:iagree: Gosh, my eldest would do nothing but read all day for school if you let her, but there are other subjects that need done.

I would start looking into other math curriculums that are more colorful. Those workbooks may be technically enough, but I wouldn't take a chance on it personally. If there is a hazard in jumping from one math program to another due to "gaps" (which I've heard from others), I'd think that potential problem would be multiplied when using workbooks from the bookstore. I'd research some other math publishers, find something that works for your child, and then stick with it so you don't have any gaps. Just my 2 cents though.

We're finishing our first year of TOG and it has been an absolute success. There was a bit of a learning curve to get over at the beginning, but I've got the hang of it now (I think). SOTW is as great for my second child as it was for my first child. FLL has been an unqualified success with ds 6. He gets excited about grammar every day. Life of Fred Decimals is loved here. Caesar's English is a fantastic vocabulary program. DD10 liked Wordly Wise as well, but she adores CE. I decided to hold off on the rest of the MCT LA materials I bought until we actually finish WWE4 (which is also going well). Everything else we are using is working, too, but these were the new additions to our homeschool this year.

Non-connecting, and yes, you do need the rods for the Miquon books. Try it out and see how it goes.

We use Fred as a supplement to Singapore. My dd does the Fred lesson after she completes her normal Singapore assignment. I don't try to match up topics at all. She really enjoys LoF. She'd do LoF even if I didn't require it.

:iagree: Although I think I actually read "The Einstein Syndrome" by Thomas Sowell....I think they are similar books.

What is OG?

I couldn't stand jeans until adulthood. I liked corduroys.

:iagree:

We school year-round. Our school year rolls over in June this year, so we will be "starting" in the summer. I like to scatter our breaks throughout the year instead of taking a big break. My kids get bored and punchy if they are off school for too long. I've found 3 weeks is about our limit. If I call off school for more than 3 weeks, my kids begin to climb the walls.

This was the initial reason I began to look at TOG. I used Cores 2, 3, and 4 with my eldest. She enjoyed it....she's a voracious reader and loves being read to. But I have 3 younger children and my when my second child started doing school I didn't see how I could continue doing things the Sonlight way without sacrificing somebody's education. I know some folks combine kids in the same Core, beefing it up for olders and easing it up for youngers, but that sounded like a lot of work. TOG sounded like a program that would do all that for me. And now one year later after using TOG year 1 with dd 10 and ds 6: My daughter and son stayed on the same topic all year which was great. They do a lapbook together on the topics they are studying. They even made up their own "play" about Alexander the Great the other day during their playtime. What I like best about this year though is how much my dd10 has learned. When we were using SL I felt like she only got a smattering of history with a whole lot of literature. TOG goes deeper into history imo. The geography with TOG is much, much better than SL's map work. I really wish we had used TOG from the beginning. I also like that TOG schedules alternate resources for each week. This allows me to use SOTW with ds6 without the heavy tweaking I had to do with SL when I wanted to use SOTW with dd in her first go-around through the 4-year cycle. It also gives me a ready book list to give my kids additional readings if they want more (which often happens with my dd).

Left Back, for a reminder of why one would want to homeschool in the first place.

I voted yes...but I actually don't switch very often. I only click the "Order" button if something is not working well. I like to read about the newest, best so that if we do run into an issue, I know what is out there. I read these boards to keep current. It also helps for future planning.

I've not looked into single-stroke handwriting specifically, but I know that what we use (D'Nealian) teaches "b" and "d" as a single stroke. I don't know off the top of my head if all letters are taught that way... I just went over making "B" and "b" with dd4 so that one is fresh in my mind.

I think MapAids is a must have. It incorporates geography with what you are studying. I have Pop Quiz on dh's request. I bought Evaluations for my dd10 but I'm not sure if that was necessary. I plan on getting Evaluations again for the Rhetoric level. I like the lapbooks, but I have 2 kids who work on it together. I think it might be a bit much for just a 2nd grader working alone and I think it would be too "young" for a 7th grader...but I don't know it depends on how much your kids like crafty-paper type projects.

I use Speechercise with my ds 6. There are printables as well as songs on the CD. I also purchased some speech therapy texts Used from Amazon to educate myself a bit. Rainbow Resource carries the Speechercise CDs. I have seen a lot of improvement since we began doing this. HTH Edited to add: I thought I should be more specific since there can be many types of speech issues. My ds 6 has trouble pronouncing Rs, THs, and Ls. Speechercise has been helpful for this.

Quilting is a great example of a hobby that can be done cheaply...or that can break the bank. When I first started quilting, we had no spare income. I used scraps of worn out clothes or fabric scraps my sewing friends gave me when they heard I had taken up quilting. I pieced my quilts on a second hand machine my parents had given me as a birthday present. I bought patterns off the clearance rack of our local quilt shop for less than $2 a piece. A quilt takes a good bit of time, so for the investment in some batting, muslin for the backing and a cheap pattern (and there are also free patterns on the net), I would be occupied for months. Now we do have a little disposable income, so I can buy fabric and patterns if I like. I haven't though in many years because I now lack time :lol:. I have a stockpile of all the things that were given to me by friends and relatives when they heard I was interested in quilting and they sit collecting dust until the day I have time to quilt again. I can still find time to cross-stitch. It takes up less space and doesn't require much "set-up" time. Cross-stitch is a really cheap hobby as well. Or at least it can be. You can buy linen, hand-dyed floss and little beads and buttons if you want to fancy it up. (I generally don't.)

Forgive my ignorance (and a potential hijack), but where and how does one purchase their own e-mail domain? This sounds worthwhile to me, too...

Yes, in its entirety, and I have re-read sections of it. I have Post-it sticky flags littered through its pages so I can quickly access information. I have the first edition though. I suppose one of these days I should buy the new one.

Clam-I-Am by Tish Rabe The Sandcastle by M. P. Robertson

Cross-stitch Quilting Cooking Online gaming

I loved Wuthering Heights. Of course, I seem to gravitate towards "dark" and depressing books. I like "downers". I don't like bright, happy, "feel-good" books...or movies for that matter. Bright, happy plots tend to depress me :001_smile:.

The kids had Apple Jacks, yogurt with homemade granola and bananas. I've had just the Apple Jacks so far.

Try it and see if it works for your family. I plan because I have to, or it just won't get done.

I've never paid attention to the binding of cookbooks. I guess I have a mix. I've always just bought whatever binding was available. I have an extensive cookbook collection. I'm in the process of adding my most used recipes into my Cook'n software so they are easier to find. I don't think the hardcovers are necessarily any better than paperbacks. I have more hardcover cookbooks that are falling apart at the binding than I do paperbacks that are falling apart. My paperback cookbooks look pretty beat up, but at least all their bindings are intact. My hardcover Joy of Cooking is held together with packing tape and my hardcover Blue Ribbon Country Cookbook had to be glued back together with Elmer's.