Good to know, thanks. I'm doing a lot of printing this year so this might be a good option for some subjects.

Thanks Jackie! This is perfect! I think I will just keep them in binders for now, since that's what I have laying around but for future.....do you happen to know how much it is to have something spiral-bound at Kinkos?

No advice, just wanted to say "that's wonderful!!" I'm very excited for you.:) Have a great visit.

Thanks for the update, that's great. I've been very impressed. I've printed lessons from levels 1B and 3B and the kids seem to really like it. It';s very thorough. Now.....how to organize it?!

Woo-hoo! I got mine too!! Now to get started. :D

Thanks for the update. I think we're all excited to get started. :D

Well, I'm glad to know I'm not the only one. Okay, I'll stop worrying. Maybe a couple more days then.

Am I the only one who hasn't received thier download yet????? I sent a message to the co-op asking about this. They responded by saying it would be sent no later than today. :glare: Still waiting.......... This was my first purchase with the co-op so, I guess I'm not familiar with how long these things take.

We are in San Diego too, I agree it was a long one. The kids were pretty scared. I was in S.F. for the 7.2 one, that was pretty scary. I also have to agree with the pp, I'll take earthquakes over shoveling snow, hurricanes or tornadoes anyday. ;) Oh, but the wildfires I could do without.

:iagree:I make ours with 1 banana (for sweetness) 1C. liquid (could be juice, water, rice milk, etc.) 1C. frozen fruit (I get the big bags of frozen fuit at Costco) and 1-2 handfuls fresh spinach. If the frozen fruit does not include berries, it will come out green or mud color:tongue_smilie:. I have found blackberries to be the best for camouflaging. Add about 5 blackberries and it will magically turn a beautiful purple color. I will also sometimes use: *yogurt *1/2tsp lemon flavored high-quality fish oil *ground flax *oat protein powder *bee-pollen

:grouphug: Prayers here too.

:iagree:We do this too. We have a mandatory "quiet time" from 12:30-2:00 everyday. Everyone is in their own place (ie. 10yo in living room, 8yo in family room, 6yo in boy bedroom) that way my little girls can have their naps undisturbed and I get my own peace and quiet :001_smile:. The olders are required to read during that entire time (they actually enjoy reading) they may choose a book from the bookshelf or library books (all of which have been pre-approved by me). 6yo sometimes falls asleep for a short nap, sometimes does dot-to-dot, handwriting practice, coloring, or quiet play. Then everyone (especially mom :D) is refreshed and ready for the rest of the day. No independent reading at night here though. Our family read-aloud time is followed by "lights-out" at 8 or 8:30.

Thank you for taking the time to provide these links. For some reason, when I did a search for Apples and Pears, I wasn't coming up with much of anything. I've read through all of these and I have to say 8filltheheart has dealt with many of the issues that I am having with my son. I think this approach will help him tremendously. I also really like Megawords. Neither of my boys has issues with reading multi-syllable words but spelling is another issue. I think starting with Apples and Pears for a phoneme approach will be most beneficial. I also like that it can be used for remedial. This has been so helpful, thank you again.

I agree with the idea, simple is better, I'm just not sure I operate that way. :glare: I really second-guess myself unless I have a "plan" to follow. The kids do pick up on this too, if I'm unsure, thay are less motivated. I will check out GWG. I also didn't consider doing R&S orally. I really like that idea!! I think I will give BJU grammar (only the grammar portion) more time, but if it doesn't work out, R&S sure seems to be a winner with lots of folks here. You are a wealth of knowledge. Thank you for sharing. :) WWE sure looks good. Based on the sample lessons found online, I love it! I walked through those lessons with the kids and I really like the gentle approach. As for spelling, I'm kind of at a loss. We've tried SS, SP and R&S SSS with no luck. It seems like my oldest just doesn't operate that way. He can't visualize the word, writing misspelled words over and over just ends up in tears. He really has a mental block when it comes to the spelling of words. The thing that's difficult for me is, I'm a natural speller (as is my 2nd son) so it's definitely foreign for me to try to "teach" something just comes naturally to me. KWIM? How to Teach Spelling looks interesting. Is it very teacher intensive? Anyone know about Apples & Pears? I did take a quick look at Phonics Road.....wow! That is a huge program, not ruling it out, I just need to research further. Thanks again for the help.

Spelling workout looks fun. I like the look of the pages and it seems like plenty of practice with the words. Thanks for that recommendation. I guess for now we'll stick with BJU for grammar. The boys do like it and it does seem like a solid program.

Thank you Jen. This is really helpful. Your accelerated schedule is a great idea, I'll give it a try. I'm really hoping to have the same positive results with writing. I know once we get past this hurdle, things will be so much easier. My ds8 has a great imagination, he does very well with narration, now if I can just get him to the point where he can write those wonderful ideas on paper, that will be cause for celebration. :D

Thank you for your response. :) I'm glad someone else is using BJU English 2. I hadn't considered just skipping the writing parts. I hope I wouldn't feel like I'm wasting half of the book, kwim? We really hit a roadblock today with ds8 and his writing. But it's funny, he really seems to like the actual grammar part. Not sure if it's the colors, content, both?? I'm glad to know you really like WWE. I don't think I've seen any negative comments about it here. I will give it a try. I'll have to check into that spelling, I've not researched that one. Thank you for your input.

anyone??:001_huh:

My 2 oldest boys are very different but neither one likes to write. My 10ds cannot spell to save his life. I've tried many different programs but nothing seems to stick with him. Since he struggles so much with just trying to spell words, it's a struggle just getting him to write anything. My (almost) 8ds is a natural speller but handwriting is still a struggle for him. (Though it has really imrpoved over the past year with copywork.) He just doesn't like writing assignments at all. :glare: We're currently using BJU for English and Spelling. (Previously tried FLL,ILL & Queens) I have to say, the BJU Spelling is not too bad. (We just started though). The English otoh, is not great. They both do well with the basic grammar but when it comes to the writing assignments, ugh!! We do like workbooks. (while they don't like to write, they seem to have no problem with fill-in-the-blanks.) I've been looking at Apples and Pears for spelling. Looking at the sample pages, it makes sense to me. I'm thinking of combining them both and starting from beginning, working our way through until the end. Would this work? Are they too old? I'm also looking at WWE. I'm thinking they need to be gently eased into writing, starting from the beginning level for both and working through. So that would cover Spelling and Writing.........any other grammar ideas? I've looked at R&S and while I like it, we would prefer workbooks. LA has been a bit of a challenge for years, I'd like to find something that works. Any suggestions are appreciated.

I just wanted to chime in here. I emailed Carrie (Heart of Dakota author) regarding this same question. The following is based on her recommendations. I'm just starting Bigger with my (just turned) 10yr old and almost 8yr old. I really think it is just the right amount. My 10yr old reads for enjoyment at a 6th grade level but his writing/narration/spelling are more like 3rd/4th grade. We are doing the extension pack and DITHOR 2/3 (but using 4/5 level reading books). It's a great combination. As others have mentioned, the history is very meaty, I don't think they would have been able to follow along before this year. IMO, Bigger with extensions and DITHOR is more than adequate for a 5th grader. BTW I am not doing DITHOR with the 8yr old. There is already a lot of writing, oral narration, vocab. etc. that anything more for that age would be too much. Hope that helps.

That is great, I love it. I could watch these all day.

LOL!! Love it!! The kids crack up everytime they see daddy do the splits, lol.

ElfYourself 2008 Not sure if anyone posted this yet but, we did this last year and again this year. Lots of fun. Here's ours; http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/SghlOHFphCDfxnvQGSrH would love to see some others.

Agreeing here. My little girl is 19 mos and for right now, the only girl after 3 boys. She loves being a little mommy......cooking, dishes, baby dolls, strollers, frilly dresses etc. She really likes taking care of her babies, brushing their hair and putting them to bed. I'm absolutely LOVING this stage. So cute!! FWIW, we're getting DD this; http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000FPHGRA/ref=ord_cart_shr?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance and this; http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000HBTTLS/ref=ord_cart_shr?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance

No advice, just wanted to let you know you're not alone. We have one of these too, everything you've described is what we're also dealing with. I will be watching this post closely.