We have a well and septic and love them, for the most part. The hard water is terrible; it has killed a few appliances, and we really need a softener, which is expensive. I do stuff like run lemon juice through our coffee maker once a month to keep mineral deposits down (they are what killed our last coffee maker), and I think it's also hard on our clothing. But! Think of what's not in the water -- no fluoride (which I don't want my kids ingesting daily), etc. Our home inspection report included a water test, at our request, which checked lead, iron, hardness, etc. Having well and septic has not been a big deal. We had the pump for the septic die once in a big storm, so that was a bit of an annoyance, because it means the tank fills up, and we had to pay for emergency pumping (which wasn't too terrible, on the scale of things). But we got a better pump, and all is fine. We rarely lose power, though; we were out for about two days with Hurricane Sandy, which is the most we've ever been out in six years. That's something to discuss and consider, whether a generator would be appropriate to buy. We are fairly careful about large amounts of food in the garbage disposal, and we don't use really thick toilet paper, like Charmin, but otherwise, it's not a big deal. Oh, I don't throw large amounts of bleach down the septic system either, but the occasional small use hasn't been a problem.

Yes. I really enjoy P&R and thought this past season has been really funny, and sweet too.

My deal with DD is that if she gets 90% or better (18/20) correct on the test, then she only has to do 15 problems for each of the next five sets (until the next test). This has worked well to encourage her not to make careless errors (which are by far the biggest reasons she gets things wrong). I usually hand-pick the 15 problems to make sure she hits all of the problems from that day's lesson. I know not everyone agrees with this method, but it does seem to be working for us.

We started Getting Started With Latin in third grade with DD and will start it next year with DS1 as a third grader. Then possibly on to Latin's Not So Tough, because it works well for DD, and I have it, but if it's not a good fit for DS1, we'll try something else.

I vote absolutely okay! A break is good for everyone, mom included! I also suggest ramping up gently when you start back. We're starting with a few subjects and adding more weekly, over a few weeks. For the first week, it's science, math, and music, plus reading -- so a combination of fun and intensive. Ramping up gently has worked well for us in the past.

I'm so sorry.

I honestly have no idea about that; we don't have a Kindle, nor DragonBox. But hopefully someone else will chime in with an answer for you!

I love the iPad for its portable cookbook capability as well -- no more printing out recipes from the internet. And I keep my knitting patterns on it too. And I keep a running grocery list on Notability. Basically, it's cut down a LOT on my random papers. I even have used Notability to fill out forms, which I've then emailed directly from the iPad -- so handy, no papers to lose, no papers to have to remember to give someone, because it's already done. I just taught a co-op class, and Notability was immensely helpful. I had the PDF curriculum guide on it and was able to make notes/plans right with Notability. The book we used was on the Kindle app, which is also pretty easy for annotating, via highlighting. I also had pictures to show the kids right on the iPad (small class of only 4 kids, so I didn't need a huge screen), and I was able to download the music file we needed and play it right on the iPad, without having to mess with my MP3 player/CD player combo. I am so not a huge fan of little people on electronics, but I do have a free or cheap (not sure, DH downloaded it; it might have been a couple of dollars) app that has really nice pictures of wild animals with their sounds, and my toddler adores it. In short, the iPad, but specifically the iPad+keyboard+Notability app combo has really, really made a lot of things easier in my life. I managed just fine without all of it, but I feel like it's really enhanced my life as a mom/homeschooler/household manager.

Yeah, I wouldn't worry about using a writing curriculum for a first grader at all, especially not with that kind of free writing -- that sounds great!

Oh, yes, definitely set it to ask for a password before downloading anything. Also, if you have small kids like I do, become familiar with the guided access thing so that you can keep them in an app, or keep them from bumping you out of one. It's under "accessibility" in the settings. I have a data-plan-capable iPad but no data plan, so mine is set to keep the 3G off at all times; it only works with WiFi. I think they default to WiFi even if 3G is available, but you might want to check that if you don't want to use your data plan when WiFi's available. I also have mine set so that apps don't send me notifications; that gets annoying. If there's an app update, a little number appears over the App Store app, and that's plenty for me.

Get the screen protectors and get a stylus (I have the super cheap ones and like them just fine). Get Notability, the Kindle app, and Dropbox (especially if you don't have a iPad compatible printer). Load free books onto the Kindle app and iBooks. I highly prefer the Chrome app to Safari, and I prefer to use the Chrome app for surfing, rather than specific apps for things like Facebook, Amazon, etc., but that's personal preference. Consider getting a Bluetooth keyboard/case; then it makes the iPad function like a small laptop. This took it from "nice to have" to "amazing, how did I ever function without it?" quickly. You may want the QuickOffice HD app if you do word processing/spreadsheets on it, but you might hold off on that until you see if you need it. I just discovered the National Archives' free app for a daily document, and I'm really excited about using that with my kids next year. I scan math tests into my computer and turn them into PDFs that can be worked on Notability; I just print a couple for the portfolio. We have curricula in PDF/Kindle form -- less to lug around. Enjoy surfing or looking stuff up without having to go to the desktop machine (if that's what you have). And there are lots of free/cheap math, science, etc. apps. If your library has Mango language, look for the app for that. I just bought the Homeschool Helper app for planning, and that looks really good. It was easy to enter lesson plans into it, but I haven't used it for actual tracking of lessons yet, so I can't comment on that.

I felt like Writing With Ease 2 was a good fit for my second grade son this year, so we'll be continuing with it for next year, using level 3; I like that it incorporates a lot of language arts components, like handwriting, dictation, narration/summarizing, spelling, grammar, punctuation, and literature. We used WWE4 for our fifth grader; it wasn't quite as good a fit, but it was okay, so we'll be moving on to the next book for her next year, which is Writing With Skill Level 1. The biggest problem with WWE4 is that DD had to read a passage before I could do the exercises with her, and with several littles, sometimes getting all of that to line up was tricky -- she'd read the passage, but I wouldn't have a chance to sit down with her, or I'd have a chance to sit down with her, but she wouldn't have read the passage. We've also had pretty good success with the BrainQuest workbooks for the younger grades, to hit specific grammar and spelling and such.

I think ours were usually purchased in tenth grade. I know DH had his already when we met, which was the beginning of his junior year. I didn't get one because I didn't like my high school enough to want one, plus it was a lot of money that I didn't want to spend, and also because my birthstone is a diamond, and I was fairly adamant that I didn't want one of those until it was an engagement ring. I considered a college class ring but again, I didn't really see the need for one (and I got the engagement ring my third year of college anyway). I can see us getting DD a birthstone ring for maybe her thirteenth or sixteenth birthday, but hers is an aquamarine; it would just be a pretty piece of jewelry, not a class ring, though.

If you knew my decor colors and made something Christmasy to go with it, I could go for that. Otherwise, I voted for the ornament, because I would enjoy having it every year to put on the tree, and it would make me smile to think of a dear friend or loved one making it.

Small knitting project? Like a dishcloth or something? I've seen small quilting kits in the fabric store, so maybe one of those would be good. I want to say that there are "quilt block of the month" kits, but you could make a pillow with the block instead of putting it into a whole quilt. Or make a crib-sized quilt to donate to charity?

Next year, I'll have a sixth grader, a pre-K/K'er, and an infant. Plus a third grader and a 2yo. We do the morning basket during/just after breakfast -- while everyone is still at the table. Then I send them to clear their dishes, brush their teeth, and start their schoolwork while I do the dishes and get the babies ready for the day. For the two older ones, that's usually their reading but might be a math test for my oldest if it's a math test day. When they finish that work, they can work on any of their workboxes that are independent. When I have a chance, I sit down with each of them, including the pre-K/K'er -- he doesn't need a lot, mostly just a bit of time with me; it doesn't matter so much what we're doing, just that I'm doing something specifically geared toward him.

I don't know that I necessarily agree with that last statement (though I do agree about the part about it failing to meet the needs of members). A ship can be doing just fine, thriving even, but some members may find that it's not the right ship for them. Maybe they like the ship just fine but like an airplane better and can't do both. I don't fault people for dropping co-op for various reasons; it happens. It doesn't mean the co-op is necessarily failing; it just means that it's not the right thing for everyone. When too many people decide that it's not the right thing, then it fails, but it takes a while to get to that point, and it can be thriving even if a few people jump ship.

The 4H Embryology stuff is very good; DD took that class a couple of years ago and learned a lot. My kids have enjoyed keeping logs/calendars of development when we've raised ladybugs and butterflies; they draw a picture every few days of what the creature looks like as it changes. So I would definitely have the kids do that, either as pictures or photographs.

We've had a couple of people drop out of our co-op because of CC, and while that didn't affect our student numbers too much, it did mean the loss of a teacher or two. But we've also had people take a semester or year off of co-op because of new babies, or outside work schedules, or just needing a break, so I'd say that CC hasn't had a huge effect on us. I think there are about 3 CC groups within 45 minutes of me, but I don't think it's had a huge effect on my specific support group/co-op. It just seems to be one of the many perfectly reasonable options for homeschooling, along with cyber schooling, other co-ops, etc.

I do similarly to a PP with Singapore; I seize a moment when we have plenty of time, and then I go over several lessons with my son at once. Then I just have him do the workbook exercises until he runs out of stuff we've gone over, or until he gets stuck. Now, he's only in Level 2 right now, so it's not terribly difficult math so far, and this may not work in the future. I understand a large family and time constraints. Whether you outsource math or not would, I think, depend on the kid. I would not suggest that a non-mathy kid work Singapore on his/her own. My son seems to be pretty mathy and has gotten Singapore easily so far, but I would not have my less-mathy DD do Singapore on her own. However, she does pretty well working through Saxon, often on her own, because the explanations are more thorough. Actually, maybe "more thorough" isn't the right description; maybe it's just that the explanations are more in line with her way of thinking. I try to go over them with her, but if I don't have time, I hand her the book and tell her to ask me if she has questions. Often, she can figure it out on her own.

Luck of the draw? I think it highly depends on the state. I'm a resident of a particular county in my state, so I can use any of its library branches and can return books to any of the branches. This is enormously helpful to me, and the library's policies are very generous. However, it's a small county with small branches, and so the selection isn't always spectacular. But since I live near the borders of other counties, I can take my regular library card to at least two other counties' (multiple) branches and ask them to code it to use those libraries as well. Their policies and fines are a bit stricter, but the selection is better. It's pretty rare that one of the three county systems doesn't have what I want (and that's approximately 21-25 branches I could use overall -- and I do frequent several of the branches, depending on where my other errands take me, and how desperately I want the books, if they're in stock at one branch and I don't want to wait until they arrive at another one; I've easily visited 8 branches in the past six months). We're able to get stuff from across the state fairly easily too, and we can get a free card for the Free Library of Philadelphia (which DH appreciates for downloading audio books, because he goes through a lot of them on his commute). But really, it's the luck of the draw. All states are different. My state has free state parks too. But they require portfolios and homeschool paperwork too. :p

Try Amazon for the solutions manuals. I use them to save myself time; I just don't have time to work every problem. And yes, 3-4 hours is a long time. If they're placed correctly, I would suspect serious dawdling, in which case you may need some sort of incentive to encourage them to work faster. Or a consequence. DD's in 7/6 this year and is not particularly mathy, but an hour or so is enough for her to get it all done.

Yes, same here; the laws generally don't dictate what I do or don't do with my children. (Except for making sure we have some piece of paper that proves we did fire safety, eyeroll.) My evaluator is pretty laid-back, and she would be happy to help you figure out how to represent what you're doing in your portfolio. Let me know if you would like her contact info.

Well, my first reason to homeschool Kindergarten is because we felt that the home environment was right for our family, even before we actually had children. Then we had children and realized that keeping them home was the right choice for them, individually. DD's very quick and bright and would have been bored in a traditional Kindergarten classroom; she'd have been an unhappy, behavior problem bored. DS1 is also very bright but is a late bloomer; he wasn't ready to be away from me for several hours a day at age 5 (even though he wasn't a late birthday), and he wasn't ready to read or do any formal work at age 5 either. (At 7, he blossomed and has *thrived* at home this year; delaying anything formal was the right choice for him.) My DS2 is 4.5, and if I were going to send him to school, I would do it this year, even though he won't be 5 until mid-fall. He has all the drive and executive function and classroom capability and would do fine in a classroom. He also seems to have the academic ability to do well, even though he's young; he was born ready for life in general. ;) But if I sent him to school, someone else would get the privilege of enjoying him, and we would miss our small sunshine terribly. (He'd miss us terribly too, and I wouldn't want him to not be a part of everything.) Also, by keeping him home, I can tailor education to him, so that he'll work at different levels for different things, as he's ready. I think my biggest issue with the public school model is the one size fits all approach, because especially at the young ages, children are all different and are definitely not all ready for the same skills at the same time.

I would take a good look at what you are doing (or what you are scheduling, anyway) and see if it all has value. Is there anything you're doing just because you think you should, but that isn't returning a big dividend? If so, maybe cut it out for a while. In planning for next year, I decided to take a break from any sort of formal grammar/spelling, to see if we could meet the same needs by addressing them in a more organic, as-needed way, ie with their writing, cutting out any busywork with worksheets and workbooks. You might see if there are areas in your plans where you could do the same. I might also, at least for a while, pick a couple of really important subjects, and maybe one that each child really enjoys, and do just those for a while. I would also really try to take a break in the summer; we take from the end of May to the end of June, about five or six weeks, off completely (except for reading), and I find that looking forward to that break and actually having it rejuvenates me for the next year, and my enthusiasm helps to carry over to the kids.