I have also just finished RS C (2nd ed) with a third grader. We switched from Saxon 2nd grade last year to the 2nd grade level of RS (based on placement tests and consulting with RS customer service), and surprisingly did not find very much that was not new. I had grand plans to accelerate C and complete it by early spring, but it actually did take us the full 9 months to complete. I find RS can be intense and time-consuming, and difficult to compact. I am in awe of Momofeat's ability to do more than one lesson in a sitting! While I have some anxiety about being a little bit behind, I actually do not feel a full year behind -- maybe half a year? I find that RS C covered more than the typical 2nd grade math, and have heard that RS is slightly accelerated. I do know that DD is very solid on what she learned in RS C, and is no longer confused about borrowing and place value. We have been reviewing for her standardized test, and DD has been doing quite well with the Spectrum 3rd grade test prep booklet, even though she has officially only completed 2nd grade math. While I do have RS D (2nd ed), my current plan is to move to BA 3 this summer and see if we can make some more progress with that to get DD back on grade level. I think math during the summer is our only option

Oooh, so those long metal pole things can go on the inside of a door, and are only difficult to remove when sleepwalking? I thought they went on the outside, and was worried about fires.

A door alarm on each of her two doors should work -- one door opens to the porch and outside, and one opens to the back mudroom. There is a bathroom in her room, so she really does not need to be using either of her doors once she has been put to bed. But for the exterior door, do I put the door alarm on the interior, and wouldn't she be able to just de-activate it? Or maybe that is too difficult to do whilst sleeping?

Thanks -- so door alarm + baby monitor? I was hoping someone might make an alarm with a remote bell that I could put in our room. I am just having trouble finding that or figuring out the appropriate search terms. DH did suggest just setting up the baby monitor, but I am afraid that little, normal noises will be waking us up all night, and a sleep-deprived grumpy Mommy is also a safety hazard.

DD9 was sleepwalking last night and almost escaped from her hotel room. I woke up at midnight to hear a horrible racket coming from their room (we kept the adjoining doors partially open) -- like someone was trying to break down the door. When I investigated, I found DD violently shaking the door, which she had unlocked and opened completely, except for that folding slide lock thing on top which she apparently couldn't figure out in her sleep. I can't imagine what she intended to do, or what might have happened to her -- wandering the hallways in her pajamas, or even leaving the building? She has had other sleepwalking incidents, but usually just walks around the house, or comes to our room to mumble something incomprehensible. She has never tried to do anything dangerous before. She sleeps with her sister in a ground-floor room that is actually very far from where the rest of us sleep upstairs (it is a master suite addition). We thought it was best for her to have a ground floor room to avoid the danger of falling down stairs, but now I feel very unsafe with her so far away. There is an exterior door in her room, which opens out onto a deck, with stairs to the back yard and pond. I don't want to put locks on her doors because of the danger of being trapped in case of fire. I read the other sleepwalking thread (link below), and am on Amazon now shopping for door alarms, but am afraid that I might not hear them all the way at the other end of the house. Is there anything like a door alarm with a speaker you can put someplace else, like in our room? Is this something we should discuss with her doctor, or is there anything else we can do? http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/585576-dangerous-sleepwalking/?hl=%2Bsleepwalking&do=findComment&comment=6804898

I would save them for your little girl! It is so special to be able to pass something like that on, even if it is not played with all the time. I saved my collection for my daughters (ages 6 and 9), and they really enjoy them. They also have AG dolls, which are played with every day, but once in a while they get out all of the Strawberry Shortcakes, dress them up, and play elaborate stories with them. I keep them in a bin under my bed just to keep them together as a collection. The girls love having something that was mine from back in the "old days." Your daughter just may not be old enough for them yet, and it wouldn't hurt to hang onto them for a few more years just to be sure.

Memoria Press offers science courses that can be done independently. They are book and workbook-based. My 3rd grader is working through Mammals on her own, and is learning quite a lot. It has been an easy extra for me to add, as I just need to check her book and be available to answer questions. It doesn't require any lessons to be taught. I also do Nancy Larson science with everyone together, which is more hands-on and certainly NOT independent -- but we are only on Level 2 of that, and my oldest in particular is not finding it challenging. I added Mammals so that she can work at her level. It looks like there are plenty of similar courses available for older kids.

I'm sorry to be cryptic. I do feel bad calling people out . . . but if it can help another WTM-er avoid a wasted conference day, I am happy to help. It was the Maxwells I had seen, but I am sure there are other similar submissive wife/arrogant husband couples doing the conference circuit.

Yes - they do have a blog, and still seem to be active. The name for their site is a chapter of the New Testament.

I'm so sorry. That sounds like a frustrating, but not impossible problem. Yes, read him good books and have him watch Letter Factory! My children watched it, and I never had to teach letter sounds.

Thank you. These are all very helpful suggestions. I just needed some help in narrowing down some good books for elementary students on more contemporary history. I can use all of these book lists!

I think you really have to run a separate history program along with CC -- unless you are doing a lot of work on your own to put together background materials. The memory work is a great extra, but I did not find it to be a curriculum. We did SOTW along with our CC memory work when we were part of a community, and found that it worked well. I have also tried VP self-paced, but stopped using it after a few months. It turns out that we much prefer to do history together. Also, the younger kids didn't like all of the complicated spelling games, and the snarky narrators grated on me, so I made the kids wear earphones so that I would not have to hear it. But I do think it is rigorous and interesting, and a wonderful time-saver in cutting down on mom-directed instruction.

I just started using Beautiful Feet American History (Primary level) with my K, 2nd and 3rd graders -- to supplement our SOTW and four-year history cycle. I like its gentle, literature-based introduction to American History, and just leave out the Bible verses and related discussions. As my children are older, we are able to condense lessons, and go through it at a good pace so that it will probably just take us a few months to complete. The problem is that it ends in the 1860's, and I would also like to cover topics through modern history in the same way and at the same level. I thought about putting together my own resources and book lists, but was wondering if there were any that have already been assembled. Their customer service rep was very helpful, and suggested that we could do the Westward Expansion or History of the Horse units next before going into the Intermediate Level, which does cover both time periods; but I am really set on doing modern history next before going up a level.

It sounds like our experiences were similar, but these speakers weren't in the "classical" camp, so they are probably not the same people.

We attended a family conference led by a well-known husband/wife/family team, who arrived in a fancy tour bus. The wife was lovely in person, but the husband was sneering, ignorant, and condescending. I kept wishing she had left him on the tour bus! It completely colored my enjoyment of their books, as I realized that she must have heavily edited out his tone in their jointly-authored works. Then, they split up the men to go with the husband, the women to listen to the wife, and the school-aged children to go with their teenagers. I found it strange to be so split up as a family at a family conference, but I was touched and deeply grateful when my DH came in (completely unprompted) to take the baby out for me so that I could enjoy the rest of the wife's sessions in peace. He proceeded to walk the halls with the baby for the next two hours. It turned out that he found the husband so condescending and personally irritating that he was afraid he would say something he regretted, so he thought the baby would be a convenient excuse to sit out for the rest of them. ETA: Sorry, I should add that my baby was doing just fine looking at picture books and playing with the trains I had brought, and was NOT crying. I would have promptly brought him out if he had been disturbing the session.

My husband teaches the kids Hebrew early in the morning -- for about 45 minutes. They are doing very well with it, but sometimes it feels as if it is taking over our school, as he also assigns homework and extra memorization -- and I am also trying to teach them Latin! He teaches it because Hebrew is important to him, but not to me. And he is also fabulous at languages.

We found this Dover book to be quite easy and self-explanatory for my elementary-aged kids: http://www.amazon.com/Origami-Dover-Papercraft-simple-projects/dp/0486272982/ref=pd_sim_14_3?ie=UTF8&dpID=51GRXp0NJ2L&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR120%2C160_&refRID=1V65W5R9843ETYERQBAH

You want the L.L. Bean Water Hog mats. They are just as functional as the commercial-style mats, but last longer (no rubber edging stuff to wear off or rip), and look like actual mats that you might have in a house.

I have had the most success with lighter, selzer-based punch. I choose an all-juice cranberry-based juice, selzer, and some orange juice (in whatever ratio tastes good), then garnish it with lemon or lime slices. It is so refreshing, and everyone asks for the recipe. Once in a while, some kids (not mine) will complain that they do not like it, as they might be used to something a bit sweeter; but I find that sugary punch served with sugary food can make one feel queasy.

That cut looks very high-maintenance. I don't see it at all out here in rural New England. I wear my hair the same way I did when I was twelve. It is so easy to just wash it and let it dry, or maybe use a hair dryer if I want to look nice. I had a brief short haircut in college when I wanted to look like Juliette Binoche in Blue; except that I didn't, and I couldn't afford to get it cut as often as a short hairstyle required.

We tried this at the reduced rate on Homeschool Buyers Co-op last year. The Mrs. Frizzle illustrations were very cute, the instructions were clear, and my older children were able to do most of the experiments on their own. The "supplies" are a bit small and sparse (as they all have to fit into an envelope), and they did require some additional items from home; but I liked the set of small, related, experiments. I wouldn't consider it a science curriculum, but it is a fun extra for kids who like to get mail.

I wanted to be a poet . . . or an attorney.

It took me so long to understand this need for alone time. I am such a fun, patient, loving mother when I come back from a break. After a morning of teaching three students while wrangling a 4-year-old and a 2-year-old . . . not so much. It is a constant struggle, but so freeing to realize that it is not so much a moral shortcoming as it is just the way my mind works. I loved being a nursing mother. It was such a wonderful excuse to retreat to a quiet room no matter what else was going on. It didn't work so well at home, of course, but was so helpful when we were out and I needed to be alone. Now, I sometimes retreat to my room to play violin. Nothing says DO NOT DISTURB like a rapid, angry, clipped Vivaldi concerto.

Thank you. This looks excellent.

Ooh, this looks nice. Thank you.