Hi there, welcome to the boards . . . and thanks for the great French link. Why is that I feel so much more motivated to work on a new subject when the material is free? My sick mind . . .

Got a totally secular, absolutely beyond fabulous book on gaining further intimacy in marriage. The Surrendered Wife by Laura Doyle. Don't let the title turn you off . . . it's awesome! Her ideas totally revolutionized my marriage. It was in her book that I gleaned this priceless piece of wisdom: "Silence is golden; Duct Tape is silver.

This is my experience with my 8 year old - we are finishing up MEP YR 2 but I still have to be right there with him. His brain can do the work, but add in the extra layer of having a pencil in his hand and he mostly stalls. I guess I'm saying that any math curr. might give difficulty if her brain and pencil haven't forged an alliance. You might have to be the scribe until she can do both. Since I've started helping with the pencil, our math lessons are much less frustrating. (Passing along credit for this little tip to Laura in China) T

I go fishing! I invite people home all the time . . . and visit, smile, share, be open and just see what happens. I think the key is transparency . . . here's ME with all my success and warts. I have a few "near and dears" with whom I download regularly . . . I enjoy people so much and I feel very enriched with acquaintances who transform into treasured friends. Good Luck!

Last night, I did a 48 minute Beachbody DVD with a girlfriend -- my core hurts already. Good job, Runners --- I'm always very impressed with you!

:iagree: Said with so much more pizazz than I could muster up. On behalf of the Hivers, we say: NO NO NO -- don't send your sick kid to me. Absolutely positively NOT.

Until you have regained your strength and are sure a bug in the family wouldn't set you back 5 steps, I'd just say no. I would never, ever ask any of my near and dear friends to babysit my kids in the first three months of them having a new baby. IMHO, it's just too much to ask of any new mom, esp. with the possibility of sending the bug along. T

Happy for you Joanne. Your post could have come right out of the "Love and Respect" book I've been re-reading again this week . . . respect is key and it's so obvious how much you respect your lovely dh. In so many ways, you are a shining star.

We use English from the Roots Up --- 20 words a year . . . it doesn't seem like much, but we really enjoy the program. The thing I enjoyed most about Vocabu-Lit is that the passages are taken from real literature . . . selections that use the words in context. The first exercise asks student to write what they think the word means and then they have to do a dictionary look-up. It pulls skills together in a way I haven't seen with other "vocabularly workbooks." I can't speak to their level of retaining since we've only completed two lessons, but I'll certainly keep a close study on whether we're wasting our time or acutally gleaning some vocab knowledge. T

I really don't know -- I bought it used for $1. I haven't researched purchasing it online.

We started with GWG in 3rd . . . and nothing formal before that. I really enjoy GWG because it has built-in review and my boys do the work independantly. I don't want to overkill grammar (a la Julie Bogart/Bravewriter persuasion); however, GWG isn't a hill to die on at my house. Both boys enjoy the program . . . DS1 breezed through it, DS2 finds it challenging but not desperate. I'm pleased with the taste of grammar that GWG gave us for third grade! At the beginning of third, I'd decided that we would do GWG 3 and not again in a formal program until middle school, but now I'm reconsidering. GWG is a lovely fit for our school. I may start DS1 on GWG 4 after Christmas. HTH's a wee little bit with your decision.

Certainly not a math expert here, but the MEP yahoo group members say the below linked math is advanced . . . if you check the files on the yahoo group, you'll find more information . . . and it's free. I've been hanging in with this math program as our sole spine, but sometimes I wonder if I'm teaching maths in the best possible way. I have to stay on top of this program or we sink. Using in tandem with Singapore might bring you some extra fun. http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mep-homeschoolers/

I had speech problems with R and L when I was a wee little. My rural New Brunswick family teased me about being a "Yankee" . . . or she's been to "Bar Harbour" for the weekend. I had ps speech therapy in 2nd grade and by middle of 3rd, I'd completely grown past it. I couldn't say words like "brother" "car" and "floor" . . . well, that was just beyond. I didn't have a severe speech problem, but enough that I needed extra help. Hope this brings some comfort. Warmly, Tricia

http://www.perfectionlearning.com/browse.php?categoryID=1492 I found a lovely vocab program at my fav. used haunt . . . I took the plunge, paid a buck for the workbook and TM and brought it home to see if it would be a good match for my son. It's called Vocabu-Lit: Building Vocabulary Through Literature. My oldest who is doing a 4th-5th bridge year, is working in Book I. The words are challenging, but not over the top and we use Master Words as spelling words. He has to use a dictionary for some of the words but context seems to give pretty good clues. The vocab is drawn from an actual story so it's pretty rich. Each lesson is broken up in five parts, so he uses the same words for the week, but then I see in Lesson Two that there is some carry over from week to week. I've been pleasantly surprised with my $1 investment and I would consider ordering the books online for next year.

CAMom - No words. (Everything I type sounds trite and religious.) Lots of tears though - tears for your loss; tears of joy over your faith and ability to carry on. Your story has strenghtened me today. Tricia

Hi Kimberly, I have no solutions but please, Hivers, someone help us! My dd, who's five, is making us all crazy too. You probably know how hard it is to manage math x 2 for big boys while Missy is begging to paint, glue, glitter, print something, anything. Good luck, Tricia

Great job above, girlies! I was up really early (for me, that was 6 AM), got on the road by 6:25 and did a walk-run for an hour. It was still dark when I left! I also find it a struggle to flop myself out of bed and tie up my sneakers . . . tea and a bit of school prep in the early morning before I run might help. Tricia

I'm going to check into this program! Thanks for the great reviews!

Really, Jessica, what would I do without you??? It was Nestof3's that I remember, but I'll print out both. I've had a mini-melt today over science, but mostly over the whole sch. that I'd cooked up. Singapore isn't my cuppa, Math is getting more involved . . . sigh, my primary girl needs more to do (preferable independantly, from my perspective . . . preferably with me, from hers). On a positive, love the new look at your blog. Such talent! Thank you for graciously helping me. You're lovely. T

This is super impressive -- the IB program is thick! Great job, VD. T

It was a 4 year rotation, very detailed and all on one page. I would love to have it for a reference . . . the one thing that's not working out this year is Singapore Science. I really do like the WTM'ed approach to science . . . and I really like how this mom had it all figured out! I wish I could remember who had this chart! T

I absolutely don't believe that our homeschool is "better" than public school. Most teachers I know are very committed to their students; it's the broken system at the administration level that fetches up good teachers. Academically, I think we compare well . . . better in some areas and not in others. I love hs'ing for what my kids don't get at public school . . . the sway of peers, value systems that don't reflect mine, an anchoring away from our family . . . I want to spend as much time with my kids as possible because we're going to blink our eyes and the kiddies will be of to uni, married and doing their own life. My two cents.

I didn't want to ask if it were an in-house deal but I suspected. There are no secrets "in house." sigh. Keep us posted - I really want to know how this plays out! Fingers crossed.