Yes, as a non-sciency person, I find that the language used and style of writting easy to follow. The reading sections are short with pictures and there are some questions at the end. Having the Teacher's Helper book is also very helpful. It gives you a heads up on the what is covered in each reading section like concept, purpose, building blocks and it gives you the answers to the questions as well. I also covers the lab portion with discussion points and answers. We have tried many different science curriculum over the years and it seems like we always peeter out very quickly and quit doing science altogether. With my kids getting closer to high school age, I am trying to be more diligent at doing the science and getting them ready for those high school levels. I think that RS is a great fit for us as an introduction to the upper sciences. Getting us in the habit of doing the labs and it has been fun in the process. We did Sonlight's science 4 a couple of years ago, but we got so bored with it. We were doing magnatism for so many weeks that the kids were begging me to not to it. With the RS, it moves along at a better pace, not spending too much time on each area. But at the same time not moving too fast and making each section feel disconnected to the previous. They seem to flow together, building on each other.

That's so familiar. I like the identy protection.

We are secular hs'ers and are using RS. I have not found it to be too difficult to secularize the lessons thus far. We are still in the physic portion. I looked in the index and 'religion' is mentioned in four places, once in chemistry and 3 times in biology. I skimmed those references and from what I can tell, the mention of religion, a Creator, G-d, is used as giving different points of view. Just as he also discusses the theory of evolutions point of view. I don't read into that the author is trying to push his own belief on the reader. I did find a reference to scripture, but that can be easily skipped. We have been pleased with the program so far. I love the way it is set up and the inclusion of all of the lab kits makes it so easy to actually do the labs. The kids are enjoying it as well, which is really the most important part.

Well, there you have. Need we say any more? :D

As a 23 year transplant to Texas, I will chime in and say that I wouldn't want to live anywhere else but Texas. I am from Oklahoma and I don't like cold wintery weather. You learn to deal with the heat, learn to go shopping and doing your running around before noon. You can find very reasonable rental rates on 4/2 homes, you don't pay sales tax on food, variety of food and cultures, long on warm weather and short on cold weather. Texas does have high property taxes, but if you are renting, that won't be an issue yet. But we don't have an income tax. So, Yes. I must say that Texas is great.:D For rental rates around Houston, check out www.har.com aka Houston Area Realtors. You can find great 4/2 homes to rent in the $1200.00 and up range. Best areas to look in Houston are the West, Northwest and North. Lots of great suburbs with easy access to Downtown Houston.

Ok, confession time, I too am an Okie;)....but I have lived in Texas longer than I lived in Oklahoma. I married into the state. And I have had a lot of practice cooking Tex-Mex.:D

I got to watch the first 25 minutes before I had to leave the house. It was a very strong speech. He didn't pull any punches regarding the holocaust.

Be sure to hold your mouth just right....

Ok Texas Ladies, I want to know how come this young lady is needing help with her fajitas 3 hours ago and not one Texan has chimed in with a recipe?:D I just got a great cookbook that has the fajita recipe for Ninfa's. Now for y'all not familiar with Mama Ninfa, she opened a small restaurant in a Houston eastside Barrio back in 1973. She had some of the best texmex around. Sadly, I don't think there are any of her restaurants open anymore. But here is how Mama Ninfa made Fajitas: 2 skirt steaks, 1 to 1/2 pounds each Marinade: 1 large orange 2 lemons 1/4 cup pineapple juice 1/4 cup white wine 1/4 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup water 3 dried chiles de Arbol 1 T coarse black pepper 1 garlic clove minced For the marinade, grate 1 T of peel from the orange and 2 t peel from the lemons. Squeeze the orange and get approximately 1/4 cup juice, and squeeze both lemons to get a simular amount of juice. Put the citrus zest and fresh squeezed juice into a small bowl. Add the pineapple juice, wine, soy sauce and garlic, stirring to combine the ingredients. Pour the marinade over the skirt steaks. Let the meat marinade for atleast one hour but not longer than 2 hours. Drain the skirt steaks. Cook them about 3 inches above the coals or 4 inches below the broiler flame for about 5 to 6 minutes on each side, or until they are done to your taste. Remove the meat from the heat and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Slice the meat across the grain and diagonally into finger-length strips. Serve with flour tortillas, Pico de Gallo, guacamole and grilled peppers and onions. And whatever else you like. This recipe is in the cookbook: Texas Home Cooking by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison.

This is what I have. It is a Pathways for Learning Product. I got it at Wal-Mart a year or two ago.

My DH is your nightmare. He loves to go visit unannounced. Mostly it is to his brothers house, but it drives my crazy. I hate to go to someones house without calling first. I have refused to leave the house until he calls and confirms that it is ok to visit and that they will be home. Nothing like driving out to visit and no one is home. It is one of my pet peeves, I hate intruding on someone like that. But on the receiving end, I don't mind drop ins. I really wish that I had some IRL friends that lived nearby that would drop in for a visit. I am usually home and pretty flexible with my time.

Isn't that about right.:D

Pride and Prejudice The Wedding Planner

Ok, I just listened to the IEW DVD seminar. The following is a little long, it is almost a transcript but not completely verbatim, of what was said about spelling. "Spelling is the correct retrieval of sequentially stored, virtually random bits of information. The key word is sequential. Spelling is a sequential activity. If you don't get the letters in the right order, you get it wrong. You often see children writing words like: 'baer'. All the infomation if there, but in the wrong sequence. Textbooks put strong emphasis on visual information. They want to teach spelling visually. Unfortunately, visual information is not sequential in nature. If I write a word and ask you to look at this word: 'special', you are forced by nature to see all these letters simultaniously. There is no sequential storage. There is spatial storage, but not a sequential one. Consequently, if all of those letters are going into your brain at the same time through your eyes and you have even a mild dyslexia or other, it may not be going in the correct spatial relationship. And it doesn't come out in spatial relationship. When you write a word, you write it one letter at a time. It comes out sequential. However, if I say a word, and spell it out loud - e-f-f-e-c-t-i-v-e, I am forced and you are forced by nature to hear those letters one at a time in sequence, because I can't say them all at once. See the difference? This is why, I believe, for many children not having success in spelling now, there needs to be an emphasis on auditory input which is sequential and less emphasis on visual input. This is the more traditional way to do spelling. Think about spelling bees, there is no paper involved. And you practice for them using auditorial and verbal information. It is sequential and stores the information in the right pattern..." The speaker goes on to mention that IEW has a spelling program that is auditory and not visual. Hope this is clear and helpful.

Well you have me beat. I met my dh at a gas station in May 1985, we exchanged phone numbers. We were engaged one month later and married in August 1985. So I only knew him for a month before we got engaged. We have been married for 24 years now. Needless to say, the look on my parents faces in my wedding pictures are priceless...and scary. They did give us their blessing after we were married for a year and no babies showed up.;)

I have been using the IEW TWSS with my kids this year. I was watching one of the seminar dvd and the instructor made a statement that really caught my attention regarding spelling. I will try to remember and restate what he said in an understandable way. I will listen to it again tomorrow to verify what I am saying here. The general idea was this: When we 'look' at a word, written down on paper or on a board, our brain takes the whole word in at one time. Like taking a picture. The word goes into the brain without order and it is processed. Our brain does not take the word in one letter at a time in order to process it. But when the word is given orally and we write the word down (even if you spell the word out for the student verbally) or if we are asked to spell out the word verbally, our brain is forced to process the word one letter at a time and in order. Does that make any sense? I am sure there is more to this, but this basic statement was like a lightbulb going off for me and the way I was expecting the kids to learn to spell. I will listen to the seminar again and fill in anything that I missed.

I love that movie and the music is great too. I have one Kosher cookbook called: Kosher by Design, short on time by Susie Fishbein. She has a whole series of these books. They are extremely easy to fix and delicious. They are all the traditional recipes, but there are some in there. You can also check out http://www.jewishrecipes.org/recipes/index.html for traditional recipes.

Wow. I am so sorry. I know he must feel real bad. But he is trying to be a good and helpful hubby. Hope you get some good rest and will be able to enjoy your weekend.

check out the Grocery Game. I have been doing it for the last four months and have cut my grocery bill to half. And I have a well stocked pantry.

I have a suggestion to help with the grocery part. Have you tried the Grocery Game? I have been doing it for the last four months and it has cut our grocery bill in half and I have a stockpile of groceries in the house. They have a free four week trial period. Just go to thegrocerygame.com to check it out. It is worth the time and effort.

My kids don't play WOW, but they do have others that they play. They both claim that they have learned their spelling and history from playing said games.:confused: So much for doing those subjects.:D

My nephew's first year was an eye opener, He learned the hard way to know what a sock on the door knob meant...;)

I use both PBS and Bookmooch. I usually get more books from PBS, but I have gotten some incredible books off of Bookmooch. I got Kingfisher's Geography Encyclopedia from there. I think it goes in spurts for me. When I am posting more books to my lists, I will check on PBS to see if it is on anyones wishlist first and then do the same for Bookmooch. If you do list a book on both sites and get a request for it, be sure to remove it from the other list. I have had the same book get requested on both lists within hours of each other. I go with the first request, but I still hate to tell the other person that the book is gone. As for people requesting from other countries; if you don't want to mail outside of the US, you can state that on your profile. I like Bookmooch well enough. I like the fact that you get your points right away when someone requests your book, instead of waiting until it is received. And you get 1/10 point for each book you list.

Ok, is this anyway near Houston, because this is the HS group I really need to be part of.:D I would even help with the clean up.

I will give it a go: First trip across: farmer carries chicken to other side, Goes back and gets feed to take across, drops off feed and picks up chicken and takes back to other side, drops off chicken and takes fox to other side with the feed. goes back and get the chicken, all are on the same side again. Get it?