I am planning to teach a introductory Logic class at our co-op this fall. The age range is designed to accomodate the children of the co-teachers. Can anyone recommend a spine that could work for this age range? We plan to start each class with a warm-up time (Mind Benders), and end with some fun logic games. The middle portion will be a teaching time, but I'm not sure exactly what to include. I don't want to try to teach formal logic to this age group, but I want them to become familiar with terms and concepts that will help them later. Thanks in advance!

I am planning to teach a introductory Logic class at our co-op this fall. The age range is designed to accomodate the children of the co-teachers. Can anyone recommend a spine that could work for this age range? We plan to start each class with a warm-up time (Mind Benders), and end with some fun logic games. The middle portion will be a teaching time, but I'm not sure exactly what to include. I don't want to try to teach formal logic to this age group, but I want them to become familiar with terms and concepts that will help them later. Thanks in advance!

My boys are both LOVE birds - my 8yo reads through Stokes and Sibley even though they are not made for children. The best book I've seen that is specifically geared toward children is The Young Birder's Guide by Bill Thompson III. Nice photographs and lots of facts. The biggest hit in my household has been the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Bird Songs. It's a little pricey but it has gotten so much use here it's been worth it. My guys can recognize and whistle the songs of so many birds - when we're out and about we hear a bird and they can almost always tell me what it is. My DS read the Burgess Bird Book but didn't enjoy it as much as I thought he would. But we all loved Pinkey Pye - partly because of the birding element.

I am sooooo dancing! Thank you everyone!

I'm looking for a little advice - or a slap in the face to help clear my head. We are at the end of Saxon 3, going to 5/4 in the Fall. I have 23 lessons left. The dilemma is that mentally we are just done. I would really like to finish up this week before we go on our family vacation and for morale and transition purposes I'd like to do our little "done with 3rd grade" dance. I know I can't do 23 lessons in four days. My plan is to have DS do the assessments this week - I can already see there are 4 or 5 concepts that we haven't covered yet. I will touch on those and then just call it DONE. I know there is a heavy review element in Saxon and just looking at the TOC for Saxon 5/4 I can see that these same concepts are covered next year. So - what would you do? Will I cause big gaps and create more work for us in the future or is there so much review at this stage that it doesn't really matter? I know that is true with Saxon 1 and 2. I just need someone who has used Saxon to help me get out of this indecisive fog - either tell me I'm crazy or that what I'm thinking of makes perfect sense :)

Minuteman National Park is great but I think the visitor's center is closed until later in March. We were there last week and the trails are nice but it was super muddy. Sturbridge village is worth the trip if you can afford the car.

We were dissapointed too. DH and I went on a date night and I had such high hopes. I thought it was ugly and depressing. The camera work gave me a headache (although I think it was fitting for the whole mood of the movie). We walked out after about 30 minutes.

I know this is a strange question but I'm curious about where other people keep their bread. Breadbox? In the fridge? Somewhere else? And what about all the other bread products? I went shopping last night so right now we have bagels, wraps and pita bread in addition to our regular sandwich bread. The boys are busy reading and I just asked myself this question as I walked into the kitchen and saw this heaping pile in a basket on the counter. Rather than just wonder out loud, I thought I'd ask you :)

I know this question has been raised in various forms before on this forum. I'm hoping for some advice or encouragement on this. Last year we used WWE 2 and postponed FLL. This year we added FLL and love it. But now I'm having trouble motivating myself to fit WWE in. I use the workbook so it's not difficult to prepare at all. I love WWE and want to continue - but It would help me hear the practical benefits of using both FLL and WWE - for level 3 in particular. Has anyone just abandoned WWE and done the optional writing in FLL?

Two years ago at the first convention I attended, I fell in love with Shiller Math. Ds was 6 and we had only played around with math up to that point - using various workbooks and manipulatives. I was so excited to think outside the box when choosing first "real" math curriculum. After using it, I hated Shiller. Ds was "sort of" learning what I was teaching, but it just seemed so random. I have never been a math lover and I really need something that has a logical scope and sequence - Shiller was not a good fit for me. My DH got many a phone call from me in tears over Shiller. Finally he said "put it away and we'll get something else". I felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders. One of the things that originally attracted me was the idea that it teaches advanced concepts at a young age. That was appealing to me pre-WTM. I now see that many of those concepts are not developmentally appropriate and not for the grammar stage at all. We use Saxon and I actually love it - But I still use all of my shiller manipulatives for my 1st and 3rd grader. On a side note - I find Larry Shiller to be annoying and arrogant in his newsletters (who needs a math newsletter anyway?) jmho.

We listen alot on car rides or at bed time - If they're not sleepy and just listening quietly they will often draw while they listen. But usually they just stare out into space. I personally like to just sit and listen - maybe your ds doesn't benefit from keeping his hands busy? What does he do when you read aloud?

Taco Salad Grilled Chicken, tossed with Tortilini, pesto, Tomato and Black Olives over baby spinach (cold) American Chop Suey with a Salad Grilled Sausages, Peppers and Onions Tossed with Pasta

We have the Harper Audio version - I bought it on itunes for $30. It's excellent, but it's not dramatized. But like I said, we love it. We went through the whole series last summer, alternating between reading it and listening to it for each book. The reader for Prince Caspian drove me crazy though - she made Caspian sound too young and prissy.

:iagree: with the chest pains. LOL

I love trendy colors but these mixers aren't cheap - I'd go for something you know you'll always be able to coordinate with. If you always lean toward greens then green should stand the test of time but don't get red if you think you may someday want to paint your kitchen purple (just an example - please nobody try to tell me purple and red go well together :) I have mustard and sage colored dishes and my kitchen is yellow. My dishes are visable via a glass door cabinet. When I think about repainting my kitchen I feel trapped because of the dishes - kwim? When I think about a trendy color I just remember how I hated my grandmother's avacado appliances and I am cured of temptation. My mixer is white. I wish it were stainless - but the white one is easy to keep clean and sparkly and I know it will always look nice.

Maybe asking him detailed questions to draw out the facts might help over time. I do this (when I'm patient) with my 7 yo - alot like working with him on narration and using complete sentences.

I think if it were me I'd try to be in her presence when the children "went off to play" and say to my own son "don't pick up any trash". Or something like that - that seems like a natural caution for you to give. And then use the opportunity to mention it without accusing her of a lack of supervision (which it is, IMO, if he's six and has had the freedom to light anything at a bonfire). Like others have said, if he has a family member who smokes he probably thinks nothing of them in general - so where the disgusting nature of what they are bothers you and likewise your son, it's the germ element that would probably be a concern to his mom, and If it were me, I'd want to know. To add a layer of yuckiness to this discussion - I've occassionaly spotted used condoms on the playground or at the top of an otherwise pristine nature hike - that is what I think of every time I tell my boys NEVER to pick up trash. They can collect all the disgusting bugs and rocks and I do my best not to worry about where that stuff has been.

Does anyone know where I can find this article online? I want to send it to my book club. I think I need to post the title on the bulletin board in the kitchen. When I asked my boys recently what they think my favorite activity is they both said "cleaning the house". That is sad. This struck the right cord with me.

Awesome - thank you ladies! We are flying through Mr. Poppers Penguins - looks like I have approx. 2.5 days to do some shopping :001_smile:

I am hoping someone can give me a recommendation for a series (or long individual title) to read aloud as a family over the summer with my two boys (6 & 7.5). I am up to my eyeballs in resources for literature choices - I just want some more specific advice from a real person :) We just finished Five Children and It - and loved it. We read The Chronicles of Narnia last summer and we read The Hobbit at the begining of the year. We also enjoyed Farmer Boy, Ginger Pye, and Pinky Pye. I want something that will last all summer. I can't wait to hear your suggestions!

That was awesome. And it is even better if you remember what Hurley was worried about . . . so stinkin funny!!! I love it.

I chose The Scientist's Apprentice for that very reason. It worked really because we plan quarterly. Next year we are going to use Christian Kids Explore Physics - I think the format will work for us and we may just take a week off if it gets tiresome and focus on some aspect of nature study. We even did that this year when we (I) got bored with Earth Science - we took a week to focus on Frogs. Random, I know, but it refreshed me enough to get back on track.

I had a similar concern when I considered using that series - for my little guys (and myself) I wanted more variety. I ended up using The Scientist's Apprentice (Bright Ideas Press) as a guide and it worked really well. I liked the flexibility and changing topics every eight weeks or so. We've also taken some side trips - we just did a week on Frogs because there happened to be an exhibit at the Museum. At this young age I personally like variety and flexibility. The idea of one topic the entire year makes me yawn... That being said, next year we're using Christian Kids Explore Physics -I think my guys are ready to stick to one subject and the potential for experiments alone will keep thier interest.

I blame SWB for that one - LOL - we had it on the shelf for later but when it came up in WWE he was determined. Thank you all - I value your input.

I'm looking for practical advice on my newly "independent" reader. My ds - 7.5 is really just getting motivated to read longer chapter books and I'm wondering if I should just let him go for it or keep a more watchful eye (or ear) on him. I'm talking about his "fun" reading books - not not school work. My plan was to just let him read and only really ask him questions to show my interest but not really have him narrate at all but I'm worried that he's either skimming over unfamiliar vocabulary or possibly reading some of the more difficult words incorrectly. He's not reading at a super high level - The Trumpet of the Swan is the highest he's done, but I don't want to abandon him to develop bad habits. I guess the question is should I limit the time he reads alone to make sure he has a good balance of reading aloud to me and reading alone or just let him have at it? This is not a "content" issue at all - I'm very selective on that front. What have some of you done?