Now it will be ready for my birthday! Yay! That's what I'm requesting for my present.

You could jump into level 2. I actually did both books in 1 year. We did 1 per semester. I used it with my 4th grader because we wanted a laid back approach to Latin for our first exposure. Level 2 is more challenging with the different tenses and endings. I'm actually glad I waited until my dd was older before beginning Latin. My dd didn't complain about the "cutesie" aspects of SSL. I let her decide if she was ok with a slower approach to Latin and she agreed to use this program. So, depends on the kid.

That looks awesome!

We have these too. They work well and the batteries have only been replaced once or twice. My kids haven't been able to break them. So they are winners in my book!

Yes. I use MM and RS together. My dd needs extra math practice and reinforcement. And because I've always been terrible at math I'm insecure about using just one program. I don't want my kids to struggle like I did. I want them to have more confidence. Anyway, it's working really well for us. My dd has been in RS E this year and working through MM 3. She got a little behind in MM. We are just starting 4 and will work on it some this summer.

That's frustrating. My girls are in a different organization and they allowed us to bypass fundraising and make donations to the troop. Fundraising of any kind makes me feel weird. I didn't know you had to sell cookies rather than make a donation or support in other ways. I wouldn't be happy about that at all.

My kids have enjoyed it as well. My son needed a little help but he mastered the drawing tools and it was a nice break from the other topics. We've been so pleased with Right Start!

Digestive enzymes and a probiotic I take Solaray Super Digestaways. It's been helping this pregnancy.

All About Spelling or Logic of English

I'm still working on my plans for next year. I can't believe my oldest will be in 5th grade! Ah! Bible: CAP New Testament 1 and listening in to BSGFAA with her younger siblings Math: RS Geometry, finish MM4 and work on MM 5 Grammar: Hake 5 Spelling: Phonics Road Level 3 (we've already done the first half so we'll do the second half) Writing: WWE 4 (maybe?), CAP Writing and Rhetoric Chreia and maybe the next level after that Logic: Fallacy Detective and some Prufrock books (maybe Orbiting with Logic) Spanish: Galore Park Spanish 1 Latin: Latin for Children A History: Tapestry of Grace Year 1 Science: online chemistry with Landry and I don't know what else......maybe a BJU text? Lots of read alouds and some independent reading - still making a book list

We recently moved to a new state and have an entirely new set-up for our homeschool room. We now use a back bedroom in our basement as the school room. I actually love having the separate space for homeschooling that is away from the rest of the house. (That way our mess can hide in that back room!) I have two book shelves - one for our read alouds, history books, science books, and science supplies. The other is for our notebooks, math manips, art supplies, and other extras. In the middle is my reading chair where I can sit and read to the kids. We have a big IKEA table in the middle of the room that has banks of drawers instead of legs. I keep our curriculum in the drawers. This has been awesome! I also have a computer desk in one corner where my kids can work independently. The room also has a giant closet that is full of extra books, supplies, and curriculum that we aren't currently using. My room isn't Pinterest-worth I'm sure but it is very functional this year. It's been perfect! And I have no idea how to upload pics to the forum so I'll have to link to my blog post with pics of our room.

Nope. 1- dark brown curls 2- dirty blond (now more light brown) and very thick and straight 3- dark brown, straight and fine 4- brown curls 5- blond, fine but slightly wavy at the ends I have almost black hair and my hubby has light brown (was blond when he was younger). Mine is super curly and his is super straight. Now I just need a curly blond child. 😉

I would choose Real Science 4 Kids. We are Christian and use that. I find it works well with our worldview. It's not "preachy" like Apologia. So I like the tone better. CKE is not as in depth in my opinion. If you wanted overtly Christian and in depth then I would pick BJU over Abeka as BJU science is solid and I've heard the DVDs are really great if you want some visual learning. I find Abeka less interesting and more work bookish. It doesn't fit my kids' learning styles.

Thank you! I'll check those out!

Audible with membership. My kids have iPods. They listen on those. I was hesitant to get them iPods but it has been a wonderful investment! I hate messing with CDs that get lost and scratched and CD players don't seem to last very long at all. My phone can sync to our car so we can listen to stories on my phone while we are in the car. It's been a sanity-saver for me!

Do you have favorite copy books for elementary? I want my kids to do more copy work over the summer and I really don't want to write it out myself or even print it off. I want it put together for me. I want to incorporate more copy work with my kids so I'd love some ideas. We plan to use WWE during the school year but I'd like something for summer too.

My dd just did that test too! It was so exciting to mail it off. Even dad helped get it all ready to send back. We were a little giddy too.

I dropped out of our co-op in the middle of the fall semester. I felt horribly guilty but it was not a pleasant experience for us and not what we were looking for. We are SO much happier without co-op! It's such a relief to be done!! I'm sorry your experience was not a good one either. I agree that you should drop out and I think your letter is tactful. I hope you can enjoy the rest of your semester and feel less stressed. We should have a support group for homeschool co-op drop outs. 😠I still feel like I'm recovering from our experience.

But see, this is helpful. It's helpful to know that there is a wide range of normal. And knowing that they want independence but they sometimes need help-well it just helps me understand her perspective better. So I could totally use a talk on the wide range of emotions and attitudes with tactics for coping. I feel a little bit crazy. It probably doesn't help that my oldest has a very strong and challenging personality.

I guess I was just hoping for a pep talk or an assurance that we will survive the tween hormonal breakdowns. Some days I wonder what happened to my dd-it's like she's not the same person. She can be an emotional wreck. Other days it's like her brain fell out. I just hoped there would be some resources to help me deal with the roller coaster without eating my weight in chocolate.

Ok, my dd is going to be in 5th grade next year and I'm looking toward middle school in the very near future. Yikes! Homeschooling and preparing her for higher level thinking and dealing with puberty....I am overwhelmed at the thought! I'm attending a local convention soon and am so disappointed to see there are no talks for the middle school parents. There are tons of preschool/getting started talks and lots of high school/college talks. I need some middle years stuff! So for those of you moms who are in the middle school years or finishing them up, what advice would you give? Are there any resources to get me started? I really want some logic-stage, middle school tips. Any good recorded talks or books?

Please don't take folic acid but take folate instead. I take Jarrow brand methyl-folate. Folate is so much better. For my prenatal I take New Chapter brand. I'm also taking a vitamin B complex with folate (not with folic acid). I think the brand is Freeda.

I can very much relate. My oldest was a superstar reader- chapter books by 6. My next child-so so slow! We have been using AAR at a very slow pace and practicing daily with simple readers. Just this year (he's now 8) has been able to make it through a Magic Tree House book. I really thought this child would never read. He needed slow and steady DAILY practice with readers that didn't leave him frustrated. Now he's reading (but still rather slowly). Some kids just take longer and I've had to be careful not to compare his progress to his sister.

I like books by Scott Turansky. I like his positive respectful approach to parent/child relationships. The ones I've read by him have Christian content, FYI.

I'm using volume 4 with my kids ages 6, 8, and 10. They are rally enjoying it. The book isn't too graphic for them and they are sensitive kids. I did not go into detail about some of the topics and we didn't do extra reading for events like the holocaust but it hasn't been too heavy for them. They have loved calling family members and asking what they remember about events such as the moon landing and Pearl Harbor. They have had wonderful conversations about history and I'm glad we didn't skip this volume.