Ok, off to try that! Dd really wants her next "Dragons in Our Midst" book that she's already paid me half of. And I need to buy Trail Guide to World Geo. before all our money is spent on the new Heat Pump ... did I say ALL the money... sigh. Thanks Marie!

It's ok to start with print.:D :lol: Tell dh it is in your son's best interest and it really is only $11-13 more for HWOT. Yes, we SO understand the dilemma.:grouphug:

Anyone else having this problem or could anyone troubleshoot for me??? I can't get past "Pick your shipping" and I'm so frustrated!! :mad:

I'll take a stab:) Though this is my first year with a 9th grader and she won't be returning to school, God willing. Our schedule looks similar. How much time is Fine Arts and P.E. going to take up? I think I would wait on geography, logic, and health for next year or just pick one if art & p.e. won't be a big time committment. I also was struggling with how much was a good fit for dd. Then I realized that we have 4 years to fit it all in. Plus, for my dd, I would rather her NOT get overwhelmed with her first high school schedule and ease into it a bit. But she is my aspie, so that may not be an issue for you. Here's our schedule (for comparison) Algebra (VideoText) Apologia Physical Science World History/Bible/Lit (Sonlight Core 7) Henle Latin (probably) Artistic Pursuits Piano/Children's Choir Language Arts (WW3000 9, Jump In, R&S7, we'll also read "The Hobbit" and do an online study guide that someone here shared) Tail Guide to World Geography Geography and History will also each be an hour long class at co-op, as well as Science Lab. There is very little homework for our co-op, though. She will also get some phys ed. at co-op but I don't know how much of a credit it will make up. It looks like what you have planned will do well if he has to go back to school. Hope that helps. I'm certainly not the most knowledgable source but I hate to see your post sit there ;) Angel

That's interesting. I have never heard that before. I am one of those people who personally change their handwriting all the time. I find it fun. :001_smile: My dh neither prints nor does cursive well. Dd and I enjoy watching him write cause he forms his letters all kinds of goofy ways. He and I went to the same elementary school, go figure.:D With my older dd it is whatever is less tiring for her hand, and honestly, that really is fine with me. I am happy that she is actually getting thoughts on paper and that it is legible. And honestly, she doesn't have the need for much writing because the computer is available for her to type it out. We are waiting to see what younger dd will do. She wants to learn cursive this year, so we are going with that in 2nd grade. I liked HWOT so much that I'm using it for her, even though it's not very "pretty." What I've come to realize is how very much we morph into our own unique style of writing, no matter how we our taught. If you want cursive first, you could still look at HWOT and just start with their cursive book. Because the writer of HWOT is a OT, she has the book flow in a good way for kids with fine motor problems. Angel

My oldest dd has fine motor problems. She is now 13. I can tell you that printing, for her, is much easier. Handwriting was a problem in school for her. When we began homeschooling in 5th, I actually bought HWOT cursive so she could improve. It really did make a difference and actually helped her printing. She still does not have stellar handwriting, but it is better. But she still prints. I know with my first child, and also with my first time homeschooling, I had huge expectations. I've learned that more often than not I need to let my expectations go and do what's best for my girl. I guess that's my way of saying that I'd put cursive on hold. HWOT is truly a great program for kids with fine motor problems and he is the perfect age for some of the fun stuff that comes with their first book. I'll admit that I don't know what building a strong foundation with cursive first means:tongue_smilie: But I do know all about the frustration that comes with trying to get handwriting going :001_smile: Good luck whichever way you decide! Angel

I am not familiar with Answers Academy, but the Senior High Sunday School Class is using Demolishing Strongholds currently. My dh and I are the SS leaders for Junior High and sometimes we combine classes, so I have seen a few of the DVD's. I find it incredible and the speaker is engaging. The few we have seen really challenge the kids to think. I thoroughly enjoyed them and got quite a lot from just the videos. I think the videos could easily be used with just one student. I would be prepared to watch it with your child and be ready to have some great, in depth discussion on it. My junior high dd has enjoyed the few she's seen. Hope that helps somewhat. :001_smile:

Thanks OhElizabeth. I'm thinking I may have some letter tiles in the toy room. They are not color coded (I don't think) but maybe I could pull those out to use a bit.

Thanks so much for your advice. No, I don't own AAS yet. Actually, today the air conditioner repairman said it's not only the air but the heat as well and we need a new heat pump (house is all electric). Since the startup cost for AAS is a little pricey, I was thinking of waiting if it would be ok. Especially now that much of our extra money will be headed to a heat pump. Right before the end of last year, I was going back a few lessons in ETC and testing dd on her spelling of previous words. She was doing well with this, so maybe I will continue it. She likes to make up sentences as we go through the words, maybe this year I can have her write them out instead as extra work. I do have the Natural Speller book, if worse came to worse. I just know that this dd is so very hands on and AAS looked just right for her. Thanks again for your help! Angel

My dd will be 8 in September and beginning 2nd grade. I was planning on completing ETC 5,6,7 this year along with beginning All About Spelling. Will I be hurting her if I wait until mid year or maybe even 3rd grade to begin All About Spelling? I don't want her to be "behind" but I'm thinking maybe I should finish ETC first? Maybe that doesn't even matter?! :confused: If it helps, she is reading above grade level, will be doing FIAR along with FLL(2). Thanks!

My dd(7) enjoyed the Jim Weiss audio cd about King Arthur. For the life of me I can't remember the exact title, but search under Jim Weiss and you'll find it. She made her older sister listen to it in the car over and over:001_smile:

Definitely check the library and library loan if it's available to you. I was able to get my hands on Teach Your Child to Read in 100 EZ Lessons and Phonics Pathways from our library system. Ours also has BOB books. Magic School Bus books and videos are great. Some even have small science experiments in them. Also for Science are the One Small Square Books and Mudpies to Magnets...at the library! They have those M&M math books, etc., plus there are books about math called the MathStart series. Ours is by Stuart Murphy but I don't know if he authors them all. If you can hop on the computer at the library, you could print out a list of Five in a Row books and make up your own unit studies around them, or if you have the time, print off some free lapbook pages for the Five in a Row books at http://www.homeschoolshare.com. I am constantly amazed at what I can find at our library! Our library has a section in the children's area for teachers and it is full of circle time activities, activities by the month, etc. I know that you are talking $0, but for $15 or $20 you could get the whole Rod and Staff preschool set of workbooks. (You could skip the Bible stuff if it doesn't pertain). My dd did these her K year and loved them. Don't forget about computer learning games and learning videos at the library, too! Good luck! When my dd was in K, she did very little, mostly listened in to big sis with a little 100EZ lessons and the R&S workbooks. It really was a great year for her! Angel

Thanks! I really appreciate the help. Dh said that maybe we should give it a go for a couple weeks and then, if it doesn't work, switch. I think that I'm leaning that way. I gave dd the placement test this morning and she breezed through their K & 1st sections. I guess that means she is right on track to start 2nd. Of course, their placement test did not cover ANY addition or subtraction facts, which I thought was strange. I'm glad to know that I should be able to tell in a few weeks if it's a go for dd or a bomb. That helps me be ok with giving it a try. Thanks again. Angel

My dd will be starting 2nd grade next month. She's finished all but 20 lessons of Rod and Staff's 1st grade math. The last month or two she has been complaining about all the problems on the page, no big deal, I then have her do only half or something. The thing is, I can't find out what kind of bent she has towards math. My older dd is easy. R&S was perfect for her. I'm not so sure about this little dd. Dh and I have been considering another math program for her. We were given Saxon 2 free (and I might be able to get Saxon 3 free, too). We are also considering Math U See. This dd is very hands on. That we do know. I just saw in RR catalog that Saxon uses all kinds of manipulatives as well. How long was it before you realized Saxon didn't work for your child? I guess I'm trying to figure out if we go with Saxon if I'll waste a whole year trying to figure out that it didn't work or if I'll know right away, so I can switch. Does that make any sense? :confused: I hate to change programs more than once. It would be easier if I knew what kind of math would "click" with this dd. Any advice or help would be great. Thank you! Angel

Cool. Thanks for letting me know. Incidentally, since no one else has piped up, my mom and dad have dial-up and working on their computer is a bear. They are WAY out in the boonies, though, and I don't know if that's makes any difference. When I'm there, I can only do the simplest things, it takes a long time for everything else.

No help here. But I am curious as to where you are getting online access for $75 a year. I'd love to hear, if you can share.

I don't have any experience with this, however, Ambleside uses "Kon Tiki" as a living book for geography. Maybe that's one you could check out. Angel

I get carsick, still, and both girls inherited it. We've had some nasty times! I agree with all Elegantlion said! I want to add that the air moving in the car, for us, needs to be fresh. AC makes me sick (and my girls, too). Open the windows some. Definitely have wipes handy and extra clothes, and don't put anything under her feet (don't ask me how I know how hard it is to clean regurgitated french fries off toys :ack2:). We keep Walmart bags in the seat next to them for those times that we can't get over 3 lanes of traffic and they feel the need to puke. For us, the wrist bands didn't work. If you try them out, have other options handy. Dramamine is our best friend. Make sure you give it 30 minutes before you get on the road!! You can give it to kids as young as two and it does say on the package the dosage! It takes a bit to kick in. One thing that has helped my girls is our portable DVD player. If it is something that they really like to watch, sometimes (sometimes) it distracts them. One last thing, Coke really help in little sips. My dr. once told me that coke, warm and flat, was a great aid for upset tummies. It really does work great. Good luck!! Angel

I'm really no help, but I just wanted to say that that is exactly how I feel about Math so here's a :grouphug: We use Rod and Staff and do it orally. Dd doesn't like grammar, but she has opted to stay with R&S because we get through it quickly doing it orally. We do our diagramming on the whiteboard. Grammar is usually done in 15-20 minutes. I'm guessing you would hate R&S, too, but if you would happen to give it a looksie, check the 5th grade book for your 6th grader. It's foundational.

Cute, Firefly, cute! :glare: I could send them to you!:lol: That's a great idea...and then you could use them for YOUR science! Thanks for the smile:001_smile:

I tried out Astronomy with my 1st grader the last half of this year. I had read differing opinions here as to it being the easiest and whether or not it was good for 1st grade. The friend I borrowed from said to definitely wait but I thought it couldn't hurt to give it a go and it was scheduled in the MFW RtoR that she was tagging along with her older sister. Here is what I found after making it through about 5 or 6 lessons. -The reading is dense. I wouldn't call it dry, just full of SO much information. It was fascinating but even I was having a hard time recalling what we read 3 sections ago when the last section was so full of info. -The experiments/projects were above my 1st grader. We did two, maybe, but I didn't feel that going into some of the bigger experiments or projects were worth it. -I felt the same about the notebook questions (which we did orally), a little too much for dd to fully get what the section or lesson was teaching. She came away with a few facts from each lesson, which I was thrilled about, but if she was older it would be much more productive. I am still trying to figure out if I like the book or not. Which is shocking because I expected to pick it up and love it. That may be because dd just isn't ready yet and I'll feel better when she's older. I'm not to concerned about setting it aside because if we continue with MFW with her, she'll hit it again. I hope that makes sense. I'm still a little frazzled about finding ants in my pantry:eek:

Melissa, I am SO glad he didn't throw up all over the new car!! We found out about dd's reaction to red 40 when she was about 3. She had Hawaiian Punch before heading out to evening church. They came and got me in service when she threw up ALL over the pastor's wife's yellow outfit in the nursery.:eek: She is the one who suggested that she might have an allergy to it. It took a few more times of her throwing up after drinking different red 40 drinks (even V8 Splash) before I got the picture.

My dd is! Though she doesn't rage, she throws up. It doesn't take long! She throws up till its all out then sleeps for a bit and then wakes up fine. We haven't had to deal with it in a long time, though, because she knows about it and avoids it. It is only in it's liquid form for her. But we watch it in all things, just in case.

Thanks all for the replies. I thought that my reasoning was off. Especially after I posted and looked at a can of Coke. No fat in that but you couldn't live on a diet of my favorite red can:lol: Really, I do appreciate the help. I have used Spark People but I haven't used it consistently lately. I am having an especially hard time this week as it is almost "that time" and I'm craving food something horribly. Not to mention that I've exercised every day for 20 min (one day 30) and I have gained 2lbs. It's probably pms weight, but at this point those 2lbs puts me at the highest weight I ever want to be when I'm NOT pregnant. Thanks for taking time to help me out! Angel

I am so glad you asked this. I have gotten some rep points and realized that I should be doling out a few myself...I want to be a giver :001_smile: but I didn't know how to GIVE the rep points. Thanks!