I'm in too! We don't have the space to keep lots of unused items and my whole house is desperately needing a deep cleaning! I will look for details soon :)

Yep, things are tight right now! Even though it is hard to admit, we were pretty irresponsible with our spending through 2010. Now we are living paycheck to paycheck and we have an incredibly large amount of CC debt. The worst part is that my husband refuses to understand/accept our current financial mess...it's going to be a long hard road ahead.

I voted other because I feel like as a family you could hold off on the cake and family celebration until both parents are home. Of course the gift giving could come on the actual birthday and the out of town parent would just have to miss out on that fun...

My 7yo is doing well with this program. I like teaching it because it is pretty straight forward and he is retaining the info learned. We enjoy the games, I LOVE all of the flashcards, but the spelling journal is not being used at all. We do not complete all of the extra grammar, etc...for each lesson mostly because it is too hard for my second grader. We use FLL & WWE and I like those better for the grammar right now. Each lesson can take anywhere from one to two weeks to complete. We are just starting Lesson 6. Both of my children are using the cursive handwriting program LOE offers and they love it! I did not spend the extra money for the cursive sand tiles because they were too expensive. I haven't seen the new videos so I am excited to watch those! I also just now ordered the Beta K version for my 6yo because we are struggling with OPGTR :001_smile: Hope you find a program that works for you and your little one!

My kids have to read 15 books together to earn their Book-It certificates. My son is a reluctant second grade reader and my daughter is a K'er just learning. So far so good, and I love listening to them working together :001_smile:

:iagree: That sounds like a good compromise and a very kind gesture for your family to make while your friend is struggling. Hope you and your hubby can work this out!

That was a really great post! Thanks for inspiring me this morning. Glad things are going well at home :001_smile:

:iagree:

We use Bepreve prescription eye drops for my son. He has to take them twice a day throughout the spring when he suffers most. Occasionally, he will have a flare up in the fall and a dose or two will take care of it. Feel better!

If you like craft beer Chicago has many great breweries like my two favorites... Goose Island (the 1800 N Clybourn location) & Revolution Brewing I second the theater and museums and boat tours! Have fun :001_smile:

Yep, all over the Chicago suburbs.

Apologia was a bust for us too simply because it is too dry. We did not even get into the 2nd chapter of Zoology 1...zzzzzz... After searching the science threads here on the Hive I researched my options and decided to take a chance on Noeo. I ordered the entire Biology 1 kit last night and I hope to be able to start it next week. My decision was based on good reviews and the reasonable price. If I had lots of money :001_smile: I May have spent more time researching Supercharged Science (looks haphazard at first glance) and/or the Magic School Bus kits. I discounted Elemental Science because it also seemed too dry with lots of writing/busywork. I believe that Noeo science takes a scientific POV. The authors are Christians, though...it's all on their website. Anyway, I will post our thoughts on the program once we get going. Good Luck!

I voted yes...but I would def *ask* and not *require* :)

Well, I really need something that is fun AND structured. I looked at Supercharged Science but it looks so random and super pricey! I have looked at ES in the past and I don't feel like that program will be a good fit for us either. Lapbooks wouldn't be the answer for us and Apologia...thank you for suggestion though! So, I am going to take the chance and go with Noeo and hope it fills the gap for this year. I will let the Hive know how we're doing in a couple of months :001_smile:

Don't count out Sassafras Science! (It's new.). That looks like a cute series but my kids are BEGGING for a hands on approach with science. I might just buy Sassafras as a read aloud, though, at that great price!!! I am an open and go kind of teacher (since it's my first year and I have lots to figure out) so Noeo just keeps looking better and better to me :) Hmm...

This is our first year homeschooling. I researched the endless options for curriculum from January through July and decided to go with Apologia Zoology 1 for science this year. I haven't been able to liven up the lessons enough for the kids to enjoy it! It is just too dry of a curriculum for us and we have finally stopped torturing ourselves :001_smile: I searched through this forum in hopes of finding a better alternative and I came across something I had never heard of called Noeo Homeschool Science. I am really liking what I see on the website for Noeo Homeschool Science but I would love to hear opinions and thoughts from the Hive! Thanks :bigear:

This is my first year (first few months) of homeschooling so take everything I say with a big grain of salt :001_smile: I have been baffled by any talk of children just doing their school work by themselves! I have a K'er and a 2nd grader. I physically sit at the table with them from 9-2 each weekday and teach them their lessons. I work with my 2nd grader first and we go over one of the day's lessons in math, reading, writing, etc...and then when he is prepared to do his independent work for that subject I move on to his sister. My K'er has a lot to learn and I have been struggling to figure out the best way to teach her. She does handwriting practice on her own and supervised, we read together and practice the basic phonograms. Math lessons are taught and then some work is done independently. FLL, Art, Science & History are done as a family and again I am present teaching for the bulk of the time. They each do independent work (and quite a bit) but I am always working with one of them or checking their completed work and helping them correct any errors. I get 10 minutes here and there to do laundry, load the dish washer or prepare lunch but for the most part I am actively engaging my children throughout the entire school day. I know everyone is different but my children would not learn anything if I just gave them a bunch of books and did not actually teach them anything :glare: Heading out on our first field trip :auto: Have a wonderful Friday!

I always think boy when I hear Jesse! I am a Jessica and ever since I was a little girl I have always hated to be called Jesse because it is a boy's name. I think to spell it with an i at the end would make it more feminine, though. Congrat's on your little man!

We just started homeschooling this year and I decided to try Singapore Math (US edition) for my son who is starting second grade. So, we too, are only about a month into 2A. I realized after the first day that the HIG was pretty useless. We use the textbook as our teaching time and we complete those math problems together on a whiteboard. Then he completes the workbook pages that coincide with the lesson. He does all of the exercises with the exception of the few pages when they wanted him write out each number as a word 20+ times...that was excessive! I also have the extra practice book that I used as a test at the end of the first unit. The extra practice book has some nice detailed teaching points at the beginning of each unit that I plan to use instead of buying the HIG from now on. Good luck!

Just so you know, my 2 children begin laughing hysterically every time we do our FLL lesson for the day :001_huh: We have only gone through 5 lessons but I am not sure if they will ever be able to put the giggles away with this material! Could it be the poorly drawn brown fuzzy caterpillar I have so skillfully made on our Noun poster board? Possibly :001_smile: Or maybe it is the dorky way I am reading the script "Are you a boy or a girl?" Possibly :001_smile: One thing is for sure, though, they both love having fun with this curriculum!

They sent me a new "I" phonogram, the "tch" phonogram, and spelling rule #7. The new I card has 4 sounds The new tch card has a corrected sentence at the bottom that now reads: Three letter /ch/ used after a single vowel that is not long. The new spelling rule #7 card takes into account the change made to the "I" phonogram and has 8 words listed on the back. I think you can contact the company that sells/prints this material (pedialearning) and they will send you replacements... Sorry it took so long to respond :001_smile: we were out of town.

Hi all! I just got our LOE curriculum (1 day after placing the order!) and in the box were 3 loose flash cards. They are updates to the previously released material. There were 2 phonogram cards and 1 spelling rule card and a note in the box saying that anyone with the old cards could contact the company to receive the updated ones...thought I would pass it along :001_smile: Also, after skimming through the material I feel good about the purchase! Happy homeschooling :seeya:

We air dry delicate things in the house but can't line dry outside because of allergies :(

:iagree:

I purchased half of my curriculum supplies through this board. Great prices and everything has been in good to perfect condition! I will always look here first for a few weeks before buying anything brand new. I hardly ever look for used stuff on Amazon and I never use Ebay. Hope your stuff sells :001_smile: