Thanks for the replies, I guess there are several of us who would like to hear about the program. There must be someone using it . . .

I have been looking at the new Voyages in English and was wondering if anyone is using the program and could tell me how you like it so far? I am considering it for 5th and 7th grade.

You are beautiful! I think if you have a big smile when you see them you can't go wrong. The person who cuts my hair told me if I ever need to trim my bangs, cut them when they are wet, only cut a small amount because when they dry they will be shorter, and never cut them above for eyebrows or cut into the sides. Accessorize whatever you wear with scarves, jewelry, whatever to draw attention away from whatever you are worried about. Belts over longer sweaters can hide a lot while looking stylish. I keep seeing that everywhere. You are adorable, everyone is worried about how they look so be confidant and just keep smiling the whole weekend. You will have a great time!

We put Montreal Seasoning for chicken on them and grill them. My family never gets tired of this and we put them on the grill right out of the freezer. Very handy if you are the type of person who often forgets to get something out of the freezer to thaw. That that I forget to do that (well, not every single day). :lol:

I get asked if my boys are all from the same marriage all of the time by strangers because my boys are so spread out. I don't like it but when surprised with the question its hard to think of a good answer. I guess I should choose one from this thread! As far as the other questions, as a nurse I can tell you they are required to ask those questions and you are considered a high risk pregnancy if you answer yes. Believe it or not, you can ask the same person the same question 3 times and get different answers. I think maybe sometimes the person needs to warm up to you before answering truthfully, and they may be used to denying things as a rule because they feel they need to. I once saw Marie Osmond interviewed about her children and she was asked in front of the children which were 'hers' and which were adopted. She looked at them and said something like 'I really don't remember, but they're all mine now'. That might be a good answer for anyone in that situation.

I think evacuation is so buildings can be checked for structural damage.

:grouphug:

I see, thanks for explaining. The boys were trying to call their grandmother and wanted to know. I was busy taking everything breakable and putting it on the carpet and wondering if it was too early for a glass of wine. Surely during an earthquake that 5 o'clock rule doesn't apply? ;)

If you are a tech kind of person, why have I received text messages but am unable to make a call? Just wondering.

We are in Maryland and had things falling and breaking. We ran outside. The good news and the most surprising thing is I found out that my children can indeed come quickly when called. We still have no phone service here so if you are trying to reach people that may be why. Cell or landline. Thank goodness for internet!

My son wants a Kindle for his birthday. I am looking at the one without internet capability since we don't let the boys have computers in their rooms. I am wondering if it is possible to know what books he downloads? I know I would be aware of anything he paid for but what about free books? I wouldn't let him go to a bookstore and choose anything without having some idea what it is, so I am not sure if this is a good idea. Can anyone explain how this works in your family?

I have been looking at all of these programs and trying to decide what would be best for this child. I am leaning toward Horizons so I gave him the placement test for Pre-Algebra. He scored 43, which is the cut off for this level. Because it is a new program for us I am a little concerned because he barely passed. Any advice?

I would like to study art and music that corresponds to the history time period we are studying. It seems that none of the art or music programs I read about are set up in this way. If you do this, do you make it up yourself?

I did that a few years ago. You just have to replace the glass top. You can order it and install yourself. Sorry, I bet it was a mess.

Outrageous. My son and daughter-in-law had most of their gifts delivered to our home because we live closer to them than her family does and they didn't want gifts sitting at their door while they were at out of town at the wedding and honeymoon. I can tell you it never would have occurred to me in a million years to open one. Who does that? And why would you tell someone which of their gifts you want? You are a very patient woman.

I was wondering if you could share your daily schedules. I am trying to set up a schedule for 7th grade. Some classes he does by himself and some are combined with his 5th grade brother. If you have classes you combine with siblings do you schedule them in a row and more independent classes at a separate time?

I have a question about scheduling. I have been scheduling things that have to be done every day and take a fair amount of concentration, like math, memory work and piano practice, first thing in the morning. We also have subjects that have to be done all together, and subjects that I have to work with one of the boys alone. One problem with this schedule is if the boys decide to drag something out it messes up the rest of the schedule. They could not care less if they are still working at 5 or 7? but I can't stand it. I need the school day to be over so I can do other things. Can you tell me how you schedule your subjects?

I agree that he is bored but I have no idea what program would force him to think or engage him more. Since working independently is obviously not working well for him, I would appreciate suggestions.

My 10 year old son, who would be a fifth grader if in school, finished Teaching Textbooks 7 last year. It was a rough year, he fooled around and dragged it out, often getting pretty bad scores. I am not sure what to do for the coming year. I gave him the pre-test for Pre-Algebra and he has passed the test. My sense is that it is just laziness and immaturity, his 12 year old brother went through a phase just like this about the same time and has moved on. Recently I suggested he start at the beginning of last year's book and watch the lectures and re-do any problems he got wrong, chapter by chapter. He has not been doing very well. Again he is bored and fooling around. I don't want to push him at all but I really think he can do the work. I should qualify he has ADD so that is certainly part of the problem. We do most subjects together, although I am trying to move to more independent learning, and TT is one of the few things he does alone. Please tell me what you would do about this situation. I am dreading having math take up so much time and leaving too little for other subjects.

Amy, That is a really great idea too! How would you handle reading a certain book for history, especially a read-a-loud? We have an awful lot of reading to do this year, some independently and some with all of us. There are some organized moms on this board, I am so glad they are so willing to share!

It sounds extremely generous to me to allow the party to be held outside at their home! We went to an outdoor wedding a few years ago and when you went into the porta potties, it was like being in any indoor bathroom, with a sink. Nothing like what you picture when you think of a porta pottie. We have been to company parties where the people hosting had very nice homes, nicer than most of the guests. We have seen people who were generally very nice people make nasty comments about the "lavish" home while they were being entertained, just because it was nicer than they could afford. I am guessing a little bit of that would go a long way and would make you be very selective about who you allowed into your "lavish" home. It is their home where they spend time together as a family, and no one wants someone to say bad things about their home whether it is too nice or not nice enough.

Anyone using CWH and created some type of lesson plan? :001_huh:

This is just beautiful! Can you tell us more about the pocket sheet books? I have never seen them before. Also, love your pictures, it makes it so much easier to understand.

We started using Mark Kistler last year and the boys do the lessons on their own. As far as talent in drawing, let's just say we were all still trying to master stick people. Now, when one of the boys is drawing something (not part of a lesson) we are very surprised at how the lessons have improved their skill. It is hard to believe the progress they have made, and in a very low-key lesson.

We are planning to use Connecting With History, Volume 3 this year to add some Catholic history and I am a little overwhelmed with planning. I have been setting up Homeschool Tracker with our other subjects. WWS and FLL are fairly easy to set up but I am wondering how others have set up CWH in a lesson plan.