I have quit several times and slipped back into drinking them, but this time I have gone longer than ever. First, I realized that I could treat the headache just like any other with Advil! Second, I left the room whenever anyone else was opening a can, that pop and fizz is a trigger for me (as is popcorn). Third, I watched the documentary Sugar, the Bitter Truth. That is what really is working this time.

Wheeler has an Elementary Speller that has copywork in it. The passages are simpler than his Graded Studies but just as pretty. http://books.google.com/books?id=zpQAAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=William+Henry+Wheeler+Elementary+Speller&hl=en&sa=X&ei=s_qbT_zSBMe16AGu9dmNDw&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=William%20Henry%20Wheeler%20Elementary%20Speller&f=false

Project Feeder Watch http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/ Cornell All about Birds http://www.allaboutbirds.org/Page.aspx?pid=1189 Recordings of bird songs http://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/94350

There are videos by Hewitt: Conceptual Physics Alive: The San Francisco Years Vol. 1 and 2. However they are outrageously expensive. http://www.teachersource.com/product/conceptual-physics-alive-the-san-francisco-years/books-music-software

Fool's gold, of course!

LibraryLover, I checked my link to make sure it went to the right book: A Classical Copybook covering Early Modern History 1600-1850 for the Upper Grammar & Early Logic Stage by Kimberly D. Garcia, because the info in your last post did not match the book I have. The book I have doesn't seem to have any political bent beyond a reference to the "Heavenly Father" on the acknowledgments page, and the copywork is in cursive. It has no literary questions, only copywork, and it is not available as a download, but as a print book for $21. I wonder if you downloaded a different book? She has many.

LibraryLover, I checked my link to make sure it went to the right book: A Classical Copybook covering Early Modern History 1600-1850 for the Upper Grammar & Early Logic Stage by Kimberly D. Garcia, because the info in your last post did not match the book I have. The book I have doesn't seem to have any political bent beyond a reference to the "Heavenly Father" on the acknowledgments page and the copywork is in cursive, and it is not available as a download, but as a print book for $21. I wonder if you downloaded a different book?

My son is slowly working his way through it. For us it will be the Two or Three Year Adventure Novel, but he's only in 6th grade so that's okay. He loves it. The DVDs are engaging and very informative. I think they also double as an introduction to literary analysis: plot, characterization, setting, theme, conflict etc. The only problem I have heard of is that some people find a particular lesson in it (lesson 18?) over-the-top in terms of asserting that the only path to finding true meaning (in writing) is through Christianity (or some such dismissal of other paths to truth). All the other lessons we have done so far have stuck to the writing/literature topic pretty strictly and have not strayed into that territory again, and so I chose to explain that individual lesson to my son as "one man's opinion" and used it as an opportunity to discuss bias in writing.

Library Lover, I don't have any pictures but here is a list of some of the passages in the first chapter. There are many more. The book contains a mix of stories, speeches and poetry. The passages are between 3-5 (long) sentences each.There are spaces to practice each passage 4 times then they are supposed to be written from dictation. Captain John Smith by Richard G. Parker A White Boy among the Indians by Edward Eggleston The Pine-Tree Shillings by Nathaniel Hawthorne Sir Issac Newton by Nathaniel Hawthorne King Philip to White Settler by Edward Everett King Charles II and William Penn by Mason I Weems The Whistle by Benjamin Franklin Young Benjamin Franklin by Nathaniel Hawthorne Little Lord Sold into Bondage by Edward Eggleston The Story of Peter Williamson--Twice a Slave by Edward Eggleston The Intrepid Youth (about George Washington) Franklin's Wonderful Kite by James Baldwin Grandmother Bear (about Indian Culture The Good Reader about Frederick the Great Boston Tea Party The Midnight Ride The Young Scout (Andrew Jackson) The Capture of Major Andre (about Benedict Arnold) Webster and Woodchuck (about Daniel Webster) Benedict Arnold Old Johnny Appleseed Napoleon's Army Crossing the Alps A Foot Race for Life (Lewis and Clark) Two example passages: A Letter to James Madison by Thomas Jefferson "I will now tell you what I do not like. First, the omission of a bill of rights, providing clearly, and without the aid of sophism, for freedom of religion, freedom of the press, protection against standingn armies, restriction of monopolies, the eternal and unremitting force of the habeas corpus, and trials by jury in all matters of fact triable by the laws of the land, and not by the laws of nations." Napoleon's Army Crossing the Alps from A Sander's Union Reader "When halfway up the summit, a rumbling noise was heard among the cliffs. The guides looked at each other in alarm for they knew well what it meant. It grew louder and louder. "An avalanche! An avalanche!" they shrieked, and the next moment a field of ice and snow came leaping down the mountain, striking the line of march, and sweeping thirty dragoons in a wild plunge below."

I second Rex Barks. I also like (workbook format): Better Sentence Structure Through Diagramming Book 1 http://www.amazon.com/Skills-Sentence-Structure-Through-Diagraming/dp/1568221754/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1334866183&sr=8-2 Better Sentence Structure Through Diagramming Book 2 http://www.amazon.com/Better-Sentence-Structure-Through-Diagraming/dp/1568221762/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334866183&sr=8-1

I watched the video clips and looked at the table of contents. This looks fantastic. There is definitely some Christian content. The explanations of the tropes and the meter of poetry (especially the meter for this tone-deaf, rhythm-challenged mother) look to be incredibly worthwhile. This will be on my list to consider for next year. I can see it going hand-in-hand with MCT's poetry series.

Stephen and Lucy Hawking have written a great series for children on astrophysics George and The Big Bang http://www.amazon.com/George-Big-Bang-Stephen-Hawking/dp/1442440058/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1334796638&sr=8-9 George's Secret Key to the Universe http://www.amazon.com/Georges-Secret-Universe-Stephen-Hawking/dp/1416985840/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_3 George's Cosmic Treasure Hunt http://www.amazon.com/Georges-Cosmic-Treasure-Hunt-Hawking/dp/1442421754/ref=pd_sim_b_1

This book is great for elementary and middle school. Discusses the earliest recorded discoveries in chemistry in a narrative format. The Mystery of the Periodic Table http://www.amazon.com/Mystery-Periodic-Living-History-Library/dp/188393771X/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1334795653&sr=8-11

I think WWS would be perfect for learning to write academic papers. For a student that age, I'd compress the weeks into days. So do four lessons (i.e. Week 1 Day 1-4) in one day.

The zoo is a great place to do nature study! The only thing to remember is that if you study animal behavior, it is going to be somewhat altered from what you would see in the wild. But here is a book on urban nature you might want to check out to learn about your local area: http://www.amazon.com/Browns-Field-Guide-Forgotten-Wilderness/dp/0425097153/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1334780714&sr=8-9 And one for the Kids http://www.amazon.com/Critters-Houston-Arboretum-Nature-Center/dp/007053201X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1334780838&sr=1-1 I am sure there are more if you search for urban wildlife.

Does anyone know if, for example, 1/4 of crystallized raw honey is equivalent to 1/4 cup uncrystalized honey for baking purposes? When I warm the raw honey to the point that it looks like regular honey, it appears to have much less volume. Thanks!

NOTE: I edited this to link to the cursive version. I accidentally linked to a manuscript version in my first post. Sorry Does she need practice? Is her writing readable? My son will continue to need handwriting practice for quite a while. I am using this: http://www.lulu.com/shop/kimberly-garcia/a-classical-copybook-for-the-upper-grammar-and-early-logic-stage-student-covering-early-modern-history-cursive-models/paperback/product-527495.html A Classical Copybook Covering Early Modern History for the Upper Grammar & Early Logic Stage. It is basically cursive copywork with passages from famous authors (George Washington, James Baldwin, Thomas Paine, etc.) about early modern history. It is much more "grown-up" than a cursive program and of greater interest due to the history content.

We've liked U.S. Map Skills: Teaching U.S. History with Maps by Mollie Brittenum (Instructional Fair). Rainbow Resource sells it.

My cousin made my dress for me. It was dark green, 20s style, beaded. I paid her $500 for it. Combined the flowers in my hair, my English teacher cousin said I reminded her of Titania from A Midsummer Nights Dream.

We use K-12 Human Odyssey in the WTM style (written narrations, outlining, timeline, and biography sheets). In my opinion it is a great secular text for logic stage. You can supplement the American History years with Joy Hakim's A History of US.

Phonics works for all the words you listed: The Cloisters holds ..... medieval metropolotin museum of art. C-l-oi-s-t-er-s / m-ed-ie-v-a-l / m-e-t-r-o-p-o-l-i-t-a-n /m-u-s-e-u-m (e is saying its long sound here, probably because it is at the end of the syllable "se".) He can sound any of them out phonogram by phonogram. Or you can teach him syllabication rules to make it quicker. He is perhaps just intimidated by the length of the word. You could go over the reading beforehand and pick out the specialized words you don't think he's going to be familiar with and introduce them before he does the reading. (Kind of like Jim Trelease does for the parent in his Read-Aloud Handbooks!)

For Grownups: The Art Book and The American Art Book by Phaidon. Also American Painting by Donald Goddard (beautiful reproductions) similar content to The American Art Book. These can all be purchased used. My favorite for kids The Art Book for Children and The Art Book for Children Book 2. They are quite sturdy books and I got nice copies used. Only Barnes and Nobles has all four titles. http://www.amazon.com/The-Book-Editors-Phaidon-Press/dp/071484487X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334237706&sr=8-1 http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/american-art-book-phaidon-press/1101099884?ean=9780714838458 http://www.amazon.com/American-Painting-Donald-Letcher-Goddard/dp/0883635909/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1334238131&sr=1-1 http://www.amazon.com/Book-Children-Editors-Phaidon-Press/dp/0714845302/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1334237743&sr=1-2 http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-art-book-for-children-book-two-phaidon-press-editors/1104291547?ean=9780714847061 Also like for kids: Cave Paintings to Picasso and Usborne Book of Famous Paintings. Love the 250 Masterpiece cards too. I am just giving them to the kids one by one for their photo album CM style picture study rather than using them as flashcards.

I second Hake as a thorough, independent curriculum. Ignore the writing part.

http://www.amazon.com/Survival-Wisdom-Know-How-Everything/dp/1579127533/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b http://www.amazon.com/Country-Wisdom-Know-How-Editors-Publishings/dp/1579123686/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1333909609&sr=8-8

We have the Usborne Book of Famous Paintings (for older kids) and adore it if that is any help. Generally we have loved all the Usborne books we've gotten, so I don't think you can go wrong with that one for your young children. That being said, there is painting in Famous Paintings I skipped with my seven year old: Guernica by Picasso. It is a very violent-looking anti-war painting. I am sure there is no disturbing content in a Usborne book for very young children however.