I want to try something different for history next year. We have done Winter Promise and SOTW in the past. I am looking for more of an all in one curriculum...maybe everything but math. My dd is at around a 6th-7th grade level. I found several things I like, but cannot decide between them. Bright Ideas Press Illuminations curriculum - I just found out about this one. I like how it schedules pretty much everything and like how it has choices for grammar and writing. It is kind of pricey and I am guessing it cannot be resold since it is a download. The main thing keeping me from purchasing is that there is no MOH volume 4 out yet which creates somewhat of a gap between their grade 3-8 curriculum and the high school level. My dd has not had any American history yet...don't know how that happened, so we need to get that in there somewhere between now and 9th grade. Anybody have any pros and cons for this curriculum or reasons not to use it? Trisms - I like that it goes through high school. We would probably start with History Makers which would work well because it has an overview of history-maybe it would fill in the gaps? I know it is supposed to be independent, but just not sure how easy it would be for my dd to follow. I am also on the fence about this one because I am not sure if I like IEW for writing...I have looked at it in the past and felt confused by it all...so we would have to sub in something else which would defeat the purpose of the all in one idea, however, everything else about the curriculum I like. Anybody use this one and not like it? Oak Meadow - It looks really good for the 6th-8th grade years just not sure how strong their grammar and literature would be. If I used it I would probably be tempted to add things to it, which might be more work than it is worth? I know a lot of people like it though...so maybe I am missing out on something good? Anyway, need to find something my dd can be somewhat independent with. Any input on these choices is appreciated.

What is your area of study for history this year? We are studying the Middle Ages this year. We have stopped and started history so many times this year and tweaked things 100 different ways that I am ready to give the teaching responsibility of history to dad (he is more of a history buff anyway). So, starting in January, that will lighten my load a little. For the MCT groupies, are you still enamored or has the some of the luster worn off? I'm not a groupie. What are your areas of focus for skill development? We are focusing on spelling, basic writing skills, punctuation, and finishing up the last of the basic math skills needed for prealgebra. We will probably also start working on outlining and doing more book reports. Is there any tool or resource that you don't think you could manage the year without? Whiteboard, planner, and this message board of course. How goes the writing process? It could be better. My dd has great creative ideas and has no problem with the flow of her writing, writing dialogue, or even using a wide variety of vocabulary. She just has a lot of weaknesses in writing in the areas of punctuation, spelling, and writing technical reports. When I ask her to summarize something, she tends to want to write too much. She also is a somewhat sloppy writer, so I am debating between having her do mostly cursive (which surprisingly looks much better) or typing her reports/work. If there is one new, invaluable thing you have learned that is helping you to be a better teacher, would you mind sharing? Please. Less is more. I tend to want to do too much. I see what everyone else is doing or the new great thing that came out and want to try it for fun at the expense of overloading my dd which causes her to hate homeschooling. This year and next I am trying to slow down and stop buying and adding on so much stuff. I am trying to appreciate what I do have and use everything to its full potential. I also think that my time is better spent actually teaching the subjects and helping my dd learn, rather than planning, researching, etc. for hours on end.

I know it can be discouraging when you feel you are falling behind. I have had the same problem this year with my dd. I think there is something about the ages from 10-13 that cause parents to panic. You worry about high school and them being out in the world on their own. I had to remind myself that my dd was not going to be 18 and on her own tomorrow. You still have plenty of time to work on weaknesses and learn the basics really well. One year, when my dd was around 10, we spent almost all year just learning multiplication tables for math, it took that long for them to sink in, but it was worth it the next year when we were able to move on to multiplying bigger problems, multiplying fractions, etc. I think my dd is still behind a little in math, but I am more concerned with her understanding the math really well, so we take our time. I would recommend just starting exactly where you need to be and don't put too much pressure on the child to catch up. For reading, I would just read lots of books in all subjects. My dd happens to like science books a lot so often she prefers those instead of chapter books, but there are a lot of fun chapter books as well. My daughter really loved the Bunnicula series and the Poppy series. When she was younger, I even let her read the Scooby Doo chapter books. For math, we are using the Key To books, but if you need to start on lower math skills like basic multiplication then I would suggest Math Mammoth. For spelling, we are using Soaring with Spelling and Vocabulary (really love this one), but others that may be good for remediation include All About Spelling or Sequential Spelling. For writing this year, we have been using a combination of Writing Apprentice and Igniting Your Writing. They have pretty fun writing exercises that are not overwhelming. Hope this helps.

I like the suggestions every one has on here. Also consider Rightstart Math. It has a good combination of drill and review. Each lesson reviews concepts from the previous lesson and the curriculum is written to the teacher (lots of hand holding). http://www.alabacus.com/ Another one to consider is Mastering Mathematics. There are several workbooks that are topical (kind of like MathUSee), however, it is very bare bones without all the tricks in the daily worksheets. There is a teacher's manual (a ton of information in this) that has helps and different ways to teach concepts and it has placement tests and suggestions for how to implement the program and get the child on grade level. Basically the main focus on the curriculum is drill and review. However, it also has games and other ideas that you can implement, but that is up to you. http://masterypublications.com/Math.htm Here is a sampler of what some of the pages look like: http://masterypublications.com/sampler.pdf I think you should also consider Math Mammoth, Rod and Staff, and Saxon like others mentioned here. I would just look at the samples and see which one appeals to you more.

My first dd did not start talking until around 18 months (although she walked at 9 months). I started to get concerned around 16 months or so and then one day she started talking and has not stopped since! I am lucky that it worked out okay for my dd, but it is interesting that my dd is an extremely extroverted talkative kid...never would have known when she was an infant (I think she was taking everything in). My second dd is only 7 1/2 months so not sure how talkative she will be (although she likes to make all the typical baby sounds and something that sounds like screaching that practically deafens anyone around), but I am definitely more knowledgeable this time and would not hesitate to do something right away if needed. I definitely think you should get it checked out and look into speech therapy if necessary. It is better to do it now then wait and have speech delays.

I think it is just something about the age. My 12-year-old has the same problem. She was adding a problem with decimals today and for some reason decided to multiply the numbers instead of adding them. Sometimes it seems like the simplest problems and operations become the most complex. I try to get my dd to write slower and neater or even use graph paper to write problems on, whatever it takes for her to focus more on the problem, but sometimes her head is just in the clouds!

I suggest Growing with Grammar if you can find it used. New it is kind of pricey, but it teaches grammar in a more thorough manner. Also, at Rainbow Resource they have a Straight Forward English series http://rainbowresource.com/prodlist.php?sid=1288732894-664400&subject=7&category=1789 The All-In-One English book covers all of the topics like punctuation, nouns, verbs, etc and is a really good value at $10.95 or if you would rather focus on one topic at a time they have the books on each topic for $3.95 each. (There is currently a bargain copy of the verb book) I have not looked at it in person, but this one looks interesting: http://rainbowresource.com/product/Grammar+by+the+Book/029747/1288732894-664400 If you just need a book to teach from: -The Only Grammar Book You'll Ever Need http://rainbowresource.com/product/Only+Grammar+Book+You%92ll+Ever+Need/010215/1288732894-66440 -Painless Junior Grammar http://rainbowresource.com/product/Painless+Junior%3A+Grammar/038508/1288732894-664400 or Painless Grammar http://rainbowresource.com/product/Painless+Grammar/018702/1288732894-664400 There is also Step-By-Step Grammar: http://rainbowresource.com/prodlist.php?sid=1288732894-664400&subject=7&category=1761 (looks like there is a bargain copy of volume 1) Thinking Through Grammar (Whimbey) for grades 5-6 is currently on Amazon for $15.59 new or $8-10 used. http://www.bgfperformance.com/books.html Besides the Daily Grammar http://www.dailygrammar.com/ website someone suggested, try the Guide to Grammar and Writing website http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/

My dd likes to test me to see what work she can get out of every day. I like the pushup idea someone mentioned earlier...I might have to try that. I might throw in a few situps or laps around the cul-de-sac. Every now and then I have a day where I have to call dh to vent and he patiently listens to me and then by the time he gets home the crisis has resolved. It makes me wonder why I let these things get to me in the first place. Anyway, I have trouble teaching my dd math...she hates math. Every time I try to explain a new concept to her she looks at me like I have 3 heads and am speaking Chinese. I am convinced she sometimes literally does not have her brain turned on for the day. Maybe it is just the age...she is 12. I am thinking I should have someone else teach her math...so mom does not go crazy!

My dad used to have a vegetable garden so I grew up eating a lot of fresh vegetables. I actually love spinach and broccoli which I know most people hate. I also love lima beans although they are a bit starchy. My next favorite is peas followed by green beans. Love, love, love green bean casserole and broccoli cheese and rice casserole. I will occasionally eat lettuce, but I do not like salad...I tend not to like raw vegetables.

I have never tried brussel sprouts, cabbage (cannot stand the smell of it), beets, radishes, most Chinese food, most seafood (shrimp, crab, clams, you name it), and sushi (sounds even grosser than other seafood). Things I tried once and absolutely hated with a passion: raw carrots, raw tomatoes, anything with onions, salad (I know I am weird), salad dressing, parmesan cheese, green tea (I think it tastes like tree bark), flavored tea, meatloaf (need I say more), anything with coconut, coffee (any kind), and dark chocolate. It is funny how things my dh loves I hate and things I love he hates to eat. -he loves parmesan cheese, I hate it -I love bananas, banana bread, anything with bananas, he hates them -he loves salad, I hate it -I love most vegetables like lima beans, spinach, etc., he will only tolerate some of them, but hates most vegetables (except salad of course) -he loves Ranch dressing, I won't touch it with a 10-foot pole -I don't necessarily love chicken but it is the only meat I will tolerate, dh loves his meat (all kinds) -he eats raw carrots for a snack, I would rather gag -I mostly drink water, he loves his soda and green tea -he loves Chinese food (he has been trying to convince me to try it again), I would rather starve! -my dh also will eat seafood, but the only time I eat something fish like is from Long John Silver's and I don't know if that counts. -I love sweets that have anything but chocolate, dh loves his dark chocolate, coconut, and toffee

I have tried Readerware, you can download a free trial. I have not had the money to purchase it, but I am thinking of getting it in the future. You can purchase a bar code scanner to input the items which I think would be really cool. We just did it by hand since we were trying it out and for books all you need to do is type in the ISBN number. It comes up with all the information on the book for you. It even has a current market value price of the item which helps if you are trying to sell some books. My husband really liked it because you can also put in other media like movies. He wanted a way to catalog all of our movies. I am a book nut and he is a movie nut so the fact that it does both was perfect for us. Another cool thing is that you can put items in categories so I made different categories for things I wanted to purchase. You could also potentially use categories to show where in your house a book or movie was located. I don't know much more than I posted here because our trial ended before I could play with it more. I am definitely going to include it in our homeschooling budget for next year though.

There are a lot of things you can do from home. I worked as a medical transcriptionist for a while, but have decided to move into another field. Anyway, here are a few websites you can use to research different type of work at home jobs or business ideas: http://www.ratracerebellion.com http://www.wahm.com http://www.virtualvocations.com http://www.tjobs.com/ http://www.thewahmconnection.com/ http://www.internetbasedmoms.com/ http://www.freelancemom.com/ http://www.worldwideworkathome.com/ http://cwahm.com/wordpress/ http://www.workathomespace.com/ http://www.wahmzone.com/

We have been homeschooling for a little over 10 years now. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and do things differently. When you start homeschooling your first child sometimes you don't know what really works until you are moving on to something else. I now know more of what works for elementary school, but my oldest dd is going into middle school grades now. By the time I figure out what works for middle school, she will probably be in high school. We are more of eclectic homeschoolers so we try to incorporate some parts of classical education. I never required my dd to answer specific questions like the way SOTW outlines. We also never did narration or dictation. I have to say that I was really excited when we began homeschooling and read through The Well-Trained Mind, bought SOTW1, and was all ready to go teach classical style. Then I discovered that my dd was not that interested in learning history in 1st grade and she was a really creative individual that needed more time to play and explore. So, we spent the first year mostly reading books, playing, going to the park, and doing artwork and projects. The only formal curriculum that we stuck with was math. I think back then we were doing K12 math. Every year I would research curriculum and think I had found the perfect thing to help teach my dd, but ultimately most of it ended up being too much busywork, boring, not a fit for her learning style, or just plain not necessary. The goal of these curriculum companies is for you to buy their stuff. Really, not much is needed to get from point A to B. Despite knowing this, I am such a book and curriculum junkie that I end up buying stuff anyway. If I could go back and teach the elementary age again, I would: -not worry about academics so much and play more -research and read as much as I could about homeschooling philosophies and teaching methods (I just don't have as much time anymore to do this and wish I would have been more prepared for middle school) -not spend so much money or buy so much curriculum (the money would have been better spent on classes or enrichment activities outside the home) -started history later on maybe by 3rd grade or so (I think it is more important to spend those first few years developing good readers and creating a foundation for basic math skills) -do at least some dictation or narration from about 2nd grade on (I just kept putting it off and I think it would have helped my dd's spelling skills) -relax in my teaching style a little more (sometimes you have to sit on something for a while before it sinks in) -avoid curriculum with schedules (I never followed schedules even though I wanted to and tried really hard, it just was not for me) -avoid curriculum that was overly scripted (I struggled with curriculum that had too much information for the teacher to digest before teaching, I spent too much time on curriculum like that and preparing to teach rather than just teaching) -help my dd become more independent in her learning earlier on probably from about the 3rd-4th grade level depending on the child (I let my child take the easy way out too many times and did not realize that she was capable of much more)

I have never left my oven on while gone, but then again I am not much of a cook. I try not to leave anything else running either like washer, dryer, or dishwasher. We have had several bad incidents with electrical appliances. Once when we were washing clothes and the washer was completely full of water, the hose on the back of the washer came off and flooded our first floor. My hubby was upstairs at the time and I was at the store, so we didn't notice it until it was too late and all the water had overflowed. It ruined our flooring, baseboards, and some wallpaper in the kitchen. We have had dishwashers that started cooking (melting them) the dishes inside. Every now and then something would fall down into the heating element and burn so bad that smoke was coming out of the dishwasher. Don't know if it would actually burn the house down, but I figure I don't want to find out.

FLL: Did not care for the scripted nature of it. Sequential Spelling: The word lists were too long and the way it taught seemed weird (I probably just did not give it enough of a chance) K12 Language Arts: Did not like this as well because of the overly scripted nature and it being too teacher intensive. I also did not like the way they taught phonics and did not care for their use of workbooks for LA in the younger years. I would have liked it more if there had been more of an interactive component online geared towards the child.

I am in Texas and from personal experience I can tell you that MD Anderson is not as great as it is portrayed. You would definitely be a number at MD Anderson and it wouldn't be unheard of for them to make mistakes and drop the ball on treatments since it is such a huge place. They also have students/residents there since it is a teaching hospital. Sometimes that is a good thing if you are dealing with a rare difficult to treat cancer, but for other types of cancers I would suggest a different type of treatment center. I think you would be best going to the best treatment center for the type of breast cancer you were diagnosed with that is within reasonable distance to your home or other family members. You will need that support. Praying everything goes well for you.

I am in Round Rock. I was born in Austin, but also lived in Houston, San Marcos, D/FW (Flower Mound), and Pflugerville.

I am a strong right brain and have known this for years. I struggled with school because I tended to do better with writing papers and essays or doing projects or coming up with creative ideas. Multiple choice and true/false questions were always difficult for me on tests. I hate making choices! I like to keep my mind open for possibilities. My oldest daughter is extremely right brained as well, very artistic and creative. My hubby is as left brained as they get (I guess opposites attract). Sometimes he does not understand the way my daughter and I function and it stresses him out to see us flying by the seat of our pants all the time.

Pros: -Ability to give individual attention to student, identify academic weaknesses early on, and tailor the curriculum to learning style of student -Having our own schedule, doing school anytime of the day or evening or being able to go anywhere (like grandma's house) on a moment's notice -Mom gets a reason to buy books and gets discounts! Cons: -Little time for mom to relax (unless you have an outside job or other activity it can seem like the mom store is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week) -Have to work harder to make sure dd has interaction with other kids and find classes/park days, etc. that fit our schedule -Expensive for curriculum and books (although does not have to be-depends on curriculum used) and loss of income for mom

TRISMS has a History Makers curriculum that is for 6th-8th grades and is designed to be independent, but it also includes other subjects (not sure if you would want that or not) like language arts including writing and science. Winter Promise could possibly be used independently since they have the independent schedules for the student. Oak Meadow also has a history program that could be used independently for the middle school grades. I think the newer versions include language arts together with the history.

We school year-round with a few weeks off around the holidays or birthdays. This has allowed us to complete schoolwork in a more compact style of 3 days per week. Monday-Wednesday are the days we designate as when we want to get everything done (the main focus is always on math and language arts). We use Thursday as an alternative school day if someone is sick or we get off track and have a lot of work to complete. Friday-Sunday are days off or we do field trips or classes on those days. For now, we are scheduling history and science pretty loosely. I am still trying to find where that will fit in, but I think what might work is to schedule history and science on alternate weeks so that we focus on one or the other at one time. As an example for this week: -Monday - I was sick this week so we decided to start school on Tuesday instead. -Tuesday - We worked on math, spelling, and science. -Wednesday - We worked on math, spelling, and writing, finished up science. -Thursday - Today we are working on finishing up math and grammar. Next week, we will focus on history instead of science. I still need to add in English From the Roots Up and Lightning Lit to the schedule. In the future, as my dd gets into high school years, I may need to adjust this schedule to incorporate more classes outside the house during the week, but by then I hope to have her working more independently so we probably won't have set days per week, rather when she finishes her assignments for the week she will be allowed to pursue other activities.

FLL - hated the script and it just seemed boring, not to mention that I just decided not to teach grammar in 1st grade Several phonics programs including OPGTTR...same thing, just could not get into the scripted nature of it. Latin Road to English Grammar - could never make heads or tails of it and didn't want to Sonlight - schedules just do not work for me Any curriculum that has long explanations, is difficult to follow (turn to this page, then do this, then turn to this page, etc), is overly scheduled or scripted just does not work for me. I want something I can open and go.

I am having the same problem finding the perfect writing program. There are a few I have been researching, but have not pulled the trigger on yet. I REALLY do not want to waste more money on another program unless I know it is nearly 100% what I want. Anyway, here is a list of a few you may want to consider: http://www.createbetterwriters.com/The_Complete_Writing_Pro.html http://rdlco.com/products.php Put That In Writing http://barrettsbookshelf.com/ Meaningful Composition http://www.tfths.com/comp.php

Grammar is not working for us this year and I need a few suggestions for a good grammar program for the middle school level (around 6th-8th grade). We started out with a few workbooks, but found them boring. I also have the Great Editing Adventure, but find it is just good for daily review of grammar and it does not seem like a complete program. We have tried Growing with Grammar in the past and it seemed boring after the first couple of units. I am looking for something that: -has somewhat of a fun factor or a different style of teaching grammar than the usual workbook approach -is mostly secular I am considering the following and would like input on which one of these would be recommended or maybe the pros and cons of using them: -MCT (not sure what level I would start with and not sure if you can start the program with a middle school student) -Analytical Grammar -Thinking Through Grammar -Easy Grammar (not sure if this would seem too much like the typical workbook approach) -Galore Park English -Total Language Plus (don't know if this would be complete, but it does contain grammar instruction) -Simply English (from Shoelace books) -Queens Language Lessons for Secondary Child -Grammarlogues website (anyone use this?) Open to other recommendations as well. Also, my dd is a visual-spatial kinesthetic learner and has had very little prior grammar instruction.

Check out this book list from a Well-Trained Mind Yahoo Group: Middle Ages Book List There are other cool lists and schedules (under the file section) as well on that group, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WellTrainedMindDscn/ Check out these groups for other neat schedules and middle ages book lists: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HIStoryQuesters/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/StoryoftheWorldVol2Dscn/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VP_Elementary/ (you may have to join the groups to get access to info) Reading Your Way Through History A Book In Time SOTW 2 Schedule (found this on the Elemental Science Yahoo Group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/elemental_science/) A few smaller book lists grouped by grammar, logic stage, etc: http://classical-homeschooling.org/ Here is an interesting Middle Ages website: http://www.themiddleages.net/index.html Literature to Supplement History Movies to Supplement History