Not sure if this helps but we like MOCAFE Azteca D'oro 1519 Mexican Spiced Ground Chocolate. That is the whole name and I got a 3 lb bag from Amazon. It is delicious in coffee! Yum!

I included dual-enrollment as HS courses. I didn't designate where it was taken. Nobody even asked about that.

You can have a clean and fresh smelling home and have indoor pets. I know because we've done it. :) We have a Golden and kitties. It is a 24/7 job keeping the hair vacuumed, pets brushed and bathed (yes, including kitties). We vacuum several times a week , mop the floors at least 2x with bleach and once every 2 mos we do a steam clean of the rugs (that is my job today). It helps a lot if we brush on a regular basis with the "Furminator" http://www.furminator.com The Furminator is a lifesaver! One of our cats is a long-hair and he is regularly shaved in lion-cut style. I do the bathing and cutting myself. We have a dustbuster that is great for quickie pick-up jobs. It is a lot of work but our furbabies are worth it. The way I see it, if the pets are clean and well-kept then that helps a lot with keeping the house clean.

I've never used his stuff but mispronunciation would really REALLY bug me too. I just don't see the need for that at all. :confused:

Christianbook has a preview inside feature and I think they have many of the major math texts. You might check them out.

We've had great success with online classes. I took a few in college and loved the independence of them. My children have all taken online classes both through FLVS (Florida Online) and college courses online. A lot depends on how self-motivated the child is. I stress to my children that online doesn't mean 'whenever you get around to it' but instead we have pace charts and time frames that we are very strict about adhering to. I believe that until a child shows that they can handle the schedule on their own that parental involvement is key to establishing a routine. Some online classes are better than others. We've had the most success with those administered by the state virtual school and the colleges (both in state and out of state). We've also taken some classes through Universalclass.com and found those to be quite good. I like that the children report to someone other than myself for these classes. It is good experience. I did have an unsatisfactory experience with a local homeschooler that offers writing classes. I found that the feedback was lacking and overall it was not worth the time and money. I would be careful about those types of courses. Get feedback before enrolling in any course.

We did Sophie's World last fall and enjoyed it. We did it as a read-aloud. Audible has a very nice recording of it and we started our day with Sophie's World. I've been dying to get my hands on the game and movie but alas no luck. There is a board game and a pc game but I'm afraid the pc game is not compatible and it is questionable whether the movie would play on our systems in the US either. I thought a movie would be a nice finish but I guess we'll have to wait. It is a great read though!!

I don't think it has anything to do with accepting 'free spirits'. If an event is supposed to be held at a certain time then it isn't unreasonable for people (even free spirits) to respect other people's time. If an event or class was presented as a come when or if you can at any old time then that is different. Putting a time on something creates an expectation that it will begin on time. I can't count the times I've been in a coop (tried more than a few) and I continue to see the stragglers. They drag into class 20 min late and expect the teacher to rehash what they missed and it is totally disruptive. That isn't a free spirit-it is just rude and inconsiderate. Just because people don't take these people to task for their behavior doesn't mean people are flexible. Many just don't want to engage in conflict. Doesn't mean it isn't annoying.

My all time fave Spanish resource is FLVS. You have to be in FL to get access free though. After that, it is Unitedstreaming Spanish. We use Unitedstreaming Spanish in the summer between FLVS classes. It is not exactly free since you need to buy Unitedstreaming (discount at homeschoolbuyerscoop). I use Unitedstreaming almost everyday though for science and history so it is an added bonus for us. :)

We've done both and Apologia is what the children have liked the most.

Have you looked at Fascinating Biology? Aspbergers tend to relate to visual learning and this online course might be something he could get into. Homeschoolbuyers coop has it at a discount too. Here is a link for their demos: https://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/index.php?option=com_hsbc_epp_order&Itemid=1317

Absolutely! My middle schoolers have been taking courses for high school credit already. From what I understand, Apologia Biology doesn't have a prerequisite and you can easily go right into it. We are considering skipping over the physical and going to biology too. The girls did Apologia General and have done a lot of physical science so we thought a skip to biology would be a nice change.

I'm one of those that is pathologically punctual. Having once taught some classes in a small hs group, I know how annoying it is having to wait on people. When I waited (sometimes over 45 min!) it only meant we had to stay longer which was hard on the kids. Group pressure kept us in the 'let's wait on them' mode long enough for me to get really frustrated. Finally, I decided that if it was my turn and I spent all that time getting things ready etc. then we start ON TIME and no backtracking for stragglers. Instead of getting angry at the inconsideration of others, I just changed what I could. Those that were late (for non-emergency issues) just lost out. I really get annoyed that sometimes hs'ing has become associated with chronic lateness as a type of trait. I don't buy that homeschooling personality has any bearing on chronic lateness. In my opinion it is lack of organization and disregard for other people's schedules. Personally it is hard to be chill when it annoys the heck out of me. The only way I actually became ok with it was when I found ways to deal with it (for myself). If we have to be somewhere and know that waiting on someone will make us late then we go by ourselves. We set a time limit. If a coop class has started 15 min late because the teacher wanted to wait on all the late kids (who a lot of time were goofing off down the hall) then at class end we get up and go. My time is important to me and I want to teach my children that being punctual is a good because it shows respect and people will know that they can count on you. It is interesting to note that sometimes when people know that you will stick to your guns, they begin showing up or starting things on time. Sometimes we really do teach people how to treat us by our own behavior.

I only listed the class name (ie. algebra, trig, world history, economics etc). I never broke it down by text.

That person - A friend??? I had to read her comments 2x to believe the venom. She said horrible things to you, really unforgivable things. She is toxic and based on what you've said I suspect narcissistic as well. Don't respond! It only validates them and gives them more fuel to continue abusing you. Call it done.

I think it was ok for the younger grades since it gives them a grasp on the timeline. Now that we're in the middle grades I am taking a lot more time and digging deeper. I require them to do more so I will take a much time as we need. I never was one to follow the 'rules' that closely. :)

It is a lot of fun! We signed up for the yahoo group and got some ideas from it but didn't like most of the curriculum so we just put our own texts together. We did it last year and the kids really looked forward to it. It is a real keeper for our summer plan! :D

Love, love love them! We get all cozy and watch natures drama. :)

We have Animal Crossing City Folk. My girls could answer anything too. :)

We do math, Spanish & history as usual. We add fun stuff like Hogwarts Summer Correspondence School (a friend and I write our own program for this). We also have a goal to memorize the names and locations of most of the countries of the world. We also working on writing (IEW) and doing the Duke TIP Mythology class. It is a full summer but lots of fun.

I have to agree. Judges and their fellow personnel protect each other and you wouldn't be the first to find themselves targeted by a po'd judge who has a God complex. I would recommend contacting the court reporter or whoever is in charge of maintaining the minutes of the proceedings and get a transcript. You never know when that will come in handy. I don't recommend rolling over and allowing her to continue to abuse her position however. From this point on, I would only attend any court appearances with a lawyer and witnesses.

What I've found that works well and offers flexibility is this: I break up the core curriculum or text into sections for the time frame you are dealing with. For example, a text with 16 chapters might get 1 or 2 weeks for coverage depending on when I want it finished by. Then I start researching and bookmarking sites that I know will be good for the chapters. This is ongoing throughout the study period. At the beginning of each week when I am getting the schedule out, I gather all the resources I've found for that chapter along with the videos, additional reading and all assignments and distribute them evenly for the week or weeks. Having the resources and assignment ideas handy but not actually assigned until the week schedule is worked out gives us flexibility if something comes up and we need to extend or rearrange our time frame. So I do a rough overall plan for the year or whatever time frame I'm working with but do the details just prior to the work week. Hope this helps!

Welcome to the world of asinine Judges. We had our run in with several over a issue of conservatorship. There was clear evidence of elder abuse and financial abuse but the Judges and court covered their mistakes at the expense of justice. Nobody in the system wants to get on the bad side of the judge so complaints went nowhere. We ended up disgusted with the whole slimy mess. Judges on power-trips just stink. I hope you take her down a peg or two. There are sites on the net that let you rate Judges...as if that really helps much. It is nice to know that it is out there for others to see at least. Good luck.

I used level 1 a few years ago and I think it is a little young for an 11 yr old. Level II might be better. LCD is very 'crafty' and sing-songy so that might be a consideration. My girls didn't relate to some of the visual craft stuff so we didn't continue with LCD. We take Spanish via FLVS now but if you aren't in Fl that wouldn't work for you. Does your state have a virtual school that hsers can take classes from? It was the best thing for us. Other than that, I liked the look of the Galore Park Spanish and would use it if we didn't have FLVS. Tell Me More by Auralog looks interesting too and HomeSchool Buyers Coop had a deal some time back. Hope this helps!

Oh my...this is what I was thinking too. I hope it works out for you. ;)