We are really enjoying 100 Best Bible Songs for Kids. If you are a catechising family, there are also some great cds for that. We use Teach Them the Faith.

"Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus: Oil of lemon eucalyptus (p-menthane 3,8-diol or PMD) is one of many plant-based insect repellents and is effective against mosquitoes, black flies, biting midges, ticks, and gnats. Generally, plant-based repellents do not have the same level of effectiveness as synthetics such as DEET and Picaridin, however, oil of lemon eucalyptus has been shown to offer protection similar to concentrations of 20-30% DEET, but for much shorter periods of time. According to the product label, oil of lemon eucalyptus should not be used on children under the age of three and care must be taken to keep it out of the eyes because it can cause significant eye irritation." http://umaine.edu/ipm/ipddl/publications/5108e/ My understanding is that it should not be used on children under 3 due to potential skin irritation, not because it is otherwise dangerous. Also, the oil can be mixed with oil or alcohol such as vodka so it can be applied as a spray.

I just dab a little lemon eucalyptus oil on wrists and necks. We have a terrible mosquito problem here, and my boys were getting bitten a ton. Never a bite when they have the oil dabbed on. Costs a few dollars and available at the grocery store. I believe it ranks better than most non-DEET repellants for mosquitoes.

I second just listening to a lot of classical music. We also enjoy the Music Master's collection, though it isn't for everyone. A few days ago there was a helpful thread about free music appreciation resources.

Drive Thru History on Netflix streaming. Not maybe the greatest for very sensitive kids. Mine aren't so I just don't have that lens on while we watch.

Following up on Mrs. Twains great music links, here is a site we've discovered. It has a lot of great content, but we're using it primarily for art appreciation. The artist biographies are short and at a relatively low reading level, plus lots of links to the art, worksheets and activities for follow up. http://gardenofpraise.com/ There is Christian content on the site.

Wow! Thank you for these resources!

We're gradually transitioning into 1st grade, so it will mostly just be moving ahead to the next level, with a few new things added in. Singapore 1b, or wherever we happen to be by then. MEP and Miquon for variety. SOTW 1 ES Biology FLL 2 WWE AAS - 4+ Memory work: catechism, scripture, etc Art: How To Teach Art to Children, looking at famous artists Music: The Story of series Reading: Read Alouds, he'll continue reading aloud and to himself fiction, poetry, non-fiction Song School Latin Geography: finishing Beginning Geography

The narration is a bit dry in the Story of cd's but we love them. My 5 and 3 yr old request them and we are all learning a lot about the composers. The delivery hasn't been a problem for us, but I think it is definitely a matter of taste. We specifically wanted biographical information with the music, and this seemed the best series for that.

We live in Oswego County. We don't anticipate being here next year, but there are a lot of homeschoolers down here, if you are interested in travelling a bit to a co-op.

For what it is worth, since I am still only on Unit 6 of PM 1, I am VERY glad I have the HIG. That is my personality, though. I am not a very creative or intuitive teacher, so I like having the strategies and suggestions in the HIG. I also agree with pp that this is math taught VERY differently than how I was taught so I appreciate the instructions on how to teach this method. My sister in law is using it without, very successfully. I don't have all the extra practice books, because I thought it would be too much for my son. When he stalls, which happens frequently, we move on to Miquon or MEP for a little change, temporarily. I think he just gets bored of the same approach after 2 weeks. So, I am very glad I didn't just buy more of the same SM. I do plan to do so in the future, however. I bought mine from Homeschoolclassifieds.com for a great price. There seem to be SM books in great condition on there, frequently.

I haven't read all the responses, so forgive me if I'm repetitive. I've been having some trouble with my almost 5yr old in Singapore 1a. He also does not like manipulatives. It isn't that he doesn't understand the math. I'm not quite sure what the problem is, but I think emotional maturity is part of it. We have temporarily transitioned to MEP Yr 1 (He already did Reception). For now, it is working very well. He does a variety of different activities and types of problems every lesson. Part of the problem with Singapore, perhaps, speed. He understood the concepts, and can do addition, but not quickly enough to make moving forward a wise move, in my opinion. Then he'd get frustrated at day after day on the same few pages. This move to MEP has been productive and we'll continue to work in Miquon and add Singapore back in a little at a time. We'l end up taking 2 yrs, I think, to complete this 'year' of math. While I believe it is my job to choose his curriculum, not his, I also am not willing to have him develop unnecessarily negative associations with math. This is my experience with my first homeschooler, so take it with a grain of salt :)

I'm so sorry your son is sick. My mom has Crohn's and had a terrible time of it for years. She found some foods triggered symptoms. She has a short list of foods at any given time that 'feel good.' These foods don't seem to be the same for all people, all the time. My uncle has had great success with careful diet, though I'm not sure what he uses. He is totally off medication. My husband has mild Crohns. Other than not over eating, food hasn't had a huge impact. He was just consistently feeling ill and in the bathroom. He got on Asacol and has been without a major flare up for over a year. I also don't love the idea of a kid being on medications. One thing to remember, though, is that the medications do more than just relieve symptoms, they minimize damage. Your son may seem to be doing ok off meds, but inflammation, bleeding, etc could be progressing. My FIL learned this the hard way and almost died from a small infection that went septic.

Atticus? I go back and forth on this one, and I'm starting to hear it here and there. It is another A name, which I know you don't like, but I thought of it in the vein of literary and unusual names.

This is all pretty discouraging. My nephew just got back the results from his cognitive testing post chemo and radiation. Scores in all areas, except processing speed and working memory, are very high. Those other two areas are down in 1st and 2nd percentiles. They are not sure if these are permanent (he is about 5 months out of treatment) or if he will gradually recover some of these losses. He loves video games, though, so he'll be happy to hear about that :)

This is definitely an optional vaccine. Doctors will not always present it as such. Research rotavirus and decide if you want to do it. We chose to for a number of reasons. When our 1st and 2nd were babies, I was running a home daycare. My charges had older siblings in a center, so I knew they'd be exposed. Sure enough, that family got rotavirus, the child was violently ill in my home, and my kids were fine. It causes massive diarrhea which can become dangerous very quickly in infants, due to dehydration. All of my children have experienced mild diarrhea from this vaccine. What is critical to understand is that this is a LIVE vaccine and easily transmitted through stool. Very careful hand washing for at least 72 hrs is necessary. Also, do not go near anyone with a compromised immune system as long as your child is symptomatic. This includes ANYWHERE in a hospital. My nephew was in cancer treatment during our early immunization time with our 3rd ds and we had to very carefully keep track of when ds was receiving live vaccines. I hope this helps.

What is this online version? All I've ever seen are the print version and free online games.

What is unfair about a qualified 8th grader playing varsity? As far as eligibility, depends on the state. I was private schooled, in a public school sports league. I was on Varsity indoor/outdoor track for 5 yrs. We had an 8th grader in our yr on the Varsity soccer team for 5yrs; it was a deep program when she tried out, but she was VERY good.

:iagree: My experience has been similar with my k'er and Singapore 1a. First of all, I find the HIG necessary. My sister in law never uses hers. Go figure. If you aren't sure how to teach it, definitely get the HIG. My son is moving more slowly than I anticipated and frequently hits roadblocks. When this happens, we take a break and move to Miquon. Those breaks have saved our sanity. I did K math with him this summer and thought he was ready for 1st grade math, but he's not quite there. So, take your time, and back off when necessary or start over with some really basic k math. At very least it will boost your dd's confidence!

I have no idea what 'they' would say, although SWB doesn't really recommend formal K anyway, does she? I'd say, if you feel like he can do it, go for it. I thought my k'er would be good to go, because he is reading fluently and can write all his letters without prompting. His spelling is good. We tried it, and it was SO hard for him to do even three words. I can't quite tell if the problem is attitude, physical immaturity (hand), or readiness/emotional immaturity, or some combination. We're going with less is more at this point, to give us time/energy to work on some attitude issues, and try to gently add in more as we improve there. I think short phrase dictations or copywork (such as in AAS) will prepare him physically for a full sentence, and enable me to better judge where the problem is. Readiness is all, says my wise mother and MIL (who is in her 25th yr of homeschooling).

I bought mine used, which included the box. There are a LOT of cards (we have 1 and 2), so I'd suggest you spring for the box if you can afford it. If not, you could just use index card boxes and maybe a kids shoe box. We don't use the charts and stickers to track which step. I don't have the bag, and don't miss it. It all sits on our school shelf.

I bought these to use with my Scotch laminator. I have been getting some warping in the sheets, though they seal well. I have been sending them through on their own, with the paper to be laminated inside. Am I supposed to be putting the laminating pouch inside the cardboard pouches that were in the box? Will that work with the Scotch? I would like to resolve the warping, but don't want to wreck my machine.

I'm only a few weeks in to SM1. I would not be able to do it well without the HIG, especially as I'd never been introduced to number bonds. I would much rather do without the textbook, which so far seems to be little more than a full color version of the workbook. Maybe that will change as we get deeper.

Thanks for posting that. I hadn't run into this site yet and this looks very helpful for hands on science, all pulled together for me!

I agree with pp's who said that Luvs aren't as good anymore. We just use walmart and our leaking problems went away. Sizing up at night has done the trick. I have a 14 mo, 28lb boy and a 37 mo, 31lb boy in size 5s at night.