My kids have said they don't want to do any more read alouds because every book we have read - someone has died : (Anne of Green Gables, Charlotte's Web, Island of the Blue Dolphins, Stone Fox, the American Girl books, Corrie Ten Boom, all of our MFW Missionary biographies....) We need some light-hearted happy books (with no death) for summer reads. (My kids are 9 and 11 - so books appropriate for that age) Any suggestions? :)

My DD will be using Little Hearts for his Glory. I haven't decided if I'm going to use Singapore or CLE math for her though, and we still haven't chosen a phonics program. (She is SN, and so she is behind a bit in that area.) Right now we're just focusing on letter sounds and blending.

Billy and Blaze series (about a boy and his horse) The Trumpet of the Swan Stuart Little Charlotte's Web Wind in the Willows Winnie the Pooh

I taught preschool and kindergarten before becoming a SAHM and homeschooler. While I loved my job, I can definitely say that it influenced my decision to homeschool. I felt horrible for the kids who were traumatized by separation anxiety, and I had to be the one to 'hold them back' as their moms walked (sometimes crying themselves) out the door. I though "how pointless"...especially at that young age. It completely made me realize Little kids NEED their parents! Other things that made me want to stay home - seeing a child's face light up for the first time when the 'get' a new concept, or doing all sorts of fun projects with the kids. All I could think is ..."Thier parents are missing out on SO much! They don't get to watch them learn." :-( I knew I wanted to be there for my kids. Other things that influenced me - I wanted my kids to be able to openly talk about their faith. I hated that we couldn't celebrate Christian holidays when I was teaching. (Only 'winter' and 'spring'. It was offensive to discuss my own faith, yet I HAD to teach about every other 'multicultural' holiday....it was very hypocritical.) As far as things that carry over - I'm very uptight about how my books are organized, and I have a definite idea of how I would like to arrange our 'classoom' if we ever had the space/money...but for the most part I have embraced the more relaxed routines of homeschooling. If I could just have one thing that our PS had...a janitor... oh how I would love someone to clean up for us!

We are finishing up 3rd Grade with my DS and we used: MFW - Exploring Countries and Cultures (Bible, Science, Geography, Art, Music) CLE Math Growing With Grammar Spectrum Writing HWT - Cursive Pathways reading (with workbook) Powerglide Adventure Spanish and occasionally we did units of Five in A Row - just to 'mix things up'.

Oooh look at the perfect 'bell curve!' (I'm 38)

My 5 yr old painted my DH's toenails once. (All it took was..."Please Daddy!"...he couldn't resist.) He didn't know we didn't have any remover at home, either! But, he though no one would notice because it was winter and he always wore socks/shoes. But then he went on a business trip, and his associates all went to the pool/spa one night.... and they've never let him live it down. :lol:

I saw that his morning, too...:drool:

My daughter...born on Christmas Eve.

I would say it depends on the person, their maturity, and what they are looking for in a relationship. (sex/marriage/friendship/etc.) When I was a teen (15) I 'dated' a 23 yr old from our church. He was a really nice guy, a strong Christian, and he was very honorable towards me. Our parents were good friends and our families did a lot together. My mom had no problem with our dating...and it was very innocent. Now...the other 15 yr old guys I went to school with...they were ALL hormones! My mom did NOT want me 'dating' most of them, and I had no interest in them either. They acted like the foolish, immature children that they were.

Wow! I could have written that word for word about my son! (He just finished GWG and did the exact same thing!) I'm going to be watching this thread closely! :lurk5:

Winners we've used in the past - and will continue to use this upcoming year: CLE Math, Language Arts, and Reading Growing With Grammar R&S Spelling HWT What we're excited about: MFW: RTR (for the oldest 2 kids) Heart of Dakota- LHFHG (I think this will be a great fit for my DD who needs a 'gentle' yet thorough program) Cautiously Optimistic: Singapore Math (for my middle DD) SOTW2 Activity Guide (adding it to RTR) Story of the Middle Ages text by CLP A Reason for Handwriting (decided to try that over HWT for DD) Explode the Code (once DD is ready) LOF - Fractions (as a supplement for my oldest) What I've decided to not use after all: DITHOR Writing Strands God and the History of Art (didn't care for it at all)

When I was in college - I had been dating a guy for about a year. So my birthday rolls around, and I thought maybe I'd get jewelry - or even flowers or dinner at a nice restaurant. He gave me.... a bell for my bicycle. (Seriously, as in it wasn't even a 'gag' gift.) I had just bought a nice mountain bike a few weeks earlier - and he wanted to get me something to go along with it. :001_huh:

I wouldn't say that it's similar to FLL, (but it is rather similar to Easy Grammar, if you have ever looked at that (?) It is mostly fill-in-the-blank types of questions,, but there is quite a bit of diagramming.

We are using MFW - and I love to tweak to make things fit our family better - lol. We are just finishing ECC, so I'll start with that one. First of all - we didn't follow their suggestions for math, spelling and LA. We used Growing with Grammar, R&S spelling and CLE math. I wanted the kids to be able to work more independently on those subjects (and still have short/simple lessons) so that I could work with my younger kids during that time. Next - we thought that the atlas readings (except the large "Illustrated Atlas") - were all too dry/boring. Instead we substituted with the Rod and Staff 4th grade social studies text "Homelands Around the World." It was a perfect compliment to ECC! Many of the same countries were listed, and the info was given from a child's perspective (In the book a there are children 'visiting' those countries, and they tell about their trip.) We also purchased the 3rd book in the series "A Trip Around the World" called "A NEW Trip Around the World" Many of the ECC countries were highlighted in this book, so it helped us a lot! In general - we like the activities and info found in these books much better than in the "World Geography" book - and our 'packets' usually included more from these books, and less from the WG book. And finally... I couldn't stand the missionary biographies. Dry and boring! We used books from the "Young Readers Christian Library" instead. They had many of the same missionaries, yet were geared more towards the interest of children. We're skipping CtG (because we used SOTW Vol.1 the year before) and are using RtR this upcoming fall. I'm 'tweaking' that a bit, too. I don't like "Streams of Civilization" so I'll be substituting with CLP's "Story of the Middle Ages" and also we'll be adding more of the activities from the SOTW Vol. 2 activity guide. We're not using Trial and Triumph, (my kids aren't ready for graphic stories on martydom just yet,) and we're not using God and the History of Art. Instead we're using "Draw and Write Through History" and our own 'art appreciation' program. And - once again, we're using GWG, R&S and CLE for math and LA.

:iagree: We are using MFW:ECC this year, and we have completely skipped these books. We made it 1/2 way through the first one - but we were all bored to tears. To many dates/facts/etc., and not enough plot. We substituted instead with several books from the Young Reader's Christian Library - ( by Barbour publishing.) They were perfect for my 8-11 yr olds! We read books on Jim Elliot, David Livingstone, Corrie Ten Boom, Hudson Taylor...and several others. The books were much more age appropriate for children, plus they were illustrated and they had decent plots that made my children beg for.... " Just ONE more chapter, Mom!" Here is a sample of one http://www.amazon.com/Elliot-Young-Readers-Christian-Library/dp/157748228X/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242328027&sr=1-6 I can't highly recommend these books enough!

We are eclectic homeschoolers, but we lean towards Classical ( we use MFW), and so I do enjoy the discussions about curriculum and education in general. I have read most of the WTM, but it was overwhelming to me. I was originally directed to this board because I have a special needs child, and I was told that you all have a really nice sub-forum for homeschooling children with special needs (and they were right.) :-) Plus....once I got here and saw the swap board, I was like :drool5:

We have an '04 Chevy Venture, and while I love it for space/reliability/smooth ride - I later found out that they have horrible crash test results - so I'd avoid Chevy (and also the 'sister' vehicles the Oldsmobile Silhouette and Pontiac Montana) For safety features your best bet is a Kia, a Toyota or a Honda.

Has anyone here used MFW's Rome to the Reformation - but also used the SOTW 2 Activity guide with it? I purchased RTR for next year, but I'm just not crazy about parts of it (namely Streams of Civilization.) I was wondering if I could leave out Streams and just use more SOTW 2 (?) Any experience with this?

My name is Michelle and I'm the mom to 4 kids (ages 11,9,6 and 4) I'm a newbie here, and this board was recommended to me because of the 'special needs' section. We are finishing our 3rd year of homeschooling. My older two children use My Father's World, (and a mix of CLE, R&S and other miscellaneous things for their "3R's",) and my 6 yr old is using the Heart of Dakota programs. (She has some special needs, and needs a more 'gentle' approach.)

That is exactly what I was wondering. ;) (Maybe I'll try to see if my library has both so I can compare...) Thank you very much for your help! Blessings, Michelle

Thank you! I was wondering about the Medieval World books. (Internet-linked vs. 'regular')

I found this article to be very interesting regarding the sale and 'licensing agreements' of software. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2008/05/court-smacks-autodesk-affirms-right-to-sell-used-software.ars

I am looking at books for our MFW package and I see that there are a couple of different Usborne books for the Medieval era. There is an 'internet-linked one, and just a regular one... Does anyone know if they have the same text (minus the internet links?) Thank you, Michelle

I would set it outside, directly in the sun and fresh air. (Unfortunately, it will fade the cover - though)