Purge / Kondo / Label (as already mentioned) Uhaul boxes are significantly sturdier than the Home depot boxes. Our local Uhaul also bought back our unused boxes. They also sell boxes for artwork, mattress covers, and dollies. Pack small fragile items into empty shoe boxes which then can be packed into larger boxes. Clean trash bags can also be used to pack bulky but light items like comforters, linens, towels, pillows, etc. or even as a temporary garment bag. Have a couple of large plastic storage bins with covers available. These can be used for odd shaped items and for need-first items (like box cutters and toilet paper). Create an excel spreadsheet with box IDs (e.g. K11 for kitchen box #11) and key contents (because sometimes it takes a while to unpack). (Mom, where are my cleats and shin guards?) We were on a very tight deadline to move out, so I set daily packing requirements for the family based on an estimate of the number of boxes. Good luck! HTH!

https://bim.easyaccessmaterials.com/ Hopefully this one works.

Have you seen this? https://bim.easyaccessmaterials.com/index.php?location_user=btsms It provides free access to Big Ideas Math 1-3 (student versions) and others. HTH

Thanks!

There is an option to not assign a due date (or to unassign a due date). As for whether it's worth jumping into, maybe do a mock trial (without the kids) to see if you like it. Deferring to others who have more experience ?

Farrar - Thank you for the info! DD really wants to do a graphic design course. Did your son use any of the Adobe Creative suites for his projects?

Buy international around-the-world tickets for the family (and book the stays) and THEN try to convince them to do it with me - lol ?

We started using Google classroom this year as part of an effort to go more paperless due to our international move. The girls now have their own laptops as well. The good: They actually like receiving email updates from Google classroom on new assignments or updates to assignments. They also like having the ebooks/ efiles and links embedded within the assignment. Google classroom also connects into CK12 which we use for science videos and pre-reads and connects into Common Lit. No more Mom, where's this file or link? From a time management standpoint, the best part is that the assignments can be viewed on their phone calendars so that they can see their daily commitments and activities all at the same time. They don't get to go to their sports practices and games until their schoolwork is done, so that keeps them highly motivated and responsible for their own time management. The cumbersome: I was trying to schedule assignments a month at a time so that they can plan out their own workloads. But it became very problematic when we wanted to go off on a bunny trail or if they need to do some extra assignments to master a concept. For example, I haven't figured out how to do a bulk change of due dates for their math assignments (which is very easily done on an excel worksheet). Right now, I need to click on each assignment, one at a time, to manually change the due date. This was extremely painful for a month of daily math assignments! To get around this, I started adding a flex day every 2 weeks (Fridays) so that if they do fall behind, I only need to change the due dates for a shorter period of time. On the upside, if they do finish as expected, we use the flex day for more reading, museum visits, and special projects. In addition, I've added a special projects week in between the semesters that we use for bunny trails and special projects (and for me to update my excel spreadsheet and update the plan for the next term - lol). HTH

This. I believe the study was also referenced in the book, How to Raise an Adult, by Julie Lythcott-Haims, the former Dean of Freshman at Stanford University. Her website contains a TED talk as well. https://www.julielythcotthaims.com/how-to-raise-an-adult/

Yes, it can get expensive. Shutterfly's quality is great, but the pricing can get a little high. Every month or so, they'll run a free additional pages promo, which saves a ton when it comes to the 60+ pager photobooks. The last time I did one, the extra pages (beyond the initial 20) were priced at $2.29 for a 12x12, which would have been prohibitively expensive for an 86 pager. The most recent promo just ended Oct 15th. If you're not in a rush, you can finish a photobook, wait for a promo to come through, and then check the pricing before biting the bullet. HTH

One of our favorite tapas is sausages with dried figs. https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/grilled-pork-sausages-with-spiced-figs-239842 The vinegar sauce is a little overwhelming when you cook it, but then it mellows out as you reduce it. We also love to make fig tarts (with almond cream) and fig flans (recipe from Williams and Sonoma).

Have you seen this? These look like fun labs. http://polymerambassadors.org/activities/

Thinking .... ELA: Saxon Grammar, Jump In, WWS, Prentice Hall Literature History: SOTW 4 Math: Lial Pre-algebra + either Lial Algebra or Discovering Geometry w/ Patty Paper Geometry Science: parts of CPO Life Science and CPO Physical Science with additional labs from Exploration Education (interest driven). Spanish: Destinos PE: Soccer, soccer, and more soccer Other: Coding/ robotics, baking, painting, reading, and volunteering.

:hurray: Good to hear! Please let us know how it goes!

One more to consider for biochemistry / chemistry: "Gourmet Lab: The Scientific Principles Behind Your Favorite Foods" also published by NSTA. https://www.nsta.org/store/product_detail.aspx?id=10.2505/9781936137084

For physics, how about "Take-Home Physics: 65 High-Impact Low-Cost Labs" published by NSTA? https://www.nsta.org/store/product_detail.aspx?id=10.2505/9781935155058. They also have an ebook available. For STEM, the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy has an online curriculum that looks interesting. http://education.rec.ri.cmu.edu/

Hello from Northern California! I’m a homeschooling mom of twin girls in 6th grade. We’re very thankful for all of the informative posts that have helped us get started along our journey…