I have an 8th grader who will attend a private high school next year. He has been homeschooled since 1st grade and is a fairly reluctant writer, although he’s made some great strides in recent years. We’ve done several levels of Writing and Rhetoric followed by a few years of IEW theme books. We’re kind of burned out on IEW anyway and I have six weeks left to homeschool him. I wasn’t sure that IEW was teaching him the specific types of writing he’ll need in school anyway. What resources would you use to teach high school-type academic writing in this short period of time?

We used the IEW theme books.

This is pretty gross, but my son had a similar issue a few years ago. One time, he vomited in bed and it looked like he vomited up entire chicken nuggets. Only, we hadn’t actually had chicken nuggets recently. He had eaten penne pasta, however, and apparently it expanded in his stomach. We never got an explanation and he’s since grown out of it, but I feel your pain!

I really like the levels from Fable up to Chreia or Refutation. After that, the source reading material gets so long that my kids were spending more time reading than actually writing.

Praying for you.

In our area, we do have drop-off tutorials that are sometimes incorrectly called co-ops. Or, parents might have responsibilities only a few times a year. We almost joined one this year like that — I would have to volunteer 2-3x a semester, but could otherwise drop off my kids once a week. It didn’t work out because they advertised following Covid precautions but in reality, did not.

Have you tried chaffles? They’re just waffles made with egg & cheese, with optional add-ins. I just recently discovered them. There are tons of recipes all over the Internet. They’re kind of like an omelet in the form of a waffle.

I now teach at our co-op during two of the three class hours. Last year, when I didn’t teach, I helped out in classrooms the same amount of time. We have a two-deep policy, so parents are required to help out in classrooms. The third hour, parents are free to socialize with each other or work quietly on their own. I spent a lot of time catching up on things on my to-do list that could be accomplished online or over the phone, planning future lessons, etc. It’s usually the moms who are there, but I’ve seen dads and grandparents fill in when needed, too. The church where we meet requires us

Yes, my dad had Ewing’s sarcoma several years ago and had excellent medical care at the University of Minnesota. Rein in Sarcoma is an organization that promotes funding for research and awareness in our area. Here is their medical advisory board; I realize we are very far away, but perhaps one might be able to consult with local doctors. https://www.reininsarcoma.org/home-page/about/medical-advisory-board-2/

This is especially difficult to think about having a disabled child who will never live independently. I fully expect I will be caring for him until my health no longer allows me to do so. I hope my other children will pitch in, both with him and with me, but I can’t expect that of them. Good group homes are very difficult to find and it is hard to think of entrusting a nonverbal, developmentally delayed child (even one who has physically matured, but is mentally still a child) to people I don’t know.

Our church, a member of the Evangelical Covenant denomination, has been extremely cautious. They have not offered live services since March of 2020. The sanctuary was open for people to watch the digital service together last summer, with social distancing and masks strictly required. We have had a few outdoors events but other than that, everything has been on Zoom. Because we have a medically fragile child, we have also been quite cautious — but I am starting to see how this extended closure is hurting my other kids, in particular. DS#2’s church friends were his primary social group si

I have a developmentally delayed child who is also medically fragile with an immune deficiency. His doctors ok’d having PCAs in the home as long as they mask and wash hands frequently. My son will mask outside of our home, but not at home. It’s gone very well so far and is much needed help!

We attend a co-op that offers a nursery as well as classes for preschool - 8th grade. There are usually one or two high school classes, too. The way it’s structured, kids in grades 2-8 are divided into upper and lower tracks, and there are usually 3 classes to choose from for each class period. There are 3 class periods in total. Classes are increasingly academic at the upper track level, but more enrichment at the lower track. I teach lower track classes currently and I do wish classes would be divided even more narrowly by age. I have some 2nd graders who can barely read and write and

My son had pretty severe reflux as an infant, so much so that he had a Nissen procedure done to prevent him from refluxing. It failed, so now he is treated by a GI doctor with omeprazole.

Yes, I got my second shot 2 weeks ago. I qualify under healthcare due to being a caregiver to my medically fragile child who does qualify due to age. My husband has one dose down and the next one will be in a few weeks. Our oldest child currently qualifies on the same basis - he’s 16 - but it’s a little tricky trying to get him a shot when so many others are also vying for appointments.