I'm sorry, but I think that was totally the guy's fault in the end. Surely he received an email confirmation, saw the airport code, checked in for the flight, got a boarding pass, sat at the gate with all the other people not going to Spain, boarded a plane not going to Spain... It was the booking agent's fault for screwing it up and he should have received a new ticket. Before he got on the wrong plane. ETA: I do think they should refund him. But his stupidity plays into it, too. He shouldn't be able to sue.

Absolutely! I've found that even traveling before our kids could remember every detail helps to create kids who love to travel. I feel like my kids are more flexible, more adventurous, and that they are less interested in keeping up with what their friends have because their perspective is SO much wider than their immediate peers and community. It's just something we place as a top priority. So, we have one car and are currently living in an apartment. We've canceled an upcoming New England trip to save some money, but we just returned from a month in Colombia. If we could live in an RV and travel full time for a few years, we would. We own a home (that we rent out), have retirement investments, little debt, and our kids will have nest egg for college, but being able to go and DO and LIVE and EXPERIENCE is just so much more important to us than having a three car garage and dance lessons (ETA: I use this example because we can't have both, and dance lessons are something I had my entire life. My kids have zero interest and he do other things as time and money allow. I don't mean anything against people who do this. It just happens to be what I envisioned as the other side of our coin. ) My kids learned to snorkel in Hawaii at 7 and still use that skill now that we live in Florida. They learned to navigate the subway in NYC. They spent three months camping around the country, learning independence and flexibility, not to mention outdoor skills. They learned about glaciers and global warming from a park ranger in Glacier NP. Their lives have been incredibly enriched because we've taken advantage of the opportunities we've been lucky to have, and because we've said yes and taken risks and just made it a priority. A lot of our family thinks we are insane and would never want to invest the time, money, and energy into travel that we have. That's ok! Their kids are having other experiences and placing value on other aspects of life. It's just different.

Another teacher here who learned and taught that the "and" is to indicate a decimal and the correct way to say 102 is "one hundred two." Think about how you write a check.

Just remember that you are paying her for her time. So, if she's only getting $5/hr to be a mother's helper and starts getting offers from other families for $10.hr to babysit, she's probably not going to be as available for you. If you find someone you love, pay her so she won't leave. :)

This dad did that with his two sons. http://www.twelveintwelve.org You should also check out Families on the Road and other blogs. There are a lot of families who travel full time while homeschooling and many of them blog.

My kids have always slept between 10-11 hours. I can count on one hand the number of times my kids have slept in past 7:30AM. We eat at 6 or 6:30. They go to bed at 9. They are almost 12. I don't force my kids to sleep anymore than I force myself to sleep.

Apparently I am a better stalker. Northern Idaho. ;)

What an ignorant, callous remark.

We've always gone to dog beaches and we love them. I wouldn't let my dog swim in anything I wouldn't swim in. The only time one of our dog lakes got shut down, it was due to a bacteria that ended up being from *human* feces.

Drink lots of water! I've heard orange juice helps as well. (Coffee would help, too. ;) )

It's being used as a full curriculum at many schools right now. The biggest complaint from teachers is that it takes too long to teach and they aren't getting through all the material. At least that's what I'm reading...

I'm especially interested in the middle school math, as it doesn't seem like the ELA is well suited for homeschooling at this point. https://content.engageny.org/resource/grade-7-mathematics I'd love to hear your feedback. Thanks!

I've used both the answer keys and the teachers guides. For *me* the teacher guides are so much easier to use for grading, visually. I've never really used them for anything else.

We road trip a lot. I would recommend looking at hotels ahead of time for a few reasons. Some cities are very expensive and it will be hard to find a reasonably priced hotel in a good area, so you'll want to try to book those ahead of time, especially on a weekend. If you are the only driver, it will be very hard to book hotels on the road and the route your are traveling May have long stretches of nothing. Plus, I'm pretty picky about hotels, so I tend to scope them out ahead of time. Hamptons are usually a safe bet and average around $100 (but up to $150 in some areas, so watch out). Eat breakfast at the hotels, pack a cooler with food. It's cheaper to eat out for lunch rather than dinner, but I always find I'm much to tired to do dinner out of the cooler, so we eat lunch at a rest area from the cooler, then dinner in a decent restaurant. Sitting in the car all day is draining and we don't tend to sleep well, so I always try to pull into the hotel by 8 so the kids can swim for an hour before bed. For the mileage you are describing, I'd plan for at least three driving days, depending on your stamina. I can usually do a long day the first day, but then 400-500 miles a day after that is my limit, and most sites recommend not pushing that if you are driving alone. Good luck! Honestly, there is no way around gas and that will be your biggest expense. I wouldn't skimp on a hotel as the only driver. You'll need your sleep. Also, KOAs tend to be almost as expensive as a cheap hotel. Choose sleep. :)

Of course I do! The dishes aren't going to do themselves!

My husband and I both left the Mormon church at the same time after a few years of marriage. I am SO glad we were on the same page because it could have been a deal breaker for us. We were so young and had very defined views about marriage and family expectations. Luckily, we never fit the cultural mold, so our exit was fairly gradual and I don't think came as a shock to anyone. Like someone said up thread, if he were to go back to the church (he wouldn't) it would be as equally devastating on our marriage, simply because it's the religion we left for very clear reasons. We've dabbled in other faiths, but we've always ended up in the same place, together. I'm so grateful that it's always an open conversation. We read together, we study together, and we talk a lot about our beliefs. I think that's probably true for most successful marriages, especially concerning faith (or lack thereof).

Our SLP does the screening for APD, but our audiologist told us to go to an audiologist who specializes in APD. ETA: You can have perfect hearing and still have APD. I wasn't sure from your post if you understood that. Just FYI

You should call and talk to your local office and get specifics, but I can tell you what the rules were for us in Utah. Yes, you are allowed to take vacations. Either the kids go to a respite family (foster care babysitters) while you are gone OR you can ask the judge for permission to take the kids with you (very easy in our case and the social worker did it all). Our kids always came with us except for one time when they stayed with another foster family we knew. Technically our home was licensed, so we could have a babysitter come to our home and that was ok. If it was going to be ongoing, the person was supposed to be fingerprinted and all that. When I sent one dd to an in home afterschool care provider who wasn't licensed by the state, our social worker had to do a walk through of her house and "license" her. Remember though that the kids placed with you could have significant needs that prevent them being left with just anyone, so it can be a struggle at first. Also, you'll need to weigh the consequences of kids feeling left out if you take only your kids with you on a vacation, and you should be prepared to deal with the emotional/behavioral consequences of that. Just my two cents. Every case is very different! ETA: Duh, kids under two. So, maybe no feeling left out, but attachment issues can cause severe behavior problems, even in kids that little, so it will just depend on whether it's a good fit for you to leave the child.

We took a dutch oven and a kettle last summer and some amazing meals. Here were our favorites: Chili over sweet potatoes Fresh salmon with rice and salad Local meat (from wherever we were) grilled Mountain man breakfast (sausage, eggs, cheese in dutch oven) Oatmeal

Milk, butter, eggs, bread, half and half, cheese, apples, bananas, peas, ground beef, chicken thighs, black beans, lentils, tomatoes, lettuce, kale, broccoli, spinach, steel cut oats, brown rice, black rice, tuna, bacon, popcorn That's what I buy almost every week, or I always have on hand. Otherwise I buy what's on sale or in season. ETA: OH!!! And coffee!!!

I would actually just work on playful exercises that help her use her lips and tongue. Here are some ideas from many, many years of speech: Blowing bubbles Blowing out candles (playing happy birthday) Chewing licorice was recommended to us- not sure what you could use for a young child Ask the speech therapist for some of that chewy tube stuff for her to chew on while she watches a show or does a puzzle Put a Cheerio on her tongue, with her tongue sticking straight out and count to 10 while she holds it there Do the same Cheerios thing, but hold it on "the spot" (ridge on the roof of the mouth, behind the front teeth) Have her push against a tongue depressor with her tongue Oh! I just found this. There is a ton of stuff online. Just make a list and do a few each day. http://www.superduperinc.com/handouts/pdf/179_oral-motorworkout.pdf

Being inclusive is not their goal. Being secular is their goal. There is a great blog post about it on the Inappropriate Homeschooler blog. I would post the link if I was on my computer. If there is any agenda, it is finally having a safe place for families who are sick of always having to second guess everything in their "inclusive" homeschooling groups. I was invited to a "secular" science class taught by a homeschooling mom. In her mind, it was secular because they weren't going to discuss creation OR evolution (even if it came up). That's what some of us are trying to get away from. Some of us Iive in communities where we are the minority. It's nice to have an outlet with like-minded homeschoolers. Just like Christian homeschoolers have.

Yep. Another former teacher here (k and 1st) encouraging you to not worry about standards and focus on what your child needs. And I agree those are ridiculous standards. We are talking about kids who are either developmentally ready to use symbols to quantify sets or not. It's not a matter of forcing it upon them. I had first graders who couldn't make sets to 25 cents until the end of the year. It's not fair to expect those things of a child who is not developmentally ready. The fact that your mom lives with you is relevant because you want her support. I think it's fine to involve her and discuss things with her. But it's also fine to let her feel differently and to disagree. You can come here for validation. :)

My girls did a week at 8 and a week at 9. She'll be fine! If she gets homesick, it's only a week. She'll survive. I think it's great for them to have those experiences.

I have one introvert and one extrovert and they are twins! It's a constant balancing act for us. My extrovert was 8 when we started homeschooling and it was hard for her at first. We joined a few groups and had regular "get togethers" (for Ellie ;) ) with friends. She would be with other people- talking to other people, all day long if she could. The turning point for her was when she started identifying as a homeschooler. When she realized all the things she couldn't do if she went back to school, she stopped idealizing it. It's taken a lot of time and effort, but we've lived in three different states and have always figured out a way to create a social life in which she thrives. She tried her first online class this year through Athena's and loved it, especially the message boards. That was nice because her sister could read in the other room. We have also participated in several park groups (the absolutely best way to socialize, for us- lots of freedom and creativity), homeschool classes in the community, and sports teams.