I'm just learning about this group and would love to join.

I feel a little awkward responding because I haven't posted in these forums in many years, but it's still my go-to place for reading up on various homeschool topics. I have a daughter who also loves the small STEM schools and wanted to encourage you to look at Missouri S&T. I just checked their website and it looks like there is no deadline for scholarships (I'd call to confirm) and they have pretty reasonable OOS tuition compared to most other small STEM schools. We know a few kids who have gone there (including one who applied late) and they all love it there; my DD went to their engineering camp and loved it too. She visited places like Colorado Mines, Illinois Tech, and Rose Hulman and felt like S&T had the same feel and potential, despite not being as selective as the other schools. I have a cousin who works for Raytheon and he says the S&T grads are very well respected. Just a thought!

Actually, they are smaller. About 2.75 x 4.25 If you need exact measurements you should probably wait until you have them in hand.

Don't feel bad about not clicking with it at first. It didn't for me either, but when I picked it up again a year later I finally found my groove. For me, just finding a routine with it was the key, and the only way to find the routine is to just plug through it and adapt as you go along. I didn't worry about limiting it to 15 minutes, because many times I was trying to find the right tiles or get used to the manual, so the kids just played with the tiles while I did that. Things also went smoother once I figured out the best way (for us) to organize our materials. I've seen many different ideas for organizing the AAS materials so I think it's a very individual thing, but don't be afraid to think outside the box. Literally, this is what I did when I ditched the idea of keeping the cards in a box -- I now keep the red, yellow, and blue cards on a ring -- and it has worked beautifully for us.

I have my kids read aloud for a few minutes a couple times a week. I agree with previous comments that it's something that can't be taken for granted. I once had a pastor who during adult Sunday School would randomly call on people to read portions of the Bible or other material. It was shocking to see how many educated adults struggled with oral reading. It's not just a technical skill, but something that takes confidence. Until 5th or 6th grade we use the Christian Liberty Press Nature Reader series for our oral reading. The books are divided into short sections that make it easy to read in small bits throughout the year.

:bigear: trying the evening crowd

At the library. Yes, getting it from Amazon is an option, but I have these other three versions sitting in front of me and they all look pretty good. And in past experience, every time I get impatient with my library and order it through Amazon, I get an email from the library the next day saying that same book is ready for me to pick up. :lol:

I have all three of these versions from the library, but am not sure which to use. 1) Michael Morpurgo (we've read his Sir Gawain version before and liked it) 2) Nicky Raven (illustrations are beautiful, maybe a little scary, but I think we'll be fine) 3) Ian Serraillier (recommended in TWTM because it's told in verse, but no illustrations) I suppose I could use #3 but look at the illustrations from the others. And then to be even more complicated, I'm on the wait list for the Robert Nye version (which my oldest loved 4 years ago) but it might take a couple of weeks to come in. We're supposed to study Beowulf next week. This would be for my 9 (almost 10) yo and my 13 yo who is not ready for more advanced versions.

I don't have experience with either of these programs, but this is what we have planned for this year: Typing Instructor and Scotto's Essential Office Applications.

Going to try one more time. Anyone? :bigear:

I've been reading old threads on typing instructor, but I'm still not sure which version is best for us. Download or web? Kids or regular version? All three of my kids need help in typing, so I have a variety of ages: 14, 13, and almost 10. The 13 yo has some delays, so he'd probably like either. I saw on the web demo that it has a teacher function where you can easily monitor your students. Would it be hard for me to monitor with the other versions? Also, the regular non-kid version talks about 20 different courses for a variety of ages, but I can't find a list of those courses. Can anyone tell me what some of these courses are? Would I be able to use this for all three of my kids? Finally, web version: can you use for more than one student? Thanks!

Not sure if you are looking for a full planner with lots of different items or just a weekly schedule type planner, but this is what I have been using since we started homeschooling 5 1/2 years ago.

I buy a big chunk of our materials from RR every year, but their catalog is too overwhelming for me so I stopped requesting it. I can, however, see how it might be helpful if you're browsing for something new. They can have so many subcategories on the website menus that I've sometimes missed things I had no idea they carried. Now, the VP catalogs . . . I adore. :001_wub: That's the one I can curl up with while sipping tea. I even keep the old ones.

Our son was in an ABA program back in the dark ages (it's been 10 years since he was diagnosed). I've written about our experience in those early years of autism here. If you want to just read about our ABA therapy, skip to Part V. We tried many different therapies and interventions over the years, but the ABA/VB therapy was the one thing that really worked. He's still autistic, but very high functioning now. His main issues now are social skills. While I don't think ABA is the only path to take, I will never regret that we chose that path. My son was transformed during that time.

You are all in my prayers. :grouphug:

Okay, so it's official -- I'm going! :hurray: I'm not going to know a soul there, so anyone up for a WTM lunch or dinner? I know I don't post much here, but I'm a real person and do not have a criminal record. :blush:

Cool! What sport? We looked at rates for that hotel, but it only gives us the option of $269 for a king size bed -- not going to work for 5 people, even if we could afford it. :tongue_smilie: We will have a car there, but DH will be out and about with the kids and on Friday won't be able pick me up. So I just need to find a way to get back to the hotel, which will probably be a couple miles away.

I'm not from TX, but will be in the area for Jr. Olympics earlier in the week, so we're considering staying an extra few days so I can go to the conference. I've never heard SWB speak live before and since she's talking about taking a break from conference speaking, I figure this might be the best opportunity I get. Anyone else going? Been in the past? Is it a pretty good conference? Is there public transportation in the area? Is it really worth 3 extra nights at a hotel to hear SWB speak or am I just too star-struck? :D

May the God of all comfort be near to the whole family. How heartbreaking. :grouphug:

Funny, I just read that review before I posted here. :) I wasn't really sure what the backerboard was for though or how essential it is for hanging. I'm glad you like it and it's good to know you can use the markers on it. Thank you, everyone, for your input so far. Very helpful!

I'm considering buying a pull-down map set for our school room. We have very limited wall space so I would be mounting it above a window to pull down when we need it. A quick google search gave me many possibilities, so I'm a little overwhelmed. Anyone have any experience with pull-down maps -- successes or failures? I hate to spend that kind of money and then not be happy with it. Thanks!

Perfect! Thank you for the info.

Is it possible to keep track of the hours spent homeschooling like Edu-Track offers? Thank you to everyone for sharing their experiences. I love my paper planner, but this is tempting. :)

I love our magnetic dry erase board that's mounted on our wall, but our most used homeschool tools are these dry erase lap boards with the mini erasers. I just got home from my local convention where I purchased a couple more (they sell the items separately at our convention, but it looks like the kit is a better deal).

I was just going to answer, yes, they are separate (although many of the larger providers offer dental, vision, life, etc. in addition to traditional medical,so you can have the same provider for multiple products), but I asked DH for his response (he's worked in this field for 20+ years) and I learned a few things from what he had to say. So I'll paraphrase was he told me: Policies such as vision and dental have historically been separate, if you are talking about comprehensive benefits. Health Care Reform will eventually force small employers to offer "essential benefits" inside their health insurance, which will include some dental and vision benefits, although it is still ill-defined as to what those are. The states will determine what those will include. Historically health policies include only a vision exam, every two years, but no benefit for materials like glasses or contacts, so if you wanted more you bought a separate policy. Also, health policies typically include emergency dental, like if you had an accident and knocked out some teeth. Health insurers are working on policies with embedded dental and vision, to comply with the federal mandates; it is yet to be seen, however, what that will really look like.