Try googling Lane Learning Center, they have a couple of workbooks that I considered buying and may still. We did vision therapy for a while, but I wasn't pleased with the practice's lack of continuity (both in staff and in the exercises they gave us). We ended up going to Learning Rx for cognitive skills training for our son and that has been very helpful. I may order these if I think he needs to continue with more vision therapy.

I am no help, but hope someone has an answer. That is my plan as well. Kristi

I am so glad you asked this question. We are doing SOTW 4 next year with a 8th, 7th and 6th grader. I plan to supplement heavily and just scored MOH 1 and MOH 3 at the used book sale for $5 each!!!! Can't wait to look thorugh the links.

I didn't really know how to search for this on the forum, so if someone can point me to threads on it, I would be grateful. I am trying to plan ahead for high school. What sequence do you use for literature: , Intro, American, British, etc? I have quite a few classics, but have some upcoming used book sales and would like to have at least a book list to carry with me, should I find some treasures. I have to reread WTM again as it has been a while, but my first is finishing up with junior high and I need to get crackin'. The first used book sale is on Friday night. YIKES! TIA, Kristi

We got it at Christmas and two of the kids worked on it in their own time, then we go busy and haven't touched it (we live on a farm). It is really great from what we have done so far. I don't play piano but my girls were able to play right away. Hopefully someone else that has used it more will speak up. Kristi

We have taken a long time to get through volumes 1-4 of SOTW and will do Vol. 4 next year. I have an 8th, 7th and 6th grader this fall. What do you recommend for a spine to follow as we go through the high school years? I have lots of books to supplement the reading with, but am considering what I would like to use to follow for our timeline, or do you you just work through the characters and events listed in the WTM? I need to go back and reread as it has been some time since I have read it. Thanks. Kristi

Call, they have been very good to work with me and I always order at least $150 (many times more). I have never received any items damaged, so haven't had to discuss this issue with them. The people that work our homeschool conference are great and so are the people I have talked to on the phone.

When your child was given the specific vaccination they should have noted a date somewhere on the records, with a notation of the lot number, vaccine maker etc. That way if there is a problem with a lot number of vaccines, they can track who received it and when. I am not a doctor, just a homeschool mom, married to a non-doctor. Just know this from having our regular visits.

Try Dollar General, usually around $2.

I think they will be great for us!!

My kids are 7th, 6th and 5th this fall and seemed a little resistant to the idea. I was able to purchase 10 drawer carts for $35.00 today on Joann.com and showed them the slide show. I think they are excited about it now! Thanks for making the slide show. Since we are finishing out our basement for our schoolroom using the workbox system will be great for organization and foster their independence too!!

Thanks for all the things people have been sharing on workboxes/variations/activities/supplies etc. I was able to go to Target on Tuesday and they had tons of stuff. I got maps, flashcards, placemats, puzzles and a Classroom Card scheduler. I mentioned to the clerk at the checkout that I figured there wouldn't be much left since I hadn't gotten there right after I heard about the Dollar Spot finds. She said they had just put them out. YEAH! I found a Smart Space 10 drawer cart with Chrome frame and wheels at JoAnn's for $34.99 (50 percent off)! I placed my order today and as a new customer, I signed up online and qualified for $2.95 shipping. If you are already an online customer, I think shipping is only $5.00. I bought one for each of my kids and they should be here in 5-10 days! I am so excited and I think it will help me be more accountable about getting to things/grading papers and also including all the great extras, supplemental items that I forget to have the kids do. I could have done this without these carts, but since we are finishing out our basement for our schoolroom, I figured the organizational aspect would be helpful and keep things corralled. I have a 7th, 6th and 5th grader this fall, so keeping everyone on task should be easier with the additional organization. Just had to share!

I don't have any experience in doing this, but a gal from my local HS group had 3 children and adopted a sibling group of 3 and then adopted another sibling group of three. If you would like to get in contact with her, I could forward this thread to her and see if she is willing to talk with you. Kristi

I write out our lesson plans, generally for 180 days. We don't date the tops of the pages until we hit that week. If we don't complete everything that day, no big deal. We just start where we left off. We might be 2 weeks behind in history because we took time to read more books on a particular subject. We might work ahead one week knowing that we have to be gone at the end of the next week. The point to my post is that, we don't have to do that specific work on that specific day or we have to rewrite the entire plan. We just use it to know if we are behind or ahead of our plan and work accordingly. Edited to add: I plan 180 days of work and we work until we have completed 180 days. I write out out lesson plans during the summer, or they would never get done. Grades I put in the box next to the assignment. There is an extra column, I use to record field trips, books read, etc. I keep this as a permanent record to show that the work was completed. I sat down last night and scheduled the bulk of my older daughter's schoolwork for the next year and set up some binders for Science so we are ready to go when we get started. Easy and I don't have to worry about doing it on Sunday night or worse yet, Monday morning!

I too, did not realize that private vocal lessons weren't needed until they were older. For 2 years now, my three children have been taking a group voice lesson. That is because I can't afford to give them each a private lesson. Now I don't feel so bad. Thanks. My two daughters are singing with us in a group setting at church and I hope to get a children's choir going at some point.

That commercial just came on,while I am watching Ace of Cakes. Too funny!

I don't necessarily think the snacking is costing you more money, though it might be. I think what is costing you more is running to the store frequently. We live about 10 miles from the grocery store and even then, I don't shop there much as it is extremely expensive. I tend to buy very little processed food even including snacks and I buy in bulk. We buy in bulk through a food coop and keep our freezer stocked so we aren't running to the store all the time. By cutting out most processed food and buying in bulk, I am not tempted to run to the store for 3 things I need and come home with 6 things I didn't need. I wouldn't try to do this quickly, but ease into it or your family may revolt. I hope this helps a bit. As for snacks, I keep crackers, cheese, yogurt and fruit and nuts around. We make cookies or bars once in a while, but don't keep them around or boxed cereal. If we did it would be gone within 24 hours. Kristi

I don't test because we aren't required to. It is an option for evaluating, but we can also use portfolio assessment or use a supervising teacher. That being said, do you test because you are required to? The reason I ask is that I listened to Voddie Baucham at our state homeschool convention (Iowa). He was our keynote speaker. He talked about why do we test our kids if it is not required? Those tests don't know our children like we do. They are written to work with the curriculums that the public schools use. Maybe our curriculum scope and sequence cover something at a later time than the test does. He was asking why do we follow what their tests say? They are not teaching in our homeschools. I don't mean to hijack this thread, but it raises the question in my mind.

We are drywalling the part of our basement that is our schoolroom so I am getting ready to pick a paint color. Was thinking a yellow because we have no windows, but the green you used is nice too!

My go to recipe is Oriental Salad: 1 package Broccoli slaw 1 c. sunflower seeds 1 c. sliced almonds (toasted) 2 packages of beef ramen noodles (minus seasoning packets) broken up Dressing: 1/2 cup each of: olive oil sugar Braggs Apple Cider vinegar 2 beef seasoning packets from Ramen Noodles Mix together first four ingredients. Mix together dressing and pour over salad. I usually mix up the dressing before I go and then stir it all together when i get to my destination (that way the ramen noodles stay crunchy). My absolute FAVE salad and I get requests for the recipe all the time. Kristi

I can sooooo relate. We moved in to our new house in January of 1994, with the main floor finished, but not the basement. Then in 2001 we put two bedrooms in the basement for the kids. Finally, last week, my husband put up the drywall for the rest (or most of the rest) of the basement. So it has been 15 years here too! Glad we arent' alone. Ours is full, too! Not much advice, other than get an unbiased friend or family member (not your spouse or kids) to keep you on task and PURGE, PURGE, PURGE!!! We are having a Goodwill trailer in a nearby town for all of next week and recycling pickup on Monday (we live in a rural area), so I am hoping to get a lot chucked out of there and hopefully repurpose a few things elsewhere (storage options on other places around our farm). GOOD LUCK!

http://www.ideas4theworkbox.blogspot.com/ These look great and adaptable. Kristi

I just requested the book from the library. They are getting it in and put me on the list. I went to Paperback Swap and was 128th in line, so I decided to go this route.

I haven't read the entire thread, but I understand where you are coming from. I just wanted to add, what my husband always says, " Too much of a good thing (helping others in this case) is still too much!"

My girls have been using it pretty much independently since we started it in 3rd grade. Of course, I helped when they had questions, etc. Kristi