I hear you, it has to be fairly simple and I won't friend anyone on facebook. I have a "junk" email account that I use for entering.

Am I the only one who has an addiction to giveaways? I started them this summer, entering lots of baby ones because my only daughter is expecting in November. I now have a twitter account just to get more entries. I was about to throw in the towel about a month ago and then I started winning. The first packages have started to arrive in the mail and it is fun! How about you?:001_smile:

Thanks for sharing, that was very nice of you !:001_smile:

I was having the same problem with the books my youngest had outgrown and so decided that I would keep their favorites for my future grandchildren. I imagined them laughing at the same parts my kids liked. I put them in boxes. When my daughter, who is my oldest, got married 4 years ago I started collecting them in earnest and since I love looking for books at thrift stores and garage sales I soon had many boxes. A friend suggested that I only save the "best" and that really helped me to clear out the ones that weren't in good shape. I started looking for the titles I had that weren't in good condition and replacing them with better ones that I found. The others I donated to Goodwill or Amvets. Hope this helps.

My ds(12) doesn't like to write because most programs start with him having to come up with what to write about. I'm going to use IEW because they take care of that part for him but still do a good job of teaching him how to write paragraphs, grammar etc. I really like that they start by having the kids read a paragraph and take out key words to later use to make sentences with and then paragraphs. A great approach to get him up to speed. I did a little research and learned that the SWI -A has 3rd-5th graders in the video's (which would bother him ) and so am going with SWI-B, which covers the same material but is meant for older children. I watched some of Andrew Pudewa's lessons on you-tube and thought he was a very engaging teacher.

Fluffy is good! My aunt who was very fluffy always used to brag that the babies liked her best because she was nice and soft and not that boney hard stuff. :001_smile:

Hank the Cowdog is a wonderful series for boys. Always makes my son laugh and there are over 50 titles so you won't run out of good stories for a long time. It's a fun book to do "voices" with, I make Hank sound like a cross between a serious FBI agent / army sargeant and Drover as a country simpleton. Hank and Drover are dogs. Good vocabulary lessons built in too.

My older son really likes the Sherlock Holmes stories. You might also try the Father Brown detective series and mysteries by Dorothy Sayers. they are all very well written.

One of my son's all time favorite book is The Phantom Tollbooth. Highly recommend this book, it has plays on words, fun characters.. Don't let the title fool you, it is not about phantoms and the main character is a boy. Great read aloud!

Thanks for the help ladies. The nearest library that has the book I was looking for is in another state....sigh. Time to send them a request for that book, with all the library fines I've paid over the years, I've practically bought it anyway! Hopefully they will see it that way too;)

Check for ideas on Pinterest. You can search " Home-school" and see others boards and will probably find a lot. One that comes to mind is NeoK12 which has has something for all the grades. http://www.neok12.com

You were right, there was something right on the library's website for searching! thanks so much. If you ever find out the name of the larger network I would be very interested in looking at it.

I want to take advantage of the fact that I can request books at my neighborhood library from other libraries. But I have forgotten how to search for them online. (It's been a long day.) Any suggestions? . :confused1:

Welcome! I've only just found this forum this summer and have learned so much! At first all the abbreviations for the curriculum was confusing, search for "abbreviations sticky" on here, it has a list of what they mean, very helpful! I have a notebook I use just for jotting down suggestions I have read on here, even though it is not neat it's good to have it all in one place. I would also encourage to find a home-school support group in your area, you need new friends who are on the same journey as you are starting. Also know that kindergarten is a great place to start and you won't be having to "fix" things that they weren't taught properly in school, such as handwriting in first grade. I speak from experience here. Nobody knows your children like you and your husband or loves them as much. Congratulations on deciding to homeschool!!:001_smile:

Our 2 dogs don't like thunder either. White noise helps to drown it out. they like to go in the bathroom, no windows in there and I turn on the exhaust fan. Sometimes I play classical music or run other fans. Once my son made a fort in the basement out of blankets and they liked being in there, so maybe come up with a small space ( like a big box) that they could hide in? poor things, I feel sorry for them.

At the bottom of the original link (the education cafe) she does give credit to an older WTM link, thought you might find that interesting too, especially the comments below it of what worked for others. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/archive/index.php/t-134373.html

You are all welcome. I found it very helpful to have them all in one list like this. This describes my son (12) too and as I was reading through the curriculum suggestions I found a lot that I was leaning towards that I thought fit him and it just confirmed for me that I was heading in the right direction. Thanks for the other links, I will check them out.

http://theeducationcafe.wordpress.com/2011/06/07/resources-and-curriculum-for-educating-the-right-brained-learner/# "why are there are more right-brained, visual learners in today's generation?". a list of resources, sorted by grade, with curriculum suggestions for visual, hands-on type learners - good stuff!:001_smile:

I just saw a recipe online where you can cook hash browns in your waffle iron.They are supposed to come out like the ones at McDonald's. I haven't tried it yet but hope they come out nice and crispy.

http://www.johnmurch.com/2007/10/20/diy-whiteboard-on-the-cheap/ I wanted to share this with anyone who is looking for a big whiteboard but doesn't want to spend a lot of money. Be sure to read the comment by Charlie (about the 7th one down) for instructions on how to also buy inexpensive framing for it using plastic end caps. They recommended bringing a dry erase marker with you to the store to test out the board before you buy it and to make sure to get a glossy one. And that OOK 30# hangers are the best for hanging it. I was watching Andrew Pudewa's first dvd on TWSS and he said that a whiteboard is essential to teaching and it made so much sense. Once I get one I am sure I will wonder how I ever taught without it!:001_smile::)

I rearranged everything a couple of weeks ago and came up with the idea of using square baskets for each subject. Math basket includes workbooks, dvd's, flashcards and anything else I would need to teach math. I made one for all the little extra things that are just for fun too. When we are done with that subject we can just put it all back in and it makes for a quick clean up. I found some sturdy wicker looking ones at Target that look nice as we use our dining room for everything but art and science which we do in the basement.

You can go to Home Depot, Menards or Lowes and get a large piece of masonite (sometimes called showerboard) for under $20 which is a lot better than the close to $200 that you would pay for one at an office supply store. You can cover the edges with electrical tape or buy some trim to make it look nicer. That's what I am going to do, can't believe I have gone this long without one.

I am enjoying this thread because I kept finding myself feeling pressured as well to do more. My husband and I had a long talk about what our DS(12) really needs and came up with 3 main subjects. Bible, English and Math. If I can get him strong in those areas this year I feel that it will be a good year. So everytime I feel myself starting to think that I Should be doing more, I remind myself of our goal (BEM) and it has helped a lot. We are going to start off slow, do those subjects first and anything else that gets done after that is just a bonus!

He knows his facts but is not solid with them so I was planning on spending the beginning reviewing enough to get him strong in those areas. I have MUS Gamma & Delta and thought those might be good for that but it is my first time using them. What is the living math approach?

You bring up a lot of good points here that give me a good feel of how the books were designed. Good to know that the concepts are repeated and how they are meant to be used. Thank you for sharing, it is very helpful. :001_smile: