My son used to drag his feet to do work. This was something I worked hard to overcome with him. Finally he learned that he had a little bit of free time to read or play quietly with his legos if he worked diligently. However, I didn't want him to rush through things either. So I told him that if he had too many answers wrong or if the work was too messy or if he didn't follow directions, he would have to redo his work and maybe even have "extra" for practice. This made him see the benefits of doing his work as quickly as possible in the proper way.

:iagree: SWB's lecture on literary analysis explains why you should just let him read and maybe answer a few questions orally occasionally--not for every book. I think you will feel really embrace just letting him read after listening to her lecture.

We use placemats at our dinner table--we have placemats for the 5 continents (Australia and Antarctica aren't available at our store) the world, Canada, Central America and the US. Every week or so we change who has what placemat. The differences between Central America and US and Canada have brought up questions about the differences between countries, continents, states, provinces, etc and even the difference between a capital of a country and the capital of a state/provinces. My kids are still not satisfied with my answer of why there isn't a capital of the world! We've had them for over a year and I am still surprised how much they get worked into dinner and lunch conversations. Also they quiz each other on their own about state capitals, etc. Wall maps failed for us b/c I didn't have a good place to hang one where it can be accessed readily. I also like the placemats because they are easy to grab when we are studying literature, etc. They are unlabeled on the back so they can be used for quizzing too. That being said, we will have more formal geography lessons this year by using the Trail Guide to World Geography and Trail Guide to US Geography (not sure if we'll get to this). I liked this curriculum b/c it can be done independently by my children through the notebooks I am making from the CDs. It is an easy introduction to researching answers on their own. I don't think that we'll do many of the projects. . .

My Father's Dragon was our children's first introduction to audiobooks. Perfect introduction for us. There are three books included on the audiobook. Another suggestion would be any of the books by Jim Weiss. I think some of them are animal stories, nighttime stories, etc. Tell Me a Story was my favorite one! I would ask the library to order some. . .they usually have money for patron requests.

Here's a recipe that you can use that might be easy to start with: simulated marble: 1 part vermiculite 1 part plaster of paris add water until creamy (stirring constantly) Pour into cardboard box until harden. Then carve with knife or other tools. There should be craft books that have other mixtures that you can make and then whittle. I think the simulated marble recipe I listed above comes from Mudworks. They may have another recipe too. Your idea sounds like fun!

Look at http://donnayoung.org/forms/index.htm You should be able to find what you are looking for there--and it's free. I put my planner in a binder last year. I didn't like it because it was big and bulky. This year I am planning to bind my planner so that it can lay flat and be folded over on itself.

This is one of many reasons why an online planner just won't work for me. If the computer is at the table it just ends up being a distraction. . .and if I print out the schedule, well, that just defeats the purpose! I learned that my children like to have a schedule--the same schedule everyday. One that involves doing their least favorite subject first. Then as the day winds down their favorite subject comes up (history--we use SOTW). They never want to finish early by skipping that subject. In this way, everything gets done! Oh, and we are not very good workers after lunch. It's best to push lunch back if necessary with an additional snack than to plan to go back to school after lunch! We have been known to eat lunch at 2 pm if necessary! I also found it best to play an audio book while making lunch. They love to listen to it and it "extends" our day by fitting in one more thing in an enjoyable way. Also it gives me a much need break!

I purchased two magnetic whiteboards for my children when we started homeschooling last year. They are useful and easy to store and have actually been very durable. I paid only about $15 for each and they are in a triangular, easel form for the table. They're big enough for me to teach on but small enough for each child to use flat on the table for math, etc. Here's a link to amazon for one like it, only mine was not that expensive and it didn't have a felt board on the back (just another white board) but at least you can see what I mean: http://www.amazon.com/Educational-Insights-3-in-1-Portable-Easel/dp/B001C609DE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1343222025&sr=8-2&keywords=ma I do have a chalkboard (an old slate one) hanging in our kitchen that I use to to write the weekly menu and date on. I love it and it looks great but I would not want to be using it every day to write a lesson on, etc. It's just not that comfortable to do hanging up. A stand up easel one would definitely be better but I wouldn't know where to put it or how to store it. I have been looking at foldable, telescoping easels though. . .I know I could put that to good use and store it easily!

This is exactly what I am looking for but giving my child the right amount of guidance to do this does not come naturally to me. I don't want it to be too open ended but this is a topic that he has a passion for so I do not want to squelch it but I want to help him go deeper into it. The output is not important to me--but the process is. Part of this has me thinking about SWB's requirement of quiet time in a new light. She produced the space and time for project directed learning without calling it anything like that. Hmmm. . .I have a lot to think about. Right now I just keep throwing books at him and talking to him about it. I have purchased the book Project Based Homeschooling to see what pearls I can glean from it. The forum also seems like it will be a valuable resource. Thank you for all your replies. Hopefully I'll update this when after I get the book and figure out what direction to go in. . .

This is a new book, written by Lori Pickert. I searched the hive for info on her and I just got one thread on her. Has anyone read this book? I like following Annie's blog Bird and Little Bird and she wrote about it today on her Library Monday at http://birdandlittlebird.typepad.com/blog/ If you have read this book then what is your opinion of it? Or has anyone else explored project based learning? I am always hesitant to jump on the latest and greatest ideas because everything out there can seem interesting at first but may be just repackaged or not worthwhile. This year my son would love to do do a "unit" on World War II because he is so interested in it (the types of planes used, the submarines, etc.). He knows more about it than most high school students but I have been hesitant in putting it all together because I want it to be about HIS interest in the topic and not what I think he should get out of it. He's already approached this as a rabbit hole but he would love this to be a "subject" (above and beyond history) that he's doing in school. I think that he should do most of the planning and legwork for this subject (or "unit") but I don't know how to guide him with this process (without taking it over and doing it my way). This method seems like it might have some answers for me. . .any thoughts?

I did not buy a "real globe". I bought a blow-up ball of the world. I just didn't want to find a permanent home for a globe--they're big. The blow up ball I bought was less than $7.00 and is very detailed. It even has ocean currents labeled on it. I also figured that it could be used as a distraction when necessary.

Consider cheescake and creme brulee for a tasty (and easy and nut free) birthday "cake". I make an almond meal crust for the cheesecake but since nuts are out for you go without a crust altogether (hopefully you're not vegan because then these suggestions are useless!) I usually make a GF angel food cake with the whites left from the creme brulee using rice flour. Hope that helps. As for good, quick meals you should try finding a flat bread recipe that you like. I make mine with rice flour and cornstarch. Easy and there's no yeast so there's no need for a rise. My daughter is at camp this week and I make it every morning for her sandwiches. It also doubles as a very good pizza crust as long as you make it really thin (which we do for flat bread anyways). You just have to resign yourself to the fact that it takes two eggs. My children usually eat the batch in one setting. A quick breakfast is left over brown rice heated in an iron skillet. When heated through throw an egg in it. Delicious and filling. We have ducks so I am especially partial to using a duck egg. OK, now I have to start a new thread and ask about corn tortillas. They have me stumped (6 batches later and I still haven't figured it out!).

You want a new brewing system? How about a French Press? We absolutely love ours. OK, let me rephrase that, I do not mind making my husband coffee with it. I do not drink coffee but he (and everyone else) says that the coffee is amazing with it. We have the Freiling French Press because it is all stainless steel (no plastic and no glass). Easy to use. Just boil water and then pour onto the coarse ground coffee beans. And then to add just a little more work to your day--how about a manual grinder? My husband thought I was crazy when I bought a "vintage" (really an antique) coffee grinder off of Ebay but it has paid for itself. We ended up using less than 1/2 the coffee he used to. We always ground the coffee ourselves at the co op but for some reason, using the same amount of the fresh ground coffee was way too strong. So there you have it. And you will save money in the long run. We liked the french press so much we did end up buying one to make iced tea with. In the summer after making my husband's coffee I will brew the iced tea for the day. And if you like sweet tea, you need to make the simple syrup for it rather than just use sugar--what a difference! And this way you can still have your coffee, even if the electricity goes out!

Take a look at http://donnayoung.org/forms/subject-planner.htm This may be what you're looking for (and it's free!). I use this method and it works well for us.

I am making my purchase today for composition books. You may have already decided what to do but here's what I found anyways: PACON has the kind of comp books you want. I found them cheapest ($1.90-2.01 per book) at http://www.bisonoffice.com/product/214548/pacon-composition-book---100-sheet---ruled---975-x-75---1-each---white-PAC2426/ Bison also has free shipping after $60.00 and flat rate shipping for $6.98 for amounts below that. I found a coupon "5off25" that expires today so that should just about take care of shipping if you spend less than $60. Pacon makes both full paged lined books and half-paged lined books. The link above is for the half-paged lined books. They make them in k-1 lined and grade 2-3 lined. Ischolar also makes composition books like that (ischolarinc.com). I bought a couple last year but a quick search on the internet shows that they are about $10 per book this year. Wow! I know I didn't pay that much last year. I also found some at staples yesterday but they were only 24 pages for $1.00 and they did not have any half-paged lined books. They also felt cheap. I hope this helps. I have been looking around for these too. I loved using them last year for spelling and dictation. I prefer it to using workbooks for WWE and FLL and Spelling. Just one of those things that you could pull out and go--without hole punching! I am a 3-ring binder failure. Love the idea, just not good with the execution of it. I use filexec presentation books for those things that aren't suited to composition books (our music/art notebook pages, history, etc). I also use them for our portfolios. Kids can thumb through them without me worrying about pages falling out. And they sit so nicely on the bookshelf.

I really like the SOTW Activity book. I used it mostly for addn'l reading and literature suggestions and for the comprehension questions. We have a great library for a small town and I just found out that I can ORDER the books online now! Yippeee! I didn't like having to write the call letters, etc. For the ancient books I just brought the activity guide with me to the library but after Ancients those guides get big and bulky! For the price, it really pulls it together. We didn't do the activities though. . . We are continuing on with the series and the activity books change with the later books. There is more outlining, etc. so it becomes less of an activity book and more like a workbook (but I'm not sure if I would call it a workbook). As for the maps, I preferred using the Knowledge Quest Maps b/c for me they were more comprehensive (rather than just presenting a "piece" of the map--I had to show the whole thing anyways!). Also Knowledge Quest is a great resource for our read alouds, etc. This is a resource that I know we will use for years to come. I got the whole package, including the hardcover book because that is so easy to pull out and get to the map I want rather than have it printed out before hand. It was definitely money well spent. We're also adding on Trail Guide to World Geography this year so we'll be using the outline maps there as well. As an aside, I was able to get the test questions for Book 3 and 4 when I bought my books and activity guides used. I wouldn't have bought them otherwise. But I really liked them. I know that I will keep them in the background and use them periodically. I think they'll be handy for the days the kids are really paying attention or just to have them practice test taking as well. They were well written and I liked the format. After seeing them I would definitely have bought them new.

I particularly love this series: http://www.acornnaturalists.com/store/Nature-Finder-Guides-C4116.aspx They are small, about the size of an index card, and are based on a dichotomous key, so it teaches you how to look at plants to help classify them, rather than just match a picture. :iagree: I love, love, love those guides. They don't have beautiful, colored pictures but they really help you identify animals and plants in an easy way (and also teach a thoughtful way to approach identification--through flow charts!). My favorite for birds is All the Birds of North America published by Harper Perennial. It helps you ID birds based on feeding behaviors and easily seen characteristics like types of beaks. Even I can easily ID birds with this. Now I need to find a really good pair of binoculars. Any suggestions?

One thing I was thinking about was looking at the Pony Club manuals. The D manual is the first one that should be read and covers the basics. Pony Clubs administer ratings to Pony Clubbers based on these tests (both written and practical). When I looked at what WP had to offer I felt that it was practical enough and the literature list offered was what many horse-interested children would have gone through. I have discussed this idea with my daughter's riding instructor and she thinks that this is a good idea. She has administered Pony Club tests before and has been an instructor in the past for area Pony Clubs. I would love for my daughter to join Pony Club but the nearest ones are about an hour away and it is a HUGE time commitment when driving (and trailering) is factored in. If anyone is interested I can keep you updated on how I proceed with this. As for literature suggestions for younger children I would definitely recommend Jessie Haas. Look on her website because she even categories her books into levels such as "transitional chapter books". http://www.jessiehaas.com/works.htm FYI: she has written early readers, chapter books, and novels so there is something for everyone. Her topics are very relevant and authentic. Some of the books are even series and there some ponies (like Radish) have books of their own but are also mentioned in other books. Kids love that.

SWB talks about it in her lecture on Literary Analysis. I would definitely recommend listening to it. She does recommend doing literary analysis at a later age. I really like her approach.

I bought a world map at our college book store when we started homeschooling this year. I hung it up--but beware--think about the height of your children--it may be too big for them to use at the ages they are at now! That being said, we got the most bang for our buck with the with the Painless Placemat series. You can see them here: http://www.rainbowresource.com/prodlist.php?subject=14&category=7100 There are more than are listed here. My kids use these constantly and they have held up well over the past year. My children have taught each other the state capitals, capitals of countries, they ask questions about rivers, etc. during snack time, lunch time, etc. They're great to bring my husband up to speed on what's going on in history too. The flipside has the black outline without any labels so they're good for quizzing too. You can use dry erase markers on them too. Cheap, effective, portable (as in, easy to grab and have on hand to discuss where the story is taking place. . .) and easy to store when not in use. What more can you ask for? Oh, and you will continue to use them for years to come. They also have them on the presidents, the constitution, etc.

Wow! Thanks for finding this and posting it. I just downloaded Little Women and it sounds great--I liked it much better than the Librivox recordings. I also explored the website a little bit. I clicked on the link on the bottom of the page "Education Technology Clearinghouse" and it lead me to what I think is their homepage. There is ClipArt ETC and MapsETC. What a great resource that is FREE! I make my own notebook pages for our music and art and the most time consuming part is just finding the right picture. This will make it so easy and quick. Overall a great resource!

Thank you for sharing. I have been avoiding printing this--now I have no excuse AND I get to check one more thing off my list. I really appreciate all your work.

I make a notebook page for each lesson. It only takes a few minutes for me after I made a couple of templates. I did this because I didn't want to make science too heavy on the writing. I usually have my children do a narration or define a word and the other words will usually have their definition. Depending on the type of discovery that needs to be made during the lesson they may get the notebook page before or after the lesson. I did discover that my kids also wanted ME to do the notebook page with them. So now I have a science notebook too. I found that I actually liked doing that because it provided them with an example. These notebook pages are different from the history and music ones because they are more open ended and I think my kids struggled with that at first. I found that this system worked well. I'm not a big fan of three ring binders (too many pages end up falling out) so I use a presentation book with the plastic pages that I can slide our sheets into (I liked the filexec brand best--I use them for history, music and art and a 60 page one for their end of the year portfolio as well--this way EVERYTHING is always filed that day by my kids). I have been often combining lessons in the 1st book because the concepts are pretty straight forward for their ages and their attention span. I hope to be starting the second book next year.

I don't have a response for the money kit but a lot of things are on sale right now at Right Start Math. . .check it out. The games kit for example is cheaper than what most people sell it for used (and it includes the abacus!). Just thought people might want to know.

Oh, thank you for this info and for the site for generating the paper. This is exactly what I needed for the outlining our science program for next year. I was using a notebook with my notes on the left page and the outline on the right but I found using an opened notebook cumbersome at the table (not enough room!) but now I will have a single page with everything right on it and it can be double sided. I had seen this notebook paper in our college supply store and I liked it but it was so expensive I didn't want to buy it to try it. Now I have paper and instructions. And a great way to teach my children how to take notes! The best part--I have only done 4 sections of notes so far (usually I find these things when I am on the very last section).