You know, I may just do this....if we don't get to the final unit or two, it's not the end of the world, and it would be because we did a LOT of other stuff. And spent a lot of time on Native issues/events, added in the History Smasher's Mayflower and History Smasher's American Revolution, etc. We spent much more time on those topics, as well as pre Columbian topics, so it makes sense we wouldn't cover as much of more modern history. Maybe I'll ask HER what unit or two she'd want to skip. Oh, I'll look. I might even try emailing them.

And yes, we definitely want to keep them in the STEM program. If anyone wants to see some of what they do, this is their facebook page - if you scroll down to the lockpicking workshop post, DH taught that, and DD13 is the girl in the red shirt and glasses, giving her friend a dirty look (because he broke the lock rather than picking it, lol) https://www.facebook.com/metahumanseducation

Thank you, I think you have some good tips here. She's doing America the Beautiful. I had her start on lesson 39, this past Wednesday after a week of looking at and ordering something that she thought would work for her. I think I needed to hear that bolded part. Because although it is obvious, it's still so hard to remember, lol. Yes, we did a mash up of Oh Freedom and History Quest (History Quest is for up to 6th I think). Plus historical fiction stuff. And some mapwork using Seterra. What I may do is having her only READ some lessons, and do the reading and review questions/map/timeline on others. So maybe just reading on the ones that are about natural wonders, or let her pick one lesson a week to just read.

Yeah, I think maybe she just needs to do extra history the other days, if need be. Maybe two lessons on Mondays, which are usually are day at home. If she does 5 lessons a week from now on she'd finish July 11th, so still have some summer break before we start back up mid/end of August. Or I may get to mid/late June and I'll decide that's enough bookwork, and just do some videos for the last few units - they do have videos and such to go along with the text on their supplements page.

I'm realizing this has come to a head partly because of the switch in curriculum midyear. Because we spent way more time covering certain time periods than the textbook does, she is "behind" already, even if doing a lesson 5 days a week. If she does only 4 lessons a week I'm not sure she'd finish before next fall. So then, do I cut out some lessons, just not do the last few units, I don't know. I could have just had her skip some stuff and start further in, but I didn't.

Math gets done usually 5 days a week, sometimes only 4 days a week, with her knowing that means math will go into summer. She reads 5 days a week (or more), and we listen to audio books in the car and/or I read aloud to them 3-4 days a week. We discuss orally what we are reading. is working through Essentials in Writing. That is done about 4 days a week, with me crossing out some lessons because she doesn't need 6 full days of "Don't vs Doesn't" or whatever. Some days are grammar exercises, some are rewriting a sample paragraph to be better, some are writing based on prompts, etc. I've also said that this month I want her (and her brother) to do at least one written book summary for the STEM drop off program (they earn "xp" for reading as well as for writing summaries, but it's optional and so far neither have written a summary) She also does "speed presentations" at the STEM drop off about once a month, where she has to research and design a powerpoint in a short amount of time and then present it. Sometimes they are serious, sometimes they are silly. I am definitely more worried about how to balance this next year, as a highschooler. I'm leaning toward something like Notgrass that has fewer weeks scheduled to help fit everything in, although I might prefer a different curricula. Science is still up in the air for next year...sigh.

My friend's black lab mix has been bitten by rattlesnakes at least 6 times now...might be up to 7. That dog HATES reptiles of all kinds.

This year is our first big year with lots of activities. And with my DD13 in 8th, I'm finding it harder to balance school work with everything else. We try to do quite a few field trips - this year we've done Jewel Cave, Minuteman National Monument, Custer State Park, Devil's Tower, Mount Rushmore, a historic gold mine, Badlands National Park, a homeschool program at Kennedy Space Center, a guided hike to learn about dragon and damselflies, the local Regional History Center, the local Science Center, a historic national fishery, the High Plains Western Heritage Museum, and Blue Springs State Park. So those are days we are learning, but not doing "school work" in the sense of math lessons, grammar lessons, textbook assignments, etc. She also goes to a drop off STEM program - she was doing two days a week but since the holidays dropped to once a week. It's is an amazing place, and she learns a lot. They do a 90 minute science workshop where the kids take notes, there is a demonstration, and often a hands on component. Topics ranged from a series on the "inner life of computers", botany, chemistry, etc. They also participate in classes on CAD, and coding, are growing plants in a hydroponic system and made their own mini hydroponic system, play/learn with Spintronics, Turing Tumble, financial literacy games, media literacy, etc. Plus social time, playing chess, doing duolingo. AND they help clean up, etc. But with all that it is a long day, and it is 30 minutes away. So we leave at about 9:15am and I pick them up at 5:30pm or so, and then are home around 6pm or later depending on traffic, etc. We listen to science podcasts or audiobooks of historical fiction, or chapters from History Quest US or A Different Mirror or various other things. By the time we get home, do dinner, etc the kids are worn out. Asking them to do a full history lesson, math lesson, and more on top of what they did all day seems too much. I had been doing history just with various living books and videos, as a family, but DD13 felt that wasn't enough and hates being lumped in with her younger siblings, so now she's doing Notgrass America The Beautiful. It is designed to be done 5 days a week, do I make her do 5 lessons a week? I've basically made science VERY light, with mostly podcasts and documentaries and field trips given how much they are doing at the drop off program, so that does free up more time in the week. Except of course then there are the board game meet ups on Tuesday, Park Day on Wednesday, PE drop off program for 2 hours on Thursday. Then the STEM program Friday. Our only full day home is monday, and last monday we went to Blue Springs State Park to see the manatees (636!). I hate to say no we can't do the social stuff, she has struggled socially and really needs it. I have been making her do a 5th math lesson on the weekend, to make up for missing on Fridays, but I hate to do that with history as well....but maybe I need to. Any thoughts? Do I just have her do 4 days of schoolwork a week, plus 1 day of STEM, knowing some days we will have field trips and skip entirely? Cut back on what we cover in textbook subjects? Thoughts?

In Florida you can get beer/wine at grocery stores and convenience stores and such, but not hard liquor. I was amazed to find whiskey in the grocery store in South Dakota! I'd never seen that! Oh, and growing up we couldn't buy beer/wine until after 12:00pm on Sundays. I am not sure if that was a county thing, but I think so. I have no idea if that is still the case down there, but I don't think so?

I have been known lately to say, in exasperation, "can I get a NOUN, please??????" And then we wonder why their writing is so bad - I'm convinced that 90% of teaching kids to write well is first teaching them to speak clearly. I've partially gotten DH to stop this, but now dd6 is like this. Drives me BATTY. I put her hair up in a ponytail for her the other day, and asked "is that better?" I wanted a yes or no. I got a 5 minute discourse on the history of her various hairstyles and pros and cons of various hair ties and clips.

Black coat is dominant, and short fur is dominant, so if it was a black dog and a golden, you get a black dog. My dog is mostly bloodhound and coonhound, but part newfoundland so is black like the newfie but short haired like a hound.

oh yes. I have grey leggings and I only wear them in the winter.

I learned about the different kind of Smarties also from a detective/crime novel set in the UK, lol. A Scottish detective kept bribing his kid with them to get her to let him get some work done. He mentioned the chocolate she had smeared on her face at one point, so I googled it.

I was reading a detective novel set in England, and at one point someone brings the main character two flapjacks for him to munch on with his tea, while he works on the computer. He picks one up and bites into it, describing it as chewy. I was VERY confused as to why one would have pancakes as a typical snack, and eat them with their hands. I mean...I've DONE IT, lol, but it's not "normal". So I googled, and it turns out they are more like what I'd call a granola bar than a pancake! I have some baking now (well, sort of...I was out of regular oats but had some "superfood oatmeal" that has flax and chia and stuff in it and used that). Super easy, but not healthy. My Weight Watchers app says 9 points for 1/12 of the pan. I only get 23 points per day, lol. (some foods are zero points though, and I get 28 weekly points I can divvy up over the week how I want, so I may still try them). https://www.thespruceeats.com/yummy-easy-traditional-flapjack-recipe-435285 edited to adjust serving size

My husband and youngest daughter tend to be walking recipe blogs...in that there are stories, photos, anecdotes, and memories told way way before you get to the pertinent information. I'm very tempted to say, "jump to recipe" when they start. I just want the answer to my question, not a memoir.

Swamp A$$ is real. If a person doesn't live where they need a shower and full change of clothing just from walking outside to get the mail, they may not realize how many body parts actually produce sweat, and how much sweat, and that yes, that sweat can have an odor. If I do a full workout in the heat, I'm going to be soaked. Like, girls wringing out their sports bras like they are a wet dishcloth soaked. Undies are even worse.

To be fair, I DO smell after a heavy workout in more places than my underarms. I actually bought some Lume to try for that very reason. However, I got the unscented and it smells so bad I won't use it, lol. I also switched to all cotton underwear, as it seems the real problem was that my microfiber undies that I loved were retaining body odor, then when I got hot and sweaty they released that odor. So it was the current sweaty smell PLUS every previous sweaty odor that had been baked into the synthetic fabric. Switching to cotton, which doesn't tend to retain odors, fixed the problem. I still need a shower after a workout, but don't worry that other people are smelling me through my clothing on the way out of the gym, car ride home, etc.

WOW. Yeah, that's crazy!~!!! I think people think of the south as so very racist, but at least we are in a community where there are people that don't look like us that we interact with every day. Growing up I had the added benefit of having a LOT of diversity - in any given class there would be first or second generation immigrants from Cuba, Guatamala, Puerto Rico, The Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, India, etc. Plus religiously we had lots of Catholic, Jewish, Mainline Protestant, Evangelical Protestant, and a significant number of Jehovah's Witnesses. It's harder to feel ostracized when there are so many different religions, skin colors, etc.

Huh, see I've had bariatric surgery, and I'm so slow to drink that 40 oz seems super excessive to me - personally I'd be somewhere I could refill before I'd get through 40oz. But mostly, I guess I just wouldn't want to have to carry it around with me. I'm probably not the target audience - when I'm out and about I'm walking or hanging out in a park or stores or museums or whatever, and that's too big to want to carry around. I suppose if I was only carrying it into an office from my car and back again that would be different - it would be sitting on the desk in one spot all day. Even at home I'm constantly carrying my drink up and down stair, room to room, etc.

My 6 yr old once started crying that she never wants to grow up, and she's always refused to be a "big kid". It's...odd.

I'm somewhere in the middle. On the one hand, when we went to South Dakota we were shocked that we only saw "white people" the whole time, and never once heard another language being spoken. I hadn't realized how normal it was to hear multiple languages when out and about until we went on that trip and suddenly we didn't. We saw ONE African American the whole time - and that was at the conference my DH was working, and he was from out of town. That was a HUGE HUGE difference for us. And never saw anyone obviously Hispanic, Asian, etc. So in that way, my area is pretty diverse. BUT, within the subculture of suburban teens yes, they all have the exact same hairstyle, makeup, clothes, etc. It's...unnerving. Like being in a weird Twilight Zone sketch. It's a big reason my DD doesn't want to go to public school - she knows she wouldn't fit in. There is a bit more diversity in style in the homeschool world, thankfully. But truly, the teens are basically clones of each other. AND their mom's have the same style too!

HIGH was 53. It was in the twenties. And If this is when I think it was, it was also windy. Yeah, our "winter coat" is a regular old hoodie. Actually, mine doesn't even have a hood, lol. I also own 2 long sleeve cotton thin shirts and 1 sweatshirt. And my warmest pants are regular old cotton hanes sweatpants. So yes, we needed to layer in 20/30 degree weather, and limit time outdoors because we are all in cropped leggings, a tshirt, and a hoodie. And with the wind and humidity it feels MUCH colder. As Lady says, assume the temp feels 20 degrees colder than the thermometer says. I was SHOCKED at how comfortable I was in Wisconsin and in South Dakota in the 40s compared to 60's here.

Do people really need 40oz of capacity in their drinking cups? Are they not able to access more water during the day? I can't imagine what a pain it would be to carry a heavy cup with that much water when we live in a country that in most places has free and safe water available for refills.

I'd be very concerned about a blood clot, personally. Not saying it is the most likely scenario, I have no idea if it is. But it is a dangerous scenario, so I'd want it ruled out.

Oh, they often have frozen bags of rice - much tastier than other "fast" rice. A convenience food for sure, but nice to have on hand. DH likes the asian meals.