Thanks! It's bookmarked for future consideration.

My favorite SUPER-EASY meal is chicken tacos in the crockpot. You put FROZEN (great because I don't have to remember to thaw it) chicken breasts into the crockpot with a can of Rotel & a packet of taco seasoning (two shelf-stable items that I always have on hand). It usually only takes 4-5 hours on low. We just cut up a few tomatoes, then add store-bought shredded lettuce & cheese. And the best part, my husband loves it & asks me to make extra for leftovers, so I can get a few meals from very little work.

I was considering incorporating Biblioplan with SOTW. You can download a free three-week Biblioplan sample here: http://www.biblioplan.net/2011/03/biblioplans-free-samples-free-sample.html

Thanks Lynne! I figured somebody here had investigated this before, and I hate reinventing the wheel. I pinned all the craft ideas, except the Martha Stewart one -- I saw that a sewing maching was needed & stopped reading. Thanks again! Kathleen

Has anybody ever made their own 3-D solar system model? My 5yo son has been asking to do this. I'm not very creative. If I'm going to do it, I would prefer to make it to scale, although I appreciate that this might be ambitious. (If you've never seen this, it's a neat picture showing the relative sizes of the planets: http://treasurefield.tumblr.com/post/5905913895/xeirinix-via-lostvox-taptemblr.) In any event, if anybody has any fun ideas for making a model solar system, even if the planets aren't to scale, I would appreciate if you would share. Also, on a related note, do people include Pluto as a planet these days? Is it an issue that is still open to debate, or has it been conclusively settled that we only have 8 planets in our solar system? Thanks! Kathleen

I use Lime Away. But I could never get the door really clean with it, until I had somebody come in to clean my house. She let the Lime Away sit on the door until she finished the rest of the bathroom. When she wiped it, the hard water stains were gone. So this is what I've been doing. But I've used vinegar for other hard water issues, and it works really well (like for build-up on glasses or in the dishwasher). So I might try the vinegar suggestion for the shower. I think the key is giving it time to do its thing before wiping it away.

From what I've read, even store-bought whole wheat flour loses a lot of nutrients because of the heat used during processing. I've been thinking about sprouting my wheat & drying it in my dehydrator before grinding it, to further enhance the nutritional benefits. I have a Wondermill hand-grinder. It's a solid, well-made piece of equipment, but it's a lot of work to grind the flour. Obviously most people prefer the electric versions.

My son will be attending VBS at our church next week. It's a week long, mornings only. They sing songs, play games, do crafts, eat snacks - similar to other types of day camps. It's just that it has a Christian/Catholic focus. In our city, many, many kids attend a variety of week-long summer camps, often as a day-care option, or sometimes because parents don't know what to do with their kids all day, or just because parents think it would be fun for their kids. The camps all have different age-appropriate themes, including sports, robotics, princesses, drama, and art. We even have a "Survivor/Amazing Race" themed camp. I chose the VBS because I thought it would just be a fun thing for him to do, and I liked that it was only a half-day program (he's only 5). So we have afternoon time to swim or go to a park with friends. And because it's church-sponsored, the price is very reasonable. As far as the "being alone with church personnel" issue, I think that could be an issue at any type of day camp, or any school for that matter. Our VBS is run by the teen youth group with adult supervision. And the children are divided into groups where the ages in each group range from 5 to 11. I think it's neat for the older kids to engage with & encourage the younger ones. It is consistent with part of my HS philosophy, that children should get to interact with all ages, not just a group of 20 kids their own age. Hope that helps!

I'm not sure how good it is, but, well, it's free. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007A2V2J4/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=lithouonthe05-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B007A2V2J4

I agree with you academically. But the reality is that grade designations are used for outside activities. I "red-shirted" my late August birthday son, even though we are homeschooling. We did K/1st work academically this year, but next year his official designation will be "K" for outside activities. In particular, I didn't want to rush to place him into religious education at our church (we're Catholic), which starts in first grade, because I think there's a level of maturity required before children start receiving the sacraments.

If you're by yourself during the day in Vegas, you really want to do things to keep cool - even though we're having a few days of cooler weather right now, you can expect it to be in the hundreds durning the day. (Yes, it's a dry heat, but it's still darn hot in the sun. - And that reminds me - make sure you bring plenty of lotion & lip balm. If you're not used to the dryness, it can do a number on you.) If you're a shopper, there are 3 great malls on the strip - at Caesar's, at Planet Hollywood, and down near TI is the Fashion Show mall. Even if you're not a shopper, hit the Canal Shops inside the Venetian. Inside you'll find a fun atmosphere with gondola rides & wandering entertainment. Without a doubt, hit the fountains at the Bellagio. I think they're better after dark, but they're amazing anytime. (And free.) Harrah's has an outdoor stage that offers free shows some afternoons if you just want to sit & chill. If you're bopping around the strip, there are a few free trams that will take you from one casino to another. (One goes between the Mirage & TI; another takes you between the Excaliber & Mandalay.) There's also a monorail that can take you up & down the strip for a fee. If you just want to take in the sights of the strip, there's a double-decker bus ride that allows you to sit on top. And there are many amazing shows. The Cirque shows are often favorites. I loved "O" at the Bellagio, and "Love" (the Beatles show) is pretty amazing too. I haven't heard such good things about the Elvis-themed show, but I never saw it. And if you have a car, Red Rock Canyon National Park is really amazing. It's located about 20 miles west of the strip. If you have any specific questions about Vegas or want more info, feel free to PM me. Have a great trip! Kathleen

Some of these links might provide you with resources for some of the books you plan on reading. I found them through other posts on the Hive, but I haven't tried any of them yet. Free: http://www.nancypolette.com/litguides.asp http://www.gardenofpraise.com/lesson.htm http://www.nt.net/~torino/novels3.html For purchase: http://www.memoriapress.com/descriptions/LiteratureGuides.html http://www.exodusbooks.com/category.aspx?id=1410

:iagree: w/ happycc I was content with my decision to pass on Singapore (other than maybe some of the supplemental stuff) & stick w/ MEP along with miscellaneous living books, puzzles, games, etc., and now this thread gets revived! Now I have something else interesting to investigate. And only 700 pages of teacher's guide to browse? What is summer for, right? Thanks!

I agree - wait to hear back from the seller. If he is unable to send you the books you actually purchased, you should get a full refund from him, including the shipping that you were charged. If he does have them, he should not charge you additional shipping for his mistake. Moreover, you should not be responsible for the cost of shipping the books back to the seller. As a seller, depending on the cost of the item & the cost of shipping, I will either tell the person to just keep the item or ask them to ship it back, and then I issue them a payment through PayPal for the cost of shipping. Hopefully you're dealing with a reasonable seller who will not give you a hard time. If not, you can always contact Ebay.

I was shocked when our Priest made an announcement awhile back asking people not to receive communion with gum in their mouths, as it was an ongoing issue.

The timing of this thread could not have been better! We're using MEP right now, and I've spent the last couple of days considering a purchase of Singapore as a supplement. I really don't want to overload my son, and we already do lots of supplemental math activities, like some of the living math books & whatever may strike his fancy. With the comments I've heard so far, I think I'll be putting Singapore on hold for awhile. But I'm certainly interested in any other thoughts.

Thanks again for all the comments which will save me some money I could spend on something worthwhile. I think it's pretty clear that Connecting with History isn't the right choice for my purposes. Julie, I also was looking for something mainly as a reference for myself to integrate the Catholic/Christian history at the right points. Have you purchased and read through this book yet? It looks like it has potential. I would appreciate any further description you could provide in addition to the review I read, because I think we're looking for something similar. Thanks!

Thank you for the comments. I'm wondering if there would be any value in using the Volume One book as a supplement to SOTW to help me include the bibical history at the right points. Also, is there any substance in the Volume One book (like the chapters in SOTW), or does it just provide an outline of how to use the recommended books and CDs? For any of you who used Volume One, were there any recommeneded supplemental items that you found really helpful for their biblical and/or Catholic teachings? Thanks again!

I saw the thread discussing using this program for middle school. I had been considering it for elementary, starting with ancients, and maybe combining it with SOTW. It appears that there are many supplemental books and CD's that are more or less required, and most are not available at our local library. Has anybody used this program for elementary? Practically speaking, how does it work? Thanks! Kathleen

Thanks!

Great share! Thanks so much - it's on my calendar now.

For people interested in learning more about light or heavy prepping, a great, fun place to get started is www.thesurvivalmom.com. She was featured on an episode of Doomsday Preppers. She's not one of those "out there" types - she's much more practical. And her site has a lot of great articles on a wide variety of prepping topics.

My 5 yo son is into geography as well. He mastered his states & capitals playing with his wooden US map puzzle. And he really likes his Matchbox cars, so our "game" is for him to drive his cars on a laminated world map, which we lay out on the table, to different countries. (We started with continents & oceans, then added countries & other bodies of water.) He loves it, and he's learned so much. Also, he loves this book (which he picks up on his own for fun): http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Book-Maps-Geography-Grades/dp/0769685595/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337353233&sr=8-1 Don't worry that it's for grades 3-6. If your son can read a little & likes to draw and write, he should be able to handle it. It teaches all kinds of map skills with fun activities. And then it gets into other geography topics. I highly recommend it.

Here is a list of historical movies you should be able to find on Netflix, previously posted by somebody on this forum: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?hl=en_US&hl=en_US&key=0AumgWD14ZCPSdGNRQVVjeVotbjcwVlByV3pPS2xJRlE&output=html

I know this isn't the one you were searching for, but my son loves this book: http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Book-Maps-Geography-Grades/dp/0769685595/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1337212139&sr=1-1 It teaches a lot of map skills, and I highly recommend it.