Honest guys, it doesn't take all that much wall space. :) If you have a hallway to get to rooms in your house, you probably have enough space to squeeze it in! I think it was the Homeschool in the Woods site, or one like it (sorry I can't remember! :eek: ) where I found an idea of what they did for timelines and how they measured. I didn't do it just like they did, since I had to fit it on a small space, but the idea they used worked. Figure which time era that you're studying is going to have more "events" taking place. That would need more space (Example: My Ancients Timeline had 1000 years (for very early time periods)in the same space that my Modern one had 5 years). Here's what I did for the SOTW 4: The Modern Age Timeline that you see above (or somewhere before this message! ;) ) The Activity Book had many of the timeline figures, we got some off the internet as well. Anyway, I got the green colored 8 1/2 by 11 paper and cut it in 1 inch wide strips. My timeline was from 1820-2010. From 1820-1850 I had 1 foot for every 10 years. After that more started happening, so from 1850 on I had 1 foot of timeline for every 5 years. I stapled it up across the wall, starting high, so we wouldn't have to kneel and fall over while trying to get the stuff on for the last few years! You can sort of see the markings I made for the years if you look at the picture. So the markings went: 1820, and one foot later 1830, one foot later (etc.) 1840, then 1850, then 1855, 1860, 1865, etc. I made a straight black line from top to bottom and straddled the year on it --> 19 I 20.... It's hard to explain with just typing it, but you can see better what I mean on the picture. Oh, and as we came to the years of our ancestors and us, we put those on the timeline as well! I dunno, did that make sense? Ask me any questions if you don't understand. It's not hard to do, but makes a great timeline--a wonderful visual for the kids to see their progress!

Wow, I'm glad I don't live wherever you live! Cuz we live in an area that the houses are going for around the same amount now (we got in a few years ago when the housing prices were 1/2 what they are now, thankfully!), but it's a very nice neighborhood! It has a good HOA, and decent houses and things. That's why we bought here, a good neighborhood, and we could barely afford, but do fine, the mortgage. The difference is, I consider us in decent shape, and we make about $40,000 less a year than you! To me makiing over $100,000 a year WOULD be rich, not barely eeking out a living! The economy is crazy! People in Kenya would think my family was AMAZINGLY rich! But the cost of living certainly makes a difference! The col there is NOTHING compared to where we live! I think our col is high, but it is not as much as where you live. My husband has some benefits, but he doesn't get them free! He puts in quite a bit a year to be able to get those benefits!

BS in Elementary Education.

I agree with letting them go at their own pace--whether it's ahead or behind. My 10yo dd (well, she was 10 most of the year, she just turned 11) is doing pre-algebra this year (6th) and will begin Algebra 1 next year. She did slow down a little this year, but worried that she wasn't getting through the book fast enough. I told her not to worry about that, she needed to learn it well before moving on. So she may still be finishing up Pre-Algebra for the first part of her 7th grade year. Anyway, as the others have said, there are many avenues to pusue as he gets older. He MAY "hit a wall" at some point, and need to slow down a bit. So be aware of that in case it happens. If not, I say let him go at his pace and enjoy the learning!

Actually that's a wall leading into a room, and it's about 4 feet long. We just squished it on there, and it works. We used as much as we needed height-wise, because we have ceiling to floor space to use. :D

:lol: I like how you said that! :) This is what my dd did this year for 6th, which took her between 4-5 hours: Science (Christian Kids Explore Chemistry, 3x/week) Math (TT Pre-Algebra, 5x/week) Handwriting (Getty-Dubay Italic Series---she LOVES doing it! 2x/week) Grammar/English (R&S, 5x/week) Piano Practice (1 hour a day 5x/week, 1 30 min. lesson 1x/week) Spanish (Visual Link Spanish, 2x/week) ASL (Getting Started in Signing cd's, and Signing Illustrated book, 3x/week) Geography (Spectrum, 2x/week) History (All American History, 3x/week) She actually LOVED the Chem. so much that she concentrated just on that and finished it some time ago. Now she's concentrating on her Geog. and will finish it soon. Then she'll finish up her history.

Ohhhh, I never knew that! :eek: Thanks! :)

OK, I thought I might not be able to upload photos here since I'm new. But I think it's working. So here is out SOTW Vol. 4 Timeline. ETA: Oh yikes, it's so small! How would I make it bigger?

We used SOTW starting with 1st grade for my dd. My boys were older but we all did the program and the fun Activities from the Activity Book. Make SURE you get the Activity Book if you do go with SOTW---it's great! We are a Christian family, so we added in the Bible info and timeline figures from www.timelinesetc.com It worked out really well for us to compare the Biblical and other things happening in the world at the same time!

Well, I CAN tell you that I just used 8 1/2 x 11 colored paper and cut them in 1 inch (approx.) widths. Then after I figured out how many I needed for the era I was making it for, I stapled them onto one of our walls and wrote the dates on the strips. Some times will have more things happening, and therefore need more space than others. I could e-mail my picture if you'd like. You can pm me.

Do you get the teacher Guides with each level you do? My dd is in 6th, and I'm wanting to switch her to Singapore, at least for awhile. When starting back a ways (she tested for 4A), I'm not sure whether I need the TG's or not, especially if we'll go through those levels quickly! Any words of advice on this?

I ordered our ITBS tests, no Cogats, from Brewer Testing Company. It's a small company and just expanding, and very happy to please! I ordered 3 tests, and had quick service. They were $38 apiece. She even e-mailed to say they received the tests on Monday, and it's possible we could get them back in 2-3 weeks! (I'm not counting on that though!) http://www.brewertesting.com/

I've been looking for what Chem. class to do with my ds who will be in 10th grade next year. He is not a science person neccessarily, and I too want him to enjoy it as much as he can. Thanks for your post Melody, it helped me understand MY thoughts better. I've been leaning toward the Apologia Chem....

I don't know if this Spanish would be right for him. It's called Visual Link Spanish. My dd is doing this and loves it, so thought I'd share so you could at least take a look at it if you'd like: http://www.learnspanishtoday.com/

Wow, both of those sound good! And the good thing about it is I have reward/refund check to spend at Costco! Both those items can be bought there?

We just sent ours in the beginning of this week. At first they said 6-8. But when the lady contacted me to say they'd received the tests, she said they'd been getting them back in 2-3 weeks! I'd like that, but not counting on it! This is the first year we've done it on our own. In previous years I proctored the ITBS at a local Christian school, so they let me take my kids to test as well. It'll be interesting to see the differences!

Sue, I will also have an 11yo 7th grade dd next year. I need to go look this up! Thanks for mentioning it!

I was surprised at the other thread as well! TT has been the answer for our younger two! They're doing so well, and are enjoying math again! I agree, go to the level that your child tests at on the placement test, and move on from there. I really appreciate TT because it's all explained so clearly. I'm not a math person, so seeing my children be able to get it, use it, do well and enjoy it is GREAT for our family! :D

I picked other. I think Spanish is a good one to know. But My oldest ds wants to go to college for a year in Germany, so he started studying German. My middle ds wants to be a pastor, so he is studying Greek. My youngest likes, and is studying both Spanish and ASL. I think ASL may be good, since it would help her have a broader base, and an extra possibily for work as she gets older.

I DO have a photo of the timeline we did with SOTW 4. But I'm new here, and not sure I can add photos yet. It worked out really well for us and it's not too hard either!

I will pray for this lady and her husband!

I would be happy to pray for your mom! Let us know how things go!

My 16yo ds (oldest) plateaued (is that how you spell that???) last year. We are very picky about schools, but found the perfect one for him. He LOVES it, and is getting 4.0 grades as a junior! I am still homeschooling my 14yo ds and 11yo dd, and would love to homeschool them all the way through highschool! But I'm open to change if it's in the best interest of that child. My oldest is, well, the oldest. ;) The 14yo was kind of under the oldest's thumb, but now he is FINALLY figuring out who he is and that it's OK to be himself! And the oldest learned to buckle down and study and work hard for his grades. So it's been very good for both of them. I homeschooled my oldest from 2nd through 10th grades. The younger two are in 9th and 6th, and have always been homeschooled.

I think I'd have to agree with Carol. It's better for him to TRULY get it than push him through!

That looks good to me! I think the fact that she is a diligent worker is why she gets it done. If you give her MORE work, it may get to a point where it overwhelms her! Are you satisfied with the amount of work she is doing (based on the idea that you assigned that amount)? If it took her longer to do the same amount of work would you still be wanting to give her more work? I'm thinking that if you start giving her more work, and she does get overwhelmed, that you'll now have a problem to deal with, and she wan't be so diligent, nor would she enjoy learning as she seems to now. JMHO. I agree---shes just 7, let her have her free time to play and explore! You can be happy with the fact that she chooses to spend at least some of her spare time reading! In that case, she's still learning! :)