Thanks for the ideas! I have an artist-friend who could do a lovely mural. Hmm...

We just rearranged our furniture and now have 2 bookshelves used as a mini-wall. They are cheap bookshelves from Office Depot and have ugly, pressed board backs. What can I do to make them look nicer? They are in our school room, but I don't really want to just cover them with posters because some of the back would still show. It's not horrible, but I would like to do something. Any suggestions?

What age would be to young to start this book with? I have a struggling 9yo (almost 10), but this looks like more of a middle school book?

My 4th grade dd is enjoying Ivy & Bean. I think there are 9 books in the series.

Thanks for the recommendation! My ds6 LOVES the Elephant and Piggie books! We probably have about 15 checked out from out library and he reads them over and over...

Thanks for the recommendation. My library has 3.

Thanks! I'll take a look at these suggestions.

I'm looking for something to just teach notetaking/outlining for my 8th grader. Not writing or grammar. Currently when she has to write a report on a topic the notes she takes from books are complete sentences. I admit I struggle with this too, so I'm not much help!

Funny! :thumbup:

I'm preparing for our first year of TOG next year and am planning to use MapAids. Can anyone recommend a good atlas for the kids to use to find the locations they need to add to the maps?

:lol:

So Monday the repairman tells me I need to replace my 8 year old GE washer. (It had stopped spinning). Probably Wednesday I came here and found someone had already started a thread on which washer to buy. Friday we went to the local appliance store and bought a Speed Queen! (Which I had never even heard about until this board on Wednesday). I read reviews online and it seemed to match our needs perfectly. I just washed my first load and I love that big stainless steel tub! Now if only my dryer would start having problems so I could get a matching set...

The Mercy Watson series is what finally did it! (He loves pigs)

:bigear: sorry, I'm no help, but this happens to me all the time too! Even with cotton shirts from nicer stores. So frustrating!

TOG year 1! I've really let my kids down when it comes to history. I'm so excited about the readings and discussions.

Great news!:party::party:

I'm hoping tomorrow will be better.

Wow! I love it!

We absolutely love Everyday Math!!! I don't mention it much here because I know how much some people hate it and have even pulled their kids out of school because of it. My dh and I are both math majors (as is my brother who originally chose this program for his 4 kids). And now that I have one dd finished with Everyday Math we are loving what comes next: College Preparatory Mathematics for Algebra. Such a wonderful program! One thing I have never waivered on is our math curriculum...history is something else.:tongue_smilie:

Wow! Just saw Pretty in Pink's post and pictures and am so inspired! Thanks so much for sharing.:)

Love the mama brag! Love also hearing that it prepares well for college. I hope this is true for mom's who are not that great at leading discussions. Hopefully TOG will help me improve.

Thank you!

Care to share your planning system? Do you plan it weekly? Or all at once? So awesome to hear that your kids enjoy it so much!

Yes, I want to have these discussions with her. Definitely! But here's the thing, neither of us are good at discussing. :glare: ds12 and dd9 are great at discussions. But dd14 and I really struggle. Not that we don't love talking to each other...we just both struggle with discussing things...if that makes any sense. You make it sound so doable. Thanks so much for sharing a bit of your weekly schedule and how the discussion time goes. That is so helpful!

I love your TOG posts! I was reading the one about doing TOG with the olders and it sounds so like my family. My dd14 (8th grade now) totally gets lost in the shuffle. I want to have those discussion times but #1: can't find the time, #2 I'm not good at it. Here's my dilemma: I'm now seriously considering TOG for my 3 youngers. I have NEVER done a good job teaching my kids history. I am great with math, love our program and am very consistent. (I was a math major). Total opposite with history. I was never taught it well, have never stuck with a program, and am not consistent. :tongue_smilie: I would love to just decide on TOG and actually stick with it. I just don't know if it would be too much to try to do it with the younger 3 as well as trying to figure out the rhetoric part with my poor history-deprived soon-to-be 9th grader. Seriously, she knows almost nothing about history because I haven't done a good job teaching it. My other option with her (something we started a couple months ago) is to do history using the High School Great Courses from The Teaching Company. We are working through Early American History now and would do World History next year. Basically she watches the DVD, reads from a textbook, answers comprehension questions, writes an essay and that's about it. Advice? Just do TOG with the younger 3 and let older dd work through the Great Courses? Or just jump in and do it with all?