I have the Platinum membership which is $22.95 a month for 2 credits. So, just over $11 per credit. I only use my credits for books that cost more than $10. They have sales all the time where you can get books for $5.95, $2.95, etc. I stock up when those come around! :) They just had a $5.95 sale and I got 7 new books. My 10 yo LOVES Audible! He listens to it on the iPad for at least an hour every day-usually longer. I don't count it as screen time because he's only engaging with the screen to turn it on. He knows how to add his choices to my wishlist. :) I have listened to a ton on books on Audible. My dh, who informed me he wasn't interested in audio books, now has the app on his phone and has listened to so many books I lost count! I love my new Honda Odyssey. Since it has blue tooth, I can connect my phone in the car and always listen to a book while driving. When 10 yo is in the car, I let him choose the book and he can have me listening to the books he loves. It's been totally worth it for us!

Wow, GAPeachie! I can see why you won't be going back. :/ I hear about these types of experiences but just haven't seen anything like that where I am. I guess I should be thankful! :) From what I understand now, I would not fit the qualifications to be a Challenge Director even though I have been homeschooling for 17 years, have one kid about to graduate from college, and have another kid who is a sophomore in college. I didn't homeschool them through CC. CC is something I've only been doing with my youngest for the past couple of years. I think an exception could be granted if the management person (I never know who is called what :p ) who makes those decisions wanted to grant one. Someone with their oldest child just going into Challenge A and who has only a year of homeschooling under their belt could direct any Challenge class because they have a kid in Challenge. I think that's how it works. At any rate, I was just trying to figure out the requirements. Ds and I have one more year in F/E and I will tutor Essentials again for that year. Then, I will decide whether we want to head into Challenge or not. :)

We've been to Legoland CA several times. I gave him the option of which park to do and he says that's the one he wants. I'll show him more about Animal Kingdom and see what he thinks. We've been to Disney Springs once before and been to Downtown Disney in CA lots and lots of times. He's definitely interested in lunch at the TRex restaurant. We've eaten there once before. And, if we also decide to see and movie and buy a souvenir, that should take a good chunk of our afternoon, I think. I'll see what I can talk dh into! Great advice! :) Perfect! Thank you!

Yes, Challenge tutors are Directors. :) The exception you site seems very much within the interest of the students. I'm trying to figure out if you have to have students somewhere in the Challenge program to tutor Challenge. This is what I'm starting to piece together as the requirement. You can have a child in any Challenge level to tutor Challenge even if your child is in a Challenge level below what you will be tutoring. I've heard other stories like the one you mention. I'm glad that I haven't seen anything like that in my local area. There is lots of support between communities here and people are regularly given contact info for other campuses if it is thought that another campus would be a better fit for them. I don't doubt that the negative stories are true-not a bit! Thanks for the input!

I do wonder if there is a requirement that they do meet. Yes, I'm assuming that's true of everyone who is contracted as a Challenge Director. I am just looking for a copy of what the qualifications actually are. I have been trying to find that online but have been unsuccessful. I would have assumed that it would be readily available.

Hi Everyone~ My 10yo ds and I currently do CC Foundations and Essentials and I tutor both classes. We joined when we moved to a new state and needed to find some friends. :) I have not yet decided whether or not we will participate in Challenge when the time comes. Do any of you know what the requirements are to be a Challenge Director? I can't seem to find anything definitive. I've been hesitant to ask within my community because I don't want to be perceived as challenging someone's credentials if they, in fact, meet the CC requirements. At one point I thought that you had to at least have homeschooled one student through the grade level you are tutoring. So, you would have to have homeschooled at least one student through 9th grade in order to tutor Challenge 1. I'm just trying to get an ideas of the details. :) Thanks for any input!

Thanks! We will aim for Monday for Legoland and I'll see if I can convince dh to spend two days at Universal. :)

Hi All~ Dh is attending a conference in Orlando in April and wants ds (10) and I to go with him. He and ds are really into Harry Potter right now so we will be doing Universal at the end of the conference. We'll be staying at the Omni in Championsgate. Ds and I will be on our own Monday thru Thursday morning. Can you tell me how this sounds: Monday - hang out at the hotel and use the pool. We'll be tired from the long travel day on Sunday and the change of timezone from the west coast. Tuesday - Legoland. We've been to Legoland in CA several times since we only lived an hour from there when we lived in CA but we haven't been in at least 4 years and ds says that's what he thinks he would like to do. We had Disneyland passes for a few years so we don't feel the need to do Magic Kingdom and we have been to Epcot before. Wednesday - Downtown Disney (I think it's called Disney Springs in FL?). We can plan to see a movie, eat at the TRex restaurant and wander around. Thursday - hang out at the pool in the morning and see what dh is up for in the afternoon and evening. Friday - Universal with dh. Dh and ds want to visit both parks to get their full Harry Potter experience. Is that doable in one day? They don't care all that much about the other areas. Should I suggest one more day to dh or would the crowds on a Saturday in April make it miserable? Another option could be to start at Universal on Thursday afternoon and continue there on Friday if dh is up for that. Does this look like a decent plan? Any changes you would make or suggestions for something different? I'm guessing the weather in mid-April will be somewhat mild? :) Thanks for any input!

I have a family member who has posted that periodically. The last time, however, she actually posted a "quiz" for her friends. She stated she was trying to figure out who her real friends were and stated that to stay her friend on Facebook, you would have to answer the question: "What are three things that have happened in my life in the last 4 years?" I didn't answer. I got unfriended. I don't have to endure the constant pleas for attention anymore. :p

I experience this, too! I sometimes am woken up from sleep smelling something that isn't there. I have a really, really hard time using public restrooms. I am often gagging the whole time I'm in there. :ack2: We were once on a road trip driving home from Colorado to CA through the middle of Utah. I told dh I would have to stop for a bathroom soon. I kept seeing a sign on the road that said, "The cleanest bathroom in Utah ___ miles ahead." My dh finally pulled off the freeway at a gas station. My dd and I said in unison, "What are you doing?!?!?!" He said, "Well, you said you had to go to the bathroom." I replied, "But the cleanest bathroom in Utah is only 15 more miles!" He questioned, "You really want me to drive another 15 miles to the cleanest bathroom in Utah?" Dd and I yelled, "YES!" He got out of the car, used the current bathroom and then pulled over again 15 miles down the road. When dd and I emerged, dh said, "I hope it was worth it." We both affirmed that it was! :D I have public restrooms picked out at places I go regularly. So, for example, at the mall, I have a couple of acceptable choices. I also have places that I know I will not go! :)

I'm 46 1/2. ;) I wear mine in a stacked bob right around my jawline. It's the most flattering cut for me. I wish I could wear it around shoulder length but it just doesn't look good. :/ It's still close to what it is in my avatar photo...just a little bit shorter than that. That was taken just after my 45th birthday.

You know, I haven't been taking my Vit D supplement lately and we haven't had much sun here in the PNW this winter. I'll start taking it. My anxiety came out of no where when I turned 40. I've been taking something for it for about 5 years. I can feel crawling like you could, too.

I do have an underactive thyroid. I'm due to have it tested again in the next couple of weeks. :)

Hi All~ I'll be 47 in June and I think I'm starting the process. :tongue_smilie: Would some of you who are going through it or have gone through it care to comment on what types of symptoms you have experienced? I haven't had hot flashes (my mom said she never experienced a hot flash). My cycle has definitely changed. Mostly, I am feeling it emotionally and through exhaustion. Some days I just go from feeling irritated to feeling sad in 2.5 seconds. :lol: I haven't felt like that since the PMS days of my early 20's. I'm also just so tired I can't see straight. When I wake up in the morning, I start counting down the time until I can take a nap. ;) I'm used to feeling like that a day or two before my cycle starts but it seems like it's all the time now. Are these typical menopause symptoms? How did you manage them and what other symptoms did you experience?

Still praying for all of you. :grouphug:

Praying for your family...

In my defense, I said "especially at night." :) There are definitely places I would not even want to be during the day. :)

Take BART in and out of Oakland, especially at night. Also, I'm not sure which station, but we had one of our employees working in SF for 6 months and staying in Oakland. His car was vandalized more than once from the station.

I have a very good friend who has been an Oakland police officer for more than 20 years. There is no way on earth he would let me do that. :)

Dh has been watching Blacklist from the beginning. I just started watching it on Netflix and love it! Also seconding House of Cards and Breaking Bad.

I am listening. I really am. :grouphug: When I start with the advice I listed, sometimes I get the follow up questions that you are asking. When that happens, I am happy to elaborate. When they say, "I cannot get my 7yo son to sit still to do his math worksheet!" I give specific ideas on how to help the kid get some math in his head without sitting still which, btw, most 7yo boys do not do well. ;) I tell them that I took sidewalk chalk and drew a hopscotch outside and called out addition and subtraction problems and had him hop onto the correct answer. I tell them that while we were building with Lego, I would say, "Hey, you have 10 Lego bricks there. If you gave me 7 of them, how many would you have left." Or, eating a snack with a couple of stuffed animals (or imaginary friends in the case of one of my kids), I might say, "How about you give each of your animals a pile of the same amount of Goldfish." When they say, "Do you have any suggestions on which books to read outloud? I didn't get read aloud to much when I was a kid." (Incidentally, I don't remember my parents ever reading aloud to me.) I say, "Sure! One of my favorite resources is Honey for a Child's Heart! It has amazing suggestions for books categorized by age!" Or I say, "When my kids were younger, we used Five in a Row. Not only does it list some of the best picture books ever published, but the guide even gives you fun ideas to teach from those books." My own library is full of all kinds of resources collected over the years. I often invite newer homeschoolers over and tell them they are welcome to borrow anything I have. I regularly suggest they read Ruth Beechick's The Three R's booklets; Educating the Wholehearted Child; etc. These resources encourage us how to create an learning rich environment at home. The things I listed in my other post weren't a recipe. "Playing games with Grandma" was not a specific. It was an idea of how to incorporate learning into normal life instead of feeling like you have to sit down with workbooks. I love watching my kids play games with my mom but if your kids don't have that kind of opportunity, you can do something else. Like I said, I stopped giving unsolicited advice years ago. But, if someone wants my help and encouragement, I am happy to come alongside and help them figure out what will work for them.

I don't think I missed the point. If what you read predominately online is experienced homeschoolers reminding younger homeschoolers to relax and have fun during the early elementary years and don't see a lot of experienced homeschoolers giving advice to go with rigorous academics during K-4 or so, then there might be a reason for that. That doesn't mean that those homeschoolers are unschoolers or that they don't believe in academics. From my own personal experience, I found that my kids learned more from more relaxed learning in the early years. We sat down for math (usually) and used a lot of games and movement activities for everything else. Once my older kids were in 5th grade or so, we started more with traditional learning. They both took very intense high school classes including 4 or more years of foreign language, community college classes, AP classes, etc. They both were accepted into great colleges and are doing very well grade wise-one on the Dean's list; one on the President's list. And, when I'm asked for advice by new homeschoolers, I always tell them, "You can't screw up K-3. Read to them, teach them to read, teach them to add and subtract, and play! Take them on nature walks, let them watch educational programs (if you are OK with TV), teach them to measure ingredients in the kitchen, have them play games with Grandma, etc." I am not disregarding the experience or opinions of those who have not been at it as long as I have. I just wish that those moms would really listen to what we're saying. I regularly experience "in one ear and out the other" from them. It's OK. I don't think I have the market cornered on homeschooling wisdom. This is exactly why I don't give unsolicited advice. :)

Why do you think that is? :) Maybe those of us with experience know something? ;) I'm in my 17th year of homeschooling. I have one kid finishing up college and will likely graduate summa cum laude, one who's a sophomore in college, and a 4th grader. I've been around for a while. When newer homeschoolers find out that I have experience and ask my advice, they very frequently dismiss it. I continue to encourage those who ask for my advice and watch them forge their own path.

I'm currently reading this book on chronotypes. It's a fascinating read and has helped me be a little more objective about the natural sleep patterns of some people in my house. :)

My dh picked out a gorgeous Kate Spade bag for me! He also bought me a Tom Ford lipstick -a luxury item I would never buy for myself. :) With my mom's help, we bought my dd a used car and surprised her with it this morning. Her reaction was my favorite part of Christmas! :)