That's funny because I am using BFSU 2 the more intensive way by making worksheets for each lesson which was a brilliant, lightbulb moment I picked up from you! Gotta love homeschooling! Do it till it's not working, then find something else! :-)

My youngest is using Miquon with bits of MM for variety, to dabble with the more traditional approach and to help her appreciate the different programs. My olders use MM and MEP/BA. So my plan is to move my younger from Miquon to BA with MM standing by if needed.

I scheduled 30 minutes, but many days were shorter, more like 15. Of course, there were a few longer, now that I think about letter writing with my reluctant writer. Also, the diagram exercises aren't challenging enough IMHO, so I handed out scratch paper with the sentence written on top so they have to construct their own frames. That added to my prep time slightly.

I will have two. Math: one MM, the other a combination if MEP and BA Science: third BFSU science book Writing: finish WWE 4, and the other supplements I've added in to spread out WWE. Then we'll move slowly into WWS. Grammar: finish the 12 week ALL sample then I'm not sure, AG? Daily Grammar? Grammar Revolution? History: I will also have a 1st grader, so we will start SOTW again and I will supplement for the olders. Latin: finish BBoLL1, probably move on to 2 Spanish: continue my mixed study of reading, reading comprehension, listening, and Spanish Now! Music: piano lessons Spelling: Spelling Power Plus soccer, ballet, Scouts, maybe a co-op this year.

My oldest are in 4th this year (she said, sidestepping the issue of where we start counting). For me, in many areas of life including homeschooling, minimizing the number of recurring decisions is key. So I have a written routine and as much as possible I have do-the-next-thing curriculum. In the darkest depths of February or illness we just do the things that I planned in happier, sunnier times. For similar reasons we have eggs for breakfast Monday, Wednesday and Friday. :-)

My son wouldn't let me override the sign when he was selling Cub Scout popcorn, so I can vouch for its success from the other side!

Yes, get the hand/foot warmers from the hunting our outdoor section of your local big box store. Keep in mind that the whole thing probably won't take more than an hour. Then, for all the goodness in your heart, you will deserve a long, hot soak, or venti something.

Or, buy two copies of the practice books. :-)

You might also check out Santillanausa.com I remember a board member having luck purchasing a homeschool-appropriate set-up. I'm waiting for the opportunity to travel to a Spanish speaking country and raid the classrooms.!

While you are in Guatemala, maybe you can find a bookstore! I commiserate about the lack of an incremental approach. Boo. In the meantime, and I don't even want to imply this is a replacement, but for additional reading material, you could check out: Tesoros.macmillanmh.com/national/teachers The "conexión con el hogar" section has some weekly readers that are set up by grade levels. What I dream of are Spanish materials that increment year by year, and cover a variety of content subjects AND instructional points. It would have been great to find a reader about Queen Isabella of Aragon in Spanish when we talked about her in history. I could go on.

Cumin and Aleppo pepper I have to say, though, "cinnamon takes a backseat to NO spice!" - Seinfeld

We have taken a very eclectic approach so far. In addition to Salsa! and two years of weekly tutor visits, we also spent a year cherry-picking a Rod and Staff -written in Spanish- program that I think they sell to missionaries. It is heavily religious and I want secular, so I gave it up. The Mexican government has some if its curriculum on line. It was amazingly slow to load, and I never found anything I could use extensively, but hope springs eternal! Having them read me selections in Spanish has been great. Last year we were working on Sapo y Sepo, this year they read a couple of Geronimo Stilton books (chapter at a time, popcorn-style). Now we are moving into some old grammar texts I have with short stories. Now that my dc are old enough to start "getting" some of the grammar rules, and following the lead of GSWL, I am using Spanish Now! It is similar to Practice Makes Perfect or Breaking the Barrier, but has more cartoons, which are still held in high regard here. Shrug. One day a week we use a page or two from a bilingual reading comprehension book. It is easy, but the topics are varied. We also have a day a week of watching some (random) thing on the internet - stories, fables, brainpop en español, pocoyo, etc. If you particularly want a curriculum, I spent a long time last year having at Spanish for Chicos y Grandes, or Santillamo (spelling? Sorry)

Remember when we had little kids and the problem was silence?

For levity, can I tell you about the time dh was working on the taxes and walked over to help the 5yos unstick the shredder and left the tax forms there. In the shred pile. Didn't notice until the W-2 was gone, and one1099. Yah! Another strike against thoughtless item strewing.

Sarcasm. Heavy sarcasm. For dh I make a point of asking, "are you done eating? Are you saving this dish for anything?" I try to be neutral because he is such a gem in so many (other) ways. For youngest dd I loudly explain how the "magic cabinet" won't work for the dishes on top of it. They have to be inside.

Sorry to hear that. I had a discussion along these lines last night about ballet shoes. It is surprising to me that at the cost per pair and pairs purchased per dancers a big shoe company hasn't jumped in with "state-of-the-art" materials. Seems like they could still make a profit... Eta - probably still wouldn't be vegan, though, huh?

How great that you have the activity guide for 4. We have been doing SOTW all along and I will say that the activities in 4 are difficult. We are still working on the right balance. Think about your goals for history, for us I want it to be a subject we enjoy and not necessarily a challenging subject. With your goals in mind, slowly ramp the activities to what works for the two of you.

Depends on what the cough is like, but steamy shower? Vick's ( plug-in is nice)? Sleep with two pillows? Sorry for your little guy.

We tried Mark Kistler's Draw Squad book and I saw real improvement with my kids while we stuck with it. The pictures are cartoon-y but the instruction is real. I got a subscription to the online tutorials through HSBC and it was the same principles but live! and would probably have been good but I had trouble scheduling it.

We rented tents from REI before we bought anything major (so, so long ago). Also, sign up for the Campmor catalog, that is fun. Maybe ease into backpacking with some car-camping, or hikes from "base camp" type sites. Also a cautionary tip, do not taste test dehydrated meals! They taste divine after a long day of hiking, but not so great in the comfort of your home. I don't think you are crazy. Before kids I hiked ¾ if the way across AZ, and someday I plan to finish that trip!

We've done Spanish all along, and the two olders started Latin mid-third with GSWL. We did it mostly orally, finishing about a calendar year later. Now, mid-fourth we are starting Lively Latin, heading for Wheelock's in the future. We do both languages every weekday. I try to spend about 20 minutes on each. For Spanish we use different approaches to the language each day. For Latin BBoLL1 has enough variety for daily use.

I loved To Light a Fire, but the main character (human) does not have a happy ending. I recently saw White Fang packages with Call of the Wild. The dig moves from tame to wild in Call, and apparently the opposite happens in White Fang.

I have to count to 180 every "year". I don't count days when we don't do actual schoolwork, so I'm in the OP's camp. The state waived a couple of snow day make-ups last year for the local system, and I know they are trying a new standardized test this year in addition to whatever the regular ones are. We also do some school through the summer that I don't count. We don't do 300 days a year, but we definitely do 180, plus summer work.

When we hit that I put a color-coded definition of an adverb up on the wall in front of the toilet. They understood how adverbs and adjectives worked, it was just the definitions they couldn't remember. The adjective definition is shorter, but the adverb definition lends itself more to color-coding and visual interest.

You don't have to be responsible for dh? My suggestion is pick the thing that annoys you the most and make it more painful for them if you have to remind/intercede than for them to just do whatever it is. It is surprisingly liberating to be working on the one big thing. As a bonus, the others come easier because everybody knows where you're heading. Oh, and I found that the others annoyed me less, for a while.