OP I think we live somewhat near you. Our power was out from about 9pm to 8am. We ended up reading books by candlelight/fireplace until 11pm and then camping by the fire... my son loved it 🙂 Thankfully my parents are doing "Christmas Eve" dinner tomorrow and I don't have to bring anything. Actually picking up our last present tomorrow from a local bike shop. We went a little crazy on gifts this year, but usually we can't so.... I'm baking some cookies for DH now and then I still need to figure out what we're eating Christmas day and do any last minute shopping for that. Sorry you're not feeling well! Meaningful gifts are hard to do last minute much less when you're not feeling well. We usually stick to wish lists unless I've managed to keep some sort of idea list going during the year, which I try to keep updated, some years better than others.

Praying for the Bauers!

Love all the photos, here’s ours. I like traditional colors. So lots of red, straw ornaments and some kid made and travel reminders. We had a small white one with colored lights for a couple years for my son which he loved but we got rid of it when we thought we were moving. May try to get one next year.

We'll have traditional Swedish fare on the 22nd at my parent's because my brother works on Christmas Eve. ... Ham, Jansson's Temptation (type of scalloped potatoes), apple and beet salad, red cabbage dish, pickled herring, potatoes, dark brown bread dipped in drippings (to remind us of lean times). cookies, rice porridge and rice a la malta which is like a rice pudding, non alcoholic Glogg. Christmas Day Cinnamon Rolls for Breakfast. Then I'm going to roast a leg of lamb and haven't decided on sides. My brother in law always makes tomatoe soup and over the top grilled cheese Christmas day... lots of cheese, ham, and any other topping you might like. We like it when they come over but my husband can't have dairy so that's out.

My son actually likes the activity sheets but the fluency sheets can be overwhelming. I suppose it depends on how quickly your son is catching on. For a long time I would transcribe the fluency sheets to a white board and that went over much better. Also cutting up the sheets and feeding them to the monster helped. You can certainly change things up! And if he's catching on much more quickly you probably don't need as much review.

My son participated in a class that was about farm animals which he really enjoyed. I never sat in but it seemed like they just picked a different animal each week... learned a bit about them, read a picture book that included said animal, did a craft and maybe a game or activity too. For cows.... they made butter from cream i think they did chickens, pigs, sheep....

Thanks for the input everyone! I think MiF may be a better fit but now I just saw that Singapore has come out with Dimensions so am considering that too ? 8filltheheart I think you are right in that a lot of math success has to do with natural ability, I did abeka math through 3rd grade but "naturally" picked up a lot of the regrouping to make 10 type stuff just by noticing it made it easier... my husband on the other hand did horribly with traditional math and is learning even now with my son with RightStart and I wonder if it would have made his non-mathy brain be able to use it a bit more easily. ?‍♂️

I realize these come in at opposite sides of the cost spectrum but as far as other factors how do you think they compare? My son has been struggling through RS B - hates the games, dislikes the abacus, it takes us forever to get through a lesson and I'm just tired of the struggle. We also picked up Horizon 1 which he likes better and is doing fine with... we end up crossing out quite a bit of the review but I do like that there is review and he likes the layout/colors, etc ... but I would prefer something more "asian". Thoughts?

Had to look a while for this thread... We're "continuing" with 1st grade this year. I decided to keep ds in 1st instead of moving on as he's a summer baby and if I ever have to put him in public school I would rather he be an older student and he is definitely not on par with the other 2nd graders we know. He is free to accelerate in high school, do early enrollment, whatever... nothing is set in stone. Math: still working slogging through RS B and Horizon 1 but seriously want something different, he hates the games in RS and I want something more conceptual than Horizon..., also Mind Benders - which he likes. Reading: AAR 1 - just a few lessons away from finishing, looking forward to AAR 2 , Teach Your Monster to Read Writing: MP Copybook Two and New American Cursive (may switch to Simply Charlotte Mason Cursive... we'll see in a few weeks) Hx/Geography/Lit: Self designed Continents/Countries study with literature, missionary stories, art & crafts, pretend play tied in Lit cont: Parables from Nature and Fairy Tales, plus a few other books that didn't fit into the above list. Bible: Finish Jesus Storybook Bible for 2nd time, then VOS Story Bible with Bible Timeline, also What's in the Bible Videos Science: BFSU 1 - planning on making it another 3rd of the way through and finishing next year, also lots of PMK, PBS, and Wild Kratts, plus units on: Babies, Safety - Fire, Personal, Bike, Earthquake Languages: Swedish, Song School Latin Other fun stuff: Dot to Dots, Mazes, Memory work (Bible, Poetry, Science), Character Study, listen to Hymns, listen to several children's symphonies, look at art, read lots of poetry out loud, swim with the family 2 nights a week, play outside with friends rain or shine, hiking, some nature study, braiding, sewing by hand, knitting with needles this year, games, puzzles, field trips, maybe even a move overseas! Then I'll have to rethink a whole lot of this ?

I attended 3rd grade in Sweden and knew very little going in (similar to your son) ... I did not complete the year (probably about 6 months) and learned a ton, did fine, really enjoyed it. - My parents did not try to have me "keep up" on English although we did speak English at home. The only Swedish instruction I had after that was being part of a "book club" that sent me a book in Swedish every month that I thoroughly enjoyed reading and would sometimes need some help with words from my dad (native speaker). I then returned for 7th grade and again did fine. (also did not subsidize with English that year). Managed 8th grade middle school in USA just fine the following year and went on to AP classes in high school etc. I think it may be too confusing to keep up learning reading for him in English at the same time. I would let him focus on one or the other... when he learns to read English is going to have very little impact on his reading in the long run. If you do decide to continue with English reading I would take it at the speed he can handle without pushing.

I have been an expat and looking at going back in a few months. We get to come back to the USA at least once a year though so I don't feel a huge pressure to bring *all* the books. In fact I'm going to go through them with my 7 yo and pick out our favorites and also have a real plan for the chapter books we will be reading... so not bringing much extra. You may find if you start reading a chapter book at night that you don't go through as many picture books... right now we're reading a chapter and then 2 picture books and that takes about the same amount of time. You can also ask family/friends to send new ones for gifts, etc if you find you are getting bored with the ones you have. (I'm assuming these picture books are on top of what you have planned to read aloud for school....) But either way, yes! it's a worthwhile investment.

I bought this play passport on amazon... more than I wanted to spend but still cheaper than the kits, I'm planning on just picking up go along books at the library and am going to make a trip to Cost Plus World Market to pick up some foods and maybe a few "souvenirs" depending on cost. Otherwise just looking up a craft and making a recipe from that country will go a long way with us. My son is young enough that he'll enjoy setting up an "airplane" and flying to the country as well... but I'm not super creative so probably won't decorate a whole lot or anything. I'll try to find a decent video for each country as well. - I've heard others recommend getting travel guides for countries as well or photo books from the library. And just off the top of my head... I know that states do this so I would imagine that countries have some sort of tourist bureau that you could request a tourist package from... might get some interesting things that way!

We have been enjoying the "What's in the Bible with Buck Denver" videos. https://whatsinthebible.com/ You can get some coloring pages etc on their website to go with each episode. We've been watching each episode a couple times because they're so packed with info. If your church has access to Right Now Media, they are available there too. I'm planning on using CAP God's Great Covenant books in a couple years.

I ended up just liking prefolds and flats with covers (both pul and wool) because I didn't have to worry about special washing and getting stink out, Green Mountain Diapers was my go to seller. For all in one's Bum Genius Cotton and Blueberry but they are Expensive! At some point I ended up with some hemp doublers too which were great. As he got older I got these which are so helpful to just let the poop drop into the toilet, ha. The Grovia Diaper stick was all I ever used and never had any diaper rash... but I was pretty conscientious about changing in a timely manner. Seriously, just being able to wash on hot with no worries helped my stress levels.

For Eastern Europe missionary how about Brother Andrew "God's Smuggler"

I would be interested in 1

Congratulations!!! ?‍?

M: Mongolian Beef and Asparagus T: Charro Beans with toppings (cilantro, green onion, avo, sour cream) W: Leftovers R: Chk Avo Burritos F: Baked Fish with Lemon Cream Sauce

I would suggest combining at least two if not all 3 into one Sonlight core.

If you are a christian these books might be helpful... if not... ignore ? Teaching From Rest and this sounds similar to the book you've heard of Things We Wish We'd Known (it's a bit older but I think there's a lot of wisdom shared)

I just wanted to add that since you'll be homeschooling you can really move at his pace. I would stick to a routine... after breakfast, bible time, getting ready and chore... we do table work first since that is the least "enjoyable" ... so math, reading and writing then if I have time I move on to read alouds, history, science or whatever I have planned for that day. And honestly at 7 yrs, you don't need to do history and all the other stuff. (Not sure what "all" you are trying to fit in) You may have to implement a rule of no screen time until a certain time of day... we don't do any screen time until after dinner and then it's limited to 30 min, on weekends I'm a bit more flexible but still limit the time. My almost 7 year old is also very active, I try to incorporate a few runs around the house, getting a break to do 5 flips, etc into our table work time if I see him getting too whiny or antsy. Also limiting each subject to a certain amount of time helps, even if we don't "finish" the lesson.

I have a rotating schedule and when I have time I just do the next thing. It goes - Master Bath, 2nd Bath, Dust, Vacuum and Mop, Kitchen (and often I'll only get to one of these a week, but then I move on to then next one). However, and this is a BIG however, we don't have a lot of stuff, so it's much easier to let things go for a little longer then. We do keep things picked up by all pitching in several times a day. My one big daily thing I do every night is run the dishwasher and wash anything that can't go in there. Then I and my kiddo put the dishes away in the morning while waiting for coffee to brew (he does the utensils after he's eaten). I read "How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind" by White last year and thought it was really good... I'm not quite in your boat but think it could be an encouragement to you! Edited to add: you asked about periodic like washing sheets... I have to put that in my planner, I do laundry on Tues and Friday, on Tuesdays I do one rooms sheets (this means each bed only gets done every 3 weeks but that's good enough for me ? )

Vegan Cream of Asparagus Soup (since my hubby can't have dairy) and add a squeeze of lemon juice or sour cream otherwise a not so "healthy" version Roasted asparagus is good too, mix about 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp apricot jam, 1 tbsp oil, mix with trimmed asparagus - roast at 400 until tender. Red Lentil Veg Soup ... I throw in whatever veggies I have on hand or are on sale

I have BFSU and while I think it gives a good foundation I do not think it is easy to put together a lesson and has been kind of a pain in my rear... but I will finish it because I'm just like that. If you really just want a book of experiments I think the "Kitchen Science Lab for Kids" by Heinecke is fun. We've done a few experiments from that... like sugar crystals and just picked up a library book whenever I got around to it... that sounds like it might be more up your alley. (I also have her "Outdoor Science" book but was not quite as impressed with it).

Atypical. I do put some pressure on my own kiddo though too... if his friend is encouraging him to do something he's not supposed to I coach him to stand up for himself and say "no" (we'll role play) or explain why and if the other child continues he is supposed to come to me. This week I specifically told him and a friend to not do something and came outside to find them doing it. My ds was put in time out and the other kid left our yard of his own accord, I'm really trying to train my own child to stick up for himself and do what's right no matter the pressure. I also would have no problem talking to a little friend about house rules once at this age, then if they do it anyway stating something like "you are not following our house rules so DS can't play with you any longer today, if you'd like to come another day we can try again."