Wow, thanks for this! I have many miscellaneous things that I would love to donate. I also know of a family who might be interested in using their service. :)

We have experience with both, and I definitely prefer BJ for the same reasons listed above. Also, my husband is a college history professor and compared both American history programs. He liked BJU better because there is less "revisionist history" than in Abeka.

I find that my kids and I memorize well when we put something to music. They all learned our address and phone number as well as scripture and some math facts this way. Of course, now when they need to recall certain things, they need to sing it!

:iagree: The lady who started this company lives a few miles away from me. I had been using her timelines for a while when I discovered this! :) Love her stuff!

ETC worked very well with my children, and I used it some when tutoring another child. It was successful in both cases!

I disable my Nook from internet because it saves battery life. I have not seen a way to password protect it, but I haven't looked either. I have to say that getting online and staying on for any length of time is very difficult. It is not easy to maneuver and really is not enjoyable. It is great for when I'm out and about and need to check email quickly, but otherwise it is a pain. Maybe that would deter him? Incidentally, I love my Nook. : )

Whereas teachers are responsible for the conduct of their classrooms, parents are ultimately responsible for the attitudes and behaviors of their children during the co-op day and during all field trips or extracurricular activities. This is a simple statement that we use in our co-op handbook. We stress this at meetings as well, since parents tend to forget regularly!

Dh and I were just talking about this today. What is so difficult about not using so much tp? This never happens to the adults in the house.

Weight Watchers works great IF you work at it! It is basically common sense - eat less (or eat smarter) and move more. I find that it helps to have the accountability of WW every so often to help me get or stay motivated.

I bought my Nutrimill from http://www.mountaintopsmilling.com They were very helpful and even helped me with an issue two years after I made my purchase.

This thread brings back some hilarious painful memories of last summer. My oldest son and I went bikeriding, and he "went easy on me." After we got home, I was a little numb but managed to go on with my daily routine. The next morning, however, was TORTURE! I could hardly walk! I wondered if I would ever be able to sit down or get up without crying again. It took three days for my buns to be back to normal. Ouch!!

My mom did a good job of cooking every night, considering she worked full time and was a single parent. I remember: Baked macaroni and cheese Chipped beef on toast or over mashed potatoes Chicken Tonight - Here is the commmercial. Does anyone remember this?! Beef Tonight Goulash Spaghetti Liver and onions (blech) Roast beef various crockpot meals after she discovered this wonderful invention Appian Way Pizza (a boxed pizza mix that I made myself) Chef Boyardee Ravioli (on Sundays after church)

My daughter is 10, 4th grade. She has always been creative and has enjoyed writing her creations down for years. She has used Classical Writing for two years. This year she has really "taken off" in her writing and has gone beyond creativity, clearly well beyond her grade level. So what can I do with her to encourage her love of writing? I will continue using a writing program, but I would like to go beyond that. Are there writing clubs or other outlets for children that I am missing? I was thinking of calling the children's librarian or even Barnes & Noble children's department to see if they could help. What do you think? __________________

I'll come to your laundry party!:) I have been known to half-freeze my fingers off in the spring with the first laundry hanging! I have also been known to take down frozen shirts from the line. I do love line dried laundry and especially like the $ we save, especially now. I read that we save 52 cents for every load air dried. Not bad.:thumbup1:

My boys took it too - Latin II and III. They can't wait to get their results, although ds15 thought that II was difficult.

I agree with the other posters. Just do it! Sometimes (because I'm just weird:rolleyes:) I will time how long it takes to do tasks I have been procrastinating. Usually it takes much less time than I had thought, and I feel silly for building it up in my head! BTW, thank you notes? Approximately 5 minutes from start to finish if you know where they are and don't have to hunt for them. How do I know this? I just did this last week. In less than 20 minutes, I had all of them done and in the mailbox. It felt so good to cross off the task that had been on my to-do list for a month.:)

Ummm....nope. My usual attire is jeans and a regular shirt, sneakers on my feet. I don't wear sweats very often nor do I wear plain t-shirts, but I do not put makeup on unless it's Sunday or a special day. I used to, but I have become MUCH too practical in my "old" age.:rolleyes:

Alpha Omega Lifepacs filled the bill here (for the same reason). I checked their self tests and Lifepac tests; that's it. They learned well from the Lifepacs. Although I wouldn't want to use them all the time, they were great for our purposes that year.

Can you share your favorite missionary bios for 7-8th grade? I would really like it if the book had a study guide, but it is not a necessity. Thank you!

I think I probably got more $ for mine on ebay, as the bidders waited until the last minute to bid and then got into a bidding war. I actually felt a little guilty until my dh reminded me that they bid of their own free will!

I went along like this for quite some time. I would have an "attack" and then nothing for a couple months. Finally, I ended up in the ER and a scheduled surgery date. (I had "multiple stones") In the months leading up to the surgery, I had pain just about every day. I had laparoscopic gallbladder removal and haven't looked back! The surgery is not as invasive as it used to be, and I didn't even have to stay overnight (although I chose to because I have four children and felt the need to be waited on for a few hours. :) Altogether, I was in the hospital for 18 hours. The recovery wasn't too bad. Just wanted to share my experience. Feel free to ask any questions you might have!

Yes. I have some Wegmans and some Aldi. I actually like the Aldi bags better because they are much larger, so I usually stuff some Wegmans bags in them! Nobody has ever said anything, so I guess it's fine with them!

I recently researched this question for the same reason! Here is a summary from a website: # Taxes -- Seven years. The IRS has three years from your filing date to audit your return if it suspects good faith errors, and six years if it thinks you underreported your gross income by 25 percent or more. # IRA contributions -- Permanently. # Retirement/Savings plan statements -- From one year to permanently. Keep the quarterly statements until you receive your annual summary; keep the annual summaries until you retire or close the account. # Bank records -- From one year to permanently. Throw away checks that have no long-term importance, but keep checks related to your taxes, business expenses, and housing and mortgage payments. # Brokerage statements -- Until you sell your securities. # Bills -- From one year to permanently. In most cases, when you receive the canceled check, the bill can be tossed. However, you should keep bills for big purchases (e.g., jewelry, appliances, cars, collectibles, etc.) for proof of their value in the event of loss or damage. # Credit card receipts and statements -- From 45 days to seven years. Keep the statements seven years if they document tax-related expenses. # Paycheck stubs -- One year. If your W-2 form matches your stubs, you can toss your stubs. # House/Condominium records and receipts -- From six years to permanently.

Thank you for this discussion. I have been looking for something that sounds like CBFF. I think I'll order it. Yes, modeling is ideal. However, I have one ds in particular who definitely needs something in addition.:rolleyes:

I wouldn't agree that they are of poor quality. One year I was overwhelmed with life "stuff" and needed something more student guided. Lifepacs saved the school year! My ds was in 4th or 5th grade (can't remember) and finally "got" geography for the first time. I suspect it was partly his age, but it was also his learning style. My other son did well but needed more supplemental materials from the library. Lifepacs may be a bit dry compared to the way some of us homeschool, but I believe they serve their purpose for children who have a compatible learning style. BTW, I didn't notice a big difference between the material in Lifepacs and a BJUP textbook that we had at the time. The boys liked that the material was in "chunks," with definite units. Oh, Lifepacs also helped me to measure what they were learning. Test taking isn't necessarily fun, but it is a good measure of comprehension, especially when the teacher can't be as involved as she wishes.:)