Bumping for the am members....:bigear:

I also used used the ITBS for my older two DC last year. I got the test through BJU Press. I liked it and the result sheet, but since it was pricey, I will only use it every other year. Having those test results helps me to feel more confident in homeschooling.:001_smile:

My DD6 wants to learn Spanish. She is a quick learner, has recently taken off on the piano, and tends to like things that are different from her older brother and sister. I started my oldest with Latin when I pulled her out of school and I planned to start DD6and DS8 with Latin in another year and get to Spanish later in middle school. Since she really wants to learn Spanish, I picked up a couple of "Teach Them Spanish" workbooks (mostly vocab worksheets) to satisfy her. But, one page of this workbook lists supplemental books....so I started checking my library system online and found that they have MANY Spanish language children's books. So my question (wow, this is long) is, has anyone tried using Spanish children's books as a primary teaching tool for teaching early Spanish? My Spanish background is limited to 4 years in high school. I feel comfortable reading the children's books aloud, but there are some on tape. Is this a foolish endeavor? :bigear: Any advice?

We used RightStart B for K. my DD loved it. lots of games, oral questions, skip counting, patterns, manipulatives, and work with the whiteboard. we had handwriting issues as well and this program worked well. On the few lessons that used a worksheet, I would only require her to write out half during the lesson and the rest was finished either after lunch or at the start of the next day.

Very helpful ideas here...thank you! My DD is entering 5th grade and up to this point we have not done much discussion, but for this year, I have scheduled it into our day 15 min after science, 15 min after history, and a whole lit period every other week. Our schedule is loose, so it is fine if we go over time, it will just mean a longer day. I hope that by scheduling it in, it won't get overlooked.

I like the idea of using a tri-fold board. Thanks! I was trying to figure out how to make this work for my family since breakfast time seems to be the time this would work. But our school room, white board, and bulletin boards are in the basement and I really don't want to hang something in my kitchen. Listening and watching for more great ideas...:bigear::lurk5:

I was in kindergarten when a crippling blizzard hit my state...

GAP has slim sizes with adjustable waist. I always have my kids try them on b/c they offer many different styles which fit differently. My DS8 tried on four different styles last winter in size 7 slim...2 fit, 1 was too baggy and 1 was way too tight.

I agree with the PPs that said "you get what you pay for". That being said I will not pay full price for anything but jeans (some items just don't go on sale). I worked one year at Macy's part-time and learned the mark down system. Almost everything would get marked down as the the season went on. New mark downs every week. Most of my clothes come from LOFT, Macy's, and GAP. I usually get one new outfit for myself each season (and two of the seasons are with gift cards). I always get things that are 30-40 percent off sometimes more with a coupon and sale combined. My clothes are classic styles that last years. I have three Land's End bathing suits (that are one, three and four years old) that get worn VERY often and they all still look great...I didn't buy a new one this year:tongue_smilie:

I started my 3rd grade DD in the 2B book and she has stayed at that pace adding in the CWP, so that now entering 5th grade she will be starting 4B. I don't feel she is behind b/c the program is so solid and deep and she has a great handle on mental math and mastery of the topics covered. The other reason I'm not concerned about being a half book "behind" is b/c she should be (based on what I've read on the math threads) ready for pre-algebra, if not algebra, by the time she finishes 6B, which will be mid 7th grade. So don't feel like you need to rush to "catch up". Better for the knowledge to be solid. Hope that helps! :001_smile:

My kids are close to those ages (10, 8, 6). I think they are too young to be alone for more than 10 - 15 minutes.

:bigear:

That's neat! I've never seen it before...I think I'll print it out to use with my DS8:001_smile: Thanks!

http://www.amazon.com/One-Small-Square-Donald-Silver/dp/0070579334/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311769699&sr=1-1 I hope the above link works...one of the best books as part of NOEO Biology was One Small Square. It reads like a non-fiction narrative, but adds in hands-on activities for each habitat. My k and second grader loved it. The woods and seashore were are favorites. They also loved studying insects by examining them with a magnifying glass trying to match up the body parts we read about in the nature encyclopedia to the real insects. We only wrote and drew the narrations occasionally...it took me a while to realize that that part just wasn't necessary in early elementary. Hope that helps.:001_smile:

Thank you everyone! I had not thought about pictures...I keep all my photos on my desktop Mac, so I would need to use that anytime I want to add them. i think my iphoto library is way too big for the ipad's memory. Guess I better think about it some more. i want to start one, but I also want to be ready to commit the time to it (which likely means in the basement on my desktop).

Does anyone know if I can create and add to a blog using my ipad? My poor desktop in the basement hardly gets used anymore because I love my ipad so much! Plus I think I would be more likely to keep up with posting if I could do it from anywhere...a decent chunk of my downtime is when we're traveling in the RV. From what I've read in other threads it sounds like blogspot blogger is one of the easiest to get started with...opinions?

1. Fill the tank with regular vinegar 2. Keep brewing cups of vinegar (no k-cup) 3. When most of the vinegar is gone, and the blinking empty light come on, let the remaining vinegar sit in the machine for 4 hours ( be sure power stays on) 4.after 4 hours rinse out the tank and keep brewing plain cups of hot water througgh two or three tank fulls of water to get rid of the vinegar smell Occasionally you have to repeat the process... ETA...in the meantime, get large cup of your favorite brew from your local DUNKIN donuts or Starbucks!

In my case, it seems to correlate with the number of books being returned at once. Before homeschooling, I had it happen to me only once, requested a shelf-check, they still insisted it was missing...until I located the book on the shelf myself the next week. In the past two years of homeschooling, it has happened about 5 or 6 times...very annoying, each time (but once) I had to find the book myself.:glare:

We participate in a co-op on Mondays and yes, I do find it challenging to fit in all the academics in 4 days. The way I found more time was to schedule one hour blocks for History on Tues and Wed and Literature on Thursday and Friday. But there will also be two additional one hour blocks in the evening twice a week to get in three hours for each of these subjects. We'll see which evenings are free from extra-curricula activities and plan around them.

I'm waiting a year with my DS8. I have just planned out that program for my DD10 (5th grade). She could have easily done it in 4th grade, I just didn't have it then. If your 3rd grader has a strong background in writing skills you could certainly do it. One option would be to take your time adding in extra practice weeks, spreading it out over two years or modifying the checklist in the later lessons if it gets to be too much. It moves pretty quickly as far as adding new skills to the checklist each week. But it is doable with a strong 3rd grader.

Some textboks require certain technology skills...our upcoming science CPO Earth instructs the student to input data into a spreadsheet and generate a line graph from it :001_huh: since this isn't my area of expertise, I've already told DH that he will need to help both of us with that assignment.:D I am amazed at how quickly some kids pick up technology skills. My DD learned basic PowerPoint skills in second grade when she was in school and has since become quite advanced in her creations of slide show prsentations on her own...she has even taught DD6 how to create a PowerPoint using both photos she takes on her DSI and pictures she draws in MS Paint. I have to laugh when either of them asks me a question since they know more about certain technologies than I know...Now I know how my parents must have felt when I set them up on their old dial-up internet connections decades ago...:tongue_smilie:

NOEO Science is secular and can be done independently. The manual can be read by the student as it's mostly a grid with reading assignment followed by an assignment the directs the student to complete a notebook page about what the read...sometimes it asks them to draw a diagram, define a few words, or read a summary. My DD10 did Biology level II. The experiments were from Young Scientist Club kits, which have pretty easy to follow directions.

:iagree:

I also have a young 3rd grade boy(May birthday)...I am waiting until 4th grade to start All Things Fun and Fasc with him...I am teaching it in a co-op class this fall to mainly fifth graders (including my DD10). I will be continuing narrations, copywork and dictation along with GWG3 and Winning with Writing 3 to get my DS8's skills a bit stronger before diving into the IEW theme book. After wAtching the TWSS DVDs, I felt like I could do IEW with him, but I would need to go alot slower than the pace of the theme book. It teaches the who/which clause using an allegory in lesson 7 and using simile and hyperbole in lesson 8. I absolutely love IEW, but I want my son to be ready and not scared off. Again it can be modified, but would be pretty challenging for an 8 year old as is. Hope that helps.

24 in the padt 6 months...I just LOVE 2 day free shipping. I just ordered more coffee while I went to check:D