We alternate days between BA and MEP, for the reasons mentioned by Rose and Sweetpea. My ds is happy for the change of pace. He does every BA problem, but I liberally edit out MEP problems that I don't think he needs, review of topics he has down or topics he has seen in BA.

My ds wrote to Hasbro instead and got a reply (clearly a form letter, somewhat nonsensical, but a reply!) Dd write to Highlights, the kids' magazine? and never heard a peep. Oh, well. They both had legitimate ideas/comments, so the letters were easier for them to write.

Let's skip the points on this one, okay? That was where the last one jumped the shark. I didn't get any points, or stars, just so you know where I'm comin' from.

The web site sounds good, but seems to be defunct? I couldn't download without logging in and couldn't set up a log-in? There are disheartening looking highlighted lines that say the owner will resume selling the program in May of 2014. So, Pod's mum, if it is really good, don't tell us!

Yours may be too old, but Whizzizzle Phonics was popular hee. Think Uno but for phonics.

I put together a brief slide show (about President Hoover, I think) and used it to show some of the possibilities, particularly with regard to transitions and animations. Then they went off and messed around a bit. Once they see some of the possibilities, just doing it is a nice way to really learn it.

My Julieta Venegas Pandora station includes Natalia Clavier - but her music is not all in Spanish.

This may or may not appeal to you of course, but we are using a similar, shorter block of time to study prehistory in anticipation of our return to the ancients next year.

Well, this just goes to show, don't ride the fly-by-night carnival rides. I heard there was a crazy ferris wheel accident near <your town>. Just after the ride was set up, a woman and her daughter, who had stopped for milk at a nearby grocery, were offered free first rides. Unfortunately an important bolt came loose and the ferris wheel rolled away down the street. It rolled at such a high rate of speed that all their possessions were thrown free. The wheel slowed down when it hit the water, and it settled to float on its side. Authorities hoped to stop it at the bridge, but they were slowed down by a tragic jam of spectators, and the wheel squeezed by. The trapped passengers made a dinner from the carnival hot dog stand that had been rolled over and gotten trapped in the wheel. Passengers reported seeing a giant peach flying overhead the next day. Eventually the wheel came to rest trapped between a sand bar and a floating casino, a benefit which the floating casino proponents are sure to point out in the next election cycle. Everyone is fine but being kept for observation. The milk is fine also. Authorities determined that the temperature in the car stayed cool enough that it can be consumed safely. Or else they are flaky losers.

I switched from staples to office depot due to crazy-making issues with their rewards program. Office Depot is slightly better, but I think they have the same type of "buy some ink here to get the discount" type of deal. After I switched Staples bought Office Depot, perhaps they valued my business more than I realized! But also, any differences in policy will likely disappear in the next few years.

For diagramming you might check out the website for Grammar Revolution. She had a lot of diagramming information available. I always recommend Getting Started With Latin to get your feet wet with Latin. It is cheap and easy. Keep in mind that many people learn these things along with their dc. Not that there isn't value in studying it if you are interested, but don't feel like you have to master everything ahead of time.

We do salmon twice on the weeks we grocery shop. Then tacos using frozen tilapia instead of chicken (so not "fish taco"style) on the weekend I don't grocery shop, and something with tuna that week. So, we count it hee, but I strongly recommend the tacos!

What irks me the most is when someone then tries to pick it up with their toes, or with their hands, but with no pay of their bodies touching the floor. JUST PICK UP THE PENCIL! Urgh. "No, mom, I got this!" "WHAT? I'm waiting here and 'You got this'? Oh, you'll get something, alright..." :-)

Me too, but years later when I found myself facilitating an engine test in Spain, a surprising amount came back!

I read Steve Sheinkin's non-fiction book Bomb, about the making of the atomic bombs during WWII, aloud to my kids. It was very interesting. ETA - Sorry! You clearly stated you were looking for literature.

I have to schedule it in. If it is spontaneous I waste my time worrying about missing something. If it is scheduled I assume I thought it all through at some point (I did). Also, my dc still have to practice twice, still have daily chores, still have to help clear after meals, etc. It is nice. Not as nice as the week they all go to day camp during the summer, but nice.

Mightn't Florida pay you to come and take one of theirs away?

We did both. If your ds can understand the abstraction that "this snap piece could be replaced by a wire", then I don't see a problem. Use what you've already got!

Mrs. Weasley had a nice list, I particularly want to second Amulet and Rapunzel's Revenge. Both have sequels, too.

In the freezer. It lasts well and thaws quickly and can't smoosh. Easier to make nut butter and jelly on frozen bread.

I agree that she sounds like an interesting person. I think her generosity is misplaced in this case.

Um, no. Name-calling is not nice, that is not a nice word, likely you are not the only one he uses that word to represent, many reasons why you don't get to give him a free pass. Maybe he doesn't have those dreams. Maybe he deserves a reality check. Maybe he is talented enough to make a comeback. Maybe I should go read the article.

Try to leave the garage available for cars in the winter. I'm a wimp about being cold, but really, in the course of everyday life you don't HAVE to be outside much. You can look out a nice window and be happy for central heat. It does snow, but rarely accumulates, so we only had three or four good sledding days this year. I wear slippers inside all winter. And socks. And a sweater. Occasionally a hat. How far north of Indy will you be? Hopefully you will be south of White county which seems to get a lot more snow. I bet you will be, though, otherwise you would have said you "will be living south of Chicago". Hah. Indy to Chicago is like the drive-through section of fly-over country!

I second GSWL (because I've never used the other two) and further suggest that you do it orally and, as soon as it makes sense, add in your own review days working up to every other lesson. Use those days to review vocabulary or work on English to Latin translations using previous lessons. We did this and it kept the length of the lessons to about 20 minutes, no fuss no fluff.

Think about what you want to accomplish with logic/critical thinking. You could order old tests from Math Kangaroo and work through those problems together. They are puzzle-type problems, minimal calculations. Actually, there are a lot of sources for problems like that. For a different approach, you could look at a book like Philosophy for Kids, which introduces kids to various philosophers and philosophical problems by asking them to form an opinion on a scenario and then giving talking points for discussion. You could look at products from Critical Thinking Co. for more workbook-y approaches. If you don't need secular products you can find additional book options. My oldest will be in 5th, so I can't differentiate for your 7th grader. Once a week I plan to do a rotation through those and perhaps intersperse scientific reading and outlining. It would be nice to find an introduction to formal logic, but I haven't found anything that would quite work.