I second Cathy Duffy's book. We love A Reason for Handwriting here too. My kids adore workbooks and we have used Rod & Staff spelling in the past and loved it. At first glance it seems a bit simplistic, but there is so much more than just spelling in the lesson. We are currently using CLE's (Christian Light Education... samples are on their website... very rigorous) language arts, which includes spelling in the lesson. Both of my kiddos are natural spellers so I don't supplement it with anything else. Welcome to the hive!!

Yep. We've got the cards too. Plus, if you choose to do the optional literature selections, the book that corresponds to that weeks lesson is on the card too.

I think they are both rigorous... but they're apples and oranges, kwim? Their layout and scope and sequence are different. I've used both in the past... but we are currently using CLE for LA (and math). My kids love workbooks so it just, I dunno, works for us. I would supplement writing with both R & S and CLE though... they are both a little weak in that area.

My 12 year old has a phone. It technically has unlimited text and minutes, although she doesn't use much. My DH is active duty military and we live in a city where the closest family member is a 12 hour drive away. I like being able to have an instant connection with her if I need it. She spends time away from our house with friends and I want to know that I can get in touch with her when I want, and without having to go through a middle man. She doesn't dye her hair but I subscribe to a fairly liberal freedom-of-expression bent. If she wanted to dye it pink next week I would take her down and let her... and probably take pictures to send to her Dad across the pond (deployed). As long as she has a sweet, teachable spirit, loves Jesus and does well with her studies I'm okay with pretty much anything that's not permanent.

Frozen purple seedless grapes. Let em sit in a bowl for 10-15 minutes and they have just the right amount of slushiness when you bite into them. Your mouth will sing and you can thank me later. :D

We are moving to California this summer... looks like a fun way to guarantee some time outside of the house and exercise for the kidlets. Thanks for the link on your blog. Looks like it will be a blast!!

This is about the only thing I haven't tried on our stained shower. I think I'll give it a try this weekend. Thanks for the tip!

Perhaps a celebratory bonfire in the back yard... with smores. Let 'em chuck their finished curriculum in the fire. :D

A TeA Party with Books. And kilts. :D

Can you set up a schedule in advance? Daily chores listed every day... weekly chores listed on the day you want them done, etc etc? If your budget will allow, schedule a cleaning service to come in every two weeks for the first couple of months until you get on a decent schedule with the baby. They can do any necessary deep cleaning and get the sheets changed on the beds. Just a thought...

This is awesome. :D

I always double recipe's when I cook and freeze everything. My kiddos get tired of sandwiches and soup for lunch and it's oh-so-easy to pull out something from the freezer to reheat. BBQ pork is one of our go-to meals. It freezes beautifully!!

I was a science major in college... my high school chemistry class was actually harder than what I took at university. I worked hard for my grade, but didn't lose any sleep over it, kwim?

I'm not sure what is best but I can tell you what we did... 6th General Science 7th (this year) BJU's Life Science 8th .. we'll use BJU's Earth and Space. They reworked the text this year and I think the DVD option will be redone for next school year to go along with the new text.

We're kind of in the same situation here. My 7th grade DD passed the placement test for Saxon Algebra I but I just feel like she's needs more practice with her mad pre-algebra skillz just to solidify everything. (She is also wanting to forge ahead and begin Algebra I in the fall...) I decided to compromise with her and purchased CLE 7. It's inexpensive and is a great "pre-algebra" course. I think the majority of the students that complete it go on to have a successful year in Algebra. I'm going to skip through the lessons and let her take each quiz/test in the light units. When/if she scores less than a 95% we will slow down and work through the problems that she has difficulty with. If she can slide through all of the tests and quizzes making a 95% or better we will go ahead and begin Algebra I when she's done. CLE is inexpensive, rigorous, spiral, comprehensive... and cheap!! I definitely didn't cringe purchasing a years worth of math just to use it for the tests and quizzes. HTH

You've gotten a lot of great advice so far. I just thought I'd chime in and mention that you don't have to start every single subject at the same time and on the same day... start with your core subjects (math, reading, writing) and then add in spelling, history, science over the next couple of weeks. And don't be afraid to tweak or ditch a curriculum if it's not working for your son. One of the biggest mistakes I made my first year of homeschooling was continuing with a math program (that I loved) but was clearly not working for my daughter. We finally switched to something else half way through the year and finished our first year of homeschooling with less tears and many, many more smiles. I intuitively knew it wasn't working but didn't want to "waste" the money purchasing something else. If you ask me, it's always money well spent if the curriculum gets done, increases knowledge, and is implemented with a happy heart from both mom and student. Welcome!!

I wouldn't fly without my kindle. It helps the time to pass by sooo much faster. I can lose myself in a good book any day of the week.... While it is important to turn off all electronics before take-off and landing, I've never heard of the flight attendants confiscating electronics before. Usually when they do their final walk-through the cabin they'll give a polite reminder if anyone has forgotten...

Ohhh, really good idea. It would never have occured to me to cover it up. I have one from Costco, but I have to say that after about a year it's beginning to wear heavily around the edges. I think it would be better to fork out the extra money and avoid having to replace it every year.

Someone please clue me in... apple offers an educator's discount?? Do you simply tell them you're homeschooling? DH and I are looking at purchasing ipads this coming year... I had no idea.

Cindy, just thought I'd check in and see how Grace was feeling this morning. Allergic reactions can be scary. I hope her symptoms subsided quickly with the benadryl and that you both had a restful night.

Just thought I'd pop in and say :seeya:. We will be PCSing to the DC area next year too. From everything I've garnered on-line it does seem slightly more relaxed and easier to homeschool on the Virginia side. Having said that, we are strongly considering living in DC proper just so my DH will have a shorter commute time. I dread the thought of him spending an hour and a half on the road every day, and I've heard the commute times can be horrible there.

Thank you!! We'll be starting our VP class in a couple of weeks and I thought I was going to have to go through and tie everything together by looking at the history cards. I'm a visual person and will love to see it all listed neatly on a pdf. :001_smile:

Very well said, Milovany. :iagree:

Awesome, awesome posts... I'm not a new homeschooler but I enjoyed reading them. Thanks for sharing!! (And welcome, Matt.)

I think nose piercings are darling and your daughter is precious. I'll keep my snarky comments to myself about unoriginal-ness... I bucked the trend and voted "yes".