My 11 yo girl is the same way when she goes away for anything. I've threatened never to let her go if she insists on coming home actiing like the Wicked Witch of the West... Maybe it's over stimulation or something, I don't know. Tired? Maybe it's that. She insists that she was ready to come home every time and said she missed us, but....the ugly alien thing still comes out after she gets home. Go figure. Kim

Because all of our money is in my child's mouth. End of Story. We go blind, for now...sigh. Two words: Lousy insurance. Kim

I'm 46. My hubby is 48. We're both holding all of our books, etc at arms length and at an angle, etc to see the type. And I agree with the orig poster---tiny print is ridiculous!!! Especially for Bibles. I *hate* tiny print, LOL. I had to search high and low for a decent, large print Bible that didn't make my eyes cross trying to read it. I know they're out there, but you have to be careful, because Giant print isn't always Giant if you know what I mean. And yes, we both need new glasses and prob bifocals. Kim

Agreed. I know what you mean about the public school friends. I feel for these kids. I explained to my daughter that these kids are under a lot of pressure from their peers (and even the faculty at times! A dance for the 5th graders? Come on!) to behave this way. They get a positive response when they talk to each other about boys so the behavior is reinforced. They feel accepted when they do this. Probably 99% of them don't even know what the responsibility is to love and to have a boyfriend, etc. I said this to my girl, also. I explained to her that at this age, no one is ready to even discuss dating and the rest. Jokingly, I tell her the question you should ask about a boy is, does he have an education, a car, and a job and is he responsible? She just laughs because boys her age don't even shave yet, LOL. If you get a "no" to most of these questions, I say, then he isn't ready to be a potential mate so don't bother, LOL. Just be friends ;). Personally I firmly believe that for each of our kids, God has someone special already picked out. We need to trust God to bring him/her along at the right time...I told this to all of my girls in Sunday School, too. They looked at me weird, but that was how I met my husband, and I believe it for all of God's young people. You can trust God. It really isn't up to us to find our own mates! Eventually the kids listen, but esp for the public school kids and often even churched kids, it is a very foreign concept, unfortunately. We need to teach this more in the church! :) Kim

I just saw the note at the top. You need 50 posts to advertise 4 sale items? SHEEESHHH! That's a lot. It might be a while before I reach 50. Sigh. Later, Kim

I agree. It's a balance, though. They hear it on the streets. With me, it depends on the content of the show. If it is in a show that has some quality teaching we discuss it but watch. If it is just rubbish, we pass on it. :) I'm realistic. I know I can put her in the closet until she's 21. But I can sit and talk and say, 'this is wrong, and here's why..' My husband jokes sometimes, but he's serious really when he points to a guy with all black on, makeup, jewelry, etc and says, "See that?" My daughter smiles and says, "Yeah". Dad says, "Don't bring that home with you..." :) Take care, Kim

Opens up a lot of discussion with your kids. :) Kim

I had written a long response, but the machine logged me out it was soooo long. I'll keep this one brief: This subj is near and dear to my heart. What is the one thing that keeps me motivated to try hard and do the right thing? My child doesn't belong to me, she belongs to God. I'm just the steward. He WILL hold me accountable for what I allow her to do as far as compromising with the world. Therefore, I have a very very hard time with the current dress standards with skin-tight jeans and shirts and cleavage, tween magazines (loathe them; aren't allowed in the house and she knows why--we've gone over one together.), the silly, suggestive and/or unrealistic portrayal of life in general such as HS Musical and other modern Disney stuff ,etc. We started as early as she started noticing this stuff, to talk regularly about these issues, and she agrees with me that we should watch what we wear and read and do. I've explained to her that guys are motivated by what they see, etc. I've told her that God expects holiness, and learning how to kiss a guy (as taught in one tween magazine) is compromise, and she agrees with me. She's 11 going on 20 in her mind. She thinks I'm strict sometimes, but then hugs me and says, "thanks, mom" at other times. I know Parenting is the hardest job in the world, and Christian parenting is even harder. But we've had 3 or 4 teen pregnancies in our CHURCH families over the last 4-5 years, and early divorces by some who jumped into marriage so that the baby can have a name, etc. It is soooo sad. We have got to try harder! Kim NOTE: I know that at about 8ish, girls start exploring their sexuality and it is quite normal for them to talk about guys and differences and their own bodies, etc. It's a good and natural thing--they're growing up. But that is when they need to know *how* to grow up so that they *stay* healthy and on course. :) The world is not a very good teacher, is it?

You can always read to him every night and discuss a little of the story together, for example. Reading *to* the child is very important and we forget that sometimes. They learn a great great deal just listening to us reading! Put a lot of drama into, etc and that'll motivate them to want to do the same some day! Kim

THen hit the grammar exercises. You don't want to turn him off to reading altogether, LOL. Most kids find grammar pretty intimidating. Kim

I have blackmasters/books for the complete volume. I won't tell you want I went through to track them down, though. Shew! Kim

Does that tell you anything? LOL, it is secular and you'll have some discussion times with your kids over some items she says, but over all it's a great and thorough coverage of US History IMHO.

We're trying it this year. I like what I see and I'm going for it... :) LA, Math, possibly SStudies - at least use the God's World as a supplement. It has a great coverage of Church history in it! Kim

A good curriculum is one where the child is learning and is still willing to get up in the morning and hit the books. If it's a fight to get them up in the morning, then there is something wrong with the curriculum, probably. Have a good talk with the kids. If they're done in 15 mins, then it's too easy for them, LOL. You know your child. You know what they can produce. You know when they are't giving you their best. You know when they aren't feeling well, when the weekend has been too busy, etc. Don't worry about it. I keep ref'ing Core Knowledge "what your child should know" series, just to make sure that we're on the right path. I think this series is a very good gauge. Find a gauge out there somewhere that you have confidence in, and use it to judge where your little students are at, AND RELAX. They're probably doing better than you think. If for no other reason, they have a personal tutor and probably cover twice as much as the schools do. Kim

Hi all, I'll be using WS for the first time this year. We're starting at level 4. I considered 3, but she writes pretty well, already. Does it really matter? PS: Gotta come up with new threads, I need 50 posts so that I can sell some history curriculum, LOL. I think the 50 post limit is a bit silly, but rules are rules, I suppose. (The question on WS is legit, don't worry ;) Kim

Start as soon as the student can read well, IMHO. If it is 1st grade, go for it. Kim

Hi, Have you considered journaling this year? Our family will be giving this a go and I'm looking forward to it. What's journaling? You buy small, 6 1/2 x 9 notebooks, pref with pockets in them to keep your reading scheds, print off the 2 year reading plan off the Internet (just do a search), and read read read and discuss as a family. I llike the 2 year plan because it is just enough Scripture that you can spend time meditating on it as you read. You make notes of what the Lord has shown you in the passages and you all get together and learn from each other. We plan to get together on Saturdays. Just a thought. Kim

I wondered if anyone else thought his methods were a bit odd sometimes... :) But I'm an odd one, myself. I remember going up to the school chalkboard to write my problem and solution on the board, along with perhaps 4 other students. We'd all sit down and the other 4 problems looked the same, but mine was totally different. The teacher would look at my solution, then me, then the solution again and say, "Well, you got the right answer, but I've never seen a method like that before, 'guess we'll call it the Reese method..." :) Me and math don't get along very well sometimes, LOL.

Buy used, create your own history and stay away from Cathy Duffy's guide with the latest "Fad" curricula, LOL. Just kidding, I do look at it to see what's out there, but honestly, if you're willing to do the work, it is cheaper to build your own subjects using bits and pieces off eBay and message boards, etc. Sonlight and a lot of other curricula out there are expensive IMHO, and I've tried Spnlight, K12, whatever and my stuff has always been better IMHO! Why? Because I cut out a lot of the unnec fluff & stuff. Hey, we only have so many hours a day for school. I think many of these publishers make school way too complicated and lengthy, IMHO. And I throw in practical courses early, like typing, for ex. I use either the TWTM resource as a guide, or Core Knowledge's "What your ... needs to Know" as a scope and sequence and go for it. The library, ebay, used books off Amazon, etc has everything you need. My daughter has been homeschooled on Mom's stuff for the past 6 years and she's 11, now. She is doing 7-8 grade level work and everyone says she's a wonder. She's bright and we're doing just fine without all of the latest and greatest. Just an ex, I picked up a OLD 6th grade English textbook used for a buck and have been using it for several years to teach her grammar and writing using my own ideas and worksheets. Again, she's testing on the 7-8th grade level (I pull some more complicated stuff off the Internet.) Some other tried and trues that aren't a TOP 100 pick? Natural Speller is great, I'm wearing that one out... My old English textbook discard Old fashioned teaching verbally while they sit there and listen, LOL. The library, library, library. Maybe they all aren't on the latest Fad's book list, but they're good, anyway. Encyclopedias Used anything off eBay and Amazon A word processor and some creativity The Internet, how could I leave that one out...used it to teach sentence diagramming... Free Audio books online. Free (Did I mention that they were free? Books like Beowulf and The Story of the Middle Ages by Harding, etc. Good stuff!) And I save hundreds every year. Kim

Honestly, I love the DVDs, although I don't agree 100% with all of his methods. Frankly I think he can make a simple exercise more complicated than necessary sometimes, and I show my daughter the way I was taught and she often agrees that my way is better. That said, I depend upon the DVDs. I don't think I could teach just from the teacher's manual. I'm a visual kind of person. However, the teacher's manual does have detailed instructions that you could use to teach the material. (I'm the type that looks at the pictures when assembling something and i throw out the directions, LOL. My husband would look at the manual and throw out the pictures. It all depends upon your learning style IMHO.)

Hi, Join netflix for the minimal amt (4.99!) and you can view the Shakespeare plays by the BBC online, up to 5 hrs a month. I do this, it's great!!!! My Daughter and I studied Ancient Rome this year and we watched Julius Caesar. It was very good. Kim

Hi, I'm new and have been using WTM's guide for years for history with my daughter. Just so happens we finished up Ancient History last year using the Strauss-Art books and a Kingfisher Atlas as our spines. I was getting reading to place it all on eBay, but thought I'd check here to see if anyone was interested. I have the following for sale: Strauss-Art Story of Ancient Egypt, Rome, Greece and China I also have the Kingfisher Atlas of the Ancient World, Tools of Ancient Greece (with a fabulous recipe for Baklava), Tools of Ancient Rome (both of these have add'l info and activities...) Landmark's Alexander the Great, Black Ships before Troy, Chi Lin Purse (Chinese tales), INtro to History magazine with a unit study on Gilgamesh (Just use a library book), The Story of the Old World - CSI history textbook, I used it for our study on Mesopotamia along with the Bible Near East coloring book I would rather sell as a package but will sell separately if you want. THis made a very good AH study, I just threw in a trip to Tut's exhibit, some DVDs on AH, and inexpensive art pads to create lapbooks, and I we were all set for a great year! email me if you're interested: titianmom@yahoo.com or wibbing@comcast.net Thanks! Kim