I've done this as well. I had almost an entire SL core, placed an ad with what was included and my price and asked if anyone was interested. I did this in a Yahoo group where I am somewhat of a know person and so was the buyer so she gave me a small deposit and when I was finished she paid for the remainder and I shipped it out. HTH. Liz

You and your high schooler are invited to join Andrew Pudewa, director of the Institute for Excellence in Writing, for a TWO DAY mini-conference, and the High School Essay Intensive September 30 – October 2, 2010 at Hyde Park Baptist Church, 10 Romans Road, Hyde Park, NY 12538 800.856.5815 MINI-CONFERENCE FOR HOMESCHOOLING PARENTS and TEACHERS: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30: FREE EVENING WORKSHOP 7:00–8:30 PM Nature Deficit Disorder: Causes, Consequences, & Cures “Nature Deficit Disorder†refers to the costs of alienation from nature, among them: diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties, and higher rates of emotional, physical, and social imbalances. It can affect individuals, families, and communities. Although we as homeschoolers strive to provide the best education for our children, we may also be overlooking the importance of sufficient time in a natural environment—an essential component of raising children in an environment saturated with goodness, truth and beauty. Friday, October 1: Mini Conference Join Andrew for one session or the whole day of seminars selected especially for your educational community. Cost: $50.00 per family for the whole day or $15 per session per person. 8:30–10:00 AM Reaching the Reluctant Writer Many children really do not like to write. Why? This workshop will answer that basic question and teach a specific and successful method of separating the complex process of writing into the smallest possible steps, making it possible for even the most reluctant writer to willingly produce short but complete compositions. 10:15–11:45 AM Developing the Essayist What’s the difference between a “report†and an “essay� How do we help a student move from simply reporting facts to the more sophisticated skill of using facts in order to support an opinion? With several different essay models and a gradual method of building the analytical writer, you can feel confident in training your child to be an excellent essay writer, even start at the elementary level! 12:45–2:15 PM Fairy Tales and the Moral Imagination Are fairy tales good, even important for Christian students? In this session we will discuss several basic themes in fairy tales and traditional children’s literature (goodness, truth, beauty, hope, honesty, wishes, etc.) as well as key archetypes of literature and their importance to the moral imagination. With the confusion surrounding modern fantasy writing, many parents feel uncertain in discerning the good and important literature from misleading and confusing books, stories, and movies. 2:30–4:15 PM Conquering Corrupt Culture by Raising Christian Communicators We, as Christian homeschoolers, must have more than just “nice†reasons to homeschool—it’s not about academics; it’s about reclaiming Western Civilization for Jesus Christ, and the choices we make every day have eternal significance as we strive to raise up a generation of young people who will be empowered to communicate the truth in a world of liars and lead their clueless peers through the coming crises. Saturday, October 2, 8:30 AM–3:30 PM High School Essay Intensive for students preparing for college Cost: $50 Accompanying Parent: $25.00 (Grades 9–12) Get immediate experience and inside tips on how to do your best on the SAT or ACT essay. Also includes strategies for composing the college application personal essay. Please register early as these workshops fill fast. Sorry, no enrollment for the High School Essay accepted at the door. For more information or to register call 800.856.5815 or visit http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/NY2010 Pilar Stevens, IEW Exhibitor, will be present at this event to help you with your IEW bookstore purchases.

In addition to all of the ideas I'd hold "green" seminars borrowing your local library's conference room. If you and your husband can offer energy saving seminars, teaching people how to to energy audits on their own homes, it would be a great way to meet people, establish relationships, and advertise your business.

People are definitely buying now. Normally my sales don't pick up until late February but my stuff is starting to move now. Go ahead and list you stuff now!!

Dear wbtx, I have to second all of the other ladies' advice you've gotten. I don't have much respect for the allopathic medical profession either but there are times that you need to use their services such as getting a cbc (complete blood count) and then going from there. We've used alternative therapies but I'll use my insurance to get a diagnosis first. And I hate to be the harbinger of bad news -- but flintstone vitamins are not going to cut it. Go to the health food store and get a reputable brand. Many people are actually just dehydrated and would benefit far more from increased water intake rather than caffeine. Praying you'll get to the bottom of all this.

Very creative and nicely done! I pray he gets the scholarship. Liz

My children take the chewable Nordic Naturals junior. The capsules are small and be either swallowed or chewed and comes in lemon or strawberry flavored. Liz

I cook mostly from scratch and try to cook a lot for dinner so I can use what we don't eat for lunches and dinner the next couple of days because there are some days we don't have a lot of time to cook! I make chicken and steak casa-fajitas by using the leftovers from chicken or london broil, cheese, and a flour tortilla. Takes just a few minutes under the broiler. Fold, cut and dip into salsa, sour cream, etc . In the winter I try to do soups in the crockpot and make large quantities. I try to make a batch of chili every Sunday afternoon and put that up in the freezer for a quick meal. When I make lasagna, macaroni & cheese, or other pasta dish I make large quantities so we can do an encore presentation for lunch. My easy pizza is toast an english muffin lightly and then add some sauce and grated cheese and back in it goes. Works for that quick pizza craving. And on the days I don't have this we have the general standbys of cheese, fruit, and crackers; yogurt and fruit; peanut butter and jelly, etc. I also try to wash three heads of romaine after I grocery shop so that salad is always available. Organic hot dogs are a reasonable replacement for the other kind. My two love corn dogs but no way I'm buying them, so I make a batch of corn muffins and cut up an organic hot dog into pieces, drop into the batter and bake. It's a good substitute for the processed kind, freezes well, and can be ready in a snap. I think that the answer to quick and healthy fixes is more about planning before so that the food is available quickly when yoiu want it, at least that is what I've found to work best in our house. I get to control the ingredients this way. My children and I sit down when the grocery flyer is delivered and plan our meals around what is on sale for the upcoming week. If chicken wings are on sale I cook them in the oven so they have less fat and then coat with a honey bbq and/or hot sauce so everyone gets what they want. I also try to wash up a package of carrots and celery, cut into sticks, and put into baggies so it is easy for them to grab a quick snack without interrupting me and it's healthy. My guys also love sugar snap peas so I buy packages, wash and baggie for quick grabbings! Hope this helps!! Liz

In my situation God led me into homeschooling and I reluctantly obeyed. Homeschooling at the lower levels prepared me for the those areas in homeschooling my now high schooler. Even a public school teacher doesn't know "everything" about a subject. Don't forget that someone other than the teacher decides which curricula are used and the teacher has to learn it. Teachers will switch out of grades or subjects and need to "learn" what they are teaching. I can't speak to online help for every program a child uses but many do offer the help as part of the curriculum package. Quad Shot Academy is spot on saying how they are training their children to be independent learners because this is what college and real life is like. I certainly don't go and take a formal class for everything I want to learn. I have to search it out for myself, find someone who has knowledge and ask. The other thing most of us take into account is our children's learning style and we are privileged to be able to adapt teaching methods to them. I don't know there were specific children in mind when the post was started but even we as teachers have different teaching styles. I don't quite understand "unschooling" except as a general concept but I've seen it work well in some families whereas my family's schooling is perhaps more classical and it suits us. Just my .02! Liz

LOL!! Liz

If you post that you are also interested or a private message - either is fine and not a breach of netiquette! Liz

If you are trying to hand over every organizational aspect of her day to her it might be a tad overwhelming. Try handing off small pieces at a time even over the course of a month and within a year she will have increased her share of what she is responsible for and it will be a habit. Sit down and talk about what she needs to do and ask her to pick where she'd like to start. I managed a group of salespeople at one point and the more creative the person the less administrivia they enjoy. HTH, Liz

Lori, Praying! Liz

I've allowed it with my children as soon as I see that they have mastered a concept but don't need to become bogged down by the details of the problem. My ds is in 7th grade so he just started being occasionally allowed to use it. HTH. Liz in a house of rabbits!

Thanks for your replies. I am going to check out MUS, TT, and a few others you mention as well. She is just starting Alg I and doesn't seem to have any problems grasping the concepts she just wants a different format (this is the child that rearranges her room a couple times a year!!) I appreciate the suggestions. Thanks! Liz

My middle schooler and just beginning high schooler have both asked to be homeschooled through high school! Great post! Liz

My daughter has decided she no longer wants to continue with Saxon math in 9th grade. Please give me suggestions as to what you would consider switching to? I know that Saxon and MUS are different in their "tracks" so that if we switch to another math curriculum, will I have to drop her backwards a little to catch up to that curriculum's 9th grade level? Thanks for your help! Liz

We view TOG as a large buffet -- if you have ever been to a buffet restaurant you know that you can't even try a bite of everything. Take a look at what you are working with that week and pick and choose. Your children will be revisiting this period in history at least once more before graduating and they will be covering it in more depth each time. If you have time or want to use those books as additional reading that's great, but if you are feeling overwhelmed by adding them into your schedule your children may also be overwhelmed and then it saps that fun of learning. You may choose one particular area of great interest to include the in-depth books but not try to do them all. Hope this helps. Liz

You've got my vote and interest in a file sharing option! Liz

Last year was our first year using TOG and we did it "minimally". I view it as a large buffet and it is just not possible to do everything. This year we are going a bit more in depth with some of the art projects, the medieval feast, especially as we are co-oping with 2 other families - it makes those larger projects much easier. We will be revisiting these first two years of TOG again before my children graduate so I don't regret doing it "lightly" the first year as we adjusted to a new curriculum. Liz

Thanks for the update. Continuing to pray for Amanda. What a difficult and long road. Lis

Adorable! Thanks for starting my day with a giggle! Lis

Can I get in on the chocolate deal too!!! Chocolate...panacea....ahhh!!!! Once you get into the groove (and have chocolate of course) it will be better. Blessings, Lis

A lot of people have recommended the free online Calvary Chapel curriculum. It has 325 lessons for the OT and NT and I think is also available in Spanish. You can even call FireFighters For Christ and they will send this to you on a CD for free as well. http://children.calvarychapel.com/site/curriculum.htm NEW SPANISH RESOURCES - UPDATED 12/1/04 All 325 lessons of both the Old and New Testament will be available for download or viewing and printing off this Web site in Spanish. A CD-ROM of this entire site is available free of charge by writing or calling either: FireFighters For Christ #4 Santa Maria Foothill Ranch, CA 92610 949-470-9883 FireFighters For Christ 30151 Banderas Ave. Suite B Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688 949-600-6025 Liz

We use both the American Girl Manners and Amy Vanderbilt's Complete Book of Etiquette. One thing I do tell my children is that good manners are appreciated everywhere but they are not something we have to feel superior but to help those without them feel at ease. Liz