I like IEW for a couple of reasons. First, I am not a writer nor do I remember anything I was taught about writing in school (except for those silly notecards for my high school research paper), and I feel like IEW really helps walk me through--from a beginning level--how to teach my children. I may be in the minority, but I like the dress-ups, I like the checklists. And that is the reason why my oldest is doing well with IEW. He thrives in knowing exactly what is expected of him, and IEW's checklists, etc, do just that.

I keep thinking about how sick my kids were in late April into early May, just as the news reports started coming out about it. Plus, their symptoms matched what was being reported. I do keep wondering if I'm wrong and next week when we're supposed to travel if they'll all be sick! :001_smile:

This is a keeper! How does the blogger know dh so well?? :001_smile:

if my kids had it late this past spring. When the news reports started coming out, mine were down with the same symptoms as H1N1, and it was a LENGTHY illness! I had the news on while giving one of my kids medication one day and laughed when they reported the "first" case in our county. I thought, "nope, we were the first." Could have been a virus, but I'd love to know if they're immune.

I agree with the above poster who said something about "every dad thinks his son is the next best thing,". My dh included, too. Our oldest son, 10, has been in baseball since he was 4, and it's so much fun, but I'd encourage you to take it slow. We've stuck with Little League, and I think we'll continue. It's competitive enough, but nothing like the travel teams around here(ds's LL season, including all-stars, lasted for 50+ games. Too many, IMO, but travel teams can play almost twice that). Sure, it's got a prestigous feel to it, but around here (SW Ohio), even travel teams are a dime-a-dozen. Meaning, there are a lot of really, really good baseball players, especially in the 8-10-12 yr.-old range. Two other things I'd keep in mind is that young boys can slowly do a lot of damage to their arms if they pitch too much, and the amount of ball we committed to this summer really took away from time with our immediate family (including our other children), friends, church, etc. It's been very eye-opening for us. Best wishes. It's hard to know the best path to take!

:iagree:

We review our CC memory work as we start each day. My daughters (7 and 5) use SOTW, my son (10) will still do some SOTW but I'm going to start transitioning him to more independent history work, using Kingfisher and other WTM recommended resources for the logic stage. The wonderful thing is seeing my children "connecting-the-dots" of history based on their memory work.:001_smile: I, too, hope you enjoy CC!

:iagree:

My husband and I would race home from work to watch the PBS game show when we were newlyweds!:D I need to check out Netflix as I know my kids would love these. Thanks for the reminder!

Our options are so much better now...I really appreciate the information.

We're planning a Sept. vacation to Washington, DC, but looking into a place for our family of 6 to stay is looking really, really expensive. We'd like some sort of suite, so we'd have a kitchenette for some of our meals. I know it will be a big chunk of $$, but any ideas/tips? Great inexpensive places to stay? Thanks!

growing up in Cincinnati. I've always thought it was a German immigrant thing... I remember walking into the office at school when I was 8 or 9 and the secretary said, "What do youse need?". I looked around, trying to figure out who all the 'youse' were, but I was the only one in the office. :001_smile: Then I moved south after marriage and tried hard to avoid "ya'll", but it's just so easy to pick-up a southern accent!

I'm sportymom, though we're not that sporty...I think I've registered a few times over the past 7 years or so but didn't post ever, then when I wanted to post I couldn't remember my username/password. So sportymom it is. My kids do baseball/soccer leagues, play outside tons, but it's all just fun. I'm 34, live in SW Ohio and have been married for 12 years. We have 4 children, 10, 7, 5, 18m. Two boys, two girls. We have been homeschooling all along but I've really been getting serious about classical homeschooling for the past 3 years or so. Let's see, we use Classical Conversations (love it!!) Saxon & Horizons, SOTW, FLL, lots of library books for history and science, dictation & narrations, probably more but it's summer vaca (though we still truck along w/math and reading...)! There are lots of days when this is not fun and it's really hard...but these boards always make me feel better.:001_smile:

Thanks, elfinbaby--you took the words right out of my mouth.:001_smile: We love CC. I had written a lengthy post last night refuting some of the misinformation on this thread about CC, but I figured that it didn't matter. It's been said before, and CC, like every other curriculum choice out there, is not for all. For my family, it is.

I loved it, too! Emma Thompson is an amazing, amazing actress. If you haven't watched her in "The Remains of the Day", then you should! You will feel everything she's feeling!

Thanks!

I'm not familiar w/multi-level company's, but I am familiar w/CC. Each family pays a registration fee, which is the only money "corporate" receives directly from the participating families. The rest remains on each campus, to pay for supplies, the host church/facility, and yes--the tutors and the director get paid from that, too. I think CC makes no bones about the fact that the tutors are trained, and that they want to encourage homeschool moms/dads to do something they love and make some money, too. Maybe I'm naive, but I've never felt like they were out to make a profit on me and my family. I tutored for quite a few years and the money I made as a tutor did not replace the tuition we paid for our 3 children, but I would tutor again in a heartbeat. I will be directing a campus in the fall. It's a great fit for us, for now. When it's compared to classical schools and various co-ops in my area, it's not outrageously expensive. I really feel like it keeps me teaching classically, too, and not veering off in a direction that I would regret. What does the "supplemental" thing mean?

Worn-out within a month or two. He's a baseball player, so he doesn't even wear his tennis shoes when he's playing ball. However, he plays hard outside and wears them out fast. My girls love crocs, they last a long time. He won't even consider those. His shoes get stinky quickly, too. :tongue_smilie:

But not until the fourth. First three were pretty calm, some grunting, etc. Fourth one, OH MY! I could scream right now just thinking about it. Tiniest of my babies (6.7 compared to 8 & 9 pounders), but by far the hardest and most painful. Had a lovely tear with him, too, the 'other' way, IYKWIM. I just think it's funny how huge newborns are on tv. All clean and smiling, sometimes cooing. :001_smile:

My ds, 10, expresses a lot of interest in the Naval Academy, too. I know, we're a long way off, but it seems like there is some serious work for him to do in a few short years if he remains serious about this. Post like these are good b/c I can point out his other options (Coast Guard, ROTC through college, etc). The interesting thing to me is that while he's serious about aircraft of any kind (he may not sleep w/one anymore, but they are always close by:001_smile:), but he doesn't neccessarily feel like flying is what he wants to do. He's a serious, type-A boy and I think a regimented, military life is very attractive to him.

I was kinda wondering, too, like Mari, what your definition was. After reading it, I realized my definition and yours are different. I am a soccer mom/baseball mom--meaning I take my kids to their events, watch them, and we come home. We live in a neighborhood, we have our little square foot garden w/a few veggies, we don't have pets. I don't really know what I'm trying to say...if we had a chance to move to the country, we wouldn't just jump on it, it would take some thought. For one, DH's job is good right now and it's a blessing that he's able to be home for a good chunk of the evening. Who wouldn't love some land and space? There are a lot of SAHM in my neighborhood, but I don't know any of them that run out for breakfast w/friends, don't have lawn people, etc. Maybe they think I'm a weirdo, but I don't care to notice if they do. Maybe it's just where you live? Maybe the standard of living in some neighborhoods dictates the attitude that goes along with it? I hope that your family finds what works for you! Interesting topic...

I've really enjoyed Horizons, and my children are strong in math. I don't know how much it matters, just b/c it is a requirement where I live, but my ds tests in the 98/99th percentiles for math on his standardized testing. As we move into the logic stage, his math is one of the few areas that he is fairly independent with (though I still check it every day), and he appreciates that independence. My younger girls are doing well with it, too. Don't sweat it just b/c SWB might not mention it as a fave. I am noticing that the older ds gets, the less instruction there is for me, but his workbook might take a whole page to explain a new concept to him. As I said before, I really appreciate that and that it's making him more independent. This post doesn't answer your original question, does it? I just kinda went off on why I like it. Hopefully that encourages you to stick with it if you're liking it, too!:001_smile:

My dd, 7, is finishing 1st grade. She does a front/back math page, spelling--she will write a few sentences a day containing each word that I dictate to her. WWE, which requires her to write a couple of sentences a few days a week. FLL requires a little writing a few days a week, too. She finished her handwriting way back, but with all of these grammar writings, I don't feel a need to have her do more right now. Besides math, I'd think she may write 3-4 sentences daily. She doesn't mind. My oldest, though, didn't write much until middle 2nd grade b/c it was just harder for him. Depends on the child.

I have a Dodge Grand Caravan and I'm very happy with it. 2005 model, sliding doors, fold-down seats and the really deep 'trunk' space. Plus we now own it, so I'll hopefully be able to love it for a really long time!