You could always post an ISO (In search of) ad here and on homeschoolclassifieds.com to help you find the books. Also check archive.org if you're ok with electronic copies of books. I really like thriftbooks.com for used books. Powells.com always has superb quality for used books. And bookfinder.com may make your searching a little easier.

Ok - so what if we take the teenager factor out of the equation? How would one structure a plan to teach a student good elocution, especially in a homeschool environment?

How do you get your teenager to read aloud well? This kid is a fluent reader and has been for a long time. Back in the day, he read aloud with great inflection and expression. Now I get monotone mumbling. grrrr. (Lots of mumbling in regular conversation too.) Mandatory reading-aloud to siblings of a book of his choosing doesn’t work. Explicit instruction produces a slight change for just the duration of the session. Reading aloud to little kids for a grade from an outside teacher didn’t even work. What can I do to get him to read aloud well?!?!? I’m desperate enough to consider bribery, if you’ve got such a scheme. The kid enjoys podcasts and audiobooks, so he knows what good storytelling and read-alouds sound like. (And I think I’m a decent read-alouder.) Is it just puberty? Will his read-aloud skills return after puberty? Is it just attitude/boredom?

Oh man. **Now** you post this! i just tried planning our first term using notion.so which looks similar. It’s our first week trying to implement it. I’m putting blinders on now ......*peek*

I'm trying it this year, so I can't really help you. @SusanC has used it, IIRC. Maybe she'll chime in. When researching it, I found several posts generally in favor of the program. Perhaps they were on the high school board?!?

Mystery Science is definitely easier to implement - which is why we used it consistently compared to the year I (half--heartedly) tried BFSU. Another difference between the two to consider is that Mystery Science always presents their lessons in the context of a story/problem which I think is an excellent teaching technique that aids in retention. I'm sure you could also do that with BFSU, but it would require a lot more of your brainpower. 🙂 I was never prepared enough to have a pile of books on hand ahead of time, so I can't really help you there.

I used this website: https://resizeimage.net If I recall correctly, to get the small image size, I (a) reduced image size and (b) optimized the image using both controls .... but I probably started with a file greater than 590 KB.

@whitehawk Any updates on your decision now that it's been a while?

Resurrecting an old thread to mention that the 5th book in the series is being written right now with the hopes of having it published in the next year. I heard this news from this youtube interview with the author.

On the other hand, maybe it's not you ........ MacBooks *are* known to have keyboard issues.

I think Mystery Science by itself is more than enough for first grade science. However my standards for first grade are admittedly low by this point in my homeschooling career. And while I never intentionally and purposefully supplemented at that age, our typical media diet (books and videos) is often science-related just because it interests us.

For the milk for Walmart pick-up, do a generic search for milk (rather than ordering from Favorites). The item I had “favorited” was always out of stock but they had another listing for the exact same item that has been consistently available now. Also see if 1/2 gallons are available and/or cheaper than gallons.

Tell your DH that he's got this and that he can always turn to the hive for help! 🙂

🤣 This is true in our household too. You are very wise, friend!!! 😁

I had forgotten about your role reversal! You'll have to give us an update on how it's going/went! Best of luck to all of you!

I'm sorry to hear that both of you are in a stressful season! I hope that you find your new normal quickly and without much heartache. ❤️ Don't be afraid to vent or ask for advice here on the boards!

What, if any, changes are you making to your school plans due to your spouse working from home? For example, I'm pondering if we should ditch the plan to study the Ancients for history and instead spend the year doing a Guest Hollow's Geography program and incorporating Dad into it more because it's a topic that he'd enjoy. I'm also thinking about making Morning Time more consistent and scheduling it at a time convenient for Dad to attend. Anybody else chewing over this?

Saint Louis? It has a botanical center and free zoo. north Georgia? (Ive never been there) find another boardie to swap houses?!?

Have you tried wearing her on your back with a baby or toddler carrier? If she’s not used to it, it might take some time to work up to being in a carrier for X minutes. Could you do the K work orally while on a walk with the girl in a stroller? Is she past the put-everything-in-her-mouth stage? Assuming so, we enjoyed Kinetic Sand and water beads. I also second the WaterWow books by Melissa and Doug. Pipe cleaners to shape into whatever. You could string pony beads onto the pipe cleaners ... or onto spaghetti stuck into a playdough base. Stickers. Shaving cream on a tray or in a ziploc baggie. Sometimes just tearing paper bought us a crazy amount of time. Or taping paper together. Don’t be afraid to do school in the bathroom so that you can put her in a bathtub to do messy activities. Do you think it’s impossible to train her to stay on a blanket with toys/book? Start with 1 min and then work to increase the duration. Could you do school with your son on the weekends thus leaving the work week to accomplish 3 days of school work? Could she sit on your lap and listen to an audiobook or watch a book on a tablet (YouTube or Tumblebooks) while you teach your son? It’s challenging for sure! And I think it’s wise to ask experienced moms for advice. (Pinterest also has tons of ideas.) But I’m sure you’ll figure out what works for your situation. Hopefully some of the ideas in this thread can get you to your solution quickly! ETA: Sarah Mackenzie of Read Aloud Revival suggests (IIRC) popsicles as a time-consuming food for littles to eat/stay occupied.

There was a recent thread that you might find helpful:

Yes. You speak truth.

Yes!!!!! This!

Free to print booklets: I see Sam books progressive phonics Don Potter has created small readers within his Blend Phonics materials books to buy: Not exactly what you’re asking for but ... The pyramids inside Reading Pathways The Phonics Comics series silly sally Mo Willem’s books, especially the Cat the Cat series. Sometime Elephant and Piggie books will work too.

I also used other resources from ElizabethB and don potter; There was one (Webster’s Speller?) that had bigger words already divided into syllables and grouped by where the accented syllable fell. (maybe the polysyllables book would do all this. I was procrastinating on buying that book, but that was my next thing to try.)

The phonics videos or Syllables Spell Success videos from ElizabethB. thephonicspage.org