:grouphug: I don't post much on this forum, but your post caught my eye because I had this problem with my last two pregnancies and feel for you! The best thing for you is to stay off your feet as much as possible and rest on your left side. If this doesn't work focus on what your midwife tells you to do. There is treatment out there for this that will not hurt your baby and keep your blood pressure under control. I will be praying for you and your little baby!

Thank you for the encouragement. This has been a great thread for learning the ins and outs of Singapore Math! We will be continuing and completing Book A. I haven't even ordered Book B yet :)

Wow thank you for that bit of advice! I was just letting my dd complete the page and move on. I did look through the activities but like I said earlier, she just wants to do the workbook pages as quickly as she can. I think now I will keep the book to myself, read and complete the activities and then hand her the workbook! I figured there was something I was "missing" but just hadn't discovered it. Thanks again!

I should clarify that I am using Essentials K-A and looking at it she could easily complete this no problem. She has already done 4 units and won't even stop long enough for me to read the extra activities at the bottom of the page. I should probably just move her up to something else and save this for her little sister. I guess I don't want to kill her excitement and joy for learning if I push her too much!

Amen to #1!! This was one of my biggest problems. I really wanted to be at these things, but God reminded me my children are my most important ministry at this season of my life! My Top 5: 1. HOD 2. Having my 3 and 4 year old dc attend preschool 2-4 half days per week. 3. Outsourcing my ds math!! No more Algebra wars!! 4. Realizing and accepting my children aren't academic geniuses. 5. Joining a science co-op..a lot of work, but a lot of fun for the kids!

I am switching maths also from Horizons to Singapore. I just wasn't happy with my 10 year old dd retention and understanding of math :( She was just going through the motions without understanding the why. I guess I could have come up with some kind of supplement to encourage more mental math, but I lack creativity when it comes to schooling and am more of the open and go, get it done kind of mom. Also, I was constantly crossing out problems in her workbook because the review approach was almost too much. As far as placement goes my dd also placed in 3B when she just completed 3/4's of Horizons 4. I have been studying the HIG and books so I will be able to start teaching her next week. Already just looking at makes me smile and believe that I am making the right decision. I will continue to use a drill type program like Quarter Mile math and lots of hands on math games for practicing learned skills. My 5 year old dd has started Earlybird Math and I can see that she will be flying through these books quickly.

This thread caught my eye only because I am a previous ATI Wisdom book user. For character training I have found Marilyn and Rick Boyer's books and resources on character training to be excellent in Biblical character training. They even have a sale going on right now. Besides curriculum they have books for the parents to read that are very helpful. Here is a link to their site: http://www.thelearningparent.com/default.asp

This is a great thread that I will be watching closely as I try to pick a writing literature/writing curriculum for my 9th grade dd. Has anyone tried SMARR Introduction to literature? How would this compare to LL or EIL? I have looked endless times at these along with IEW's high school level programs and just can't decide! She will be studying American History using HOD but I need to add in a literature study and writing component to make it high school worthy. Any suggestions? Thanks!

I'm sorry you had a bad experience with the flvs Spanish. My kids are both taking HS Spanish 1 right now and seem to be doing well in it. It did take a while for them to get familiar with the new blackboard system. If you could ask him if this is a good college prep Physics for a possible engineer major that would be great!! Thank you

Yes, we are blessed to have this service available to us as homeschoolers. Unfortunately the classes have not all been a great experience for us, but overall we feel they are getting at least what the public schools are getting and use them only in special circumstances.

Does anyone have experience with FLVS Physics and how it would compare to the Physics Derek Owens offers? I am looking at this for my ds who will be in 10th grade next year. He is currently interested in some type of engineering field, but that could change. I want him to have a solid course and the only reason I am considering FLVS is because it is free! WWYD? Any opinions or advice would be great. Thanks!

Katrina, :grouphug: I really feel for you mostly because I did a lot of curriculum hopping my first years of homeschool when my kids were little, and you know what? My kids have turned out fine! So relax, it will be okay! When my mine were those ages I always tried to combine wherever I could in history, bible, science,writing, art, foreign language, etc. This way we could real aloud together and discuss. To me this is what makes homeschooling special. If everyone is doing their own program they might as well be in "real school." Think about it, even a typical school teacher isn't assigned to teach multiple ages or levels all in one day or even in a year with a toddler in the mix! I would combine your three school age children in the subjects I mentioned above and then separate them out in English and Math. Keep it simple and have fun. They will be learning! A stressed out mommy isn't fun for anyone! Believe me, been there done that! I didn't start separating out mine until this year and I really miss the togetherness we used to have. Continue what you are doing until your stop date for the school year and pick up fresh with everyone! Start your oldest in R&S 4, and the other two where they belong in English and math. Pick a history program, science program and go with it! As I have said before, I have loved, MFW or Sonlight for combining, but then again I have never used SOTW so that would be another option. Worry less about the history cycle and more about what looks fun for you to teach and learn right along side your kiddos. As much as I love HOD I wouldn't want to do more than one level at a time from Preparing on down (too time intensive). It is so much easier to just combine them in something created for combining kids. Keep smiling! and have a great remainder of the year.

Katrina, Sorry it took me all weekend to answer...gymnastics and more gymnastics! I will be holding off on CTC for 2 reasons. First of all this dd did not get as much American history as I would have liked due to me and my jumping around and trying new programs way too much!! Secondly, I would like her to be in the same place as my older dd when she hits HS. I think RTR as a 7th or 8th grader is just perfect. This way I can use the same HS plans with both of them. Lastly, my two oldest girls will both be studying American history next year which will be perfect for read a louds which I miss so much. Also, I have a big field trip planned to VA next year. Yes, she probably could use CTC at some point next year, but for us holding off at least until she is in 6th or 7th grade will work better for us. HTH :001_smile:

Hi, I initially bought everything, SWI-B and the TWSS. We used the SWI-B together and really found it a great stand alone program. I only watched the first lesson in the TWSS and found it a repetion of the SWI. So I sold it and have used other IEW programs without any problem. I think the TWSS is for people who are willing to write their own lesson plans and don't want to invest in all the individual programs IEW sells. It can get expensive! I hope this helps.

Katrina, Yes, my dd has been using Preparing full speed for about 8 weeks now and she is doing very well with it. She turned 10 right before that (end of December) so age did play a factor in her abilities to handle more work. Preparing is very challenging in the amount of work these little guys have to complete in just one day! Now that she can truly do the independent boxes alone and most of the S research and vocabulary boxes with minimal supervision we are getting it all done on most days. She is very busy with her gymnastics so finishing by 2:00 is a must! Now as much as I am going to miss HOD next year I am going to use MFW for 1 or 2 years to hold off on CTC until she is in at least 6th grade or 11/12 years old. I will just continue to use the techniques (dictation from my dd RTR, narration, vocab, and poetry) I have learned in Preparing with the books in MFW. However, I will still get to use HOD with two of my other dc. Good luck! :001_smile: