It's a tough call between Star Wars and Empire so I went with the original. The last 3...not so great but I loved the 3 originals (and I'm not even a sci fi fan!)

Hang in there Wee Pip! If I can do it, so can you! I was hoping that someone could recommend a miraculous way of helping our kids remember but I guess we'll just have to wait it out like the rest. It has to get better, right? :D

My oldest son still confuses his "b" & "d"! I know it's been discussed many times here before by why can't he get it???? I've tried the picture of the bed; telling him that to be a "b" it has to be right, etc. but he still constantly confuses the letters both when he reads and writes. I don't think he's dyslexic because he doesn't confuse anything else or write anything else backward...just these 2 letters...continually, all the time, constantly... He's 7 1/2 years old and I would think by now, after telling him a thousand times that it would sink in. Am I expecting too much?? :banghead:

This site is perfect! I've been trying to find alternative writing paper for my son. He still doesn't do well with writing only on a baseline but all the lined paper I've found is about 1" tall which is way too big! I customized a page at .6" and it's just right. Thanks again :thumbup:

Here are my plans... 2nd grader: MUS Gamma Spell to Write & Read GWG 2 SOTW 2 Literature to go along w/ the Middle Ages + some Ambleside Online books Prima Latina R.E.A.L. Science 4 Kids Chemistry, maybe some Science in Nutshell too Bible: possibly Explorers?? -Coop for art and other electives K5er: MUS Primer & Alpha Spell to Write and Read Cursive First Bible: See above -He can join in for History, Science and Latin (if he wants but I won't push it)

My husband told me I should take it back but I don't know if I have the guts! What would be my excuse...I didn't realize that the food I was about to eat actually eats the waste products of other animals :ack2: (alas, I tried to find a hurling smiley, but no luck)

My first thought was that you could have the kids club a "stuffed seal" then grill up some mystery meat but that's probably not too helpful :lol: When we studied Native Americans, I had a hard time finding any recipes for that area that didn't include whale, moose or seal. Fish was also a big staple of their diet so you can grill up some fish fillets(if the kids would eat it.)

Our local Costco had some fresh breaded Tilapia filets. Now, I'm not much of a fish eater but I occasionally will eat a mild white fish. When I told my mom what I was making for dinner, she laughed and said "As long as you don't mind eating bottom-dwellers!" Are they really bottom-dwellers like catfish? I did look at the label and it said they were "farm raised" but now her comment is stuck in my head and makes it a little less appetizing.:ack2:

So, do you have them keep reading until they miss their first word? I had my son read the list and he read the 1st 12 words correctly before making a mistake but then read more correctly. Should I have had him read the entire list, then counted the correct # of words? Maybe I missed something too :confused:

Oh....Jean beat me!:D

A thread from a couple of days ago recommended DonnaYoung.org. I briefly checked it out and she has quite a few planner pages on her site and I believe they're all FREE! She had many different formats so I bet if you spent a few minutes searching her site, you could find one that fits your needs. The person who wrote the original thread mentioned that she even contacted the website and had a planning page customized for her specific needs. I purchased my planner from a local educational store but I wish I would have found this website first. Hope this helps..

I can't remember what comes in the Core kit but I would recommend, at minimum purchasing the books Spell to Write and Read & Wise Guide for Spelling. I would also buy the phonogram flash cards. Depending what age you working with, the student's log isn't a must. You can easily make your own log. The Spell to Write and Read book is basically a "how-to" book. The Wise Guide is the actual spelling lists. It's a great program but it can be a little intimidating trying to figure out how to implement the program. Don't get discouraged...it's well worth the effort.

I was thinking of that option. I would assume I would just cook them according to the directions on the package. I'm going to process them anyway and make mediterranean burgers. Hopefully they'll be worth all the trouble. :D

I have a recipe that calls for canned lentils but I can't find any. I've tried Trader Joe's, and a couple of local grocery stores. Any ideas??

I only supplment with Singapore's Challenging Word Problems. Since Singapore is spiral and MUS is a master method, it's difficult to compare. My son is currently finishing up Beta. I have been using CWP #1 as a supplement. Book #1 includes addition, subtraction, graphs, money, multplication & division. My son obviously hasn't done multiplication or division yet in MUS so he only works on a portion of the Singapore book. I also purchased Singapore's Primary Mathematics 1A & 1B. They were fairly inexpensive and I wanted to see what everyone was talking about. Again, since it's spiral, they cover a little bit of everything including multiplication. I just found them way too random for my taste and honestly, a bit "cartoonish." My son has no issues with the black & white pages of MUS. I don't know if this helps but I would think if you wanted to use the CWP books, your daughter could do either book 1 or 2.

-Political ads on tv. I'm already getting cramps just thinking about what's to come and I don't discrimate against a certain political party. I hate all their ads! -Opening a magazine and having 6 subscription flyers fall all over the floor. I've already subscribed for goodness sake!:banghead:

Well, just remember that it's not all paradise here in the land of "fruits and nuts." We have earthquakes, wild fires and out of touch judges attemtping to squash homeschoolers rights. I do feel for you back there though...but I gotta go now...my boys want me to join them in the pool :coolgleamA:

We also use MUS supplemented with Singapore's Challenging Word Problems. My oldest will soon be moving into MUS Gamma and my middle son is currently working on Primer. I am very satisified with MUS but I use the CWP for a little variety. I have to admit that the rest of Singapore's curriculum makes me a little crazy:001_huh: I much prefer the mastery approach.

Well, I had to pick something fairly quickly when I filed my R-4. My husband wanted "Not When the Surfs Up Academy" but I figured that was just asking for the D.O.E. to come investigate us :lol:. We settled for "Surfside Academy."

Math: Math U See Gamma, supplented with Singapore's CWP Spelling: SWR Grammar: Growing with Grammar 2 Writing: Probably SWB's new program History: SOTW 2 w/ AG Science: Real Science 4 Kids: Chemistry & Biology Latin: Prima Latina Bible: Not sure yet I try to find literature that will correspond to the time period we're studying in history. I use some WTM suggestions, Ambleside online suggestions or whatever else looks interesting. Art, music and other electives are taken thru our coop. Hockey, Surfing, Skateboarding

I think there should be jail time for some of the leaders of the lending institutions that started this whole mess. Here in California, it was literally a "feeding frenzy" for about 3 years. People were paying up to 10% - 15% above the listed prices for a house just to get into a home. Lenders were allowing buyers to put down payments, upgrades, closing costs, etc. onto a second mortgage, relying on the fact that housing values would continue to rise. I know "many" people who purchased homes for around 1 million (not a typo) and had house payments of around $6000-$8000/month! Many others took the option of some crazy interest-only loan and now the million dollar house is worth about 20% less and the payment is scheduled to almost double and they can't afford it. We also had the situation where every other person you came in contact with was getting into the mortgage industry. At the time, mortgage brokers were making big $$ and many found loans for buyers even though their house payment would be almost what the person was bringing home per month (net)! Unfortunately, we are now paying the price for such questionable business practices.

Doesn't it seem like most American kids get overloaded with U.S. History? They might get a semester of World History in High School. I don't even remember learning much about world history while I was in school. I do agree also that there are many omissions as well and many text books don't present a balanced accounting of many historical events. I'm in no way bashing the U.S. but many of our actions have been less than honorable (slavery, settlers treatment of the American Indians, etc.) I think many kids today would be shocked that the world didn't begin in 1492.

I think Regena said it much better than I could. I would just add that I honestly believe schools cannot give my children the same education that I can. It has nothing to do with the quality of teachers (good or bad). I just know my children better than anyone else. I know when they totally understand a topic so we can move on...I know when they're having a tough time and we can spend a little more time...I know when they're just having a bad day so we chuck all the schoolwork and just go to the beach. Not to mention that the way public schools teach history these days is just appalling!

I don't want to hijack this thread but how long ago were you a CSI? I have my master's in Forensic Science. p.s. I'm still thinking about my answer for this thread...

Any ideas? We usually make carne asada so I thought I'd change it up a bit...wasn't a big hit so I have quite a bit of meat left. The meat already has mexican seasonings.