I had tile like that all over my house (kitchen, living room, entry way, and hallway. The only thing I could do is get a bucket of soapy water (I used ammonia), a sponge, and a scrub brush, don my rubber gloves, sit down on my butt, and clean one tile at a time, along with the grout around each one. I did this only twice a year, and it took days (doing 20 minutes sections now and then, when I got a chance through the day). I hated that tile. When we were shopping for tile for my new house, that was one of the questions I asked salespeople (dirt sticking in pits and rough places in the tile). They all told me that that was a sign of cheap tile; it was poor glaze. (groan) Anyway, I wish I could give you better news, but I lived in that house and never found anything that worked better than ammonia, water, and a scrub brush.

There are handles cut into two sides. We move it when we have company and need the dining room (we have another table in the kitchen for daily use). You could easily move it to the floor or a chair for daily meals.

Here's how I use mine. We sit at the "dining room" table for our "at the table" lessons. I sit on the long side with my 2 dc at either end. The Desk Apprentice sits at the other long side. Two sides of the DA (the double sides) are full of the dc's workbooks (Math, handwriting, Latin, music theory, etc. They're labeled with their names and face the respective, most of the time. The third side, the one that faces me, contains the teacher books for subjects that we do all together (Latin, Natural Speller, Calculadder master sheets, etc.) The fourth side is for my planning books. All the sides are labeled to make it easy to figure out how to position the DA. The corner containers are labeled "Pens", "Pencils", "Tools" (for scissors, triangles, calculator, ruler, etc.), and "Vitamins". The tray on top contains erasers, and other little stuff (I don't remember). In the center compartment, I have hanging files for finished work, calendar, etc. I also have Bibles, and other books we're reading. I think their's a Staples "Easy Button" in there, too (it was a Christmas present last year). Anyway, I love having all that stuff within easy reach. We can all get to what we need easily, and put it all away just as easily. We have other bookshelves in the room, and they're all well used, too. But, the DA is great for our purposes. It may not fit your style at all. :)

Go to http://www.abcvacuum.com.'>http://www.abcvacuum.com. I got my Panasonic upright (with quick-draw tools onboard) from them for about $100. They have free shipping, and possibly no tax. They provide great service. They'll even help you pick the perfect vacuum for your needs and budget (free service, with no obligation). I don't get anything for endorsing these guys. I was just very impressed with their service. http://www.abcvacuum.com

Your kids shower twice a day? Our skin would dry up and flake off if we did that. Of course, my kids are younger (11, 10, and 2). They don't stink yet. :o Are twice a day showers in my future? I'm trying to imagine what a kid would do in bed at night that would make him dirty enough to need another shower in the morning. Just curious. Not trying to blast you for having clean children! :)

Same here. I can usually predict when 10yods is going to have leg pain (if I'm paying attention, and not too tired myself from the active day). Sometimes I'll notice him sort of limping around at bedtime (before he even notices anything is wrong). I'll just give him Tylenol when he goes to bed. If I don't think of it before bed, he'll inevitably cry out in pain at about 11:30. I just grab the Tylenol on the way downstairs to his room. He takes it, and I rub his leg until he settles down.

I found the Home Instructors' Guide helpful in Level 4, especially when we were multiplying/dividing by fractions. It gave several different ways to explain the concept (beyond just plugging numbers into an algorithym). Oh, and I found the two-color counters helpful for this section. (flat disks, about the size of quarters, that are orange on one side and yellow on the other). The rest of 4 is pretty straight forward, I think, but we started with Singapore from the beginning. The bar diagrams (for solving algebraic type problems) will be new to you. I don't know what else might be different from Saxon. I've never seen the Teacher Guide, but I imagine it will give lesson plans for classroom use. The HIG is geared toward homeschooling -- more of a tutor/pupil approach. It has all the answers to all the problems in the textbooks and the workbooks. You don't need the answer key if you have the HIG. You'll probably get better response from someone who came into Singapore from Saxon. It's been a couple years since I've done Level 4 (dd is in 6A now), so I'm sure I've forgotten something. Actually, my 4th grader is just starting 4A also. He's moving right through the beginning of the book. No problems so far.

My kids are in 4th and 6th. I don't plan. I just turn to the next lesson, and see what we're studying next. This works fine for almost everything. (Singapore math, R&S grammar, Natural Speller, Latina Christiana I, Reason for Handwriting.) Most of these subjects don't lend themselves well to planning because I have no idea how quickly or slowly the kids will get through the material. They may whiz through 4 math lessons in one day, then take 3 days to complete the next one. The same is true for grammar. Latin takes more and more time the further we get in the book because there is so much more review, and because I'm learning it for the first time myself. This is one area that I may need to change. I've been reading the threads about staying ahead of the kids in Latin, and I think I would be a better Latin teacher if I had a clue what was coming. I'm going to work ahead in the book, and maybe work through another program as well. Planning would probably help us in this subject. When we were doing science (Real Science 4 Kids - Chemistry), I did look ahead at the materials lists, but I didn't study the lesson ahead of time. When we were doing earth science/astronomy, though, I did plan out a whole year worth of material. I didn't plan ahead, though, on how much we'd cover in a day. We just plugged through my plan until we finished. For history (SOTW), I get online with my Activity Guide book list and order books from the library system for the next few chapters. But, again, I don't read ahead. I don't plan which chapters we'll read, or which books we'll read. We just sit on the couch and start reading. Sometimes, we spend 3 hours just reading the library books. Other times, we just do one section from SOTW, and call it good for the day. For reading, I just assign books related to our history or science and require them to read a minimum time each day. They do other free reading on their own (dd more than ds). I keep a "Plan" book, but I only use it to write down what we/they did, *after* they finish it. I feel strong in the subject matter (except Latin), so I have no trouble just winging it every day. We've been doing it for over 7 years, now, and it's working fine. Things may change next year. My 6th grade dd is becoming more and more independent. Plus, next year, she'll be doing different curricula that may lend itself better to pre-planning (Video Text Algebra, for instance). I'll probably plan out some subjects in advance and give her check lists to use.

Nan, that was splendid! Thank you for brightening my lunch hour. :)

That's correct. 'ey' is British, and 'ay' is American.

Thanks Elizabeth, for the pat on the head. I'm going to be okay, huh? I've never bought a washer or dryer before. My dh had this set before we met. (That was one of the things that sold me on him -- he had his own matching set of heavy duty washer and dryer! I didn't look ahead to what I would feel like after looking at them for 18 years!) :) Anyway, I love the red LGs, but my old Whirlpools have been hearty companions all these years. It's good to have your vote of confidence. I think I'll look more closely at the extended warranties and service departments of the dealers. Thanks again.

Just keep trying. I use the Spanish, and I had trouble at first. Over time, though, I realized that I have to sound *exactly* like the person doing the demo. I even have to match the little quirky things they do with inflection and accent. It helps me to try to visualize what the pronouncer *looks* like when they're saying the word/phrase, then try to make my face look lik them. If they sound like they're smiling, I smile. If they sound serious, I try to sound serious. It's a crazy game. Don't take it too seriously. Just make a game out of trying to imitate the native speaker. You'll discover little nuances in their voice, inflection, and accent that you didn't notice before.

Our local teacher store (Learning is Fun) has a self-serve cold lamination machine. They charge 95c per linear foot (the sheets are about two feet wide). You could lay small things side by side and do them all at once.

FLL doesn't spiral. It moves decisively from one concept to the next. But, I wouldn't use retention as a measure of whether it is a good program or not. I used it with both my kids, and I thought of it as a first exposure to grammar. I didn't expect them to be grammar experts when they finished. They revisit the same concepts every year (they're in 4th and 6th now, doing R&S), and each year they carry a little more of what they learned the previous year. They still remember the definitions, some of the lists (to be verbs, for example), and the poems and the fables from FLL. They enjoyed FLL tremendously. I plan on using it with my third, but she's only 2yo, so it will be awhile. :)

Final answer: Length means the long side. (Hence the name) Orientation has nothing to do with it (unless you're talking about furniture)

I agree. The maps are just part of the reason I use the AG. The book lists are wonderful, the review questions extremely helpful. We don't do many of the projects, but my dd still loves the coloring pages. She's disappointed there aren't any in Vol. 4.

I think my washer is dying. It's lived a good life -- it was "born" in 1985. I'm thinking front loader. I'm thinking LG or Whirlpool Duet. Any opinions on these? Where can I go to read reliable reviews (not hot-headed temper tantrums)? I know this has been talked to death here (I know I don't want a Neptune), but I don't know if the old problems (smell, moldy seals, etc) have been corrected on newer models. Thanks for any advice.

Chicken Spaghetti freezes well. You can get a good recipe at http://www.PioneerWomanCooks.com Just scroll down the pictures on the left hand side. It's second from the bottom (at least it was a minute ago). I use green chile instead of cayenne pepper. Yum.

I can't even imagine all you must be feeling. My thoughts and prayers are with you. Bless your heart. Suzanne

My dd is doing 6B. I plan on using Video Text Algebra next. The first module is actually pre-algebra, and is meant to help cement the basic concepts that will be used in Algebra. It incorporates DVD lessons, a textbook that re-iterates the lesson from the video, practice problems, and daily quizzes. It is self-directed, though they recommend that the parent/teacher sit in on the DVD lessons so they'll be able to help as needed. The child watches the 10 minutes lesson, reviews it in the text book, then does half the practice problems (odds or evens). The next day, they start with a quiz. If they do well, they go on to the next DVD lesson. If they need more work, they review the previous lesson, do the other half of the problems, and take a second quiz. If they still need help, there are more practice problems available on the website, and there is tutor-type help available. The publishers (and the vendor I talked to last year) say that it fits very well after Singapore 6B. And, Jay Wile (the author of Apologia Science books) recommends it. You can check it out at http://www.videotext.com

Um. We didn't use them, and we're all still alive! :) In some ways, we would have been better off without the CD, actually. The girl on the CD is very inconsistant with the pronunciation of certain vowels (changing from word to word). We stopped using it about half-way through, unless I was unsure about how to *accent* the syllables of a word. We're half-way through Latina Christiana I, now. We're still not using any DVDs. I don't know if we'd be better off *with* them, but we're not sinking without them. We do better without the interuption of having to go watch a DVD. It's easier for us to just pick up the book, chant through the vocabulary, sayings, and prayers, and talk a little about the grammar (not much of that in Prima Latina). We have our own rhythm that may not resemble any other traditional Latin classroom, but it works for us. I'd say, try it without the DVD, and see how it goes.

My 4th and 6th graders still do cursive handwriting. The 4th grader needs it. The 6th grader just loves it. They're totally independent with it, and I mainly have them do it as "filler" or "busywork": if they need my help, and I can't come right away, I have them do handwriting while they're waiting. We do A Reason for Handwriting (Levels D and F). I like that they copy a scripture every fourth lesson. They both enjoy the program.

My dad always gave us bourbon and honey. It was mostly honey, I think. Just enough bourbon to thin the honey to the consistancy of syrup. It was warm, and felt good going down. It tasted good. I still remember the flavor and sensation, though I haven't had it in at least 30 years. The closest thing I come to it these days is good old green Nyquil.

My dd will finish R&S6 in a couple of weeks. I'm going to focus on writing for the rest of the year. I'm looking at IEW and Classical Writing. I do plan on doing R&S7. We'll see how the writing is going. I might want to alternate writing with grammar in the future, or we might be able to do both simultaneously. I'm playing the wait-and-see game for now.

My dd is about to finish R&S6, also. I'm going to spend the rest of the year concentrating on writing. I have IEW sitting here (borrowed from a friend), but I'm also looking hard at CW. I need to figure out soon which way I'm going to go. She's rapidly approaching the end of that grammar book! :)