I haven't used either of these but looked at both of them. I was leaning more toward Red Hot Root Words -- Words on the Vine had hands-on activities, and my ds is not a project kind of kid. RHRW also seemed to inject humor into the lessons, which would've appealed to ds. It all depends on what kind of approach works best for you and your child.

It's probably not feasible, as many of the books are longer and it would take more than a week to read them. But we have been inspired by some of the selections! I'd never heard of The Happy Hollisters until we were using WWE (can't remember if it was book 1 or 2), but when I read that passage out loud, my son (and his brother, who was listening nearby) said, "We've GOT to read that book!" And so we did!

I'm struggling with this right now. I would like for all of my kids to learn to play an instrument, because I just consider it to be one of those important life skills. (I realize that this has more to do with my own love of music than any absolute necessity -- lots of people lead very happy lives playing nothing more than the radio!) One already does play an instrument; one is learning; one is an Aspie and I pick my battles *very* carefully; and that leaves the child whom I would like to learn an instrument -- but who is not interested. The thing is, he isn't interested in much of anything, so I don't know if that's a good barometer! He asked for a guitar, and he got one for his birthday. I really think that the least he can do is give lessons a shot. But as I said, I struggle with it. Music ought to be a joy, not an obligation. Then again, there's a lot to be said for the discipline.... Sigh.

Dh, a friend, and our two boys are wargaming. I believe the scenario is some kind of military fantasy thing (as opposed to an honest-to-goodness historical battle). Lots of little metal men, dice-rolling, and strategizing. My daughters are listening to CDs. The cats are snoozing. And I decided to go online for a little while before taking out the trash. :D

Few things get me as riled as this kind of nonsense. I'd be tempted to go to a school board meeting and say, "First you raise my taxes every year, and now, when I'm trying to pinch pennies to pay the tax bill, your teachers insist on brand-spanking-new notebooks when I have barely-used ones that will get the job done?!" Except I'd worry that it would get back to the teacher, who would then take it out on my child. It's just inexcusable. I remember one year when dd was in ps, one of the items on her English teacher's list was a 3-inch binder. Sheesh, not only did we have to schlep to Staples or Office Depot (couldn't find them at Walmart), but the thing wouldn't fit in her backpack with her books and other binders. Finally I told her to just take a 2-inch binder instead, which *did* fit in her backpack, and the teacher didn't know the difference.

I'm really happy for her. :)

My daughter has taken a year-long course from Write At Home, and I feel that it has helped her writing. But she has always been a good writer, anyway, so I can't say how dramatic an improvement there would have been if she'd been struggling.

I feel better. :) My first child ate anything and everything. We could take her anywhere. So I sort of expected the same behavior from my other children. Nope. Didn't happen. They have all been frustratingly picky in their own ways. But they are healthy, and they have all made enormous strides, on their own timetables, in progressing to new and different foods. It's just nice to know, after all, that it wasn't (necessarily :D) bad parenting that caused them to be picky eaters.

Since you have dry-erase boards, you could get dry-erase markers in a rainbow (no pun intended :)) of colors.

No suggestions on how to use them, but Sonlight Core 6 (which is for this age group) uses the first two books over the course of one year.

:party: Thank you!!!

Agreeing with this. Dh has a very old set of these books, and they always looked intimidating to me. But when I began to see them mentioned in homeschooling discussions, I took a look at one and found it surprisingly readable. I wouldn't exactly call them "conversational" in style, but I've seen other history texts that are far drier.

Write Shop Sonlight Core 6 Rainbow Science R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey

Thank you for your honest response. Your situation and philosophy sound very much like mine. :)

Write At Home has high-school level courses and workshops, including two essay classes.

We split the English components, as well -- writing was one course and literature was another.

"Simply scattered all over" describes our set-up very well. ;)

:rofl:

I'm another mom who doesn't fit in (hence the name :D). It can be very discouraging. :grouphug:

No FB here -- I need another online diversion like I need a hole in the head. :D

I'm using AAS at two levels. With the lower level, we work 5 days a week. With the upper level, M-W-F.

Our Samsung CLP 300 is generally good, but it can be temperamental *and* it eats toner like nobody's business.

This is my ds -- he *remembers* and that makes it difficult to give anything a second try later.

Pancakes. :)

My dd is 16 and doesn't ride, either! She has decided she wants to learn, though -- no doubt because her two *younger* brothers both ride. :D