Can you tell me a little more about the class? What was the workload, how much involvement did it require on your end, etc?

I know that last year I came across some online classes using Joy Hakim's Story of Science books, but I can't remember who offered the classes and haven't had luck searching for them. Anyone familiar with them? Thanks!

My 11 year old has a self imposed uniform and thus always matches : He has multiple pairs of the same gray pants. All of his shorts are gray or some sort of gray/white/black plaid. He has a bunch of solid t-shirts all in white, gray, or teal. His pajamas are solid gray. All of his athletic shorts and pants are gray. Both pairs of his sneakers are gray and black. He has a good gray wool sweater and a gray hoodie. He has several nice plaid button up shirts all in gray/white/black/teal and one gray tie. One pair of black dress shoes. No matter what he wears, he matches and coordinates! It's super easy to shop for him, but sometimes a little annoying because when we get hand me downs he won't wear them unless they fit his color scheme.

Dh and I both get 6 weeks of PTO each year from work, and for the most part, we use it. We're definitely budget travelers though, often traveling to visit friends or family with whom we can stay, or we camp. Occasionally we'll do a cheap Hotwire or Priceline hotel. For 2016, not sure which ones would be considered vacations, per se: 3 days in Chicago in April 2 nights at a campground 10 minutes from our house in June visiting friends one state over for the long July 4th weekend (no real expenses other than gas) 10 day camping trip planned for August 2 week camping trip planned for October will visit my sister 1000 miles away for Thanksgiving (gas and a night at a hotel each way will be our only significant expenses again)

I know a couple of people here from other online communities, but there's only been one person I've come across on these board with whom I am acquainted IRL. I've met her a couple of times at park days for a local homeschool group, but I'm no longer very active in that group, so I don't know her well at all. However, there is a very large and active homeschooling community in my area, so I'm sure that there are other local homeschoolers who post here and I'm just not aware of them. If so, it's possible that they know who I am based off of my signature.

We have a Little Guy 5 Wide teardrop camper. It fits two people perfectly, and we carry a small tent and/or a pair of hammocks for the kids. The basic camper before adding on any options is just under 1,000 lbs. We LOVE it! http://www.golittleguy.com/model?id=41&model=5-Wide-Platform They are over your budget if you buy new, but we found ours used on eBay and got a good deal on it. We paid right around $5k for ours, and the previous owners included accessories that they had purchased for it such as a winter cover, bedding, a tent that fits onto the side of it, a large tool box mounted onto the front, etc.

Travel, native speaking foreign language instructors and more help in the form of tutors! Basically, I'd love a governess. :lol:

She prefers her children to be in bed by 8 pm, and says that she will let them stay up an extra 30 minutes for special occasions. They are up at 6 a. In the summer, when the sun doesn't even set until well after 9 pm, my kids are usually up until 10ish and will generally get up around 7:30/8 am.

A combination of me being a light sleeper, creaky floors, thin walls, the only bathroom is just a few feet away from my bed, our dogs who will start to bark and whine once people start moving around... Just the sound of someone opening/closing a door will wake me every single time. But yes, you're right. Ultimately we're just going to have to live through it. It's only few days...

Our house is small enough that once one person is up, awake and moving about, the entire house is generally woken as well, no matter how polite and quite one tries to be.

They are 7 and 10.

I have a house guest question: When you have someone staying with you who keeps a different schedule than your family, do you adapt to their schedule or do you expect them to just roll with your routine? We have a friend visiting in a couple of weeks with two children who go to bed much earlier than mine in the summer, and it is expected that the children will want to have a sleepover. How do I handle it if her kids need to go to bed when it is still daylight but they want my kids to sleep with them? My kids simply aren't going to be capable of going to sleep that early. We don't have blinds to block out the light, and our house is small, so we wouldn't even be able to put her kids to bed and go talk in the living room without the noise carrying. Also, my friend has told me that her children get up early, no matter what, and make a lot of noise. We are not early risers. I mean, no one is sleeping in until noon, but we're sure as heck not up at 6am either. We usually eat a big, late breakfast/brunch and then dinner. She says her children will be chewing their arms off. It's also complicated because my children really struggle with her kids' very intense personalities- they're just a lot to handle. Honestly, it's a couple weeks away and I'm already stressed out, but not having them visit isn't an option. Take my word for it when say that we're obligated. Please don't quote in case I decide to delete. I would hate for her to stumble across this, but I really need to get an outside perspective of how to graciously handle the situation.

Tomato sandwiches made with tomatoes that are still warm from the sun. :)

Also, as far as something that might help satisfy your itchy brain while you're waiting to get the loan issue sorted through, could you start a self-study of a new language that might be helpful for someone in your field to be able to speak/read?

Can you audit some courses without enrolling/applying to be a student?

We don't close the toilet lid, but it grosses me out to think that anyone would ever store their toothbrush out in the open. Toothbrushes on shelves above the toilet, toothbrushes sitting next to the sink...ew!

I have limitations due to a physical deformity. I have to limit walking and can't run, so that means that limits the things I can do from home without special equipment. I'm starting PT soon though and am hopeful that they will help me find something I can do more easily at home. I'm tired. I work a lot of hours. Exercise for exercise's sake is my idea of torture, but due to my physical limiations I have a hard time getting enough activity just through daily life.

Currently: rock climbing piano lessons nature/survival classes foreign language tutor (although I don't really consider that an extracurricular) In the past we've done: swimming dance choir theater pottery volunteering at a local food pantry ice skating Pokemon club soccer Little League robotics

Check out the link I posted in the post just before this. :)

There is a military style summer camp Indiana that attracts children from all over the world. It is a military academy during the school year and a camp by summer. Although it is a military school, it is not a military school in the sense of being a place to send troubled children. They do not accept students with behavioral problems. It has an extremely high price tag, but they are generous with financial aid, IME. I went there as a child alongside children of the very wealthy, and when my sister was a camp counselor in college she had the child of a very high profile political figure in her cabin: https://www.culver.org

Chaco sandals are great for walking. I wear them for hiking, wore them at Disney World when we were averaging 10 miles a day, I wear them when we visit cities and I know we'll be doing lots of walking. They are by far the most comfortable shoe I've ever owned. I've been wearing them for about 12 years now (and I'm probably on my 5th or 6th pair.)

I buy it as needed throughout the year because we always tend to finish things up random times. During the school year we pay monthly for various classes and lessons and take a break from them for the summer, so I'm then able to set aside a little bit for anything big that we might need at the beginning of the year.

Have you looked at the Math Mammoth suggestions and reviews for algebra? http://www.mathmammoth.com/complete/algebra_1.php Based on her suggestions we will probably be using Math Without Borders.

I'm planning two extended (10-15 day) camping trips: one in August, one in October. Both trips will be road trips visiting national parks with 2-3 nights in each park before moving onto the next. Generally when we camp I like to prepare as many foods as possible at home and bring a cooler packed full of things that simply need to be reheated or eaten cold like pasta salads. I prefer not to do a lot of actual cooking because I find that it takes so long to prepare and clean up afterwards, especially when you're having to haul water and heat it up one pot at a time to clean dishes. However, for both of these upcoming trips we'll have to start out with just enough food for the first couple of days, then stop at grocery stores along the way to restock as needed. Suggestions for things that will be easy, fast, not require too much preparation, be low-mess, and provide a little variety? There are only so many hotdogs, sandwiches and potato chips that a person can eat on a longer trip, plus we can't count on always being able to build a fire in areas with burn restrictions, so it will mostly need to be things we can heat up on our Coleman stove.

Our British friends nearly vomited when they saw a plate of biscuits and gravy for breakfast.