I just did Level 1 of Jillian Michael's 30-Day Shred workout for the very first time. I waited until I thought my lunch had digested a bit, and then went to work on it. OMGoodness!! I knew it would be hard, and I have to admit I didn't do tooooooo bad keeping up, but golly I worked up a sweat. (And I'm not even one to sweat much!) Now I feel my lunch in the pit of my stomach and I am exhausted. I have two big challenges to add to the list too. I have a history of asthma, and it can flair up with exercise if I am not careful. Today I had a little bit of a hard time getting my breathing right. I really don't know how to do that. Then there's the issue of my right knee injury that causes me to not be able to get on my knees to do modified push ups (can't even do one pushup of the regular type yet...) What do I do about that one? Okay, WTM friends that are into exercising - I could use some input. I have always hated exercise. As a result, I am out of shape and over weight. I'm in my fifties now and have decided to stop putting off what I know I should be doing. I'm changing my eating habits for the better and am going to include exercise into my weeks. For one, I have a brand new bicycle and am starting to ride it for 20-30 minutes several times per week. Secondly, I bought the Shred DVD and a set of 5 lb. weights. We also have a stationary bike in the house. Additionally, I am eating plenty of organic veggies, drinking water, cutting back on carbs and fats and eating as little sugar as possible. Do you have any other suggestions for me? Would anyone mind suggesting a plan that would be a good place to start? Thanks in advance for any suggestions you might have for me. Whew! Lucinda

but beginning Latin only requires 30 minutes of time 4-5 days per week. With the inclusion of Latin in her studies, your daughter's English AND Spanish would be enhanced. I'm not sure where it would fit schedule-wise exactly, but it may be worth your consideration. BTW, Latin for Children has DVD's for instruction. This is what we use for my daughter and she is miles ahead of me in understanding and comprehension. At the age of ten and after only 1 1/2 years of taking Latin, she can honestly sit me down and instruct me on how it all works! There is also a great program called Latin Grammar (put out by Canon Press) that is designed for older beginning students. It also comes with DVD and CD instruction, making it much easier for parents who don't know Latin. If Latin just isn't going to work for you at this stage and time, then I'd definitely recommend a curriculum that covers Latin roots and derivatives. The benefits of even that would be with her for life. Blessings, Lucinda

If you don't have a copy of the book, The Well Trained Mind, I would recommend getting a copy from your local library. No other book that I'm aware of covers the issue of time and scheduling of subjects for each grade level so completely and so well. SWB did not pay me to say this! But then again, it makes sense that since this is her website forum we really should consider what she has to offer that will truly help us. :001_smile: Blessings, Lucinda

Of course! And Hillsboro people too. Anyone in the general area would be welcome, but people need to let me know they are interested as well as contact information. Blessings, Lucinda

in person, I would be very willing to organize a gathering. If you are interested in doing this, please send me a pm to let me know. Also, suggest a time of year, etc. that you would prefer to do this. Blessings, Lucinda

Here's another vote for Shurley Grammar. We used it for two years and it was very thorough. Dd needs a change with several areas of curriculum this year though, so we are going to go to Easy Grammar. I'm convinced that both programs are excellent. Blessings, Lucinda

I teach 4-8th grade art, and I love it. I did teach K-8, but cut back to one day per week vs. two. It was hard for us for hs'ing and also on my elderly mom who lives with us. Right now one day per week is perfect. If we reach a point where dd needs to get into a school, we will send her to Veritas and I will hopefully be working more hours to cover her tuition. But I'm perfectly content to hs her as long as she is doing well and wants to be here. I'm glad your pastor friend had the chance to be at the conference. I wonder if he attended the workshop I taught on Tuesday afternoon? Do let him know that we are already planning another conference next summer. Blessings, Lucinda

We prefer Crayola or Prismacolor brand colored pencils. The best solution to the pencil sharpening issue is to have a hand sharpener at the table, preferably a metal one. Dc can easily clean up their mess by twisting the shavings on to a paper towel and tossing it when work is done. (Electric sharpeners are not the best for keeping colored pencils nice anyway.) Blessings, Lucinda

After our thread the other day, I ran across the Startwrite program in a different thread. I did not think I'd ever switch dd from GD, but SW has an option that is very similar to GD and we could easily adapt to it. They have a free trial, plus you can download the curriculum to your computer, allowing you to create your own worksheets. Check this out: Choose Handwriting Fonts including Manuscript (similar to Zaner-Bloser), Manuscript-Simple (similar to Zaner-Bloser, Simplified), Modern Manuscript (similar to D'Nealian) and Italic (similar to Getty-Dubay or Portland Italic). Use Cursive Fonts that correspond to the above-mentioned educational fonts, for the advanced student. Expand Font Sizes anywhere from 1/4" to 2". Choose Shading of Fonts from Dark to Light for all levels of learners. Choose From Four Guide Line Options: Top, Middle, Bottom and Descender. Change any line to solid or dashed and colors to red, black or blue. Type dotted, dashed, or solid letters. Starting Dot to help in your child's learning of letters. Stroke Arrows for proper letter formation. Clip Art Included or import your own JPG or BMP clip art to make pages fun... Print Worksheets on Plain Paper from your own printer--no hassle and no expensive special paper needed. Print in Landscape or Portrait for your convenience and creativity. Custom Lessons are included (or can be downloaded free from Homepage) for quick and easy lesson preparation time. Use Startwrite's other Standard Word Processing Functions like cut, copy, paste, new, open, save, print, zoom, etc. for extra ease in preparation. Utilize 100,000-Word Spell Checker for accurate worksheet preparation. Save Lessons for future use to create your own curriculum in minutes, and save time and effort when repeating lessons. Use Spanish and Math Fonts* for even more learning potential. Create a Variety of Pages like phonics pages, spelling pages, a letter to a friend, scrapbook pages, etc. for more practice and fun while learning handwriting. I am going to purchase this program for dd so we can continue to work on improving her writing. I think it is well worth the price, as we'd easily spend this on consumable workbooks. Blessings, Lucinda

You inspire me to continue on with handwriting and copywork!!. I was wondering if I shouldn't just give her time to work it out -- but maybe I've been wrong. I long to see her take pride in what she produces. I guess I've been holding on to the fact that with my older children (all ds') they eventually came to the decision on their own about handwriting, clean bedrooms, better hygiene, etc. Maybe dd is different than the older ones. So anyway, now I'm going to check out that SW program and see if I can find a bargain too. Blessings, Lucinda

-- Especially Classical schools if you are using those methods with your own dc. And the benefits to being connected to a school that uses similar or the same methods as you use with your own home education are really great. Many private schools hire people to do administrative work part-time, janitorial, various teaching aide positions or even teaching part-time if you hold at least a bachelor's degree and have some experience. Sometimes these jobs have very flexible hours, especially if they like you and want you to become a part of their school staff. I teach one full day per week, allowing me to continue to hs my dd. It is such a good fit since I am teaching at home and on the job too! If working one full day doesn't work for your situation then other part time positions might be available. This is the perfect time to check in with school offices as they are getting ramped up for the new school year. Just and idea fwiw! Blessings, Lucinda

I wish I had learned about SW handwriting before this! I don't think I could take my dd back to start again though. She is 10 yo and forming her own style by now, but we did use the Getty Dubay method, which is very clean and legible. Dd just hasn't stopped being sloppy yet...although her handwriting has improved greatly since using GD method. Just as an encouragement to the OP, be sure to help your dc construct their letters logically and smoothly. That is the one real benefit of using a handwriting program of some sort. One comparison might be learning to type -- anyone can memorize the keyboard placement, but learning a method of typing helps us to type more quickly and efficiently. Likewise, learning to "build" the letters correctly helps a child's handwriting to become easier to produce and much easier to read. I personally think that this SW software is worth the forty bucks! It is far less expensive than consumable workbooks I've purchased and it has a lot more to offer all together in one unit than anything out there I've seen. Blessings, Lucinda

My dd had challenges with handwriting and since I had heard and seen the italic method (taught by GD) I checked it out. Since then, DD has been using it since 3rd grade and I can see a very big improvement in her handwriting. We started out with the manuscript style (printing) and then moved up to cursive. I think there are a total of seven sequential levels in the series, A-G. In addition to my own experience, the Classical Christian school where I teach part-time implements this method and nearly all of my 125 art students have very neat, very lovely and legible handwriting because of it. I know another mom stated in this thread that she doesn't like the italic cursive, but I LOVE it and have to say that she is the first one I've ever heard say anything negative about it. If you'd like to check it out, here is one link and here is another. Blessings, Lucinda

While I appreciate your frankness and respect your opinion, I have to say that if you'd taken a look at the publishing source of the planner we are discussing before launching into a rant you would notice that it is offered through Family Christian Academy. Christian publishers don't offer two versions of their books because it would not correspond with the teachings of their faith - and I doubt that you'll find secular publishers that would provide two versions of their products. At least I can't think of many products where that would be the case, but lest we digress -- I'm sure there is something out there that is secular that you will enjoy and find useful. Sorry I fueled a frustration for you. Blessings, Lucinda

Since I only have one child at home, it should work just fine then. Do you find there is enough room for all of your subjects? I noticed there are main categories (i.e. English), but lines within that category for adding LA subjects (i.e. grammar, spelling, handwriting, etc.) Could a person actually list a total of 10-11 subjects all together? Blessings, Lucinda

I actually just placed my order. I've been putting it off, going back and forth and finally decided to just do it. What I'm not sure about though, is the dates of the semesters. We don't begin until September, and the book starts the semester in July. Is there any way around that when using the book as its intended? Blessings, Lucinda

If not, then take a look here and tell me what you think. I'm torn between getting it or making my own customized teacher book. So far, I can't find exactly what I want for keeping grades for my one UG age student. This would include weekly lesson planning plus extras. Blessings, Lucinda

JustGin, do you live in or around Newberg? I am out in Yamhill. Blessings, Lucinda

I met Stephanino there, and hoped to meet others from the Hive as well. Because I taught a workshop I wasn't able to get around and meet other hs'ers like I would have normally. If you happened to be there, please let me know what you thought of it. This is the Classical Christian school where I teach part-time. Veritas is a real inspiration to me, I must say. Blessings, Lucinda

I think that combining the two curriculums would end up in a train wreck in a short amount of time. :lol: It MIGHT be possible, however, to use SL readers as part of the TOG plan. It would depend on your dc's love of literature though and their ability to read through books at a rate that would keep up with the program. The previous poster had some very excellent comments that I agree with and hope you will consider. Blessings, Lucinda

Thanks for that, Summer. I also went to both websites and compared the table of contents for MUS Epsilon and TT6, and thought it looked doable. So now after considering your comments and what I found out on my own, it looks like we will stick with our plan for the fall. Its a good time to switch after all! Thanks for the thread! Blessings, Lucinda

Oh dear, I thought I had it all figured out for next year. Now after reading this thread I am very torn. I was planning to switch from MUS Delta to TT6. I have no idea how much of a gap this will cause now for my dd. I hope I'm not hijacking this thread (please correct me if I'm out of line), but does anyone reading this thread have experience with MUS at the Delta and Epsilon levels as well as TT6 experience? If so, do you think this would be a wise move for us? Blessings, Lucinda

Hi there, Although I have not personally used this curriculum, I believe that SWB is the real voice of wisdom and experience and she has written a language arts program that I'm certain would be a good program for any child. Since your ds is lagging just a little behind, why not put him in a 2nd grade level LA program, such as First Language Lessons 2? You may find a copy of this at the local library to review first, but there are also used copies of this on Amazon for a very reasonable price. Here is a link of one example. I believe that if I were in your place, I would give this a try, plus add Spelling Workout B or C (Another SWB recommendation - one that we have used and found it to be excellent), plus whatever cursive handwriting program you'd prefer. There are numerous handwriting programs online that are available for free, so you wouldn't even have to buy anything other than paper and pencils. You could also begin writing from dictation as TWTM book recommends ( The book lists this activity as early as 2nd grade). Add to these things library books as readers, and you would have a very good, inexpensive LA program. I do not have the newest WTM book, but the Second Edition does not recommend R & S in 3rd grade. This is why I would recommend using SWB's LA program to help catch your son up, and then move on to R & S next year. Best to you as you sort through the recommendations and consider all the options. I hope this helps. Blessings, Lucinda

We have been using Calculadder drills for the past two years and they are great. This was highly recommended by the elementary teachers at the private Classical school where I teach part time. Since using the curriculum as supplements to her regular math, dd's speed and accuracy is greatly improving. Blessings, Lucinda

I believe we did - and I think one of the missing cards I just found was for you as well. See? Still not too late! Blessings, Lucinda