kengjw
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Posts posted by kengjw
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I usually start to be interested in buying curriculum 2 to 3 months before we finish "school" for the year. In the last 2 months or so, I will be researching, reading up on reviews etc. Once I made up my mind, I will start to look for good condition "used" curriculum. When it gets closer to starting of school, I will purchase new ones, if i still haven't found anything used in good condition. I usually spend about couple of months making my choices and buying all my curriculum. I like having the books ready before we break for the summer.
I usually don't buy my curriculum too far in advance since there is a possibility that we might not want to use it but last year, I was able to find my son K curriculum for a very good price and in very good condition (used). I decided to buy it and it has been a wise choice in this case.
I guess my answer is....anytime is a good time especially when it is pair with good sales? Lol.
Julia
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I have a 5 year old boy who is using K materials this year. We will continue to do K this coming school year but with some different publishers.
This school year we are doing :
The Reading Lesson
Explode the Code (those 3 books before ETC 1)
Singapore EarlyBird Math A & B (finished this a week ago)
A Reason For Handwriting K
Leapfrogs DVDs
Starfall.com
Next school year, we will be doing :
McRuffy K Math (just started a week ago)
McRuffy K Phonics and Reading along with The Reading Lesson
McRuffy K Handwriting
ETC 1
Continue with Starfall.com.
Will do a little science (Nancy Larson's science) with older sister.
I am very excited with our selections for the new school year and have kept some that I thought would be good for us to continue.
HTH
Julia
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At picnics I always bring the most boring food. I want to have that moment when people say "Yummm, she brought _____ again." Not, "Put the cookies over there." My aunt makes a to-die-for Italian salad, my sister a beautiful torte that she's known for, my good friend a delicious nacho platter. Me? I bring the cheesy potato casserole or cookies.
Anyone have a delicious and sort of unique dessert I can bring next time? One that won't melt on the way to a picnic? One that will make me *gasp* famous for a moment.
This is not your traditional cake but ohhh soo buttery and good. Absolutely my favorite. It is easy to make with few ingredients. The only thing I would change to the recipe is cut the sugar to half (2 cups). 4 cups is way too sweet to me. Definitely taste the batter once you finish mixing it. I always have people asking my for the recipe. Here is the recipe :
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chess-Cake/Detail.aspx
Julia
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We LOVED Legend of the Seeker. SO sad it was cancelled. :(
Dh and I are watching Season 2 right now. How sad! We also loveeeeee "Merlin" which is still in production.
Julia
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How about Daily Georgraphy?
We have been using it for 2 years. Short and sweet :0)
Julia
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I make blackberries cobbler few times and used the frozen ones without any problems. Don't worry about thawing :0)
Julia
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No biggie really.....there are much bigger things to get offended with :0)
Julia
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It needs to be on instant streaming on Netflix. I LOVE intelligent sci-fi: the Matrix, 13th Floor, Gattaca...I really like the medical sci-fi category, but mainly w/ the focus on "science" not space. Inception should have been perfect for me, but I was disappointed w/ the writing in places, lol.
My second choice would be...something in the category of Bones, because of the characters, not the content, or In Plain Sight, for the same reason.
I like conspiracy movies. Pretty much any kind. And spy movies can be very good. They can also be dreadfully boring. I liked Knight & Day & one of the MI movies (I forget which one). I liked Scarecrow & Mrs King, but nobody's ever heard of that (tv show from the 80s).
Romantic Comedies are fun when done well. They aren't usually done well. In fact, I rarely rent comedies because they hardly ever make me laugh. They're mostly...icky.
So what have you got for me? :bigear:
Dh and I are big sci-fi fan. We love Stargate SG-1 series, Stargate Atlantis and Santuary. Although Stargates do involve "'space" but they have lots of "science" built-in it too. Love the characters and stories especially Stargate SG-1. We also love Ghost Whisperer, if you like ghostly kind of show. If you don't mind midieval type of sci-fi, you can try Merlin & The Legend Of The Seeker. I didn't think I would like them but I did, very much.
Julia
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Almost everything. Like most people say, I always check the prices at Amazon before I buy anything from somewhere else.
So far, I have bought :
wii games at a very good price
books/curriculum (even at amazon marketplace as some vendors will distribute their books thru amazon)
a snake/bugs bite extractor kit (lol)
bugs bite cream
natural allergy medicines
a charger and rechargeable batteries
acidolphilus (sp?) pills (best price for 90 days)
my organic face mosturizer
GPS
laser printer and later Amazon's refurbished toner (so affordable)
HP ink cartridge for my old printer
RC airplane parts
music CDs
computer software
movie DVDs
etc
I have bought so many things that I do not remember right now. So you see, you can find practically everything in Amazon and at a good price as well.
Julia
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Love, love, love it!!!!!!!! My sister and I shared the account and my husband used it quite a lot too. Among the 3 of us, we definitely use way over the $79 in a short time. My sister and I buy gifts throughout the year so the free 2-day shipping comes in handy when there is a good bargain :0)
Julia
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Homeschooling is such a "quiet" journey for me and I have come to be okay with it. Honestly, sometimes I do get uncomfortable when I heard of all the activities, awards after awards that my friends' kids are getting while my kids have nothing to show. I admit that it feels nice to have something to show (accomplishments) sometimes but I also realized that it is really "for" me. For that reasons, I chose to be quiet about it. There are many ways I share my kids' accomplishments but not focusing on "being seen" by people.
I have a friend that would not hesitate to talk about her child achievements amost everytime we meet. All the "tangible" awards/ceremonies are very important to her. She loves it when her kid get recognize by so and so. I do understand the important of being recognize but sometimes she really go overboard. There have been times, I really need to take a break from her so I won't feel like I need to hear the same thing over and over again.
Whenever I feel envy, jealouse (for the lack of words), I would try to remember what is most important to God. I know God can see every little details that goes on in my life, my children and in my heart. That's all that matters. I know he likes a "quiet" servant, a humble heart. I want to do things for the right reason not because I have to prove myself to anyone or whatever selfish reasons. That put me back in perspective :0)
I belong to a homeschool group and we do have year end party, show and tell etc and I try to have my own little "celebration" for my kids once in a while to celebrate job well done in school, good teamwork etc etc. I just don't need to brag about it to people unless it is sharing with a close friend or two because I know they will share my excitement as well.
Julia
My facebook is full of status updates from various folks who have children who made honors roll, got perfect attendance, citizenship awards, AR awards, student of the year, and so on.And...well...my DD is in a class of 1. And a school of 1. She doesn't have a big end of the year honors program. In fact, she really doesn't have an "end of the year", because we keep going with breaks for camp and vacations and special stuff that doesn't necessarily fall in the summer.
It's a silly thing to be questioning homeschooling on, and DD doesn't seem to mind, but I remember just how special the end (and start) of each new school year was-and I wonder if I'm depriving her, and me, of a lot of joy?
Sigh....things homeschooling books don't talk about.
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We just started with McRuffy Math with K ds and we are loving it too!!
julia
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I have a Brother laser printer as well. Love it!! I use it for hsing and couponing, so happy with it. I do not think you can go wrong with any Brother laser printer plus the price is very reasonable not to mention the toner (or ink) that will last you a long time. My standard toner last me 1 1/2 years :0) You can check out the reviews on amazon to help you decide on which printer.
HTH
Julia
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I have been couponing for over 2 years now and love it! I started off couponing with thegrocerygame.com. They have shopping list all across US that you can subcribe for a small fee. I learned a lot by reading the "forums". Eventually, I stopped the subscription when I found "southernsavers.com" and hasn't look back since. I know it will be super hard for me to do couponing without all the help of the websites I go to. Doing it on my own is too time consuming and difficult. Therefore, I would advice you to start by visiting some of these coupon websites and let them help you as much as you can.
As for inserts, you might want to buy 2 newspapers now and try to ask your family or friends if they have any inserts for you. However, if something is on a "very" good sale and your family use a lot of it, you can definitely buy coupons from "ebay", couponbeat.com, mycouponhunter etc. This week, I order 20 chinet coupons from ebay for $2.00. I will get the napkins for $0.30 after coupons so it is worth it especially when my family use a lot of it. That way, you do not have to buy say 10 newspaper which is too crazy for me to maintain...lol.
As for the "Extreme Couponing" series, the title says it all. I am not one of those couponers and most of the people I know that coupons are not. As it is, I am saving more than 50% so I am fairly content.
Depending on the stores where you are, you might want to concentrate on one store first, if that store is a coupon friendly store. Once you feel more confident, you can tackle more stores, include the drugstores, if you want.
HTH.
Julia
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I have a K ds this coming school year. It will be his 2nd year during K stuff but different publishers. Here are what we will be doing :
Math : McRuffy Math K
Reading/Phonics/Handwriting : Continue with The Reading Lesson and also start McRuffy Phonics and Reading, Handwriting, Explode The Code 1, Leapfrog videos and Starfall.com.
Will also tag along in science with older sister, age 10, doing Nancy Larson Science 1. I am also looking into learning mandarin chinese with the kids this year so he will learn along with us.
Julia
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Thank you for posting your reviews and photos of NL Science 1.
I am thinking of ordering Science 1 too but I wasn't sure since I have a rising 5th grader with my K ds. I know it will be easy for my 5th grader but I also know there are quite a lot that she could learn from science 1 as well. For the last 2 years or so, we have been neglecting science so I would rather we start easy so she would have a good understanding of the basics. I will supplement as I go.
Thanks a lot for the photos. They gave me a good idea of what to expect from NL science.
Julia
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and still do at times but the good news is, my son (age 5) is reading slowly now!! I am absolutely esctatic and surprise that I can do it. If I can do it I am sure you can as well. I use "The Reading Lesson" with my son plus ETC. I am sure 100 EZ lesson will do just fine :0)
Julia
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My dd and ds both have seasonal allergies. For the last few years, they used Claritin and my dd also used NeilMed sinus rinse as well. Claritin helped her some for not enough at times. I was going to try Zytec or Allegra but decided to try the natural route first.
My dd hates taking raw honey so I ended up trying this product by BioAllers which a friend at church recommended. This is the one we are using right now :
We have used it for less than 2 weeks and I have to say, I am really amazed at the results. My dd is almost symptons free. She is not blowing her nose all day and definitely not stuffed up anymore. Bedtime used to be miserable but now she can breathe when she lay down. I also bought the "nasal spray" but haven't had the need to use it yet. I am so happy to have found something that works so well and hopefully it continues to work for us.
HTH.
Julia
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My daughter and my son has seasonal allergies. My dd has it worst and for few years now, we have taken Claritin but it doesn't always help. Some days were better than the other. I was going to try Zytec or Allegra but decided to go the natural route. She hates taking raw honey so I decided to try a natural product that a friend at church recommended. This is what we are using right now :
We are using the "Grass" Pollen right now and it has been over a week since we started bioAllers and I must say I am amazed because my dd's allergy symptons are almost gone. She used to sneeze and blow her nose all day long. She couldn't sleep at night because she was too stuffy. Now, she feels great! My son is doing well although his allergies are not as severe as my dd.
I also bought the nasal spray to go with the Grass Pollen but we haven't had a need for it so far. I hope this is not just a fluke because it is so good to see her feel well and not be all stuffed up and miserable all the time.
HTH.
Julia
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I have had dandruff for many years and each year it seems to get worst. This year, I finally decided to actively do something about it. Head and Shoulders was no help at all. I have tried tea tree oil, apple cider vinegar and olive oil and failed. I finally decided to try Selsun Blue (with my regular conditioner) after I saw it on clearance in my local grocery store. That finally did it. No more flakes! I am still surprise but I am not complaining :0)
HTH.
Julia
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Follow the instruction in this link :
http://www.southernsavers.com/2011/03/brother-laser-printer-for-50-shipped/
I love my Brother laser printer and my first standard toner lasted me about 2 years (with tons of coupon printing and for school). I did the "masking" tape trick after my printer stopped printing thinking that the toner was empty and it worked. I was able to print for another 6 months before the toner ran out.
In January I ordered a remanufactured high yield toner from Amazon called Amazon Basics (guaranteed for 1 year by Amazon) and it cost me about $25.00. My old standard toner allowed me to print over around 5,000 sheets with the masking tape trick. The high yield toner supposed to be 50% more than the standard one ;0)
Overall, I saved a lot of money with a laser printer and highly recommend it to anyone!
Julia
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My almost 10 years old dd started to have body odor especially in her armpit area at least 2 years ago. I have also smelled the same odor in some of her friends that are around her age. Boyyy....no fun...haha.
My dd has started to use a deodorant 2 years ago and if she sweats a lot and is too late to take a bath/shower, I make her wipe herself with a wash cloth. That really helps.
HTH.
Julia
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My daughter, who is 10, is a SLOB!! She is also EXTREMELY crafty...so much of her mess is craft items...oozing from every drawer, plastic box, container, etc that I have tried over and over again to use to organize her. Her biggest problem (that I can see) is that she won't put away her stuff when she is done, takes out something else and before she knows it...your room is a mess...along with the clothes worn from the day before (becasue she won't put them in the laundry), the books scattered on the floor becasue she is reading all of them at once...depending on her mood. I am about ready to remove 3/4 of her belongings until she can show me she can take care of what she has...but I don't know if that is too hard or not? What should I be able to expect from a 10 year old??? Help me before I throw her whole room in the dumpster behind our house!!!
I could have written that post myself, only my dd is 9 years old. It seems like wherever she goes, mess follows her and her room is the worst. One time, I decided to go into her bathroom and I was horrified with the very visible mold in her tub and stuff all over the countertop and floor. Her bathroom reminded me of the boys bathroom I was so disgusted with during my college years. I spent way too much time stressing about her room and her sloppiness. I am working on not stressing about it now but it is sooo hard sometimes. I keep reminding myself, "relationship, relationship and relationship".... lol.
I don't really know why I write...maybe just to say, I can relate to your post and you are not alone in this battle with your dd :0)
Julia
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I remember filling out "my" details mostly. When I log into my account right now, all I see is my dd's name and my details. No...I haven't been worried about this company at all.
Julia
so you have never been worried about having your kid's information on the web through this company??
Workbooks: To Consume or Not to Consume--
in K-8 Curriculum Board
Posted
It's really so much easier on us. If you can afford to buy the workbook, I say go for it.
Julia