What level are the Magic Tree House books? Angela

Breathe. Then go hug the kids. Then breathe again. :grouphug: Angela p.s. We like AAS lots much more betterer.:001_smile:

That's a super good idea. I never would have thought of that. Thanks a million Angela

Good morning, We are just starting MM 1B, in which the abacus is used. I realized today, that I have no idea how to use one! I don't remember using one in school. The one we have came from RR, but looks like the one used in Right Start. Anyway, the directions (from the abacus package) appear to build the numbers on the left hand side of the abacus, while the unused beads are on the right hand side ... is that as clear as mud? Anyway, it just seemed to me that the beads being used in the number would be moved to the right side, while the unused beads would be left on the left side. It might address this a hundred times in the directions for MM, but I just don't see it. It seems like such a small thing, but I don't want to do anything that would confuse my littles any more than necessary. :001_smile: Thanks so much Angela

I am the same way with the hodge podge. LLOG has by far been my kids favorite homeschool thing period (ages 8,4,3) followed second by ETC. Of course every kid is different, but mine could listen to it all day long. Angela

Hi again, I just re-read your original post and saw that you have a child in Christian school. I wanted to suggested a book that my littles LOVE it's called Leading Little Ones to God. We've read it through at least 3 times. We don't do any of the additional readings. They just love the stories. It pretty much teaches a bible story/principle and then shows how it would be applicable in their life. Angela

This seems like something we would like too. Mind telling where you got them? thanks Angela

I know a lot of people love it, but I've had if for 2 years and my kids have never shown ANY interest in it. That said, they can't get enough of the Let's Read and Find Out books. This of course is just our personal preference. Also, we've never had a curriculum that used it. just my 2 cents Angela

Where is the best place to buy / see samples of LOF? I have a 2nd grader, but am intrigued by this program. thanks Angela

Hi, I don't like scripts either, but AAS doesn't bother me. I still just do it my own way. Math - MUS and Math Mammoth Grammar - Growing with Grammar (my 2nd grader does this independently after instruction) Angela

Way to GO!!!

I went! I went! I went! I was trying to talk myself out of going all the way until I got into the van this morning. I'm SOOO glad I went. It's a big group of people and the leader is very nice. The shocking thing was how far my scale was off at home. A whooping 7 pounds (not in a good way). My eyes almost fell out! I am heavier than I have ever been. Just one week at a time Angela

"This is partly due to ds's love of reading. At "silent reading time", he sits and reads for 60-120 min. (He'll also read another hour or so at bedtime...) I'm not requiring this-- He just loves to read!" You are truly blessed! Angela

We are doing the 3 Get Ready for the Code books. My 4 year old loves them! Angela

Thanks. It does look pretty cool. I'd never seen it before. I bought Wordly Wise, but it was pretty dry. Thanks again Angela

Hi, On the Vocabulary Cartoons for elementary --- is it Vocabulary Cartoon of the Day by Marc Nobleman? I was trying to look for it on Amazon. Thanks Angela

This is one of the very few homeschool resources our library has.

You are all so great! The doors open at 8:30 tomorrow morning. I keep trying to talk myself out of going. I keep saying, "I can just do this at home. I don't need a plan" Then, I make myself go look in the mirror. I can plainly see what I've been doing at home the last few years! :glare: Thanks for all the grocery advice! Angela

Windex worked for us. :001_smile: Angela

I'm not sure if this is anything that you would be thinking about, but last week we got the pan balance with counting bears from RR. My 3 year old is constantly asking if it's "bear time". He could work with it for hours. What a winner at our house! Angela

Just guessing of course -- but the green is most like a Penicillium species. The white would most likely turn black in a few days and my guess would be Aspergillus species (probably niger). I did look up the tomato soup and it should work. It would be really hard to identify different bacteria that way though, esp. without a microscope. When I was in the lab, we had lots of different types of agars and broths. We could id most bacterias just by the way they looked on different mediums (we went on to actually do test to id them though). If I had more experence with the soup, I would be more help to you! Angela

Well, tomato soup --- that's a first!:001_smile: There are some bacteria that do grow larger and dryer. I bet you have fuzzies growing though. Our air, is just full of mold spores. You should be able to grow staph from your hands. Was the experiment to show that we aren't washing our hands enough? If you are really trying to see flora, I might try to repeat the experiment but swab the inside of your mouth (still not sure about that tomato soup though). If you describe your mold (which is normal to have growing) I'll try to give you an educated guess on it. Color, fuzzy, velvety, etc. Angela

I'm joining WW Saturday morning. I will have to travel about 20 miles to get to the meeting. There are meetings closer to us (just down the street), but they are in the evenings and that doesn't work with our schedule. Anyway, I will be buying groceries while I'm there, b/c we really don't have a good grocery store here. Can anyone give me some advice on the things to pick up on my grocery trip? Things that fit nicely into the program, that you absolutely love. I'm a big time carb addict. I'm excited. thanks Angela

Thanks for responding Emmy. So if I get the DVD's, would we be able to just watch the lesson and then do the activity sheet? (no more work for me?) thanks again Angela

Well, I don't have any idea about this particular experiment, but if you can give me some information, I would gladly try to help you (I was a medical microbiologist in a previous life.) Angela