Angie, Thank you for your detailed response - that was helpful! :) So, where the Theme-Based Writing Lessons designed to take the place of SWICC, but with a limited subject matter and no DVD's? In other words, are we going to miss out by not using SWICC? I have to admit that going straight to the Theme-Based lessons sounds much easier both for me and on the the checkbook!

I've been told by a very wise & experienced home school mom that her favorite Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW) resource is their Student Writing Intensive Continuation Course (SWICC.) Yet, I've seen no mention of it on these boards, of late. From the IEW website, www.excellenceinwriting.com, it says SWICC "picks up where SWI leaves off." Isn't Student Writing Intensive (SWI) meant to be an intensive course covered in a short period of time? (1 week to several months.) I haven't used it, but I think this is what the website is saying. SWICC, on the other hand, has 36 lessons. Does this make SWI more of a jump-start with SWICC the actual meat-and-potoatoes of the program? Has anyone used the SWICC? Can you make some comparisons for us? Was it beneficial beyond the SWI?

Relatives have asked for titles to send to the kids... Could you share some of your favorites?

Thanks so much for the responses. What a relief it is to know that others experience this same phenomenon. I would actually like to read a martian/superhero plot! :D

My 6th graders fiction writing always turns into what I call a "Scooby Doo" plot. You know the plot.... a camp employee trying to scare campers away so she can sell out to government. lots of fierce animal sightings and disappearing kids man hiding secret base which produces robots for government. etc.. First, are these kinds of plots acceptable? I don't like them. Second, how can I explain to her what is acceptable? I am not a writer. How can I give her guidance in choosing a plot? FYI: We've used R&S for years. great grammar. I am now realizing our need for a writing program and am actively looking for one! She does not read juvenile mystery type books regularly. Her steady diet of reading literature has come from WTM, Sonlight, and TOG suggestions.

This is me also. :)

I would have taught my children from the beginning that we do our core work & chores first. In those early years it was so easy to play first then do our work later in the day. Bad habits are hard to change. ;)

Michelle, It was very thoughtful of you to share this bargain with us. ....bumping this up for more to see... :D

I once heard that children need a larger keypad for typing. Then again, aren't their hands and fingers smaller? Has anyone taught their children to type using a laptop keyboard?

Melissa, What a great idea!

Hi Tammy, Thanks for saying "hi." Don't you love leaving in Europe? I see you are close to Wurzburg - beautiful! We are on the the Netherlands border. TMarie

A basketball goal! My kids love theirs and even one can enjoy it alone.

We've had great success with Artistic Pursuits. It is very easy to use and it includes art appreciation. With each lesson you study a real artist & important work of art (prints included with book.) Then you apply what you have learned with a project written with complete directions. :) These are real art projects, not craft projects. We're finishing up the Elementary series this year. My kids range from 1st to 6th grade and they have all benefited from the projects. AP fits very well with a classical study of history. AP Elementary book 1 covers ancient art & middle ages book 2 13th to 18th century art book 3 impressionist - modern art

Do you have a fun activity from a home school moms get-together? Our small group is having a moms only get together. The primary purpose is a mini-book fair. We are each bringing our favorite resources, books, curriculum, etc.. This is as close to a convention as we get! :) I've been racking my uncreative brain when suddenly I realized; why reinvent the wheel? I bet this has been done before! I was hoping for an ice-breaker type game related to our unique jobs. Most of the attendants know each other very well. (Living overseas, we become surrogate families to each other.) There will also be newcomers coming and going who want to look through our materials. Any thoughts? Thanks!

Hmm... it's been a few years since we used it so I don't remember the time. We bought only the guide and the pages. Each worksheet page has a map and timeline on the reverse. Each lesson would take us a week, doing a little each day. (I think we read the scripture text the first 2 days, maybe?) We went straight down the page doing everything except maybe not all additional scriptures or definitions. (only as needed.) Don't miss the review questions, they are well done and systematically keep the previous stories and scriptures fresh in the kids minds! :) My kids always raised their hands if they knew the answers and considered it great fun. I believe I let the kids look at the pages as we read the scriptures earlier in the week, and then let them write on them the last day. They loved that. Now that I'm thinking about it, maybe we should return to BSG for another unit!

If we have time to leisurely read through posts and find new and interesting things, than fewer boards are fun. I like all of you, really I do! ;) But, keeping up with posts spaning a nine year difference in ages and abilities does lead to a lot of wasted time. Most often I come to these boards with a specific need and find it very time-consuming to wade through the plethora of topics. I may see a post that looks applicable only to click on it and find that is specifically speaking of children far older or younger than my children. For those of you who are worried about missing a post from the other proposed board, just skip on over there to have a look. (When I have time to read for pleasure I often visit the other boards.) SWB: It is a blessing to have these boards, no matter how they are split!

Oh, could that be possible? Dialectic, please. :)

Cindyg, My fourth grader sounds just like your son. Each day it is as if she is seeing the fact for the very first time.(although we've been working on them for years.) What a relief to have a hard week with this issue then come here and see your post. I love the idea of having a seperate "math facts class." We will start it immediately! I've been struggling with holding my daughter back and letting her think she isn't good at math. Thanks for the encouragement! Can you tell us more about the triangle cards? Also, when your son is doing his "math concepts class," how do you manage to not get bogged down by the "facts?"

I also wanted to encourage you to look at the CD which came with the WA book. There are additional resources on the CD for almost every book entry. I always use the "talking points" when introducing a new topic from WA. Talking points is a simplified version of the info from WA laid out to help you lead a discussion. (You could call them lecture notes, though I don't use them to lecture. :rolleyes:)

The higher the level, the more useful the HIG become. I'm not sure about level 3 or 4 (we didn't use the HIG in those levels.) But, now that we are in level 5 I am glad we have them because they will sometimes show several ways to do a problem. Just this week, my daughter had figured out one way to do a problem, which was great. But then we looked in the book and saw two easier ways to do the same problem. After we had worked through all 3 methods I am sure she had a firm grasp on the concepts!

Zee, My daughter is in 6th using TOG year 1, Ancients. We will complete one year plan of TOG per year. What matters is that she does 4 years of Rhetoric work in High School, not what time-frame she is studying. Fear not! :) So, this is what we'll do in high school: 9th - TOG 4 (modern) 10th - 1 (ancients) 11th - 2 (middle ages) 12th - 3 (early modern)

First Language Lessons (love it! I can't thank SWB enough for this one!) Tapestry of Grace Story of the World - audio edition Artistic Pursuits Elementary Rod & Staff Grammar (for my girls, waiting to see how it works with my boy!) Leading Little Ones to God Apologia Elementary Science Singapore Math (I really do love all these!)

North Rhine-Westphalia here!

Wow Jessica! Your planning sheet is beautiful. :p After reading all the TOG materials I could find, I gleaned these scheduling points and put them together. My kids are UG, LG, and DIA. Although our week never looks exactly like this, this list gives me a starting point and keeps me on track. Let me know if I missed something! Before Meeting I read teachers notes choose and print evaluations, maps, student worksheets, etc print student threads Monday - Planning Meeting with kids, usually involves tea or hot chocolate read the "general information for all ages" aloud have kids write out their weekly reading assignments on notebook paper hand-out and introduce printed materials (except evaluations) show kids what format evaluations will be for this week introduce writing assignment assign vocab words and have kids make cards *begin history reading *later that day, kids tell mom what activity they would like to do Tuesday read hands-on project or read-a-loud vocab review Wednesday map work history discussion writing assignment: pre-writing vocab review Thursday timeline correct & discuss changes to writing assignment hands-on project or read-aloud Friday literary discussion polish & present writing assignment evaluations

I have several packages of tofu, but don't know how to prepare them. I've tried using tofu in the past but never found any recipe that was very tasty. Can you help? My husband and kids won't eat it unless it is truly yummy. :o