The Pioneer Woman website has a recipe for a killer bacon, caramelized onion, and mushroom quiche.

Sounds like a fantastic idea! I'm going to keep tabs on this thread, I'm sure you'll get lots of great advice. Good luck!

There are definitely healthier options at Disney than you'd find at most other theme parks. There are little carts throughout the park that offer fruit, yogurt, and "health" bars like Odwallas. You'll also find "real" food options, i.e. not necessarily healthful meals, but not fast food. Last time we visited Disneyland, we had dinner in New Orleans-themed area restaurant outside of Pirate's, and it was fine. The kids had mac-n-cheese(not Kraft's) and fruit, my husband had a Monte cristo with fruit on side (a tad greasy, but he knew what he was getting himself into), and I had the chicken gumbo. The real issue when eating at Disney, at least for us, is cost. I think we spent $50 on that casual little dinner. It'll be a fun trip though, have a great time!

Try the firefox browser. We were also having quality issues before we switched browsers. We use firefox for both Discovery and K12 now. Good luck!

I've been wondering the same thing lately! TWTM recommends studying grammar through high school. That doesn't sound fun to us either. Maybe you could cross-post on the high school board too?

You might want to look at Elemental Science's Logic stage Biology. It's really easy to use. You can look at sample pages on the website. We're finishing it up this fall because I only discovered earlier this year. Ds enjoys the experiments, and as long as he has all the materials, he usually sets them up and does them on his own. We get together for the discussion questions and to go over his summaries or outlines. ETA: I don't mean to change the subject, but I was wondering how you're liking AoPS Pre-Algebra? I'm considering changing math curriculum when ds finishes up his current textbook. Marilyn

Sounds like you guys have a good plan in place for each of your dc. I recommend you check out Elemental Science. It's a classical style approach to science, follows the 4-year cycle, and includes weekly lesson plans along with diagrams for dc to label, lab sheets, discussion questions, and unit tests. The author also provides suggestions for how to teach multiple ages using the same program. You can see sample pages on the ES website, these may help you decide between Bio and Earth/Astronomy, (whether or not you go with this particular program). We have only used logic-stage Biology, but both ds and I like it. It's very well-organized and easy to use. I especially appreciate having the discussion questions and tests handy. Ds really enjoys the experiments and generally sets them up and does them on his own. Ds also uses Rosetta Stone Spanish. It's been great. Your dc have the added bonus of being able to practice what they learn with each other. If you still want to do a bit of Latin this year, but not a full blown program, you might want to look at English From the Roots Up and have your kiddos learn Latin and Greek word roots. It's flexible and fun. We use this and the Word Roots workbooks from Critical Thinking Company. Welcome to homeschooling!

Interested in the same thing! Hope someone can help us out. :001_smile:

I'll look for it. Thanks!

Looks great, thanks for sharing! Marilyn

We are currently using Saxon and Life of Fred. We've been doing Saxon since January. Prior to this, ds used Singapore math, from Earlybird workbooks through to 6A Standards Ed. Marilyn

I was wondering if anyone here has used the Critical Thinking Company's United States History materials. If so, what did you and your dc think? Seems like a neat supplement, but I'm wondering how users incorporate it into their studies. Thanks, Marilyn

Beautiful! I bet your house smells REALLY good! Marilyn

Welcome! If your dc knows his letter sounds, he may enjoy learning to read now. When my older ds was 4 1/2, I started teaching him how to read using Phonics Pathways, Bob Books, and MCP readers from the library. It seemed like the next step after he mastered the basic stuff and he was really interested in learning how. Around the same time, we also started doing the Earlybird workbooks from Singapore Math. I bought themed activity books for science (Evan-Moor, I think). I remember we did a month on plants, a couple of months on the human body, a month on the solar system, etc. He got to choose what we did in science. We also raised butterflies and grew pumpkins. So, for us it was reading, math, storytime at the library, music class, arts & crafts, and science. I also kept one of those big Kindergarten workbooks, the kind that cover several subjects, around for when he wanted to write. My younger ds is 3 1/2. We play a lot of games and I read to him a lot. He loves listening to stories although I'm not sure if that will mean an early interest in learning how to read in his case. We'll see. He also just started a preschool class at our local nature center. It's not academic at all, just fun. He likes workbooks too, so I have a couple around. I'm starting to think about what we should do for preschool/kinder now, too. Preschool/K is such a short, but amazingly fun and sweet time. I really love it and am trying to savor it more this time around. With my older ds, I was always preoccupied with what was coming next. Good luck, Marilyn Marilyn

Oldnavy.com? They have sales regularly and offer free shipping on orders $50+. The size guide charts are really helpful. I just purchased some things for my boys a few days ago and got 20% off my purchase, plus free shipping. Woo-hoo! Marilyn

Cool, thanks!

We have Fiestaware and love it, too. Love the colors and durability. They are heavy, as others have mentioned, so that's definitely a consideration. My mom used stoneware for many years (not Fiesta), and recently switched to Corelle because she needed something more lightweight. My mother-in-law also uses Corelle for the same reason. I have settings for 16, made up of 4 colors. Macy's has sales on Fiestaware from time to time and offers sets of 4 place-settings. These 4-packs of settings are the best deal I've found for Fiestaware. They go on sale several times a year. I've seen single place settings on sale on the Macy's website for around $22. That's a great price. You may be able to find them on amazon also. Replacements are easy, too. The company's been around and using the same dyes since the 1930s. And, they're made in the USA. Marilyn

Big hits so far are: Life of Fred, Human Odyssey, Easy Grammar, and Rosetta Stone Spanish. We've had a couple of false starts with Rosetta Stone in the past, but for whatever reason, this year is different. I feel really lucky that all the new stuff is working out so well. Such a bummer when it doesn't and I have to search for different curriculum in the middle of the year. Marilyn

The sand, the surf, the tropical drinks, I love Hawaii. Getting to enjoy it with a good friend? Amazing! Have a wonderful time! Tell you dh that the ladies here in Hive are very, very impressed!

Check out Super Scribblenauts. There's a big write-up, screen shots, and lots of reviews on amazon.com. It's a pretty fun word game, ds loves it. Marilyn

The Henry and Mudge series, were and are again, a big favorite at our house. Who doesn't love stories about a boy and his dog? Marilyn

You're definitely right about the inadequate writing space in the book. Ds always uses separate paper. Forgot about that! Marilyn

Sounds good! Thanks for the update. It's good to know that this family's church and community are rallying around them as they await the birth of their new baby. That's a lot of love welcoming him/her into this world. I also hope they'll be back on their feet real soon and that this situation inspires them to find ways to pass along the kindness they are receiving to others. Marilyn

:iagree: In our case, I feel ds is getting enough writing with Writing Strands and by doing outlines and summaries in history and science, so we don't use an additional writing program. Although, I'd like to look into Writer's Express. It's nice to have models sometimes. To be honest, we tried WS for the first time a few years ago and it was a bust. It's just so different from traditional programs, it was hard for me to get the point of those first initial lessons. They seemed a little cheesy. Looking back, I think part of the problem was that I started ds on a lower level than I should have. We tried WWE a couple of times, too. That was torture for ds. He also did Voyages in English for a couple of years, for both grammar and writing. Grammar part is excellent, the writing was fine. Anyway, I'm so glad that we gave WS another try, because this time, it has worked great! Ds enjoys writing now and has learned how to use different techniques to make his writing more engaging. Most of all, it has really helped him learn how to organize his ideas. This is our 2nd year using it, he's on WS 5. Marilyn

Looks neat, thanks for sharing! Marilyn