This will be baby #5 for us. I'm due on August 17th and I can't wait!! I'm tired of feeling lazy.:tongue_smilie: Liz in NC

I'm pregnant with #5 and I practically took 2 months off of homeschooling due to morning sickness and laziness. I'm 28 along now and got my energy back these past few weeks. But boy oh boy!!! I'm always supermom with doing stuff with the kids...this time around, I feel so lazy! But I'm getting back into it and it feels good!!! Hope that you get your energy back. We're catching up on school this whole summer because of my pregnancy. :tongue_smilie: Liz in NC

I purchased the Ancients set from Notebooking Pages through CurrClick when they had them on sale. They save me time and I just print them out ahead of time. My ds enjoys seeing his narrations in them and coloring the pages. It's easy for me, and we've actually used them!! You can see samples on their website. www.notebookingpages.com HTH Liz in NC

The thing is that I don't like how the grammar and writing is done. My ds is weak in phonics and I would like to continue with something that will reinforce it without inserting lots of writing. Liz in NC

My ds 7 is finishing up with Level 1 of SSRW. As we go into 2nd grade, I was planning on continuing with SSRW, but am rethinking the decision. After looking through descriptions, it seems like it covers a lot of grammar and writing. Since we are already set on doing a combo of FLL and R&S for grammar along with WWE...I just don't think we need to add more! I purchased MCP Phonics level B for a supplement (because he really needs it!) and plan on using it all through elementary. Now I am wondering if I should just stick with this as our main phonics program. I feel so lost right now! :confused: I was absolutely set on doing SSRW and now I don't want to do it! Should I use something else? Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks! Liz in NC

Your input is really helping me feel better about my decision. I'm going with FLL and a bit of R&S to get some writing in. Since we haven't done grammar yet, I think this will probably be the best for us! Liz in NC

Just really trying to get the right fit around here. If you use Primary Lang. Lessons, R&S, or FLL...why did you choose one over the other? Thanks Liz in NC

Usually every other summer, I do a unit study on dinosaurs. I found an awesome website that outlines lesson plans, activities, etc. and it has worked extremely well for us. Here is their webpage. http://www.sedl.org/scimath/pasopartners/dinosaurs/ I also blogged about it with some pictures. You can check out that post here: http://hfclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2007/07/dinosaur-unit-completed.html Have Fun! This is one of our favorite things to do in the summer! Liz in NC

My DH is a doctor and he says Latin didn't help him (he only took 2 years of it). But he doesn't say it's a waste of time. But we know lots of doctors (obviously, I guess!!) who don't think it is necessary at all...at least not in their profession. Liz in NC

I'm wondering who uses the spanish lessons on Discovery Streaming Plus. There are 2 different ones that I see: Spanish for Kids & Elementary Spanish. I don't think they are the same and was wondering if either follow a sequence. i.e. Spanish for Kids and then Elementary Spanish? Thanks! Liz in NC

I'm trying to determine what to use for 2nd grade grammar. So far, here is what I am looking at: Rod & Staff English 2 FLL Queens Language Lessons. I am being pulled to R&S at the moment. We have not done any grammar after dumping Shurley this year because I wanted to concentrate on phonics. Shurley was also too teacher intensive and I didn't like that. I have heard great things about all these three programs and am completely torn! I anyone can give me a breakdown of these programs I'd be so thankful! It's hard to decide when you don't have the books in front of you. TIA! Liz in NC FWIW: For language arts, we are currently doing WWE 1, SWO, and continuing with phonics.

I'm not sure what my budget is. I found the hardware for mounting your own maps onto spring rollers and they go for about $179 each! I was hoping to have about 5 maps up and ready to be pulled down. So I really don't want to spend so much money on this. Perhaps I'll try the DIY method with my maps and some old roll down shades. I'd love to hear if anyone else has done this and if it's worked! BTW...I've gotten roll down shades for about $7 to $12 each...depending on the size. Beats paying $179, so I'm just going to give it a try! Liz in NC

Has anyone found an economical way to put maps on spring rollers? I hate changing ours all the time and I don't have enough wall space to put the ones we use most at the same time. I tried a flip chart, but found that this took up more space than I wanted on our floor. I really want to find a way to put all our maps on the wall and have them on rollers like they do in school rooms. Ideas on how to get around this would be wonderful! Or if you know of an inexpensive supplier of spring roller maps. thanks, Liz in NC

I'm using SSRW with my kids. My dd prek is doing level 1 and we are well into it. We decided to skip on the writing part since she is still young and hasn't caught up in that area. Those who have done this...do you completely ignore all the writing parts of the book and just stick with the phonics?? That means I'm skipping the grammar, spelling, etc. I just don't think that it's important right now. Opinions welcome! Liz in NC

How do you do it? I would like to print out all papers and assignments needed for the week, but am in a rut as to how to organize them. I would love ideas...PLEASE!!!!! This is the area that I currently need the most help in. Getting it all organized in the morning or the night before is just taking too much time for me. Oh...logistics-wise. I have to get things ready for a 1st grader, kindergartner, and preschooler (I'm not counting the toddler!!). TIA!! Liz in NC

I've been also patiently waiting. Reading this makes me want it now!!! :D I keep reading that it is available mid-April. But it's closer to the end of April now and I'm just trying to be patient! Liz in NC.

We were planning on using Shirley English at the beginning of 1st grade with ds. I decided to drop it since I felt that I needed to focus on phonics and fluency before introducing grammar to him. Now that we are at the end of the year, I feel like we are ready to start grammar. I have gone through the first lessons of Shirley (before we dropped it) and realize how teacher intensive it is. I don't mind it's intensiveness if it is an excellent program. I just want to know...is it an excellent program?? And which level do I start with if I go with it? Is there a better program out there for grammar? Since we are starting out closer to 2nd grade, do we do a 2nd grade book? I feel completely lost as to what program would work best and which level we should start with. I appreciate any advice and suggestions. I am not limited by curriculum, so I'm willing to try something outside of Shirley. FWIW, we also just started level 1 of WWE. Thanks!! Liz in NC

I just blogged about this recently, and came to the conclusion that we were stopping for a couple of weeks to drill math facts. I have a ds who is doing Saxon Math 2 and my dd is just starting into Saxon Math 1. I am using Calculadders and will make my own math drill sheets for my dd that go with the Saxon Math order: doubles first and so forth. I actually posted the doubles worksheets, if anyone is interested in using them. As we get farther along, I'll probably keep posting them until I feel like my dd can start using Calculadders (I'm guessing this won't happen until next year when she starts Saxon 2). Liz in NC **Oh! And someone had also recommended the FlashMaster to me as well!

These are great ideas and maybe I won't feel so bad skipping the workbook part of the program!! Liz in nc

on Mousesavers.com. We have gone for the past 2 years and plan on going yearly (last trip was in Feb. and next should be in Feb. of 2010). You must use the fast passes. We usually map out where and what we want to do the night before. Because of that, our first day tends to be a little more chaotic. A BIG thing...reserve your spots for breakfast, lunch, and dinner ASAp!!! Most places fill up quickly and well in advance. Unless you don't plan on going to a restaurant, you really need to do this. And I recommend that you at least do a sit down dinner for one of your meals. Reservations can be made one year in advance, I believe. I have younger kids, so we have enjoyed doing the character dining, with Cinderella's Royal Table (in Magic Kingdom) being our favorite. If you don't use the dining plan, these can get pricey (we have a family 5...don't pay for the baby...and usually pay $150 per meal or more at a restaurant without the dining plan). Planning in advance is good. We usually wing it and plan everything from 2-3 weeks beforehand. We still have a great time. Good luck with the planning!!! It will be a memorable trip. Liz in NC

we figure that we would be spending close to $5000 per child to send them to private school. With this in mind, if we need something for our school...I get it. Dh is extremely generous and doesn't mind as long as it is for the kids' education and it doesn't become "wasted" money (wasted money would be buying a museum membership and not going to the museum). I find that I don't usually need a whole lot, except the core curriculum. Field trips and extras just happen, but it still doesn't add up to a whole lot. My main spending months come in May and June when I go to the homeschool conference and buy most of our stuff. I'm imagining that school expenses will increase as the kids get older, but I still tend to be a frugal mom most of the time!! And the good thing with having lots of kids is that eventually most of our school items get reused...therefore, saving us money! Liz in NC

I have pics of my schoolroom on my blog. Granted, I'm in the middle of reorganizing...so I would love new ideas as well!! Liz in NC

I have been using SSRW with my dc with success. I have a ds7 and recently dd5. My dd5 is now on Level 1 of SSRW and is progressing well with reading. The only thing is that she is still young and her writing hasn't fully developed...she writes fine (really well, actually), but gets tired easily. SSRW Level 1 has lots of writing and I was wondering if anyone out there has just simply skipped the writing part?? It seems like such an integral part of the program, but my daughter just can't write as much as my son can in one sitting. I mean, the whole Level 1 workbook is a ton of writing! I would hate to switch, but will if necessary. The thing if I switch would be figuring out where she is in her reading level. I have PP and OPGTR as well. Any advice??? She is a super fast learner and I feel like I'm holding her back with all the writing. Liz in NC

We got it too and I stopped using it. I don't know if it's my computer (a PC), but it takes forever for the lessons to load! I usually don't have a problem with this and we have cable modem. My ds also isn't too crazy about it and it gets boring. I actually feel like I wasted my money. Luckily, we got it at a discount from Homeschool Buyers co-op. And, no, I never saw any talking animals in it. Liz in NC

I've become so much more confrontational than before I had kids. If someone is disrespectful to me...I tend to lose it! It's like my brain thinks..."I wouldn't let my kids talk like that to me; I sure as H**L am not going to let some random person talk that way to me either!" But perhaps it's also being pregnant. I tend to get a little overboard with hormones! Just recently a lady got out of her car, came up to my car window, and started cussing and yelling at me because I honked at her (she was parked in a no parking zone at the Y and blocking traffic because she was waiting to pick up her kids). You can bet your little knickers that I gave her a piece of my mind (kids had to put on the earplugs at this point!) for talking to me that way. Not only that, but my little pregnant self threatened to kick her behind if she laid one finger on my person or car! She immediately went back to her car and moved. Ok....so that situation was a little extreme and I got in trouble with DH for not having more sense. You know...a pregnant woman with a van full of kids getting into a verbal fight with someone??? :001_smile: But you know, some people walk around being confident that they can go around pushing people and no one will stand up to them. It's just a scary world we live in and I have to remember that there are a lot of crazies out there. But I do pray for the patience I feel I used to have! Liz in NC