I love the look of the Illuminations LA program by Bright Ideas Press, but not the price for Sept 2009... I think that I liked the literature studies best, so does anyone have recommendations re: literature studies and companies that write them? These would be for a 5th grader who will be studying Ancient History this fall. Thank you in advance,

We had to put our 2 dogs down within a few days of each other... it is true that sometimes one dog cannot live without the other... What helped us was having a graveside funeral. It was hard on all, but we voiced our memories... it was interesting how much we remembered from the puppy days 13 years later... the boys were 8 and 5 and it helped to say goodbye and voice our thoughts as a family on sadness and death and even to cry together. A year later, they are asking for another dog...

What is the name of this movie? Sounds like something we might enjoy...

I'm Miriam, new to this board... joined 6 mos ago. I have 2 db, ages 9 and 6. I love all the helpful advice and recommendations I find here as I am still new at homeschooling, with only 4 years under my belt... I use an ever-changing assortment of curriculum... mostly because I just love books and the hunt...

This is one thing we did... Spray painted gravel with gold paint, then buried them in the sand box. They then used a strainer while "digging" them out of the sand. HTH

I am hoping for an inside dog... my dh and I are starting to remember those puppy days of housebreaking (about 12 years ago)... and the lack of sleep ... and now the expense in these uncertain times... I am getting cold feet... I need that dog to warm my feet too:001_smile:. On one hand I don't want to deprive us of the joy of having a dog. Our 2 labs were wonderful dogs, although they had trouble adjusting to not being "top dogs" once the kids came along... On the other hand, dogs are quite expensive in our experience... especially if they have any health problems (we had a lab with a seizure disorder from age 6mos to old age). I need to carefully consider this big step...

Thank you for all the helpful suggestions... I had never even heard of a Labradoodle! So I am glad I asked the Hive...

I maybe can be more lenient about shedding, but I must remember... 2 Black Labradors with a white kitchen floor... Needless to say, I was vacuuming at least everyday and had crawling babies... Now that the kids are older, maybe that criteria is more flexible. Terriers don't shed as much, but I understand that they may be less kid-friendly.

We are contemplating getting a puppy this summer and I need recommendations from all you dog lovers as to what breed you recommend. We are a family of 4, dh likes large dogs... boys age 9 & 6, love ANY dog, and myself...I am leaning toward mid-size, non-shedding, loveable, easily-trained, adorable, and baby substitute (lap-size) dog. Did I mention non-shedding? We had 2 black labs for 10+ years who grew old and passed away 1 year ago... we are all starting to think about a new dog... We have almost 1 acre, half fenced in. Do you know a breed that could be that perfect dog for us?

Northern Va

Here's another link for used books: http://www.homeschoolclassifieds.com/default.asp use search for Sonlight or scroll by alphabet letter

I think of service, servant, sincere, sensitive... Our school name is BnB Academy for Boys and Books Academy, not too inspirational, but effective.

Thank you, ElizabethB, for the practice worksheets!

Oh, ya, we are currently using Language Mechanic for grammar, as a break from Winston Grammar. Not sure we will make it back as ds really likes this workbook better.

Yes, b and d are notoriously problematic... Learning some memory tricks would be great, if any have more prompts to share?

Hello, We have 2 boys who are watching old Andy Griffith reruns right now. Actually dh is watching too! Quite an exciting household on a Thursday evening...

We use the Leading Little Ones to God book alternating with Living Like Jesus by Stephen Elkins because it has an audio Cd with songs. LLTOG is a read-aloud, questions, verse format. Needless to say, I get more requests for the short story-catchy tune book. LLTOG gives a good foundation of Biblical principles.

Thank you, I am just now discovering that reversals are common. My oldest never reversed things so this is new to me. I do like the suggestion to accent the positives, good reminder. We use SL LA 1 for copywork with 2 sentences to copy. Some days he thinks that is Mom torturing him, and I hate to make him rewrite anything... just to avoid the frustration for him. So pointing out some words that have no reversals is a helpful suggestion.

We used Mindbenders to start each school day for 2nd grade, sort of "got him in the mood", for school. Loved at the time... don't know why we don't keep doing this... Mathematical Reasoning through Verbal Analysis for 4th grade is a bust.

Thank you for your helpful replies... So, I mostly need to let him outgrow the habit (sigh of relief). I will look into HWT supplements for Grade 1 handwriting, for more practice and instruction in writing correctly. Thank you for the idea to circle the mistakes and to correct "some", not "all". I don't want to make writing any more frustrating that he thinks it is already...

We use Math U See: Epsilon for 4th grade math-lover Beta 1st grade math-"do I really need to know this stuff?"-er

Thanks from me too!

My 6yo ds reverses letters when he writes... has a few favorites, then occasionally throws in more, maybe just for fun? :confused: I need your help in how to ease him out of this pattern. Do I ask him to erase each reversed letter and rewrite it? My logic for that is the fear that the more frequently he writes it incorrectly, it may get imbedded and thus, more of a hurdle to overcome. Of course, he doesn't like to write, so frequent erasing is counterproductive. Or... do I just keep a pleasant attitude and hope this goes away... it happens everyday, some days more. We completed HWOT 1 and he did fine, started reversing after the printing book was completed. He consistently reverses c + p. Does anyone have insight to pass along?

The Sugar Creek Gang series by Paul Hutchens

If you are traveling around Baltimore, MD the Inner Harbor waterfront area is a great field trip to explore several ships at dock. The Maritime Museum offers a tour of a Submarine... http://www.baltomaritimemuseum.org/index.php We've also enjoyed the Inner Harbor Aquarium