I am using the fraction book with my dd who is very bright but struggles with math. It often takes her 3-4 tries to pass a bridge and once it was all 5. Should I be concerned or slow down? she is about 3/4 through the book and I am hoping to have her finish the decimal one this year also to catch her up and have her do preA next year(13,8th grade). It just seems like there is not enough practice to really cement the process in her head Thanks!

Did you mean to say that megawords is NOT charlotte mason style? I have had an idea. I think I will buy the CDs and have them go through all the lists they havent passed in the same style as phonetic zoo by IEW. I really, really dont want to change programs. But, I cant do SWR as written with 5 students either and I want to free up some time to focus on those who dont have 7 years of SWR under their belts. My older kids can recite every rule, know all the phonograms are string readers etc. They just need some practice with harder words. Once they could pass all the way through Z, I would release them from family spell lessons and I would feel that they would be strong spellers, not needing to rely on spell check! let me know what you think of that idea and thanks for "talking" it out with me.

Tthank you. I will look at megawords. I am not going to spend the money on the swr cd's as I don't think it would help that much. My 2 oldest are probably fine with just spelling correction in contextof their writing but I thought it would be nice to have a simple workbook to practice the upper level words.

Thanks. I was thinking more from a weight issue. Are they bigger around than a file crate? A file crate fits of the shelf I was thinking of using and the height is adjustable. I don't have a staple very close so I was thinking of ordering from amazon but maybe I will just have to go look. Thanks!

I am looking at buying one of these. Is it something that I could store in a cabinet and lift out to my table each day(full)?

Do you have knowledge on whether the homeopathic hcg can be used while nursing? I have an 11 month old I don't plan to wean for at least a year. Thanks!

I got the $12 board from Lowes. Neither the worker or I thought the magnetic paint would work through the board. Since what I wanted the magnetic for was hanging things up on it(posters, maps, papers) I decided to get some command brand easy release strips for hanging hooks and apply them to the back of some clips to hang on the board. It wont damage the board and I can move them around when I figure out where I want them. Thanks all!

Thanks for all the ideas. I did say showerboard to the HD guy and he said they didnt have any. Then I read that it is really melamine and I tried that out on the melamine shelf I have and I hate it. I was hoping to spend under $50. I have checked craigs list. I wonder if I bought the tileboard/showerboard/melamine whatever and it is think if I could paint the backside with magnetic paint? I wonder if it wouldbe strong enough?

I have been to home depot looking for tile board and he said they didn't have any and suggested whiteboard paint. Decided against that. Did some more research and think maybe hd guy didn't know what he was talking about. Was going to go to lowes but have been testing out melamine on a spare shelf I have and it is a pain to clean. I want a nice shiny classroom size whiteboard but don't want to spend a fortune. Oh and I want it magnetic. And we need it now. I can't wait for a school sale or anything like that. Any ideas? Thanks!

Bump. Anyone?

I have 7 children ages 1-14. I have used WRTR for 1 year and then SWR for the last 7 years. I have taught 4 1/2 :) children to read/spell with this method. I believe in it strongly and also now believe after doing some research into the speech issues with my almost 3 year old, that my 10 year old may be slightly dyslexic. I did suspect it at the time of teaching him to read, but we plugged along and he is a good reader now. More puzzle pieces are coming together for me and I really think he is. I am so glad that I found this program and "practiced" on the 2 older ones who were quick to pick it up and knew what I was doing before coming to him. But I digress. My issue is just one of time. I do not have the time to dictate and quiz so many children anymore. I understand the genius of dication and not guessing or pre-testing. But my 2 oldest read at a college level. The 10 year old, certainly grade level, likely higher. The words they need to spell they have read many, many times. I dont feel as if they need to be dictated in the same way anymore. They dont test for spelling at grade level though, mostly because every year I re-commit to really doing spelling but we just dont seem to get as far as we should. I really wish there was a more independant program that followed the same methodology. Rules, phongrams, markings etc. I have looked at AAS, but it still looks teacher intensive. I just want a workbook. It means it would get done! I would even be willing to do it myself, since I could then re-use it with each child, but Im not sure how to set it up. I have never used a workbook style spelling program. How we are doing spelling this year is so non-traditional Im almost embarassed to admit it. We do writing hour where everyone is working on writing, including IEW, copywork, narrations etc. Any time they dont know how to spell a word they ask and I write in on the board. At the end of the hour, we break down each work into syllables, and mark them. Each child copies the word into their notebook. Some of the words are way too easy for the older ones and too hard for the youngest.(they are 3rd, 5th, 7th and 8/9th grade) but I figure its review or good to stretch the younger one. I review any rules etc. Then if we dont have 10 words that they asked for, we fill in with words from the WISE guide where my oldest tested to at the beginning of the year(Q). In alot of ways this method has merit. I can see a lot of lightbulbs going off for the younger 2 and they are able to apply rules better to other words. But I was disheartened when I tested everyone and no one had made any progress really from the beginning of the year. My 7th grader is a natural speller and is bored with this system although she doesnt complain(cause its easy!). Does anyone have any suggestions for me? Is there a way to teach spelling without list and quizzes etc? It just doesnt get done like it should around here. Oh, we follow alot of Charlotte Mason techniques and do mostly AO for our curriculum for the last several years. But I am having a hard time letting SWR go, because I know it is such a good program and it has worked so well for teaching reading and the spelling we have done. We do copywork, but not CM style dictation. I havent even tried because Im afraid it just wouldnt get done.

Yep, that is it. I just forgot that it wasn't free! I wish they would sell just the woeksheets though. We are not interested in lapbooking this right now.

I can't figure out if I am loosing my mind! I really think I saw a website with pre-formated worksheets for the labs. It is not Donna Youngs site though, although I am using her schedules etc. This one had an option to print out lab worksheets that already had the supplies and procedures etc for each experiment to save the students some writing. Does anyone know what Im talking about?? Thanks!

My son is in 8th grade this year but we plan to enroll him in PS next year. We want him to have some HS experience, but do NOT want him there for 4 years. We want him to graduate early and pursue college credits by 16 if possible. I am trying to figure out how to get him some credits this year that will transfer to the PS. I have looked at BYU high school courses and other correspondance courses as well as NARHS. I am leaning towards NARHS because I am happy with the curriculm we use and do not want to switch. Everytime I look at the correspondence courses I get bummed out cause I dont want to change how we do things. We are very CM, doing mostly Ambleside Online. We use IEW and MUS and Apologia. I want to continue with that, but I am willing to document what I need to to get him High School credits. Are there other options out there? Thank you!

I dont have any LD kids and none of them struggle with spelling. Only one is what I would call a natural speller though. I looked at megawords and the first thing I see on the sample worksheet is "your teacher will dictate the following words to you" That is where I get hung up and that is why we never get very far with SWR each year. I really was hoping for something more self directed. Even if it wasnt a formal program. Megawords also did not look from the samples to be SWR-like at all. New rules/definitions etc. Not really wanting to change what they know that much. Thank you, Id appreciate any more thoughts.

I have 7 children ages 4 months to 13. I have used SWR since the beginning and LOVE it. I feel it has made good readers and passable spellers. The problem is I just do not have the time every day to dedicate to doing it with each of my kids. This year I will have a K(very ready) , 3rd, 5th, 7th and 8th(but starting HS courses). That puts me at 4 levels, as the older 2 can combine, but no one else. I KNOW I will not be able to pull it off. Every year I start out great, thinking I can do this, but by midyear at the latest, spelling has taken a back seat to everything else and LIFE. I am not going to make appologies, it is what it is. I need a suggestion for an independent program I can use for at least the older 2 to keep them going learning/practising new words that does not involve me.(computer maybe?) Since they have years of SWR behind them(very consistent for the first 3-4 years, less so recently) I would prefer that it was based on the same methodology. I am hoping to be able to give the middle boys(3rd and 5th) a better foundation like the older 2 got just by eliminating trying to squeeze out 4 spelling lessons a day. And have fun starting my new K to reading! Yay! thank you!

Michelle mentions in the book a couple of key things. One is that despite breastfeeding(although we do see pacifiers) her cycles return pretty early. Secondly, she has gotten pregnant while nursing a number of times. Whether she has ever weaned to get ready for another I can't quite say, but I have always assumed that if she did it was because they knew it was inevitable and felt it would be healthier for everyone involved. I dont agree, I have been pregnant and nursing several times and have tandem nursed 2 times and preparing to most likely be tandeming again come spring. But I have not been in their shoes, my children have not come as close as theirs. Breastfeeding has given me more of a space, but it does not for Michelle. Here is a quote from MSNBC, she had not weaned Jordyn. "The newest Duggar is coming a bit ahead of schedule. The average gap between the children is 18 months, and Michelle was just eight months away from giving birth to Jordyn when she noticed her body wasn’t quite right: She was following the Weight Watchers program to shed the weight she’d put on in her latest pregnancy, but wasn’t losing any pounds. Also, Jordyn would fuss every time she nursed, which wasn’t normal. Michelle said those two clues should have registered, but they didn’t. Finally, she took a home pregnancy test and learned that, at the age of 42, she was pregnant again. " She also mentions in the book that it wasn't until Jackson(#15!) that she had a nursing experience that wasn't fraught with intense pain. Yet she nursed all her babies anyways for as long as she could.

I have not read all the replies, but I have the same opinion as you. Babies don't just cry for no reason. With my 5th newborn I thought I was having a humbling experience when she cried and cried despite being in arms, at the breast, in my bed etc. Two doctors told me it was just colic and inside I was feeling so deeply that there was something we were missing. I did doubt myself and wonder if I was wrong and was finally having a colicky baby. I took her to a nautropath who diagnosed her with yeast in her intestines. She was getting if from me who had pretty bad systemic yeast. She put me(and dh) on a product call Candex and in less than 48 hours we had a completely new child :) She was a calm, serene, happy baby from then on.(she is now 4) I seem to remember green poops too, but I dont know if that was related or not, I can't remember. This may not be what would help your baby, but I share my story for support and encouragement. Trust yourself mama, and keep looking to find answers.

I need a new phone. I am with verizon. We can't afford to pay for internet/email. I would like a phone that I can use for organizing things, maybe download e-books, audio etc. Do any of the homeschool tracking software work on any? I am considering a blackberry or the samsung omnia, but I just don't know enough about this stuff. I would like to keep a database of all the books we own and that I'm looking for that I can sync with my home PC etc. Keep a running grocery list or menu. Which of these things can do stuff like that. Thanks! Rebecca

I need a self-teaching, non teacher intensive grammar program. Very open and go and I was even thinking they should grade it themselves. I was planning on using grammar key, but am now re-thinking it. We have a hard time sharing the computer and getting everything done as it is. A simple workbook, short page a day, with an answer key to check their own would be great. With grammar key, how long does it take them? I just dont think I can afford 1/2 hour to find the right CD, find the headphones, do the lesson etc etc etc. I know I should be better organized... The two I am most concerned with are 6th and 7th grades. I also have a 4th, a 2nd, a 4 year old, a 1 year old and one gestating :-) My olders haven't had alot of grammar. Thanks!

I use SWR for spelling and am going to add in Grammar Key for well, grammar this year. We are more CM, than WTM. What would be a good choice for a writing program that was just writing? IEW, CW, Meaning Compositions are the ones I was looking at. My oldest will be in 7th grade and the next one down is in 6th. I'm looking for them, not the youngers. Thanks!

How would I decide where to place my 7th grader who has had little grammar? We got through about 1/4 of RS english this year before we decided it just wasnt for us. I like the look of DGP, but can't decide if I should just buy grade 7 and hope to help him catch up or what. Thanks!

Okay, thanks for the suggestions. With IEW, did you just use the student DVD's? Or also the teacher part? It is so expensive...

Here is a sample of a recent writing assignment from my 12 year old son. I am a mostly CM homeschooler and he has had basically no writing instruction and very little formal grammar. I am starting to panic, LOL, and I am trying to figure out what to do for next year. He hates writing, and all narrations etc are done on the computer. I need something to hold my hand(and his) as I don't even know how to evaluate this sample. I am looking at Writing Strands, IEW, Classical Writing, Igniting Your Writing and I'm not sure what else I have looked at recently. I need something easy to implement and I would prefer just open and go. Thanks! The Daily Life of the American Indian Boy When an Indian is born they usually stay in a papoose (a back carrier) until they can walk. Then when they are older they learn to hunt and to fish. To hunt they make a bow using a method like this, they find a strait stick of wood then they shave of the bark and mark the middle. Then they shave from the middle to the ends cutting the thinnest possible shavings until it is about as thin as your finger and as smooth as a animal bone. Then they spread animal fat (preferably bear fat) from one end of the bow to the other and then let it dry. While the wood is drying they make a bow string out of twisted animal sinew. Then to make a arrow they use strait birch wood. To fish they sharpen a long stick, stand in the water and spear a fish. Then when an Indian is about 13 or14 they prove themselves as a man and a hunter of the tribe. If you are interested in the The Daily Life of the American Indian Boy, read Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare.

Awesome! Thanks! Any insight on what grade level to put them in(for grammar key). I will also look at thinking through grammar and am also looking at growing with grammar although neither of those are computer. I still may hold off with the younger two, we'll see.