We are traditional in the sense that he works and I'm a stay at home mom. Our "roles" naturally reflect that. I'm home and I take care of the house, it's what I love and why I quit working. Having dinner ready for him after he's worked all day is simply loving my guy. Same thing applies if we are out and I fix him a plate. He doesn't expect it, I'm just showing him some love. I do our finances, I'm better at it so it just makes sense. I don't run the budget by him or anything, he has total trust that I know what I'm doing. As far as family decisions, we make them together. If he felt really strongly about something I'd probably follow his lead. But honestly, if I felt really strongly about something he would bend. I don't see that as anything other than compromise though. Anyway, my marriage is very traditional in the sense that we have "roles", that are often associated as gender specific-- but I really love my role as a mom and a wife. It comes effortlessly to me and I see it as a total joy.

I was very cold, like unusually cold all of the time. After enough people told me it wasn't normal to be freezing all of the time, I discovered it was related to my thyroid.

Yes, I just didn't want the OP to think being weak in math was a reason to feel ill-equipped to homeschool. I think trying find a good curriculum, online class, tutor, etc. that fits a parent's (or student's) weakness is approaching it with a positive and realistic attitude. It's the same with writing, grammar, a foreign language, etc. Our own limitations and strengths will vary, and I don't think as homeschool moms we need to be proficient in all subjects to successfully teach our children at home.

You can outsource a subject and homeschool successfully. I certainly don't think you need to be good at and/or like math to homeschool. Having a grasp and understanding on a subject isn't always enjoyable. In college I naturally gravitated to a non-Mathy career because I simply don't enjoy science or math. I just went toward my passions and interests in human services and social work, that's what I love. As a homeschool mom I think learning alongside your children is optimal but sometimes you may need to outsource a subject, and that's totally fine. My daughter is in Honors Math in public high school. If she were to come back home, I'd have to either find a curriculum that teaches to the student or hire a tutor. Her understanding in Math is beyond my ability & the frustration I would feel trying to figure out her lessons would suck the joy out of me.

Sept 1 where we live currently in FL. It was Sept 1 when we lived in SC. It was Dec 1 when we lived in northern CA.

My son is 13. He really likes robotics type kits & the STEM kits. They remind me of advanced type legos (which were his previous favorite thing). He recently built a catapult type thing & now he's building a car with a remote control. He really wants the battle bots kit (Christmas). These are a lot of fun & technically just "toys" 😊 I personally feel like they add a lot of value to his learning though...builds concentration, problem solving, additional skill, etc. Plus gives him a hobby outside of gaming and reading.

Here is a free reading assessment from sonlight: https://www.sonlight.com/homeschool/curriculum/placement-tests/reading-assessment/ Here's a website with a few different free options: http://a2zhomeschooling.com/all_time_favorites/reading_level_assessment/ The public school here uses STAR testing (through renaissance learning I think) but that's not free & really has more to do with determining AR goals. HTH

I would take a look at Happy Phonics http://www.lovetolearn.net/Happy-Phonics

My 13 year old son has been enjoying www.w3schools.com - it's free. My dad is a programmer and got him started with it.

My almost 16 year old in 6th grade (public school) collected my little ponies and still owns them all. When we moved recently, she was offended at the idea of tossing them out, lol. It was a very trendy thing for the middle school kids here to collect them all & she had so much fun with it. I never thought twice about it. It didn't cross my mind as being anything other than a hobby.

Oh I love that your kids want to learn the language!! I'm second generation born in the US. My grandparents were fluent in the language (I remember a little). I think BBC has free resources if I remember correctly. I'll look and see if I can find it. I can also ask my extended family still in Wales. The language is not commonly spoken there, so they will be excited to see the request ðŸ‘ðŸ»

I like 7 sisters homeschool & think one of the middle school books could be used easily. You could even email them about which guide to use, they're very helpful. http://7sistershomeschool.com/products-page/writing-3/ I just checked & the middle school guide to essay writing & introductory high school essay writing are both just 10 weeks @ 4 days a week... so either is very doable ðŸ‘ðŸ»

My son will be in 8th grade. I'd say we spent about $600. That includes curriculum, co-op registration and class fees, and our umbrella school annual fees. If needed we could do it for free, these are really luxuries more than necessity for his home education.

If you want to stay, then talk to someone there. My husband has been a worship pastor for 15 years & he would be totally willing to have a conversation about volume. Our church is large and has a production team that makes sure it's not dangerously loud. That doesn't mean all people would enjoy our church, but it does mean no one is going to have a physical reaction in their chest because of how loud it is. Ask if they measure decibels? Ask why the volume has changed over the past few weeks? Ask the purpose behind the music they choose? It genuinely sounds like you hate the music ("if you can call it that"), so maybe have a conversation about that as well as the volume - try to see if there is rhyme and reason to what they do & if it points to God or not. And in the end if you still don't like it, maybe find a place where your entire family thrives. Why are there no viable options? What about home church? I'm sorry you've had a rough time. Praying it gets resolved and a solution is found. Hugs.

When I clicked on buy via PayPal it worked for me. I'll link what I used... http://www.shoelacebooks.com/p/s.html?m=1 ETA- if that doesn't work for some reason, I just read that the author will reply if you email her.

Never mind. They just emailed me back. In case anyone else is interested for their own scheduling, they said classes are about 16 hours worth of instruction (depending on the student they may complete the course in less or more time). So it doesn't sound too time intensive at all spread over a whole semester 😊

Thank you! I just signed my son up for Animate. I know these classes are self-paced, but does anyone know on average how much time my son should spend on this weekly to complete a course in a semester? I'm making his schedule now & I'm just wondering how much I should assign weekly for him to complete this by December?

I think the trend increasingly leans toward academics starting earlier & earlier. Where I live many people intentionally hold off on kindergarten & let their child start a year late. I believe it has a lot to do with not feeling like their child is quite ready for a full day of school and homework. I feel bad for the child that isn't ready to read at 5 (let alone 6) and is labeled "behind". I'm 46 & didn't learn to read until first grade (we started with CVC words). In kindergarten I learned the alphabet (with the alphabet people😊) & we had play centers. It was more about sharing, listening, attention span, learning to be away from my mom, etc. ...very similar to young preschool now.

Thank you!!! Very helpful😊

I'll be traveling to Atlanta for a couple of weeks, then both kids have camp, then we have family vacation planned for a week. It's really going to fly by fast. My daughter's high school starts back August 9th, so that will be my son's first day as well. (Keeping them on the same schedule just makes it easy) Then our co-op starts August 14.

It's been a while, but I'd say by age 6 or 7 they could read the Biscuit books easily (or first grade-ish?). It may have been earlier, but that's what I remember.

How long is it taking each day for Level 7? I bought it to use with my 13 year old son & we won't start school until mid August. I plan to do the challenge reading with him too. Im just curious about the length of lessons, is it really 90 minutes with everything? I've looked through the first 30 lessons or so & really love it!!

I would (and do) choose Teaching Textbooks. Watch the lessons with your child, this way you will understand what's being taught and can help if they get stuck.

When my kids were that age we used Adventures in America. We really enjoyed it. https://elementalscience.com/collections/adventures-in-america The optional read alouds & additional library book recommendations were some of our favorites 😊 ETA- Here's a peek at the TM with list of books and TOC: http://d3r1z7wkgqhj9d.cloudfront.net/AA%20Sample.pdf

History At Our House may work. I've never used it, but I have friends that do and love it.