(or brined) which is just 10 min on the grill, a big pasta salad (with mozzarella and veggies), a fruit plate and brownies for dessert. Fresh, cool and it looks like you did a lot of work! jeri

I know exactly what you mean about high bp! I was never high either and suddenly in the last year or so, it happened! The best motivator for me right now is this book. I am loving lifting and I am seeing huge changes. Not so much in weight (I'm down 20 with about 20 to go) but I am seeing muscles and I've dropped 2 sizes and several inches. I used to do P90X and Insanity and royally messed up my knee and got plantar fasciitis (heel pain) so this is the best thing for me right now. jeri

We give our kids 8 tickets a week, each good for 1/2 hour. They can't use them during school hours. To me, it's like a budget where there are choices to be made. Sometimes we are so busy around here that some kids don't even spend their tickets (and they can't carry them over to the next week). I guess you could also keep him busier. Around here, saying "I'm bored" usually results in a chore (or at least helping me with something). jeri

PA Homeschoolers was terrific for my 9th grader who just finished AP Bio. Hoping she gets a 5 (test was Tuesday). jeri

It has really helped me. Terrific book and made me feel that I wasn't the only "bad" mother out there. jeri

She is in 9th and quite good at math/science. Her suggestions: it is very helpful (almost necessary) to have a great knowledge of chemistry (shd did high school chem, Apologia, in 8th; a high school bio class or a very good middle school bio class is very helpful; be prepared to study a huge amount (she studied about 4 hours a day over the past year; some days she only did bio!); get a good teacher. DD took it through PAHomeschoolers with Dr. Kanner. I cannot say enough good things about her. She is amazing but demands a lot! We will not know the outcome of the course until the results come in on July 1st, but I can honestly say that it was an incredibly difficult course due to the huge amount of straight memorization. If you do decide to go this route, don't skimp on the resources. She used the latest edition of Campbell, I bought Mastering Biology online, along with two study guides. HTH! Good luck to your son. Jeri

I have a sixth grader adn a 4th grader who are using WWE4, and I have questions on how you use this. My older dd, who is ESL, really struggles with the reading passages since she doesnt' have the background for the reading (i.e. the passage on the Civil War we are doing this week) and often there are words or concepts she doesn't understand. The way we do the narration is I have her read it twice, then I sit with her and go over each paragraph with her for meaning and words. Then I have her tell it back to me in very general terms but I don't write it down. Finally, she writes her own narration. She usually does pretty well and I'm really happy if she gets the points down in order and with correct grammar and spelling. But as for the dictation, that's really tough! Obscure words and phrases, difficult grammar--she eventually can get it down but I'm not sure if it's really worth it for her. So, I understand SWB's philosophy on "getting the words fixed in your mind in one piece" but I'm wondering how critical that is. And please don't tell us to go back one level since we've already done levels 2 and 3. So, can my dd be a success at writing if we don't follow this to the T? Thanks. jeri

Thank you! Can you keep posting them (so I don't have to do the work, ;) For those of you with older kids (e.g. Lisa) I started Book 1 in the fall with two then 11 yos and an 8 yo. I did supplement with experiments from other books and I did make them keep a notebook (composition book) for notes. We are just about finishing up (with a detour through the human body which is more substantive that Dr. Nebel's tour) and I can honestly say that they have learned a lot! I must say, also, that Dr. Nebel really presents things in a logical way. When I said that we are doing the body in a more substantive way, I mean that we are actually doing the whole digestive system, etc. with another book. But I still use his info since it is so logical! Last week when we did the skeleton, I had them make a skeleton and we talked about the bones. But his topic was the structure of animals so we also discussed the general phylum breakdown of vertebrates and invertebrates, watched a worm move, and figured out where mollusks fit into the framework. So they dovetail very nicely. Can't wait to start next year with book 2! jeri

SaDonna, glad to hear that it's not just me! I guess when I think about it, it was the biggest, most time consuming project so far! I would have done this over two weeks, but as it is, we will finish with all of WWS on the last day. And this week we don't even have Friday available to extend since we are going to a science fair. Ok, now I'm breathing. Merrie, honestly, this was jjust a long, tedious project. I was right near by and I did help him, but there was no joy in this project! Hopefully tomorrow will be better. jeri

and I am biting my tongue. Does anyone else's child find this very painful? Do any of you moms find this very painful? It is taking him forever! and he is pretty grumpy about it. jeri

Isn't anyone going? jeri

My dd just found out that she got accepted to Freedom Academy! Anyone else? Jeri

My first impression is that it is written for an older crowd. It has a very British sense of humor and some of the cartoons are a bit bawdy. I didn't use it until my dd was in 7th, but we started with LP2. She is finishing up LP3 right now. LL had not yet been published. As for my youngers, they have both been using LL. My sixth grader is about 3/4 of the way through LL2 and I will move into LP2, partly as a review to cement Latin in his head, then to LP3, Why do you want to move into LP2 instead of LL2? I would think that with younger kids there is more of an appeal with writing in a workbook (like LL) than with copying it out of the text like LP2. (Or maybe you are using the LP workbook for this?) Also, I think LL runs a little slower than LP and the explanations are a bit clearer. Sorry I can't help you with the details on how to use LP. My oldest dd just kept a composition book for the LP books. Maybe you could have them make up flashcards for their LP books? Jeri

we limit showers to "sea showers" as we called them in the Coast Guard. You turn on the water to get wet, turn off water. Shampoo hair. Turn on water to rinse. Turn off water to soap up. Turn on water to rinse. Shouldn't take more than 5 min. We have 8 in our family and the kids are all between 9 and 15 and three are girls! jeri

but I add on a lot of experiments and demos. I just get books out of the library, look on my own science bookshelf, get ideas from youtube, etc. I am just about finished with the first volume. I started using it this year with two sixth and a fourth grader, so I *did* have to beef up the program! But just add stuff in! Jeri

You can read my story here: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=316798&highlight=implant Anyway, fast forward to where I am. This is a front tooth and I had to have it removed and a lot of bone graft done since it had become infected. I took a valium about an hour before, a second valium at the office (both prescription), and she used laughing gas and novacaine. DH took me in and drove me home. I was very stressed about this but ended up being soooo relaxed! I felt no pain (but I love my dentist!) and she kept chatting with me. Went home and had a long nap. Well, now it's five months later and I have an appt for an implant to be placed next month. I was told that it's just novacaine and it's really nothing compared to the previous visit. I am hoping/praying that the implant takes and in another 6 months then can fit a crown to it. Through all this I am wearing a flipper, which is a pain, but it looks very good. I would suggest interviewing a couploe of dentists who say they can do this. We had just made an international move and were living in a hotel when I had this done. I literally opened the phone book and picked two. I went with the one since they say thehy have done well over 1000. They took a lot of time explaining the procedure and they are a pretty large office. Actually they are a periodontal office instead of a dental office. I can tell you how it all works out in about 7 months! I do hope it will be a success since I really don't want a bridge. We just visited Mt. Vernon and one secition of the museum is on Washington's teeth. I am grateful to live in a time when this is possible! Jeri

It's on a warm sea current so it's not icy at all. Plus there are outdoor hot springs, glaciers, geysers, cool living in Reykavik. I love Iceland but haven't been back in about 28 years! Go. jeri

about. I find very inexpensive prices at ethnic food stores. We have giant Asian market here with the best quality veges/fruits and the best prices. I also buy rice and barley there since it's very inexpensive. At an Indian market, I buy bulk lentils. Jeri

Thanks! jeri

I was an exchange student for a year in Sweden. Spent a month in Guatemala learning intensive Spanish. Spent a month in China visiting a friend and traveling. One month in Ukraine when adopting our dd. One week in Ethiiopia when adopting dd and ds. Lived in Germany for almost three years. Fortunate to have had a job in the Coast Guard where I traveled all over Latin America/Caribbean training Coast Guards and Navies. Plus personal travel. England France Sweden Denmark Iceland Norway Finland Germany Luxembourg Netherlands Belgium Austria Switzerland Italy Ukraine Mauritius Ethiopia Argentina Uruguay Brazil Peru Panama Honduras Belize Mexico Guatemala Canada St. Nevis/Kitts Bermuda Bahamas Granada Trinidad/Tobago Cayman Islands Dominican Republic Aruba Haiti (brief port call) Japan (layover only) Sudan (layover only) Whew! More than I even thought! jeri

Occasionally, I will pick up a fiction book, like The Help, for example. But maybe once or twice a year! So far, since February, I have read Unbroken (memoir), three books on atoms/physical science, a book on the science of flight, Seven Turning Points of History, and Odessa (a book on the city of the same name). Usually I find fiction to be totally boring. jeri

We also have six kids and it would drive me crazy to have media going all the time! My kids get 8 "tickets" a week, for a total of 4 hours. Hours include tv, video game, dvd, Wii, etc. (We do watch the first 1/2 hour of Idol as a family when it's on.) the rule is one watcher, one ticket, just like BLA5. One of my kids spends the majority of her tix on Monday, the first day. Others space them out. My oldest (14) really doesn't watch much of anything so she is off of tix. It took a lot for me to let go of tv schedules since I personally, don't like tv. But it has been a useful tool. Tix can be taken away for poor school behavior, once they are gone, they are gone, and it forces my kids to make choices. jeri

I don't have time to post, but if you WTM google "jeri russian math" I have commented on it a lot. One thread is here http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=284843&highlight=jeri+russian+math jeri

so I can learn too! jeri

and shipping is included. If anyone wants the name of the ranch, pm me. We've bought from them for a couple of years. They are up on the St. Lawrence River, ship pretty much anywhere in the northeast (we are in VA) and the meat is delicious! I'm getting ready to place an order for a pig. You just need a small chest freezer. Jeri