Thanks for everyone taking the time to chime in! I do think she gets some concepts, but then the panic sets in and it is very hard to tell if she is been stubborn or really not understanding. Ellie, Do you use R & S exclusively, or switch over to Saxon at some point? I've ordered some CLE books from the last half of the 300 series. Fewer books and less jumping around is appealing. But I'm also very aware that sometimes just sticking to a program is better than jumping around. I know that worked for my older son. But that green book has gotten the better of me! I'm as scared of it as she is. ;) But this week has been better... so I figure I'll review those CLE books and work with what I have for the remainder of the year, just more slowly. 15-30 minutes of math sounds like a dream. And timers seem to have the same magical properties as chalkboards!

Silvermoon - I didn't realize the worksheets were optional. I will drop them! I've been assigning them as morning warm ups. Thanks for the tip.

I wasn't clear enough. The oral teaching time (before/after class) we did at her desk, with me, with a pencil & graph paper (not a whiteboard or chalkboard until 2 days ago) because of our current classroom situation. ( I literally pulled a small chalkboard out of a box in the garage to try this week.) She would stall through that and seem to get some understanding while we did skip counting & flash cards, etc. Clock time & money usually isn't an issue for her. The actual lesson work came after (the lesson book, not the worksheets), or sometimes sandwiched in between, depending on her state of mind. I always thought that was usually done on paper, with the problems written out. I nixed that by week 2 and let her work in the book. So the time we are having trouble with is called the "assignment" in the Teachers Manual. It just isn't getting done in any meaningful way. Averaging 4-5 days for one assignment and very little retention. So we will do the entire teaching time for one lesson and maybe get through the assignment over a period of days. I don't give the oral teaching script every day, except for flash cards and skip counting, which I would do with any program. Is this section supposed to be done orally as well?

Ellie, See I can't even get the numbers right on the front of the textbook. ;) Thanks for your comparison between R&S & saxon. It is so helpful. The answer to your other question is yes. But not every day. Partly because she is not completing her work from the last scripted/lesson teaching time. It's the page work that is so difficult for her. The worksheets less so, the facts send her into fits. And partly because of me, as we are preparing for our 6th move in 3 years, and building a house. Which is no excuse (or becomes less of an excuse when you seem to be moving serially. I was hoping for more independence by this stage, at least for 20 minutes or so during math so I could work with my older. But your point is well made. Maybe if I take away the independent portion of the day, it would increase her understanding and frustrate her less. One thing that has worked really well the last 2 days (since I posted) is chalkboard work. I remembered a few years ago, when we were learning phonograms, she seemed to learn so much faster on the chalkboard vs. learning with the cards. Dry erase boards didn't work the same for her. I'm not sure why I didn't think to do that with math this year. So maybe the way I teach is more important the program I use. But something like TT is very appealing.

Ellie, You are absolutely right. I've been telling myself this for 2 years though, and at some point the daily teaching becomes useless. Now I felt this way with my oldest when we were stuck for a month or two sometimes, but never for this length of time. Honestly, I would be happy letting her set the pace, except that in all other areas she shines. And math placement often "labels" a student in all areas. I'm trying to help her avoid that if at all possible. Slower progress in her other subjects would be exceptionally frustrating for her. But I suppose that is the beauty of homeschooling and the "stigma" only really comes into play if I place her in a school. Which I am sorely tempted to do at this point. In our area, Saxon 4/5 is for 3rd graders and sometimes 2nd graders (our local Classical school). Is Saxon 4/5 really so far ahead of Rod & Staff 3? If we begin again, at the start of a 3rd grade program.. it will be attempt number 4 to rehash that material. She gets to line 2 (of 8 or 10) and just blanks. I feel like I need a new approach of some kind. I will take a look at MUS again. I wasn't happy with the scope and sequence in that program when I looked at it before, but anything would be an improvement at this point! :) She wouldn't even read the full questions on the Saxon test... we basically say "math" and she panics. I had my husband administer it hoping she would approach it with less fear. I was hoping there was some kind of online "camp" or short term program that could reboot the way we approach it with her. I looked at the CLE evaluation test last night though, and I think I will try teaching from that in order to help with the way she "reads" the problems. We've been so focused on facts, that other elements like measurement & decimals have been delayed even further. I might try doing those and circling back to the facts. I also like the way CLE doesn't have multiple books she has to shuffle back and forth (and lose). Has anyone switched to CLE and had success? I will look at Education Unboxed too, thank you!!

I'm trying to place my daughter in a 4th grade Saxon math program next year. She is at the end of 3rd, and 9 years old. And math is just not sticking with her at all, in spite of a few different approaches over the last 2 years. She is bright, and quick to pick up most any other subject. She is a wonderful reader and storyteller. Her writing and spelling are fine. But we've been trying, in vain, to learn our basic multiplication/division facts this year, without any forward movement in months. We will do flash cards & drills, but the answers are forgotten in moments once we move to the paper. Every day is very, very challenging for everyone in the home when math is being done by this young girl. Tears and tantrums are daily happenings for us. So I am hoping that others with more experience (or experience with a child like this) might offer some advice as to what course to take. We are using R & S 3 this year, because I thought the simplicity of the program would appeal to her. We have moved a little more than half way through the book after 2+ hours a day plugging away at it. I've tried doing math orally with her to move away from the dreaded paper, but she honestly likes independence in most of her subjects. Math is so different and I can't find her "key." I've had some experience with most of the major math programs, although math is not my strong point. Singapore, R&S, Right Start and a few other summer type programs. My oldest is finishing up 6th grade and Saxon 7/6 with great success though, and after a few rocky years with Saxon, that seems to be a good fit for him. I'd like to move her over to the Saxon program simply because I don't think I can juggle multiple math curricula with 3 children (my other is a 3yo) and all the other subjects to keep up on. I can barely keep up with the way Saxon is teaching things. Between 3rd and 6th grade, we are finishing between 3-4:30 pm every day. This is technically our 7th year homeschooling, and I'm really burned out as it is by the end of the day. I'm not sure more time will get us where we need to be, either. She tends to hit a wall, and be unwilling to let new information in. I'm tempted to hire a tutor to give her that extra one on one time though, but thought I'd try to find some ideas here first. The idea of a tutor terrifies her. According to the S & S I would put her firmly in the middle of Saxon 3, and not strong there. But going back to easier facts hasn't been helpful either. So we are in this terrible middle ground. Specifically: What can I do between May and August to get her back on track? I feel like the last 2 years, I've been too relaxed and "waiting" for her to mature enough to tackle this (while working more on character development, which was, and is, sorely needed.) But I need a practical solution at this point. We are addressing it on the "parenting" front, but as her teacher I want to see her move forward, as her abilities are so strong in all other areas. So I don't think waiting is a good approach. I need to work with her, but in a different way. Any ideas? Has anyone experienced this with their dc? Any short term programs or online bridge programs? I apologize for rambling on. I've been reading these forums for years and for some reason this one issue is taking our whole school down a sad path every day. I'm having trouble summarizing here without crying myself. She is such a smart girl and I feel like I am failing her miserably in this area. I'm very open to ideas!

I'm trying to decide between the 2 and they actually seem rather similar. I feel WWE 3 might give us a little more to chew on, since the lessons in PLL are so short. But I also don't want to frustrate my 3rd grader. She is naturally very quick to pick things up but sitting down for long periods of time is a challenge for her. I'm trying to teach diligence, and find that as important as grammar or writing at this stage. But I don't want tears every day either. It's mostly the handwriting portion that frustrates her... the pencil won't go as fast as her brain is working. Has anyone made a similar choice and either felt it was a huge success or alternatively a fail? Advice anyone? For background: I taught my oldest (now 6th grade) with IEW and Shurley Grammar. They were comprehensive, but took up a huge amount of my teaching day, in addition to lots and lots of homework. With 3 kids (and one 2 year old) there is no way I can do IEW and Shurley for 2 grades and get all the other subjects done.

Interesting thread. I believed that playing with neighborhood kids was a part of the "All-American" lifestyle and strongly desired it for my kids. After all, I homeschool and want/need that interaction for my children more than your average "school" mom who has the social stuff somewhat pre-programmed for them. So I was looking forward to it. I've always told my kids that there are fabulous kids everywhere who school in different ways (public, private, tutors, homeschool) and we should never judge by those labels. I thought it would be good to expose my kids to others who led different lifestyles. Until we relocated and I found myself in the same position as the OP. It was a nightmare. What turned into a once a day occurrence became a constant annoyance. It was nearly impossible to school. We had to have the blinds closed all the time because the kids would peek through the windows if we didn't come to the door. Screaming and banging was the norm (When did this behavior become so prevalent?!) The language that came out of these very young children's mouths was not repeatable. Disgusting jokes. And constant reference to extremely violent video games and pornography. Ages 5 & 7. The parents were just very very permissive. This was an upscale location that was famed for its great public schools. Not at all what I remember when I was a kid. I started to dread the moment they would come back from school (12 noon for the 5 year old) and then had to supervise every second they spent playing on my front patio and then do lots of fence mending with my own children after dinner. It was a nightmare. I remember telling my husband at the time that I could never continue to homeschool in that environment. We have slightly older children as well, so there is quite a bit we need to cover on a daily basis. It was so hostile to the gentle learning I wanted to implement. I planned nature studies and art projects and all sorts of fun things for our afternoons that we could never do because we couldn't go outside without being assaulted by these children. And it was a verbal assault. I cringed every time they spoke. They never listened to anything I said. I can only imagine what kind of home environment they must have had. The influence on my own children was terrible. The "salt and light" argument failed miserably in this case. They are children, and wanted to be like the other children I allowed into their lives. I learned a hard lesson that summer. I will never again be so careless. I would love to embrace needy, neglected children into our home, but the cost to my own children is not a price I am willing to pay. Maybe once they are older and their character more firmly formed I can reconsider this mentality? Maybe a better mama could have taken those neighbor kids and folded them into their own routine and effectively ministered to them within their homes and families? But it backfired big time for me. I should have listened to my own mother. ;) No doubt our experience was extreme. I started out as a free spirit homeschooling mama.... and have become alot more sheltering in my behavior since I began 6 years ago. I'm still saddened by it, but I do not regret the choice. We now screen all the families we interact with on a regular basis. Not based on religion or politics of course, but there is a basic "behavior" standard that I make a mental note of before I commit to regular social events. We moved after 3 months. I'm so very grateful we had that option. The one thing I would not do is call CPS. Unless I know with certainty that abuse is happening I truly believe those children would be much worse off with the CPS system. Even very poor parents are better than no parents at all imo. And there are some wonderful foster parents out there... but many who are not. So that is a phone call I would never make for a case like this. Just me though. I would, however, tell the mother (as kindly as I could) why I was limiting interaction in the hopes that she would become a more involved parent. No doubt she would not stay "a friend." But being a mother has always trumped friendship for me. And my closest friends feel the same way about their children and I respect them for it.

Parts of Silicon Valley with low crime, a decent commute (under 45 minutes one way in traffic) and good schools (not that most of us need to worry about that, but if you are a smart home buyer you will consider it) are going crazy right now with multiple all cash offers with average time on the market under 15 days. Ones with any kind of charm go way before that. Most homes selling here are well over 1 million for a tiny 1400 sf 3 bedroom single family home. (Tiny for a million... I know my grandmother raised her family in a much smaller home, but they paid closer to $5000 for it. ;0)) We've been looking to buy since we relocated from Southern California and it feels like the 2003 bubble all over again. Ugh. On the bright side, jobs are looking good here. I thought there would be a bunch of layoffs after the election, but it seems like that's a non-issue here. Also, very few foreclosures in the good areas because the homes are selling at peak prices, so if someone is having trouble making payments, they can easily sell it if they need to. I am quite surprised by this, but the inventory is so low perhaps its driving demand up only in the short term? Can't wait to hear about other areas.

I know this post is from a while ago... but just in case there are some parents looking at registering for Veritas Press Scholars classes this month I wanted to give a little review. We LOVE the VP Grammar & Writing I class. It was very challenging but there is no way I could have provided the same level of learning in these subjects as his amazing teacher at Veritas. I felt like giving up for the entire first month and really didn't think we could catch up and be "at level" with the kids who had done Shurley Grammar before level 4. We had some grammar from Phonics Road, but it was taught differently. But after that first month, my son (who is boy through and through and was not at all the type to sit down and write anything without me prompting him) thrived in that environment and eagerly prepared for his class times. There is a decent amount of homework, just fyi. The other students were (and are) sweet and well mannered. Making friendships via the forums at Veritas and Skype. Worth every penny. We've already signed up for next years' level 2 class. If anyone has any other questions, feel free to message me. Also, if anyone has opinions about the Grammar Latin Level 1 Class I'd love it hear. :) Highly recommend!

I just wanted to point out that although I tend to be a little defensive when people criticize homeschooling (it is a huge part of my life and I don't have a union to lobby for me and declare to all the world that my job is worthwhile and valuable :)) the biggest thing I came away with was this... I was thankful for the list of "what not to dos." It made me remember my homeschooling past, my own devout mother and all the loneliness associated with being a homeschooler before there were any groups or coops to speak of. It was isolating and I was really glad when they finally sent me to school. But my parents really struggled with finding the right solution. This post reminded me of how hard it is to make the right decision sometimes... and kids don't always realize the mental anguish that goes with these weighty choices. It didn't sound like those "interviewed" were even old enough to have a mature perspective yet. Have they raised kids successfully on their own? At least that's the way I read it. Now I love homeschooling my little ones. But I hope I can offer more to my kids than I was offered. I feel this board and the huge number of people choosing to home educate in so many different ways is helping to provide more options. I know my son will learn more about grammar and writing this year from VP Scholars than I did during my lengthy college and post graduate education. So I rejoice in that! I also wish I had a quiverful. We had to wait a long time just to get 3! But I am still tempted to use my oldest as a "helper" more than is healthy. So I try to section off a big part of the day that is just for academics and play... no chores or babysitting. That doesn't mean he won't help me cook and take out the trash... but that has very little to do with what schooling method we choose. And for what it's worth... every large family I've had meaningful contact with has been really full of energy and love for one another. The kids seem genuinely happy. And the mothers have been by far the most gentle and patient. Lots of practice I suppose! Not that there aren't bad examples of quiverful families too... but I really don't think its the theology or family planning viewpoint that is to blame here. Just mho. I don't want any mom reading here to think a large family can't be a happy (and well educated) family. DL

Volvo... the 7 seater SUV. 2007 or newer. I have the 2007 and have never been happier with a vehicle. After driving minivans for a long time, it was a wonderful change. A little less space on the floor and for hauling furniture... but otherwise very easy to drive (no major blind spots like in my quest) and we have had no problems with it. I have friends who drive the Siennas and the Odysseys... most of them can't wait until they can move on to something else. It's a great convenience to have a minivan if you have a baby though... just easy in and out of the doors and stuff... but if you don't, I always recommend this volvo! It's super safe AND we found ours for $20,000 with about 30,000 miles.

We had great success with PR after trying lots of other stuff. Good other stuff, and some of it was fun, but the systematic approach of PR (and any OG type program really) seemed to be what he needed. He was (is!) very wiggly, very energetic and athletic, and I wasn't sure if I could get him to sit still for the spelling list portion. Now, it's not super exciting with color pictures and games and stuff... when you get the manuals you might wonder what all the excitement is about really. But if you give it about 6 weeks, I think you'll see how it comes together in their minds and cements the ideas they need for reading. It's streamlined and no frills. You can accomplish alot as a mom in a short period of time, (no time intensive teacher training) thanks to the the teacher DVDs (depending on how long his attention span is... it will likely increase a great deal over the course of PR 1). I'm not sure exactly when he started to read that year, but when he did, it was at warp speed. Now, he is just finishing up PR 2 and can read anything. The only problem I have is getting him to slow down! He just zooms through. And this from a boy who was in tears with all the tradiitonal "teach your child to read" type books and programs. So PR will get you up and running with the reading portion too, not just the spelling.

with a little bit of other stuff in between. I really wanted the perfect program... so I overdid it with my oldest, poor guy! But the method behind WRTR is wonderful. I agree with the previous poster that if all you want is a reading/simple spelling program... you can do it with WRTR and not spend the extra money on PR. If, however, you are like me and want literature and grammar and writing in addition to reading and spelling (and this really ramps up in 2nd grade and is where PR starts to shine, in my opinion), well, you will prob. save money in the end if you bought it again. Right now I have PR covering all 5 parts of language arts without any supplements... AND I can't imagine teaching grammar and literature comprehension on my own without lots of research and prep on my part (although I know alot of mamas on here would be fantastic at it!). So in addition to be a combined program... it saves me oodles of time in prep (I didn't have the time to attend the special 3 day workshops I know are so beneficial for this type of program), and I don't have those brain fogs anymore like I used to get all the time with the other Spalding type programs. The DVD's talk me through all of it and seamless integrate grammar at the same time. The latin is just a bonus in my opinion. We LOVE LOVE LOVE it. More now that we are almost finished with level 2. It just gets better, and faster, and easier for the student, with each week. I have a reluctant "boy" student, and he needs this kind of structure as much as I do. So, for us, it has turned out to be a real value in every sense of the word. :)

We've been using the self-paced history classes from VP and the lessons are pretty funny. Alot of information is covered, don't get me wrong... they just keep it light and easy to watch/learn/memorize/be entertained. I'm not from the "you must entertain your kids or your kids won't learn" school. I'm actually a really boring mom/teacher. But my kids love history time every day now, I don't need to dose up on coffee to explain the Trojan War in great detail myself, and I feel like they are covering way more than I would do on my own. Mapwork, tests, review, vocabulary, all that is included within the lesson. We still supplement, but I don't feel like I need to. It is a tad expensive, but my only regret at this point is not doing it earlier! We really like it. :)

and then I read "Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need To Matter More Than Peers" and it changed the way I looked at so many things with regard to parenting and homeschooling. The bottom line is no matter how sweet and mature these friends are, they are still young kids and time spent with you is far more valuable in shaping her character. You also have provided a seriously wonderful social schedule for her! But I completely understand wanting to take her desires into consideration. I think, in the long run, you & her will be so happy you made this decision!!!

I'm looking to print out all my picture studies, e-book maps, notebooking pages and timeline pictures and I really need to outsource this since my printer uses so much expensive ink! Does anybody have a cheap online source for this (instead of Staples or Office Depot, which I find kind of spendy)? I also have a huge Shiller math file for my youngest (over 300 pages), so I'd love to have a color option with the same source, if possible. I would be so grateful! PS I'm having all this printed so I can "file" it in my crate. I love this board, but that one thread has had me "filing" for 2 weeks now! :)

Go for the land! :) I think the benefits of neighborhood living are over-hyped. We did that for 7 years and although this kids did have other little ones to ride bikes with and talk to when we were out and about, we still had to supervise everything. Many of the older kids were just plain mean. Now we live on 3 acres in a small community where we really need to "ship" in our friends. We do it about once a week and it works perfectly. Plus, the kids can play outside without me feeling I need to supervise them all the time... I can actually cook dinner and know they aren't going to get run over by the cars coming around the corner at 45 MPH in a residential neighborhood! And I have a chance to get to know the moms a little better as well because they aren't just shoving them out of the house into the street... they are actually "visiting" us and it feels kind of old-fashioned... in a good way. They get tons of sunshine and mud and bugs and nature study! Of course, if you do the trick or treat thing (we don't anymore), it's harder in the country.

I second J. Crew and Ann Taylor. Ann Taylor caters more to professional women though. For casual stuff, if you sort through some of the really trendy stuff at J. Crew (not sure who would wear a mongolian lamb vest), their classic clothes can last a LONG time... and the fit has gotten much much better as well. As for Target and the like, I WISH the quality were better. The styles can sometimes be very cute, but I continue to have issues with quality and shrinking after one or two washes. Not good investment clothes. Now for kids "disposable" type summer clothes when I know they'll be in a different size next year... I'm a target junkie. Oh, and I like Garnet Hills sometimes as well.

Our church charges 35 for each child. And I'm pretty sure that doesn't even begin to cover the costs involved. Nearly 2000 kids come every summer and if it were free, you'd see so many the church wouldn't even know what to do with them. Highly populated area. I know there is a good argument you could make for this being an outreach... but an outreach to children, specifically (without their parents present) requires alot of supervision, planning, hard work... and money (when dealing with large numbers). If 2000 families showed up, well, by all means bring them on into the grassy lawn and start using a microphone! You could make it work! But with 2000 kids, without the parents, it gets really really tricky. There are insurance considerations and legal requirements (ratios) and many of these families would be using it for free childcare. Even if a church charged 100 for the week, it would still be a bargain compared the going childcare rate around here. So I'm hesitant to judge our church of charging. I get why they feel the need. It also helps to get a more accurate number of who is actually coming. When people pay, they are more likely to show up. :) Even after all that rationalization, just paying for my 2 kids took a lot of budget juggling. And I could have asked for a scholarship... I'm sure they accommodate if needed. I just felt it was worth saving and scrimping for. If I'm willing to save and scrimp for school supplies and academic books... well, isn't this worth throwing money at too? If I'm looking for the perfect, easy, engaging and fun Latin program for my kids during the school year, and I'm willing to pay for it... shouldn't I see this VBS material as a form of supplemental education? (Obviously not the only introduction to the salvation message, but from a different perspective (not a mom!) and with so much creativity and energy?) Isn't that worth paying something for, if I can manage it? I don't know. I'm just blabbing. I wish it could still be free. I think in smaller towns, with smaller congregations and a smaller pool of children to pull from, the volunteers could manage on their own (with much courage and prayer!). Make all the snacks, prepare all the crafts, etc., etc. I just don't know how they would manage it here, in such a big city without charging. And I do SO love the VBS message.

This isn't even funny. You all are getting great deals! I'm being tempted by all the pretty new designs at the Target down the street.... little owls and retro memo books and stripey composition books all in pretty colors... drool. But each one is 3-5 dollars. Not so cheap if I want to scoop up all of them. Which I do. And the matching pens. And clipboards. And whatever else. Today I resisted. But next week... I don't know. I think I need to go to the dollar store for my fix!

I don't get upset anymore when people ask these kinds of questions... but it does make me feel, well... awkward. Mostly because I haven't found a good answer. I feel like I'm in "landmine" territory whenever I discuss the work-outside-the-home thing, and I also feel that most other women (those who are usually asking) are well-intentioned. They want to make friends and find out more about other women. So my frustration with the question has been directed more at myself lately for not being confident in my position as mother/teacher. I'm as proud of what I do now, as I think all my professional friends are of their own jobs and accomplishments. But it just isn't socially acceptable to talk about it that way... yet. My only chance for shop-talk is really when I'm with other homeschool parents.... like we're still pioneering this way (even though it's been around a while now) and we are the only ones who truly know the sacrifices and costs, the risks and rewards of the journey. It's hard to explain if you haven't done it. I do think my family benefits the most. Being at home with kids (homeschooling or not) is a very challenging job if you do it properly. All my other jobs were much much easier in comparison. My current boss is not the most understanding all the time(because his own job can make him grumpy), I can't quit or change locations or switch positions to make my work more "interesting." I have less say than I would like when it comes to how the money is spent, and yet I need to plan and account for every penny. My days are not my "own" - I have to accomplish a great deal of frustrating micro-details every day. I'm still having frustrating conversations over vaccinations with the drs. and will never be able to delegate my paperwork to anyone. And I never have a relaxing 1 hour lunch by myself. Or a 20 minute break, unless I'm in the bathroom. And even then... :) I'm head-butted, jumped on, and wrestled with every day. Not a comfortable position most the time. But still, totally worth it. And the people I work with... well, they are pretty darn awesome. I do feel luckier than the girl at the nail salon who has a 7 year old she never sees. She works 6 days a week until 8:30 at night. Her brother stays home with her boy and takes him to school and picks him up. She misses her boy terribly, but she is a single mom with no other choice. I don't feel luckier than the girl who cuts my hair. She has a solid 2nd income b/c she also doesn't have to pay for childcare for 2 babies. She has a live-in situation and family that helps out, and she works b/c it gets her out of the house and away from the "chaos" of motherhood (as she puts it). Many of the moms I know who work outside the home, fall into the second category (lawyers, drs., or own their own business)... the work itself is a luxury, and they look at it that way. They value their alone time the way that I value my "read aloud on the couch time" with my kids. Just different choices, I guess. I am leaving all choices open in the future though... we've come face to face with some hard financial realities this last year. And if mothering has taught me anything... it's not to judge too harshly! :)

I have lots of friends that use Classical Academy and LOVE it.

Oh, I feel for you! It's so hard to watch your child struggle through this. We've been doing the patching with our son since age 3 (plus surgiery). My experience: 1) The patching helped. Alot. At the beginning, I was starting to think the split personality in my sweet son was enough of a reason to stop. But the payoff, at least in our case, was huge. He still has to patch though. :( But at 7 he is taking it much better. Every year has been easier. 2) He gets strangely moody when he is wearing it. But he feels much much better if he can do it alone at the house and when he doesn't have to eat with it on. So we do it after school and around meals. I accommodate him here as much as possible (and I am not an accommodating mama usually, but I do it because... 3) I tried the patch on myself and tried to wear it for an hour with him. After 10 minutes I was miserable and had to peel it off. It's not easy. Awful really. So I try to give him a break in the attitude department a bit. It sounds to me like your daughter is taking it really well. That's a long time to patch. :( She is adorable! Big hugs!!!

I love the idea of using Paul Johnson as High School history! I also stumbled on to Freedom Just Around the Corner: A New American History. I've read some reviews that it's less biased than other US texts... apparently his bias is "all Americans are hustlers." Not sure that's untrue! :) But I know nothing of this author. It's on my short-list to pre-read sometime in the next 4 years anyway.