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You're welcome. Sometimes we just need a nudge back to our center of gravity. One of the programs we used was HOD CTC. I loved it all, the concept of CM with classical, the notebooking, the living books, having it all planned out; she hated it because I didn't work alongside her like I should have. I could easily envision using HOD for the rest of our years, but she will not go back to it because I botched that year so badly. Every time I mention it she groans rather noisily. This DD is in 8th grade now and still doesn't enjoy school very much.

My daughter has recently been diagnosed with alternating esotropia with the recommendation given for vision therapy to the tune of $4000 over six months which is not covered by insurance. I happened to be reading the book Why Isn't My Brain Working?, and one of the patient testimonials in it mentioned fish oil helping vision, eye turn, in particular, which is what my daughter has. A 14-month-old girl was given a special formulation of fish oil, and her vision problem went away in a week and returns if she doesn't take it for a few days. The oil is a ratio of at least 10:1 up to 20:1 of DHA to EPA to help mental and visual function. There are many different ratios of fish oils out there with different types of oils based on the fish it comes from. Metagenics has an oil that meets the criteria. I am now giving this to my daughter in hopes that it is of benefit to her eye turn. It hasn't been enough days to say yeah/nay yet. She has been on a different formulation of fish oil for several months, and this has helped the bumps on the back of her arms but not the eyes. Fish oil might be a consideration to boost his brain overall even if it doesn't solve the eye symptoms. Remember that the different formulations of fish oils treat different things and may be worth researching further.

Maybe this would be a good time for Prairie Primer. It is a gentle approach yet very complete. Also, never underestimate how important it is for you to still be really alongside your children at this stage. I stopped working with my kids far too early and expected them to just do their schoolwork. This really kills their love of learning quickly. One of the results was they hated their curriculum, so they wanted to switch which I did, thinking the curriculum was the problem when it really was me not spending the time with them that they needed. I hope I said this gently. I have been exactly where you are now.

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We used Multiplication Facts in 7 Days. It shows them visually that there are a lot of duplicates in the 10x10 facts and has you cross them out, showing that there aren't nearly as many to learn as the brain thinks when it looks at a 10x10 chart. Then each day a set of them is learned in a systematic way, like the 0's, then the 1's, then the doubles, etc. It finally started to stick with my daughter when she worked through this book. I have this book for sale right now for $7 ppd.

You might consider Guest Hollow for history schedules. They are free and very full with lots of books, videos, and hands-on. http://www.guesthollow.com/homeschool/curriculum.html Regarding Switched on Schoolhouse, be sure your student goes through the sample videos for several 4th grade classes (more than just the short history one) to get a feel for how they work. BJU offers DVD courses. My 13 y/o daughter prefers them for science and history. Very visual with an interesting textbook, workbook and tests available.

Regarding Grace Academy, please read this thread and be forewarned. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/503969-k12-homeschool-academy-dot-org/

None here, none at all. It rains so much of the year here that we celebrate sunshine in the summer and live outside as much as possible. Besides I need a break!

You might want to research diatomaceous earth and its use for worms. Here is a link to get you started. https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/benefits-diatomaceous-earth/ It is a powder and is available in human grade. We put this on our cat's food everyday, because he is prone to mange which is a skin condition caused by mites which leads to itching, hair loss, and a very grumpy cat. He has been mange-free since within days of beginning the diatomaceous earth. He wished we didn't put it on his food, but he has to eat, so he eats it. Anti-parasitics are toxic, and animals will live longer, healthier lives if they aren't given poison. DE will also kill candida in humans, among other bugs. Just be sure to use human grade.

You have no idea how much I wish I had stuck with HOD CTC three years ago. I was being very selfish with my time and not willing to guide my daughter into learning how to use it more independently - I pretty much gave it to her and said DO IT and then became frustrated with it and her because she didn't. My negative attitude rubbed off on her (of course!), and now she refuses to go back to HOD when I mention it, even though it really meets all of my *wishes* for homeschooling, like living books, narration, copywork, beautiful notebooking pages (love how it gently teaches them to write), timeline, art work, and a glorious schedule, etc. I am hoping she will consider again in 2015 when she enters grade 9. One of my biggest regrets with homeschooling is not using the curriculum I chose but instead hopping around from thing to thing, looking for the perfect curriculum when what I really needed to do was set my butt down at the table and work with them, rather than expecting them to go off and do their work by themselves, which I did expect as early as grade 3-5. What can happen with skipping around is gaps. I know every student has gaps, but we didn't get to some basics - presidents study, state study, because of wasting time skipping around. I have learned that homeschooling is all about me. My attitude and availability are so crucial. And maybe this doesn't speak to your situation at all, but I thought I'd share in case it would help someone else to stay the course.

Brain Gym is a program that uses exercises to get both sides of the brain working together. We used it a lot when the kids were little with good success. You don't need to take a course because the exercises are simple, and you can do them with your child for fun. The workbook would be enough on its own.

Heart of Dakota has lovely notebooking pages and lots of great books. Craft projects are scheduled right in with step-by-step instructions given for even the least crafty mom. All subjects are scheduled but you could still use your own publisher for some subjects, such as math, LA, and science, but you could just use HOD's recommendations.

The only time I use the convection feature on my oven is when baking with multiple racks, such as cookies. My advice is to not use convection bake for the first time when you have company, as it might not turn out how you expect. Ask me how I know! Yep, raw roast. So I stick to convecting cookies only.

We loved Expedition Earth, a world geography curriculum. It comes in PDF. http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/world-geography

:blink: I did a double take when I read money is not a huge concern for schooling. You are most fortunate.

A friend's son was diagnosed with Tourette's when he was 12-ish. She took him off corn, and all of his symptoms went away completely. For sure look at diet and perhaps do an elimination diet. Corn is in far more than you think. You may become a master label-reader.

Thank you for the info. I thought the offer of $400 per 6 subjects for a year was a little sketchy. It also seemed weird to have so many academies linked together.

Sorry about that. It is K-12HomeschoolAcademy.org (there is a hyphen)

Has anyone used K-12HomeschoolAcademy.org? It is an online curriculum for all grade levels. What is your opinion about it? Things you liked / didn't like. Does it appear to be at grade level? How much parental involvement is required? I'm looking to outsource grades 8 and 11 next year.

Has anyone used K12 Homeschool Academy . org? It is an online curriculum for all grade levels. What is your opinion about it? Things you liked / didn't like. Does it appear to be at grade level? How much parental involvement is required? I'm looking to outsource grades 8 and 11 next year.

Any word on this study guide? We are planning on using Medieval World this year and would so love to have the guide!!!

Thank you for the link that has questions for each chapter of this book. That is EXACTLY what I am looking for. I am bumping this up with the correct title of the book - maybe someone else needs it, too and couldn't find it by what it was titled. A Patriot's History of the United States by Larry Schweikart

And a schedule for BJU World History 3rd Edition is here: http://www.bjupress.com/pdfs/lpo/heritage-10-world-history-3rd.pdf By changing the name of the PDF file, you can likely find more BJU schedules this way. For instance, I found these by changing the name of the file. Just keep the format the same and play with it until you find what you need. http://www.bjupress.com/pdfs/lpo/heritage-7-world-studies-3rd.pdf http://www.bjupress.com/pdfs/lpo/heritage-11-us-history-3rd.pdf http://www.bjupress.com/pdfs/lpo/science-7-life-science-3rd.pdf

I found a schedule for BJU US History 3rd edition here: http://www.bjupress.com/pdfs/lpo/heritage-11-us-history-3rd.pdf Chapters take 5-8 days in general.