I don't list anything but the name of the book. That is all that is required. If they aren't familiar with a book they have a right to ask you for a copy of the table of contents. My district is really easy going, but my sister (who was in a different district in New York) did have to copy the table of contents once.

Pretty much just seconding what dragons said, and offering a copy of my own 5th grader's IHIP (from last year). You can see that I try to only list names of books where necessary - I also tend to shy away from saying that a book will be completed (unless I am super sure - like math, where he was already half way through the book) since you have to do something like 80 percent of what you say you will do. The only thing I would add to yours is what you are doing for end of year evaluation - you can choose at this age standardized tests or a written narrative. I didn't include Latin in 5th grade, but did in 6th. I'm not really sure what my reason is for that, other than ps kids are getting to the age where they start languages. J is currently ten years old, and will be working on a fifth grade level. Instruction will be provided by Dad's name and Mom's name The school year will begin on August 1, 2009. Quarterly Reports will be submitted on November 18,, January 27, April 7, and June 23 of the current school year. Annual assessment will be done by written narrative.. Arithmetic: Jacob will complete Saxon Math 6/5. English Language: • Language Arts – Jacob will use A Beka Language B (5th Grade level) • Spelling - Jacob will work daily at his level in Spelling Power • Reading – Jacob will read several excellent historical books this year from Sonlight’s core 3 and core 4 programs. Social Studies Jacob will work through the second half of Sonlight Introduction to American History Part I and the first half of Introduction to American History Part II, utilizing The Story of the USA book 2, 3, and 4, Landmark History of the American People and various other books. Science:. Jacob will use Apologia’s Botonay program along with some zoology study. Art: Jacob will learn some art history, and do a lot of drawing. He will participate in monthly co-op art classes. Music: Jacob will be exposed to a variety of classical and jazz music. He will participate in family music times on rhythm instruments (like a hand drum). Physical Education: Jacob is given ample opportunity for walks and other physical activities, such as bike riding, on a daily basis. He participates in weekly relay games at his AWANA club and monthly in a co-op gym class. He will also continue his karate studies. Health: Jacob will learn about how to eat healthy. He will how to keep sickness from spreading and how to live a healthy lifestyle.

I have used Horizons in the lower grades and liked it, and I'm just getting my feet wet with MM now. I bought the full light blue package to use with my rising 1st grader and ended up using it to supplement (Saxon) with my 5th grader. I really like it!! As to your situation, I wouldn't just try to test your ds out of 4th grade when he is only half way through the Horizons book. And switching is only tricky b/c the scope and sequence will be different. BUT, in the forward of 5th grade Miller says you can present the topics in a different order than she does - so you don't need to spend a lot time on the stuff he already knows. Another option would be to buy the blue series (topical) workbooks for the stuff he hasn't gotten from Horizons yet and then go into 5th grade. But I would probably go through MM4, skimming over stuff he knows well because it is so different.

My 11ds has a weighted blanket that we bought online...I can't remember where I ended up getting it, but I know I looked at the sight you mentioned. Before investing in the blanket I took a big, old stuffed animals and filled it with marbles from the toy store. The stuffed animal was about lap pad sized and weighed 5 pounds. He really liked it, and even that helped him sleep a little better at night. I have to say, the weighted blanket was one of the best investments we ever made. DS sleeps so much better now, and doesn't always have dark circles under his eyes. And sometimes if he is super fidgety during school work I will have him wrap up in the blanket.

:lurk5: I am trying to make the same decision for next year - we are doing SL 4 (and SL K) right now. One reason I am hesitant to use SL 5 is that my sister's kids HATED the main history spine - an encyclopedia. And I have to agree, I never really liked history text books myself, there is no way you could have gotten me to read an encyclopedia for history regularly. But we have all loved the early SL cores. And I should mention, that all though my kids love hands on stuff, I'm not that fond of it myself.

My ds 7 wks is Ethan Levi, and the first thing my father in law said was "I didn't know you liked dungarees that much!" But, I love it and would have put it first if dh let me. One word of caution on Gabriel, which is the name of my ds5 - people, in general, are stupid and think it is a girl's name. Whenever anyone reads his name (like at a doctor's office) they call him Gabrielle. I had no idea that Gabriel was such a confusing name. The situation can be rectified by always writing Gabe, but I prefer to call him Gabriel. I love Asher for a boy. Jude, Judah and Elijah were all on our short list for this baby and I think they all meet your requirements.

Hmm, I'm not sure that I can pull it off, but I would like to try! Now that I'm nursing a baby (all the time) I have more time to read than I have had in a long time.

My ds, 10 had a subscription for the last year and he really liked it. I'm pretty sure there is nothing inappropriate in it, but I never sat down and read one cover to cover. My ds wanted his subscription renewed this year, but he wanted too many other expensive things for Christmas so SI is done. My almost 6 yo enjoyed reading it too.

We have stayed in the Colonial Williamsburg properties and they are nice - a little more expensive than the other places, but sometimes they have good deals if you're planning on doing Colonial Willimasburg too. Last spring we booked a condo through Wyndham-vacations.com, we stayed at King's Creek Plantation and it was great! (We payed just under $500 for the full week). I think wyndham-vacations only lets you book for a full week, but if you google the names of some of the condos you should be able to find individual owners who are willing to rent for shorter periods of time. My oldest son is 10, and I think the Yorktown victory center may have been one of his favorites this year (and we almost didn't do it!). He got to "help" with a cannon firing demonstration. And of course the kids all loved Colonial Williamsburg (the brick maker, the book binder, and the printer were all popular).

Wow, Amy... Nymbler is really cool, I hadn't come across that sight before. Thanks! When I put in the names of my other boys, it pulled up a few of the names we have been talking about. It's interesting that a few of you said popularity matters more with girls names than with boys. Maybe that's why it bugs me more than it bugs dh. That and Kelly was pretty popular in the late 70's, while Todd has never been... Someone else recently pointed out the whole Isabella/Twilight thing to me, and that has the name just about crossed off for me. I keep hanging on to it just because it is something we had agreed on.

Add me to the list of expectant moms struggling to find a name for this little one. We're expecting number 4 in November and dh and I rarely find names we can agree on anymore. My dilemma is this - I would really like to stay away from anything popular (top 10) or trendy, but right now our top boy name (Ethan) and one of the few girl names we can even agree on (Isabella) are both top 10. He thinks it's crazy to worry about if the name is popular or not, esp. since we homeschool. I think we still intereact with lots of other people and it's annoying when you and three of your friends have the same name. However, I don't think we know any Ethans at all and have only heard of a few Isabellas in our circles. We know TONS of Aidens and Sophias, and Hannahs - and Aiden isn't even top 25. So, what do you think? I'm more concerned with Ethan than Isabella right now (I don't know if Isabella is our top girl pick or not), but am wondering what you think about top 10 names in general. And do you actually know lots of kids with top 10 names? Thanks!

We're being surprised in November, and I would love to name a boy Asher, but dh hates that. It's two syllables and I don't think it would get shortened. Ethan fits that too.

What about Mark Driscoll out of Mars Hill in Seattle? I haven't personally listened to Bell, because I was turned off by some of the controversy in one of his books, but I have friends that like him and they also like Driscoll. And I know that both guys came out of the same camp emerging or emergent... Anyway, I think Driscoll is great and there are tons of his sermons available on itunes. He has also written a heap of books.

It's not that bad!!! Well, at least you don't need chains on your tires, but maybe snow tires... As far as moving, I don't really have anymore advice. We've moved a lot (and I agree with label EVERYTHING) but never outside of the greater Syracuse area. If you can find a place to rent month to month or plan a month at the Residence Inn or something that would give you time to feel out the different parts of Syracuse and decided where you want to live. Feel free to PM me with questions about the area.

Hi! I'm homeschooling in Syracuse. You've already gotten a rundown on the laws, which I don't really think are too bad. Once you get the hang of submitting the paperwork, it's no big deal. The mandatory testing can be a pain if it's not something you were planning on, but most districts will let you bring your kid in and test w/ the PS kids if you want (so it doesn't cost you anything). We belong to a co-op called HIM ministry that is for prek - 12th grade (You can google to find their website). There is also a Syracuse chapter of LEAH (Loving Education at Home) - they are the people who put on the annual NY Homeschool convention... I don't know much about how active there co-op is, but I know that you can do gym classes and stuff with them. There is also a secular homeschool co-op that is brand new...can't remember the name of it right now, but I can find it if you want it. As far as field trips... we have a pretty good zoo and a great science museum right in the city. We're about an hour and a half from Rochester which also has a lot to do. There is a lot of Revolutionary War history nearby. The Erie Canal Villiage, Herkemer Dimanod Mines, and the Baseball Hall of Fame are all reasonable day trips from here. People who have lived there whole lives here tend to to complain "There is nothing to do in Syracuse", but after spending 25 or 30 years trying to gett out of here (and visiting some of the places we thougth we wanted to move to), my husband and I have really fallen in love Syracuse. Good luck!!!

I'm expecting number 4 on November 4th. And we will find out what it is then!

A librarian explained that to us about a year ago (about the Hardy Boys) when my son was talking about how he likes the older ones better than the newer ones... otherwise, I never would have known.

I've been wondering about this as well... we do normally get flu shots (lots of breathing problems in our family and my dh works w/ the homeless) but I am thinking I will delay/be choosy with vacs for this baby (due in Nov). This article gives some of the numbers for the US, but I know there are still some holes in it. The full article is here, and below is the part that pertains. CDC data indicate swine flu is at least as dangerous. Of 302 U.S. deaths attributed to swine flu to date, the CDC has detailed information on 266 of them. The agency has found that 15 of the 266 were pregnant women — or about 6 percent.The first American with swine flu to die was a pregnant woman in Texas. Judy Trunnell, 33, died May 5 after slipping into a coma and giving birth to a healthy baby girl, delivered by Cesarean section. Some infected pregnant women have other health problems. Trunnell, for example, also had asthma. But many of the pregnant women who died were considered relatively healthy, suggesting pregnancy itself is a significant risk, Jamieson said. "I think the whole concept that this flu only affects pregnant women with underlying medical conditions is incorrect," Jamieson said.

:thumbup: Looks like you've got your bases covered. I might suggest occasional narration for reading books to make sure comprehension is there.

My husband and I are both guitar players (we met in music school). I am not familiar with the specific guitar that Jeanne linked to, but am familiar with the brand. Rouge is a pretty good guitar for the money - I think their craftmanship is pretty good for a beginner guitar. I would say that if he is going to take to playing, he will want a nicer instrument in a year or two. If you are going to get him lessons, you may find that his teacher is willing to help you find an instrument. It's hard to explain to someone who doesn't play what you need to look for. Warped necks are probably the biggest concern I have when buying used guitars and it took me a while to learn how to really look at a neck. HTH

My 5yo got a didj for Christmas. He originally had the Star Wars didj, but it it kept shutting down and freezing. Leap Frog offered to replace it, but they didn't have any more of the Star Wars ones... we got him another one and it has been kind of glitchy too - not as bad as the first one but problematic. He has Star Wars, Indian Jones, Tiki Racing, Nick Andriod Invasion, and Sonic Spelling. I agree that the constant need to update is anoying and he tends to get frustrated more often than not. We haven't done a lot of "customizing" either - I think the fun of that wore off rather quickly. Personally, I won't recommend (or buy) any more products made by Leap Frog. They tend to be poorly made and are never backwards or cross compatable, which means you constantly have to buy new stuff.

Wow, you planted a lot of plants! I probably have that many now, but only started with 15 or 20! You can (and probably should) redirect the runners and it doesn't hurt to dig them up if they are rooted too well to pull. I do mulch around my strawberrys and it doesn't cause any problems. Good luck!

My 9yo ds always appreciates beauty in nature. More than once I have been struck when he comments on how beautiful something is. Those just aren't the kind of things I expect from my bouncy, dirty, busy son. I love that he can appreciate it, and always encourage it when I hear it. But I don't know that I have intentionally cultivated it.

I've been using Sonlight for a few years now, and so far I have been making use of my library. But for next year (core 4) I bought a used compete set. Like Gamom said, it is easy to get overwhelmed with SL and the library. If you are organised, it can work. I always have to check ahead (how much longer are we using this book, what book is next, if it's not at my neighborhood library, how long will it take to get here?) and sometimes I forget or the library gets slow and then I get thrown off. If your library lets things out for 30 days at a time without worrying about renewing, then that is helpful. Sometimes I forget and rack up library fines... If you do decide to use the library, I suggest buying the books that are spines and then getting readers/read-alouds from the library. Aside from the hassle of library trips and fines, one reason I wanted a complete core is the quality of the books. My son will read SL books over and over again, so for us it is worth while to have them as part of our permanant collection. But it would not have happened if I had not been able to find a used core. HTH!

I use these Sony MDR EX32LP/PNK ear buds when I run. They are just normal ear buds, but they sound great and they stay in my ears. I have small ears so all the other buds I had would fall out when I ran. But these have 3 different bud sizes, and the small size works great for me.