I don't know. We didn't leave our older kid in the car till he was in the 12 - 13 year range, and he was tall. But we were in a fairly urban area, and periodically there are news stories here reminding us not to leave kids in the car. Since you've had issues with bystanders being uncomfortable with kids in the car, I would probably be very cautious, in your shoes.

I am not a big saver. We keep pictures, and pass the things along. I have a few items from my childhood: Breyer horses; a few favorite books (Silver Brumby, anyone?); and a special stuffed animal. I will save the same general selection for the kids: a favorite collection, if there is one; a few favorite books; a special lovey. More than that feels like overkill. If there is room for a box of Lego or Playmobil, that might stick around, too. We gave the Thomas collection away as soon as DS outgrew it, and for years the recipient sent pics of her little ones playing with it. That made DS super happy to see. I hope he will always love giving outgrown toys to others. DS and DD also have collections of items from their birthfamilies. All of those items will be saved.

Ooooh, I've been waiting for them to go on sale. Thanks for posting this.

Sure, we can compare notes. :) Thanks for sharing what you're using alongside. I am still waffling, sadly, and can't seem to quite make up my mind. Aaaaaggghhhh! We have a few MBtP units to finish up, then our Not-Back-to-School Vacation, and we start the second week of Sept, so we'll be slightly behind you. Can't wait to get started!

Better Binders from Staples.

I'm so, so sorry. Many hugs and warm thoughts to you.

I agree with you here.

Thinking of you...

Conversely, I've heard a lot of crickets chirping when talking to other homeschoolers. So this isn't limited to "I homeschool," or "I'm a SAHM," etc. We can be having a great time chatting while our kids do X activity, and then they ask what church we attend. This isn't an unreasonable question in our area - most of the homeschoolers are doing it for religious reasons. When I say we don't attend a church (and that's all I say, honestly, there isn't more to say than that, so I don't think I'm being offensive.) ... Crickets. That is when I have had people physically turn away, move chairs, or actually walk away. It bothered me at first, but now I just think life is too short to get upset about it. We have a great group of friends, of all religious bents, and we'd love to add more, but if someone is that opposed to even chatting... I think it's their loss.

We are doing BYL for 5th this year (American History). Very excited about it. I can't decide on what to pair with it, though. I think I've got grammar narrowed down (Winston Grammar, not one I see mentioned here often), and we'll do TT for math. I'm waffling on spelling. AAS doesn't work well for me - it's too fussy, too many pieces, I think. We tried Sequential Spelling last year, but it didn't seem to stick. So I want to look at other options. And I'm stuck on science. Elemental Logic Biology looks like it will be just above my 5th grader - he is not a strong writer (he has had serious vision struggles). The material would be fine, but I think he'll get more out of it if we wait a year. So I'm looking for a different secular science. If you're doing BYL, what are you using alongside? What am I missing?

For that age, we used FLL (First Language Lessons). Mostly oral lessons, no workbook involved. It was DS's favorite subject for a while. We did move away from it later, but at 7, for a wiggly workbook-hater, it was a good fit.

Listening in. We used AAS, loved the results but it was too fussy for me at the time. Switched to Sequential Spelling last year, and now I've been thinking we need to backtrack back to AAS. If there's another option, I'd love to hear it.

Discount School Supply has a large selection of large motor indoor activities. I was drooling just a few days ago. You might do some browsing there. Slides, obstacle course kits, ball pits, indoor trampoline, love the indoor swings. I'm not into lots of little toys either. :)

I'm in love with the climbing wall linked above. And the idea of indoor swings and active toys for kids. Our basement is a studio - music and art. It is not kid friendly though, as it's definitely a grown up space, and it's where DH works from home. But one can dream, right?

BTW, OP, I bet we could all find lots to talk about with you. :)

When they find out I'm a SAHM, and homeschooling, I just laugh and point out the "boxes." Most people we meet can tell from our prior conversation up to that point, what we're doing, who we're with, etc. that I don't fit the boxes. I guess, maybe, just don't let the conversation stop. We have new-ish friends who are PS teachers, and are not fans of homeschool. At all. But they get why we homeschool, and now they see we're real people, and I think they're okay with it. Either that or they are trying to save our educational souls with their presence. :lol:

That's good to know. DH manages the US division, thus the insurance, too. He's wondered what would happen if a person with a large family applied for a job (he's hiring right now, so this has come up). For now, they do pay for each child, but most of the families have 3 kids, and he can see the rates go up based on each child. I'll let him know to ask the ins broker about more kids, so he knows how it will work if a candidate for the current job has more kids (unlikely, since the current opening is for entry level, but you never know!). Thanks. :)

That's how we clean Lego and Playmobil. Works beautifully.

I'll agree, too. We've taught the same thing, and I could have written the same thing about family. There's more to the story for us, and maybe for you, too. Still, it stings. As anything that impacts our kids stings. We don't communicate as much as we used to communicate, due to the avoidance of phone calls/texts, and the "busier than anyone in the world" announcements which don't exactly lend themselves to our pushing for more time. :grouphug: You're not alone.

Thank you!!!!!!!! Mine are back, too. :)

Do you have a board certified allergist on board? We worked for years on DS's agonizing eczema. Years. So I understand. We finally found what helps him, though it might not help your kiddo - so typing what helped DS seems a bit superfluous. Allergist finally tested DS for more food allergens, and it turned out he had IgE mediated allergies to wheat and dairy. We did a 2 week trial without those, and found that when we added them back - the eczema flared. So we avoid them now. Not as stringently as we avoid his anaphylactic allergens, but we don't let him consume them outright or as ingredients. We do a lot of other things, but those were the ones that made the most difference. We still get weird recommendations. Like the person who tells us that DS should drink raw milk to cure his allergies, of course - he's allergic to *all* milk, hello?? I wouldn't put essential oils on irritated skin. Hoping you find something to help soon!

Life after Lego... Hmmm... There is such a thing? I like the way Betty put it. At some point it moves from toys to interests. She said it well. Our older son moved out of Lego, though it has a fond spot in his heart, and moved into these stages: Model building Rocket building Maker stuff (Make magazine type projects) Theater set building Improv Pyrotechnics (had to get special training for this, obviously) Theater stuck. He's now finished his degree in tech theater, so he really stuck with the set building. I can see the progression of his interests there, and how they moved him forward into his chosen field. ETA: DS10 is moving more into the same path as our older son. He loves DIY.org, and it's helping him find new interests.

:hurray: Yay for hitting the magic number! (Boo for having a high deductible.)

Is this what you mean? DH's company pays all families' insurance. So if an employee has no kids or is married with 3 kids - company pays for the insurance. (I don't know how they'd react to a very large family, we've never been down that road in this company.) This year, they switched to a plan with an HSA and a higher deductible, so what they did was what the insurance agent called, "Make it whole." The company paid the high deductible in advance, by depositing the amount in the HSA account. Once the deductible is reached, there are no co-pays. So essentially, yes, they paid all the co-pays. ETA: DH and I are well aware that this is not the norm here, and we're grateful! He works for a European based company, who views health care for its employees as essential, and is determined to provide it. They have been horrified at the sharp increases in health care the last few years though, so every year we worry that their take on this may change.

Withdrawal here, too.