You're welcome! Funny how having someone like your idea just makes your whole day!:D

I let my ds7 read it with me if he wants to (it varies each day). But, when he answers questions and narrates he's not allowed to look. I'm not sure if there's a "right" way. I figure what does it hurt to have him reading along great literature passages with me, he's seeing proper English properly written down, right? :001_smile: Getting him to be able to do that is the goal, right? I think in the later levels it moves to having the child read the story themselves before they narrate. We're only on week 9 of WWE2, so others will correct me if I'm wrong! Just my opinion, for what that's worth!:tongue_smilie:

I think the lack of responses isn't due to a lack of enthusiasm. There just isn't anything more to add;). It's the same format, just more in-depth than the SWI. Depending on your children's ages you would either do SICC-A or SICC-B after the SWI-A. The IEW website has videos explaining all their products if you want to check it out. www.excellenceinwriting.com I find the SWI dvds extremely helpful for explaining things to my kids. They get tired of hearing my voice all the time. Plus, I can then say, "It's not just me, Mr. Pudewa said to do it this way....." if they are being stubborn.:D Hope this helps!

These are amazing!!! And Free, wahoo! Thanks!:D

I tried to look this up on Amazon and there's so much from her that I can't figure what would be best. Can you recommend favorites? Thanks!

so I created a public photo album. If you click on my username and then User CP it should let you access my pictures and albums. I hope!

I bought one spool of ribbon about 1/4 inch think. I tacked it down in several places across our timeline wall and now we do events on 3X5 cards. There's a picture (printed from computer, copied from text or drawn by hand) with a date on one side (all the stuff from Africa is yellow, Asia is pink, Mesopotamia is green, etc). Then on the back of the cards I have the kids write 2-3 sentences about the significance of that event (bascially short narrations). Not every entry has a narration on the back, that would be too overwhelming and time-consuming. But, I had each dc choose 5 events from each civilization and they were responsible for narrating/decorating those cards. Then, I punch a small hole in the top left of the 3X5 card and stick a paper clip through it. We then hang it by the paperclip to the right spot on the ribbon on the wall. The dates are written big enough to be clearly seen. So, there are no dates on the wall itself but all the events are in order. When we finish a new civilization it's easy to put those events in the right chronological order, too. And, the color coding helps the kids to clearly place the right events from one civilization in context with what was happening in another civilization at the same time. Okay, I just read through this, if it's too confusing just ask and I can post a photo or something. I really like it, it's working really well for both my logic stage students (5th and 7th grades). Even my grammar age kid likes it. Hope this helps, I've found it to be so much easier than the paper ones we've made in past years.:001_smile:

I'm just obsessive and want to know exactly where things are if I should ever need to pull them back out again.:tongue_smilie: I have a turn in box the kids put completed, corrected work each day (I correct it before they can cross it off as completed). So, the folders are empty at the end of the week but I file my turn-in box so I know it's done properly. (I used to have nightmares of the state coming and wanting all sorts of documentation...I want to know where to find it if I need it). But it's really not complicated and being organized helps our school day go so much beter. Really, so.much.better!:D

Absolutely not! Even as a Christian. I'm with Bill on this one, mythology is just a term to describe a set of stories that explain peoples' beliefs. I do not associate it with the terms falsehoods in educational conversations (in pop culture yes, not in an educational context). Whether we believe the Bible is literally true or not, it is full of stories that can intellectually and educationally be acurately referred to as "Christian Mythology." Spiritually is an entirely different matter and I have no right to expect others to believe as I do. God expects me to conduct myself in such a manner that they may want to ask me about my beliefs and be inspired by them, to feel edified or uplifted by having interacted with me, not negative or repulsed. I strive to live up to this, though I don't always (or maybe even don't often) succeed. If I didn't believe this I could not refer to Greek, Roman, Norse, etc mythology. It would be hypocritical and unethical. There are and were people who hold those stories sacred. Why should Christians have the right to demand special consideration? Respectfully, Jen

and it's going really well. I made all my photocopies and such over the summer (when I had Kinko's cut the binding off a couple of books and coil bind them like WWE into student and teacher protions). I also spent some time prepaing absolutely everything I thought we'd need for the first 6 weeks. I used Word to make an IG template (similar to SL since we aren't using SL anymore) for each child and filled it all in in pencil. I have a master binder and plan out school in 6 week chunks. I have divider tabs and put all necesary materials behind the proper week's tab (copywork pages, history coloring pages, spelling worksheets, blank paper for a writing assignment, everything! for all 3 kids). My master binder has the entire 6 weeks then I transfer it to a little binder 1 week at a time as we use it. We school 6 weeks on, 1 off, 6 on, 1 off. So, there were little things I needed to do along the way, but they were so minor it took almost no time. Somethings were left blank (like my son who does MUS, how long it takes to get through a lesson is dependent on subject matter so it varies). I write all the schedules for all 6 weeks in pencil. I change and adapt as we go along (hence the pencil!). This allows me to know what's coming and be prepared yet also be flexible.:001_smile: I use regular folders (the kind with pockets on each side): 1 for each day (Mondays are yellow Tuesdays green,...) and 1 for each kid, they all have their own "file box" (really just an old magazine holder made out of cardboard from IKEA). Then, each Sunday afternoon I file last weeks completed work and fill their file folders up for the next week. This also lets my dc get up super early and accomplish their independent work if they want to! I LOVE those days:D, it make sfor less complaining and school is done faster so we can do fun stuff like projects. Anyway, it's much simpler than it sounds, sorry this post got too long:tongue_smilie:....HTH somehow.

We're currently using the chemistry one. It's all historical and has a Christian slant. Nothing too overbearing, IMHO, but a Christian slant nonetheless. If this makes a difference to you. There are no experiements listed, it's just glimpses at famous historical chemists and chemical discoveries. Hope that helps.:)

(empahsis mine) I totally agree with Daisy. As a Christian, a home schooler, a mom, an adult, a person, a human, etc. etc. I did not find the title or the content of the original post at all offensive. It seemed to me like an honest question in a format that should have been open to such questions. Why it got to be such a debate, I have no idea!:001_huh: If you find the title of a thread offensive, why open it at all?:confused: Just my 2 cents. No offense intended to Christians or non-Christians!:D OP, I hope you find something that works for your family.

Thanks!!! My son says we do too many "girl" books and I know this one has a boy main character and he wants to be a warrior...I'm hoping it will go over well.:001_smile:

:bigear: Anyone?

(emphasis mine!) :iagree: I know there used to be at least one woman on these boards who said she worshipped Zeus, there are certainly people in the world who consider the "myths" from India and China to be historically true. Why should I care what people call my stories? I know they are true, I'm teaching my children that they are true and I hope they will come to that knowledge and belief and testimony for themselves. I think this got blown way out of proportion. In reference to the OP's original question: This book tells the creation stories of far more than just Christianity, but my kids and I enjoyed "In The Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the World" by Virginia Hamilton. ISBN 0-15-238742-0 It just tells the stories without any commentary. At the beginning of the book is a section entitled "A Note from the Author" where she says, "Narratives in this book are stories called myths. THey are about a god or gods, about superhuman beings, animals, plants, and about the first people onthe earth. They are truth to the people who believe in them and live by them. They give the people guidance and spiritual strength....Myth stories present themselves as truth and as accounts ofactual facts no matter how different these facts or truths may be from our ordinary, "real" experience. There are myths that are sacred or religious. And in all of them, there is the feeling that the unusual or divine events are inevitable." She says a lot more but I think that gives you the idea. The stories are then told in each chapter without commentary on their truthfulness or lack thereof. HTH

This is exactly what I do. It's my olders first time through Ancient history so having them listen in on SOTW is a beneficial introduction, IMHO. But, mine are 7th and 5th, a little younger than yours. 9th may find SOTW a little babyish, espeically vol 1. But, it's working very well for us right now. We read SOTW together and go over narration questions (ds7 answers them, olders only help if needed) then they go off to do HO lesson and ds7 and I finish up narration page and maps. We do projects together usually for two reasons: 1) they're fun! and 2) they're too much work for mom to put together for only 1 kid! If you want my schedule send me a pm. I've finished up through Greece (about lesson 67) it probably won't work exactly for your family, but it would give you a starting point.:)

Can anybody tell me when this book takes place historically? chronologically? What group of people are we talking about? Basically: if you wanted to stick it in your history studies, where would you stick it? Thanks!

Wow, never thought of this, might be worth buying my extra student pages in pdf! Thanks!!:001_smile:

I vote for typo, too. 55 + 54 is definitely 109. Email the author, he's very friendly and would probably like to correct that error for the next printing.:001_smile:

MUS is working wonderfully for my very active ds7. He has plenty of time to learn the concept and then reviews it regularly. He and I watch the DVD lesson together then he does the worksheets while I watch. If he gets something wrong I have him redo that problem, usually he figures out very quickly what the mistake was and fixes it. This has worked very well for us because I'm not the one doing the instructing! I do reinforce and go over the concepts, but someone else does the initial teaching. Plus, he needs the time to master things then he feels good when he struggles with something new because he still got some right on review page. www.mathusee.com I have only used alpha & beta so far but we love it. I'm thinking of taking one of my olders through a quick review of epsilon and zeta because of struggles with fractions & percents.... HTH! If not at least it bumps you!:001_smile:

Seconding the suggestion of the Usborne "The World Wars" book it's a great intro to both wars. In Flander's Fields has been put into a fabulous picture book: http://www.amazon.com/Flanders-Fields-Story-Poem-McCrae/dp/155005144X/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264905001&sr=8-6 And a huge seconding of the suggestions for Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (Dutch smuggling Jews out to Sweden) all mine (ages 12-7 at the time we read it) loved it. A great intro for that age: like Anne Frank but not as graphic and raw. Totally appropriate for upper elementary. We also really enjoyed The Winged Watchmen by Hilda Van Stockum http://www.amazon.com/Winged-Watchman-Living-History-Library/dp/1883937078/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264905144&sr=1-1 Lastly, we did a lapbook on WWII from Hands of a Child. I made the mistake of trying to do all the activities for it, there are too many. If your dc like lapbook type stuff this is a great resource, just pick and choose which activities to do. HTH. Have fun with it! It's a really important part of understanding today's world.

I voted other because although we're using History Odyssey I'm a former Sonlighter and HO just doesn't have enough literature for us. So, it's our "spine" so to speak and I add liberally. So much so that I can't really call it HO.;) But, it's more rigorous and not as time-consuming as SL was so we're happy!

I love his books, now I'm rethinking that!:confused:

:hurray::hurray: :party::party: :thumbup: That'a great accomplishment!!! Worth celebrating!

We had to get the 5-6 player expansion (big family) but we LOVE the Cities and Knights expansion set, too! Adds a new level of strategy and planning to the game ds10 *loves* it. Dd12 prefers the plain Settlers, dh and I always play Cities and Knights (unless dd wants to play). HTH