I am soooo the same way! When you figure it out, please tell us what you did. Good luck!

Fabulous ideas! We actually have a "nature shelf" on an old ladder/shelf. Just haven't added to it in ages. Jen, glad you are headed home! My son says that science is his favorite subject (things like reading and math come slowly and painfully for him) so while we are adding necessary rigor to our days, I also want to add fun stuff. All these ideas will help do that. Thank you!

I absolutely 100% agree with you, Helena. It's been my attitude holding me back, not my surroundings. Thank you, everyone, for your insightful and thoughtful responses. I will start my mental transformation immediately. Surely there are things to discover in a desert autumn!

We are two hours from Carlsbad and about 1.5hrs from a national forest. Great resources for a few times a year but not feasible on a regular basis. I need to get hummingbird feeders. Those would be a lot of fun. I think I'm jaded about our new location. I look at the pictures of the Sonoran desert and think how lush it looks! I need to adjust my perspective and my attitude. I will look at that link more closely. Thanks!

Thank you so much! Great suggestions!

I'm a US Southeastern girl. I was raised among towering pines and babbling streams. We moved to the high desert of southeastern NM two years ago (and began our homeschooling journey). I'd love to do some nature study stuff with DS, but all the ideas in books I've seen seem to be for more forested or prairie type areas. We have ONE tree on our 5 acres - about 8ft tall. We are surrounded by creosote plants and cholla cactus (which seems to be suffering a blight as they are all dying). No grass/weeds; no bushes. Cactus, creosote, and dirt. And snakes. The only thing that really changes around here is the temperature - cool in the winter (even cold occasionally) and hot as Hades in the summer. (On the bright side - no humidity and no mosquitoes! Love that!) After you get through shaking your head at how unimaginative I am, I'd appreciate suggestions on activities and/or books that might give me ideas.

Our "sea monkeys" took 10 days to hatch. We just found three tiny ones day before yesterday.

What I want to know is - did he get to wear a patch to class today??? :D My DS would think that was awesome! Glad he's going to be okay.

Prayers said.

Square peg waving her square hand!!!! We are older parents (51/46 to 11yo - which isn't a big deal if you started your family at 23 and have several kids; ours is an only and we stick out like a sore thumb). We are both introverted as well. It's hard. (((hugs)))

When setting up for the fantasy draft, I had the chance to elimate any QB I absolutely didn't want. I thought of a couple but decided not to put their names in. I had to do an auto draft as I had to work that night. Who'd I end up with? Vick. Ugh. I forgot about him.

In that same pile (at our store), they also have mini dry erase ERASERS.

What a perfect storm of mishaps and traumas! I'll be praying for them all.

What has helped *me* is setting up a tri-fold board ala Half a Hundred Acre Wood. Brandy is very generous with her talent and ideas - spend some time on her blog. Now when it's time to review each morning, all my info is right there. I also got all the songs from CCConnected and burned CDs. This weekend, I'm putting them on my phone so we have them when we are out and about. Here is what I'm trying to take away from CC this year: I'm looking at this as brain training. My son is learning how to learn information that is not in his normal purview. It's not about knowing the timeline or declensions. It's about learning to learn. Best wishes!

Final day!

Thanks for this post! I ordered the first Top Secret Adventures last night. I *think* DS will love that - he is really into detective stuff right now. He'd be Encyclopedia Brown if we lived in an actual neighborhood.

I know absolutely nothing about Winter Promise, but I want that 4th grade grammar for DS! He loves all things spy/detective. The site says you should really get the answer key, but that's a lot of money for answers.

Thank you for being there.

I'll be back to check this out tomorrow!

My child? Absolutely.

Good ideas!

Love it!

We have a 3rd and a 4th generation Touch. DS has used them both for over 2yrs. The worst that's happened is he put on a passcode - and then forgot what code he used. I had to reset the 3rd gen, and now it won't load any apps and has no app store icon, so it's essentially useless. No pass code on the 4th gen under penalty of death.

Thanks, everyone. As of tonight, they are still hoping to make things work in the school. My step-brother has an appt with the superintendent tomorrow. It won't make the principal happy to be overruled, but his feelings are the least of our concerns. I just really appreciate y'all responding so thoughtfully.

My head rarely is!