A year or so ago, I wasn't sure how I'd use an iPad either, and now it's rarely more than a few feet from me. I like it so much better than my desktop computer. -E-books -- via Notability (if they're in PDF form, because I can make notes right on them, or have the kids do worksheets right on the iPad, which means less paper clutter), or the Kindle app, or the iBooks app. See if your library has e-books, too. -It's more fun to do math on the iPad than on paper, says my daughter. It also makes a nice whiteboard and is very portable. -All of my grocery lists, household lists, etc. are on the iPad. Very easy to grocery shop with the iPad instead of a paper list. Again, much less paper clutter! -Quick and portable access to the internet, including maps and my google calendar. -No dragging everyone to the computer just to look at a quick video or something. It's just simpler and easier on the iPad. -I do occasionally watch TV on it, which means I can sit in my comfortable rocking chair instead of at the computer. -Between Notability, Dropbox, and QuickOffice, I can work on word processing or spreadsheets or PDFs from anywhere, including my rocking chair or bed. -I have the Homeschool Helper app, which is, so far, really great for tracking schoolwork. All that being said, I would highly recommend getting a Bluetooth keyboard/case for it. That is what makes the difference between mine being "eh, cool shiny toy" and "seriously useful;" with the keyboard, the iPad functions as a small (but not ridiculously small), more portable laptop. There is very little that I can't do with it, and I rarely use my desktop machine anymore.

OP, I'm sorry about your son's injury, but I'm so glad that his helmet protected him from worse. I just read this to my kids, and they were very sorry too -- and they were grateful that I always make them wear their helmets.

The 1970 CAT (we did the online version from Christian Liberty Press) is all fill-in-the-bubble.

Bumping -- anyone?

My version of "There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe" replaces "whipped" with "kissed." :) I say: "There was an old woman who lived in a shoe, She had so many children and knew just what to do. She gave them some soup and some yummy brown bread, And kissed them all soundly and tucked them in bed." Much nicer, IMO. I never want my children to think they're a burden or that there are "too many" of them.

So we have tried the first few lessons in Adventus MusIQ's Children's Music Journey Volume 1, and so far, we are very impressed. It's great that our 4.5yo, who is not reading yet, can use it too, and the 8 and 11yo's are flying through the early lessons and practice sessions. If you use this program, tell me how you schedule it. I have three children using the computer and keyboard, plus they need the computer for typing practice as well, and I'm just not a huge fan of a ton of screen time during the week. As of now, the lessons are so short and easy that they want more than "do a lesson one day, and the practice for that lesson the next," so I was setting the timer for about 20 minutes per child, per day (which gets them through about two lessons and two practices at this point, although I expect that it will slow down as the lessons get harder), and that's reasonable to me, plus fairly easy to work into our daily schedule with typing and times that DH also needs the computer. But that's not leaving a lot of time for the games, and it does seem like those are important to reinforcing the skills. But I also don't want them playing games too much. So if you've worked this into your schedule, how did you do it?

I was going to use AoA with my 11yo 6th grader this year (and bought it and was looking forward to it, because I liked that it used ads, which I thought was a great idea with tweens, to get them to evaluate the messages that are being marketed to them), and then I heard from this board that there were references to abortion and prostitution. I found them in the book and decided that I was uncomfortable with those topics for her age, so I've decided to put it off for a few more years. Just thought I'd give you that heads-up, if it matters to you. I'm wishing I had bought Fallacy Detective instead, but I also happened to stumble upon Logic to the Rescue (which is free as a Kindle book). I'm pre-reading it now to see if it is acceptable to me; so far, it is, and it's cute and humorous without being overboard. I think I'll have DD go through that this year and see how it goes.

Another vote for GSWL -- it might be just the right thing to give your 7yo a structured approach, if she's heard smatterings of Latin from the rest of the household. (Plus, it's sometimes humorous, like when sentences translate as things like, "We are sailors, but we do not like the water." ;) ) We also really like Latin's Not So Tough, but we started with Level 3 (after GSWL). Level 1 looks *very* basic, maybe even too basic for a 7yo (it seems like it's geared toward preschoolers who want to "do school" along with older siblings), so I'm thinking that Level 2 would be about right for your DD, but I haven't actually seen that level, so I don't know for sure.

I'd start with Getting Started With Latin; it's easy and gentle and is a good price fit (especially if you opt for the Kindle version) for getting your feet wet. I started it with DD when she was 9 and will be starting it next week with my current 8yo son. In the first few lessons, 30 minutes will be way more than you needed (actually, the later ones too, probably), but you'll get a very solid Latin foundation. No writing is necessary, although you can have the child do the translations on paper if you prefer; I wanted to learn Latin alongside my children, so we have done it all orally. Beyond that, we have liked Latin's Not So Tough, and you'll be well-prepared for Level 3 or 4 (3 has no grammar that is new after GSWL but has some new vocab, so we started with that one) after GSWL. We continue to do that one orally (with the occasional written page for her portfolio) so that I'm learning it too, but even though I'm pretty strong in languages, DD is still faster than I am. ;) (Doing it orally requires that I sit down with her, and in my busy day, it's my way of making time to spend with her, rather than just giving her work and checking it.)

My toddlers have all loved Curious George, and the non-PC stuff pretty much goes over their heads. The message that I don't love is that it's okay to do things that cause trouble, as long as you are reallllllly sorry and do something to make up for the trouble, because then everyone will forgive you and be happy with you. Like, the one where George goes to the animal shelter -- he lets all the puppies out, and they get lost, and when he finds the last one (that's only missing because HE let it out!), they give him a puppy to take home. How about some sort of teaching about how he really shouldn't mess with things that aren't his?? But alas, I still have some fondness for the curious little monkey, even if he is far more curious than any of my toddlers combined (and I've had at least one that rates awfully high on the curious scale). ;)

I separate my subjects in my portfolio (for which I use Staples' white 3-ring binders that have the clear plastic, so I can put a sheet with the child's name, grade, and year in it), and I include a little paragraph that highlights each subject. This lets me include things that don't fit neatly onto a piece of paper (like music we've listened to, or activities that don't have photographs, or language that we've done orally, etc.). I put the letter from the evaluator first, then the calendar and book list, then test scores if required, and then each subject's samples, roughly 3-5 for each subject, but sometimes more if there's some really cool stuff. I put brochures and photographs on heavy paper and slip them into page protectors. When I turn in the portfolio, I include a receipt that I make my school district sign, as proof that they did receive the portfolio, in case they lose something. On the receipt, there is a space to check off for the following: -samples of work -log (which is a booklist and a calendar with days checked on it) -letter from evaluator (and I make a copy of this to keep at home, just in case) -affidavit for upcoming year -objectives for upcoming year -medical paperwork or exemption for upcoming year Our district does send us a letter each spring as a reminder that we need to turn in the portfolios by June 30, and they include a form that we can take to our evaluator if we want. I choose not to use that form, because it's a little different from what's exactly specified in the law. Btw, if you didn't know this yet, your paperwork for the upcoming year is required to be filed with the school district by August 1, but if you have it in there before July 1, you can start counting school days as of July 1. We school pretty much year-round, and this year, a large portion of August will be off because of our new baby, so getting the days in in July is really helpful to us; we'll still be able to start back in September after the new-baby routine settles down, and we'll have done several weeks' worth of work already. We should still be able to finish before Memorial Day. Our district will send us a letter to say that our portfolio was approved (and that it's ready for pickup), and they'll send us another letter saying that our paperwork for the next year was approved, but we do not have to wait for that letter to start counting days, as long as we filed the papers.

We have as much as possible in PDF form on a tablet, so that cuts down on how heavy the backpacks are. I deliberately plan things that use the PDFs for days that I know we'll be out of the house whenever possible. Each child has a pencil box for pens, pencils, colored pencils/crayons, scissors, gluestick, and erasers; they use these at home as well as out of the house, and it's very easy to grab them and go. I do occasionally bring a workbox per kid in the car, but a backpack or tote bag seems to work better. We've found clipboards to be pretty useful for when we're out of the house as well. In your situation, I might opt to have certain things stay at your mom's house -- either buy two copies of them if you can, or just do those subjects on the days they're at your mom's, so that you have less to lug back and forth. I would probably also tear out the workbook pages you want them to do at your mom's to eliminate any confusion and to make the physical load lighter. I would also write out what they're supposed to do, specifically, to make it easier on everyone to know exactly what you're expecting.

I second any recommendations for Little House, Winnie the Pooh, and Narnia. And The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings for older kids. I would prioritize buying non-public domain books over books that are old enough to be public domain.

Yep, they may just want to sell quickly, so don't worry too much. When we sold our last house (at the peak of the market, right before the crash), the house next door was also for sale. Exactly same layout/house size and same lot size -- basically, identical houses (the whole neighborhood was cookie cutter houses of only about three floor plans). But they had chosen to go with some really high-end upgrades and interesting (very bold) choices when they remodeled (we'd been in it before they remodeled, so we knew that the online pics reflected some serious changes), and we chose to go a bit more moderately and neutrally with our updates. We also wanted to get ours sold quickly, even if that meant foregoing exact top dollar, so our asking price was quite a bit lower than theirs. In the end, I don't remember how long theirs took to sell, but it was a lot longer than ours (which had three full-price offers in nine days, and we still ended up selling it for a lot more than we paid for it). So it could just be that the sellers want to sell it quickly.

Also, I think one thing that makes a family doc helpful for small children is if you are in an area where a referral to a specialist is easy. We are (like, when the baby got the echocardiogram, it was done at a local hospital and sent up the road just a bit to the pediatric heart specialists at Hershey Medical Center for review, and HMC is close enough that we could easily see their specialists), and so I think that helps; if the family doctor has any concerns about being out of her depth, she has a wealth of specialists, especially pediatric-specific ones, at her disposal. Otoh, in an area with fewer options, I might prefer to see a doctor who saw a larger percentage of young children, just to be sure her definition of normal was as extensive as possible, if that makes sense.

I use a midwife for pregnancy-related issues, but for everything else, including my general well-woman checkups, the children and I see a lovely female doctor in a family practice (and DH sees a male doctor in the same practice; if/when the boys are more comfortable with a male, I'll see about switching to DH's doctor). I *have* used pediatricians in the past but prefer the general approach of a family doctor who sees everyone, and this doctor is very nice, young, friendly, and pleasant with the kids. She also seems to be on top of small-child sorts of issues -- she was right on top of DS3's (benign) infant heart murmur and got us the referral we needed for an echocardiogram, and when I have wanted specialist assistance for speech therapy or allergy testing for the kids, she's concurred with me and has had no problems referring us. I don't know if it helps that she's pretty young (like, I think she's just been practicing for a couple of years), so she's had good, current training on what's right for very young children, or that she knows I'm an experienced mom and don't need a lot of the "here's how to parent an infant" sort of stuff that peds tend to give new moms, or what, but she does tend not to get too worried about anything unless I'm concerned, which I very much appreciate. My friend and her kids see a different female doctor in the same practice and really like her too. The one drawback (maybe?) to a family practice is that the waiting and exam rooms aren't the most kid-inviting in the world; I noticed that with our previous family practice in a different state as well. Fewer toys, and the decor is nice but not "kid." (Otoh, our dental practice is ped-specific, and it's all kid-friendly, as is the staff; the staff at our family doctor is very nice but also not geared toward *kid* like the dental practice is. But that's also nice for our tween, who is somewhat sensitive to being treated like she's young, and I like that she can continue seeing this doc in her teen years without feeling awkward. And fewer toys means less of a germ factory. So it's not really a drawback, unless there's a delay and a long wait.)

Cast iron, mostly Lodge, one or two pieces that are Bass Pro's generic brand (and no different from the Lodge, except in price). Love it, especially the dutch oven and the 15" skillet! For stainless stock pots and sauce pots, my Revere and Farberware pots are 15 years old and going strong. And for baking, I do like my Pyrex and Corelle casserole dishes.

That's why I'm holding onto my Norton anthologies from my high school and college days!

I've heard of using Pinterest for this -- make a board for "human body" and one of the pins could be the puzzle.

Mine hum or sing all the time too. I personally cannot stand it, but that's me, and I know I am overly sensitive to excess noise. So I deal, most of the time. The problem here is that if one child starts singing or humming, it distracts another child, and some of mine are easily distractible, and then everything derails. So we are making our schoolroom a quiet work room. You can talk yourself through a problem, or discuss something with Mom, or play/read quietly, but if you need to hum/sing, you need to go elsewhere (and we have plenty of options -- kitchen table, upstairs sofa, a bedroom. . . ). Light toddler chatter is no big deal, but it's not the place for large, noisy play.

Our Overdrive library has a ton of books in the "not classics or teen angst but not quite twaddle" range (most are available for either Kindle or epub format), and they did not have very many at all six or eight months ago, so if yours doesn't have many, keep checking. Also, if you can swing it, you might look into a card from the Free Library of Philadelphia; I think if you're not in PA, you can get one for a small fee, maybe? They have more Overdrive books than even our big library system.

We call it "general skills," and it's one of the workboxes.

I know this is an old thread, but we've really enjoyed the PJ books this past year. I don't think they're on par, quality-wise, with Tolkien, but we've found them to be decent enough. We liked that Riordan really knows his mythology and the ways he portrays the gods (I had to stop reading aloud for several minutes because I was laughing so hard at the image of Poseidon the beach bum!). As for whether we had a problem with them because we're Christians, we did not. We found that it was an interesting premise -- what if the gods of the Greek myths were real? We also found that it allowed for discussions about what we do know to be true, based on what the Bible says -- God is our Heavenly Father, He directs our paths, He cares for us, all the things that Poseidon does for Percy (and other gods/goddesses do for their children). We also found that we were able to discuss how the One True God is not like the gods in the books, because He's not petty and grudge-holding; He always wants what's best for us and is always there for us. (And for children who are familiar with stories like Jacob and his wives and David and his, the "multiple kids with multiple mortals" thing was not that big of a deal.)

Mom of soon-to-be large family, who will eventually have students from pre-K to high school at once -- thanks for this thread!

I would describe myself as low-achieving because I didn't bother to read anything challenging that wasn't assigned, and I didn't put any extra work into things that could get easy A's. Why shoot for more, or a 99%, when 92% was easy and showed the same on the transcript? I also didn't really develop any serious hobbies. What did I spend my time doing? Reading easy fiction, but mainly, doing afterschool activities. (I wasn't low-achieving with the afterschool activities, though; I did head up several of them, and they all looked good on my college application, I'm sure. I *was* busy and wasn't just sitting around. I just wish I had done more, academically.) In retrospect, I wish I had developed some hobbies, and/or pushed myself to read more classics, or something. I took a bunch of college classes (which meant evening classes a lot) in high school, so I had a lot of open time in my regular high school day; I spent most of it as an assistant to a teacher or two, and that was worthwhile (especially tutoring ESL students), but I wish I had been more encouraged to take some academic electives. It just generally wasn't, though; for students in the high academic track, home ec or whatever really wasn't done very much and was often difficult to schedule. And taking a second language was also not done; I wish I had taken a second language or had been motivated to teach myself a language at home. The internet would have been a handy tool and may have been the encouragement I needed. (Otoh, email and Facebook would have sucked up a lot of my time too; my boyfriend was away at college during my junior and senior years, back in the days before easy internet and cheap cell phones, so we relied on weekly phone calls and written letters. Internet contact would have been bad for me getting anything done, LOL.)