For my son, we used singapore all the way through. It was a good fit. He got the concepts quickly and never did well with lots of drill and repitition. For my daughter, singapore was a disaster, but Math Mammoth has been fabulous. It has just the right level of challenge and drill. We're halfway through 4a, but I do intend to finish the series with her.

I'd skip it. It's one of the things I love about homeschooling. We can skip ahead, or throw it out completely, if they already know it. MFW 1st grade is written to the child who doesn't read yet.

Would DITHOR combined with WWS be too much?

I took 2 years off. The problems we had were resolved by then and we are happily back to homeschooling again. We continued to keep up with the friends and groups from homeschooling, so it wasn't an issue finding people again.

That was written a year and a half ago as a planning tool. It's not even half of what we actually did. I should probably erase it.

We do 3-4 hours a day. The kids are good at staying on task and are motivated to finish early. We don't generally do more than 32 weeks a year, 5 days a week. That's with a full course load. If he won't stay on task and dawdles, that is your entire issue. I'm not sure how to give you advice for dawdling. My kids want to be out playing or doing anything but school. That's their motivation, but every kid is different. Not a bad thing, just different.

I'm glad to see others chiming in with lower numbers. Last year for 6th, DS averaged 3-4 hours a day. That was with a very complete and rigorous schedule. He is able to stay on task and complete things in a timely manner. I would never dream of adding to his schedule just to make it all even out to 8 hours. In my mind the beauty of homeschooling is that it doesn't take nearly as long as public school. They waste more time on changing classes, getting everyone under control and busy work and then send them home with a few hours of homework. If my kids can finish in less time, then better for all of us. It doesn't mean we're doing any less than those who take 8 hours. But my goodness, bless you all that have to deal with keeping kids on task for that long.

We have a Sienna that we pull a pop up with. We had to be careful about the pop up though. The first we tried was too heavy and too tall for the car. Don't let them sell you one until you test drive it first to make sure the car can handle it.

I have sections in my tiny kitchen. The wooden spoons, spatulas etc, are stored in a big jar next to the stove, along with my spices. Everythign I need to cook with is in the cabinets surrounding the stove. I have a baking cart on wheels that stores everything needed for baking with my kitchen aid mixer on top. All large baking pans are stored on their side with some dividers I got at IKEA. The pans are on a pot rack that hangs on the wall, not overhead. I got it ages ago at Crate and Barrel for practically nothing.

I don't refrigerate my flour after I grind it, but it is used within a few weeks at most. If you want to keep it for longer, I would recommend storing it in the fridge/freezer because it will go rancid relatively quickly. Most of the wheat flour in the grocery store is already rancid. Thus, the reason for grinding your own.

My son will be using AG as well.

We absolutely love it! It's so easy to do and the kids really have fun with it.

I have a laserjet printer for printing and a photosmart all in one for copying/printing. The laserjet prints faster and uses less ink. However, I have both because we run a business from home. If I had to go with just one, it would be the all in one. You can set it to print using less ink if that is a concern. Printers are pretty cheap these days, both price-wise and how long they last. Don't spend a lot of money, it isn't worth it.

Been there. What I should have done was to just take time off, breathe, have fun, try to enjoy my kids again.

I will agree with the Money Pit reference. We lived in a 1724 house right about the time that movie came out. We laughed that they had written it about our house. Just be aware before you buy. Some people find that fun.

My son is the same. You need to pick up the pace. Eliminate anything that is seen as busy work. They don't need it. Be very clear at the beginning of the day what is expected. Give a reward for finishing in X amount of time and punishment for anything over. If you've eliminated the busy work, it should work.

The major purpose of my garden is to feed us for the year as well. I have found heirlooms deliver in spades. I get taste, production and can save seeds. My workhorse in the garden for tomatoes is Amish Paste. It is an older variety that tastes great as a slicer and is a fabulous canner as well. Your garden may do better with another variety, but I'm not sure why you think that only hybrids will produce enough to can. I get hundreds of pounds from my 24 heirloom plants every year. Last year I grew 24 plants, 20 were Amish Paste, 2 were Cherokee Purple and 2 were Black Cherry. I canned 48 quarts of whole tomatoes, 28 pints of salsa and 21 quarts of sauce. Seems pretty productive to me.

It's helpful to know what each thing means. Hybrid. A plant that has been bred to have certain characteristics. It is done by combining the genetics of 2 or more plants of the same species to acheive a certain type of plant. You cannot regrow the seeds. They will grow a plant, but it will not be the same as what you originally purchased. Hybrids can and are created in nature. In fact every fruit or veggie we have at this point was a hybrid at some time. Hybrids can be 'stabilized' to become open pollinated so that seeds can be saved, but it is a long process and not one the average gardener is going to be able to do. They can be wonderful in some cases for disease resistance. These will be labeled as F1. If they do not say F1, then they can be assumed to be open pollinated. Heirloom also known as open pollinated. These are older seed types that have been bred, in many cases, for many, many years. Saving seeds will produce a plant the next year that is the same as what you planted. Heirlooms help to save genetic diversity, which is extrememly important for not only us, but the pollinators and other animals. You can find breeds that you like and save seeds from them for eons. Families used to pass down specific seed types that were well loved in their family and did well in their specific location. Heirlooms can also have disease resistance in certain varieties, but the draw is for the taste. Because they were bred for years for taste, they deliver in a big way. Heirlooms can save you money since you can save the seeds. GMOs. These are genetically modified organisms. They are seeds created in a lab by forcing foreign genes into plant genes, generally using viruses. The seeds have genes in them that cross genetic lines. They also very often have pesticides that are bred into them, along with pesticide resistance. This allows them to be doused in large amounts of chemicals to make it 'easier' on the farmer. You cannot technically buy a GMO seed without a license. This means that a seed company cannot sell you these things willy nilly. However, the genes are quite virulent and most corn is now contaminated with GMO material. Unless you buy corn seed from a seed house that tests for the presence of GMOs, then you can bet you'll probably be growing them, albeit unknowingly. Since GMOs are expensive to produce, there are not genetically modified strains of all of our seeds yet. Although you can't buy GMO seeds from the average seed house, I would advise to seed out seed suppliers that are not connected with Monsanto, or the other big chemical seed companies. They will always identify themselves as such. Places like Baker Creek, Fedco, Territorial, Johnny's and High Mowing Seeds are a good place to start. The long and the short of all this is this. What kind of seeds you buy will depend on your end game and how you feel about the politics behind seeds. I won't go into anymore of the politics than what I've already stated. Suffice it to say that what is going on with our food supply is quite scary.

Honey.

I used it with Phonics Pathways. I would say they got more out of ETC than PP and they certainly enjoyed it more.

Hubby and I have a computer repair business that runs out of our home. I do some jobs with him out of the house for our larger clients, but most is done from home. I work anywhere from 24-40 hours a week with him.

For my sixth grader: Winners: AoPS pre-algebra: I'm loving this program. It is teaching me things along with DS. Getting Started with Latin: Both my 6th and 3rd graders are absolutely loving this. They fight over who is going to translate the sentences. Figuratively Speaking: Great, simple, but effective program. Losers: LOF pre algebra: Too simplistic, with too much added nonsense. Memoria Press Lit: Lots of busywork with no real meat.

I grew up in the 70s and 80s. At the age of 5, I would walk up town with my 7 year old neighbor and spend a few hours. There were just as many sickos then as now. There were just as many abductions then as now. The difference being the media attention paid and our fear levels. I am working on letting my kids have more freedom. We live in an average suburban town. My kids are 8 and 11. They're allowed to walk to dogs over to the next block. The fear is holding our kids back and it is causing issues with their development. They are growing up with an inability to think for themselves and care for themselves. So, which is worse? Taking the 1 in a million+ chance that something will happen to your kid, or having a kid who is fearful and unable to mature normally? I'm working on it myself.

It is wordy and it is difficult. With that said, I absolutely adore this program. If your child is not a mathy kid, I would not use it. If you have a STEM kid, I would at least check it out. Highly recommended.

He pays the bills and occasionally gives me an opinion when asked. Otherwise, nothing.