We have been using the Prentice Hall Science Explorer book for Motion, Forces and Energy. It seems to be working okay for us. The explanations are pretty clear and it incorporates quite a bit of math. There is also an online component for extra resources and quizzes if you want to use them. For math we are using Foerster's Algebra I: Expressions, Equations and Applications. We've had fits and starts with algebra around here and this seems to be very incremental with good examples. Not just easy examples followed by hard problems. My math-phobic daughter seems to actually be absorbing and understanding algebra now. We have an older version of this book and there aren't a lot of colorful pictures in it, but there are diagrams that relate to the problems, not just splashy photos to take up space. We found that type of thing rather distracting in another book we used. We are also incorporating Life of Fred: Beginning Algebra into our math studies. Not everyone's cup of tea, but I think it is helping to solidify the algebra we are doing in our standard textbook. Plus my daughter just thinks it kinda fun.

We used to do school 4 days a week with art and some lighter things on Fridays. Now that we are at the upper middle school level, it is more like 5 days a week. Fridays we do math and history, but the rest of the Friday schedule generally tends to be less heavy than what we do earlier in the week.

We are using the first book, Colonies to Constitution. I agree with the previous poster that it might be better used in a group setting, but my dd is using it mostly independently. I don't have the CD or teacher's manual, but we do talk about the lessons together and that seems to be working okay for us. I like the guide to critical thinking in the front part of the book. The exercises get the student thinking about evaluating evidence, comparing arguments, and determining cause and effect relationships. The exercises seem pretty well-structured. I've seen my dd apply some of the analytical things she's learned here to other aspects of her studies, so I think there are things to gain even if you don't approach it in a group setting.

We've enjoyed the Sciencesaurus book too. I've only used the middle school one. It's well-organized and easy to read. We haven't used these a lot, but Sciencesaurus gives you the Scilinks codes so you can access online resources for a given subject. Registering for Scilinks was free as I recall. We have also used the Science Daybooks from Great Source. At the middle school level there are daybooks for physical, earth and life science.

I don't necessarily check all independent reading books. The older they get, the harder it is to keep up, especially if you have a voracious reader. I pre-read all books I assign as part of our school work. And no, I generally don't take notes on those. I oftentimes check online for a study guide or lesson plans to get ideas for projects or topics to discuss, but I don't want to be a killjoy with all the independent reading books. Sometimes it's nice just to read for the enjoyment or reading, without always having to do a report or project on what you've read.

We seem to get invited to a fair number of potlucks, but they are usually for more generic family gatherings rather than for a party in celebration of a single individual. Our family usually meets at my in-laws' place simply because they have the largest house, but I wouldn't expect the in-laws to provide all the food at every event. If it's someone's birthday or graduation, the immediate family of that person supplies the cake or whatever food they want to have. I do think it's a little tacky to throw a party for your child and expect other party attendees to supply the food. If someone offers, fine, but I certainly wouldn't put it on the invitation. If it were me and I couldn't afford a big party, I'd just invite fewer people, or have the event in the afternoon and just serve dessert or other snacks. Maybe the social rules are changing here, or as others have noted, the rules differ regionally. We were invited to "Italian night" at someone's house while back, then the hostess called the day before the party and asked me to bring a main dish - something that wasn't even mentioned at the time of the invite! I chose to do it, but I don't think I'll be accepting any more dinner invitations there again. I kinda felt like if she wanted to have a party, she should be doing more than tossing out a bag of salad while expecting others to put together elaborate dishes. Or, she should have been a little more descriptive about her plan from the get-go. Maybe I'm just a fuddy-duddy.

Writing Strands really, really didn't resonate with my dd. Also, we tried Book 1 of the Critical Thinking series, but didn't get far. I guess I just couldn't figure out how to make it interesting for the two of us. Maybe others are more imaginative than I am, or maybe it's just better in a classroom situation.

The Chosen Beloved The Color Purple The Book Thief The Picture of Dorian Gray

I did a garage sale once with my sister, and it didn't seem like the amount I netted from it was worth the effort I put in to getting ready for it. Like a previous poster, I might sell books online or list them with Paperback Swap. Other stuff I give to family or friends if they can use it, or else give it to Goodwill. The donations amount to a little bit of help on my taxes and I don't have to bother about the extra stuff any more.

The lack of books in other homes has sometimes seemed strange to us as well, because we are such books lovers here. We have book shelves in every room except the kitchen and bathroom (actually, there are books and various magazines in a basket in the bathroom). Then we have the auxiliary bookcases in the garage. And we always have gobs of library books checked out at any given time. It is a source of embarrassment to my daughter that her step-dad has allowed his library card to expire.

My dd was 7 before I felt like it really clicked for her and she was reading fluently on her own. She was recognizing words and sounds long before then, but she didn't seem in a hurry to put it all together until much later on. She's a voracious reader now.

When my daughter was in public school I didn't mind providing the consumables for her like notebooks, pencils, glue sticks, etc. For us the school supplies always cost less than $10 per year, and it was all stuff she personally used. I don't think teachers should be expected to pay for supplies from their paychecks. Schools should be providing the cleaning and restroom supplies. I think grade schools and high schools should be providing the textbooks that will be used as well. That cost is part of carrying out their educational mission. No textbook fees for the student's family unless the book is lost or damaged.

This is for those of you who have used the teaching guides at the PBS website along with Joy Hakim’s A History of US series. This is the website I’m referring to: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/historyofus/teachers/index.html I am curious how others are incorporating these teaching guides into the History of US progression. It doesn’t seem like the “webisodes†match up with the chapters in History of US. Or is there some correlation of the two that I’ve missed? There are 16 webisodes, each with 7 or 8 segments, all of which have a teaching guide. I see some interesting stuff it there, I’m just unsure about the best way of coordinating the guides with the books. I don’t see a master list of all the segments, just the titles of the main webisodes. I suppose I can just use the index online and see what matches up with the particular book we are in. I guess I was sort of surprised the guides aren’t more coordinated with specific book and chapter numbers from the History of US books, but maybe I’m missing something. Kathleen

Shades of Gray by Carolyn Reeder was good, and I don't recall it being gory. Now that I think about it, that book is set after the Civil War, but just shortly after, and it addresses the impact of the war. Another one I liked is The Boys' War. It isn't fiction, but I thought it was quite absorbing, because it talks about the boys ages 12-15 or so who served as soldiers during the war. I'm leafing through my copy and there are some pictures of dead bodies, so that might be an issue. Behind Rebel Lines, by Seymour Reit. Fiction, but based on the real life of Emma Edmonds, who was a spy during the Civil War.

I have just one, and she's going into 8th grade. She was in public school for a few years. We've both really enjoyed the past few years of homeschooling. I was worried at first about having enough time to help her with school since I work from home, but it's really worked out okay. We just both do our own projects at the same time, and I do the school planning on weekends and in the evenings mostly. My daughter is pretty outgoing and we do lots of volunteer work and things outside the house, so there's never really been a lack of companionship. We are around others a lot. She's also good with using her alone time for reading, art, and other projects, so I don't think she's ever been a lonely only.

Yes, I've purchased quite a few things for school there. Their customer service is good too. Once I had a book that didn't arrive, so they just sent me out another one. I purchased a Marketplace book one time through Better World Books and they sent me the wrong edition, so I sent it back for a refund and the seller personally sent me a letter reimbursing my postage to return it. Everything I've ordered from them has been in reasonably good condition, sometimes nearly brand new. Thriftbooks.com is another similar service. I just discovered them recently, but so far - so good.

I think 10ish is probably okay for a short while, as long as you and the kids feel comfortable about it. My mom was volunteering me for neighborhood babysitting jobs when I was 10, and one of the families I did babysitting for back then had five kids. I didn't really like it, and I'd never volunteer my kid for that, but I managed okay. A short time at that age is probably fine - as long as your state law doesn't say a different age, as someone else mentioned. Just make sure you outline the plan of where they are supposed to be, what they can and can't do, and what the plan is if they get scared or worried.

I pay for delivery confirmation at the PBS web site too. It's a little cheaper than buying it at the post office. I've never had a problem with a book not arriving, so maybe I've spent a lot of money on DC that I don't really need, but if there's ever a question I know I'll have information to back up that I sent it.

The grounds for stalking orders and abuse restraining orders can vary by state, so you'd probably want to talk to an attorney in your state about what the requirements are for obtaining one. If you can't afford a lawyer, your state bar association or justice department may have some links on their web sites that could help you figure this out. Even if you get one, the problem is your daughter may still be sneaking around and contacting him. Plus, if a abuser is set on violating a restraining order, he will find a way to do it. Not saying it wouldn't be worthwhile to pursue it, but a RO is not necessarily a cure all. You can't do much to fix him, but hopefully you can work on your daughter and convince her to turn her attention elsewhere. Kathleen

I put one up last year. It may have cut down somewhat on the door to door solicitation traffic, but not entirely. There are plenty of people who think it doesn't apply to them. Solicitation does not mean just sales. My Websters says to "solicit" means "to seek for (something) by entreaty; earnest or respectful request, formal application; (2) to entreat or petition; (3) to seek to influence or incite to action..." There are several more listed, but none specifically refer to sales. Maybe we should require door to door solicitors to take a test before they go out knocking on anyone's door, kinda like people have to do to get a food handler's license - nothing too involved, but just covering the basic definitions. I guess people are free to go seek the attention of others for whatever their cause is, but I wish they would be respectful of other people who've expressed an explicit wish to be left alone.

Here is a link from a secular group that has put together a table of various homeschooling resources, and it indicates whether they are secular or not: http://www.hsfreethinkers.com/curricula

I think we've lived the same life, Carrie1234, except I have a daughter instead of a son. I don't think she's been confused by us living apart. She knows the rules are quite different between here and there, but it doesn't seem to interfere with her enjoyment of both places. I think separate households can work out fine if parents put aside their baggage and focus on the fact that the kids need meaningful time with both parents. We've had some moments of irritation, but hey, it's the same kind of irritation I was putting up with on a daily basis before divorce! There's just less of it now since we don't live together. Sometimes I think it can be a worse environment for kids when parents stay together if mom and dad are bickering constantly or disrespecting each other. I would just keep an eye on how the kids seem to be progressing. Consider counseling if you think it would be useful for them. There's going to be a period of adjustment no matter what. Kathleen

We use books on tape/cd, but mostly as a supplemental thing and not part of our regular curriculum. We might use them more if our library had a bigger selection. My daughter likes to listen to them while she's doing her art work.

The Misadventures of Maude March by Audrey Couloumbis Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath (this one was probably our favorite read aloud ever - quirky and funny) Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage Catherine Called Birdy and the Midwife’s Apprentice by Karen Cushman The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle; Crispin and the Cross of Lead by Avi Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett A Heart for Any Fate by Linda Crew (about the Oregon Trail) The Star of Kazan; The Secret of Platform 13; Dial-A-Ghost - all by Eva Ibbotson A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck (another of our special favorites) Listening for Lions by Gloria Whelan Gossamer; Number the Stars by Lois Lowry The Mennyms by Sylvia Waugh A Drowned Maiden’s Hair: A Melodrama, by Laura Amy Schlitz The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak - it might be a big jump from Hank the Cowdog to this, but keep it in mind for the future. I thought this book was very moving and worthwhile. Kathleen

I had mono about five years ago. For about 3-4 weeks I felt exhausted no matter how much sleep I was able to get. At first, I had an extremely sore throat and flu-like symptoms. The doctor thought I had strep throat, but the tests came back negative for that and positive for mono. After a couple months I was pretty much feeling back to normal.