My girls didn't find the second HP movie to be as scary as the first half (ages 9 and 11).

We move a lot (military) so I would lean more towards ballet. My daughter did both for a little while (she was 6 too) until we moved and couldn't find it in our new location. Long term, I think ballet would be more useful if she ever wanted to become a professional dancer or dance teacher. I may be a little biased. I was a professional dancer for years and my ballet training was my biggest asset. There aren't a lot of jobs for rhythmic gymnasts. What are your finances like? Dance can be expensive but I think rhythmic gymnastics would be even more expensive long term due to the fact it is an olympic sport. You have to travel to compete, own expensive leotards, and pay for private lessons. Those things can come up in dance if you opt to dance at a studio with a competitive team, but there are still plenty of good dance studios that don't compete and aren't as expensive. What does your daughter like best? Does she even know? Could she continue to do both a while longer until she really knows which one she prefers? Does she love performing or competing? Both dance and rhythmic gymnastics require so much dedication and time your heart really needs to be in it. I hope some of the advice above helps. Without knowing your family dynamics or your daughter I can only give my personal reasons why I would chose ballet.

I just read "Memoirs of a Geisha" and loved it! Couldn't put it down all weekend. Kind of historical fiction for adults. Nothing too graphic or gratuitous in it. You might have already read it but I missed the boat when it was all the rage several years ago. :o

I feel Writing With Ease is the perfect afterschooling enrichment. It is brief and so easy to implement if you get the workbooks. Is there a way you can get your hands on the actual book? There are assessments in the book you could give your daughter to find out where she is. Has she ever done any copy work or dictation? You could probably start with workbook 2 or 3. If you feel she picks concepts up easily, I would go with 3. I'm currently using workbooks 2 and 4 with my 2nd and 4th grader. My fourth grader is fairly new to this concept and struggles at times. This is a girl who goes to "gifted" classes and has always learned quickly. School has always been easy for her. I like how this is a bit of a struggle and she has to think and focus to get it right. Hope this has helped!

My daughter is lonely too. That's why we're going back to afterschooling next year after trying homeschooling. I understand completely as I'm happier in a group environment as well. I could never do online college courses. Yes, she will be somewhat bored but she loves being around other children so much that it doesn't matter to her anymore. She completes her work quickly and loves to help the teacher with errands. She's a really good kid, and hasn't picked up any bad habits from other children (yet). If she started behaving differently then I would rethink the whole situation.

Yes. I pulled my children out mid-year and when their father deployed. I was so nervous when I made it "official". Things have been going pretty well so far but I sometimes wonder if I should have waited until the end of the school year. Then, something wonderful happens, (like watching my youngest daughter master telling time) and I know I did the right thing. :001_smile:

It truly is a fabulous (though expensive) place to visit. My family is currently stationed in Germany and London has been one of our favorite trips. We spent a week and still felt it wasn't long enough. We saw a show and my girls (7 &9) are still singing it months later. The museums are all free and you can spend hours in them. The Tower of London currently has a Henry the 8th exhibit that was very cool. It showed the armor he wore and at the end had a fun hands on exhibit for the kids. The girls also really loved seeing the crown jewels. Hamley's toy store was 7 stories of fun too! Another great place for kids is Rome. My girls LOVED the Colosseum and the Vatican. You can download a free podcast by Rick Steves about the Sistine Chapel off itunes. It was very informative and even my energetic girls sat for 30 minutes walking around the room listening and appreciated it all the more. And don't even get me started on the gelato (Italian ice cream)! Look into discount airlines like Ryan Air and Easy Jet for extremely low fares. It's much cheaper to fly than take the train here. Just read ALL the fine print and don't expect anything fancy, it's very basic and they will add fees for everything if you're not careful. Stay as long as you can and enjoy your time here. It's almost overwhelming there is so much to see and do. Hope this has helped a bit! :001_smile:

For us it was to teacher intensive. We only used level B. While I didn't mind teaching it, my daughter is a very independent learner and it just didn't fit her style. I have discovered that she thrives on workbook style math. That said, I loved the concepts behind the program and my daughter did benefit overall from the time we used it. I've kept the math games and we drag those out from time to time.

I suggest trying yoga. There are many different styles so you'll have to find what works for you. I do power yoga and I always feel relaxed, focused and energized after class. I love it!

O.K. I'm really going to see if this can fit into the budget. :D I just moved from SC, so it's too late for me to get it for free:tongue_smilie: Hopefully, they don't charge more for people living overseas. Thanks everyone.

Anyone subscribe to this? Have you found it to be worth the cost? Btw, I would be using this to supplement all areas for a 9 and 7 year old.

Curious to see the replies as I'm pretty much in the same boat. Pulling 3rd grade dd out of public school and I KNOW she hasn't done copywork, dictation and narration to the extent of WWE.

It depends on why her family is moving here. If they are in the military or dh is a civilian working for the government/military they are allowed to homeschool. I don't know about "regular" civilians. Laurie, where in Germany are you moving to? We are in Wiesbaden (near Frankfurt) and having a great time. Took the kids to see some old castle ruins this weekend. The weather is warming up and everything is blooming and beautiful!

Thanks for the tip on WWE 3 being at RR! I'll check it out. :) I really didn't want to overload dd on grammar. She picks things up very quickly and gets bored with to much review. Boredom has been a complaint throughout ps and that's one reason we decided to home school. Most likely I'll stick to Latin and whatever writing program I decide on for grammar instruction. If I see gaps I can always add more right? ;) I'm starting to lean more towards Great Latin Adventure. It just looks so thorough. However, Lively Latin looks a little more fun and kid friendly. All this decision making is making me crazy! :willy_nilly:

Anyone? :lurk5:

This will be our first year learning latin and I am planning on using either Lively Latin or Great Latin Adventure for my 4th grade dd next year. I had also planned on using FLL 4 and WWE 2. If we get through WWE 2 quickly I'll start her in WT 1. Is that to much grammar? Will I still need FLL4? Also, any comments on either latin program is welcome. :001_smile:

I wouldn't say we are in "love" with German culture any more than any other European country, just excited about living in Europe and exposing the kids to as much as we can. Dh and I ARE in love with the history here.:001_smile: This will be our families only chance to be stationed in Europe due to the nature of his job, so no, we won't be coming back. One of our good friend's wife is German and has offered to help us with the language. I just don't think we will be able to work with her more than once or twice per month due to her job. I would hate to see their Spanish fall away. I see it being more useful to them in the future than German, unless they decide to move to Europe one day and study. Maybe there is a way we could make it all work like Laura suggested. I'll have to keep letting simmer in my brain and talk to my hubby about it.

My dh is stationed in Germany until 2012. My girls (7 and 9 yro) are coming out of ps and have been learning Spanish since Kindergarten. I want them to learn Latin as I think it is the most important for their future studies. My question is, would you continue to study all three languages? Latin is non-negotiable. We are only going to be in Germany for 3 years so maybe we should just learn some basics and continue with Spanish? Or, since they have a decent foundation in Spanish maybe we could drop Spanish until we get back to the States? I don't think we'd have time to cover 3 languages and I feel it would be overwhelming. :willy_nilly: Any suggestions? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

meant to start a new thread

I like the thought of supplementing Math Mammoth with Singapore. I don't know why I didn't think of that before. :001_smile: It has been quite a challenge finding a good math program when you're not a mathy person. For a while I was considering CLE math. I just think the mastery approach in Math Mammoth instead of the spiral CLE uses will work better for my girls.

Thank you for posting a link to your blog Kristen. It was very helpful.

I've searched the posts and haven't found much on this math program. I'm looking for people who use or have used this curriculum. What did you like or dislike about it? Did you need to supplement? I understand it is mastery based which I think will be good for my girls but does it review regularly? We are most definitely use it or lose it people. My girls are coming out of ps and will be in 4th and 2nd grade next year. Thanks!

Sorry if this has been posted before but I wanted to share as I feel it would be a wonderful supplement to any music program. It is written by Lemony Snicket. My older daughter who is currently in ps told me about it and I plan on ordering it for my younger. Here is a youtube link if you want to check it out. If this is not allowed on the boards, I'm sorry and will delete it immediately. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMCrZWE_YAU

We are in Wiesbaden. It's a beautiful old city just outside of Frankfurt. I understand it is the Hessen capital (hello, American Revolution). Krystal, you're right that we could also cover American History as well. There is so much history here that it can be overwhelming at times. I guess I'll just have to start at the beginning.

Thanks Kelly. You made sense. I like your idea of using SOTW. I already own SOTW ancients and the activity guide. Maybe I'll get the middle ages book and use those as my spines? I could really focus on the European parts and fill in with the suggested reading. Our library here is not fabulous but it's decent enough. If I plan ahead I can get books from the other military libraries in Germany. The juices are starting to flow!