m&m's worked here for #4. I give no guarantees this will work again. I'm still flabbergasted it worked in the first place. First, I picked up a 2L bottle of Sprite and m&m's. Filled ds with Sprite and used m&m's to teach him to use the toilet. It took 2 hours. Then I told all my children that everyone would get m&m's whenever ds used the toilet. My older children hovered over him. ;) That was it. He was even dry at night. I still can't believe how easy it was...:001_huh:

My midwife suggested pasting shredded cabbage around the br*** and wrapping Saran Wrap around it. Apparently, cabbage draws infections out. I actually never tried it, since lots of hot baths, massaging, and nursing cured mine. :grouphug:

I'm jumping in here. :001_smile: My oldest 3 children are using HO. My 5th grader is using Ancients, 6th Medieval, and 7th Early Modern. There is definitely a difference in the amount of writing expected from the different grade levels. The ancients level is much easier than medeval or early modern. The lessons are shorter and the amount of reading on any given day is shorter. My 7th grader is expected to produce an essay. My 6th grader is expected to produce a proper biography and do the research necessary. My 5th grader is expected to do a summary paper, an introduction to formal papers. My 7th grader is expected to produce a detailed outline of Kingfisher. My 6th grader is learning to produce a detailed outline. My 5th grader is expected to fill in the blank. ;) There is such a difference in expectations between the level 2 HO that I would suggest you take a look at the 'try before you buy' at Pandia Press. It's because of the changes in difficulty that I chose to seperate the children this year. My kids have been thriving with HO as a result. Each child is being challenged and stretched, but none to the point of frustration or tears. HTH!

I'm using the red covered one, and it works perfectly. :-)

It is possible; someone on the HO Yahoo group has done so. It just makes things more complicated for me. ;) YMMV though :001_smile:

I'm enjoying level 2 a great deal. It's stretching my kids, and even my 10 dd is doing well. And yes, it's really okay to do history HO's way. One note though, level 1 and level 2 do not line up well. In otherwords, if your dc in level 1 are studying Egypt, any dc in level 2 may be studying Babylon or China. Unless all children are in the same level, HO may complicate your life rather than simplify it. In my case, I don't teach any group subjects, so it doesn't matter if they are studying the same topic or not. HTH!

HO level 1 doesn't use KHE. It uses Usborne and CHOW along with SOTW. The lessons are longer in HO because it uses 3 spines instead of 1. It also covers history by location rather than by time period. I'm using SOTW only for my first grader and adding in Usborne as desired, because HO is more history than I wish to cover with my first grader. HO level 2 uses KHE and The Story of Mankind. It not only includes reading from both books, but also includes outlining, papers, some original texts, summaries, etc. It is based on SWB's recommendations in TWTM for 5th - 8th graders. Each time period, Ancients-Modern, increases the workload and difficulty of the assignments. It's just what I needed for my older 3 children. I actually put each in their appropriate level. My 5th grader is covering Ancients, 6th Medieval/Renaissance, and 7th Early Modern. HO level 3 is based on the high school recommendations of TWTM.

What age? My 5th grader is enjoying HO Ancients level 2, although we're using it without the pockets. My 1st grader is doing SOTW Ancients with the AG. I looked at HO level 1 for him, but it was more than I really wish to do with a wiggly 6 yo boy. SOTW is perfect.

:iagree: We LOVE Saxon math!!! All my children do wonderfully with it, and my oldest likes Apologia General Science. It's a keeper here!

I don't know what to say. Just... :grouphug:

I'd recommend calling poison control to be safe. :grouphug:

:willy_nilly: then :toetap05:

How exciting for you! 3 under 3. :001_smile: My ds #1 was 31 months, and ds #2 was 18 months when dd was born. A lady, who had 4 back to back, told me that the first years are difficult but after that it's a blast. She was mostly right. The first few years were difficult but wonderful, and it's all been a blast. :D Congratulations!!!

My situation is similar. Ds 6, almost 7, wouldn't sit still to listen to SOTW last year, but is loving SOTW this year. I ended up changing our schedule so we could do history 4-5 days a week instead of the 3 I was planning. My older children were similar, not really interested in K but loving it in first.

:lol: The last time I did that, my kiddos lined up behind me, flapping their arms and quacking through the downtown business area. :blushing:

I spent the spring and early summer on bedrest with my youngest dd for preterm labor. It was a miserable experience. :tongue_smilie: My kids are a bit older than yours, and they ended up with a crash course in home-ec. We concentrated on maintaining the essentials: kitchen, bath, and laundry. At times, I'd sit in the kitchen with my feet up giving directions on how to cook. Dh asked me to try to keep dinner going, and he and the kids would handle everything else. He actually ended up cooking dinner most of the time anyway. Schoolwork was a bit more problematic. It wasn't a stellar year. Looking back, I wished we'd pared down to the essentials. For us that's math, Latin, and English. History and science were pretty much dropped and we'd have been better off if I'd planned on going simple with videos and books from the library. On the otherhand, there's nothing like sitting and thinking for 4 months. I revamped our curriculum, and reorganized our homeschool. This year is starting off as one of our best yet. :D Ds 6 had the hardest time dealing with Mommy on bedrest at first. He simply didn't understand why I couldn't get up and make him a snack. By the end, he'd adjusted and became a siren everytime I stood up. :lol: The kids were great at helping me stay down. Because of my dh, children, and friends, DD and I made it to 38 weeks before she was born. She had no complications and the best apgar of the lot. :party: Best of luck!

We use older editions, so I don't think they have a warm up. My kids do practice and lesson problems (all of them), and my kids in 76 & 54 do a drill sheet as well. There isn't a drill sheet for Algebra 1/2. We move on until the kids begin to struggle to get 85% or better on homework assignments and 90% or better on the tests. I also base my judgement on the type of mistakes. If it's largely 'stupid' mistakes (1 + 1 = 3), we'll keep moving forward. If it's conceptual mistakes, we'll move back immediately. When we move back, I'll usually move back 20-40 lessons with the assumption there's a concept the child didn't fully grasp the first time through, and they need to review before moving forwards. HTH!

Some children will be able to use these as a stand alone program, but my children couldn't. There are not enough practice problems to cement a concept into their heads and my oldest found the bridges rather frustrating as a result. Based on your brief description of your 5th grade ds, my inclination is that he would not be able to use them as a stand alone either. HTH! :)

My 7th grade line-up ;) Math: Saxon Algebra 1/2 Latin: Oxford Latin Book 1 Greek: Hey Andrew Level 3 Language Arts: Rod & Staff English 5 (we just switched over and I wanted an easy transition), Calvert Spelling & Vocabulary CD-rom, Pentime Penmanship 7 Literature, History, Writing, Geography: History Odyssey Early Modern Level 2 Science: Apologia General Science Extras: Short story writing course w/ Dh, karate, swimming, piano

Pentime Penmanship. Goes from 1st grade through 8th. :001_smile:

I've used multiple programs and didn't care for any of them. This year, looking for a handwriting program for ds 6, I discovered Pentime Penmanship in the Rainbow Resource catalogue. It has workbooks for 1st through 8th grade, starts with print and transitions into cursive in the 2nd grade. Currently, all of my school age children are using their grade level and I love it. Why didn't I find it 7 years ago? ;)

Be sure that the answer key and the text are the same edition. ;) Enough problems are changed between editions to make grading a nuisance if the editions don't match. Personally, I like the tests; they give me a snapshot of how the children are doing in math. (The answer key includes the answers to the tests.)

How intriguing. I adore Saxon Math (1, and 54 on up), but I don't expect it to teach my children how to think. That's my job. ;) Oops, I think it came out badly. I expect my math program to drill my children in how to do math. I don't want them thinking about the mechanics of how to solve a problem, but rather have it so ingrained that it's instinctive. Saxon does a wonderful job of doing this. It's incrimental in its teaching, so my children are often able to intuit what's being taught. When reading the lesson, I enjoy pointing out to my children where the nugget being taught is headed and why it's important. As far as learning to think and problem solve, I prefer to use puzzles. We have several puzzle books hanging around the house, and my husband, children, and I enjoy bantering around with puzzles while in the car. The Saxon math books from 54 on up are great. K is super easy, all my children have enjoyed 1, 2 is okay, but Saxon 3 irritates me like crazy and I don't know why. :confused: I've actually started most of my children on 54 before they know their multiplication facts. We end up starting the book over a time or two, but they've all done fine in the end. :D

Traditionally, yes, Algebra is done in 9th grade. Lately, many people do Algebra in the 8th grade. There've been some interesting discussions on the merits / disadvantages of starting algebra early. :) To finish your Saxon lineup: 9th Algebra 10th Algebra 2 11th Advanced Math 12th Calculus Your dd is on track for Calculus in high school. ;)

7th grade here Saxon Algebra 1/2 (He finished 87, but I wanted 2 years of pre-algebra rather than 1.) Rod and Staff English 5 (We're just beginning the series) Pentime Penmanship 7 Oxford Latin Book 1 Hey Andrew Teach me some Greek level 3 History Odyssey Early Modern level 2 Apologia General Science Extras Goju Karate Swimming Park Day