Are youth sports in your area up and running for the summer? And if they are, will you allow your kids to participate? Our governor just allowed small groups, under 10, to begin practices. No games yet, and social distancing is still in effect. I can see how they can do drills that allow for that distancing. I have two soccer players who have been resigned to not being able to play this season, but I wonder if outdoor soccer might be relatively safe with some modifications (no throw-ins, for example.) My high school basketball player is convinced that his team will have summer indoor workouts starting in a few weeks, but somehow I see that as less likely and far less safe than soccer outdoors.

It really depends on your child and their learning style. MP science is very writing-heavy and it just didn’t work for us, even in late elementary school. We’ve done Insects and Trees and they didn’t go over well. At that age, I’d be inclined to just let him read the Usborne books you have, pick up books at the library on science topics that interest him and watch interesting documentaries. I’d bet you can find sciency audiobooks, too.

That is a tough question because we have one child who is both medically fragile and disabled, so if medical resources are scarce, he is unlikely to get the care he needs. He’s needed a ventilator in the past for RSV and pneumonia so I fear that he may not do well with Covid-19. Our other kids have asthma which is a consideration as well. I don’t see an end to this without a proven vaccine which is obviously not going to be available anytime soon.

I tried levels 4 and 5 this year and we didn’t last long. I specifically chose it because it was light. My DD attends a private school part-time in their homeschool academy, and I wanted something that would be easy to fit into the two days a week she’s home. The problem was that it was so far behind what she was doing at school that it seemed like a waste of time. She didn’t like it at all. I tried to use level 5 with my other child for whom I wanted a light grammar review so we could focus on other areas of the language arts. Coming from CLE LA, it was again too easy. He actually chose to go back to CLE LA even though it’s much more demanding. I wanted them to work, but they were not for us.

Our oldest went back to school in 8th grade at his request. He wanted/needed more social time and more independence. Academics at our zoned middle school were not the best so he is now in 9th grade at a small private Christian school. Our 2 younger kids will likely go to the same private school when they’re in 9th grade. They are both looking forward to it - for sports, activities, etc.

I think this might be a Minnesota-specific question, so you may get better responses on another group. There are several MN homeschooling groups on Facebook. I’m also in MN and did PSEO myself, but don’t know the answer - sorry!

I am using it with my 4th and 7th graders. It is light, but they both have a decent grammar base. I was specifically looking for something light so we can focus on other areas of the language arts — composition and literature. They both really like it.

I highly recommend Derek Owens. I used his prealgebra for my oldest, who is now in private high school and doing very well in math. There are lecture notes, which one fills in as they watch the videos, with some practice problems which he works out in the lecture. There are also assignments and tests, which I chose to grade myself for the half-price option. My DS felt that Mr. Owens was an excellent teacher. Now, for my current 7th grader, I am hodge-podging things a bit because he hates video instruction and isn’t quite as independent- yet. We did the first book of Principles of Mathematics (by Master Books) but I found it didn’t have enough review for him. We’ve used CLE in the past, so I’m going back to that for the rest of 7th and 8th grade and filling in any gaps with selected lessons of Math Mammoth’s topical series and/or Learn Math Fast.

I have been happy this year with the science from Master Books for my 7th grader. Specifically, the course Elements of Faith. It’s billed as a pre-chemistry. I do pair it with a co-op class and add things here and there to beef it up. For history, I like CLE’s 7th and 8th grade history. 7th is world history and 8th is American. It is rather schooly, but DS will likely go to private high school so I am using it to teach study skills and test preparation along with the content.

I have a child with Down syndrome for whom the WTM approach would be highly challenging, if not impossible. My child is 7 and along with DS, he has significant and profound developmental delays due to complex medical issues. He is nonverbal and is working on early preschool content in a public school 1st grade classroom with pull-outs for math, reading, social skills, adapted PE, speech and occupational therapy. However, I know of other kids with DS whose developmental delays are not as severe and who may be able to do well with a classical framework. I really like the Simply Classical approach from Memoria Press - it’s a curriculum based on classical principles but adapted to those with learning challenges. If I were homeschooling my son with DS, I’d start with the first level. Take a look and see what you think.

I’m finding a need to thoroughly review the mechanics of language with my 7th grader - specifically capitalization and punctuation (semi-colons, colons, etc.) Any recommendations for resources? We’re fine on grammar - I just need the mechanics piece.

I was seriously not impressed.

I did a quiz recently and was surprised that I’m highly sensitive, too. It makes a lot of sense. I have 4 kids, ages 14 to 7. Three years ago, I was homeschooling 3 of them and regularly found myself overwhelmed. I found a weekly drop off coop for the middle two and that made a huge difference. I also planned regular field trips, often to the nature center where I could read quietly in the lobby while they were in class. Last year, the oldest returned to public school per his desire and while that created other issues, it did cut down on some stress for me and sibling squabbles. He is now in a private high school that is more in line with our moral and academic values. At the same time, #3 started at a lovely half-time private school that was absolutely perfect for her exuberant and extroverted nature. I still have her home a few days a week, but we both appreciate the benefits of her sweet little school. #2 thrives homeschooling, but the drop off coop is no longer an option. I’ve found another coop that is more academic in nature and it’s been a good fit. While I do have to volunteer, I enjoy it as a change in the regular routine. My youngest is severely developmentally delayed and so he’s in public school. So far, that has been a positive move and he’s benefiting from it. As much as I adore him, it is important for me to have a bit of a break from his very significant needs. So, I now only have 1.5/4 kids home and it’s a good balance. Every kids’ needs are different and I’ve worked hard to find situations that best meet their individual needs.

Yes! I’m also a special needs mom and I wonder how much stress has to do with it. Besides my special needs child who is both developmentally delayed and medically fragile, I also have another major source of stress in my life and it’s all so wearing.

I have very similar numbers to the OP with 0.93 Tsh and 0.92 free t4. My symptoms however point to hypothyroidism - weight gain, feeling cold, lethargic, etc. I’m also wondering if a pituitary issue might be at play. I’ve only seen my PCP and they say the numbers are fine. Anyone with more experience care to weigh in?

You can. Memoria Press, a classical publisher known for their strong academics, uses some IEW books and offers an abbreviated (2 hours, I think) video outlining the program. I personally have not watched the TWSS and have done fine. I’ve listened to several of their podcasts and use the teacher guides as well.

I’ve dabbled in way more writing programs than I care to admit. My 7th grader has always been a reluctant writer. He did OK with Writing and Rhetoric but his actual writing skills didn’t improve much. This year, he is doing the IEW US History theme book and it has made a tremendous difference in his attitude and his skills have improved by leaps and bounds. He actually calls writing fun now. I also used the IEW Bible Heroes with my daughter last year and it went very well! She really liked the games. I used the old SWI-A with my older son years ago and it was a complete miss. Neither boys like video-based courses but the theme books have worked well for us.

With regard to how this text handle the Reformation, chapter 17 looks to me pretty standard coverage ... it starts with a discussion of the influence of the Catholic Church on society during the Middle Ages and then moved into indulgences and other issues within the Catholic Church. It discusses the roles of John Wycliffe, Erasmus, Luther and Calvin. The following chapter focuses specifically on the Anabaptist movement and while it seems fairly factual in nature, rather than preachy, it would be easy to skip.

I am using the 7th grade western civ textbook with my son. It’s well done. Each day’s reading assignment is just 3-4 pages - very doable. I’m not using the Light Units, though — just the worksheets and some additional written narrations, plus occasional related videos. (We are doing a separate American history strand with his younger sister, using a more CM approach, so I wanted to lighten the workload on this a bit.) My son will go to a private high school so I am using this course to help strengthen his study skills and get him more comfortable learning from a textbook. We have used other CLE products and generally like the predictable format and this is no exception. It’s a solid program, in my opinion.

I average around 85.

It’s so individual. I have a 9th grader who was homeschooled for grades 4-7. He requested to go back to school in 8th grade. Knowing what I do now, I would not have let him go. We are in a very highly-rated school district but the academics were subpar compared to what we were doing at home. There were minimal penalties for late assignments and retakes. Classroom environments were chaotic with little discipline. Most concerning of all, he completely lost his love of learning and began to see learning as a burden rather than a joy. While he had been self-motivated to learn inside and outside of his formal school subjects, he no longer has any desire to learn at all. We opted to send him to a smaller private high school with more traditional academics, a tight-knit community and more support. He is vehemently opposed to homeschooling again and likes the social scene at school, but he hates his classes. It’s a huge battle right now - he’s actually pretty smart, but he has no drive and is getting grades that are far below his potential. This is not something we ever anticipated as he seemed mature, grounded and self-assured prior to entering public middle school last year. I do regret that choice but am not sure how we could have known it wasn’t best for him. I think the right choice for each kid will vary on so many different factors that it’s hard to make blanket recommendations.

If it’s the Big Tech Firm I’m thinking of in Seattle, we made a similar move several years ago and lasted four months before we moved back. The job was incredibly intense with the company expecting ridiculous hours. There was no such thing as work-life balance. My DH is a very high performer professionally but he couldn’t handle the stress. I liked the area well enough, but he ended up finding a much less stressful (and less lucrative) job halfway across the country, where our families both lived.

I have a 14 yo son who was homeschooled for grades 4-7, went back to school for 8th grade and is now floundering in high school. He hates school, other than the social and athletic aspects, and has completely lost his love of learning. At this point, his only motivation to do his work is to be academically eligible for sports. DH and I are both very academically-minded, both having master’s degrees, so we want him to be academically successful. He went to a public middle school for 8th grade where he regularly made the A honor roll despite minimal effort on his part. Now at a private high school, he’s getting Cs and Ds. In the beginning of the school year, I gave him a lot of freedom, not wanting to be a helicopter parent. With the semester half over, his grades are unacceptable and he’s close to being ineligible for athletics. I realize now I need to provide more accountability and I’ve begun doing that, as well as helping him get organized. What bothers me the most is that he has no desire to learn - at all. When he started 8th grade, he told me that most of his friends hated school and he didn’t know why. It didn’t take long until he hated school, too. Homeschooling is not an option; he does not want to be homeschooled for high school. How do I help him with this transition and help him regain a love of learning? And how do I avoid this same situation with his next oldest sibling, who will start high school in 2 years?

My older son started in 8th grade and it was a mixed bag. He wanted to go, but the school was less than impressive so he’s now in 9th grade at a private school. I’m planning to send my second son to the same private school in 9th grade, bypassing public middle school in 8th because he has no interest in it. I am increasing outsourced classes for him, as a way to help him adjust to having outside teachers and homework.

This is exactly true. I myself went to UChicago. We have four kids and have an upper middle class income. There is no way we can pay for UChicago or any other private university, for that matter, for four children, even though we are saving. It’s not worth $200K+ in loans when they can get the same degree elsewhere for much less. I’ve worked in both public and private universities and believe strongly in the mission of small liberal arts colleges - but I can’t justify the cost. My oldest son, age 14, is already thinking of going to Canada for college where we get reciprocity due to our state of residence, and costs are unbelievably low.