Thank you!

to bring to our German themed unit celebration. I have about 15 min. today to make strudel. I'm thinking this is impossible. But, because the Hive is a place of miracles, perhaps someone can help. Otherwise, I'm going to the grocery store and purchasing case of Pillsbury Toaster Strudel and will feel no guilt. :lol:

I think this is spot on, Martha. HSLDA has been activie where I live for the past 3 or so years because we were fighting against bad/ more restrictive bills. Because of a huge upset and change in control in our state legislature, homeschoolers are on the offensive and trying to decrease regulation. HSLDA has supported a bill here that certainly is more free than what we have but is not *totally* free. The bill requires one-time notification (like in AZ) only. I had a 30 min. conversation with one of the HSLDA attorneys about why they want one-time vs. no notification. He told me that philosophically he thinks no notification is the best, but that one-time notification in most cases stops any further inquiry into homeschooling vs. truancy vs. educational neglect. So many more libertarian-leaning people in my state *hate* (and that is not too strong a word) HSLDA because they are willing to work within some parameters of government involvement in homeschooling (we have a lot of Free State people here).

Goldschlager. Asking to be induced. Drinking a couple bottles of wine at dinner, then sitting in a steam sauna.

One other thing: As nice and neat as it is for us as adults to mesh all the history and Bible....in the long run in the early years, I firmly believe it doesn't matter. Pick a story Bible (we had an Egermeiers that we used) and read it through regularly. My son and I enjoyed that cuddle time so much! There were many times I pre-read the Old Testament sections in SOTW and decided to not read those to him, because it didn't mesh with how I wanted to teach my children the Bible. We discussed fiction, myth, tall tales and truth -- he's never had a hard time understanding the reality of the Bible and the history and Truth that is in it, and he enjoyed the fables, myths and tall tales of other cultures as well.

Several Reasons combined: 1. I was using the Classic version (the only version they had) and was struggling trying to figure out what to do. It was less user friendly back then (IMHO) 2. Marcia says that in the early elementary years, TOG should be the "desert" of the homeschool -- focus on the fundamentals. Well, I wasn't good (at the time) about understanding that. My son was a fantastic reader, and I just wanted to get on with educating him in the good stuff (I has a history major in college!). 3. Along those lines, I had a hard time not doing everything, then hating myself if we didn't read one of the history books. 4. My son's favorite part of history was reading SOTW. He wasn't nearly so keen about the TOG books I had purchased. He also liked the SOTW mapwork more than the TOG mapwork. This was the biggest reason for dropping TOG. 5. I had a 3 year old and had just had a baby in October (we started school in mid-August that year). I was a mess!

Summer, I started with TOG year 1 with my 1st grader and had a 3.4 year old and newborn. We switched after 1 unit to SOTW and the activity guide and had a BLAST. We used SOTW for 2 1/2 years (then my son wanted to ONLY study US history, so I followed his lead and we did) and loved each and every minute of it. It gave my oldest son a love of history. My vote is SOTW ...... you can switch to TOG in the middle school years, which is what we did, and haven't looked back. Blessings,

The stream of air that passes though the teeth is to the sides instead of straight ahead. Often, with a frontal lisp, the tongue is obviously in the wrong place -- it is often pushing against the front teeth, touching the cutting edge of the front teeth or sometimes protruding out past the front teeth. Funny I googled it and wikipedia said, "The "lateral" lisp, where the /s/ and /z/ sounds are produced with air escaping over the sides of the tongue, is also called 'slushy ess' or a 'slushy lisp' due to the wet, spitty sound. The symbols for these lateralized sounds are in the Extended International Phonetic Alphabet for speech disorders, [ʪ] and [ʫ]. Notably the former mayor of New York, Rudolph Giuliani, has this type of lisp.[3]" Poor Rudy. Someone mentioned that their speech therapist uses a "t" to help get a good "s" sound---- and that is a great idea for a frontal lisp. The lateral lisp is a little harder.

The nice thing about SL is that their readers have a well thought out progression of easier to harder books throughout the year. TOG does not have that. I actually use the SL reader schedule with my boys to help them gain fluency.

There are different kinds of lisps, so you have to know what kind of lisp. It is a tongue positioning problem, as long as everything else physical is ruled out. Yes, they are correctable, but (as a former speech language pathologist) it is hard the older the student. It is a bad "habit," and as we all know, bad habits are hard to break. I've found frontal lisps are easier to correct than lateral lisps, but I've helped a few students conquer lateral lisps. If you can get an initial evaluation from a speech therapist and she/he does some investigating to see how readily your child responds to different corrective techniques, you'll save yourself some time. Then, ask for a home program. Diligence at home can be significantly more effective (imho) than once or twice a week therapy, mostly because you are with your child 24/7 and can provide cues and tips constantly. You can pm me if you have questions.

Foyer, in a heartbeat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My SIL wanted her boy/girl twins separated so they could blossom on their own. My neice is quite "high maintenance" and she wanted Karl to have a break, lol. But, what does mom say?

I know you want shoes, and that's fine. I'm recommending the minimalist shoes not from a fashion standpoint. I'm recommending them from a biomechanical standpoint. The big honkin' running shoes are not good for your foot. You will have stronger, more supportive feet (helping to minimize problems like plantar fasciitis, achilles problems, knee, etc.), better running form, etc. Ya know those Kenyans who win races? They learn to run barefoot. The shoes they wear in races --- they're paid to wear them and are a status symbol of success. They've already learned great form (a mid-foot step, meaning they do not step on their heels first when they run), so running in shoes probably isn't such a big deal for them -- their muscles are well developed. My husband's blog "Not Quite Kenyan" has some information about shoes, biomechanics, running,etc. Have fun shopping!

I think I use both because I don't really know how it should be pronounced.

I'm going to give you totally different advise than you are likely to get....but..... ..... go barefoot. My husband (a physical therapist( is a big proponent of barefoot running and minimalist shoes like these. As one new to exercising, your feet will adapt more easily to barefoot running than someone who's been exercising/running for awhile. By going barefoot, you allow the intrinsic muscles (the muscles within the foot) to strengthen themselves because they are being used. In a shoe with a big old arch support, your intrinsic muscles are not being used to support your arch, because there is an arch *in* the shoe. Certainly, this is a controversial idea, and there are still lots of people who think it is bogus, but there are more and more people -- and even more and more research -- in support of minimalist footwear/ going barefoot. I've just started running (tho' the "start" is in fits) for a few months, and I run barefoot unless I'm outside, then I wear Vibrams that look like this: and they are comfortable, but they did take a couple weeks to get used to (my baby piggie toe missed This Little One Had None) Google barefoot if you are curious. There is a runner/ evolutionary biologist from Harvard who's way into barefoot running.

2. Answers to some of the questions (D or R level) not being easy to find, but scattered throughout many books. -- I don't see this as a problem. Yes, the kids will be reading several sources and at the D and R level, they'll need to synthesize information, make connections and gleen appropriate content. No, TOG q and a will not hand your child answers....they'll have to read, think, and figure it out. Now, as a teacher, there have been a few times that we just could not find the answers to a question in *any* book (William the Silent is the most recent problem). My coop teacher brought it up on the forums and Dana (one of the writiers for the program) acknowledged this oversight and they planned to correct it. The company is fantastic about listening to the users of the curriculum.

Oh, excellent, I had forgotten about Beethoven's Wig! I'll have to check that out from the Library.

Thanks. I did find two resources online: Learn Your English Monarchs and English Monarchs from 1066 (it rhymes!)

No, what I want to know is if -- as part of the history memory work (not the timeline) -- the kids memorize the kings and queens of England. When we went to an open house a few weeks ago, the kids were memorizing the rules of the main powers during WW1. I'm looking to see if CC hasa catchy tune to help us memorize all the Georges, Henrys, etc. of England. I'm not looking for the history cards. Just want to know if (perhaps) on CC cycle 2 this information is memorized. Then, I'll buy the CD.

Please, if this is breaking copywrite information, let me know and I'll retract my question. We want to use the CC history memory in our TOG studies, and we'd like the kids to learn English kings/queens, especially as they relate to American colonization. I just purchased the (discontinued) year 3 resource CD and that doesn't have the information I'm looking for. Might year 2? I'm willing to purchase the audio CD or resource CD if it is on there. TIA!

We're aiming for 3-point outlines a la TWTM. But, if we fall short, he'll have learned much about main points, sub points, etc. I learned outlining in 7th and 8th grade. I remembering using some in college/ grad school, but it came in handy the most in writing -- especially since I was a history major and wrote a *ton* of papers. And, it was extremely helpful writing my grad. thesis. What's that saying, "Always aim for the moon, even if you miss, you'll land among the stars." Just my .02 FWIW, I thought Susan WB did a great job breaking down the outlining process into manageable steps.

Beautifully said, Daisy.

Manual? The Oxo one has held up for a decade, and my Pampered Chef on is the bomb. I like that it cuts off the lid without a sharp edge.

I love TOG. We started using it when my oldest was in 1st grade....but I had just given birth and couldn't handle the Classic and all the choices (I had a hard time whittling all the good stuff down). So we stopped TOG after the first unit, and I moved on to SOTW and a year of Sonlight for early American history. Once we got to the Civil War, I went back to using TOG for my oldest's 4th grade spring semester. Then we started the rotation again with TOG year 1 last year. It isn't a perfect curriculum, but it is closest to embodying what I want for my children.

Just wanted to agree. This year, my 6th grader is told what books to read and when things are due. He plans it out for himself. I don't really care *how* he plans it, just as long as there is a plan, it gets done, and he understands the material and can talk about it during our history discussions! I look forward to loosening the apron strings gradually each year as he takes more and more responsibility for learning!