Such a great point! Sometimes I think we have to do all the things to make it stick. I do grade things, but I stopped keeping a report card per se.

So in our "covid prep" should we have an air purifier? We live in a 1700 square foot house. There are six of us, three boys in a bedroom and one girl in her own. It would be extremely hard for anyone to quarantine in a single bedroom, not without me having to make a trip in or whatnot. So should I get an air purifier? Can that reduce a "viral load" should someone pass it on, to help? Does anyone have any suggestions?

Round two of having appointments and anxiety over getting the three older kids vaccinated. A temporary risk might be when my in-laws return home from the hospital and (he) staying in a hotel by the hospital. An ongoing risk is my daughter's dance class (10 masked and distanced girls, screened prior to building entry). So of course I see now the vax offering omicron protection will be available in March. So if we go through with this, they get the old version. I guess I could pull my daughter from dance and wait this out, even though I do fear one quick little outing could land us with Omicron anyway. Honestly, I feel like my kids are the last ones constantly missing out on their extracurriculars because of my fear/anxiety. 😞 Nobody else seems to be skipping stuff.

I'm so very sorry. Now because of someone else's "freedom," you will be unable to care for others. I pray your turnaround will be fast. Please rest and get well!

Gone too soon. 😞 Another star gone from the sitcoms I used to watch as a child...so sad. 😞

I wish it wasn't so divisive. Some people really don't know how to pick their battles! I got laughed at when I got my first vaccine, and I am sure this same person would think it was insane I'd even be considering vaccinating our children. I, too, am grateful to be able to homeschool. I do think about shipping off our oldest to school, but with omicron, I am afraid they'll eventually send him right back home to me, lol. I really think kids' attitudes have a lot to do with their parents' attitudes.

Oh that could very well be. I remembered reading it in some article about children and vaccines, but it is good to see that number increasing. I've seen a lot of apolitical people in this area become more political over their "causes." They hate that their kids have to wear masks at school, but I am sure their kids would have a better attitude if they knew why. I really cannot get over this disregard for others, not just with a refusal to vaccinate, but with every layer of trying to help out during all of this.

I felt like we could have done many things as just read and enjoy, but then I started to question myself and if they would get the max benefit out of the "class." Last year we didn't have Classical, Christian, or Latin studies. So it does feel like there is a lot more this year. My son is doing First Form Latin this year in 4th. He is literally just doing it and not memorizing, which I was warned not to do... At this point, I am thinking we might choose a less intense Latin or some other foreign language to keep up with it, but I just don't think he has the maturity to memorize everything in the 4th grade. And it is scheduled for accelerated 4th or regular 5th in MP. I do not see his maturity level changing that much next year, lol. No shame in shelving Latin in my opinion anymore!

I think less could be more, too. They will be Kinder, 2nd, 4th, and 5th next year. Each individual piece seems important and necessary, but I sometimes wonder the benefit. I think I fell into the trap when purchasing all of our MP materials that they had to have certain things, or they'd be missing out. I honestly do not see the benefit of them doing cursive copywork, for example. They're doing: Latin, States/Capitals Geography, English Grammar Recitation, Writing and Rhetoric, Copybook for Christian Studies, Christian Studies, Greek Myths, Literature Studies, History Read Alouds (when we have time), Spelling, and Astronomy. I'm pretty sure I forgot something, lol. Each of those has student guides with vocab, comprehension, etc. I am not going to buy ALL the things next year, nope! lol

That's what I have heard, too. But I hear about the long covid and mis-c that can come from suspected asymptomatic cases or known mild cases, and I worry. 😞

Yes, the misinformation is hard. People cast doubts into society. I always had slight concerns my kids would have reactions to regular vaccines most kids get, but never have I experienced such extreme anxiety over the decision. It does help to see other areas have greater rates and better results. I just live in a poorly-educated community that actually voted for the public school to be mask-optional before the governor mandated masks again.

I have just felt so panicky and have extreme anxiety over this decision. Honestly, this board is the only group of people I know vaccinating their kids, with my SIL being an exception with their 10 year old and teens. I hate that this is a multi-step process, but as I've read here, at least one dose offers a little bit of protection, too. Stinks we are going through this with our kiddos when some adults won't....and they can't even be bothered to take precautions during surges let alone this whole pandemic.

Oh my goodness, that must have been so frightening. That is so scary. I told my husband that was a great fear of mine. Sorry you went through that. 😞

Oh I am sorry, my husband is vaccinated, but it doesn't seem like he will get the booster shot. I could be wrong. His second dose was at the end of September. He works from home this time of the year, and the kids are homeschooled. My worry is that his parents will bring it home from her hospital stay or that my daughter will pick it up in her dance class, which does have strict precautions. I understand it is safer to get antibodies from a vaccine than the illness itself. My anxiety is probably emotionally-driven. I am still mad many adults won't even consider it.

Oh my goodness. I am so sorry you've had to experience that in the past. I completely understand your decision!

Thank you so much for sharing. Ugh, that worries me---needs supplementing! Yet it is time consuming. I feel like those two things shouldn't go together, lol. 😞 I don't mind time consuming, but I have definitely read these criticisms. I think the best part of the curriculum is that it has beautiful art and color. Another worry of mine is that I felt the print was small and there was a lot of it, especially in the history curriculum. I cannot imagine getting through even math and LA in that amount of time with my four. But my oldest is not motivated at all. And we haven't gotten a grasp on the chaos. I guess TGTB appealed to me because I could have less pieces (even though I don't like teacher/student info combined), but I want them to get a solid education, too!

I read a quote that 16% were vaccinated and that the rollout would be slow. I canceled a clinic appointment that allowed walkins and scheduled private appointments at the health department. But to be honest, I am very nervous and am still not sure I can go through with it. I worry my children will be rare outliers with adverse effects or some mysterious problem from them will in fact arise later on, even if there doesn't seem to be a reason that even could happen down the road. I really wish we had the Novavax option for them, but even when it gets approved for adults, it seems it will be some time before it gets approved for kids. Also, it is a process. I do have somewhat of a luxury to go back and forth because they are very sheltered right now. ** we adults are vaxxed---my husband won't, but I will likely continue on my course of getting boosters as long as it seems pointed and purposeful. The response so far to your survey is not representative of the general population. I am very worried about the effects of the virus, even mild cases. I feel very torn and have a lot of anxiety over all of this. To be fair, I have felt anxiety over my shots, perhaps irrational, but it is easier to choose for myself than for my children.

Oh no. 😞 I know you were worried. I chickened out of our vax appointment but made new ones where we won't be in a crowd of "walk ins." I'm still so nervous about it. My husband and I, married, don't always see eye to eye, well, maybe he just believes things are exaggerated or that there is a profit motive behind the push for vaccines. It is hard, but I am grateful that he doesn't take the kids to stores or busy places, so we are on the same page there. I buy KF94 masks on Amazon for th kids and for us. The kid ones are small and fit my kids well, plus they have the little rubber push thingies to tighten them up. We buy black ones for ourselves. They are so much more comfortable, I think than cloth. I don't like the beak shaped ones, either.

My county population is about 100k, and there were about 1700 new cases this last week. It said our positivity was only around 10%. For us, that is a lot of cases (it's rural), but I suspect the naysayers never test. I didn't take my daughter to dance this week---temps are taken, masks required, nobody else allowed in the building but students, etc. I don't know if I should just put her in class next week. She does wear a KF94 and the class is 45 minutes long with about 10 girls.

Thank you very much! Yes, when we chose Abeka, I honestly didn't know how much else was out there. I liked it, but I didn't feel there wasa lot of flexibility to explore certain areas more in depth. Now, Memoria Press is time-consuming, too, and I feel like I am in a different kind of trap. I do like a couple of elements of the program, though. I would like to find a very colorful and beautiful curriculum, which exists, the Good and the Beautiful, but I hate that the student and teacher information is all in one book.

I would love to visit the Northeast, primarily Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont to see the beauty of that area. We go to Minnesota every year, and it requires hotel stays on our way there/back. DH's family is big on indoor hotel pools, which hasn't been too fun for me, worrying about covid (plus I dislike them in general). I found one with patio doors to the outside and was told I could open them when they are in the pool area, lol. Ventilation!

Yeah, but see, you did your part. You did three shots. Some will never do 1, so I guess we just have to achieve the path from pandemic to endemic the harder way.

I read an article about this. At some point, you can only boost so much before you've maxxed out your benefit. I know everything says these are safe and all that, but boosting myself an unknown number of times is one thing, but for my children, it is a much harder choice. I chickened out of the kids' appointment this week at a clinic and made appointments at the health department across the county to get individual time slots without a crowd. I am still not sure I can go through with this, knowing they're still getting the original formula. I'm just bitter I shouldn't have to worry about my kids as much because adults could do better---not just with vaccines, but with precautions. I feel like I have to protect them from idiots. And yes, the logistics already suck of dealing with this with four kids.

We had new quartz contertops installed in September. We were told not to put anything hot on the invisible seams and that it could potentially stain. I am not sure if it has more to do with the coating? Anyway, we went through Home Depot. They work with the Countertop Factory, and everything was extra, including the smaller seams and the rounded edges for the sink to prevent chips (we did an undermount sink). Overall, I love the countertops but try to treat them with care. Often, they are covered in papers, lol.

It’s rough being a Covid-conscious conservative. I had a homeschooler tell me no one with a pro life stance would take a vaccine. She went on to further shame medical, science driven cancer treatments and claimed natural cures were best. My husband has gotten on the train a bit. I see glimmers if hope, but he will still praise some comments I find less than desirable… I can’t get over the disregard for life from the pro-life crowd, justifying the deaths of certain people. I guess I’m not really a conservative in some regards. Oh well! Lol