Does anyone know of any online IB schools?:bigear:

I've washed my hair daily since tenth grade, with few exceptions. I am now 52, and have thick, shiny, healthy hair. I, too, don't feel quite clean if I haven't washed my hair. I live in a subtropical and humid climate. I might not do the same thing in a cold, dry climate, but it works for here.

I, too, like the #1 Ladies' Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith. http://www.amazon.com/No-1-Ladies-Detective-Agency-Movie/dp/0307456625/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1327237993&sr=8-12 The books are light, enjoyable reading with a few poignant moments, and lots of folk wisdom.

These look interesting. But looking at the samples, would you use both the "Sentencing Composing" and "Grammar" simultaneously? The Grammar looks a lot like the same, but it is hard for me to make a good judgment without the books in front of me. (I'm challenged like that.):tongue_smilie:

In Argentina, we used 'jo' where we lived, but some friends lived on the western side near the Andes, and they used 'yo'. For both "y" and "ll", the sound was a soft "j" though, not a hard "j" like we would say the name Joe.

A little funny: Dh somehow through the years started calling our oldest dd "Lucy." That is not her name, and is not similar to her name, yet for some reason it suits her as a nickname. When she was an older teenager, a close family friend whom she relates to as an uncle (though he isn't), mistakenly called her "Lucy." She told him, "NObody calls me 'Lucy' but my Dad!" She didn't REALLY mind, but still drew the line, and they had a good laugh.

My boys are quite a ways from Algebra yet, but we live overseas, so my opportunities for reviewing curriculum firsthand before buying are very limited. Hence, my questions now about Dolciani: I've seen it mentioned quite a bit here, and was interested in someone else's explanation of how it works. It piqued my interest, but I am curious as to which edition. I know the older ones are supposed to be really solid, but is it hard to get the solution/teacher's manuals in the correct editions? I looked at Amazon briefly, but was a bit concerned I would order the incorrect TM to go with the student book. How do you avoid that mistake? Is anything else needed other than the TM and the book?

I've never been a big fan of spelling programs, I guess mainly because my older kids are natural spellers, and it never seemed to make much difference with the words they did have problems with. With my youngers, I am not currently using a program this year, because of moving back into homeschooling, but I am going to try something new next year. Rainbow Resource has several spelling rule books (not spelling programs), and I'm going to buy the one called Spelling Essentials, and just go through it thoroughly with the boys. We'll keep it on hand while we do school, and just refer to it frequently. My hope is that this strategy will be more effective, both timewise and result-wise. We'll see.

I'm from the South, and never confused the two even though I have always heard them pronounced the same. My mother has a very Southern accent, but she doesn't make grammar and spelling mistakes. Ignorance and carelessness can exist anywhere; having lived overseas in quite a few countries, as well as in several regions of the U.S., I've seen some form of these kinds of mistakes everywhere I have lived.

My oldest was the physical perfectionist--he didn't walk until 15 months (though he was talking), but once he did, he rarely fell down. When he was 7, he couldn't ride a bike. One morning, he got up, got on his bike, and took off. We asked him, "What made you decide to try this morning?" He said, "I dreamed I could ride it, so when I got up and tried it, I could!" OP, :grouphug: Parenting that first child is such a learning curve. And, unfortunately, the kids that follow all have to be different, so then you have to keep learning new stuff that fits them. :tongue_smilie: (But it can also be a lot of fun!) It sounds like you are providing lots of wonderful learning activities for her along the way. Four was a much more difficult age than 2 or 3 at our house. It seemed like the year when the kids realized, "Hey, things in this world don't always go my way, and I don't like it!" The questioning, the whining, etc., were exhausting, but you just keep plugging along with the "I can't understand what you are saying when you speak in that tone of voice" kinds of instruction. And the hugs, the cuddles, the gentle demonstrations of how to do things, the encouraging words for when she tries even (especially) if it doesn't work, and so on, do make a difference.

I was told that the tiny stones that filled my gallbladder were actually the worst kind, because they could easily slip out and block the bile duct. Then I would have had to have emergency surgery. The (planned!) surgery was not complicated at all. When asked if I had indigestion a lot (before surgery), I said no, because I didn't think I did. After the surgery, I realized that I had apparently just become accustomed to it, and that I felt better after the surgery.

I'm glad you are going to see what you can work out. Pursuing music certainly can be expensive, but if it can be afforded at all, so worth it. I grew up playing piano, and added violin as a 42yo adult, when my twin daughters started violin lessons. Over the years, I tried out some other instruments. While piano is always beneficial to a musician, I disagree somewhat with making a child who has a strong interest in one instrument start with another one unless it is very similar. The love for one instrument does not automatically transfer to another type, and may squelch the desire to continue with music study at all. From my limited experience, double bassists are in demand in youth orchestras, college orchestras, etc., because good ones are few and far between. By the way, there is something so very soul-satisfying about playing one of the "strings."

I don't know how helpful this will be, but when my oldest was born, he had a head full of blonde hair. The ped told me to avoid cradle cap by washing with a gentle shampoo, to use a soft plastic scrub brush to gently scrub his scalp while shampooing, and not to use any oils. I did this with all our kids, and none of them had problems with cradle cap. But I don't know if the protocol prevented it, or if it was just coincidence.

I hope it works out well for all of you.

Oh, I forgot--there is this Tigger movie where he is looking for his family; maybe I am more sensitive to it because of my adopted son, but this movie is totally a tear-jerker for me.

Up -- saw it soon after my father had passed away, and in the first part of the movie, all I could think of was my mother missing my father. Empire of the Sun -- love, love this movie; I am not a big movie person, but I don't understand why this one was not more acclaimed; I felt it was quite powerful--about a boy who was living in China when the Japanese took over in WW2

Yes, Amira, the overseas bit makes curriculum ordering so much more complicated, and it's hard to correct "mistakes" as well. This year I have had my 10yo read quite a few Sonlight books we already had on hand for "history reading". I chose about 8 of the best to go along with SOTW and Usborne, and he has enjoyed that. No narrations or anything with those books, just assigned reading. I will continue that with SOTW Book 2. The 8yo just does SOTW and Usborne, which is enough for him for now. That is good to know that the books cover a lot of information in an interesting way, as well, lessening the need to order more supplements. I think I will just keep an eye on them; they may go on sale by the time I actually need them.

Okay, thanks. I need to check my wish list more often.

:grouphug: Being a mom is a challenging job.

I feel for you. I have six kids, and I sometimes wondered if the oldest two (now 25 and 22) were going to survive each other. There was a big turnaround for them around the ages of 16 and 13, due to some difficult circumstances which increased their sympathy and understanding of each other. Our youngest two--boys of (almost) 11 and 8, are very competitive. It wears me out. The 11yo gets really ugly sometimes, and it always looks like he's the bad guy. But I occasionally catch the 8yo unaware, and see that there really are two sides. In your case, it could be that the older is the main one having difficulty in the relationship; but I agree with others that there may be some underlying "pushing of buttons" by the younger that you do not see, which is causing or encouraging some of the anger. Or it may just be that the older is struggling with things that have nothing to do with the younger, and needs some extra support, as in "Son, is there something going on that is causing you stress?", for example. I remember carrying out some of my frustrations out on my younger sister, and it was because I was angry; I knew she hadn't done anything to deserve it, but I didn't know what to do with my feelings. I also like the "You don't have to like each other, but you do have to treat each other with respect," line. Have used that one myself. I hope things improve for you. Sibling struggles can cause so much stress for the whole family.

Thanks, all! Yes, I probably should wait. The problem is that we will be going back overseas later, and shipping is ridiculous. I am also not sure what we will be doing next year, history-wise. I started with SOTW late, but we are going through the first two books this year, with my older reading other books along the way, as well. Not sure whether next year I will just let him read what interests him from the first OUP series, since we have the books, even though it is repeating ancients, or whether to move along. Maybe we'll wait until we see the books 'in person,' and play it by ear. Again, thank you.

Bump. Anyone??

I have heard so much about how great Oxford University Press's Ancient World Set is, and ordered it when they had the huge price drop. However, we live overseas, and I had it sent to my Mom's since we will be in the U.S. next year. I have some Christmas money, and am wondering how The Medieval and Early Modern World set compares to the first set, and if I should buy it while I have the money:D; unfortunately, I can't review the first set yet to see how well it fits my boys, and also haven't heard much about the second set. Opinions appreciated, please. . . Thanks!

"Just the thought of all this is starting to make me furious. You trust your doctor to prescribe the proper medications, but I'm having to do my own research to discover there may be tremendous side effects on his behavior and personality. My little boy hasn't been himself for years, and it may be because of these meds?" The problem is that these meds affect different people in different ways. That makes it so complicated to figure out. What works for one causes extreme side effects in another, and it is not static but changes over time, plus you have the meds interactions with each other as well. I had bronchitis four times last year in a span of six months. It was severe enough that I needed strong antibiotics to clear it up. In trying to find a preventive regimen, my doctor and I worked through quite a few meds. Some (Singulair, for example) that are very effective for others did almost nothing for me. Zyrtec worked at first, but then the side effects just started building up and multiplying. Finally, taking Clarityn (which doesn't work well for me alone) with two puffs of Xenopex(sp?? it's upstairs) at night, is working very well for me right now. So sometimes, in spite of the doc's best efforts, it is a matter of experimentation, which is hard when doing nothing is not really an option.

I have had conversations with a friend of mine who often reminds me, "Well, in an ideal world . . . but this isn't an ideal world, so we have to do what works best with what we've got." I have six kids, and have done a variety of things. Next year, I will only have the youngest two at home, and they are pretty young boys, 8 and almost 11. While I have been writing down future curriculum ideas, I am keeping in mind that lots of factors come to influence what we actually do. If I find that my boys start developing that "you can't teach me anything" attitude that 13-14yo boys often do (ask me how I know!), and therefore become difficult to teach, and/or if I feel they will benefit from developing independence in their work, then we will use a K12 for high school or maybe some middle school classes. If they are developing independence and are still open to being under my teaching with a respectful attitude, we will explore together what directions we want to go in more of a WTM way. It is not copping out, it is making wise decisions that fit your family. There are certain stress factors that I am not willing to put myself under again.