Oh, good, a valid excuse to get the new edition! :D

Colleen, Thank you for this. No, I haven't done the outlining as laid out in WTM, but that makes sense. I don't care for the KWO format and I think my dd would do better with the more traditional outline. I have to pull out my WTM book and look at the writing sections again. I think this would give us a good starting point. Thanks for the suggestion!

Melissa, Thank you for your supportive comments. I am looking into some other writing programs to see if something lines up with what I am hoping to accomplish. I am feeling better about things and I think we will see some progress this year. :)

Momof7, don't worry about discouraging me. I know we need to step things up. She has written a handful of multi-paragraph papers while working through IEW the past couple years. I am feeling like IEW is not the approach I want to follow. I also feel like her basic structures are in need of improving which is why we are working on single paragraphs right now. The longest paper she has written up to this point is a two page paper, so by the end of the year I would like to see her up to a 4-6 page paper. I am sorry that I don't recall this, but do you use a writing program as a basis for your writing instruction? I feel like a little hand holding would be nice, but I don't want to make a huge investment again (like IEW). Even a good reference or two for myself would be nice. Anyway, I do appreciate your comments and suggestions. Thanks!

Thanks, I appreciate the comments and stating what I need to hear. Yes, we worked through IEW with key-word outlines and dress-ups and checklists, etc. She can do this, I just didn't specify that she should do this for this assignment. The book we are using was purchased from IEW and there are lesson plans to follow. This is the first assignment from the book. I am unsure if I want to continue with the IEW model so that is partly why I didn't require the use of the key-word outline for this. There are things I like about IEW, but I am not completely sold on it after having used it. I did sit down with her about an hour or so ago and had her read the paragraph to me. She knew that there were problems with the sentence structure. We also talked about a topic sentence. We are going to work on these things tomorrow, but she took my comments better than I expected. Anyway, thanks. This year we will be focusing on writing and hopefully will see some improvement by the end of the year.

Thanks. I had only read through this quickly Friday evening and it wasn't until I was typing it now that I realized she really didn't have a topic sentence. I will help her develop a topic sentence so we can decide together what parts are relevant to the topic and which are not. While we have worked on writing over the years, it obviously hasn't been enough. I am making a commitment this year to regular, consistent writing practice. It will be interesting! :)

My dd was given an assignment to write a chronological paragraph. She needs some work on basic paragraph structure. She does not like to write, but she does try. I need some help determining what parts of her paragraph are wandering away from the topic. I know she has sentence structure issues and I can deal with those (I have not gone over her writing with her yet because I need help in this other area). I am just not sure if some of th sentences can be left in or if they are too off topic. Again, it is supposed to be a chronological paragraph on a topic of her choice. She choose the mound Indians (she is reading about them in history). Here is her paragraph exactly as she typed it: The Mound Indians I have started learning about the first Americans and the mound Indians interested me a lot. About 2,500 years ago is the beginning of the mound Indians called Adenas lived. They had built cone-shaped mounds for the dead and animal shaped ones for what scientist believe to have had religious meaning. They were hunters and gatherers who lived on fish, game, nuts and berries the Adenas did grow some crops. Around 2,000 years ago things got interesting when new people came to the Adenas land we do not know if things were peaceful or if there were wars. We call the Indians in this time are called the Hopewell Indians. They were traders and made beautiful artifacts that they left in the mounds such as jewelry and tools. The Hopewell people grew some crops and they were a very healthy people. About 1,000 things started to change. Corn came from Mexico and with the corn the mound builders became farmers. We call them the Mississippian Indians. There cities grew large and highly organized governments with rulers that acted like gods. The mounds changed too they became bigger and harder to make and the Mississippians put temples and there leaders homes on top of them. The Mississippians had a diet based on corn they were less healthy then the Hopewell Indians there skeletons show diseases. They seemed to have lost interest in making stone carvings, jewelry and other things like that. I hope that the mound Indians have interested you as much as they have been for me. Ok. I have not had her read it out loud at this point. That will help to correct many of the structural and grammatical errors (she tends to skip the self-editing). I am feeling like the detail she went into is veering away from the assignment. I think part of the problem is she doesn't have a good topic sentence to help keep her on track. I want to be careful not to over correct this attempt though because she will be discouraged about her writing ability. Anyway, any suggestions are appreciated. Oh, she is 13 and has done writing before (IEW, Write With the Best, etc.). I do think she needs to write more which is why we are working through A Writer's Guide to Powerful Paragraphs which is where this assignment is from. Thanks!

I loved doing circle time with my dc! We had a special candle that we would light and a saying that we recited while lighting the candle. We would do some songs or recite rhymes or I would read a poem, etc. I tried to keep it the same for at least a week so that they really found a rhythm with it and could learn the songs or poems. When we put out the candle we had another saying we recited. It was such a nice, calming start to the day. I am sorry that I don't recall the specifics very well, but I fondly remember the closeness and calmness it gave our mornings. Really, just be free with it and let it be whatever it is for your family. There really is no right or wrong way to do circle time. Have fun! :)

Well, no, because it does not teach grammar, just reinforces it. IEW SWI and all the theme based lessons do not cover grammar in any real sense either. I have used and continue to use these programs so I have BTDT. You would really need to cover grammar as a separate subject if you are using IEW. Then you could use Fix It! alongside IEW for grammar review/reinforcement.

I agree with this. I would spend some time going over basic grammar (this could be months or years depending on age of dc and how much they "get it") and then use Fix It! for reinforcement and practice.

You can do it without the CD's, but it means parent involvement. I purchased the CD's for level A and the budget package. For levels B & C I give the words. The only thing they do on the CD is say the jingle, give the spelling words (using them in a sentence) and give the correct spelling. There is nothing special about the CD's that couldn't be done by mom or a sibling. The best thing about them is that spelling can be more independent. Anyway, short answer is yes, you can do PZ without the CD's.

I saw your post and checked it out because I just purchased the HS Chemistry course a week ago. I also bought the History of the United States set at the same time. I used your code to see what it would be and the total was over $100 less than what I paid. I called Teaching Company to ask about it. She looked up the code because it wasn't what she termed a "current" one. It is a valid code and one that they send out to people who haven't ordered before or for a long time as a way to try and get them to place an order because the sale is so good. She said that they will honor any valid code and they gave me a credit for $115. So, thank you for sharing. I felt a bit bad about using the code after she told me what it was intended for and she assured me it was ok. So now I am thinking I will get a few more lectures that we were looking at. I love Teaching Company!

Depends on what it is. I tend to buy new because I know that if I have a problem with something I can contact the company to work out the issue. You don't have that if you buy used. I buy some books used (textbook type books that we use as a support/supplement to our courses as these are usually upwards of $100 or so, I mostly buy these from Better World Books). Once in a while, if I come across a good deal, I will buy used, but it seems like those deals are harder to come by. Also, by buying new, I know what I am getting. I don't have to worry about writing in the book that wasn't mentioned or the pages being loose from the binding, etc. Even when people describe their stuff it isn't always what is expected. I also find that I do more impulse purchases of used items because I feel like I am getting a deal (sometimes). Most of the time these purchases are not items I am really in need of, but things that sound interesting that I come across while I am looking for the things I need. :) I am sorry if I sound a bit negative about used stuff, but if I am only saving a small amount I would rather buy new if I can afford it.

I agree with this. My dd has scalp issues and we have found that if she shampoos daily (with a gentle shampoo) the flaky, itchiness goes away. I have not been good about my dc taking flax oil supplements, but if I remember correctly that seemed to help also.

Interesting! I voted before reading the comments and I voted for #25, also (sorry). It was a beautiful picture! They were all fun to look at.

Dd will be getting a new digital camera. We gave her our old one when dh bought himself a new camera, but it is really old. The memory card only holds about 150 pictures and you cannot buy them in stores anymore. It is also big and bulky. So, we are getting her a new one. Not sure yet which one, still have to do some research so any suggestions would be great! :) Ds will be getting new bowling balls. He bowls on a league and for the high school team. He is at a point where he needs to upgrade his equipment so he can continue to improve his game. He will be getting 2 new balls for sure and maybe a third (though this one might be a used one) and a new bag to lug them around in. We are also looking for a new family game to play. This will be our Christmas this year. It will be good though because these are things they really want.

Thank you all for your replies and suggestions. I hadn't thought to create my grading scale on my own terms (smacks self on head). This all really helps me as I work through this issue. :)

I don't believe in grades as a way to determine learning and have yet to use them (officially) in our homeschool. We have always worked towards mastery and just continue on to the next thing as we finish the previous. I know that for dual enrollment our cc wants a transcript with grades on it. I also know that for college applications it makes it easier for admissions if they get a standard type transcript. I am really struggling with creating grades just so we can jump through the hoops. Even though we try to work towards mastery, I don't know that that equals A's on a transcript. Is submitting a homeschool transcript with all A's looked at funny? Anyway, is there anyone else here who doesn't use grades and if so what do you do? Have you had to deal with college admissions yet? Thanks.

We are starting our 2nd year of high school hs. We tried an off-campus option this year, but after almost 2 months we all realized that we would rather be hs'ing as we were before (this is also why I haven't been on these boards in so long). So we are really just starting this year now. We don't have set times for things, but I try to make sure everyone is up and ready to start by 9am so that we can get in as much as possible (kids have afternoon sport activities almost everyday so we try to finish up by about 3 or 4). We don't always start with the same subject everyday either. Unless it is a new lesson (I always teach the new lesson to make sure they are understanding the material), my dc work on math on their own (I am available if they need help). They also do lit. on their own if they are in the reading stage (I introduce new literary concepts and am involved in end of book discussions, etc.). Most everything else I am involved with in some way. I like to know where my dc are and I like to be available to go over anything they are having trouble with or need to discuss. I really don't have a lot of me time during the day. I try to slip in a load of laundry or some dishes or whatever here and there, but most of my day is spent learning with my dc. I only have 2 dc and they generally study the same topics so it is easier for me to do this and not feel stretched too thin. I do have to make it more of a priority to do my self-learning in the evenings, but after a day of "school" with my dc I tend to want to relax and do me stuff in the evenings. Because of this, I rarely am studying ahead of my dc which is why I end up working along side of them so that I know what is going on and can be there to help and mentor them. I don't think this is ideal, but it is working. For now, anyway. :)

Thanks! I will check that out also. I appreciate these suggestions. :)

Thank you so much! I will check that text out as it might fit the bill for us. :)

I can't find my WTM book and was hoping someone could tell me the recommendations for chemistry for high school level. Thanks!

Ok, then the price sounds about right for this model. Babylock does have higher priced models so I wasn't sure which one you were talking about. Also, Brother and Babylock are not the same machines. Yes, they are made by the same company, but that doesn't mean they are the same just with different names. My Babylocks run like a dream. They are quiet, run smoothly and sew just as well as my Bernina. A Babylock would be a great machine for her to use. I do know a couple people who have Pfaff machines and like them. JMHO

We have 2 Babylocks and really like both of them. One has embroidery and one is just a sewing machine. I have had them for about 6 years and have not had any problems with them. I also have a Bernina and my dh and dd prefer the Babylocks over the Bernina. I like them about the same. If you are looking to spend a bit less I would go with the Babylock. You won't be disappointed. ETA: I reread your post and am curious about the pricing. I haven't heard of the top of the line Babylock selling for $1300. Do you know which model this is? Is it a new machine or a used one? Our embroidery machine was top of the line when we bought it and it was around $3000 and the one that is just a computerized sewing machine was around $800. I am just curious because if you can get the top of the line Babylock for that price I would do it! Heck, I would almost drive down there myself to get one. :)

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch because it is so inspiring, yet down to earth. I really enjoyed it. It is also a book that you can open up to just about any page, read a few paragraphs or so and be encouraged. :)