I never leave cash at the customer service. Thanks to stories of friends who have worked there, I don't trust them. I do what some of the above posters said and let customer service know I found cash and give them my number so someone could contact me. I then put it aside for a couple of months. If they don't call in that time, I consider it mine.

We have made do with one student pack for my boys who are using the program together. I have had to adapt it only a little.

We school year round here, so our school year started two weeks ago. I love how it allows us to pace our days.

Yes, I have let me two oldest stay in the car by themselves. They are 10 and 12. It matters where we are and how hot it is, but, as someone else said, I was babysitting on my own by the age of my oldest.

Thanks everyone for your help. I am probably going to skip most of the comprehension questions, since my boys have listened to these books so many times that they can quote large portions, unless we use them for fun trivia questions. That brings me to another question. Do you need the same exact "Lord of the Rings" book from which the TE was based if you're not doing the comp questions?

For what it is worth, I was told a regular freezer, like what we have in our kitchens, will not get cold enough, but that a deep freeze could. I don't know if that is true as I have never tried freezing them.

I think I have decided this will be perfect for my boys who are LotR fanatics. We have done very, very little lit. analysis so far, and I am planning on doing some IEW style writing with it. Am I understanding this correctly? If I get the 1st edition Teacher's Manual I won't be missing anything that is in the 2nd edition...I just wouldn't NEED a student's book?

Yes, these things are visible to the naked eye, especially the older adults. That being said, I had checked my bed myself two times before I had a professional come in. I had somehow missed them :crying:. A side note- not everyone is allergic to these critters. That is how they got a "good" foothold in our house before I knew something was up. NONE of the males in my house react to them at all. DH and I slept in the same bed, and he never showed evidence of a bite. The boys' bed was the worst, and they also never had a visible reaction to their bites, and we're pretty sure that is the room in which they somehow originated.

Thanks so much for these responses. I will look through the links provided. I was so excited to see this option and I tend to jump in without enough info. I am trying to go into, or pass, on this with my eyes opened...not on a wave of emotion =)

I have learned to double and triple check that the audio books we get are unabridged. Dramatized versions drive me crazy. I feel they often take away waaay more than they add to a story.

Leaving them in the car long enough for the car for over an hour WILL kill them. Of course, this only works on HOT days in the summer. It is one of the things that I did with our larger bedding, since I didn't want to risk spreading it by using a laundry mat...our home units aren't large enough. If things are put in a black plastic bags you have to leave them long enough to be sure that the middle of the mass is being heated to a high enough temperature for the right amount of time.

Has anyone used Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings (www.homescholar.org) This looks like it would be perfect for my son for his 9th grade year, but I would like to hear from reviews from those who have used it. What did you/your child like, what did you/your child dislike? Did you need any items besides the teacher's guide, student book, and their edition of the trilogy?

I would if they heat treated by people who are professionals in dealing with that large of a building and all the books. I would need some MAJOR convincing. I would NOT be back if they treated with just chemicals. I would want to know who was doing the treatment and some really, really deep information on what was being done. If they were just trying to "spot" treat. NOPE! NO WAY!!! We ended up with bed bugs last summer and it was a nightmare. We couldn't get rid of them! It was MONTHS before I was sure the nasty creatures were out of my house. The cost was extreme...not just the treatment (multiple required) but what we had to replace because the chemicals didn't seem to be cutting it on some of the furniture, so we gave up and burned them.

Yes. It is this book that got me excited to homeschool when my first child was maybe a year old. I pull it out every year and glance through the sections that hit my children (first edition at home, and latest at the library), and it keeps me on track. I don't do it schooling exactly the WTM way now, 8 years into homeschooling, but it is a great reference and keeps me encouraged, along with this site, not to worry that I am crazy to expect my kids to accomplish a lot.

Am I really reading that they're saying to give them calculators in 2nd and 3rd grade? :confused1: :cursing: I can't believe any of the things on the list, and that one seems extra crazy!!!

Math: Finish TT Algebra 1 and start TT Algebra 2 Grammar: Fix-It Writing: IEW Australian History Unit (his choice =) ) Science: Apologia Physical Science History: Diana Waring Ancient Civilizations Music: Piano Foreign Language: Elementary Greek 1&2 Logic: trying to find what will work for us after Bluedorn's Fallacy Detective. I feel as if I am forgetting something. Being so close to high school is giving me moments of panic. :crying:

Thanks for the heads up on the trade in as well. I was a little frustrated to see the new version when we had just purchased the old last year. I would have held off had I known...or just purchased a single story, not the whole kit and caboodle.

Is there such a thing? I can't afford professional voice lessons on a regular basis for me or my kids, but would like to do something to help them improve their voices. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I have also been using LOF with my son. So far it seems like a good combo.

We don't have sides at home, we switch sides regularly. Whenever we're in a bed that is pushed against the wall, I always get the outside, but that is because neither of us like me having to crawl over him to go the bathroom in the middle of the night =)

I had one item sell here within a couple of days and another is still sitting there weeks later. It just matters who is looking. I do like and use VarageSale as well for buying, but haven't sold there yet.

Just what I needed to know. I will plan on getting the rest.

Another quick question. I have the "What in the World?" cd, how beneficial is it to have the "Digging Deeper" and "True Tales" CDs?

Thank you, that was helpful. For some reason I can't get into my yahoo groups =(

I am planning on using this in our schooling next year and am liking what I see. I can't quite grasp how to schedule it. Can any of you who have used this history curriculum please tell me what your days looked like as you worked through the 4 phases? Like Phase 1 Day we did....what exactly? I am feeling a little dense, but I just don't get it :confused1: