They have sales all the time especially close to the beginning of school. It is honestly one of the best curriculum choices I have ever made. We will be using it for the third year in a row next year, so I have definitely got my money's worth out of it. You can sign up for their emails or join the FB group to learn about the sales. Also, the month of September is available as a free sample on their website, so you see if it is a match for your family.

It wasn't at my convention at the Rainbow Resource booth. I stopped and asked about it and they didn't bring it, so if you really want to see it I would contact them ahead of time to make sure they bring it. I was pretty disappointed to not be able to see it in person. It was one of the only things I really wanted to see in person.

HSBC doesn't have the last couple of years of Arrows on their site and in my opinion they are so much better. My guess is that they are not going to offer the newer titles at HSBC. Julie said Faltering Ownership would never be offered at HSBC. There are several that I really wanted from last year, but I don't want to pay $10 for each Arrow. I am seriously thinking about trying to make up my own.

We used YNAB and it has been very successful for us, but we work it in a way that works for both of us. We budget cash and other discretionary money for both of us. If we over spend in one category, then that money has to come from somewhere. We are not super strict in the way we work it, but we have found is that our spending has been more consistent due to using the program.

I just purchased an old copy of the History of Classical Music that I will be using with a middle schooler next year. I am going to try the geography program with all my kids this summer, but this will be my first experience with BF study guides.

I have old Chuck Swindoll cds that we bought directly from his ministry. I don't know if they still carry them, but we have several different series.

You took the words right out of my mouth. If I had to do it all over again with my oldest, I wouldn't have even started grammar that early. Looking back it seems like such a waste of time to spend so much time on grammar especially when I feel like her retention was terrible. I can see covering some basics in elementary school and then doing a comprehensive grammar program in junior high. I know the OP doesn't have that choice, but it breaks my heart to hear so many of my friends whose kids are in private or public school talk about kids being behind in 1st or 2nd grade in things like grammar or spelling. The anxiety they share with me seems so misplaced and really damaging to kids. Hope you find something that helps your child, but I think what you are describing is completely developmentally appropriate for this age.

I used Rightstart A-E with my oldest and I am working through the levels with my younger children. I kept reading here that a lot of people switch after level B or C, but we just loved it and never felt the need to switch even though I considered it every year. We have also used Math Mammoth and Singapore, but I love Rightstart the best. My oldest is now in 6th grade and she was just talking about how much is loved her years in RS and what a strong foundation it gave her. RS is definitely one of the best curriculum decisions I have ever made.

I can't wait for this look to go out of style because it looks terrible on me. I looks so cute on a lot of people, but it is so unflattering on me. I have tried to make this work so many times and just decided to give up.

I think one of the wonderful things about the Alliance is that you can come and go at will. If you have ever considered it, then the summer is the time to try it when you have a little bit more time. When you join, you have access to all the previous month's content. You could really do a deep dive on a couple of the topics that are of most interest to you and then decide if it is something that is a good fit for you on a monthly basis. I love The Alliance, but it is definitely a commitment of time for me to really feel like I am getting my money's worth.

In my early years of homeschooling, I made my oldest do lots of extension activities with books. She is a voracious reader, but she began to dread these activities. I was then introduced to Julie Bogart of Bravewriter and she mentioned Big Juicy Conversations. Now we have really rich conversations about books, but very few busy work activities at the completion. This practice has been such a game changer for our homeschool. Her thinking and reasoning skills are amazing for her age and I think that comes from all of our great conversations. I think the extensions activities mentioned above would be really good to use occasionally, but I don't think the traditional follow-up to a novel project are necessary with every book.

You have already received a lot of good advice. I would say that if I could get a do over on the early years, I would be so much more relaxed. In your situation, I would combine the 2, 4, and 6 year old and do something like The Homegrown Preschooler's A Year of Playing Skillfully or maybe Five in a Row. I have used both and love them both. You could do activities with your littles while your 8 year old does some independent work. We all start with morning work, but in your case that might last 10-15 minutes Then I spend quality time with my little one first thing in the morning and it does seem to help. I also think having meaning work that is age appropriate has helped a ton with behavior in our house. Then I would use a video and nap time to do work with your 8 year old. My experience is that 18 months- 2 1/2 years old is the hardest ages to manage during school. My youngest is now 5 years old and she can go and play blocks, art, and lots of other things by herself that she couldn't do years ago. It really does get easier as they get older. I do wake kids up every day so that we can eat breakfast at a similar time. I stopped having chore time first thing in the morning because it was ruining our day. We now do it after lunch or right before rest time. Your situation might be different, but I protect those morning hours for school because it gives me time with my little one and everyone seems to be more cooperative early in the day. Hang in there, this season is not permanent.

I think Julie recommends Kids Write Intermediate for middle school. She is very responsive to emails or calls, so it might be worth reaching out to her to get her suggestion.

We have used Rightstart and Singapore with our kids. They are both great programs and you can't go wrong with either program. I think that Rightstart is so much easier to teach because it is scripted and you don't have to juggle multiple books. I know some people complain about how teacher intensive both programs are, but I think that is the just the nature of elementary math. I have learned so much personally from both programs especially in regards to mental math.

My kids have completed JID and PW, but we are starting FO next year. I let them work on their projects everyday for as long as it took them. Some projects were quick and others really took a long time. We only occasionally use Arrows, even though I enjoy them. The format of the Arrows is that there is one writing project a month. I think you might want some flexibility to just be working on the Arrow writing project one week and maybe you take a break from FO that week. The first 3 weeks of the Arrow are not very time consuming. You might want to print out the samples of both and see about how much work is typical. One thing that I love about BW is that it is so flexible, make it work for you. I never make it through all the writing projects in one year. We just get as far as we can and then work on it some more the next year. BW has been so enriching to our homeschool experience.

I would look at the samples for Partnership Writing and Faltering Ownership to see which product most meets your child's writing ability. We used PW in 5th and 6th and I think she probably was ready for FO. We enjoyed PW, but it might have been a little easy for my daughter. I do think the most recent Arrows from this year and last year are much better than the older Arrows. My daughter will go into Faltering Ownership next year. If you haven't added Friday Freewrites, then I highly recommend them. We have so much fun writing together on Fridays from prompts on Julie's Pinterest page.

Another vote for binge watching Angie at Hot and Flashy on Youtube. I have learned so much about anti-aging since I started watching her channel.

I finally broke down and bought the Elta Clear sunscreen after usually lots of samples from my doctor. I also tried the Cerave AM with zinc oxide. My dermatologist was adamant about sunscreen with zinc. The reason I went with the Elta is simply because of how clear my skin in when I use it, but I think the Cerave AM is another great option.

One recommendation I heard was to start out slow with applying only once or twice and week and then gradually moving your way up as your skin gets used to it. Most people quit Retin-a because they can't handle all the side effects, but I have heard that the easing into can help. I am actually trying Differin right now instead of Retin-a because it is over the counter and a little cheaper for me. I would start with the .025 of Retin-a and see how it goes. I will warn you that Differin and Retin-a are much stronger than other OTC formulas.

We absolutely love The Homegrown Preschooler's curriculum. I just wish it had been out with my older kids. It is a sensory-rich curriculum that has been so perfect for my little one. http://www.thehomegrownpreschooler.com/product/a-year-of-playing-skillfully-printed-version/

The ability to return to Sear is the only reason that I order anything from Land's End. Ordering on-line can be real hit or miss for me in regards to sizing. I haven't had a return in a while so I need to check the policy before I order from LE again.

We loved our years with FIAR. We never read any book 5 times. We usually read the book once or twice and then tried to listen to it on Youtube. I always search Pinterest for each book and we just pick the activities that we like. I also always check the Delightful Learning blog for her ideas. I do pick a few things out of the manual, but FIAR is a supplement not a full curriculum for us. My kids have the most wonderful memories of our years with FIAR.

Read aloud is an area of extreme passion for me. I heartily recommend The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease for great read aloud suggestions. In the RAH, Jim Trelease shares that in reading aloud we : build vocabulary, condition the child's brain to associate reading with pleasure, create background knowledge, provide a reading role model, and plant the desire to read. The magic of read aloud is that we can relate to the book in different ways, but we are experiencing it together. And those experiences lead to cherished memories of our time together. Our favorite read alouds inevitably lead to big juicy conversations between siblings of all ages. I don't think we get too old to enjoy the magic of read aloud.

My mom and I both get headaches from having the heat on in the house. I also get really congested from the heat. I am fortunate that I don't live in a cold climate so we can normally run our heat at 68 degrees during the day, but I have to turn it down at night or I will have a headache. My mom keeps her house on 65 because she is even more sensitive than I am. I do think a humidifier helps, but I definitely have to have the heat lower at night.

I would recommend contacting Julie Bogart directly. She is very responsive to inquiries about Bravewriter and will walk you through her suggestions. She spends a great deal of time every week answering calls and emails. I would also suggest her Youtube page as a great place to get a feel for BW.