We're doing This Country of Ours and The Story of Canada. They pair well together. For TCO, I use a guide from Mater Amabilis, which helps us discuss the way our history is told in a more modern way. It points out bias and offenses that may be present in the writing. It's a great way to discuss how things were perceived then and how we view them now.

I have no recollection of what I wrote; however, my "dream" to go to law school did not happen. I still regret that.

Veering away, what is the US to do with the influx of migrants? Chicago is now fining buses, so migrants are being dropped off in the suburbs. Chicago citizens are mad. And they are not of the elephant party. Our county is rural and is discussing a policy, if it even can. Friends, our local schools are failing. We have no hospital that is local as two recently shut down. What do we do? No, from a human standpoint, we don’t want people to die. I totally understand the desire to be here. We have always been the shining city on the hill, but are we even more? I read so many here not even wanting to live in America anymore. Would you take in a migrant family? Our home doesn’t have room for our family, let alone a stranger’s. Housing migrants in schools for bad weather… I don’t think we’re ready. One of our small towns already has homeless in the park. So, what should happen? Sorry, maybe this needs a new post. a human topic, not political.

Everything feels like a rich person’s game, but I get the impression the indoor stuff isn’t a requirement?

I guess I figured golf is competitive since it is a game, lol. But I guess people do go play by themselves? He is considering taking lessons and maybe doing a clinic, so I just wondered if you had a child who really got into it, what would it be like? When I look at the cost for youth to play, it doesn't shock me. I am looking locally. But these indoor things, they look pricey in my area. But I am finding far too often, there is no longer a happy medium with so many things. And honestly, I would love for him to be around other kids his age, but I don't want to put him in a toxic environment, either. Like him feeling left out because we don't do expensive indoor golf. I do find some things to be more prone to toxicity than others. For example, my son's tae kwon do---not toxic. Daughter's stuff---lots of great things, but it has many spoilers. I was thinking a little sports knowledge in general would be helpful, even professionally. My husband has a set of golf clubs but found the game very frustrating, but at least it is something he has actually played. My son's uncles and male cousins play, and I think that might make it good for him, too.

My 10 year old son got a putting green for Christmas. He's been having fun with it. I've always been interested in having him try this sport because I thought it might suit him. I've read it can be a great sport for kids on the spectrum. There is a somewhat reasonable golf course not too far away that offers lessons, has a kid course, etc. But I'd really love to know what it is like to have a kid who plays and competes in this sport. Nowadays, we have indoor golf facilities. The one nearby is more than playing real golf. Do the competitive kids spend time at these facilities? I've never been to one. Thus, is this one of those sports that claims to have a season but really is year-round? Do you ever feel emotionally and physically exhausted supporting your child in this sport? How is the culture? Do the costs never end? Will I ultimately end up miserable if this ends up being his thing? I kinda feel that way about my daughter's stuff. Joy has been sucked out. Kinda wanting to avoid any more of THAT.

I've read the scope and sequence for MUS varies from traditional curriculums. If we were to switch, I felt the pre-algebra would be too challenging for my son in our environment. He's rather go shovel 20 feet high snowdrifts than do school work, lol. Three years ago, I was planning our next school year at this time. Last year, I decided to wait. I am getting worried about next year. He will be in 7th grade. Part of me wants to return him to normal school. I feel I am running out of time to teach as the kids get older. We can read awesome history books and literature (which he loves), but when it comes to subjects that can give them good-paying careers, I am worried. We've been reading book 1 of the Learn Math Fast system. At least something mathy is getting done!

I live in rural Illinois, and I could totally understand those with a household net income of $100,000 living paycheck to paycheck. Though we are self-employed, our health insurance alone is over $3,000 per month. Braces for the 2-year plan cost us $215, and it would've been more if we did those in two phases for one kid. Yes, I believe most people live paycheck to paycheck. I am blessed, and honestly, I wonder how so many do it, actually.

Botox (or Dysport) and fillers. I get a little Dysport but not fillers. I could probably use more, but I only get it in my worse sport where I have a horizontal line between my eyes. I also use PCA brand skincare products—ex linea tightens the skin. Nothing is a miracle but can help. The bad thing about needles in the face is it is expensive, snd it’s another appointment often… congratulations on your weight loss. We do lose collagen as we age. I’m curious about home micro needling!

I know. 😞 We certainly do not want it to have a prison feel, but I am not sure what can realistically be done to protect them anymore. I feel they are very much unprotected---I still feel like these shootings could have been prevented with interventions with these individuals. Have any mass shootings occurred in any inner-city school? It's sad when logistics can't justify keeping kids safe. 😞

This story really hasn't gotten much coverage. I saw pictures of the poor little boy who was shot 3 times. The school shooter had a lot of problems. He was going through things with his sexual and gender identity, visiting voyeur groups. He made strange videos, acting out the TX Chainsaw massacre and Jeffrey Dahmer. Did anyone see some of the videos of him with his friends? It looked like they were all alone, not an environment with adults present; that was just my impression--I haven't read much about his familial circumstances. He was bullied relentlessly, and the bullies involved his sister. I don't think anyone deserved to die or get hurt. Many people are bullied and don't do that, but these days, bullying does not stop when you leave school. Once again, there were obvious signs. Things were not right in his life. I'd say too many adults failed him. Why aren't we stopping guns from getting into schools, at the very least? Would it just take too long for the kids to get into the buildings? Too expensive? We've got money for a lot of things. Schools are soft targets, and they are also places where kids can either thrive or places where some kids get lost, become depressed, and get mistreated. My daughter told me she never wants to go to a school again. Yeah, I told her what happened. It's scary, but it is our reality.

How good is this series? I loved watching Downton Abbey after it was complete.

@Malam and @Teach05 thank you! I read about Denison after "Learn Math Fast." I decided to buy the Learn Math Fast books. I know curriculum isn't the main issue, but I don't think I want to fiddle around with MM right now. Math-u-see intrigued me, too. And I am going to keep that as an option in the future, too. The LMF books had a set from basic 3rd grade to pre-algebra. I know it isn't in-depth, but we're going to see if this is just a little more helpful for right now.

Thank you all so much for weighing in. The other day he asked for some information from me, so it caused me to wonder if he was doing things on the straight and narrow after all. But I do believe he was dishonest with my aunt, so it is hard to know. My father did not have a will but did communicate with me about my brother and I being beneficiaries and to split whatever there was; also, he did not have life insurance.

Good thoughts. lol I don't really want to discuss pornography, and I do think it is part of this curriculum. I feel like it'd be a vast surprise to them. And if it is here, they can easily grab the book and read it. I realize kids come across images rather easily these days, but I don't think my kids know the extent of it. I dunno. I just feel they should learn about their bodies and upcoming changes.

I come from a dysfunctional family, and my parents divorced quite some time ago. My father just passed away, and he left very little. I'm estimating $20,000 in cash and $20,000 in stock plus a small checking account for daily life. When my father died, my brother and his wife took his computer and was able to access it all. My father told me my brother and I were beneficiaries on his accounts. It was my brother's idea to have a visitation with viewing, and he told me it was about $9800. I never saw a bill, but he signed his name to the contract. I never said I didn't want a viewing, which did increase the price, but in my mind I knew I couldn't say anything if my brother felt it was important to see my dad again. Anyway, my husband and I are not rich with four kids, but we are comfortable. My brother is married, and though I know they are not well off, I thought they were getting by. My brother said our dad had enough in his accounts to cover the funeral. My well-off aunt and her husband ended up sending my brother a $10,000 check to cover the costs. A few days after the funeral, my brother told me they used the money to catch up on car payments, etc. He said money was coming into his business to replace it. Then the story changed. He was then going to use my dad's money to pay the funeral home. He said he had 30 days. Well, that date has passed. And he recently told me he "did nothing" yet with anything. So...if you're following me...if he has done nothing with the accounts, then the funeral home hasn't been paid. I really wanted to pay my aunt half of it back from my dad's money, but I'm growing skeptical. Could my brother be using my dad's accounts since he has access and whatnot? I've not told my aunt anything. I haven't gotten a death certificate. I'm afraid to cause a problem if things are getting taken care of... Now my dad had an apartment and should have gotten a security deposit back. Where is that money? My brother pulled money out of my dad's checking somehow to make sure no more payments could come out of that after death---not sure where that is. I'm guessing I won't see a penny of that money. My husband and I are okay with that. My husband just wants to make sure we aren't paying twice on a funeral between my aunt and us. My aunt and uncle said they didn't want to be repaid. I suppose we could go into our own funds and pay her back. My dad's mom is still alive, too, and both she and my aunt couldn't come due to their health---but they didn't think it was wise to spend this money and said my dad wouldn't have wanted that. I know my brother struggles in life, and sometimes I feel sorry for him. He had cancer, which I'm sure didn't help their finances when he couldn't work, but I'm just wondering what I should do at this point. Nothing?

Thank you all. Yes, it seems I am going to need to prioritize this situation. He charms us by reading a lot and avoiding math lately... I'll look forward to a fresh start after our break. My husband has been very hands off this year. He tried to help my daughter with her Singapore Math, and he couldn't do it. So I think he's put me in charge, though he does make it clear privileges will be taken away if school work isn't complete.

See, I am not a Biblical scholar, so when I come across materials, I don't always know exactly what they mean. We are raising them as Christian and prefer a wholesome approach. But certain topics in a curriculum would concern me. I think they should learn about the human body and their develpment. I don't really want to talk about abortion and porn. Maybe that makes me bad, lol. That wasn't part of my sex ed.

@HomeAgain I would read it more closely before purchasing. For me, it seems like a lot, especially a section on pornography, as in maybe they are too young. I find it hard to "skip" things when materials are within arm's reach. I also feel abortion is an older person's topic, and I kept finding logic courses with it as a topic. If you tell a child abortion kills a baby, the child will think it is wrong. But we know it is far more nuanced than that. Maybe I'll take a look at NOEO because I also feel it is time for a round of human anatomy again. I just get really queasy reading about body parts (a career in medicine was never for me).

Has anyone looked at this, and what are your thoughts? My oldest turned 12 today, and I feel he could use a course on this. I'm not 1000% excited to teach this, lol, but I know some have used this unit study for children of all ages.

Thank you all. I think I am really bothered by the idea of not finishing a curriculum this year. I've actually tried a timer, and it still didn't get done. I could go to something more traditional. I think I bought Rod & Staff 2nd grade, and I did feel like it had a lot of work. I'm still going to brainstorm here. Or we just plug along with MM.

Not as of yet. And I hate to get mean about it. But I know he needs to finish some kind of curriculum this year. MM does say doing all the problems isn’t necessary, but I don’t know how to pick and choose. They are all so different from each other so far.

I think it’s more won’t than can’t. But I do think it’s more conceptual than what he has been used to— and maybe it’s a bit overwhelming.

Update: Math Mammoth is going worse than Mr. D Pre-Algebra. His output is almost nil. We've had the curriculum since November 8th, and he completed Chapter 1 only, which is a review of 5th grade math. I have to be honest, I can manage to go over the instructions and examples with him, but I do need for him to be able to do problems and work on his own a bit, too. I don't mind helping, of course, but it is frustrating when I know he knows how to do something and just...doesn't. He will sit at his desk with the book open and do nothing. With four kids, though (and one likely on the spectrum who does need me at his side a good chunk of the time), it's going to be a struggle for me to sit with him for every.single.problem. He's reading a lot, and he is now writing a lot since we implemented an imitation in writing program. So really, the problem is just math output. I think it's safe to say we won't get through Math Mammoth grade 6 this year. Maybe this format is not great for him, either. I don't know. What would you do with a student who isn't motivated in math at this point but needed the bare minimum basics covered?

The government pays I believe. My father battled for his health for several years. He did leave some money and had a premium. Haven't quite figured it all out yet, but he didn't leave much. He and my mother were long divorced. My mother will be in this scenario--worse off than my father because she doesn't really have relationships with us. I have never heard of responsibility laws. I need to research this---we are estranged. I sometimes wonder if she dies how that will be handled; I am not going to spend thousands of dollars on a simple cremation. My brother talks to her more, and I know he and his wife have very tight finances. Ugh.