Oh, okay! I will read more about it. :) Thanks!

Thank you, Paula. I haven't read his post, but I will see if I can find it. I completely agree. Unfortunately, my kids have experienced the death of 3 beloved family members in the last 5 years, 2 of them to cancer. They are familiar with pain and grief, but God has used the difficult seasons to strengthen our entire family's faith. Thank you, again.

I read a review on the Sonlight site that said: "I am thrilled with the new additions to the core 7 IG. John has taken the time to address the errors and flaws in "The Story of the World" in an essay at the beginning of the IG..." For those of you who have used SL Core 7, what kind of "errors and flaws" in SOTW are they talking about?

Thanks, Cindy! This is very encouraging!

Paula/elegantlion: that's a great idea to use netflix. And I really like the thought of my kids interviewing their grandpa. Thank you! :-) prairiewindmomma: My dh suggested I mail one box of books via FedEx, but I think that would be the limit. It would take too long via USPS media mail and too costly to ship more than that. 2-3 months wouldn't normally throw me, but this has been a tough year with other major life interruptions (too long of a story) and we're a little behind. Thank you for the ideas and hugs! mcconnellboys: WOW! thank you, thank you, thank you! I love Khan Academy and had totally forgotten about hippocampus. frankcassiesmom: a couple other people recommended CLE, so I will definitely check it out. thanks! krisperry: I have not heard of Adaptive curriculum...thanks for the link!

I am so very grateful for all of your hugs and support. It's heartwarming to know people care when you're going through a rough time. :grouphug: eternalknot: I like the idea of mad libs and journaling. And the idea of my oldest studying medical vocabulary is a good one--he once said he might become a doctor. Thank you! crimson wife: I had not considered CLE, but I will check it out. Thanks! robsiew: Those are great ideas for me to look into, and I also really appreciate your wisdom about keeping it simple. I will definitely take that to heart. poke salad annie: math, writing, and a read aloud, plus some outdoor time. I like that. Simple. :-) mommahawk: thank you for that wonderful link! I have used bits and pieces of Ambleside over the years, and had completely forgotten about that emergency plan. You rock! nayfies mama: thank you so much. I am glad to hear that your family member is doing better..how encouraging! I will check it out. I am a big fan of alternative/natural medicine, and finally got my dad to read a cancer book by a naturopath. He's very traditional and conservative, though, and views therapies outside the mainstream with suspicion. I will talk to him when we're there and see if he's open to looking at alternatives. yarnaddict: I can feel that big hug, thank you! I will check out CLE. :-)

Thanks, Chris! We are planning to bring some books with us, but if we were to bring all of the ones we normally use, we'd be looking at 3 heavy boxes--too costly for the new airline fees--and we have a ton of other things to pack due to the length of the trip. Also, my parents live in a small condo with very little space. I like the idea of Mind Benders, and I was already thinking of SOTW. And maybe I could print off worksheets while there. Thank you for the ideas!

(also posted on K-8 forum) My dad was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, and we'll be traveling out of state to spend 2-3 months (or longer) to be with him. We will continue homeschooling to finish out the year, but we'll need to keep it simple and bring the minimal amount of books necessary. I would really appreciate suggestions for studying the following on the road (other subjects are already covered). Online resources and/or dvd recommendations would be great as the kids will have their laptops. 7th/8th grade: Grammar Writing History (any) Biology (we're 1/2 way through a high school level text, will catch up on labs when we get back) 4th/5th grade: Math (currently Rightstart Level E, but don't want to bring all the manipulatives..weakest subject for this child) Writing Grammar Vocabulary History (any) Science (any) We will have access to the public library while there as well as our Kindle. Thanks in advance!

My dad was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, and we'll be traveling out of state to spend 2-3 months (or longer) to be with him. We will continue homeschooling there, but we'll need to keep it simple and bring the minimal amount of books necessary. I would really appreciate suggestions for studying the following subjects on the road (other subjects are covered). Online resources and/or dvd recommendations would be great. We will also have access to the public library there and our Kindle for downloads. 7th grade: Grammar Writing History (any) Biology (we're 1/2 way through a high school level text, will catch up on labs when we get back) 4th & 5th grade: Math (currently Rightstart Level E, but don't want to bring all the manipulatives..weakest subject for this child) Writing Grammar Vocabulary History (any) Science (any) Thanks in advance!

Thanks for your reply! That's very helpful. :001_smile: I did read the official description but couldn't figure out exactly what it covered. Can someone jump in at the 5th grade level or would you recommend starting at the beginning?

If so, can you tell me how it works and if you feel it is effective? :bigear: TIA!

Swimmermom, can you tell me more about this series? I looked at the sample pages and it looks like what I'm looking for. We've done a hodge podge of grammar curricula (Wordsmith Apprentice, JAG, MCT, Evan Moor's Daily Language Review), and my ds still struggles with mechanics, punctuation, and some parts of grammar, such as phrases. Have you done the Book 1 of this series? Have you seen improvements in your child's grammar because of it?

We've done: Fruit of the Month Club from Harry & David (you can choose 3 months up to 1 year, smaller portions if needed). If he's not into fruit, other companies offer monthly clubs-- desserts, coffee, tea, etc. Movie tickets with gift card to a nearby restaurant DVD set of something fun--Julia Child cooking lessons? Opera? BBC series? James Bond movies? A sports watch--my dad loved this for his daily walks. I think I got the Timex Expedition. My older son just received a cool watch for his birthday--it's solar powered, so there's no need for batteries. Both available on Amazon. Photo inspired gifts from Shutterfly. He adored a coffee mug with the kids' photo on it, and used it DAILY for years until it recently broke (we are replacing it). He also loves the photo calendar we get him every year. Whenever I'm stumped, I head over to gifts.com for ideas. I don't necessarily buy from the site, but it has tons of themed ideas that get my brain rolling... HTH!

My 13yo has been using Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing for the last year or so. He has been doing the drills and games about 3-4x a week, and never seemed to progress past 16-18 wpm. I finally figured out why. I watched him type the other day, and he is typing with all WRONG finger placements! ARGH!! And this habit has set in pretty badly. He has a number of online classes, and I've been watching him do his assignments and post on the boards, and he is so slow and inefficient because of his crazy typing. He also makes a ton of spelling errors because of it. I don't know how to go about remediating this. Any ideas???

I've never seen this...off to check it out now. Thanks!

Just placed an order, thanks to you! :001_smile:

Laurel Tree Tutorials :thumbup:

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the great suggestions! He will be armed with a long list the next time we go to the library. I like the idea of listening to Redwall on CD. His older brother is going through the series, but I think the sheer thickness of the book intimidates him. He enjoys audiobooks, so I think he'd really get into the story (and perhaps want to tackle the books themselves.) And I've never heard of Lindgren's Emil series. I will definitely check them out! A victory of sorts today--I handed him Mr. Popper's Penguins (from our shelves) and he is not only reading it, he's laughing out loud! He came over to me and said, "Mom, you have to read this book. It is SO funny!" :001_smile:

Judging by the responses, I must have been clear as mud. I don't mind him reading the AG books, I'd just like him to branch out to other series as well. He's read them over and over again, and when we're at the library, he'll default to those books instead of venturing out and trying other titles. I'm certainly not trying to "control" his reading. All I was hoping for was some suggestions on titles for him to try that would bridge the gap between the easy "fast food" type of books to ones with better writing. Something that would appeal to boys (adventure). Nance, you mentioned Pippi Longstocking--that's an excellent choice as he's seen the movies and would probably go for that. The main character is a girl (I'm not a sexist ;)) and that's not important; it's the quality of book I'm looking to upgrade. Astrid Lingren is a fantastic storyteller and excellent writer.

My rising 4th grader is finally reading, but he just wants to keep reading his sister's American Girl books (despite his older brother's teasing). Whenever I encourage him to check out other books from the library, he will choose books like A to Z Mysteries. (sigh) I don't mind the Beverly Clearly books that he sometimes chooses. My other two are voracious readers, as was I when I was their age, so motivating this guy to read better quality books has been challenging. Any recommendations for books for him that 1) are not girly, and 2) are higher quality (engaging storyline, higher level vocabulary, classics). TIA!

I actually spent about $100 for the new textbook. Everything else (teacher's edition, tests, etc.) came with the free online access. :001_smile: Not sure about your other question, but you can try half.com or some of the used textbook sites...the only problem is that sometimes sellers don't report the correct the right edition so it can be a gamble. What you might try is searching by ISBN number.

You may want to consider using the previous edition (dragonfly). There are many used copies available and online resources as well. (Here's another one.) The online components for the older edition are not as flashy as the new edition, but the content is solid if your main concern is the cost.

I just bought the student text. The teacher's access pack allows use of the teacher's edition, videos, activities, worksheets, and tests.

Unfortunately, in our state, there are many schools that are unsupportive of homeschoolers. If one of them decides to complain to Pearson, we may all lose our privileges. For that reason, I would think twice before calling the local school. If you type 00000 (5 digits), you will see "homeschool" on the drop down menu. This is what a product specialist told us to do. FWIW, I would NOT call Pearson and try to explain individual situations. Someone said that Pearson is like a big government agency; its right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing. It's possible the lower profile we keep, the less hassle they will give us. :001_smile:

Hi Kathy! :seeya: I've been wanting to email you, but I figured I would let you enjoy your summer with your daughter before she leaves. (You'll probably hear from me often after she's gone, LOL.) My decision to sign up for AOPS was partly due to our conversations!