Aaaaah! This is the THIRD 3-in-1 printer/scanner/copier that has gone out on us in a two year period due to a stupid paper feeder issue. All three have just stopped working, and there is no way to get inside the thing so my dh can repair it himself. With the lower cost of these little inkjet units, it's really not worth the money to take them in for repairs, and when they are out of warranty I don't know where I'd take them anyway. Two of the three have been Canon models, and the other a Lexmark. Two were the lower end, I'd say about $125 price range and this last one, a pretty nice Canon, was more like $250-300 retail when new. I'm so frustrated! We aren't hard on our electronics in the least. I don't force anything that would cause a paper feeder issue, in fact although I depend on having it around for hs'ing and my other teaching, it doesn't get used heavily at all. It seems to me that companies are manufacturing cheap printers because they know people won't bother to get them fixed and would rather keep buying a replacement. I don't know about you, but that just burns me! I need to find a decent printer/copier (and hopefully scanner) that I can depend on, without having to spend a fortune. Is there such a thing? Thanks for letting me rant. :D Blessings, Lucinda

Agreed. It's the novelty that's appealing I guess. I wish you could do more with it. Maybe there's a programmer here that has nothing better to do than make a better one for us. Blessings, Lucinda

I think it only gives the choice of Safari because it's an Apple thingy. I'm sorry it didn't work for you. I've tried to figure out how to help solve your issue, but I guess I'm not advanced technically enough to diagnose your exact problem. As to having the browser open, it doesn't matter. I default to Firefox myself, but it still worked with Safari selected. The background is supposed to be blue, but there is supposed to be white text with highlights from the latest forum posts. The text swirls around in almost 3-D as it rotates through the list of threads. If you want to go to a particular one that appears, it tells you which top row keys to push (i.e. F1, F2). Maybe someone more technical can help you get it to perform correctly. Blessings, Lucinda

Anyone tried this out yet?

I have similar issues, then all of a sudden the pin is there on the board where I wanted it in the first place. A couple of times when this has happened I will find 2 or 3 because I thought it had failed and repeated my action. :lol: One question I've had with Pinterest is this: how do you "un"follow someone? I can't seem to find that option anywhere. Blessings, Lucinda

This is for those of you serious Hive addicts that like to see updates at a glance without having to be logged into the forum. You know who you are....those of you out there that live and breath all things pertaining to the Hive. :D :D :D 1. Go to the System Preferences and choose 'Desktop and Screensaver'. 2. Click on the screensaver tab near the top. 3. Select 'Apple' 4. Choose 'RSS Visualizer', then either double click - OR - select 'Options'. 5. Select your browser (i.e. Safari) in the window, and just below the same window enter 'http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/external.php?type=RSS2' 6. Select number of seconds you want the screensaver to display an article, then click 'Done'. 7. You may then select 'Test' to see what this produces on your screensaver, or just close out of the window and choose your preferred signal for the screensaver to come on. Enjoy! Blessings, Lucinda

I second Khan Academy. If you both sign up as student and coach, you can follow your child's progress easily as they progress through each series of practices and earn badges. It's all free, and very well taught. Blessings, Lucinda

Dh reads a lot of historical fiction. If that's your thing too, you might try reading some of the Brock & Bode Theone (pronounced Tay-knee) books. They are dh's favorite authors. The Theones are a husband/wife writing team and are among the best out there. Since they're pretty prolific, you'll find a number of series written by them on Amazon. Another favorite of dh's is Peretti, and also Joel Rosenberg. Fascinating stuff by both. Oh, and he really enjoyed SWB's book, The Revolt. Happy reading! Blessings, Lucinda

Hi Jetta, Thank you so much for sharing this. After reading your other post (from your link), I am quite interested in BJU! I think I now have it narrowed down to three options: Biblioplan, Notgrass and BJU. That is, unless someone else throws me a suggestion I can't resist adding to the list of finalists. I do know that ultimately I'm going to have to go to the HS book store and get up close and personal with these in order to make a final decision. Blessings, Lucinda

Hmmmm....I'll have to pop over to that site and take a gander. Thanks for the tip! The more I look into this, the more I'm pulling away from the concept of using a lot of books for history next year. That may be one reason that the Notgrass course is pulling at my heart strings. I have really loved TOG, but I think I need to take a break from teaching history this way. If we end up hs'ing through high school (instead of private school), then I'll have to get back into it. I just need a break, so although your suggestion is really good, I think I'm going to keep looking for a program that is either textbook driven or just uses fewer pieces. I know this is a big shift from what I've been doing, but it seems like what we need next year. For 8th grade I want U.S. History to be a strong focus, but I am recognizing a need to put more emphasis on the other subjects than I have been. So I've got to strike a good balance next year or dd just won't be ready for high school on time. I'm not sure how K12 works, so I'll take a look at that too. But on the other hand, I don't want dd to get bored next year either. As to Notgrass, I love the way it is presented in that it pulls together the history, important figures, landmarks, daily life as well as God's wonders all packaged together in 3 main books coupled together with the maps, timeline and review worksheets. Not only is this appealing to me, but the reviews are good too. I'm going to have to do some in-depth reading of the text before making my final decision though, and there are all of these other suggestions to check out as well. :lol: Thanks for the tip, silliness7. I will go to MP's site and take a look. I've never thought of looking there for some reason. Thanks everyone! Lucinda

Thanks for the suggestion. I took a look at BF, but somehow it just didn't jive for me. I'm thinking it would be a really great plan if I'd gotten familiar with it and used it already, but for 8th grade only it seems like too many components to get familiar with. Your choices for 7th grade are what we would use with Biblioplan if we end up going that route. The only other thing we'd add to it would be Streams of Civilization 2. Blessings, Lucinda

I had never looked at Notgrass before. Thanks for the tip! It does look like a good option, and it looks like maybe a good breather just before heading into the intensive high school history and government courses that will be up ahead. Blessings, Lucinda

I do know what you mean about BJU, as we used their 4th grade Heritage Studies. I just tweaked it here and there if I thought it needed it because as a whole, they do give a decent coverage of history. Blessings, Lucinda

I'm assuming you mean SL's Core 100. I've looked at it, but I really don't need all the subjects that SL packages offer. We'll be doing WWS for writing, and also TWTM list for 8th grade literature. We have all the other subjects covered as well, so I just need to make a selection about history. Blessings, Lucinda

I'm seriously considering focusing on U.S. History next year for 8th grade, and am open to any suggestions you may have. We've used and loved TOG, but we need to reduce costs significantly next year. I could easily switch over to Biblioplan for a lot less money - and this may be what we end up doing. This would encompass world history along with U.S. though, and I haven't made up my mind about doing that or just studying America. Therefore, I'd also like to take a close look at courses that are focused completely on the U.S. spanning from about the early to mid 1800's to the modern world. Some considerations I've already put on my list include BJU's American Republic (even though it starts with colonial America), and All American History II (BIP). Are there any other U.S. history courses taught from a Christian worldview that I should look at? Thanks in advance for your input. Blessings, Lucinda

I can see how this makes sense in the day and age we live in, but on the other hand I still want my dd to be able to write by hand. There may come a time when she'll be in a situation where a computer is not handy for one reason or another. We never know where life will take us or what may happen in the world. To know how to write well by hand is a basic, fundamental skill that every educated person should possess. Blessings, Lucinda

Thank you for the link! It looks like a great resource. I think I am going to use it in combination with the ALL samples starting in January. (We're doing light grammar until then, reviewing FLL4 just to cover basics and skipping over a lot. Dd likes PHP grammar and she's doing it in combination with WWS and VFCR for Semester 1.) But with ALL samples and the McGraw-Hill workbook, that should get us through the year. Next year, well....I guess I'll be looking at R&S just for the grammar again. :001_unsure: Blessings, Lucinda

Has your dd done the elementary level Apologia courses? If not, then I'd recommend you put the 7th grade general science aside for another 1-2 years and go back to them. You could enrich this for her by getting a colorful and fun reading magazine such as Creation Illustrated and some videos that will give her the joy of science study without the burden of so much reading at this point. There are rich and wonderful science studies at the Apologia elementary level that would teach her much about science without overwhelming her with text. Focusing most strongly on reading, writing and math might be the best bet for you and her for awhile, while supplementing with lighter science, the history and whatever courses you want her to explore. If you've already done the lower level courses, then I'm sure someone else might have another idea as to an alternative course. Blessings, Lucinda

Along with my highlighted comments above, I've already pinpointed several things I can do to help her out and we are doing them currently. It's the other test taking issues that I would like to learn more about how to deal with. Blessings, Lucinda

Great points, zenjenn. If you were to look for practice tests, where would you go? Blessings, Lucinda

Most any tests at all. She did just fine on her achievement tests, but whenever there are regular tests given during the school year she doesn't score nearly as high as I know for a fact she is capable of scoring. She is able to answer and discuss verybally and prove knowledge through written papers though. I've heard many times that there are students who don't do well with tests even though they are bright, capable students, but I've never understood why that is so. If there is any way to help her with this issue now in her logic stage (middle school), I want to do it. I want to enroll her in private school for high school and I know that in that setting, as well as college, there will be many tests to undergo. Blessings, Lucinda

I was born and raised in Oregon and have been here my whole life. If it weren't for having grown children and grandkids that I'd miss terribly and a job that I love, I would move away in a heartbeat. I have grown very dissatisfied with our state government and the political climate in our region of the country. Laws have been passed here that make me almost ashamed to say I from this state. There are things that I do love about it here, but I often long for a complete change. It's possible that I'll cross the Columbia into SW Washington eventually to be closer to one of my sons and his family. Blessings, Lucinda

Other than review well before implementing tests, what else can parents and teachers do to help those students who just don't do well proving their knowledge this way? How can we prepare them for higher level education up ahead that will require tests and testing? I know about teaching to the test, but that isn't always possible. The real issue is a matter of not only retention, but recall under pressure. Your thoughts? :bigear: Blessings, Lucinda

Thank you all for posting, and for those that offered suggestions. I have learned so much this past week! And best of all, I have a plan that I'm going to put in place to help my dd strengthen the foundation she's getting now in Saxon 67 & DIVE videos and then move into the next level without taking the full summer off. For the rest of this year and next, I'm going to become more involved with dd's math lessons than I have been (but not to the point of actually doing math with her because she told me flat out that it would bother her for me to hover that closely). We are going to go over the missed problems together each week, then go to Khan Academy online to reinforce the areas she's struggling in at that point. From here I'm going to move right along to pre-algebra by again using the Khan Academy and another yet to be determined math curriculum. The goal will be to hopefully be at the Algebra I level at the beginning of next school year. I will either use Saxon Algebra I for 8th grade, or I may switch to the same math program that the school she'll be enrolling in for high school uses, which is Prentice Hall. Oh, and I also plan to hire a high school math tutor for next year at 8th grade level from the same private school. I'm on faculty there and have access to several resources that I didn't even know about until this week. Between you wonderful people here, a dear hs'ing friend and mentor, and resources I've found at the school - I feel so much better and I have faith that my dd will have the support she needs. Blessings, Lucinda

We are using the Core Foundations schedule found here (very bottom), and it is all working beautifully for us without any outlining or added extras. My dd is reading the text and discussing it with me weekly, doing the hands on activities in the book, and we are following the activity book that involves memorization of the countries of the world - albeit this part at a little slower pace than the CF schedule. The only other thing we're doing is preparing for tests and taking them as they come. This is a great course and we are enjoying it a lot. Blessings, Lucinda