This is why you do notecards. You write your info (full sentence/paragraph, quote or paraphrase, or just a reminder note) with the source name and page, as well as a key word (s). Then you organize by keyword. You can build your outline before or after making the cards. You put the cards on order based on key words and the outline. Flip through, reorganize, get more info, flip, reorganize, etc. Then you type the paper. It is actually a very efficient method for organizing thoughts. It works for visual and kinestetic learners. As I said in the other thread, after practice, I could start with a pile of sources and a narrow topic and have a 10 page trough draft in 2-3 hours. If I had all the sources at home, I could get to a final draft in 4. It tales practice. I think it is great that there are virtual note card programs. That would make the process more efficient for some people. I, however, needed to hold the notecards in my hand and cannot read at a table. I always read on the couch, floor.....notecards are faster for me. If you are looking for an alternative, I think office one note would be great! You can type notes anywhere on the page. Just click and type and you automatically get a new text box. Then you just slide the boxes around and convert to word. You would need to do your bibliography first and assign a number to each source so that the sources could be labeled in the boxes in one note. (That is a huge benefit of the notecard system, it make proper citation easier.) There is a learning curve with a research paper. Kids have to learn how to research, how to find information to back up their thesis, how to organize the information, and much more. When they taught the notecards method, it took a semester. We had many steps: Pick a topic Find sources, make bibliography cards We turned in 10-20 cards a week for a few weeks (est. 5-7 for one typed page.) Then we stated our thesis and outlined our paper Organized cards Turned in rough draft Made revisions and additions for second draft Final draft It took a couple of.months from start to finish. It was in college when I got faster. In high school, you learn the steps and master the process, it will be slow for the first few papers, break it down into chunks - x number of cards per week, one source per day, something to keep him from working 4 hours a day. It is okay if it takes a month or more to finish his forst paper, he is learning to research and compile his thoughts with relevant supporting facts.

Maya Angelou

We had our house In MO listed for 74,000, we received an offer of 64,000. Those are almost identical offers based on percentage of the asking price. We negotiated back and forth. They came up, we threw in a new roof....now 13 days to close....I would jot be insulted. Everyone is coming In low on offers right now, unless the house is already dirt cheap.

My kids go through phases of wanting to marry each other....we have had to explain this a few times to DD. :)

0 months.....I was really looking forward to it.....and I was right back on my cycle within 10 weeks! I nursed full-time with both kids, both nursed until almost 2. You can still get pregnant, however. I can think of at least 2 people and 3 kids....they thought they were safe....and surprise ;)

Singapore math! If she knows any math, be sure to give her a placement test. We love R&S for grammar, Real Science 4 Kids and Story of the World for History. Spelling Plus is very easy to use, we also do the Dictation book.

We just got a guinea pig and we love him. He loves to sit in your lap. They need a minimum of 12x12x24 for thier cage, our is just slightly bigger. If you plan to leave them in their cage you need a bigger one and a second one. If you let them out to run and snuggle, they arebfine. My 5tu grade teacher had one in the classroom. He was fine alone and in his aquarium. My DD3, loves our new addition. We went with a guinea pig over a hamster or gerbil, because they are bigger. It is easier to teach a child to be gentle with a larger animal ;) He is so sweet and cuddly, perfect for us.

We have shows four times a year on Sundays, sometimes we build sets on Sundays. Our church uas morning amdbevening service on Sundays and a Saturday night. We miss church sometimes. We are fine with that. I would not sign up for something that was every Sunday, but the occasional Sundaafter church hours (or between)is not a big deal.

I learned with notecards as well. After practice, I could write a 10 page research paper with full citations in a few hours. It is a great method and I think every college-bound student should learn. I am glad your son is having so much success.

I love my leather flip case! Mine has a clip that has come in very handy! I do not have a screen protector.

An elementary student needs to be focusing on the foundations of math and critical thinking skills. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, percent, weights, and measures. They need to be able to read a word problem and create the correct mathematical sentence to solve the problem. They need to learn thebasic mathematical laws/rules. Basic geometry - shapes, area, perimeter. They need to be able to read charts, graphs, tables and manipulate the numbers to evaluate the data (mean, median, mode). How to deal with money - coins, bills, decimal. And use of clocks and measuring time. In some way or another, I use all of those things on a daily or weekly basis. I regularly use basic algebra and advanced geometry and trig. I am not in a math field, but math is a big part of my daily life. If you are struggling with the curriculum, try something different. If I only teach my kids two things well, I wamt their reading amd math to be solid.

Has he ever said anything? My DD did not start "talking" until 2. We knew she could, because random words would come out on accident. She was simply strong willed and refused. She is not a performing monkey...when an actual, understandable word came out of her mouth, she got the most horrified look on her face! She did not want us to know she could talk. She is 3.5 and we struggle to understand her at times, but she will now mimic correct articulation. I therapy is not working, you could tale a break. Talk to the therapists and schedule q break for a couple of months, see if he starts talking with a little more maturity. Or, keep going, but just give him time. Watch him. Is he not talking because he can't and he does not understand, or does he know he does not have to talk. We had full fits before we got words. We stopped giving her anything with out the word. If she grunted for water, we would point and say water. It could take 10 minutes to get "lower" but she eventually started talking, and her baby pronunciation - all her cuts ways of saying words, went away within weeks, whereas my son ( who talked very early) took months or a year to outgrown the pronunciation problems. Late talking may not be a bad thing. Just keep trying. I know it is frustrating :grouphug:

:grouphug: I am so sorry. :grouphug:

I don't know for sure....bit what I do is this: List of problems-I read, he was noticing the patterns in some, so I read them out of order to really check is memory skills. For 2 & 3 digit problems, I let him look if he needs to. For the grids, I point to a square and he must give the answer. Going down the rows is just repeating the pattern, my son learns the pattern rather than thinking of the problem. If I point, he cannot answer without thinking. I don't know if that is "right" but it works for us.

The link is not working for me....what happened?

My SIL does, they are't all so cutsey, but the has a blog. I prefer to cook, rather than cut and decorate.....but she seems to enjoy it.

That Haunted Mansion is one of my favorites, although I am not excited to hear they made it i to the Nightmare before Christmas. :( I loved the goofy singing ghosts :) It is a lot of fun!

It modifies the verb "ate."

Depends on the activity and how much water they have had.....;) But under normal circumstamces, yes. Even my 3 year old is good for 1.5 hours.

1. Academics - DS missed the cutoff date for Kindergarten last year by 3 weeks. He was already reading at a 2nd grade level and could do basic addition and subtraction. He had completed 3 kindergarten basic skills books. I thought I would HS for a year, then try and test him into 1st grade....by the end of last year he was ready for second grade work. Plus, we had a great year and DS wants to be at home and I love our extra time together. 2. Time - I teach dance 4-5 nights a week. I would never see my son if he went to school. He would go at 8:30, I would pick him up to drop him at home as I go to teach. I get home around 9 some nights. He would need to be in bed. I really like my kids :) I want to see them. :D 3. Flexibility - We have musicals 4 weeks out of the year, 2 of those fall during school. We spend ridiculous hours at the theatre. He would have to miss a full week, or go to school exhausted, or I would have to have a babysitter until midnight every night. It is best to just take a week off from school, stay at the theatre, and then let him sleep in the next day. 4.

There is a yahoo group that is for Hogwarts school. I think it has files and things to help you create a "Hogwarts" experience at home. We don't do it, but I looked through the stuff once. You send an "owl" that invites them to join the school, you do the sorting hat, and from there...I don't know how it works. It is not a curriculum, just a way to make school different I think.

My son is not 100% on addition and subtraction facts. He is close, but still thinks on anything above 6+6. We are getting there. We are in Singapore 2 a and nearly done. He is doing great with multiplication. I have staggeredthe mental math and IP so that next week we go back to addition in the IP. We do addition and subtraction mental math. No drill sheets. 2b has a little addition at the begining. We will add flashcards until addition is perfect, but he was not doing well until we moved forward. He needs the challenge on new concepts along with the review of facts. Did you do placement tests to pick 1a, or did you just start at tye begining? I would move forward with two digit addition and regrouping. Take a break first amd do some measurement chapters, they have addition, but with a ruler or measuring tape. We had fun measuring the house.

Lots of art supplies. Crayons, colored pencils, watercolors, an the giant coloring sheets. We also have playdough, blocks and legos. And....a dog who put up with everything.

Keep up with the meds, if it was a really bad infection it can last a while. If I got to the doctor within an hour of symptoms starting, the antibiotics worked immediately. The first one I ever had was while flying to NYC. I called my doctor 24 hours after it started and it was another 24 before I could get the description filled and started. I was in pain for a few days after starting meds. If it still hurts after a few days, I would call your doctor.

There is nothing more beautiful than a sleeping baby :) She is precious! Congratulations! I am so happy everything went well for you.