert it. You want to hear that click whether you let go of the wing before it's all the way in or just don't use it. The click lets you know it's all the way in.

Yes, I was going to say this. On some older Bernina's there is a smaller "inside" wheel on the hand wheel on the right that you have to hold the outer wheel while you loosen the inside wheel to get the bobbin winder to work. Then you tighten it back up to sew.

You are inserting the thread in the slot on the side of the bobbin case right? And putting the pressure foot down before you start sewing? I don't mean to question your intelligence ;) but sometimes it can be the smallest thing where you smack your head and say "duh!!". Check to see if the needle was pushed up all the way up when you inserted it - loosen the screw and double check. There is a chance the timing could be off which would be something a shop would have to fix. Also, when you insert the bobbin case you have to hold the little wing out to get it in and then after you let go and push the bobbin case in it should make a little click as it snaps in the machine... Just some other things to try... I am curious about what the problem ends up being - let us know!! :)

These are good brands of thread. They should work fine. Have you double checked to make sure the bobbin is in correctly? Sometimes having it in backwards will cause a break pretty quickly. Also - make sure it isn't wrapped around anything that would put extra tension after you've sewn some stitches and then cause a break. Is the thread breaking in exactly the same place every time? Have you tried a new needle? Sometimes if there is a burr or a sharp edge somewhere that the thread rubs on it can weaken and break it. Is the thread snapping or fraying and then breaking? Just some thoughts... I hate to see people frustrated with good machines.

Thanks, I thought that was the case.

Is it necessary for a student to go through a "pre-algebra" course before starting Jacobs Elementary Algebra? What about pre-algebra in general? As I look at various T of C in pre-algebra books I see sections on variables, basic inequalities, exponents and negatives numbers which I thought was "pre-algebra". But 70% of the book is decimals, fractions, percentages, basic geometry, ratio, square roots etc... I thought a lot of that was covered in general 5 and 6 grade math... Am I missing something or are they just getting mastery down good before moving on?? J

Thanks for your thoughts. I looked at the videos over on the AoPS website and looking at the chapter list in the pre-algebra book I'd say she's probably comfortable with 85-90% of it. She may be able to use the videos to fill in the gaps or I could get another text to supplement with and see if a different teaching method will help.

I'm familiar with Saxon but can anyone tell my how AoPS compares? I've heard good reviews but don't know much about it. My situation: I have a daughter who is in 6th grade at a charter school this year after homeschooling for 4 years. She is doing Course 3 (equiv to 8/7?) and is needing more practice to really understand the logic behind the beg algebra topics they are covering now. She would be going to Algebra next year if we can get her the right extra practice to be comfortable enough with it. Would you get her another Saxon text (which one?) to practice over the summer or would AoPS be fun and help her understanding (the logical thinking processes - the why - behind the problems) better? I want something that really explains the why behind the math... Or any other suggestions? Thanks!

I'm having a similar situation with what seems like a dairy sensitivity. My baby is almost 5 mo. now. I went off milk when he was about 1-2 mo old and the spitting up seemed to get back under control. He wasn't vomiting buckets all the time but would get very fussy and cranky about 20 min after nursing and many times this would be accompanied by a big mess of spit up. He was so much happier after I quit milk. I can have small amounts of it now but if I have any yogurt (we make our own) he'll usually spit up and it's very curdy and mucousy/slimy. I'm thinking he'll grow out of it eventually. My 6 yo had milk issues when I stopped nursing her and didn't tolerate cows milk very well but now she's fine with it.

What a fun thread! When ds was about 4 I was trying to get him to understand rhyming words. We were in the car and I wanted to say a word and have him say words that rhymed with it. He wasn't quite getting it so I said, "You know, like bed, red, head, bread..." and he said "Oh, yea! Like we bred the big goat with the little goat?" (we also live on a small farm :tongue_smilie:)

any other opinions?

bump:001_smile:

I haven't been assigning him anything specific to read. They have all been things he's picked on his own.

I don't think he's ADHD, just active. He has no problem doing an entire math assignment in one sitting though. He tends to start books and then gets caught up by the next book that looks good and starts it and never gets around to finishing any of them. He's just not been hooked enough by anything that he HAS to finish it and find out what happens I guess. And right now, anything with a lot of pages or words on a page is overwhelming from the start. So maybe it will just take some time and more exposure and more reading by me... If I read, he wants to hear more and can sit through it... "ANOTHER CHAPTER, PLEEEAAASSSEEEE!!"

After receiving a few responses, I'm clarifying my situation a little more. My son wasn't avoiding "schoolwork" because he would rather play or watch TV (we don't have one for TV and watch very few movies). I saw most of his activities as totally worthwhile and he learned a lot from the projects he was doing and reading (he reads a ton of non-fiction), they just didn't all look like "school" and I could see there were some skills he was beginning to neglect. I had bought into the "student directed learning" philosophy a little too much and now I realize I should have just required a certain amount of school time basics and not budged on that. I wanted him to love learning and when he hated math and writing, I let it go for awhile thinking that eventually he'd come back around to it. Maybe he would, maybe not. He got a little bit in with the projects he was doing but it took going back to school to really get him to want to do the work. I guess maybe my question could include: How far do you go in letting your child work on learning what he/she likes - how much are you letting them decide and how much are you scheduling and deciding for them? And now, I'd answer it saying that basics should be required, regardless. Agree???

Anyone read this book? Was it helpful to you? How? It seems I get too many books where I'm already doing half of what it says or their suggestions just really don't work for us. I hate to fork out the money for another one unless it's really helpful but I can't find it at the library and I'm curious about it. Jen

How strict are you in giving your kids assignments and making sure they complete them (ie - what are the consequences if they don't) or do you sit back and let them make the calls? It seems sometimes with homeschooling we lose the accountability factor that they would get in a brick and mortar school because they aren't going to get a bad grade if they don't do the work... not that I totally believe in grades, because I don't, but how have you handled that? My oldest ds age 13 went to a local charter school this year and really has done well. I am pleased with the school and the teachers so I have no complaints there. I would have loved to have had him at home longer but he wasn't willing to branch out past a very narrow band of interests and did not want to spend his time doing things he didn't totally enjoy (like writing and some math - really anything besides his narrow band of interests) even though he knew he should. He says it's better for him to be at school because it makes him do it. I'd love your thoughts... After receiving a few responses, I'm clarifying my situation a little more. My son wasn't avoiding "schoolwork" because he would rather play or watch TV (we don't have one for TV and watch very few movies). I saw most of his activities as totally worthwhile and he learned a lot from the projects he was doing and reading (he reads a ton of non-fiction), they just didn't all look like "school" and I could see there were some skills he was beginning to neglect. I had bought into the "student directed learning" philosophy a little too much and now I realize I should have just required a certain amount of school time basics and not budged on that. I wanted him to love learning and when he hated math and writing, I let it go for awhile thinking that eventually he'd come back around to it. Maybe he would, maybe not. He got a little bit in with the projects he was doing but it took going back to school to really get him to want to do the work. I guess maybe my question could include: How far do you go in letting your child work on learning what he/she likes - how much are you letting them decide and how much are you scheduling and deciding for them? And now, I'd answer it saying that basics should be required, regardless. Agree???

It seems to me that as long as your kid likes to read, homeschooling isn't all that bad. But what do you do when you have one that would rather do anything besides read? I have a ds 10 who will find plenty of other things to do (even wandering the house) to avoid sitting down and reading. I think he's just too active of a kid and is still getting fluent at reading well though he's come a very long way in the last year. (From about a K level to almost a 4th grade level). He is more than happy to listen to me read and remembers things very well when he hears them but I don't have tons of time to read all day to him (5 other children) and we don't have access to a library where I can get good books on tape. He tried the local charter school (3rd grade) and has done very well there this year (his first year at any school) but for other reasons I'd love to have him home again but don't want to lose the momentum he's gotten there. Any suggestions/ideas on how you homeschool your kids who don't enjoy reading on their own? Thanks!

I love that I can put pdf docs on it. I find it so much easier to get through all those free e books and documents of information I download and never have time to sit at the computer to read (and I don't want to print them all off - too much paper). I can take it with me and easily read all those things I wouldn't get to otherwise. I don't buy books for it. I've downloaded some free ones but I think I'd rather have a book I can mark and refer to later. But for documents, I've really liked it.

How easy is it to use WTM with multiple children? It seems like it wouldn't be too bad but I'm just wondering if you've had to tweak anything to make it work? I'm attracted to TOG because it covers all age levels but the simplicity of WTM attracts me too. I tend to get bogged down trying to do too much and then get overwhelmed and homeschooling isn't fun anymore. One of my dc does not enjoy reading all that much so just assigning him stuff to read probably isn't going to work well. We would need to do the reading all together. Next year I might have a dd 6 1/2 and ds 10 doing homeschool as well as 2 youngers dd 3 and ds 1. Any tips or ideas?