Thanks, this is so helpful. We had tried FLL and definitely had some burnout from it. I will look at some of these other options.

Weight Watchers is the only thing I've been able to stick with. I use emilybites.com for dinner recipes. I've tried Whole 30 and it worked but once it was over I didn't know what to do. It's not sustainable in the long run, though it is great for kickstarting or eliminating some irritants.

I'm planning for this coming year and I have a few questions, particularly about GWTM. We are going to try BYL level 5 this year with my 6th grader. This includes RSO for science. I am also using it with my 3rd grader with a lot of modifications (SOTW and more appropriate readers). My only concern is that there doesn't seem to be a lot regarding mechanics for grammar, which my 6th grader really loves. I'm considering using GWTM, but trying the first book over 2 years instead of 1. Has anyone tried this? I think that 4 days a week would be a lot with all the other work (RSO has 2 labs/week). DS10 has ADHD so I don't want to overwhelm him with work, but he actually ASKS for grammar so I want to include some. Thoughts on this program at a slower pace? Or alternatives for a kid who is eager but might be easily overwhelmed? Thanks!

I do and it has worked well for us. I have to pre-plan as much as possible so that I stay on track. We don't use a lot of worksheets but it does help me to put a list of needed materials and a list of assignments for each week in the folder. My oldest can read the assignment list and check things off. I'm going to incorporate workboxes this coming year. The thing I really like is that if we take a break or someone is sick etc, we don't get off track with planning. Sometimes we sit on one folder for more than a week and sometimes we skip a few things depending on how it's all going.

Awhile ago, I posted asking to read blogs from homeschool moms. I hope it's cool if I share mine here. A friend and I have gotten together to chronicle our thoughts and homeschool experiences. Topics include: Older elementary/ teens, special needs, nature, and homeschool thoughts/ ideas. I'd love suggestions if you have them, and I hope you enjoy reading! http://freeairlife.net/blog/

Christ is Risen! Our Pascha was wonderful. Last year we began attending a new church and this was our first Pascha there. I come from the Russian tradition and this church has a lot of first and second generation Lebanese people. It's a century old church founded by St. Raphael. The services are so heartfelt! We had English, French, German, Scott-Gaelic, Romainian, Russian (done VERY poorly by me), Arabic, Greek, Latin, and I think something from the Netherlands. It was amazing. I also had a really wonderful opportunity on Holy Tuesday to sing the Hymn of Kassiani with my dad doing eson. He has been teaching me hymns since I was little so this was really special to both of us. He's still talking about it. On Pascha, we had two inches of snow, which was a first for me as well!

Thanks everyone! I love this community.

Hello! I've searched around on here but didn't come across a post like this. I've recently started blogging and I know there are lots of you on here who do too. I was wondering if you'd be willing to share your blogs with me. I'd love to read them, whether they are homeschool blogs or not. I have some favorites but I'd love to expand on what I read. Thanks!

I love this movie. I interpreted the ending to mean that she was experiencing time kind of out of order. Not so much that she could see the future but that time was happening all at once. So I guess my opinion is that no she didn't change anything and learning the language allowed her to accept what her future would be. She kept the future she'd "seen" so that she could have her daughter. To her love was worth the inevitable loss both of her husband and of her child.

If you’re not eating all your weekly points, I’d start there. You’re supposed to use them. I retain weight when I eat less than the points I get every week.

Paranoia can also be the result of untreated anxiety. If you have a high level of anxiety it can cause intrusive thoughts that are really upsetting. Fortunately, you can get some relief through medication or therapy. If you really can't access these things for a few months, there are anxiety workbooks available through Amazon or most book stores. It's not a replacement for professional help, but they can be helpful as a stop gap. You can order those and go through them yourself. For my anxious kids, I use fish oil, vitamin D and a good multivitamin. I like the Smarty Pants Women's vitamin from Target. It has a lot of good things in it, including some B vitamins which can help with anxiety too. Another thing you can do is get a stress reducing app. My favorite is called Stop Breathe Think. You can enter in whatever feelings you're experiencing and the app will give you a 5 minute guided video for calming down or focusing your feelings. Another app I really like is called Clue. It's primarily an app for tracking menstrual cycles but you can customize it to track symptoms and emotions. I have found that getting to know my cycle helps a lot with difficult feelings. I can say "oh yeah, I'm in the week before my period, so I need to take better care of myself, not watch upsetting things, and be prepared to feel a bit off." Like I said, eventually it would be good to get some outside help, but making choices to actively take better care of yourself can be really empowering. Good luck.

I "remember" several things on the lists I've seen. Jiffy Peanut butter, the genie movie, Berenstein Bears, etc. It's weird.

Motherease has some nice cloth trainers.

:laugh:

Does anyone have any experience with this company? It looks great, but I'm hoping for reviews before spending any money. It's tough for me to find clothes that fit because of my odd measurements, so something custom would be amazing, but I'm always skeptical of things I see on facebook. :laugh:

Oh, I need one of those belts! I feel like I could just wear it around the house too since I never have enough pockets.

I'm really enjoying the "stuff you got because of the Hive" thread, although it's bad for the budget! What are the things you haven't seen here that everyone should have/ know about? Here are mine: Silicone Drink lids - keep my coffee hot Cheap but awesome car vacuum - I got this for Christmas and I love it- plugs into the car lighter Craft/ school cart from Sam's 5 in 1 kitchen tool - I use this every day Kidphones- I actually use these as often as my kids do- they cancel ambient and very loud noises so you can still hear what's going on. They're much more comfortable that other noise cancelling headphones.

I switched to Hint water recently. I was always drinking carbonated water and heard some negative things about it.

Has anyone tried this program? It looks promising, but it's expensive. We've ruled out a number of other options, and I'm hoping to see a review before committing. Thanks!

There is a book called "Real Food for Gestational Diabetes" that outlines a good plan for eating. You don't have to have GD to use it- it's also good for prevention etc. Obviously, talk to a care provider before changing your diet, but the CNM I worked for used to recommend it to anyone who was watching weight gain during pregnancy

I'm in the same exact boat. Very strong boundaries have helped us, as well as more patience than I ever thought I had.

I've never been to New Mexico, but I love Georgia O'Keefe. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/north-america/united-states/articles/new-mexico-landscapes-that-inspired-georgia-okeeffe/

I was always so sad that I didn't follow the other thread in time to catch up. It's like being left out of a very long inside joke.

Has anyone done a unit study or similar on veterinary science? My son is quite interested at the moment. Any ideas or resources? We're looking at the 4-H curriculum right now but I'm not sure how well it would work for homeschool.

I usually use my weekly points. It may take longer to lose, I'm not sure. But the program is much more sustainable for me if I use the weeklies. I lost 33 lbs in a year. On maintenance I get 36.