woops

I think I'm going to try this for my soon to be 4th grader. Thank you. Alison in KY

Megan, thank you so much for the examples, that was wonderful. Okay, I've been pouring over EG and GWG and I'm still a bit not sure which one, but I guess with so many plugs for both programs, maybe neither is the WRONG choice. After looking over a friends EG book today I started thinking...and excuse this ignorant question, but WHY :glare:do we have to learn grammar? Is it really just to help us write better? I cringe even thinking of all the terms for the words...participle, objects, etc....it's mind boggling to me. Alison in KY

Thank you all, I so appreciate your comments. Alison in KY

I guess when you/anyone says writing, I'm wondering if you mean physical writing, or writing a few sentences on something he's read for example. What he does is: -read and answers a page in a general science workbook -do a page or less of HWT cursive daily -do AAS, so he will typically write out words, or phrases and sentences from dictation -sometimes answer questions from a 3rd grade Abeka history :001_smile: -do one page of GWG grade 2 daily -do two pages of WWE level 1, so he's copying either the short sentence in cursive or the longer one in manuscript (his choice) then answer questions from me and sometimes doing the copying of his own narration sentence from that -write out his math answers from MUS We do HOD for our history and a few other things, so that is mostly covered orally. Alison in KY

Fat chance of that happening Colleen, but thank you for the idea :D. I'll admit to all of you that Oh Elizabeth has me stressing a bit. I too thought that once I started WWE, even though I'm going quickly through level 1, that I didn't really have to worry about the other part. Isn't that what you are doing Colleen? Any idea when WWE 3 and 4, and the next book will be finished?

But do you think that GWG explains the what and why easy enough for myself and my children to get it? From the brief online samples it looked to me like EG went into more detail in explaining what you were supposed to do. I have enjoyed our GWG grade 1/2, but I really want to understand what is going on with grammar and be able to tell my son why we are doing things...hopefully my retention will improve also :glare: Alison in KY

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I have the impression that IEW isn't really an open and go program. It seems like I saw a bunch of tapes years ago that someone had and I thought that was IEW. That would be my biggest problem with it, but I might be confusing it with something else. I am not a natural writer, and with teaching my younger two to read, I'd really love something simple and open and go...but I was thinking WT 1 looked good up until the writing assignment. I love what SWB says, but my husband was one of those younger graduates who enjoyed PS and did well in it. He seems to think that our sonisn't challenged enough. My son is very bright, but I don't think him being an intelligent kid necessarily means he'll be good at spelling or grammar...my husband thinks the opposite. Anyone else? Alison in KY

Which of these do you think is clearer on explaining grammar? I've used GWG Gr. 1/2 and I liked it. I'm going to buy a 4th grade grammar for my son for this year. The small sample of GWG didn't look like it had as much explanation as the EG sample...I need to re-learn along with him and I hated grammar in school...all those terms that I just didn't get. Yeah, I made good grades, but it was all for the tests :tongue_smilie: Alison in KY

I've heard SWB's writing cd and skimmed through WWE. We are currently working through double time on WWE level 1. My son is real writing phobic,he'll soon be turning 10. I like the look of WT1 but on the sample, for the last day it asks you to write the story in your own words...that's where my son would freak out and have a melt down. However, I feel like I need to show progress in this area because DH isn't totally behind this homeschooling thing. He's seen another child's writing from PS and he's talking about how far behind my DS is. It's a battle at our house,I think I'm doing things as my son is ready for it but since everything isn't grade 3 or 4 standard "schoolish" stuff then husband thinks we're not making progress. Help! Another thing I like about WT is that it includes some grammar and punctuation....things we need more of. Anyone? Alison in KY

I guess I considered grammar one of those basic necessities. I didn't realize CW had grammar in it. I thought all writing programs were just that and a seperate grammar program was necessary. What level and age for CW? Any plugs for Winston Grammar?

I would love to get some feedback on how well (or not) grammar is going with your younger students, and what programs you think might work for me. I have tended to hold off on things like grammar and spelling with my kids (oldest is soon to be 10) until we were more solid in reading and get better at physical handwriting (whining about hands hurting stops). So for my soon to be 10 year old it's time to beef things up a bit. He is almost finished with the first GWG level 1/2 book. I really like GWG, however, to be honest my son doesn't really know anything about grammar. However, I don't think he'd really know anything about grammar from any program. He's just doing it to get the work done for the day, which is exactly how I remember grammar when I was in public school. He also says he hates grammar and I get that, it's not my cup of tea either. Is this pretty normal for kids this age? Should I give something else a try even though I can't see him ever getting excited about grammar? Is it just one of those things that when they do nouns, verbs, etc often enough it will start to sink in? TIA, Alison in KY

I have a book called Grains of Truth by Donna G. Spann. It discusses all grains, it's health benefits, amount of iron, vitamins, etc in each. http://www.breadbeckers.com has articles on the site concerning health benefits of fresh milling wheat. Basically the idea is that you get alot of health benefits from fresh milling wheat or other grains...those benefits (vitamins) will oxidize out of the milled wheat, so that after about 72 hours you are basically getting "dead" wheat, which is what everyone gets when they get store bought bread or flour. So if you were to go buy a bag of whole wheat flour to cook with, you'd get great fiber choices, but you wouldn't get near the nutritional benefit of milling some grain then baking it into bread. There is also a bit of controversy on what is better, to "sprout" the grains or to just mill them. I just mill them and make my bread. Kamut and spelt have a lower gluten content than wheat, which means they won't rise as well as a wheat bread. They each have different properties, but they are all still grains. Kamut, like someone mentioned, is really light and sweet. Spelt is a bit stronger and seems to be a bit more difficult to work with in baking. In the book by Donna Spann, she mentions that you can still develop a food allergy to anything. She suggests rotating your grain use. I know another mom who cooks with 3rds, 1/3 hard white, 1/3 hard red, and 1/3 kamut. I try to mix it up a bit, but I'm not sure what is the best way. Alison in KY

That ain't even right!! Wow, I just don't get it, how could anyone rule like this. For instance in my case, I quit my well paying job to stay home with the kids, with husbands blessings of course. So in my case I don't even have enough credits to receive social security benefits because I haven't worked long enough, but I have stayed home, tended, and schooled my children for 10 years now (four years of homeschooling). So it's typical of judges to not consider what you've done and to just say your own your own ? That's just way disappointing. I've often stopped and wondered how I would handle things should me and mine get a divorce, and I assumed I would be okay since my quitting work was a mutual decision...I thought I'd be adequately taken care of so I could keep going on with life as usual, with less money of course. That's not the norm then? Thanks, Alison in KY

Okay, I'm tired and sick, so I'm not quite all together at the moment. I might have missed something big, but the conversation on this divorce is really surprising me on this case. Why should a homeschooling mom not be able to continue homeschooling using the husbands money? If he makes enough money of course. If the homeschooling and stay at home status was good enough for their last four years of marriage, then why shoulden't it continue. I could have read it wrong, but I thought some of you were saying that it would only be fair for her to go back to work. Maybe I misunderstood. Alison in KY

Just curious, what exactly is so bad about HFCS? I do avoid this, just on comments from people like Dr. OZ, but then my husband looked around at a few websites and he thinks it's a bunch of hooey over nothing. I'm not really convinced, but I did once find a blog from a scientist and he described the diff sugars and how they were all really alike. So I'd love to hear your views. Alison in KY who hopes no one minds adding on a question to this thread

Try http://www.breadbeckers.com. You can look on their forum there. I use their basic recipe..I'm going to go by memory here. 1.5 cups warm water 1/3 cup honey 1/3 cup olive oil 1 egg (optional) 2 tsp salt 2 TBS lecithin 1 tsp gluten (optional) 1 TBS yeast 1/2 cup or less (I use 1/4 cup) ground flax seed 4-5 cups fresh milled wheat (I usually use 4.5) Bake at 350 for approx 24-30 minutes That's pretty much the order I use. I also am using a Kitchen Aid mixer with a dough hook. I usually knead the dough with the dough hook for 5-8 minutes...I check the dough and do the window pane test. I'm no expert at all, but most of the time the loaves turn out well...some better than others because I'm not very consistent. If you use spelt it will be way more crumbly than hard wheat. Alison in KY

Tracey, thanks for the PM about the chickens. I think I want to follow in your footsteps :) How do you know what to put in the raised bed vs a cold frame? Is there a key to what can go where on the seed packets? In w KY it can be pretty mild, but last night was in the 20's...of course a few days ago it was in the 60's and 70's...so you never know around here. Thanks, Alison in KY

I started my reluctant writing 9 yr old off with WWE 2, then I switched to WWE 1...because in 2 he was supposed to take all of that information and sum it up into a sentence or two, and it simply overwhelmed him. I switched to WWE 1 where he has his copywork (you can choose from a long sentence or a short one, or you can have them do both of course), then he answers questions from a passage I've read aloud, then we'll write down one thing he remembers about the RA passage. Honestly, she sounds alot like my son. I'd look at WWE 1, which I personally do two pages a day, or you could keep up with your copywork and do a home job of what WWE does, by reading aloud, asking them to answer questions about what you read, then asking them to tell one thing, or summarize, etc, what you just read. If you are looking for ease of use, WWE is it. I like the looks of Writing Tales 1, but for my child, we're just not ready for it. I'll go through WWE 1 quickly, then WWE 2 either quickly or slower, whatever he needs, then we'll see about WWE 3 or Writing Tales 1. Alison in KY

Terri, where are you? Alison in KY

Okay, I debated on typing this, especially since I pop in here occasionally and I don't "really" know everyone here. But I'd consider doing it. I have my answering machine take all the calls during the school day. And yes, some things inconvenience us, but then again where's that love thy neighbor part of things come into play. So, if this person doesn't routinely "use" you and you won't get caught up in them overusing you, then I'd say maybe next time, for the next person, you should do it. Even with my homeschooling, an unexpected hospital stay last year had me disrupting a couple homeschool family friends lives to watch my kids for a couple days. It wasn't the way I wanted it, and I'm sure I messed up their day somewhat, but at the same time, I would have done the same thing when they had a need. All that being said, I don't know if this was quite the situation here and I'm not trying to add to your guilt. If it was a rough day and this would have put you over the edge then it wouldn't have been a good place for the child anyway, but if it was just going to inconvenience you and interrupt your flow of life, then I'd say reconsider with the next phone call. Please don't hate me :) Alison in KY

Terri, are you out there :D? Do you have curriculum swimming in your head, or clarity. Alison in KY

Hi Terri Back to your question about Beyond, it is from 1565 to somewhere in the 1800's...and it is American history. But it's low key. If you are sick of American history then you shouldn't do it. I agree with another person though, you shouldn't worry about doing the youngest kids in school,just maybe have coloring books and blocks during school time. One way you could use their program (was it Little Hands?) is to do something like that on weekends or during summer breaks if you take one (but I would personally never get it done). If you think you could live with American history again, then take a look at it. Look at the recommended books. I personally think HOD requires less reading than any other program out there, but I haven't tried all of the suggestions. I personally didn't start off well with sonlight because some of their stories were alot more intense then what I want to expose my kids to. Who knows though, I might discover the same about HOD down the road. I think WP is alot like sonlight, but maybe more hands on opportunities. I've looked at the program and wanted it, but I thought it was too intensive for me at this time, plus it costs alot. One think I never thought would happen to me occured this year when I purchased an Abeka history text for my oldest. He actually really likes it and he had never had anything like it. I decided my history and science had been so hit and miss for so long that I'd better get my oldest going consistently on something. I also picked up some science workbook. Anyway, you could consider something like that for your oldest...for now (yeah, I can't even believe I'm saying it). The Abeka I picked out came really recommended on the homeschool reviews website. I wouldn't do just any of them. Then I found HOD, but because I chose a younger geared program I'm keeping up with the science and history workbooks...on some days because he's learning from Beyond. Again, my personal reason for going with HOD was to be able to get science and history done in a low key way, the integration of subjects and poetry/Bible were also perks. Plus I liked it's book packages and prices. You could always try Preparing while the younger crowd just listens in on the stories, or you could even have your oldest do the read aloud herself while you just did the history reading. If you could give more info...like are you a crafty mom who loves projects, or are you barely scraping by now,etc. I see some mom's descriptions and I don't know how they pull it off...but it might be that they are just naturally organized, that they don't have physical issues, etc. I personally am not as healthy weight wise as I should, my heal spurs give me grief alot, I have muscle pain occasionally (fibromyalgia) and I try to cook more whole foods and make my own wheat bread (and I'm not a natural organizer, but I'm getting better). And that's not even considering how your kids are wired, I've seen some pretty independent 7 yr olds but mine certainly isn't, and she can't read up to snuff yet either...which takes sit down time for mom. We all have our limitations, and when I look at all that you have going on I'm thinking you need to keep it simple...but I'm not you and you might be one of those high energy people who could pull alot off. Sorry I took so long posting. Honestly, I lost two posts because the board was so busy that once I typed it, all was lost. Look forward to hearing how you are doing. Alison in KY