Interesting. Something that many of us already see.

http://downloads.cbn.com/cbnnewsplayer/cbnplayer.swf?aid=9425

Josh & I got our spacers on today. Josh was not happy about it. He still does not want to get braces. I told him, 'tough Twinkies" he still getting them .

Two of my spacers already busted. I'm going to have to go back tomorrow. Bummer! I haven't had anything hard or sticky. Some noodle soup, cookie & scrambled egg.

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Regarding school; I think I have decided not to combine everyone with My Father's World Exploration to 1850. I have thought hard and long about this and would like to combine them for History, Science & Bible but I can't see when I can pull everyone together. I am going to do Bible together though. We can do that first thing in the morning like we do now.

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Today, my dad came by. He loves visiting he grandchildren. I usually have the children do a lighter load of schoolwork on Monday because most times my dad comes and he stays for four hours. As long as we get math and language arts done with some reading we call it a school day. 

The children still need to finish. once quiet time is over they'll finish their school.

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The children like Time4Learning. We use it basically for Language Arts only. The program is great but I don't like how much time the children are spending in front of the computer. Annette, Caleb & Brent each spend about  20-30 minutes on their lesson and 20 minutes at the playground. The playground is online games. Some are educational and others are just for fun. Normally this would be okay since the first half is learning. What I don't like is Lance & Ethan watch all three of them. If you add that up it's a lot of watching the computer. For me computer is equal to T.V. time. I feel like half of Lance & Ethan's morning time is in front of the computer watching their siblings. I am not sure but I might pull the plug on T4L.

Annette, is doing well with it and she is the one I  mainly wanted it for. I asked her if she would still like to continue with T4L. She said either way is fine. She prefers T4L because she does not have to write. She did complete all of Level 3 and has started level 4.

Caleb & Brent REALLY like it. I do like all the phonics review. Maybe we'll continue with if for this year or half the year

I don't have time to reread my post today, so I'll have to check for mistakes later.

Blessings,

Linda<><

I know I'm hopeless, it's only November and I'm getting ready for next year. I have been racking the brains of my sweet friends at My Father's World forum. I had it all figured out for Joshua's 7th grade year.

• My Father's World for Bible, History & Read Aloud
• Apologia Science (as recommended by MFW)
• The Bridge to the Latin Road
• Character Quality Language Arts for spelling, grammar review, writing. I will omit the editing, all optional exercises since he will be getting some heavy grammar using The Latin Road.
• Progeny Press Guides or Christian Light Education
• Math Mammoth

I was going to have Joshua, use MFW Exploration to 1850 on his own. I would order this early and pre read the books so I can discuss them with him. I could write out everything he needs to do in his student planner.

I have been chatting with the ladies on the MFW forum and they have suggested I combine all dc for Bible, History, Science, Read Aloud using MFW Exp1850.

BUT here is my dilemma; I plan to use The Phonics Road Levels 1 & 2 and The Bridge to the Latin Road. These are all mom intensive. They can not be done as independent work. It would take me about three hours to get through it all.

• The Bridge 40-60 minutes (Josh & Annette)
• Phonics Road Level 1 20-30 minutes   (Ethan & Lance. I might also wait another year, depending on Lance how mature he is and how far Ethan has gotten with Christ-Centered Phonics)
• Phonics Road Level 2. (Caleb & Brent) There are three parts or sections and each takes about 20-30 minutes 

If I combine when would I ever get to MFW?

I do want to continue with The Phonics Road to Spelling & Reading. I already see improvement in Caleb's & Brent's reading & spelling. I think it is worth the time and effort.

The Bridge to Latin Road is also something I don't want to give up. I truly believe it will give Josh & Annette a strong start in grammar. It looks to be a very solid program. I also want to use The Latin Road for High School credits (can't believe I'm talking about high school credits)

I still have the rest of my children's subjects. Annette, can do a lot on her own. Not sure where Caleb & Brent will be regarding reading.

I'm thinking out loud here. We can all do MFW Bible together in the morning. Do The Bridge with Annette & Josh so they can be set loose to finish their other subjects after we are done.

After that I'm stumped . I think that once I have the Teacher Manual for MFW Exp1850, I can get a better handle on how to accomplish everything. I can figure out if it would be better for Josh to do MFW on his own or if we should combine.

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Today we went to Mr. Jim's Pizza for lunch. We actually picked it up and took it to the park. It was pretty windy. The leaves where falling everywhere. Pretty but some of them hit your face pretty hard.

The children had fun playing. I was busy looking at the Scope & Sequence of CQLA & The Bridge. trying to figure things out. We then came home and the kiddos are napping and here I am.

As for school I still need to correct papers but other than that we are done with week 9. Amazing.

I almost forgot. Joshua, is going shooting with Lupe, this weekend. Yesterday they took a class with some men from church regarding firearms. Josh, was so excited. My boy is growing up .

Blessings,

Linda<><

I was able to purchase a used Character Quality Language Art (CQLA) program for Caleb. It's not the same color as Joshua's, so they won't be on the same character quality. It was $37.00ppd new this would have been $79.00+shipping. Normally I would just purchase it new and support the company but I want to try it out with Caleb first. He is still learning to read and all so if it doesn't work, at least I didn't spend too much.

I was going to use Christian Light LA with him but it took too long. Christian Light's LA program is really good though. I have looked at 1st-4th grade and really like how thorough it is. The program is not overwhelming for the child either. I'm really bummed that we are not using it.

Today, Caleb, is on week two of CQLA Pre-A Green. Pre-A is 2nd-3rd grade. Didn't want you to think he is doing a 'Pre' school program. They color code the levels.

This morning Caleb, had to highlight four words per sentence, write the words down and then rewrite the sentence. He also worked on prepositions. He does get tired of reading the same passage all week but hey, that's life . I don't like folding but it has to be done .

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Last year I made a commitment that I am NOT going to curriculum hop anymore. I did pretty good last year, while trying to find our textbook groove. I did switch Joshua's grammar around some and Annette's reading. Last year we settled on Growing with Grammar & CLE Reading and used all Rod & Staff for history & science. It was great.

This year even though we had a rough start with The Phonics Road & Ethan, doesn't always want to do his Christ Centered Phonics; we are sticking with it. Now when the going gets tough, we aren't running to something new anymore. We are working through it.

It's great for the children because they see what they are accomplishing. Before we would start one program, switch to another, then another. I remember Josh, would feel like he never finished anything. Even though he was learning and moving forward it didn't 'look' like it to him. Last year he was happy to finish hiw workbooks.

When my Sweets and I  got engaged my ring was way too big for my then slender finger. One time I was drying my hands in a public bathroom and my ring flew off. After that we had sized.

Once my fourth child was born, my ring no longer fit me. Not only was my finger not slendor anymore but either was I. My wonderful husband had it sized again.

Then after Lance our last child was born my ring was suddenly too big. My husband again had it sized  because I missed wearing it.

Now unless it's cold outside my ring does not fit me . Guess it's time to lose some weight.

Lupe, took Annette, Caleb & Ethan with him to Dallas today. I have Josh, Brent & Lance. We are going to go to the coffee shop and then the park in about thirty minutes.

Last week we went to our Church's Family Fest and enjoyed some homemade chili. The children also enjoyed bringing home lots of candy. Yesterday Lupe, picked us up at 3:30p.m. They were having trick-or-treat time, where the parents can bring their kids. The children left with a good grocery bag full of candy. When we got home that evening I told them that they had to pick out 15 pieces of candy to give away. They were happy to find which ones to give. Than I told them that I would pay them .2 for every candy they got rid of after that. I ended up filling a Braum's paper bag half way . We are going to use it for the children that come knocking at our door tonight. Hopefully we will get a lot of children. I don't like throwing away food but the candy will have to go.

I still need to get our school shedules ready for Monday. Can't believe another week done!

Joshua has been asking for a pocket dictionary. He loves reading and sometimes comes across words he doesn't know. A few weeks ago I purchased one for him at Half Price Books. When I handed him the dictionary he said, "I feel so powerful."

Today Lance, wanted me to cut him an orange. I was helping Ethan, with his math so I told him to wait a until I finished helping his brother. While saying that I noticed that Josh, had peeled himself an orange. I don't usually let Lance, have a piece of a peeled orange because of the skin. I have had a few scares in the past with choking. Now I wait until they are older. As I noticed Joshua's orange I thought I should tell him not to let Lance have a piece but I went back to teaching Ethan. Sure enough I hear Lance, gagging and realized that Josh, gave him a piece of his orange. I stuck my finger in his mouth and pulled out the skin of the orange. Lance, looked at me and said, "I choked mom."

I'm starting something new. At 9:00-10:00 a.m. is phonics time. At 9 O'clock I'll do The Phonics Road with Caleb & Brent. At 9:30 with Ethan. It worked out great this week. Other than my dad visiting on Tuesday we got all our phonics in. Sometimes with Ethan, he gets pushed to doing night school ;) because I get too busy with the others.

Today I sat with Joshua and we worked through some of his geometry problems in math. I like sitting with them, showing and helping them figure things out.

With Annette, we sat and worked on her writing (Meaningful Composition). The first weeks are review in grammar. She was having trouble understanding Subordinate Clauses. We worked through it and she now understands. I'll ask her through out the day to reinforce and hopefully she won't forget by tomorrow

Caleb, took a math quiz. I haven't checked it yet. I still need to do CQLA with him. He is still on week one. We are working on his sentences.

I also need to finish dictation with Annette & Josh.

Lastly I gave Lance a haircut. Yikes! This was my first time giving him one. Lupe, purchased grooming kit or whatever you call it kit from Costco about a month ago. The boys hair is getting long. We are trying to save money by using this kit. We normally pay 12 per child at the barber shop.

After nap I'm going to cut the rest of the boys hair. Josh, said he would go last and I don't blame him