The whole thing just drives me crazy! Every year the lists get longer. I have a friend who teaches and she spends plenty out of pocket for her students and her classroom. I just want to know where all the tax money I sent went? The 80% part of my tax burden. Must be going to re-cover those old 1968 history textbooks that two or three students have to share.:tongue_smilie:Can you tell we live in the rural backwoods?

My oldest dd actually used her poetry assignment to write about read-aloud time, she is almost 16. It's a great time for being together, don't give it up. I remember my mother reading to us at night even when I was in high school and I hope my own children carry on the tradition.

My 2-3 hours is over and above science/history but it includes two groups of children.:001_smile:

Christine,:grouphug: It seemed like you needed one!:001_smile: My 8 1/2 dd is a struggling reader, it's only been in the past month that she has really started going. I spent 2 years on AO Phonics Museum, numerous little phonics stories, trying to help her read, got her glasses, checked out and read books on delayed reading abilities, cried, prayed, etc. She too was my first to have these kind of issues, but it gets better, as other posters have mentioned. I agree that you need to step back, take it at her pace, let her read lots of things she is comfortable with, buy the books and sell them when you're done if you have to. Just try to focus on what she is great at you are obviously working hard to help her and it will pay out in the end.

If you really love RightStart look for it used. We love the program, I combine with Singapore. I have always bought it used.

The schedule looks great, but I have to agree with Elizabeth about the math. Having done both Saxon and Horizons and deciding I like Horizons better I wouldn't do both. They are very similar. Horizons has plenty of daily drill both student and teacher. Maybe you should look at a program that uses more mental math if you want to supplement, or even something like the RightStart games set. We use a combination of Horizons and Singapore at that age. Have fun!:D

We have it in Missouri also.

:party:Congratulations to her! That's hard work- good for her for sticking with it. My girls are blue belts in American Kenpo Karate.

My brother was diagnosed with Antisocial Personality Disorder, but it took 30+ years. You should feel really good that you are getting your daughter the help she needs now rather than later when perhaps she has not only made a mess of her own life but the lives of those she loves as well. :grouphug:

:iagree: We are on Voyage of the Dawn Treader and my kids are loving it.

My oldest daughter has a real flair for color combination and at 15 it is still going strong!:tongue_smilie: A couple of weeks ago it was a bright pink mini with black leggings and turquoise knee socks, her bright top did have all three colors in it, the orange leather jacket veered a little from her color scheme however- sadly we were headed out also. When she was 12 her favorite outfit was from a dear friend. It consisted of a red and blue plaid polyester vest with matching bell bottom pants. She wore that set out! When she was about 6 her favorite outfit consisted of a silky leopard print top with red fringe and a big red flower at the shoulder, matched with a pair of denim capris that had all over rainbow colored floral embroidery, and topped off by a pair of bright red patent leather knee high boots! :lol:

:iagree:

Go for color- Mine is Cobalt blue.

I guess I am pessimistic about the word "happy". I feel like we see a lot of the attitude - "Do what you want, I just want you to be happy", most the time it isn't true happiness, but comes at the expense of others. So I do agree with all of the posts concerning true happiness - brotherly kindness. I would have said "virtuous". I hope that no matter what they can be true to themselves. That they will seek justice according to the dictates of their conscience. That they will choose the way of freedom, not just freedom from worldly enemies but those that seek to diminish their eternal potential. That their conduct will always reflect a belief that all people are God's children. That whether they find themselves in the minority or even standing alone that they not deny their knowledge of right and wrong. I hope in this way they can experience true happiness even joy.

I have had several use these books. I would start with the primers and advance to book 1. He may just fly through the primers, but it really helps them to pick the sounds out of a word and match things up correctly before they start the basic spelling.

Thanks for all the replies. Mac's are cool but I can't see transitioning with two other PC's in the house. I don't want to spend too much either because the dc will be using it occasionally. As to the fan on the Toshiba, dh had already dismantled it and everything appeared to be working. :confused: It looks to me like a computer purchase is like a camera or car purchase- everybody loves what they love and it's totally personal!

Well... I just took a look at my ad and there is a small icon labeled "edit" at the bottom right hand corner. You should be able to click there and then edit the body of your post. I hope that helps!:D

:iagree: My dh is a builder, depending on the codes in your area and bank requirements you may not need blueprints, the only one I can remember requiring architect signed prints was USDA. He is doing a 900 sq. ft. addition right now and he just drew up what the homeowner's wanted.

So we just bought a new hard drive and battery for our Toshiba Satellite, long boring story- it didn't help. The darn machine just keeps turning itself off. I guess it did give us a few good years. Anyhoo- I need a new one. I would like to purchase it slightly used or even refurbished. Usually I search the internet for reviews of computers say a couple of years old. We have a desktop, so I'm looking for something to surf the internet, watch a video on the road, hold some basic programs, good graphics card. Anybody have one they really like? Thanks!:D

I'll bite!:D Read-alouds are another thing I love about home schooling! I have two groups of kids to read to, olders and youngers, with scheduling we don't always sit and read long every day. With some books we get really hooked and will spend an entire afternoon reading the whole thing. We've also really had fun getting the cd versions for when we have to be in the car. I think it's the together time that makes it the best part of our day. As to your question it probably averages out over the week to around 2 - 3 hours a day.

We are also using Story of the Orchestra right now. We have used these as well Meet the Great Composers or Stories of the Great Composers The classical music start up kit is a good resource too, Sonlight offers that and it's fairly inexpensive. The booklet inside guides you through the pieces, describing the different parts to listen for, the composers, etc. We have enjoyed the Classical Kids series - there are also some videos you can watch. The Magic Flute: An Opera by Mozart Handel's Last Chance Bach's Fight for Freedom Books we have used: Great masters. Beethoven, his life & music [multimedia kit] Greenberg, Robert Messiah : the little-known story of Handel's beloved oratorio Slover, Tim - this has a cd I, Vivaldi We've checked out as many classical cd's as we can get our hands on at the library. It's fun for the kids to listen, so many of the pieces they are familiar with because of the wide spread use of classical music in everything from movies to TV ads.

My leftie dd has terrible handwriting. She grips the pencil/pen between her thumb and pointer and holds it near the bottom. She doesn't relax the grip either, it leaves her with no control over letter formation. I am so frustrated and she is not interested in getting advice from me. Her handwriting from several years ago was better than it is now!:tongue_smilie: Any suggestions?

So glad to find a fellow fan. I read the last one about three years ago. It looks like I'll have to read the whole series again as a refresher at this point! I actually haven't read any of Sanderson's books, maybe I'll have to check them out. :D

I would have to decide if something big happened could we come up with $5000 and can dh make the repairs himself.

:lol::lol::lol::lol: Thank you, I really needed that!