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Thanks unsinkable! My boys picked them for using with Khan Academy. Shows you what they think about themselves! My boys have very distinctive Irish names, so much so much so that people here in Australia can't read them! French and Irish would make a memorable combination :)

I would like to see him eat a lot more protein and a lot less carbs. Good protein, not burgers and sausages, will fill him up leaving less room for the other stuff. I have a son this age, but a lot smaller, so it wouldn't compare. My son eats a lot for his size, but I only feed him meat, veggies, and a little fruit, with very few treats. I think you are fantastic to be thinking/doing so much for this boy :)

My oldest son has gone from starting well enough with writing but finishing very weak with no structure, to having a clear start, middle, and end. I don't know much about writing, but I can see an unmeasurable difference in his writing over the last 4 years using IEW. He has always liked to write, the difference is now I like to read it ;)

I love having a place to put our favourite pictures, but I use fake names. Good luck with your blog!

I love maths!

Good luck AL. I wish everyone could win.

I think some of you gals have been purchasing books through the affiliate links on my blog. So as a pay back I am giving away a $25 Amazon Gift Card.

If your hubby is anything like mine he wouldn't have given it a second thought!

I'm in Australia too, and this happens occasionally. I think the distance allows for greater chance of damage. What was the shipping? Did it include insurance?Nearly everything I have gotten fro the US included insurance. You might want to check. As for AL worksheets, I ended up tearing out pages to give to my DS. I never handed him the whole thing. So maybe just leave it as it is, and tear out as you go?

I have the download and sometimes print in B&W, but my younger boys prefer the colour. The download is great value if you want to use it with multiple kids.

Hi! I loved San Diego when we visited last year.

Good to see you!

This is us too!!

Yes maturity plays a role, along with so many other things. Don't beat yourself up about the past, you can do better from here on in. When I took my oldest home from PS in 4th grade, we started in MM3 as review. Don't be afraid to start below grade level. MM is written directly to the student, with step by step instruction. As a parent you do not need to be good at math to use it. You could also look at Khan Academy for supplementation.

Might join in :)

No, no don't think like that. MM is written for everyone, the strong and not so strong. A below to average math student should do well with the Light BLue Series. Don't rule out using it as your yearly curriculum.

Couldn't you discuss the books with her? My boys always get more about talking about a book, then doing work sheets. I try and be very enthusiastic, often fake but never obvious, with my questions. They always fall for it, and talk, and talk. Reading aloud together is also wonderful for comprehension. You can stop and discuss as you go.

I have seen some beautiful DIY jobs, I was just too lazy to do it that way. You definitely don't need to spend for it to be great!

We have the Classical Education Timeline Set from above. We also use Record of Time and print clip art from the net. We share, as we do the same time in history together.

I didn't want to the only one, and besides it's medicinal! *hiccup

We started well but didn't keep it up, so most of our books are unlabelled. All the ones we used for SOTW 1 have a happy face sticker. They are easy to spot!

For grammar I like JAG. At your sons age you could use AG. My boys have a really poor writing and grammar instructor too. But after a year with JAG my two older boys are correcting my writing!!

Maybe IEW? I know nothing about writing, teaching it or doing it, so IEW has been a god send. I used the DVDs so Andrew does all the teaching. He is funny and my boys love watching the him. I'm really impressed with it :)

We school year round. I don't keep track, and luckily here in Melbourne, Australia I am not required to. I am in the 'we just do the next thing' boat. We work on everything for a set time, always picking up where we finished last time. No real schedule or plan. I take mental health days when I need them, and some days we just take a day off cause we feel like it :) We never take more than three weeks off at a time, It's too hard to get back into school if we do. My boys even do math over Christmas! So, though we are relaxed and unscheduled, my boys still do a lot of school work, and are on track or ahead in most areas.