Well as my son says, "Because Macs just work, Mom." :) Four of my kids have Macs,and they do indeed "just work" better than my PC. Plus, they don't have to worry about anti-virus software slowing down their machines. Wish I could afford one. Mary Jo

Hi Cornflower, Right now we are 3/4 the way through German in 10 Minutes a Day by Kristine Kershul. The book and CD's are excellent. The speakers on the CDs are native speakers and the use of different sound bites and humor keep our interest. It has been a great jump-start to get us going before we really start digging more into grammar etc. We have learned so much. I bought some of the series Komm Mit German (books, CDs, readers etc) used on Ebay that I believe we will use after we finish the German in 10 Minutes a DAy, but I am still trying to decide what to do. My sons tried to use Rosetta Stone and they still talk about how much they hated it. It confused me, too and we all seem to do better with a more traditional method. Tina, I live near the Austin, TX area and I would really like to connect with others learning German. Most learn Spanish around here.

I have tried to file disputes with Ebay also and agree that it is just useless. They would only send me a form letter and wouldn't do anything to help me. I have stopped buying on Ebay because nothing I bought was as advertised, sellers wouldn't do full refunds etc. It isn't worth the hassle or lost money to me. I have been much happier with Amazon.

All of the Schaumm's Guides are very well done. We have used their German grammar in the past and I know that it has just been revised and updated. What was the German history book that you purchased? I am glad to see other families learning German. We haven't been able to find any others in our area to connect with or to practise with. Mary Jo

Houses are selling well in our area which hasn't been as hard hit as other areas. We are trying to find a house to buy for the last 2 months and can't find any because of prices and demand. We are getting discouraged because we can't find anything to find! Mary Jo

We really liked the BJU 8th grade history text on American history. You could start in the book where you want to pick up from your previous studies. There are great samples of each book (table of contents and the whole first chapter) on the website.

We deal with this also in the same way. Both have come to accept it, and the older now gladly accepts help from the younger in Geometry!

Danke (Thanks) for the ideas and website. Both are helpful. :) Mary Jo

My kids and I are studying German, and I wanted to start a German club and see if I could get other kids to join us. Have any of you been involved in a foreign language club and have any fun ideas or format of things to do? I would appreciate any suggestions. I have thought of cooking and some other cultural ideas, but after that I am a little stumped. Thanks! Mary Jo

I agree with Princeton Review covers a lot of strategy which both of my kids liked. My 2 sons used the Princeton Review book and then also used the 10 Real SAT's book. They heartily recommend PR, but haven't used the Barron's.

We have been extremely happy with BJU Geometry (in fact Alg. 1 & 2 also). We use the DVD program. The teacher is terrific. And I don't have to help at all. :)

And if you drive through the city of West on the way to San Antonio, make sure you stop and get the kolaches which is what the city is famous for!

I live in the Austin area, and besides the Bob Bullock museum there isn't much else I would recommend. I think that San Antonio would be a better choice. We personally enjoy Dallas.

I have allergies severely and I can't wear mascara or eye shadow anymore because my eyes puff up and get red and itchy. Do any of you have this problem and will the makeups you recommend help with this. I would love to wear make up again and look somewhat decent! Mary Jo

I have schooled my two girls together since elementary. Now one is almost 16, the other 17 1/2 and they have done all of high school together with no problem. They will be starting 12th grade soon and will graduate next summer. So that means the younger one will be 2 months away from 17 before she graduates. The other will be 18 1/2. It has been wonderful schooling them together. They have enjoyed the companionship and it helps to have a buddy go through the hard classes with you. Mary Jo

This was my son's first year on campus and at first thought his roommate was great - until the roommate got arrested in the dorm room for some things he (the roommate) had done on the internet. He was arrested and thrown in jail the week before finals. After all of that drama, we were very glad to get my son home for the summer. He won't be having the same roommate next year obviously.

My son took biology and English/composition classes through them, and it was great for him. Following their schedule was difficult for us that year, but we were very pleased with the teachers and classes. Mary Jo

:iagree:We are also in the camp of having used TT for Algebra 1. My two daughters both asked to be switched to something else because they felt like it was confusing and they weren't learning enough. I also didn't feel that it was rigorous enough. We switched to BJU and have been totally happy. We have completed Alg. 1 & 2 and half of Geometry so far using BJU. Mary Jo

We really like the Abeka program and have used it for all our kids in high school. It is a good combination of grammar, literature, vocabulary, spelling, writing. My sons scored extremely high in the ACT and SAT in those areas.

We used Abeka biology who have a great lab manual. We bought the microscope and dissection kit and the Abeka lab dvds. We did most of the dissections but opted to just watch some of them. The experience seemed to be good for my kids and we are glad we bought everything and actually did the dissections.

I stressed out about having my daughters' history and literature match perfectly when they were in 10th grade. The way their courses worked out, they studied US History while studying World Lit. They did fine and enjoyed both courses and I got over it. This year they are studying American Lit but I noticed they are reading about other time periods in their personal reading. So for us, matching up those 2 classes did not matter - especially to them.

My dermatologist recommends cream not lotion, and we like the Cetaphil, also. But for my hands I really like Neutragena.

We will be starting our break this Friday and not start up until Jan. 12 or 13th after my daughter gets her wisdom teeth out. It is too hard for us to concentrate on schooling with Christmas coming up!

We have American Heritage which comes highly recommended, and it came with a CD for the computer. It makes it so easy to look up a word and we can hear it pronounced also. Got it for a good price on CBD.com.

I vote for #3.