Rod and Staff Readers Grade 1 through 4 go through pretty much all the major stories of the Bible. They also have a Bible curriculum for grades 5-8 that seems to be very Bible/fact based. You can look at the samples online. Take care, Suzanne

Dd9 is doing GSWS this year and really enjoys it. It is just the right pace to get started, and she is retaining it well. I'm undecided about next year but am thinking about trying "Espanol para Chicos y Grandes" to start the year. She did GSWL last year, and it was also a good start for her. We are doing Latin in the Christian Trivium this year, taking it slow, so it will take 2 years for book 1. Take care, Suzanne

Have you looked at Ambleside Online? I originally looked into using Sonlight because my sister-in-law loves it, but when I started comparing curriculum based on living books, I liked the booklist from Ambleside the best. We started with Year 1 and are currently in Year 4, and have enjoyed each year. Also, a lot of the books are public domain, so you can download on your Kindle for free. Take care, Suzanne

Me too! Suzanne

I like eating at The Green Bowl. Delicious. http://www.thegreenbowl.com/createbowl.html Also, there are good Indian and Korean restaurants that we enjoy. Take care, Suzanne

I can see that you have made up your mind and that most of the voters are with you, but I am the #2 "yes" vote. I would let him know that he will probably lose it, and then let him make the decision. I see us living in a society that is increasingly controlled by fear, and that disturbs me. Take care, Suzanne

We did GSWL in 3rd, now Latin in the Christian Trivium in 4th, and it is going well. Take care, Suzanne

I think a lot of how difficult PA is depends on the district. Another thing you may not know -- if you are a certified teacher in the state of PA, you can use the Private Tutor Law to homeschool your children. I use this in my district with no problems. All I do is send a letter of intent at the beginning of the year and another letter at the end stating that our objectives were met. No portfolio, no evaluator, no affidaits, no required testing. Again, Ask Pauline is a great resource if you need to check into it more closely. Take care, Suzanne

I'd buy it. We always run Volvos and have found them to be very low maintenance, which I believe more than balances out the the cost of gas. As you mentioned, as long as you take care of it, the resale is going to be good, too. The other thing is -- your ds could learn to do a lot of the repairs himself and save a lot of money that way. Take care, Suzanne

We have 2 pellet stoves and a propane fireplace insert right now. This works fine for us and is easy and fairly cheap at present (compared to oil). However, if I had the wood and all of your kids to help chop and haul, we would definitely go with the outdoor stove! Take care, Suzanne

We avoid shopping at Walmart. Take care, Suzanne

I think initially the grammar in GSWL moved more slowly than Rod and Staff. We hadn't studied grammar formally at all previously. By the end of the year, she just seemed to be getting the hang of it. I don't remember her diagramming indirect objects in Rod and Staff, but she didn't have any problem translating them in GSWL. She ended up enjoying Latin a lot more than English. This year we are going to try taking a break from English grammar and just doing the Latin (starting Latin in the Christian Trivium). We'll see how that goes! Take care, Suzanne

We did GSWL with my dd8 last year, and it went well. We also did Rod and Staff English (grade 3) concurrently. GSWL introduces only 1 word or concept at a time, and dd didn't have any problems grasping the grammar parts. This was the first time she had formally studied English, too. If your girls are interested, I would give it a shot. GSWL only takes a few minutes a day. (I had dd write the new word each day, and then we did the translations orally.) Take care, Suzanne

My sil belongs to a coop in Hollidaysburg that she really loves. I believe it is associated with CHAP. If you end up moving to PA, let me know and I can get you in touch with her. Take care, Suzanne

We did R&S Reading, did not include the phonics. My favorite part is that the content is all Bible stories. It is amazing how much dd has retained. I don't have any experience with BJU to compare, though. Take care, Suzanne

Getting Started With Latin. You learn 1 word a day. There are free (short) downloadable mp3's for each lesson. We thought it was a fun start for dd8 in 3rd last year (and me with no Latin experience). Dd is excited about moving to a more intense program this year. Take care, Suzanne

I also download a lot for the Kindle but have found some good prices through www.addall.com Also, there is a Yahoo Group, AO_HEOCurricula, where AO users sell used books to each other. I have gotten some good deals there, too. Take care, Suzanne

I haven't read any of your replies, but the book, "Deliberate Dumbing Down of America" helped me to commit to homeschooling as the best educational option for our children. Here is a free download: http://www.deliberatedumbingdown.com/pages/order.htm Take care, Suzanne

I agree with the Janome Sew Mini. It only weighs about 5 pounds, but it is not a toy. I got it for dd last year when she was 7, paid about $50. She really loves it. She can take it wherever she wants and set it up herself, so it has been very convenient to use. Take care, Suzanne

I didn't vote because we haven't had any luck with Spanish yet. However, we did Getting Started with Latin this year with dd8, and she has been begging me to get Getting Started with Spanish -- she really loved the program. Take care, Suzanne

Switch to a Linux operating system. We also found Linux faster than windows. Take care, Suzanne

What bothers me is the amount of data he is collecting on his users. I like the videos, but I don't care to be part of his database. Take care, Suzanne

Ambleside Online. Suzanne

In our area, sloppy joes, ham and bean soup, chicken corn soup, pot pie and dessert pies all go over well. Take care, Suzanne

We have bought a couple of cars that way. Also, we occasionally will leave our phone number under the windshield wiper of a car in a parking lot, asking the owner to give us a call if they want to sell. One time we got a call back that way about 2 years later. :) We like to drive/restore old Volvos, so what we are looking for usually will not be on a lot. It wasn't a Volvo, was it, Aubrey? Take care, Suzanne