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Peplophoros

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Everything posted by Peplophoros

  1. Hearing some lukewarm reviews of Joy Hakim's History of US. Alternatives?
  2. We LOVE Devotional Stories, but I"m not sure they'd work for a non-Catholic. Many of them reference Mass, Adoration, etc.
  3. What kateingr said. We switched from Singapore to MM when I needed something less teacher-intensive (new baby) and I really hated all the different books of Singapore (textbook, workbook, HIG, and CWPs....eeek!), but I really missed the amazing instruction of Singapore, so we went back after a year. I wish we hadn't switched, but on the other hand I'm using the MM blue series (multiplication and division) for summer review now, so I guess I am glad I got to know MM, and will continue to use it if my kids should need extra review. In the end, I felt the concepts and strategies were better retained through Singapore.
  4. Lanny, you sound unhinged. Have you ever even been to Greece? It's not like she's going to Iran. There may be demonstrations, which are easily avoidable, not public executions.
  5. Let her go! I have many friends who are there now--as tourists, scholars, and those visiting family. They are fine and having the time of their lives. Sheesh.
  6. One of the characters is "rachel" and the title has "vs. reality" or something in it? Why can't I find it? Want to know what my 8 year old daughter is watching at a neighbor's house.. TIA!
  7. Sorry if this is hijacking the thread, but Mystie, I'm curious as to how you choose hymns to sing. Do you have a dvd/mp3 player to help you out? (I admit I'm only halfway through your posts so I apologize if you've answered this on your blog).
  8. I was overwhelmed with piecing together all the memory work I wanted (Mystie, you are amazing!!), but was so happy to find Living Memory: A Classical Memory Work Companion, which did most of the work for me (with the exception of catechism). It is truly amazing! There is memory work in there I never would have thought of!
  9. I didn't assume, I asked, and out of genuine curiosity about your experience. Thank you for sharing. It may inform my future decisions about outside friends.
  10. Are you an only child? I have 5, and I feel like we're enough to keep each other satisfied most of the time. I do worry about the loneliness factor for my daughter, however, who is the only girl (one of the neighbors is a girl about her ago). But we also do YMCA sports, co-op, and get together with friends quite a bit.
  11. I feel your pain! Two neighborhood kids have discovered my oldest and are here every chance they get. Weekends, after school, you name it. I do send them home lots, but I hate having to explain why my kids can't spend hours at the neighbor's house every weekend--it's family time, people! Even the mom FB messages me to send my kids over, which is really bizarre. Feeling territorial...
  12. The forums are so much better.
  13. Never mind...didn't mean to sound mean, just thought I'd comment on how much better the forums are.
  14. Thanks for this, and for not jumping to conclusions. I think you hit the nail on the head. For the advice to prepare my kids for PS, what can I say, Quill, you sound like real a gem.
  15. I kind of expected this later in her life, but she's SEVEN I won't get into all the details, but dd is just sloppy. Her hair is always a tangled mess, she wears dirty clothes if I let her, and her room is, well, disgusting. Garbage from snacks (which she knows she's not allowed to eat---they are for days when we have co-op, etc. but she steals them anyway), and junk. Just junk everywhere. Months and months of showing her how to tidy up, getting rid of unnecessary stuff, and begging and pleading (and dishing out punishment when necessary) has yielded no result whatsoever. Today I took every shred of matter from her room (which I have told her I would do if she didn't even make the least attempt to pick up--she has ample time for this every single morning, and it's a clearly-stated and expected part of her morning). She was wailing in the next room when this all went down, then marched in to where I was bagging up her stuff and screamed that she hated me and wished I never had been born. I was calm, and later she seemed contrite (we talked about how being angry is ok, but that those kind of hurtful things can have long-lasting effects on people). I kept my composure around her, but when I went to bed I was a mess. :( She's usually such a loving, affectionate little girl. Am I expecting too much? I'm generally not an affectionate person, and now I feel like homeschooling is stifling their emotional growth (I know, overreacting, right?). Am I raising them to hate me? We generally have a good relationship (other than when it comes to her appearance and her room), but lately I feel like I'm just an ogre around them....5 kids and cranky baby....it's hard to be loving during the day, and I feel like I don't have any more of me to give. I guess I'm just worried that I'm not loving/patient enough to homeschool everyone through this stage of life when everything's noisy and messy and stressful. I realize there are lots of feelings/behaviors that you all aren't privy to, but I would appreciate it if you would tell me I'm not the only one who has a super-emotional little girl who can say hurtful things.
  16. Yes, this is what I'm thinking. Definitely not a Fire--I have one of those and all I do with it is check Facebook :) Thanks! I think we will get a paperwhite for those times we'd like to borrow from the library, and continue to invest in cheap, used paperbacks for the classics.
  17. I can't keep up with my ds's voracious reading habits (can't get to the library more than once every 2 weeks or so, and tired of overdue fines). I really want a large selection of middle-school level readers, but am wondering if it's cheaper/quicker to just get a kindle (paperwhite) instead of paperbacks? I do prefer print, and I do have the room for a sizable addition to our library, but the convenience of ebooks is enticing. Those of you who have converted to ebooks: are you happy with the switch?
  18. One thing that has made my co-op a great success (and folks have left others in the area to come to ours because of it), is our LACK of teaching requirement. You're going to get poor classes and stressed out moms (especially those who have babies and toddlers) if you make them teach. Our solution? Parents whoteach one class get their first child's co-op fees waived. Those who teach two classes (in a single 6-week session) get ALL their kids' fees waived. This makes people happy and willing to teach for you. Those who can't or don't want to are more than happy to pay full-price fees to make up the difference. It works brilliantly, and we have NEVER had a lack of teachers!
  19. Ooh, please give GSWL another try...it's amazing. The grammar introduction is gradual but thorough, and the sentences do a great job reviewing and introducing new grammar/vocab. It's a winner.
  20. I also switched to Math Mammoth for the same reason....and regretted it a year later. Why? I should have been careful what I wished for: because I was less involved in their math learning, they were skating by without really understanding concepts the way they did with SM, and I had less of a handle on what they did or did not understand. Believe me, I opt for less teacher intensive curricula all the time, but SM is one I didn't want to do without. Why does it work now? I just had my 5th baby, so I have even less time than before, but I make teaching math and wring our two top priorities of the day, no matter what.
  21. One thing I've started doing is downloading all the Jim Weiss CDs I can find at the library and have HIM do my "read aloud"...that way I can cook or clean up while we are all listening to the "read aloud" and maximize my time.
  22. Yes, it does :) And most of us have been there (multiple times)... so good luck!
  23. Thanks everone for the posts! Here's my updated Morning Basket/Morning Time books (obviously we don't do it all every day) Bible Devotional Stories for Little Folks/Baltimore Catechism Morning Exercises for All the Year (what a find!!!! short, daily readings with morals? Yes, please!) D'Aulaire Greek Mythology Living Memory (just ordered this last night--haven't been doing any memory work at all, time to start!) Atlas (we're constantly looking up places we read about) Young People's History of Art Real Science 4 Kids Astronomy Couple volumes from My Book House series (LOVE these!!) plus tons and tons and TONS of Jim Weiss stories on my ipod speakers. I love it!! It makes our morning so wonderful, my kids less cranky, and me more relaxed. I won't ever go back to checking off the subjects again! To keep little hands busy while listening I have puzzles lots of Usborne coloring/activity books with markers legos (theoretically, but my kids have been fighting over them, so not so much anymore) wikki stix lacing cards random busy bags chess set
  24. Thanks everone for the posts! Here's my updated Morning Basket contents (obviously we don't do it all every day) Bible Devotional Stories for Little Folks/Baltimore Catechism Morning Exercises for All the Year (what a find!!!! short, daily readings with morals? Yes, please!) D'Aulaire Greek Mythology Living Memory (just ordered this last night--haven't been doing any memory work at all, time to start!) Atlas (we're constantly looking up places we read about) Young People's History of Art Real Science 4 Kids Astronomy Couple volumes from My Book House series (LOVE these!!) plus tons and tons and TONS of Jim Weiss stories on my ipod speakers. I love it!! It makes our morning so wonderful, my kids less cranky, and me more relaxed. I won't ever go back to checking off the subjects again!
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