My youngest discovered our keyboard and declared a desire to learn to play. I was wondering if anyone has experience with this program. http://www.stepstojoy.com/

Funny that I should start reading this thread as the mailman was walking toward my house. I'm waiting for a package from across the country.

Hooah. It's an Army thing!

I need more than I get.

I don't know about Wuthering Heights, but Moby Dick? UGGGGH!!!

This is the best advice you'll get.

HE stands for high efficiency. They are wonderful machines. My water bill went down considerably after I bought my new washer. You are supposed to use special detergent for them.

Yes, it's very helpful to have children around when attempting to homeschool! Why didn't I think of that?

I like the KJV. It is more elegant. You can always explain things if she doesn't understand.

Buy the van. Here are my reasons. 1. Safety reasons - husband in a lawn chair is not safe! 2. You are setting a bad example for the children by your husband not seated properly. 3. With 135k on it, you will start running into repairs every other month. You will be throwing away good money after bad. What starts as a reasonable $150 for one doodad will become $300, then $500, then you start talking real money. Then you will have an older van with more miles and more repairs waiting to happen. 4. The longer you wait to lose the van, the less money you will get for sale or trade. 5. What if the foster child stays until after June? You will still have an old van that isn't safe or reliable and doesn't fit everyone. I'm sure there are other reasons to get a van now but these are just off the top of my head. You will save money in the long run by having an adequate vehicle.

Don't they want the student to have OTR training? Book learning is all well and good, but it doesn't prepare you for driving, IMO. I know when I took DE in high school they didn't have OTR training so I didn't get a discount on my insurance.

No, I'm not kidding. It cuts down on fat content and adds fiber and vitamins that you wouldn't get with using vegetable oil.

I use applesauce or canned pumpkin in place of oil in baking recipes. Makes the Hershey's brownie mix extra yummy.

I used to make homemade brownies all the time, but I went to a club warehouse one day and bought the industrial-sized box of Hershey's brownie mix. It has chocolate chunks in it. I substitute applesauce or canned pumpkin for the oil and my kids love it. They like it better than homemade ... <sniff>

I think Prima Latina is a little much for a first grader. I would start that at third grade; possibly second but that would depend on your child. Go slowly with the basics -- reading, handwriting, math. Reading can incorporate history and science. Art and music are important but those are my weak areas, so I can't comment on those.

I'm a former ARNG wife. Hubby deployed and I homeschooled during that time. Then he came home and we put them in private school. He is now out of the NG and we pulled the kids out of private school a few months ago. I'm sad about all the time we lost but I'm eager to go whole-hog in the curriculum I choose for next year. I miss the ARNG life sometimes. I admire you ladies and I thank you and your kids for your service. You all sacrifice to lead the military life and I appreciate it. Hooah and Semper Fi (yup, he was in the Corps, too!)!

It's okay to hurt and feel sad over this. The hardest thing is to grieve.

I can identify with what you said. I just got my Veritas catalog in the mail today and I'm all a-flutter with possibilities.

He has steadily gone downhill since his double concussion and from all I've read, concussions can bring out mental illness in people who are sensitive to them. I think this is what's happened. I don't know about TBI causing mental illness, but severe TBI can certainly do a number on mood and aggression, as well as speech and cognitive ability, among other things. TBI can be severe and debilitating. Contact the Brain Injury Association for resources for yourself. It is very difficult and lonely being the caretaker to someone with TBI. I can't offer advice about a CHINS petition but I do have experience with TBI.

Thanks for posting this. I am thinking of buying the program and was wondering how it will fit in with my crew; they range in age from four to 11. I will check out the Yahoo groups.

The shape of the word? Okay. "Ward" and "word" have the same shape. How do you know the difference between them? What a silly method. I'm very familiar with Beka phonics and it's a system that I like. It teaches sight words, but not many words qualify for that category with Beka. Sometimes I peruse bookstore shelves and I'm surprised by what qualifies as sight words in some reading systems. While the Beka system can be intimidating at first glance it is workable. Learning list after list of words sounds rather tedious. You can't learn every word in the language by memorizing it, and as for the shape concept, well, words just fail me.

Supper is the meal we eat at night. Dinner is what we have on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

What is the rationale behind using a plate? Is your son using a knife and fork to eat the banana? There are many battles worth fighting with children; this, dear Caroline, is not one of them. I think your husband needs to find something else to worry about.

I like this idea. Since you have two special days, you should get two things for you and two things for the house. For the house I'd go for the runners and the silverware. It must be very annoying to have only two spoons!

As for having it one big thread or breaking it up into grades, I'm not sure. It wouldn't matter to me either way. I can see advantages to both.