The only other place I have seen it is Exodus Books and it isn't any cheaper there.

I don't think it is new or unique to whatever method she is using. Jolly Phonics, a British program, uses hand signals for sounds also. I used it about 10 years ago.

We do the dictation, vocabulary, and lesson/examples/practice together, out loud, discussing and making sure he understands everything. He does the exercises independently and then we correct them together out loud. We do grammar everyday because I think the built in repetition/review and daily routine help cement the information.

I don't now about experienced, if you mean expert :) but I used all the levels with some kids I was teaching (not mine) that would be going back to public school. I am kind of fond of Evan Moor actually, if we are talking about odd curriculum that doesn't get used or talked about much.

I used Hake with my bigger kids many years ago and then had my head turned by other programs, like JAG. I decided to go back to Hake exclusively and am quite happy. It is simple, easy to follow and implement and just gets the job done. There is plenty of review, the instructions and teaching are clear, and the sentences used for practice are about history or some other topic. My kids like it. Hake also includes dictation, vocabulary and a basic writing program. The writing part has been improved since I first started using the books. I haven't used AG but JAG just seemed convoluted and kind of unprofessional or something. It also seems expensive for what you get. My son didn't really like it and doesn't remember anything he learned from it particularly.

We have the complete set of science books and use them in conjunction with our history studies. We like them. If you read them to yourself the sidebars and extras would be OK but it makes them awkward to read out loud and discuss. We do have and use the Quest Guides, but they are very public school-y and group project oriented. Some activities we skipped. We use Thames and Kosmos Milestones in Science for activities. The books are definitely "living books" type and not at all textbooks or experiment books and they are interesting and, we think, pretty well written. We also have and use the history books. They are just OK. Not terrible but we just use them as supplements and don't read the entire set from cover to cover.

I cut and pasted the text file into Word and expected to have to fix the formatting but it pasted just fine (it was a mess in the text file). We will email the word document to you.

If what she has is pre-eclampsia, she really needs to stop running errands and take it easy. It isn't just a matter of having the babies born early, though they will probably be fine. It is dangerous to mom also and they will probably put her in the hospital on bed rest to get her blood pressure down. Sorry to sound like an alarmist but sudden high blood pressure late in her pregnancy is dangerous and she needs to take it seriously. You are doing the right thing and I am glad she seems to be following your advice. She is fortunate to have such a caring friend.

We like them, we have many of them, we learn a lot, and we listen to the entire video and sets with interest BUT sometimes I want to throw something at the TV and yell, just get to the point already, just give me some facts and information. I think they spend way too much time introducing and telegraphing what they are going to be teaching. Just start teaching please. Other than that we are good with them. :) I never pay full price and usually buy the deeply discounted ones with some kind of coupon code that they send me when I haven't bought anything for a while.

I was quite overweight with all four of my kids and my husband was over 40 for the last one but no autism here. I even had pre-eclampsia with the first, but no diabetes of any kind. I have only known 3 people with autism spectrum kids and none was overweight or over age. I am glad they are looking though and hopefully soon they will come up with some concrete answers. And I don't recall who in a previous post mentioned they didn't fit this profile and was so glad that they didn't do something that could have caused the autism - :grouphug: - it seems heartbreaking enough to have a child struggle. I can't imagine thinking you might have caused it. So glad you didn't fit the profile.

1 - why are Easter bunnies all soooo creepy 2 - the entire decade of the 80's was, apparently, awkward

:lol: I do not spend any where near that many hours on Pinterest. Mostly I forget I even have one. I use it to store ideas for stuff I want to do. Most of it I didn't even know existed until I saw it pinned by someone else. There is a lot of cute stuff there and it is a quick shortcut when I am looking for a project or recipe or whatever. There is also some school stuff that is useful. There are also a lot of inspirational or funny sayings and posters and about 7,000 ways to do your hair. And that "thou shalt not covet" thing - don't go to Pinterest if you are prone to drooling over beautiful homes and school rooms that you will never be able to afford or do. :) I tell my kids that they need to decide what they want before they go to the store, not go to the store and wander around and see if there is something they like. Pinterest, for me is kind of like wandering around looking for something to buy. My problem with it is that if I find a page I want to book mark (and, really, that is all it is - one big book mark bar) that does not have big graphics, it can't save it. So, fun to look at, useful sometimes but not the be all and end all for me anyway. pinterest.com/jcooperetc (I think) eta: if you are a visual person it is probably nirvana because there is so much really lovely stuff to look at

If you search for lists of the 44 (or 45) phonemes or 70 sounds in english, you will probably find a chart or website that works for you. That is what the link on the previous post is I am guessing. A search for phonics rules will get you a list of rules about open and closed syllables and such. There is also a book - The ABC's and All Their Tricks.

When I am diligent about using it I have great results. Once I am used to wearing it I can leave it on 24/7, except when I am showering and sometimes forget that I am even wearing it. I use it consistently for a couple of months and then take some time off. I just put it back on last week for another round. It does bug me to have it show so I have to wear shirts with sleeves that cover it, but that is just me. I also take it off at church because otherwise I get too many questions and looks. I do change arms even though it says to leave it on your left arm, because it gets kind of rashy underneath after a while. It seems to me that it is pretty accurate as far as calories burned. I really like the website and when I am careful about entering what I eat it is a pretty good predictor of how much weight I will lose. I say pretty good because I messed up my metabolism with a lot of dieting after my kids were born and I have a bunch of menopause hormone issues going on that interfere with weight loss at the moment. I like charts and graphs so I appreciate all of the data that is available on the website. It is also a big incentive, for me, to see the chart with the calories burned going up and down. I like to make it go up :). It also gives you an estimate of how many calories you would burn by the end of the day (throughout the day) if you did nothing but sit for the rest of the day, so I can see if I need to do extra exercise if I have gone out to lunch or had dessert or something. Mine is a little bit older and I just download the information with a wireless receiver that plugs into my computer via usb cable. I don't have any of the other stuff like the watch or an app for the iPod. I think I would become obsessive about how many calories I am burning every second of the day if I could see it constantly instead of having to wait to download it. "come on, vacuum faster, you have to up that calories/minute rate!!" :lol: I think it was worth it but I don't want to over sell it and have someone pay for it (because they are not inexpensive) that it won't be a good fit for. If you have any more questions, let me know. I lost about 60 pounds wearing it the last time around, by the way (ouch, that is hard to type). Not totally because of it, but it was a big help in keeping me motivated.

Latin Centered Curriculum is one man's idea of how to implement a classical education. It is sold by Memoria Press, along with some other references and idea books, including the Well Trained Mind. It was published by Non Nobis Press - which doesn't look like it ever published anything else. Circe is an institute for advancing classical education, mostly in private schools. Most of their web site and talks are geared towards classical schools. Except for Lost Tools of Writing, I don't think they have ever published anything else (but I could be wrong). They are not a homeschool program or a curriculum provider. All of these people are just on the classical education wagon together but have completely different jobs and a different purpose.

If it is just for you, how about a free online program? GrammarBytes

That is what frustrated me as well. We are very religious but I don't need someone reminding me every.single.sentence. that God did this.

I think that is the problem - there aren't a lot of easily accessible, decently priced science books and extras available to homeschoolers and Apologia is fine, just not great. My oldest used the full high school program and commented that she was more than well enough prepared for her college science classes and more prepared than some of her college classmates. She is not a science major and not even a big fan of science, but she learned what she needed to and got A's and B's in her college science classes. I got rid of the books after my big kids graduated and am just sort of piecing together random books and programs for my youngest. I may still go back to some of the Apologia books for high school if I don't find anything else to fill some of the gaps. The elementary program makes me want to gnaw my leg off though. We bought and gave away several of the books. There was just too much yacking and not enough facting. We use RS4K, Singapore science, The History of Science and a whole bunch of odds and ends experiment and reading books instead. At this very moment we are working our way through the NSTA books (aimed at teachers) Stop Faking It and just using them as a read aloud/demonstration book. We are still just in the background/exposure/conceptual phase of things though.

Do you mean things like the Bodybugg that you wear on your arm? If so, yes, and I really like it. Questions? (Before I launch into a discussion I want to make sure that is what you are talking about.)

I used Hake with my big kids and then kept getting my head turned by other stuff I saw here. I just got rid of all of it and went back to just Hake and we are happy again.

If you are only going to have one account, there is no reason you can't just use your Facebook or email. It is just how you sign in. I don't know what browser you have, but in Google Chrome I just let it save the log in information and whenever we go to the page it is all logged in and ready to go so he wouldn't even have to sign in or anything. We then just work our way through the Practice and when we come to something hard, do the lesson associated. The teacher account is a pain (for me anyway) because you do have to have your own accounts and then the child's account how to request you as a mentor, or something like that. We just use it on the side, not as full curriculum, so you may need more advice than this.

I have never ordered the guides from Great Books, all of mine came from Angelicum, but they look exactly the same as what I have. The guides are not that overtly Catholic, by the way. I am not Catholic and I have no problem using them. They are about the books, the background, the author and not really about religion. So, bottom line, as far as I can tell, Great Books just sells the Angelicum Academy guides, which were written by Dr. Taylor who is a big part of the Great Books movement. I think, the more I look at the GB website that they are just different store fronts and probably come from the same place. By the way, both will be combined into one Amazon bookstore shortly.

:party: :hurray: Congratulations!

I am not at all questioning her testimony, so don't think that at all, but I did want to add that she (and people in my family in the same boat) is missing out on opportunities to learn from and serve others, but most importantly, she is missing out on ordinances like taking the sacrament. You can find ways to serve outside of callings but there is no way to make up for missing the sacrament. That is what worries me about active/not active discussions.

I loved that talk "from the perspective that he meant it". It made me groan though because I have some family members who are going to use it as an excuse to not attend Church and be justified. I guess someone who thinks that way doesn't really have a testimony anyway but, to be honest, it was a little bit of an ouch for me. I do know people who are totally "active" and busy at church but it is all to be seen, all about pride, and they so easily get offended and fall away and we have to tippy toe around them. We also have some friends whose young daughter tells about the partying the young men do on Saturday night and then pass the Sacrament on Sunday. Yikes! I am ultimately glad it is up to a loving Savior to know what is in our complicated hearts. Not small at all and very sweet. Wow! There is so much good commentary on here. Looks like everyone's head is swimming with thoughts and ideas. This makes me want to get up and listen to a talk every morning and come here and talk and read about it. I loved the talk about being single in the Church. I am not, but many of my very best friends are recently divorced and it is so hard to see how this affects their ability to participate. They are wonderful, hard working, valiant women with strong testimonies but because of stupid stupid things their husbands did, their lives here have changed dramatically. Our Ward is very supportive and (fortunately or unfortunately) there is a core that are all friends, but it is still hard to see them struggle. I know the family and the standard have to come first, it is just hard to see them a little bit out of the mainstream. I am going to miss Sister Beck's presidency and the varied experiences they brought from outside the country and from a single sister. Looking back on this, it sounds so negative. I just assume the positives I guess and only chatter on about the things that poke at me. I do know the Savior is in charge and that the callings and talks were inspired, in case anyone was wondering :)