I second "Teaching Textbooks" - my non-math son LOVES doing math thanks to Teaching Textbooks - it's the first subject he wants to do everyday. It's fun, he can work at his own pace (which is actually faster than when I was struggling teaching him math), and it's self-correcting. Give it a try!

"Grade Level" is not really a concern ... you simply have your child take a placement test to determine the level they will start. Each child may be different. That's the beauty of Teaching Textbooks!

We buy pure organic maple syrup this time of year direct from farmers in Vermont online - we usually stock up and get 4 or 5 gallons that will last us a year (my family loves pancakes, french toast, waffles for breakfast!). It's sorta pricey to ship (heavy) but even with the add-on shipping costs it beats buying it by the pint or quart anywhere else. Sometimes we can find it on Amazon with free prime shipping. THIS IS THE TIME OF YEAR to buy/stock up! And friends know we love and are picky about our maple syrup and will often bring some back for us whenever they travel back east and/or to Canada.

You may be surprised .... my fidgety 8YO son sure shocked me - he memorized that poem in like 5 minutes. Who knew?!?!

I have an 8 1/2 year old daughter that loves horses, as well. In fact, next week is horse camp! She's giddy with excitement. We live in WA State if other girls would like a penpal from the Puget Sound area.

You'll get the best bang for your buck by staying anywhere BUT at a Disney hotel/resort. We found a huge 6-bedroom townhouse/condo less than 5 minutes away for about 1/2 the cost of just ONE ROOM at a Disney Resort. Everyone had their own bedroom, there was a huge kitchen, a great pool, and free transportation to all the parks.

I'm just the opposite - if I'm going to pack up stuff & go camping, then I want to make the trip(s) worthwhile and stay awhile! So we invested in a couple of GOOD coolers, a camp stove/grill, and a good dutch oven (cast iron). It may sound boring, but we pretty much stick to the following menu when we camp. Easy peasey and the family loves it: Arrival day/night - 7 Layer Dip & Chips (family favorite!) with Fruit; and later than evening SMORES! 1st Morning: (this is our one & only big breakfast of the trip) - eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, juice 1st Lunch: Sandwiches (usually PB&J packed for hiking) 2nd Dinner: Speghetti (cooked at home and brought with us; all we do is warm it up); salad; fruit; and of course SMORES later that night! 2nd Morning: Oatmeal, cereal, or if I had left-over bacon and/or sausage, I'll throw it in with some hash-browns and more eggs for a breakfast hash (another family favorite so I usually cook LOTS of bacon & sausage the day before!). 2nd Lunch: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches (over the fire with one of the cast-iron campfire sandwich cookers!) - sometimes paired with soup if it's a little cold that day. 2nd Dinner: Burgers or Hot Dogs/Brats (family usually prefers the Brats since they can cook them over the fire). With chili and/or beans. Fruit. And corn on the cob (over the grill). 3rd Morning: repeat of 2nd morning (usually instant oatmeal). 2nd Lunch: left-over 7-layer dip & chips or PB&J sandwiches 3rd Dinner: Burgers or Hot Dogs/Brats (whichever one we didn't have the night before)! We usually leave the 4th day.

I grew up in Wisconsin with bitter cold winters. Then we moved to East Texas with the unbearable hot humid summers - so humid one couldn't even breathe. Then I found paradise - all thanks to my husband. "Home" is now Western Washington. Rarely do we have the extreme weather, and when we do, it is only for a few days or a week. And even though we live near the ocean, rarely is it ever humid. If I find myself missing the snow (usually only around Christmastime), I can just drive an hour to the mountains and play in the snow to my hearts content - and be back for dinner with no slushy driveway or sidewalk to have to shovel! YES, it rains. But it rarely "pours" - it's the kind of rain where one barely gets wet! Orlando gets more rainfall than Seattle. It's usually just gray and misty (sorta year-round). But that's what makes everything so green and lush and smell so good! Yes, in the winter it's dark by 4pm-ish; but ahh, the summer! One can play until 10pm! There's so much to see and do! One can actually go camping, hiking, or bike riding YEAR ROUND and it's quite pleasant and enjoyable! Couldn't do that in the summer in East Texas - even at 6a.m. Nor could we do that in winter in Wisconsin. So to me, I'll take the rain over sleet, snow, freezing temps, humidity, heat ANY DAY. I actually love the sound and smell of rain, reading a good book curled up under a blanket or by the fireplace, with a good cup of joe (and boy, do I love the coffee here!). Being able to wear my favorite sweater and/or sweats year-round! I love to garden, and my garden loves the rain. My grass is green year-round. I have some sort of flower or bush that is always in bloom no matter what the season. There are only two things I don't like about living here. The first, like most have shared, is the traffic. I'm glad I'm now a stay-at-home mom and don't have to drive an hour to/from work. And my husband is able to work-from-home 3-4 days a week. I make sure if/when we leave for the weekend, that we go through the city and/or near the army/navy base hours before or after the commuting hours (which is between 2pm till almost 7pm). The 2nd thing I hate is the fact this is the LEFT coast. Very liberal. Big change from very conservative East Texas (Bible Belt) and even moderately conservative Wisconsin. This is extreme bunny-lovin', tree-hugging, save-the-_____ (fill in the blank - there's usually a demonstration going on somewhere to save it!). Makes me wanna gag. Which is why we homeschool and will NEVER allow our children to attend a public school here. Actually, once you get away from the big metropolitan area of Everett/Seattle/Tacoma/even Olympia, the rest of the state is "red". So I tell folks who want to move here to come visit in late November. Or February. That's how the weather's going to be from October to May (some say summer doesn't start until the 5th of July, and then you better not blink!). And to try to drive from Tacoma to Seattle (or vice-versa) at 7am on a rainy Monday morning or at 5pm on a rainy, Friday evening. But if you're able to take the bus or train transit (where it can still take an hour or more but you're not driving and can read a book/newspaper/email), then go for it. And just wait until that spring or summer day when the sun does appear, and the mountain makes it's appearance - the colors and the beauty of the nature around you will literally take your breath away! And to me, it makes me appreciate living here all the more! Ahh, paradise!

I'm going to do both Zoology 1 and Astronomy with my 2nd/3rd graders as an add-on this year when the science lines up with the rest of the curriculum (MFW Adventures). Probably not every chapter of both books, but no doubt there will be some overlap. My kiddos LOVE science, though!

Sure - photography is a great subject to learn!

If money was no object.... Alaska (Homer/Kenai Penninsula) in the summer and Hawaii (Kauai) for the rest of the year! BUT truth be told, I LOVE where I live now (Puget Sound area of WA State)! I grew up in Wisconsin (bitter cold winters) and we moved to Texas when I was in high school (unbearably hot humid summers). I met my husband at college and we moved to his "home" near Seattle. And I **LOVE** it here - no extreme temps; sure lots of rain (I like to say it's the kind where you don't get wet), but I love to garden and the rain & overcast skies keeps everything so lush, green, and smelling so good! And it really makes you appreciate the sun and the mountains (when they're "out")! Oh, and coffee tastes so much better here!

My DD turned 8 in Jan; my DS turns 8 at the end of July. When they attended private school last year (instead of me homeschooling), technically they BOTH could have been in 2nd grade. But we held back my son - he's a summer baby, a boy, socially immature, and a really little guy. BEST THING WE'VE EVER DONE! Our problem is with AWANA at church! He's done 3 years of Sparkies, like his sister, but technically (since we held him back last year when he went to private school) he's now considered a 2nd grader and not allowed to advanced to T&T with the 3rd graders. We're seriously considering going to another church/Awana program that will consider his AGE not his GRADE!

My grandmother sent me her Tea Set (from China! That my dad gave her when he was in the service!). It broke. I tried to file a claim since the package was insured. It took SEVEN MONTHS for them to "investigate" to see if: a) my grandmother was at fault for not wrapping and claiming the items to be fragile; b) if the carrier was at fault not handling the package correctly; or c) if I was at fault (dropping the package or any other act of God once the package was delivered). They decided it was probably "a" or "c", and thus insurance did not cover it, and there was no other recourse. So in my opinion & experience, insuring packages thru the USPS is a SCAM. Just pray/hope the seller packages items well (and when I'm the seller, I make sure that I package items the way I would want it done). And if it's something like a Tea Set from your dad/grandma, have it sent by FEDEX or UPS!

:iagree: 1. Our Christian Heritage and History! 2. Our Declaration of Independence/Constitution/Bill of Rights - especially the freedom to worship freely without government interference; and the 2nd Ammendment - the freedom to bear arms! 3. The Beauty of our Nation - from Hawaii, to Alaska; from Seattle to Miami; from Texas to Maine - simply awe-inspiring!! Our National Parks are amazing!

I just take the ads from all the stores with me to Walmart and have WM price match anything they don't already have priced lower. Bought folders for .15 cents; spiral notebooks for .17 cents; they price-matched the composition books & binders!