Renter could have side-stepped the fee by getting a p.o. box somewhere, right? I think the post office is screwy for handling it this way. Makes no sense.

Corn, soybeans and hogs, with occasional plantings of winter wheat. Sure, there is the occasional apple orchard, turkey hatchery, truck farm or you-pick berries, but really, it is those three for miles and miles and miles. Neither of the crops are for people consumption, the hogs are. Oh, and there are some cattle, for meat. Monotonous. Depressing? Market-driven.

Thwack is perfect for the sound of a spoon cracking egg shell. I am off on a Google search!!

We all have Klean Kanteens, but they aren't double-walled, so wouldn't stand up to your ice-water-in-a-car test. Living in Phoenix for years I decided to come to peace with drinking warm water. Way back then it was just easier.

That is more my problem, I want to have them learn everything. Everything! It is too bad about the limits of time.

I'm sure it is hard to imagine, but how would you respond to your own kids doing something repetitive and annoying? If the boys are at your house, they should follow your rules and your responses. Perhaps they need to peel carrots with you in the kitchen, away from the fun while you two have a talk? Just an idea. Those boys would drive me batty. You could also try pushing it back. It sounds like the parents are with you. How about responding with "talk to your mother" and explain to the mom that it isn't going to happen as long as you feel badgered. With my own kids, I might explain that the relentless pushing is making it so that I can NEVER say yes because then it will never stop.

FWIW - for what it's worth There is nothing wrong with starting with FLL1, but keep in mind that FLL2 will review/repeat it all at a slightly faster pace. If your ds (dear son) catches on quickly or gets bored with repetition or isn't a language guy, you could start with 2 and not miss anything. We've done all the levels, but for some that is too much. Choose what feels right for you.

Check out English Grammar Revolution. She might have something that works for you and I think her things can be purchased as downloads. I have used her website, but not purchased her products.

Because I am sharing a microscope with a friend, I dove into the A and B threads without trying to cherry-pick from the book. Especially in the A thread, a number of lessons just conveyed a LOT of information, and I felt the need to spread them over a number of lesson "periods" and supplement with some homemade worksheets to help keep everyone together and remind them of earlier parts of lessons. The B lessons were then surprisingly straightforward and we zoomed through those. Silver is right, not spiral lessons, just building, building, building. I think for one or two lessons I spent one lesson "period" just reviewing their notes on the prerequisite lessons. Slow and steady. I've always used the book list as a starting point since I have a stellar library system, but a quick glance does not convince me that the "levels" of the books recommended has increased appreciably.

To avoid the long, dry lecture mode in BFSU 2 I made up some worksheets for the lessons with some pictures and some kind of interaction from my kids. The type of interaction I asked for varied from straight-up workbook to data collection for experiments. I also broke up some lessons quite a bit. For instance, we spent a month on the density lesson. The concept was easy, but neither were proficient with division, so we took it slow.

Five years ago when my youngest was born I read through all 20 books in the Master and Commander series by Patrick O'Brien. Great friendship and adventure story.

I taught myself so I could make the Babette's Blanket from Interweave for my youngest. Had to substitute for the Koigu yarn, though. Can't seem to paste a picture.

Jean! That is funny, but yet, such a logical approach... When my kids were young I spent a year working through the picture books that way.

I'm looking at this issue for the second book. Despite spending a full month on the lesson about density we worked through about half the book in third grade. I am leaning toward doing a science project in the spring, although I don't know of any local science fairs in the area. So I'm planning a longer-term project, and also review of threads that we haven't explicitly studied in a while. For younger kids you could consider occasional longer term projects like butterfly lifecycle study, indoor plant growth experiments, decomposition studies, etc. that relate to what you are studying. It gives science a more leisurely feel and provides regular opportunities for discussing current topics even though some of the science "periods" may be short if you are checking status of projects.

Wait, what? Too many books??

I want to use this post to say "Thank you!" To the lady in the park in Phoenix 20 years ago when I was there babysitting, who answered my disbelieving questions and made it all look normal and do-able. It was a short conversation, probably tedious for her (Think: Yes, it's legal. I decide what to teach. Have a good day.) But totally planted the seed for me. I agree with Erin about answering those questions which seem ridiculous when you are "on the inside"

(((Wendyroo))) no advice, but I always found those incidents surprisingly stressful and difficult to deal with calmly.

Might check out the website "the kid should see this" it has short videos if ALL sorts of things, many science related. New stuff posted often.

Do French! You know it. If your dc want to learn Spanish at some point they can and will be better off for having studied another language.

42. I think they all have 42. Were you hoping for 36? :-)

I did BFSU1 with little to no prep at all. I read through the book the summer before and made note of a few things I needed (magnet set, rocks and minerals), however I got overwhelmed trying to plan it to far out. Instead, at the end of a lesson time, before I put the book away, I would skim the next part and see what I needed to be ready with. I did use some additional experiments from "730 Easy Science Experiments" for variety. Maybe your library has it. BFSU2 has required a LOT more prep from me in order to ensure that my dc, who are at the young end if the range for the book, stay engaged for the longer lessons. I like the prep, though, it gives me a chance to add pictures! ETA: I check out a lot of supplemental reading, but rarely "officially" use it. My dc will read or skim it if I have it at home.

Which organized, friendly, sharing boardie put together this blog post with all the Hewitt CP resources listed? Sorry I can't give her credit, maybe she'll chime in, but here is the web address: http://eclectic-homeschool.com/conceptual-physics-9th-edition-by-paul-hewitt-course-outline/

Were you also envisioning us peacefully sharing out all the bargain-basement items in a peaceful, well-ordered fashion? Hahaha

Well, you could use checkmark instead, or some kind of doodle if the box is big enough, maybe colored pencils...

Anyone have experience with hives? Well, this place is the mother of all hives, is it not?