Welcome to Colorado! We moved here nearly 4 years ago and love it.

Absoutely! My dd loves to use it and it is a good workout. We have Wii Fit Plus and Outdoor Adventure is a very active game as well.

I have always had some type of school over the summer. We exclusively did science during the summer and not during the rest of the year, and I added in some math. I didn't need to have required reading, because dd reads constantly. This worked really well up until the last summer. Somehow, dd has gotten so involved in other activities that the school work didn't get done and I needed a break from being a naggy mom/teacher. So, this year, I do not have any school work planned except for LOF Pre-algebra with Economics. I cannot let her drop math altogether because she will forget everything. I'm planning to give her a unit study on horses and let her have the entire summer to finish it. She spends several hours a week with horses, so that shouldn't be a problem.

Thank you so much! I love this idea! This will fit perfectly with our writing program.

Angela, can you tell me about the file box? This sounds like a great idea. How do you decide your categories? What information do you include in the file? Are all of the examples from literature?

If she has completed LCII, I definitely would not get the DVDs for First Form. The first several chapters were review form LCI and were very easy for us. The DVDs would have taken much more time than was necessary. Even when the topics were new, we liked going at our own speed through them without taking more time with the DVD.

We're nearly through First Form Latin. Prior to this, we half-heartedly got through Prima Latina and Latina Christiana using the DVDs. My dd and I both very much prefer First Form to LCI. There is more practice; the layout is more logical; and the teacher's guide is very helpful. The tests and the quizzes have really helped me test dd's knowledge. We are not using the DVDs, but the vocab CD is great. My dd will definitely continue on with Second Form next year. (She's starting to leave me behind, and she is showing that she can be independent with this series.)

I'm no expert, but I grew up canning with my mother. She switched to freezing everything because it is easier, it doesn't use salt, and the food tastes fresher. I dont grow a lot, but I freeze everything including my herbs.

I usually get 4, but sometimes I make 3 so that they are larger.

Huh. I'm more than double age 22 and I wear of these. I just bought skinnies because I lost 15 pounds and they fit! Of course, I just put on purple eye shadow, so maybe I'm a bad example of old age. :tongue_smilie:

I love it too! I mostly make the whole wheat bread so that I can feel good about it. At Christmas, I made the white bread and made Pecan rolls and pizza crust from that. It was fantastic! I bought these from Amazon for storage. I needed square containers, because I have very little extra space in my fridge. These fit really well.

My dd didn't show interest in reading them until recently--right around age 12. (She's a huge reader, but also very sensitive.) DH and I read them first to make sure that they were appropriate. I asked her not to read books 6 and 7 yet. I think that she would find them very disturbing. We are watching the first 3 movies, but we won't watch the rest until she is older. I wouldn't have a problem with the first 3 books for younger kids though.)

Wow! This looks great! Now I'm trying to figure out if I can add it to our schedule.

I've just finished most of our plans: Literature, History: Veritas Press Omnibus I plus Teaching Company videos (Famous Greeks, Famous Romans, Great Pharoahs, Mythology, Odyssey) Writing: Classical Writing: Diogenes Chreia (thinking about an on-line class) and Intermediate Poetry Latin: Second Form Latin with Lingua Angelica Math: Finish Patty Paper Geometry and LOF Algebra Spanish: Co-op Science: Biology at co-op with extra at home. I think the co-op uses Prentice Hall Extras: Other co-op classes are drama, PE and hopefully speech. PE: riding lessons 2-3 times per week, skiing Music: Piano lessons, voice lessons, choir I'm holding off on formal logic until next year. I'm supposed to get my Rainbow box today! :hurray:

We just vacationed in Anna Maria Island and loved it. It's mostly retirees and is too dull (aka quiet) for spring breakers.

Thanks for your input. So Great Pharoahs of Egypt and Classical Archeology of Ancient Greece and Rome are staying in the cart and History of Ancient Egypt has come out. Anyone else?

I didn't get a response on the middle school board, so I am asking my question here. I know many of you have used TC courses. (I've done lots of reading here, but this is my first post on this board.) I've decided to use Omnibus I for literature and history for 7th grade next year. I want to combine that with Teaching Company lectures. I currently have a very long list in my TC shopping cart and I need to narrow it down. I know that I will do Odyssey and Aeneid by Vandiver--I already own those. I'm considering some of her others: Classical Mythology Herodotus: The Father of History I want to save some of the more indepth TC lectures for grade 9 and Omnibus IV. What do you think of these for 7th?: History of Ancient Egypt or Great Pharoahs of Egypt Greece and Rome: an Integrated History of the Ancient Mediterranean Classical Archeology of Ancient Greece and Rome Famous Greeks Famous Romans Experiencing Rome: A Visual Exploration of Antiquity's Greatest Empire I obviously have too many in my cart now. Which of these do you think would add the most to our studies without being boring and cumbersome? Would it be just as effective to read the biographies without listening to the "Famous xxx" series? Which of these do you love?

I've decided to use Omnibus I for literature and history for 7th grade next year. I want to combine that with Teaching Company lectures. I currently have a very long list in my TC shopping cart and I need to narrow it down. I know that I will do Odyssey and Aeneid by Vandiver--I already own those. I'm considering some of her others: Classical Mythology Herodotus: The Father of History I want to save some of the more indepth TC lectures for grade 9 and Omnibus IV. What do you think of these for 7th?: History of Ancient Egypt or Great Pharoahs of Egypt Greece and Rome: an Integrated History of the Ancient Mediterranean Classical Archeology of Ancient Greece and Rome Famous Greeks Famous Romans Experiencing Rome: A Visual Exploration of Antiquity's Greatest Empire I obviously have too many in my cart now. Which of these do you think would add the most to our studies without being boring and cumbersome? Would it be just as effective to read the biographies without listening to the "Famous xxx" series? Which of these do you love?

Denver! You can get cheap flights with Southwest.

Thank you! I'll check it out. We've been very relaxed about science and I think that was okay, but now I feel like I need to change all of that and get dd ready for AP sciences in high school. I don't want it to be too easy, but I don't want to turn her off of science by making it too text-bookish. We also have an option of co-op science classes which would be nice for labs, but they don't do AP for high school.

I have felt your panic! I'm currently freaking out about high school and what junior high needs to look like in order to do well in high school. Our dd's sound similar, so hopefully some of my experiences will help you. We kept the schooling pretty light up until 5th grade; now I'm ramping up the work. For language arts--dd's strong suit--I went with a program (Classical Writing) that I think is rigorous and can be used through high school. I did very little spelling and no reading instruction. One year, I used Calvert Spelling because it can be done at the child's pace and I really liked that. I found that this is the easiest area (once you get past the younger ages when so much isn't appropriate) to accelerate. We just keep getting loads of books from the library. Our history is all reading. DD just got in the top 10 percentile on English and Reading in the ACT, so it's working. Math is not dd's strong suit although she is accelerated. I found that she slowed down a bit around 4th/5th grade. Since she doesn't love it, she doesn't choose to do more than necessary. There are lots of great supplements for math, so you don't have to worry about going too fast. You could add in AOPS, Patty Paper Geometry, Zome Tools, etc. I'm panicking about science right now, so I can't address that one. :tongue_smilie: I have found that the most important thing that you can do is be flexible and take one year (or one month) at a time. I have a plan for materials and classes through high school, but I know it will change. In fact, I keep changing it every year. But it makes me feel better to see a roadmap and know that I'm not going to ruin my dd if I stay on that general path. I also found that, around 9, dd starting getting emotional and we had so many other things to deal with. She had less interest in being challenged in school and I took it easy on her. Every once in a while, I see small bursts of maturity, so I think it will all work out in the end. Wow, I did ramble a lot. Hopefully, there is something in here that helps you feel some comfort.

You have some great names to choose from. We just got 3 ragdoll kittens. (Yes, crazy, but we needed one for each of us.) We have a blue lynx like yours, a blue point and a seal/flame point. They are wonderful pets! You wouldn't like my names though; they are Molly, Maxwell and Mitzi.

We are currently using Maxim. I purchased Progeny press lit guides for Julius Caesar and Merchant of Venice. With these we actually study the literature more intensely. I have really liked this combination with the CW writing lessons.

This is what we have and I LOVE it! Its' the best fridge I've ever owned.

A word of warning: My dh got a kindle cover from Amazon. It has known problems. The metal prongs short out your kindle. Dh got a refund from Amazon, but make sure you don't get that style. He then bought a beautiful cover from Oberon Design. The cover stays on at home and on the go. I think it helps protect the screen.