I've been very pleased with REAL science so far, and I think you could make it take as long as you desire. There are tons of great labs (explained in great detail!) but you would definately not have to do them all. Hth!

This is the case at our house -- same day, 3 yrs apart -- did NOT plan it. Kinda nice. Kinda expensive all at once. ;)

I use fondant all the time, and I highly reccommend you make your own. It is easier to work with, infinately cheaper, and tastes like circus peanuts candy. Yes, you can make your items ahead of time, but keep them in ziplocks or something or they will dry out. It is completely fine for them to harden, but if you want soft-n-squishy, you have to keep them airtight. Marshmallow Fondant: 1 large bag of mini marshmallows 1lb confectioners sugar water Spray microwave-safe dish with nonstick spray, fill with marshmallows Put a tiny bit of water on top....like a few tablespoons Microwave for 2 minutes (watch it! 'mallows puff up when heated!) Remove from microwavewhen completely melted/puffy and stir (this is where I add gel food coloring) Gradually add confectioners sugar until you can no longer stir the crumbly mixture At this point add JUST A BIT more water -- your goal is to completely incorporate all that sugar into the marshmallows At some point, you have to just cover your hands in crisco and dig in and squish it and mix it by hand When it is all homogenous, form it into a ball and store in a ziplock indefinately :D When rolling it out, I have found these two items worth gold: http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog.jsp?CATID=cat3254&PRODID=prd29683 http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog.jsp?CATID=cat3253&PRODID=prd50277 Sprinkle some cornstarch on the mat before rolling out to prevent stickage. I think you'll be fine! :D Feel free to PM me if you need specific help.

Look at the "would you think less of me" thread going on right now...right above the stars there is a little blue "thingie"......we have all discovered tonight that it is a "tag." HTH!:)

Audrey just said "rabble rouser." I have no idea why, but that is just hysterical to me! :lol:

OHMYPEAS! I thought they were teeny-tiny little cans of spray paint! :lol: Now it makes MUCH more sense!!!!!! :D

Someone posted a bunch of youtube links a while back explaining how to play the games! AWESOME! I don't like to read game directions,either....;)

:iagree: Thank you.

I emailed the Bride to Be and begged her to throw me a bone and pick a dragon. Or a color. Or something. :lol: Also, DS saw me looking at above links and said "WOW! Those cakes are going to need to be made by a PROFESSIONAL. Sorry mom." :lol: Thanks for the vote of confidence, bud. :glare:

I like that! Clear-contact or packing tape-laminate them and then she is actively involved in making this up to her standards. :D Good luck! Don't forget to post the pics!

Thanks, everyone. I've been googling that for a good month now and I'm still just praying to get it right. :lol: So....the dragons live in a kindof mytical, dark, iridescent forest????? Do you the dragon would need to be sitting on grass???

Ohmyheavenlypeas! I am sooooooooo not up for this! Those were really amazing!

I've been hired to make a WoW dragon groom's cake....:scared: and I'm wondering what kind of "environment" the dragon lives in... as in, what would the cake board look like for this? Castle/brickish? I have no idea. I was thinking of hainvg it look kindof old-world-paperish, then look like the dragon claw scratched it and have the WoW logo peeking out.... I am seriously baffled. Also, am I correct that the dragon is to be blue? The bride to be is just as clueless as I am about this, but wants it to be a really great suprise for her guy. Thoughts? TIA!

Great suggestions, Kelcy! Thanks!

It is the illustrations that have turned him off from it. I didn't realize there was an unillustrated version, I KNOW that if I left that around it would be enjoyed. Thanks!

Am I failing the facilitation of ancient Greek study if I don't make my son read this? He will read ANYTHING from encyclopedias to cookbooks, Dr Seuss to CS Lewis, but he does not like this book....do I push it?:confused:

You got it! I don't want you to break out the archival glue epi-pen! ;)

I was a hard-core scrapbooker when my son was born. HARD CORE. :D Since then, we've added another child, added lots more fun picture-worthy activities, and started spending all that money/time on curriculum, etc. I feel the need to keep meticulous HS records this year, and I'd like to document all the fun we're having, field trips we're taking, progress made in scouts, memory work learned, and all that other good stuff. AND I'd like part of our week to be THE KIDS helping me glue pictures in and giving me thier thoughts and such....how should I handle this? Option A: "The All-In-One" EVERYTHING is included, math/LA tests, pictures from a trip to the zoo, Cub Scout advancements, pictures from Little Johnny's Birthday At Chuck E, Cheese, you name it. This may or may not include tabbed sections. :lol: History, nature and science activities are in thier own notebooks, because, well, SWB says they should be, and I pretty much listen to her (because, as you can see by this post, I need a bit of hand-holding). :D Option B: "Separates" Separate binders for School: Papers, Field Trips Scouts Family Fun Option C: Some other option I haven't thought of Have any thoughts or ideas for me? When I say "scrapbook," at this point in time I mean "binder with pictures/ticket stubs/handwritten journaling that may or may not have an embellishment in sight". Preserving the memory/documenting progress are my 2 main goals, and not particularly in that order. Thanks, Hive! I await your wisdom! :D

Been there, done that, praying for you now. :)

Yeah, I about spewed Diet Coke out when I saw "Popcorn Kernel" also. Too cute! :D

I just started with CLE a while back, so I'm certainly not an expert in this area. (Disclaimer :)) When I started out I did not have the teacher's manual and we did well enough...then,we reached Math LU 106 (I have the manual for 106-110) and I broke out the manual and realized that it is a much richer program with the TM until you figure out what you're doing and get a feel for what you are supposed to do each day. If cost is an issue, check paperbackswap or the CLE yahoo group...I just scored a CLE TM on paperbackswap last night! :D Now if only I could get the Minimus TM on there, too.....:lol: HTH!

I, too, dislike this as a theme because it makes me feel old. :D Alas, I have some ideas.... I think it's a *must* that you play New Kids On the Block videos on a continuous loop (Jordan Knight... be still my heart!) Friendship bracelets out of embroidery floss for your craft Not too sure about 80's foods... You gotta do some sort of "big hair" contest, I think, also. A can of $.88 Aqua Net would be a cute favor.....If you do favors, which I do not think are necessary...:tongue_smilie: OOOOOOOH, how about a seminar on tight-rolling jeans! (and why this only looks good when you are like 10 years old and have not had any children yet) This sounds fun!

Chelle, where did you pick apples? We were at Eckerts up there (somewhere...got pretty lost and took a ferry and it became a "day trip")last weekend. Our paths cross (yet do not meet) yet again!

Once we took a road trip and packed the massive bag of library books in the car for everyone to read....life fell apart after that for a month or so and I forgot all about that gigantic bag of books under the dining room table waiting to be returned. My email address also had to be changed, so I wasn't getting any messages from the Beloved Library Elf....enter a huge plate of homemade peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and a sincere and honest apology and they dropped like $75 off my bill. Cookies and a smile. Haven't found a person yet that isn't softened by them. :D

What are your favorite resources for this age? We're packing it in to a 6 week study and don't want to pass up something great!:D Thanks!:D