I usually use Abeka through 2nd, then we did Saxon. Now we do TT. So, I wanted a different early system, so I went with MUS. My kids are so bored with multiple pages. They don't like the manipulatives. They don't like having to watch a video. I thought for sure that my hands-on kid would love it, but he doesn't seem to be thrilled with it, either. And I have so much of it. Complete set of blocks, overlays, inserts, Primer through Algebra complete. Yikes!! So now what should I try? I am not a Singapore fan. Nor Saxon. I am OK with Abeka through 2nd and I'm not sure about TT for younger kids. Should I just suck it up and muddle through?

You don't sign in. Do you have 2 computers?

I think that you are initially supposed to have the child use it for 1 hour per day, 3x per week. Once they get through all the levels (12-14 weeks later), I think that it is only a once a week brush up thing.

My 8 year old uses Explode the Code online. She likes it fairly well, but I have to remind her to do it. She also really likes Brainware Safari.

Opinions will vary on this one. Some say don't wash them or it will remove the bloom, which protects the egg from bacteria entering through the shell. You can use sandpaper to remove "particles." I'm not from that camp. I do a quick rinse off and leave them out to dry. Once they are dry, I refrigerate them, pointy side down. It suspends the yolk better, so I have read. I hard boiled my eggs once and no matter what, I could not peel them. Young egg, old eggs, warm eggs, cold eggs, nobody can seem to agree on this one. And I think that they will last a few days if left out. I read somewhere that most Europeans don't even refrigerate their eggs. They leave them out on the counter. They don't have massive appliances like we do.

:confused:

So much stuff has HFCS in it. Nutrigrain bars, Ritz Crackers, Wheat Thins. Check your General Mills cereals. They have it now, too. Even Rita's water ice. :glare: We only use real maple syrup, too. That price has certainly skyrocketed.

Hmm. Still stumped. My oldest son is in 7th grade. He seems to be doing fine at PZ, but has no clue how to figure out how to spell something, he just determines if it looks correct. :confused: He has potential to be a TERRIBLE speller, just like Dad and Grandpa. I also have a 1st grader learning to read and a 3 grader. So I was thinking about ordering Level 1 to start fresh with my younger ones. They wouldn't be on the same pace, though. Do I still need additional student kits for each? Are these consumable or no? I am thinking that maybe my older son could finish before the 1st grader was solid enough in reading to start. We don't use SWR if it makes a difference.

For those who use TT for 7th and under, do you write in the student book? I'm just not sure about teaching multiplication and division on the computer.

We don't do the Tooth Fairy. We call Papa (grandfather) as soon as they lose a tooth. It is their first thought. Then Papa mails out a dollar and a little note. Then they excited wait for days for the mail to arrive.

I just saw them at Staples a few days ago.

I didn't drink it for years, but now that I buy raw milk, I do drink it. It tastes so much better, plus all those probiotics. :001_smile: We go through 11 gallons a week.

Are you thinking just for feed? I calculated that I spent almost $200 (chicks to freezer) for 14 birds. $100 of that was feed.

Look into CSA as well. http://www.localharvest.org/ There is one here that for $52, you get 10 pounds of pork and 2 chickens. That is an awesome deal. I am on the waiting list for next year. The price will have to go up (what isn't right now) but still, if you back out $30 for chickens, the pork is dirt cheap. And it is everything from bacon (fabulous, but $6/pound) to ham steaks to sausage. I am working with the farmer that we buy our beef from so that he might start up a beef CSA. Lots of people don't have the room for a half a cow at one time, but 20 pounds of month is reasonable.

The co-op here charges $15 a bird ($3 per pound) basically, but there is a charge if the bird is heavier than 5 pounds. We did our own chickens this year. The chicks were $1.75 each. I went through about $100 worth of feed, and it cost $70 for some else to butcher them (so worth the cost if you don't have a chicken plucker). So, I paid $13.85 for our own chickens, although most weighed more than 5 pounds. I also own 7 RIR and I go through $28 of feed per month. And at this point, we get 7 eggs per day. So even if we get 15 dozen eggs a month, it is still almost $2 a dozen that I am paying. We buy raw milk for $4.50 per gallon, but I will head to PA on our dry months where it is $3.50 per gallon.

I bought it last weekend. I heard back the next day, I believe. She needed to confirm all of my info and then she set up my account. I am up and running. I just need to figure out how to find things.:001_huh:

I'm seeing it referenced all over the homeschool community, but I haven't heard of it. We currently use Phonetic Zoo A-C, starting in 3rd/4th grade. I have R&S for second. Is this worth a closer look?

If you had to pick one system, which would it be? Right now I am veering toward keeping the hardcover book and returning the workbook. It looks as though I can make my own worksheets up with Startwrite. What do you think?

I started with spiral bound, but I had the covers laminated. But now I use the hardcover books.

Our chickens are very tame. We use a portable pen (tractor) system and I let them out in the AM, and in the evening. They usually follow me right to my front door when I go in the house. Yesterday, I walked by my front door and there were 2 chickens looking in at me. They often will walk up to the children and myself so they can be pet (pat),whichever word it is. :confused: When it is time to put them in the pen, I just walk outside and they usually come running after me to their pen. They bow down and anyone in the family can easily pick them up and put them in their pen. We got them as chicks and they are 5 months old now. I think that my chickens listen to me better than my children. :lol:

I bought our TI-83 Plus from a for sale board for $40. We use Teaching Textbooks and they said that we did need one for Pre-Calc.

I have college students in Chicago, so when I visit, we pop on down to the Oriental to try for the front row seats. I've seen Wicked from the front row 4 times, and from the last row once (my girls won front row seats so I had to buy a cheap seat so that I could be in the theater with them. Enjoy the show!!!

I know that it is a fun program. My boys love it. But, even though they score in the mid-90 percentiles, they just cannot read the same words when I put them on flashcards. My 4 year old is on Episode 23 and my 6 year old is on Episode 30. I guess I just expected more to be this far into the program. My 30 day money back guarantee ends soon and I just can't figure out what to do.

I just password protect Nick and Disney. Then, if I am feeling nice, I will unlock it. I find that SpongeBob is actually one of the less inappropriate shows they have.

I only have Le Creuset. I don't have to mess around with seasoning, and it washes up wonderfully.