We are doing a 40 week school year, and we just completed the 11th week. So I guess that would be day 55. I was planning to do another year-round school year, but it was hard on my dd in 2008-9, so we decided to work toward more of a traditional schedule. We'll take a long break for Christmas, and a week off in spring as well. Blessings, Lucinda

I think Heather has hit the nail on the head! With the help of the SL reader/4 year cycle list, you have a winning combination. I'd also think that some on the list as read alouds would be wonderful. In fact, I might do this myself! Blessings, Lucinda

Like others have mentioned, there may be time before she reaches the place that it is needed, but I also agree with Carol in what she is saying here. My thoughts and attitude coincide with the commandment to "honor your father and mother". No matter how old they are and no matter how challenging it is, it is still a commandment. That doesn't mean that you have to put your family at risk to do it, but we must find ways to honor our parents. Your mil may not have done the best in raising your dh, but she did HER best, what she knew how to do at the time -- and he is her ds. I would encourage you to choose the road of compassion. There are ways to honor parents yet not help them in an unhealthy way if they are suffering from bad choices. I believe it would be better to err on the side of love and mercy than to be harsh and judgmental, resenting the fact that she is in a powerless situation (which is what human nature wants to do in these types of scenarios). My heart goes out to you as you deal with this unpleasant task, but I do believe there are lessons to learn for everyone in the family when we choose to be compassionate. Blessings, Lucinda

Another thing in common - how interesting! My dh got his CDL five years ago and drives commercially too. After so many ups and downs in high tech and the fact that he had just turned 50 he felt he needed to turn to an industry that seemed to have more opportunities for change. Per my previous post on this thread, he's looking for work again due to seasonal layoffs for the second year in a row. We are praying for a job that can support us and give us benefits without having away from home all the time. We do not have medical or dental insurance, and unemployment combined with 8 hrs. of work each week at his present job is not enough to cover all the bases. But like I said earlier, we are trusting in the Lord to get us through it once again. Blessings, Lucinda

Wonderful ideas, all of them, ladies. I am taking note of each and every one because I'm an art teacher in a Christian school. I think that a theme rather than an artist is a great way to go. I've had my students do a unit on gothic stained glass windows which was a beautiful study during Christmas. Many of the windows have the nativity or related themes, and they are so colorful. For history, you can add in a bit about the glaziers that created the windows and their particular art and craft. To go along with this, I had the children create little rosette windows that looked like stained glass. They were made with black construction paper cut out and the openings were filled with colored tissue paper. We laminated them and suspended them with ribbons so they could be hung in the window as light catchers. They were just gorgeous and made great gifts for the students to take home. This Christmas we are going to take a look at various artists throughout history that have depicted angels. We'll then do a block print project and create our own angels. These will make great Christmas gifts too. I love sharing ideas like this. Thanks everyone! Blessings, Lucinda

I'm so blessed to read this! During our time of moving around, dealing with our situation, my dear mother moved in with us. We are also a 3-generation family and we homeschool. It is so great to have Grandma with us, and you know, this is the way it should be. It often reminds me of how households were in the early days of our country. And also, I have to tell you that during the earlier years of the journey I described in my earlier post, I was led to the exact same book by Henry Blackaby. That book literally changed my life! Like you, it helped me put things into the right perspective. Blessings, Lucinda

First a bit of background: Life has been difficult for our family for the past decade when my dh was first displaced from a high tech company. After a nine month job search with little to no income, he went to another high tech company where there seemed to be great promise. He progressed there for two years - making more money than ever in his entire career, but then the massive layoffs came. This time he was out of work for an entire year. We lost everything that time, our home, our truck, my business, our retirement and investments -- everything. It was so bad that we ended up living in the basement of my sister's house on the other side of the state. Six years ago we came back closer to the location we had lived in before. After dh searched and searched for the right fit for a career change, he finally ended up at a decent place. Our income was reduced by nearly half, but it has been steady and we have finally found some stability again. We've bought another house and are rebuilding some retirement funds. Unfortunately, the current economy has hit the co. hard where dh works, and for the past two winters they have laid everyone off. Last year they said six weeks and it ended up being three months. This year they say three months, and we find that hard to believe. Dh is only scheduled to work 8 hrs. per week, but he does get unemployment too. He is also earnestly seeking another job. As I stated on another thread, we have learned that through times of stress it is important to keep routine going for the sake of the children. It eases a lot of the burden for them if Mom and Dad keep things going as normally as possible. Sure, things are different. Sure, we have fewer choices when money is tight. Sure, Dad is home a lot and the the dynamics of the family are shifted for a time. Even so, there are things that we as parents can do to keep a routine going and help our children through it. In the early years I was not officially hs'ing our dd, but I was at home with her most of the time. We kept things going on schedule as much as possible every single day, and she weathered through the storm very well. We did have "off" days of course, but when I did some soul-searching I usually found that those days happened when I was being self-centered. Not easy to face or admit, but true never the less. Now that we are facing another slim winter, I will do as I did last year -- I will keep plugging away with our hs lessons, and I will maintain our routine and schedule. The difficulties that we are faced right with now don't change the fact that my highest calling in life is to raise my child and provide her with a Christ-centered education at home. Because of what we've lived through already, I know that we will get through this. I have learned to be content as I wear the same old clothes, go without vacations, and shop at thrift stores. I have learned over the years how to live frugally and within my means. We rarely go out to eat, go to movies, etc. and I have become very talented in things like getting three family meals out of one chicken. My family has never been without food, shelter, water and warmth -- even through the toughest of times. I know from experience that adversity is the opportunity for growth. In fact, as I look back over the years I realize that the times of greatest growth in faith for my dh and I have been when we faced financial hardship. It wasn't a fun time mind you, but a meaningful time as we realized that we were totally dependent on God to get us through. To be honest, I would not trade those times for anything! I know that life is really tough out there for a lot of people and my heart goes out to each and every one. I just want to encourage all of us to focus on the things that matter the most rather than on fear of what might happen. Focus on spiritual things, on love and on people. Those are the things that last forever. When we do this, we open the door to growth and opportunity that we would never have otherwise experienced. Blessings, Lucinda

I'll second The Well Educated Mind, and also TWTM if you don't have the latest edition. One of my favorite cookbooks is the King Arthur Flour 20th Anniversary Edition. It is a great help in the kitchen! Another favorite book of mine may or may not be a good fit for you, but I'll recommend it. Do you have a creative side that has not flourished in your life for one reason or another? There is a great book that can be read individually or as a group that deals with that very thing. It is Christian in theme, and I don't know if that makes a difference to you, but I found it to be rich and rewarding. The name of the book is The Creative Call by Janice Elsheimer. Thanks for the thread. This is great idea for others too. Blessings, Lucinda

Macs are definitely the all time favorite when it comes to electronic publishing and graphics. I have been Mac based for over twenty years and have worked as a professional graphic designer, so I know this to be true. There are people out there successfully using PC platforms and the software companies have adapted to that over the years, but the overall preference in the industry is the Mac. Macs are user friendly and for the most part are very stable. In my own experience I have found that they have a longer life than PC's, which can compensate for the higher price. Our family always keeps one up to date PC in the house, but all other computers in our network are Macs. Between this and dh's and my own outside work situations, we have found that PC's have to be repaired or replaced much more frequently than Macs do. Others may have different experiences and viewpoints, but like I said, this has been my experience. There are Mac shops out there that sell new and used products. Often times you can purchase a newer computer that has been traded in or refurbished. We have found some really good deals out there and some models even come with a warranty. I would only do this in person with a reputable business in your community rather online though. Best of luck to you as you explore options. Blessings, Lucinda

Did anyone else make Egyptian costumes or costumes for other cultural groups this fall? Please share your pictures if you did. History is so much more fun with costumes and hands-on projects! Blessings, Lucinda

Yes, they could! We used SG for 3rd & 4th grade, and dd memorized most of the songs & chants. We have now moved over to EG, and she uses the songs and chants to help her out frequently. They are all fact based rather than just geared to that curriculum. Blessings, Lucinda

I ordered my SW online from their website. In addition to the download, you can also order a CD that they mail to you. I chose that route. Blessings, Lucinda

The beauty of TOG is that you can start out with any year plan. Considering what you've already covered, I wouldn't hesitate at all to start with Year 2. After you've done the full rotation, you could then choose to do Year 1 again up ahead, but at much more depth for your older dc than you've just done. Blessings, Lucinda

What year are you on currently? Is this your first year with TOG? I'm not an expert, but I'll throw in an idea if you'd like. There are a lot of TOG families here in the Hive, so I bet we could get some other input too. Blessings, Lucinda

That is a wonderful compliment, Carrie. Thank you! I wish we were closer too. But we can be supportive from a distance. PM me if you'd like. Blessings, Lucinda

Wow! Those are great costumes, Angela! Thanks for sharing your photos. BTW...You've got to love little boys. I had three of them myself, and wish like everything that I'd had the opportunity to homeschool them. You are so blessed to give sons such a wonderful education. Anyone else have costume photos to share? Blessings, Lucinda

My dh has also been laid off, in that the whole company has been cut back to working just one day per week. When this came up, my decision was to keep things going as close to "normal" for our dd as possible. To me, that is very important. Anytime we as a family have gone through a period of stress (and I am remembering other situations at different times in the past with my older children as well) it has proven what is best is for us to keep routine in the home with as few changes as possible for the children. We share stress as a family, yes, but the burden of the stress should fall on the shoulders of the parents rather than on youngsters. Routine is important to children as it provides a feeling of stability Dh keeps busy by doing his job search while dd and I are busy with school and he also works on projects around the house. I would not object to him teaching certain subjects, but this year we have a really good process going and it would not be good to change it. But, we ARE having more family conversations about our subjects and we are taking some extra field trips as a family. Blessings, Lucinda

Thanks for your reply. I have stretched our studies only once to cover two weeks instead of one, and I'm taking a break of one week from TOG now that we're done with Unit One. We're actually going to do one more hands on project and go on a field trip, but that is all. Anyway, your post gives me a great deal of relief. Are there any other TOG users out there that want to share their experience transitioning from Yr One to Yr Two? Blessings, Lucinda

Did anyone else make a costume for their Unit One studies? I'd love to see pictures if you did. Blessings, Lucinda

I feel like I have a good handle on it now that we've just finished Unit 1 of our first year. I am learning so much with my dd, and she seems very happy with the way we are doing it. I'm just curious to know if Yr. 2 is going to be as manageable to work through. I've "heard" that there is a lot more to it with reading assignments, so I guess I'm a little scared. Would you mind sharing a bit about your experience moving from Yr. 1 to Yr. 2 the first time through? Thanks! Blessings, Lucinda

I finally got the photos uploaded to my blog and wrote a short bit about my dd and her friend creating fun costumes for our TOG Yr 1/Unit 1 studies. The costumes turned out really great and the girls had so much fun. If you'd like to see them, please take a peek at my latest blog entry (see my sig below). Blessings, Lucinda P.S. Yes, I know that ancient Egyptians probably didn't have blond hair, but I just didn't have the heart to color her hair, and we found out the hard way that spray paint doesn't work on wigs. :D

:iagree: Me doing happy dance <HERE> :) Blessings, Lucinda

It's called MoneyDance, and it has everything I could possibly want or need. Best of all, it was free. I used Quicken for years, and this has many of the same features. Blessings, Lucinda

If you sign up for this exchange, PLEASE be sure to follow through. The last postcard exchange we had here on this forum started out big and then fizzled out. (Our family sent out over 30 postcards but only received about 12 in return, which was a real disappointment to my dd.) No one does this to intentionally let children down, but life happens and we get busy and sidetracked. Just remember that it takes a commitment to make any type of exchange work as it is supposed to. Not saying you shouldn't do this, as it is a super, super idea...I just want to encourage everyone to BE SURE to follow through and send cards to everyone on the list. Blessings, Lucinda

It would make perfect sense to me to buy TOG and use it for as many rotations as your dc need. The only cost beyond that would be age appropriate resource books for each rotation. If I could go back a few years and start over, that is what I would do. Blessings, Lucinda