I've been jumping around MOH, keeping things grouped by civilization. Plus, I've been doing the Precept Ministries "Discover 4 Yourself" kid's Bible study on Abraham, which I will follow with the study on Isaac and Jacob, so I used MOH's lessons as a reinforcement. I planned on using AWOA next year, starting with Ancient Egypt... but wondered if the WP Quest guide wouldn't be helpful, as well. I think maybe I'm trying to overdo it... I just keep second guessing myself on everything!! I think I've decided to wait, not get the WP guide for the ancients... AWOA has six units; the first three are on Ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, then the second half of the year is spent on the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Reformation, and Age of Exploration. I don't think we'll get through all six... but, I'll see how the first three go, then maybe I'll get the WP guide for the Middle Ages unit, and see how that works for us.

David Cassidy Parker Stevenson (he was in the Hardy Boys on TV... oh, he was cute) Christopher Atkins Have I just dated myself, or what? :001_rolleyes:

Hi everyone, I'm a new homeschooling mom... just started in March '08, and loving every minute of it! I'm so glad I found this forum -- I have already learned so much, and I've only been hanging out here for a couple weeks! I wish I had done this (homeschooling) sooner, with my older children, but I am treasuring every day I get to spend with DS10. I am looking forward to our first full year together next year. I dabble in graphic design (more on the desktop publishing side of it), and I'm active in various ministries at our church (women's ministry team member and youth drama director). I've been married for 20 years (plus a few months) to a military man, and we've been blessed with some awesome assignments that have taken us around the world. We are currently in the States, living in the South. We have three children; the oldest is in college, my middle child is in high school, and I'm homeschooling our youngest. Looking forward to learning more and more every day through this forum! (But also trying not to spend too much time in here... boy, it's easy to get sucked in, and the next thing I know it, it's dinnertime!!) :D

Thanks! :D Both -- a plan that tells us what to read, and a variety of activities to enrich the learning.

bump

I'm just curious, since you went through just three of the six units over a year... did you expand on the science? Did you cover other things? How did you stretch out a unit on deserts (Ancient Egypt) beyond 30 days? What science resources did you use most? Did you also use SOTW1? Thanks for letting me pick your brain! :)

OK, I'm learning about so many new fabulous resources through this forum, I am now totally second-guessing myself on pretty much everything I had planned for next year... :001_unsure: I'm now investigating the WP Quest for the Ancient World guidebook. I had a bit of sticker shock, however. Yowsers! :ohmy: Is it worth it? Does it include activities for you to do, or just direct you to other resources that have those activities? Also... seeing as how we already covered much of the ancient civilizations up to Ancient Egypt this year (using MOH1, which I see is one of WP's "spines"), is it still worth the $$$ for the guidebook? Or should I wait and just buy the one for the Middle Ages?

1. Are the SOTW activity guides just for the younger students? My DS10 will be in 5th grade this fall -- are there activities in the regular book for his age? Would the AG be a waste of money for his age? 2. We've covered much of the material in SOTW1 already, using other curriculum. Could we start in the middle of SOTW1? Or... 3. Could we start with SOTW2, or would that be difficult? Does it build on things learned in SOTW1? Thanks!

No. :( We filed in January... but then had to send in an amendment in April, so ours is delayed indefinitely...

Have you heard of Dave Ramsey? I know he's not everyone's cup of tea... and you said you don't have a debt problem, but you do have an income problem right now, and you'd be amazed at how quickly that can spiral into a debt problem without careful budgeting. At the very least, it sounds as if you are in danger of using up your savings. That's a sure-fire invitation for "Murphy" to visit! I second the above poster's recommendation of the book Your Money or Your Life, and also recommend Ramsey's book: The Total Money Makeover. This is not just about getting out of debt. It's also about staying out of debt (as in, never even going there). In conjunction with that, they have a TMMO forum for people working the Dave Ramsey plan. I am a member of that forum. From that group, I have learned it is QUITE possible to cut down your living expenses DRASTICALLY. There are people on that forum that are a wealth of information (no pun intended!) on how to live frugally in order to get out debt and stockpile money for the future. I'm not a paid promoter for Dave Ramsey, really I'm not! :tongue_smilie: I've just seen -- and know in real life -- people who turned their financial lives around simply by following his plan. And while you're trying to live frugally, the folks on the TMMO forum (who are all doing the same thing) offer tremendous support and advice. The above posters have offered great ways to reduce your spending. Here's one more suggestion, from the TMMO book: Use envelopes. After you've paid the "big" bills that must be paid with a check or auto draft from your bank (rent/mortgage, utility bills, car payment, insurance), determine what your budget is for everything else: groceries, gas, eating out, entertainment (movie rentals, books), recreation (swimming and other activities), etc. Then, create an envelope for each of those categories, and put CASH in it based on what you've budgeted. For example, if you budget $400 for groceries, then put $400 cash in the grocery envelope. If you budget $250 for gas, put $250 cash in the gas envelope, etc. Then, only use CASH. No checks, not even a debit card at the grocery store, because that is temptation to spend more than you can really afford. And when the cash from that category is gone, then you're done spending in that category for the rest of the month! It helps to have an envelope for "Blow Money" because, like a diet, it's hard to stick with a strict budget when you're first starting out, and you're going to 1) mess up ("blow it") now and then; and 2) need to buy yourself something that's "not in the budget" sometimes (like a new book!). So, plan for it by setting aside a certain amount of "blow money." I guess I'm a big proponent of this method, because it is working for us. For the first time in 15+ years, I can actually STAY AT HOME. We don't have to be a dual-income family anymore, because we are getting our debt and our spending under control. So now I'm finally able to do with child #3 what I always wanted to do with child #1 and child #2 -- homeschool! :001_smile: ~ HTH ~

Oh. Oops. :blushing: I guess I better read the titles more closely...

I have both Dinah Zike's BBoB&A and Duby's & Regeling's Ultimate Lap Book Handbook. I don't think you'd go wrong either way, but one is really all you need. Zike's BBoB&A: Lots and lots of ideas for creating mini books. Very detailed directions, pictures for each step, and usually 2-4 pictures of completed mini books using that particular fold or technique. I would say it is mostly BOOKS, with a handful of activities thrown in. IMO, the "activities" ARE the books (i.e., the creation of the mini books). Lots and lots and lots of great ideas are found in this book. ** Note that Zike does NOT show you how to assemble the mini books into a larger folder, which is the primary concept of... The Ultimate Lap Book Handbook This shows you how to make several minibooks, too, although not as many as in Zike's book. However, the accompanying "how-to" pictures are smaller and (IMO) less cluttered (they are sketches, not actual photographs, as in Zike's book), and a better use of space, so they can spend more pages on actual lap book projects. The authors use the same "terminology" for the different books and folds as Zike, so those who have both books will find it an easy transition to move between the two. The ULBH takes it a step further. Their goal is to help you take those minibooks and create a large "lapbook" (or foldable). This is taking one or more file folders and gluing / folding them in a way to create a large space on which you can then glue down the various minibooks you've created on a subject or during a unit of study. So they give you "blueprints" on how to do that. For example: They give directions for a lap book on space. You make nine "hamburger folds" of paper for each of the nine planets; a Q&A book on exploring the moon; and layered book on the space shuttle; a tri-fold on life in space; an envelope fold on how to be an astronaut;, a multi-page mini book on the adventure on a lunar rover; and a large Q&A book on Earth. Each of these individual projects or mini books can be made over a period of days or weeks, however long you are doing your unit study on space. Then, they give directions for taking each of these mini books and putting them into an extended lap book cover. If these terms sound unfamiliar, don't worry -- both books explain them well (hamburger folds, hot dog folds, layered books, etc.) So, if your goal is a final several mini books that can be assembled into a lap book but you've never done that before and need help laying it out, then the ULBH is your best bet. If your goal is just to get some ideas for a variety of mini books that you can pick and choose from as you like -- OR if, like me, you have a child who doesn't mind doing an occasional mini book, but would tire of making several of them in one unit :001_smile: -- then Zike's book is probably the one you should go for. One final note... I read a review somewhere that Zike's Big Book of Science Projects had directions for all her mini books in it, PLUS several specific ideas to apply to science. I think, if I had it to do again, I would have purchased that one, not the BBoB&A. Something to think about, anyway. HTH! :001_smile:

What is the questionable content? [Quickly skimming through my new EG grade 5 book...] :huh:

I'm very lucky, I guess. Both of my parents were extremely supportive of our decision -- and my mom was a public school teacher, then an elementary school principal until her recent retirement!! My sister, a public school teacher, is also supportive. (She'd probably homeschool, too, if she could afford to not work.) And my MIL/FIL are both deceased... but I believe they would have been supportive. I recommend the book Boundaries by Cloud & Townsend for those who are struggling to deal with parents/in-laws/others who can't seem to understand that our family decisions are exactly that -- ours, not theirs. (Please note: It's written from a Christian perspective.)

I probably don't have any originals to add here... Se7en... ewww. The Accused ... I was preggers with kiddo #1, this movie really bothered me Sophie's Choice ... I thought this was an excellent movie, but that SCENE haunted me for a long, long time Passion of the Christ ... some bloody flicks are tolerable because they're fake; this disturbed me because it was a true depiction of what was done to people back then Saw ... only caught a portion of this on HBO... oh. my. This bothered me more than the movies I saw as a kid or young adult. I think the older I get, the less I can tolerate this kind of garbage. Scream ... this one freaked me out, too Blue Lagoon ... not a scary flick, but most definitely not a movie I should have seen as a 13-year-old. A friend's mom took us. She (the mom) was clearly an idiot to take two impressionable girls to a movie like that. This was TMI for someone as young and innocent as I was. [batting eyelashes demurely] Strangely enough, I think I've managed to block from my memory the worst of the movies I was silly enough to watch. Now, I'm (usually) a bit more selective.

Oh, I loved this movie. I thought it was very well done. What an incredible conflict, although you're right about one thing: you don't know who to root for and who to hate; you feel compelled to do both for ALL the characters.

I think "eclectic" fits me best -- combination of classical, CM, and unit studies. And whatever else tickles our fancy.

And now, just through the power of suggestion... my scar hurts. :crying: Thanks! Thanks a lot! :tongue_smilie:

Eh... :bored: I had mixed feelings on this movie. Like Parabola, I thought (going in) that it was going to be more of a "surviving the apocalypse" tale, not a "things that go munch in the night" flick. It wasn't horribly scary, although you'll certainly jump in a few places! There were some things I liked about the movie -- how life forms adapted, if you will. But, I thought the ending was mediocre. DH thought it was trying to leave it open for a sequel. Maybe... Also **SPOILER ALERT ** I was bugged by something I thought was inconsistent with the story line of the gov't supposedly isolating the city ... how did that lady & the kid get on/off the island? :huh:

Yep. I had three C-sections. My youngest is now 10. I still have occasional pain, and often it will itch like crazy. Sometimes it seems almost ... raw, I guess, like it was "splitting" ever so slightly. Then the water from the shower will sting like crazy!! Then it "heals up" and goes back to looking like normal scar tissue again. Weird. ETA: I also had a major problem with adhesions, so that might be why I still have issues with mine.

For the creation units, you might try listening to (and/or singing) ancient hymns and modern worship songs that speak about the wonder and glory of God's creation and praise Him as the Creator. You might look for the passages in Psalms that were often the inspiration for those old (and new) hymns. In fact, you could do that all the way through -- songs that speak to God's faithfulness, songs that speak of His plan for redemption, etc. You might check with a music store or music school to see if they had instruments similar to some of the ancient instruments. If so, and if they'd allow you to come see and (even better) "touch," then you might make schedule a field trip to see a harp, lyre, etc. This is especially relevant if your curriculum includes a study of Jubal and Tubal-Cain, or King David's musicians. HTH... :)

I agree with the Stephen King and VC Andrews books. I'm not sure my mom knew I was reading them. I know she disapproved of King's books, so my guess is I hid the fact that I was reading them from her. I'm not sure she knew what the VC Andrews books were... I know she would've blown a gasket if she knew the content and knew I'd read them. The other thing I regret was reading as a teen was an erotica novel the girls were passing around school, with much giggling and whispering and blushing. It was way too much for my brain. I still remember passages (i.e., the mental picture left in my brain by them) and it warped my thinking for a time.

I didn't read this book, just saw the movie. If the movie and book are at all similar... then I know what you are talking about. The movie was not graphic with it, thankfully... although no one was left with any doubt as to what had happened. I felt the same way when I saw the movie The Prince of Tides. I hadn't read that book, but I had read and enjoyed others by Pat Conroy. That scene -- similar to the Kite Runner scene -- left me sick to my stomach for a very long time.

Gosh, thank you. I usually do a search, but this time just posted a quick question without taking time to research whether it has been addressed in the past or not. :blush: And, now, after reading that previous thread... this is probably not something DS10 would enjoy so much. All the photocopying sounds a bit tedious, as well.

I think I'm going to give her a gift card. We don't have a curriculum store per se, but I think one to Barnes and Noble would be appreciated and used, dontcha think? She loaned me the materials because I was like a deer in the headlights, not having ANY idea what to do, but desperately needing to remove my son from what I considered to be a toxic environment, and my only option was to homeschool. I don't regret the decision one bit, have loved every minute of it, and wish, wish, wish I'd done this MUCH sooner, and with ALL my kids!! But, I digress. I'm going to give her a gift card. Although I only ended up using one set of the many books she loaned me, it was a relief just knowing they were here for me, should I have needed them! I hope to pay it forward in the future, as well -- help someone else like me (a newbie with no idea what she's doing!), or someone who needs curriculum but can't afford to buy all they need.