I read that he was upset because he was waiting to be in a relationship and wanted his first kiss to be special. If this was a male judge and a female contestant there would be an uproar. Not cool Katy Perry. Not cool.

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They are so young that if you want to homeschool again you can probably talk it up so much they will want to do it and think it is their idea. Get excited about field trips, plan a not back to school pool party in the fall. Find something exciting they want to learn about and do a fun unit study. They will be fine. Just convince them they want to homeschool. I pulled my daughter out of kindy and my son out of preschool around this time of year when they were young. I just made it all sound fabulous. And it was! Make sure to get names and numbers of any new friends so you can assure them you can still do a play date. Set some up in the summer so they realize they can still see friends when not in school.

I have a NT although slightly reluctant 6th grade boy. We are using History Odyssey level 2 for history, geography, literature. It has timelines, map work, literature and written outlines and written summaries. I find it a bit dry but my kids both seem to like it ok. No grumbling or anything and it covers a lot of subjects. I add in other language arts (Sequential Spelling and Easy Grammar and various vocabulary supplements). I haven't added a writing program because he is writing quite a few outlines and summaries for history and he is a reluctant writer. These programs are working well. For math I have used Math Mammoth but just recently switched to Lials Basic College Math textbook. It is a review of all basic grade school math. I like Math Mammoth but sometimes it can be overwhelming. It covers so much and comes at things so many different ways. Lial's is more straight forward- do the algorithm,old school kind of textbook math. Honestly after years of conceptual mastery math it is kind of a breath of fresh air and a solid review. For science we do interest led with books and documentaries and the occasional project if my kid wants to do the work. Science is my most relaxed subject. No foreign language for us yet. Lots of extracurriculars and supplements but those are his basics.

I am dreading helping my mom this weekend. It has been a year and a half and she is ready to go through and donate my dad's clothes. We also have to go through his work van which is so personal and such a huge part of his life. I know she needs the help and support but it's going to be so hard. I miss him so much and some times it just hits you like a sucker punch out of nowhere.

Double post

I have not run into this with our group. I supervise a lot of our teen activities and all the kids get along pretty well. Sounds like this group of kids needs a lot more parent supervision. If my daughter was a target I would either find another group or be the one doing the supervising. The flashlight thing and being restrained is completely unacceptable to me.

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We used this model for a year or so when the kids were younger. I find I like a more natural pace of taking a break when it feels like time for a break. It was too rigid for me and eliminated one of the major advantages of homeschooling for my family. Which was that I could set our own schedule anyway I liked and take a break when I wanted one! It may have brought out a bit of my inner rebel. 😃 As the kids got older and we did more structured evening activities our calendar became more like a traditional school year. Most activities around here break when public school breaks. It just doesn't feel like much of a recharge or a break if I am still having to drive everyone to dance, scouts, co-op, etc..Nor is there as much time for major cleaning projects with all those interruptions. I have seen the 6 week on/1 week off model work well for larger families and more structured families though. It just didn't work for us.

Not love at first sight here!

I have been relaxed and interest led in science through the middle school years, with library books and documentaries. If they were willing to set up and perform an experiment or a project themselves I would get supplies. They picked which topics to learn about each year. Science has been much more relaxing in middle school and I haven't been making myself crazy or feeling guilty about not doing lots of science experiments and demonstrations. Adding in one larger science project each year or entering a science fair is fun for these middle years. We did do a lot of fun field trips that were related to their science interests as well. My kids picked topics on ecology, geology, physics, astronomy, and chemistry. I figured science was about to get pretty formal for high school and fairly prescribed for us (we plan to do the usual biology, chemistry, physics via textbook for high school) so we kept it more informal in middle school.

No but it is on my watch list!

Mon leftovers, fend for yourself day! Tuesday Vegan chili & Cornbread Wed Roasted potatoes and vegetables Thur Fried rice and vegetables Fri Eat at mother in laws Sat shrimp, rice, and vegetables Sunday- I haven't decided yet- but maybe Lentil Shephards pie now!

I liked Elizabeth but I am enjoying the Victoria show even more!

Did you ever try sheep or goats milk products? Were you able to tolerate those any better?

I am attempting a vegan version of spaghetti with meat sauce using TVP. The children have not been informed. Results to be determined :)

Well I love shopping and can't wait for the day my daughter asks me to take her prom dress shopping. But she dislikes dresses and skirts and chooses only to go to casual homeschool socials where she can wear jeans. I couldn't even talk her into going to the semi formal. I thought we would have a fun day shopping and doing nails and hair etc... I am starting to realize if she ever makes it to a prom it will possibly be in a girls pants suit and some chucks. Sigh...

I just ask for help when I need it and my kids help. The only 'formal' chores are that you put your own clothes away and one walks the dog and the other unloads the dishes most days. But they usually do their own laundry, and there is no hesitation when I ask for help with sweeping, dishes, laundry, setting the table, taking out the trash,etc.. Everyone just pitches in and helps with a fairly good attitude. I also have no problem occasionally throwing their laundry in or walking the dog while someone sleeps in, etc.. My husband works a lot, but is also quick to help with anything anyone needs and pitches in all the time. I am actually not sure I can even claim responsibility for training them. I think they might just be great kids. I never did much in the way of chore charts, etc. But I did talk about what it means to be a family and I made it clear I can't do it all myself. And I think my husband and I led by example, and we always helped them too. It's just part of being a family to us.

I am just going to have to take your word on that, lol..

I had never heard of this stuff but after looking it up- umm...no thank you.

It does get easier as they get older. I have a social butterfly invited to everything and it would hurt her brothers feelings so much when they were little when he wasn't invited (they are close in age). I worried about him so much when that happened. We feel what they feel so I sympathize with you. I have often found myself on the other side of the coin as well, with a kid that can easily invite 30-40 friends and I just can't do that every year. This year she had to choose 3 girls to sleep over and it was so hard for her. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings but the four of us live in an 800 square foot house so 4 teen girls was plenty for the night. So many things to consider. Sometimes I wish I had never started friend parties and just done family parties. But that was all I had as a kid and I was always jealous of the girls with their skate parties, etc. You can't win. Hang in there!

Have you tried a different mouse to see if you experience the same issue?

My husband is asking for blondies for his birthday and I have never made them before. I thought I would check here to see if someone has a favorite recipe before I scour the internet and read reviews all night!

This is a timely post because my 14 year old just started asking about a phone. We have done a dumb phone for activities for the last couple of years. I asked her about social media but she said she is not interested in that right now. I don't think any of her home school friends are on any SM yet. I think she mostly wants to text and listen to music. She is always swiping our phones to walk around with headphones in. Part of me worries about the change but I just really feel these few teen years she has at home are for learning how to fly while I am still in the cockpit. I dislike the idea of waiting until she is 18 and then everything hitting at once. I have seen quite a few 'homeschoolers gone wild' when they turn 18 around here. There are a lot of very strict families in our circle and I am not seeing great results from all that cracking down and control honestly. I have decided to take a different approach and trust my kid and give guidelines and rules and pray. Lots of praying. And talk with my kid about all of it. Lots of talking. Reading this thread may be making my anxiety worse now though. No one wants to make the wrong decisions for our children. But there was no manual on this stuff. And they live in such a different world. I think we are just going to have to navigate it together as a family and hope for the best.

I would be interested