My husband recently accepted a job transfer to the St Louis area. We will move mid November. Anyone here from Missouri? If so, could you tell me about any regulations that you know about? What about homeschool co-ops in the St Louis area? This is our first year homeschooling and it has been going well. I am a bit hesitant to move states during our "school year". Thanks!

New homeschooler here.....curious what you like on Brainpop?? We recently tried it out and watched 1 or 2 videos, but couldn't find many topics. The videos were also weird with Beeps that interupted the talking.

My DS is in 2nd grade. On the recommendation of this board, we tried R & S spelling 2. It has been WAY too easy, I even went to the end of the book and my son knew 99% of the words easily already. I cannot decide if I should try R & S level 3 or change to a different curriculum. I really like the low cost of R & S.

Thanks, anyone else have a science curriculum that might meet our needs? I tried to explain to DH that 2nd grade science should mainly be about getting a child interested in science and experiments, rather than doing any crazy in-depth experiments. He's not convinced yet though :):tongue_smilie:

First year to homeschool, I have a 2nd grader who is very advanced. He LOVES science and math. After reading lots of reviews and talking with people that homeschool, I chose to do Exploring Creation with Zoology I from Apologia. My child is VERY excited about the topic and has enjoyed it so far. However, we had our first lesson "real" experiment. My DH who is in a science field helped with the experiment. My DH was very unimpressed with what he called the "scientific quality" of the experiment and how he's worried about the rest of the experiments too after flipping through it. He thinks I should look at other science materials. Here's what we would need - Christian viewpoint, affordable (I got the Apologia NB and Text on sale for a total cost of $40), uses regular household materials, and very Scientifically sound/advanced. My child also enjoys reading and being read to, so a text like Apologia is a good fit. Lastly, I personally do like Apologia so far (but we did just finish Lesson 1), if you've used it and thought it was ok then how can I convince my DH????

Do I need to purchase the answer key or the Teacher Edition for the Abeka Health, Safety & Manners student book? Or can I just use the student book on its own????

Hi, I recently purchased the We Choose Virtues cards to use during our morning board time. I was thinking it would be great if there were printables to go along with each card. For example, a coloring page, activity sheet, etc. Does anything like that exist? I would prefer FREE! I know many moms design their own printables and share on their blogs, I am curious if anyone has done it for these cards yet. Thanks!!

We're homeschooling for the first time. I want to purchase a quality 3 hole punch. The one we currently has only does 3 pages at once and gets jammed all the time. It is also OLD....my in-laws had it for years before they passed it along to my DH many years ago. Anyways, which one do you use? Do you like it??

Do you have a Kindle or Ipad? I have a missionary friend in Bolivia. They also homeschool and use their Ipad for books. They can load many books on it and not have to ship so many paperback options. I would say with MFW to go through the book lists in the back of the TM. Then, make sure you have access to any that have an asteric. Then, maybe pick through about 1/3 to 1/2 the others, based upon how often your kids like to read.

I just got their catalogue for the first time. I was expecting something nice, shiny & with pictures. I am a pictures type of girl! Their catalogue setup made me not want to purchase anything!! What are your favorites to get from RR??

I will be homeschooling for the first time this fall. I have a very bright 2nd grader who can read easily at a 7-8th grade level. He also reads very quickly while remembering almost all of what he reads. He also teaches himself new vocabulary words from what he reads - he knows the definitions to lots of "big" words (due to context clues) but doesn't know how to properly pronounce the words! I wanted to start a reading or literature analysis with him, however I don't know where to begin. Does anyone have a workbook, website, printable, etc that we could use for books? I tried to search Pinterest and this forum but didn't find anything. I want to do books at a 2-3rd grade level (like Charlotte's Web) but be able to discuss and write more in depth about them. Writing is probably my child's weakest spot.

We adopted our boy when he was 3 years old. He adapted very well, like was a perfect child when we got him....until about 2 months later, then he really started testing us. Our agency said that is normal. Usually, the child will test and have problems from the first. Other kids, though, have a "honeymoon period" where they are wonderful until they become comfortable.

Where is the best place to purchase the supplies for experiments? I've seen them at Rainbow Resource and Christian Book. I think another website or two has them too. Which is best & why???

Trying to find some new apps for my iphone that are fun & educational for my kids, ranging from age 4 to age 7 (but the 7 year old can problem solve & read at a high level). Let me know your favorites! My 7 year old just finished playing the free version of the Stack the States. He LOVED that.

My kids are too young yet for us to make a decision about middle school yet. However, I've heard SO MANY stories of great kids (smart, Christian, etc) going to Middle School and either being bullied or faced with so much temptation that the kid ends up having problems or gets involved with the wrong crowd. Here, we are in an affluent suburb. The schools are VERY highly rated. However, I've already heard horrible stories about middle school sex parties, drug usage, racism, discussions about porn, etc. among the children there. As a Christian parent, I will have to evaluate if my child will be ready to face this when at the age of 6th grade. I don't know if High School is any better socially, but I would like to think by then my children will at least be better prepared to face such things.

We found a used piano on Craigslist for VERY cheap. It was a moving sale & in good condition, they just didn't want to move it! We have yet, though, to start piano lessons because THOSE are very expensive around here. And, there are waiting lists. I called over 15 different piano teachers :(

Where we live, both dance (ballet/tap) and gymnastics are equally expensive. Gymnastics does go year-round, ballet/tap follows a regular school schedule. They are BOTH more expensive than soccer, t-ball, etc. for that age group. Those sports are also a lot less time intensive. However, when my DD was almost 4 we let her choose. She is a girly girl and wanted ballet. She just finished her 1st year & LOVED it. However, she did have 2 girls in her class that didn't.....they were the type with more energy and needed something more hands on or energetic. We only do 1 activity per child at a time (for our own sanity and cost factor), and I don't like the idea that she hasn't been able to play other sports on a team....however, when we asked her about next year and tried to influence her to try something else, she refused!

Ok, on this forum and other HS websites I keep hearing lapbooks mentioned. Can you explain to me what these are and how you make one? Is it something educational or just fun? How do you use them in your homeschooling curriculum?

I'm trying to gather a list of fun & educational websites for my kids. I have a gifted 2nd grader & a kindergartner. We already use Starfall and I have a 14 day free trial to Reading Eggs. Beyond that, I am looking for ideas. Would like affordable/free sites!

We will be homeschooling for the first time this fall, with a 2nd and a K student. I live in the state of TX but not a native (know very little state details or history). I've had several people ask me how I plan to incorporate state history into our studies. It's not required, but any Texan in public school gets A LOT of state history! I don't want to go overboard, but would like an idea of how others do state history. How often? Is there a curriculum available for it? What ages? How important is it for a K-5 grade education?

Thank you for posting this!! I never seem to find good apps when they are on sale or free like this!!

Anyone using MFW Adventures? This will be my first year HSing and I'm leaning towards MFW Adventures for my 2nd grader.

New to homeschooling, this fall I will have a 2nd grader & a K student. I am considering First Language Lessons for the 2nd grader. I am trying to find a schedule on how most people use it - for example, do you do it daily, twice weekly, etc. Also, is it a workbook that the child writes in? Or does a child write in a notebook?? I've read that this is a book that requires very little teacher prep, is that correct?

Anyone?

We're new to homeschooling, plan to start this fall. My son (2nd grader, gifted learner) wants to take a "real" first aid class. I thought our YMCA might offer one for children, but it does not. Does anyone else have places that might offer a child-version of first aid? NOT a babysitting class, but just something basic that he would learn and enjoy?