Anyone in the mood for a fresh Roll Call?

[Rosie_0801]

I'm Rosie, mother to Raziya who's just turned two and Marek, who's three months old. I've been mooching around here for close to three years I guess. What can I say? I'm a Capricorn and like to plan ahead :lol:

We currently live in Central Victoria, Australia, and will likely be moving somewhere else in the state early next year. It all depends when and where dh finds work. We do SCA, leave books on the floor, empty spices all over everything, attend an ethnic playgroup with a bunch of mums who mostly don't speak English and have moved into that lovely toddler phase of taking nappies off and hiding them. Marek wants food or conversation for nearly all his waking hours and doesn't think being in a sling is good enough. I like coming here because people sometimes agree with me, and that is a fantastic confirmation that I'm making sense. With two kids who hardly nap during the day and get me up twice a night each, I'm never entirely sure if my brain is working properly or not. People tell me they don't stay babies long enough, and I can't wait to find out if it's true :D

Edited April 27, 2009 by Rosie_0801

[LNC]

I've been on the boards for 8 years - and still tend to introduce myself :). I have 4 children - 14yo son with profound disabilities that we have always cared for in our home, 11yo son w/ mild mr and autism who has been in public school special ed for 1 year, 9yo daughter, and 7yo son.

 

We love homeschooling and being together during the day. I would love to still homeschool my 11yo, but he sits in a corner talking to himself w/ various characters if he isn't regulated every minute of the day. His special ed class has music time, crafts and cooking every day on a preschool level that I just don't get to anymore. I feel everyone is having their needs met to the best of my ability, relying on God's enabling grace!

[Ibbygirl]

I've been on the boards for 8 years - and still tend to introduce myself :). I have 4 children - 14yo son with profound disabilities that we have always cared for in our home, 11yo son w/ mild mr and autism who has been in public school special ed for 1 year, 9yo daughter, and 7yo son.

 

We love homeschooling and being together during the day. I would love to still homeschool my 11yo, but he sits in a corner talking to himself w/ various characters if he isn't regulated every minute of the day. His special ed class has music time, crafts and cooking every day on a preschool level that I just don't get to anymore. I feel everyone is having their needs met to the best of my ability, relying on God's enabling grace!

 

 

I have one at home and one in school (special ed) for the very same reason. He too has severe autism and he just gets so much more help at this point than I could ever give him. He too lines up his Veggie tales and talks to them all the time. The cool thing is that he walks around his school quoting the Bible verses that appear at the end of the Veggie Tales episodes and he even sings the praise songs that he learns in church. I can't think of any other place but an Autism Cluster where a kid can get away with something like that in a public school. God puts people in all kinds of places. Because of my son, I invited his teacher to church and she came with us. :)

[Closeacademy]

I'm Christy. I've been on the boards since the end of 2005. I am using the LCC method with my oldest who will be in 4th grade next year and Rod and Staff with my youngest who will be in 2nd next year.

 

I spend most of my time here on the curriculum forums. I also blog about our homeschool including reviews of curriculum, books we read/use, lapbooking and such. Plus, I coupon and blog about that as well.

 

:001_smile:

[Christine]

I'm Christine.

 

We are a military family (about to retire), and have 4 boys (16, 14, 7 and 6). We've been hsing 8 years (?), (will have to double check that when I have more time).

 

I did try posting once on the old thread when I first start hsing, but it was so non-user friendly that that quickly stopped. I joined this forum as soon as I realized it exisisted. Don't know that you could call me a "regular poster".

[sportymom]

I'm Jolie. Been reading the boards for 5 yrs, I'd guess, only posting for about 6 months (could usually find the answers I needed w/out asking!).

 

Been married almost 12 yrs. Have 4: ds 10, dd 7, dd 5, ds 17m. Been homeschooling the whole time. Love being able to use "what works" for each of my children, individually. We also participate in CC.

 

And we do love sports.:001_smile:

[Pamela H in Texas]

I'm Pamela. I've been here a few years.

 

When I first read TWTM, I like some of the idea, but I hated the implementation (with young children). I now understand it a little differently and see that WTM'ers with young children don't have them chained to a desk 8-10 hours per day, but though I would implement some of it, I still wouldn't do it all with K-4. I want my young children to have other experiences/learning to a greater degree at those ages.

 

Anyway, my kids have homeschooled "forever" minus 8 weeks (Fall 2001). My daughter, Kimberly, is 16 and graduating next month. My son, Tyler, is 14 and finishing 8th grade (he's HOPING to get done by May 13th; I'm not so sure). Oh, both kids used a full curriculum (Abeka Dvd with DD and K12 with DS) for 7th grades. That wasn't really a plan, just worked out that way. Best decision we made though, especially in regards to my son. But we're glad to be back to "real" homeschooling.

[LinRTX]

I'm Linda. I have been married to dh for 25 years and been homesclooing for 18(?) years. We have 4 children -- one son (23) who has graduated from college with a degree in EE, a daughter (almost 20) who will get her associates degree in a few weeks and then transfer to a 4-yr college, and two at home that I still teach.

 

They are both girls. A is almost 16, will be in the 11th grade next year, loves to sing, and wants to major in nursing. K turned 9 Saturday and is finishing 3rd grade. She had her first voice recital (sang Sisters with her sister) and was baptized yesterday. Our weekend was full.

 

I mainly lurk on the boards and post just occasionally -- I have been doing this for 3 years now. I am trying some WTM methods with my youngest since she seems to thrive on it, but I did not know about it until I found these boards.

[JFSinIL]

JFS in IL

Mom of four - fraternal boys, now 17, and girls 15 and almost 13 (May 11 and she is counting the days to Teendom!)

 

Started homeschooling with one of the twins when he was halfway through 3rd grade, bright and bored at school. Had already been afterschooling history (our favorite subject) since the fall. Had my first edition copy of WTM as a guide. Once I got ds (and self) settled in I brought his kid sister, 1st grade, home 9 weeks later. The other twin has autism/silliness/ld issues and stayed in Special Ed. The youngest was a rugrat and watched too much tv (Blues Clue's.)

 

Over the years ds was home until 7th grade, which he wanted to try. He did not do well with the math - his teacher said he could NOT move into algebra in 8th grade. So he stayed home for 8th, used all but the last bit of Videotext in 16 months (summer math before and after "real" 8th grade) and then went to high school. He would never leave the house/computer if he was not in school (like his mom ;)). Has excelled in high school - more than one teacher has commented that it is due to what he learned in home school that he has done so well there. :D

 

AutismSIllyBoy was home only one year - the year I tried to do all four kids at once. Since ASB needed 90% of my attention to stay on task that did not go well adn he went back to sped the next year. But I had to give it a try and see if I could do better than the school. Yes, I could - but at the expense of the other kids.

 

Oldest dd was home from the tail end of first grade until the start of fifth. She is a pistol (can switch from sweet and agreeable to obstinate and angry in a heartbeat) and we do far better if we are not in each others faces all day. She is also lazy...and finding high school actually expects her to do the work and learn to get good grades!

 

Youngest has gone from Blues Clues to learning to read with me, then since she was lonely second grade in school (great teacher, great year) to then being placed in a 2/3 split with a new teacher. Since that year was almost a washout as far as learning goes I keep dd home for 4th and we caught-up. Then this social little girl wanted to go back, so we started fifth grade....and found the math, evil Everyday Math (Chicago Math) was being done for MOST of the day. No science or history or geography...just math and some language. Teaching to the test. District rules - not the teacher or principals fault. I took her home halfway through 5th grade last year and put her into 6th grade math, etc. Started the Hakim books. This year she tried TT and Viedotext (since I still had it) before we landed in Chalkdust pre-algebra. She was just tested at the middle school she is longing to attend next year and, thank-you Chalkdust, tested ready for 8th grade algebra. I KNOW she would not have tested that high had she stayed in school doing that awful Everyday Math. Plus she will have had far more science, history and geography than 99% of the other other kids next year. Yippee.

 

Meanwhile the college visits for ds1 have started...... :willy_nilly: wait a minute - didn't I just bring him home from 3rd grade?????

 

Now I have a ton of homeschool stuff to sell....

Edited April 27, 2009 by JFSinIL

[Jenny in Florida]

I'm Jenny, and I've been here for about five years, I guess. We're doing what I usually refere to as "WTM-inspired homeschooling." That means, essentially, that I take the parts of the WTM philosophy that I like and "tweak" the rest.

 

I have two kids. My 14-year-old daughter homeschooled beginning at age four. She has graduated and is in her second year of a residential early entrance college program. My 11-year-old son has homeschooled always and is keepng me busy these days.

[Jenny in Atl]

Hi, I'm yet another Jenny on the board. Been a lurker since 2001, regular poster for a couple years. Married to my better half for 19 years (together for 25). We have two kiddos (see below) and have been homeschooling since 2002. We've used a combo of things, WTM, Sonlight, and anything else that looks good. :D

[elegantlion]

I'm Paula. I lurked on the old boards and started posting when the format changed. I've been married 16 1/2 years.

 

I have one son, age 11. I call him Professor Z because he's always experimenting with something, the Z is from a video game. We are just finishing our 5th year of homeschooling. After some changes in schooling we have found our stride with LCC.

 

We are from the mid-west but currently live in SW Louisiana where the trees are tall, it snows once in a blue moon, and visiting the beach does not involve a plane ride. :D

[kalanamak]

I'm Gina, mom of 4 great kids. We live in the middle of Kansas, and right now we're surrounded by "burnt" hills and fields.:glare:

 

Oh, but those burnt hills will green-up soon, and make it so much easier to hike and horseback ride.

[lovemywhirlygirls]

I'm finishing my second year of homeschooling my girls (11, 8, 6). I've been lurking on the boards for about a year. I'm not a frequent poster, but I am an avid follower. I guess it's the "I"(introvert) in the fact that I'm an INFJ. :lol:

 

I'm very grateful for the very thoughtful responses to most any question posted. I've learned a lot from you ladies (and you too Drew and Bill). I attended the Midwest Homeschool Convention in Ohio a couple of weeks ago and had the privilege of meeting some of you there. LOVED THAT. So fun to have faces to names.

 

I've discovered through reading TWTM (and just waking up to reality) that my private schooling that was supposed to be so great, coupled with my father's death while in high school, wrapped up in my "I" ness, left me about logic stage in my development. I never got to the rhetoric stage of having developed opinions or educated thoughts about much of anything. I caused no trouble and was a "delightful child" so I sailed through high school (studying only for the test) and no one noticed. Now I'm a wife to a husband to LOVES to discuss and learn and debate and I haven't been able to do that with him. It's a big hole in our marriage for him and I want to plug it.

 

SO, I've begun looking at this journey as an opportunity to educate myself more thoroughly and having the extreme pleasure (and sometime frustration) of homeschooling my children. What a privilege it is.

 

Thanks again to all of you who inspire, encourage, and challenge me.

 

Have a great day!

[stephanie78]

I am Stephanie. I have been lurking on the boards for a while, but never really got involved. I have four kids, two boys 5 and 15, two girls 8 and 11. We live in Indiana.

[patchfire]

I'm Kash. I've lurked for years - I first read WTM when I was pregnant with dd1! I come and go - sometimes I read a lot and post a bit, sometimes I'll go a month or more without even reading, much less posting. I think lately is the longest I've regularly read the boards - it's been a good four months. :)

 

DD1 is 8.5, finishing up third grade, DS is newly 4, and DD2 is 5 months, so therefore doing excellently at teaching herself how to chew on her feet. :) We've homeschooled "from the beginning."

[Brooketopia]

I'm Cara, somewhat new to the boards. I've been planning to homeschool since pregnant with my first child and she would be going into PS K this coming year, so we're really doing stuff now.

 

I have three dear daughters: Emily (5yo), Renaissance (2yo) and Rachel (15 mos). Emily loves outer space and wants to be an "astronaut/baker" when she grows up. Renaissance loves animals, especially marine animals; and Rachel is mostly interested in eating and figuring out how to walk on her own. :D

 

This coming year of homeschool won't be our first "official" year, as compulsory education laws in Utah don't kick in until six years of age. We are creating a bit of stir when I announce that she will not be attending K with the rest of her peers...and one of my neighbors has decided in past weeks that she's going to give HS a try as well...I'm seen as a bit of a revolutionary rebel recruiter around here at times. Hee hee.

[PinkInTheBlue]

Obviously my name is Jessica. My older boys are finishing 7th and 5th grade and we've been homeschooling since kindergarten for the oldest. I guess that's 8 years. Wow!

 

We started in North Carolina and moved to Alabama almost 5 years ago. We're planning on moving to the Atlanta area but since we don't have to sale our house or have to get up there and start a job we aren't really doing a good job of getting there too soon. :)

 

Both of my guys would rather be doing anything but school. However, they aren't disrespectful or any real trouble about it (most of the time). They just get it done and do a pretty good job. I'd love to figure out how to give them the love of reading and learning like I have. Oh well. Maybe it'll come.

 

edited to add: I guess we started homeschooling fall of 2001 so I would have begun lurking and eventually posting in 2002.

Edited April 27, 2009 by PinkInTheBlue

[Joanna H]

Hi, I'm Joanna. I have six children, one graduated, one more to graduate this year :) I was on the old board a little and took a break when the youngest was born. Just signed back on last year - everything was so different!

 

I have always enjoyed the threads on these boards. Everyone is so encouraging and I can find out information on just about anything! I feel like I know so many of you already.

[abreakfromlife]

I'm Sally - this is our second full year of homeschooling, but I loosely did some preschool/kdg stuff for a couple of years. I had already decided to homeschool for educational reasons when my oldest was around 3, and I started looking for books to read....WTM was the first one I read, and I didn't even know what classical/neo-classical education was, but I was so excited as I read it, and kept saying 'yes, finally, I'm not alone' LOL as I read it. I've been hooked on classical ever since. I have very lofty educational goals, but they are being tempered by having a lot of kids so close together. The spacing was not in my pre-ordered plans :D

 

Alysa is my second-grader, Aiden is in K5, Baelin is sort of getting preschool stuff, Sydney just gets into stuff, and Eli just turned 1 and is getting into everything. So we've been schooling year round just to get everything in to make up for the days and weeks stuff doesn't get done b/c of toddler distractions.

[Avila]

I am Shelly. I am homeschooling my three girls who are 10, 7 and 5. This is our third year as homeschoolers. We live in an Illinois suburb of St. Louis, MO. I found this board in December.

 

We started out with WTM, but I really needed more direction in the day-to-day at the time, so I have loosely followed it and thrown in all sorts of other things ever since. I am finding that I will follow it much more closely in the logic stage, and that is somewhat of a relief.

 

I like coming here and "talking and listening" to all sorts of people I probably wouldn't run across in my daily life. I love hearing their views and ideas, and I love hearing about what everyone is using for school, even if that is not always good for me!

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I guess I should of introduced myself a few weeks ago...sorry.

 

My name is Meredith and I am a new hser as of January 2009.

 

I have two children: a beautiful 16yo DD who is a sophomore in ps. She is a vivacious young lady who is a tennis player, cheerleader, student council member, 4Her and new driver.:auto:

 

a wonderful 12yo DS who is my new homeschooler. He is my highly gifted sweetie with Tourette Syndrome. He is a First Class Boy Scout, 4Her, voracious reader and lover of all things academic. At present he is wondering how many Ph.D.s to obtain and looking into becoming a member of the Crimson Tide.

 

I was referred to the board by a friend. I have been doing a lot of reading with very little posting. I will probably post more as my knowledge and comfort levels increase.

[PinkTulip]

I'm Suzanne, living in Utah with dh and four boys, ages 11, 9, 7, and 6. I've been a mostly lurker, occasional poster here for about 5 years. I count WTM in my top five books that have completely changed my life, either through my thinking or my actions (or both!). We're currently afterschooling, but do a pretty thorough homeschool schedule in the summers. My kids have all decided they want to be either dentists or doctors, so we focus a lot on the math and science, but also cover writing, grammar, and German.

[sagira]

I'm Carolyn and although I've been devouring all sorts of books on children's education and homeschooling for more than three years, I've only been officially homeschooling (K) since last September. My son, Brandon, is five years old and when he turns six in early September he'll be starting First Year with me. I also have a daughter, Angeline, who'll be 2 in July.

 

Brandon loves to read, being read to, penmanship (yes, really), music (piano lessons and appreciation), poetry, drawing and is intrigued by science. He's also doing tennis, horse-back riding and learning how to swim.

 

My youngest is a little woman (as she was referred to by our music teacher :D) with a big personality and is sweet, sassy, strong and charming. Oh, and very energetic! :)

 

My son doesn't tire easily and when you think he's done after a whole day of active play and fun, he'll come and get second wind

 

My homeschooling style is 90% Charlotte Mason, which I think especially after fourth grade is very similar to the TWM in rigor and good books. I have the new Well Trained Mind on my wish list. Did I mention I love this board?

Edited April 27, 2009 by sagira

[TravelingChris]

I am Christina but I no longer live in Space Coast as of late Dec. Now as the message says on the bottom, I live in beautiful woods in Northern Virginia. I have been homeschooling since 1995 and will be homeschooling until 2015. O think. I have been a very long time poster on these boards. I used to be Christina in NM until mid 2003 then I was Christina in BE or maybe Christina in Belgium. In mid 2006, we moved to the Space Coast. I haven't figured out how to change my name to my new location. I did decide on another board to just call myself a transient. I homeschooled my first from grade 2 -12 and the rest have been homeschooled from the beginning. I have been married for 23 1/2 years and dh has been 22 years in the military. He will definitely stay in at least 1 1/2 more years and probably do at least 25. So I am still going to be transient for a few more years.

[lllll]

Hi all. We've been hs'ing since 1988. I've been posting on these boards since 2000, shortly after I found the WTM book and began using it to hs our 5 dc. Since we cut off the internet at home years ago, I only read/post when we come into town and I have time to kill at the library.

 

We began hs'ing in 1988, as soon as I realized it was legal. I started with KONOS, WRTR, Building Thinking Skills, Mathematical Reasoning, and other things long forgotten. WTM was truly an answer to prayer for us. I've also found many other helpful curr. from reading this board. Something I'm very grateful for. Thanks SWB and those who post their zillions of ideas, year after year, here.

 

Our 5 hs'ed dc continue to live and study -- at home. Thus far, none have opted to attend college. Not the norm for this board (or this country??), I know. And, yes, everyone thinks we're crazy. We all love it, however.

 

Originally from LA and SC, we currently live way back in the woods in Southwestern VA, where we hope to retire if the job holds out that long (we're 52 and 53). It's a little shaky at the moment. But, as usual, we'll go where the job goes. And continue to hs no matter where we end up. ;)

Edited April 28, 2009 by ksva

[Peggy in Va]

Hey all -

 

I'm Peggy and as you can tell I'm in Virginia. We live in the Northern Shenandoah Valley area near the Shenandoah National Park. Close enough to DC, but far enough away from all the people and traffic.

 

I've been posting on these (this and the old) boards on and off for several years now. But I don't think I ever formally introduced myself.:blushing: Oops.

 

We have three wonderful dss. The oldest was graduated from classical private school and works for us. Dh is a licensed Landscape Architect and we have our own company.

 

Because of oldest ds classical education, I wanted to give that to my other two. I discovered Susan's book and we homeschooled them for K/1st through 3rd/4th, then sent them off to public school. The first morning they went, I felt like I had dropped them off in the middle of the woods without any directions home. Somehow, they have survived.

 

This year, middle ds (6th grade) is at a very good private school, and the youngest one (5th grade) is still in the public elementary. They are both coming back home next year and I am sooo excited.:)

 

I guess that's about it; except to give a general all around thank you to those that have shared their wisdom and experiences.

[LanaTron]

I have a husband who is a chef, and we have four kids in grades 7, 6, 3, and 1; they came boy, girl, boy, girl. :D We are an interracial family, me being Caucasian, dh being Black, and we live in the Houston area.

 

I first read TWTM in 2001, I think, but we unschooled until 2003. Currently we school in the spirit of WTM, but we are very busy with Scouts and just living life, so we are fairly relaxed.

 

I've been on the boards since 2004 or 2005, and I lurked for a very long time before I ever posted anything. Now, I go through times where I post frequently, then there will be long stretches of time where I lurk. It all depends on how busy I am or how much I feel I have to offer.

 

I do love these boards and get so much help and support, even if I am in lurk mode!

[jensway]

I'm Jen, I have 1 son age 11. We live in the north Texas area. My son loves math, science and to read. Oh how I wish he loved to write. We've been homeschooling since K. We were in a co-op from K-3, then decided to take a break from it for awhile. I enjoy reading the boards and learning from others.

[ereks mom]

I've been homeschooling (officially, anyway) since 1996.

 

I have a son, ER, age 18, who graduated from 12 years of homeschool and started college this past fall after earning lots of scholarships based on his academic and musical talents.

 

My daughter, EK, is 14 yo and is finishing up 8th grade. Like her brother, she has been homeschooled from the start, and is a gifted student.

 

My dh is a minister and writes/teaches character curriculum. As for me, I am a former classroom teacher (both private and public schools). Now I run the household and enjoy learning alongside my children.

Edited April 28, 2009 by ereks mom

[runninmommy]

My real name is Camille. I have 3 kiddos I home school. An Eleven-year old girl, Nine year old boy and six year old boy. We are in Alabama. My heart is in Alaska though. I miss it soo much! I am a self-proclaimed right wing nut. :lol: I am passionate about art, gardening, the Air force and my family.

 

I have been home schooling for four years. I after schooled for 3 years before that.

 

My Dh has been in the AF for 16 years. We have been married for 13. That pretty much sums me up.

[1bassoon]

I'll join, too!

 

My real name is Heather (hah!)

 

Dh and I have been married for almost 18 years, and by my siggie you can see that we have 5 dc. Mostly girls, so that explains some of the dynamics around our house.. .. .. . more so, now that dh works out-of-state (TN) from M-F. Although, after reading Drama Queen's post, I'm just not gonna complain any more. He does come home on weekends, after all!

 

We've homeschooled since the start (11-12 years now!), and I honestly can't imagine doing anything else. Well, now, to be honest, lately I've been having fantasies about ME going to work and DH h'schooling, but that's just cuz it's April here in Alabama and it's gorgeous outside!

 

I read WTM, and loved the suggestions - but every time I started Latin with eldest DD, I got pregnant. :D So now, Latin is a middle school subject, and I'm not pregnant!

 

We use TOG pretty much exclusively, but I throw in a bunch of other things as I see fit.

 

This is the world's most boring introduction, I think! But I've been around since the old boards, and it was high time. . . .

[NancyinCA]

Hi! I've homeschooled for almost 8 years, since my oldest started kindergarten. I heard about TWTM while in the middle of my second year, and have loosely based our plans upon this model ever since. Currently we are using TOG year 2. Homeschooling a toddler has certainly thrown a fun curve into our days. Hopefully next year will be a little less "curvy". :)

[Denise in Florida]

Hi, my name is Denise (like it says :001_smile:), I have lurked on and off for a couple years but recently decided to get serious about reading and posting.

 

My girls are 17 (18 in May) and 15, we have almost always homeschooled. My oldest girl tried public school for 2nd grade but decided one year was enough.

 

DD17 has completed two years of dual enrollment at a community college and will head off to New College of Florida (Honor's College) in the fall.

 

I intend to continue homeschooling dd15 until she leaves for college.

 

We are unschoolish, we use some curriculum and do a lot of natural learning. We read a lot. Both girls are active in 4H and pursue individual passions (piano and horse back riding).

[iquilt]

Hi - I'm Christina, homeschooling with 3 dc. Our oldest lasted 2 months in K before I found WTM thanks to another poster on these boards and decided to try this homeschooling thing. Tomorrow our local schools will be registering a whole new batch of kids for K and I won't be registering our dd5 - I'm thinking about having a party. Anyway, we love how wonderful this journey has been for our family, our kids are doing well and I wouldn't want to change a thing.

[mom2jjka]

My name is Michelle and I'm the mom to 4 kids (ages 11,9,6 and 4)

 

I'm a newbie here, and this board was recommended to me because of the 'special needs' section.

 

We are finishing our 3rd year of homeschooling.

My older two children use My Father's World, (and a mix of CLE, R&S and other miscellaneous things for their "3R's",) and my 6 yr old is using the Heart of Dakota programs. (She has some special needs, and needs a more 'gentle' approach.)

[Mom In Missouri]

I'm Lesa, SAHM, home school mom to our two dds. We' have home schooled from the beginning and are finishing up our 4th year.

 

I'm a newbie to this board, but am enjoying all of the information and references I'm receiving here by reading. Going to the WTM conference this weekend and looking forward to gathering more insight into the info I've read.

 

We're transitioning from a traditional/classical combo style, into a full classical approach with our educational path for our daughters.

 

We didn't recruit us into home schooling, but we are committed until God tells us otherwise.

[Ginevra]

I'm Danielle and I live in Maryland. I have always homeschooled. My kids are now 12 (dd), 9 (ds) and 4 (ds). I have been aware of WTM since before they wrote SOTW. I did not implement much Classical in the past. Since deciding to do SOTW for History next year, I have decided to also follow some other WTM concepts. I am buying Writing With Ease to hopefully help my 9yo come up to par with English skills. These are materials I have been using; a few are changing for next year:

Math-U-See; BJU English; Sequential Spelling; Handwriting Without Tears. We used A History of Us and other materials for history; I've also used History Pockets for extra hands-on history. We've used TOPS for Science, along with other books. Literature and reading - the children's own selections in most cases.

 

I'm going with Apologia General Science for dd12 next year. I'll be trying NOEO Science Biology 2 for ds9. Still trying to work out exactly how SOTW will look in practice, as I plan to have both (7th and 4th grade) doing Modern Times. Ds9 is not able to read the text independantly and comprehend it well, so I'm trying to figure out how we'll do it. Anyway, perhaps that's another thread.

[Mama Bear]

Hey, Crissy! (waving) Great idea, ma'am.

 

I started homeschooling when my first was in second grade (now eighth). A friend loaned me TWTM in a stack of other HS books and I was hooked. Originally, we'd planned to have the kids at home long enough for their dad's schedule to stabilize (school) and then re-evaluate our options, once we were more settled in a "forever" home/locale. But homeschooling turns out ot have been a good fit, almost all of the time. I've been on the boards off and on since the fall of 2003.

 

This makes me feel old. ;) :D

[Guest Katia]

Hi, I'm Kat. I've been on these boards for 10 years now....yes, I'm old......and we are in our 15th year of homeschooling. I've already graduated my older two dc, and I only have my 'baby' left at home now. She'll be graduating next year. (sob!)

 

Mostly we have done Charlotte Mason/Ruth Beechick method, but after reading TWTM I found that it was not all that different from CM so was able to implement many ideas.

 

I love reading these board and gleaning information, and I feel like I post a LOT.....but obviously not as much as many others. I am in awe of them. When do they have the time? The women here are amazing!

[bnbacademy]

I'm Miriam, new to this board... joined 6 mos ago. I have 2 db, ages 9 and 6. I love all the helpful advice and recommendations I find here as I am still new at homeschooling, with only 4 years under my belt...

 

I use an ever-changing assortment of curriculum... mostly because I just love books and the hunt...

[Kristiana]

Kristiana, in Salt Lake City, cellist and mom to three train fanatics

 

We've homeschooled from the beginning. When my oldest was 4, I found and read TWTM and it just clicked with me. I felt like here, laid out in detail, was everything I envisioned in a good education. I can't believe how much I'm learning alongside my children and I'm loving it!

 

I'm also glad I discovered these forums a few years back. I've learned so much and I'm so grateful for the advice and support I've received from so many wonderful people here.

[hsmamainva]

I'm Kelly and I'm from Fredericksburg, Virginia. I read WTM in 1999 and was just blown away!

 

I've homeschooled since July 1995, so 14 years!

 

My oldest will be graduating next month and my youngest is a 1st grader, so .. not exactly retiring anytime soon!

 

Two of my children (my oldest son and youngest daughter) are on the autism spectrum, so you can find me on the special needs board quite often.

[Carrie12345]

I'm Carrie and I love roll calls. :001_smile:

We're homeschooling in the Pocono Mountains.

 

My 10yo ds was in "regular" school from pre-k to 4th, and is using a cyber charter school this year for 5th. He's an aspie with a perfect memory, but lacks understanding in a lot of areas, so a regular classroom is a terrible fit. I'd rather straight up homeschool him, but my ex (his father) still believes "real" school will make him "normal". :glare:

 

I have a dd who will turn 7 next month. She was my guinea pig last year, when we used a cyber charter for kindergarten. That's when I learned that I could really do this!

 

My other dd will turn 6 in two months. I can honestly say she's been homeschooled from the beginning!

 

Baby ds turns 2 at the end of this week! He keeps us hopping.

 

We started this journey primarily for academics, so TWTM really spoke to me. In the past year or so, we've also come to really value the ability to retain more control over social aspects. With that combination, I'm confident that we'll be hsing through graduation.

[TC5]

This Saturday marks one year since I decided to homeschool. Last May, one of the first books I read was TWTM. We began our first homeschool year July 1, 2008.

 

I have been somewhat aware of this forum for a few months but never took the time to read anything until a few days ago, when I also joined. So many of you have already helped me so much, and I have barely scratched the surface of what is here.

 

Thank you!

Teonei

[KidsHappen]

Let's see, me the condensed version. Married to wonderful hubby almost 19 years. Between his, mine and our we have eight kids. He has two girls from previous marriage that have always lived with mom. I have two from previous marriage that sometimes lived with us, sometimes lived with ex. We had four dd together.

 

My six have all homeschool at some point in time. The oldest for part of middle and part of high. The oldest dd for part of high. The current 11th grader went to the 4th and 7th grade in PS. The 16 yr. old went to the 3rd grade in PS. The 12 yr old. is currently in the 6th grade at PS. and the youngest will be going to PS next year. That will leave me with an 11th and 12th grader next year. I am nearing the end of my journey.

 

I have been homeschooling for about 14 years. I have homeschooled in at least six different states: independently, through the state, with an umbrella and considering a computer curriculum for one high schooler next year. I have used lots of different curriculums and found that different programs work for different kids. I have been visiting this site for about seven years now I guess.

 

I live in middle TN with my hubby, the four dd left at home, four cats, and one dog. I have a grandbaby in Atlanta.

 

I am also very tired and ready for bed. If I left anything out, I will add it tomorrow. :sleep:

[Karen sn]

I have been here 7 years. I was someone else before I was Karen sn. I just can't remember who I was! I lived without internet for a while and when I came back I forgot who I had been! Maybe I was just Karen. I kind of remember back then that we signed however we wanted. Meaning we could sign our name in one post as Karen and in another as "Karen, seriously wishing I was at the beach."

 

I miss the living room feel of that old board.

 

The "sn" is for student nurse because when I chose the name I was in nursing school.

 

We are not traditional schoolers on many levels.

Dd has been to Grassroots Free School (based on A.S. Neil's Summerhill, http://www.summerhillschool.co.uk/ ), she had a stint in Montessori while I was in school, and now we are serious homeschoolers. We do alot of "unschooling" and when we "do school" we sit at the kitchen table. I also carschool, parkschool, and beachschool.

 

My dd is a naturalist and carries field guides in her purse.

We love our education methods.

It has been pretty smooth sailing since we got over all our b and d confusion.

 

I am using SOTW as my history spine.

Fortunately we have a really good library with many books that fill the gap between SOTW and Usborne/Kingfisher.

 

We will be using Life of Fred for junior high and highschool math.

 

I love Critical Thinking Company - we use Mindbenders now.

Interested in Reading, Science, and Math Detectives.

They also have a "You Decide" based on the 1st 8 ammendments - this will be highschool.

 

We also love grammar and science but are doing our own thing now.

 

I categorize our studies into:

English

Math

History

Science.

[Hedgehogs4]

I'm Kelly. I have been hsing for three years. I have on ds, 7, and dd who will be 4 on may 12 (i can't believe it!). we are part of a classical conversations community and i also use FLL, SOTW, and Apologia science for elementary grades.

 

i have only been on the boards for about a month, so far, and i'm enjoying all the insights to classical education.

[Lizzie in Ma]

My name, as cryptically put in my board name, is Lizzie. :)

Married to my beloved 18 years this year and we have two lovely ladies, 13 next month and 8 going on 40.

I have been homeschooling since a disastrous year in K for my oldest, so going on 8 years. I found WTM half way through the first year and it has been my constant companion ever since. These boards and the women on them have been my dear companions on this journey and I have been grateful for them over and above any other resource.

We are eclectic classical and I am a self professed "tweaker".

Older one in 7th grade now works mostly independently. Little one in 3rd, I have just switched over to a more Charlotte Masony style, she is a completely different kiddo than her sister.

We plan to homeschool all the way.

[Kidlit]

I'm Amy and I've been (mostly) a lurker for a while. See my signature for all my info!

 

My eldest dd is starting K at home this upcoming school year, and we're still pondering our choices (and reading too many catalogs and going to too many conferences!).:tongue_smilie: