My son finished K on June 29 and starts 1st on July 30. Which is still better than most kids at his school, who start on July 9. It's a multitrack year round school, so we get 4 weeks off in July, 3 in October, 4 in December/January, and 3 in April. We love it!

My son loved Pyramid by David MacAulay and the You Wouldn't Want to Be books (I think there were 2 or 3 for Egypt). He also liked The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt. And we both got a kick out of Bill and Pete Go Down the Nile.

My sister-in-law did this for a couple years right out of college and had a blast! She had lots of adventures and made some wonderful friends. She said it was just like living in a dorm, so not luxury but adequate.

We love Cobblestone and Calliope.

Have you seen the new Smart Cases? They are like Smart Covers but with backs? I think they are around 50 bucks at the Apple store.

I recommend SWB's The History of the Ancient World. I've learned so much from it.

Mmmmm...Sean Connery.

We have loved D'Aulaire and the You Wouldn't Want to Be series. And of course Percy Jackson, which isn't technically history but makes my son feel super smart for recognizing all of the mythological references.

We love the Shopping List feature. Whoever is stopping at the store always has the list on their phone.

Thanks for the advice! I'm going to order Wheelock's for reference, and maybe to work on after Lingua Latina.

I'm a mom of two in my mid-thirties who wants to learn Latin. I have no background in Latin. My native language is English, and I'm proficient in Spanish. Based on recommendations on this board, I've started with Getting Started With Latin. I'm on Lesson 21, and am using both the book and the audio commentary. So far so good. So here is my question: I've fallen in love with the idea of Lingua Latina and definitely plan to use it. Do I need to do something like Wheelock's or Linney's Latin Class in between GSWL and LL, or can I just dive right in to LL once I've made it through GSWL? Thanks!

For art and architecture, I'd recommend The Annotated Mona Lisa and The Annotated Arch. Both have just enough detail for an overview of art and architecture through history.

My son is allergic to peanuts, and per his allergist it is safe for him to eat at Chick-Fil-A and other places that use peanut oil. Apparently the oil is processed in such a way that it does not cause the same reactions.

I've had my Mirena for a year and loved it. I had lots of cramps for a week, then smooth sailing ever since. No mood swings like with pills.

My son also dislikes the actual act of writing, and he is doing wonderfully with WWE 1. The copywork sentences start out really short and get longer from there, so he's been able to build up his hand strength. We spend about 5 minutes per day, 4 days per week, and he's also learning about sentence structure and practicing narration. Totally painless!

My son also likes to park at one time period/civilization for a while. I double up on chapters that don't have as many supplemental books available so that we can spend tons of time reading about Egypt, Greece and Rome. Also, we school year round and read history books in our free time so we have 52 weeks to complete each book of SOTW.

My 5 yo loved that movie. I thought it was completely appropriate for his age.

Check out the City Knit pants at New York & Company. They are basically dress pants that feel like sweatpants. I love them!

The Spooky Old Tree! Also He Bear, She Bear (Girl power!).

I find the new Berenstain Bears books irritating, but my kids love the old ones that I had when I was little The Spooky Old Tree and He Bear, She Bear are our favorites. Although, come to think of it, Papa and Mama aren't even in those two, so I don't have to keep noticing the fact that Mama doesn't own any real clothes.

This happened to us a couple weeks ago, and it really did a number on the window and the front porch. We put a couple of dollar-store helium balloons in front of the window it was attacking. Not sure if it was the color or the movement or both, but our problem was solved! Haven't seen the bird since.

...because I say both, possibly because I don't know the "right" way to say it.

We flew through Singapore Essentials and have moved on to 1A.

Gargling with warm salt water always works for me.

...it tastes the best IMHO. The 2% is much creamier and less sour than the 0%.