I feel you pain. Mine are 7, 4, and 2. My aunt, who homeschooled her 5 kids over the course of about 20 years, said that having a toddler in the house is absolutely the most difficult aspect of homeschooling. At my house, we grab bits and pieces of time throughout the day and just do what we can. When I notice the 2 year old being relatively happy, I pull out something that takes 20 minutes or less and do that. I rotate what I start with so the same subjects don't get neglected over and over. I continue working if we can, but if not I just try to grab additional 10-20 minute snippets as the day goes on. The 2 year old will sometimes listen in on our read alouds. One thing that has helped me feel better about things is Explode the Code online. I know that my 1st grader is working at least 20 minutes on phonics every day no matter how crazy things are. We sometimes work during naptime or I will turn on the TV for the 2 year old too. ETA: A good attitude during schoolwork is required at my house for games to be allowed during that day. Repeatedly asking for games during schoolwork doesn't count as a good attitude even if the asking is done nicely.

I hadn't heard of Biblioplan before. That looks like a very promising future possibility for us.

I recommend checking out Dave Ramsey's recommended realtors. We were very happy with the realtor he recommended in our area and since he is based in Nashville, I would expect his Nashville list to be long and good.

I really wish I could come, but unfortunately I have a big scheduling conflict.

I got a new MFW catalog today and am eagerly awaiting the soon-to-be-released Sonlight Catalog.

Have you considered the Sonlight Science? We're planning SL Science K for next year.

I thought Paypal had changed so that all purchases had fees charged and that personal Paypal was only for sending a gift or repaying a debt or something like that.

Are you hoping to have the 1st grader tag along? If so, I'd go with 1 + 2. What does your 4th grader like? Is he hungry for more American history or would he rather study world history?

I found homeschoolreviews.com to be very helpful. Also, Rainbow Resource's print catalog includes very helpful reviews and descriptions.

No. I'm concerned about bed bugs, allergens, and smells.

Buying used from Amazon is low risk. You do need to read the description carefully, but Amazon guarantees their used sellers too and will ban a seller who isn't good. I typically buy used if the used item with shipping cost is more than a dollar or two less than new.

I'm not familiar with Funnix, but everything else are favorites of mine, so it sounds just right to me. You might also consider Explode the Code Online instead of the books; get the practice without the writing. Homeschoolbuyerscoop has Explode the Code Online at a significant discount.

I wouldn't use retirement money for this. This is a "routine" struggling to make a budget work with high expenses problem, it isn't a life or death or lose the house kind of crisis. I would look into seeing if you can get a new loan against the bobcat to get its debt off the high interest credit cards. If things were really bad, I would miss credit card payments rather than touch retirement money. Have you read Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover? It was very helpful to us in getting better control of our budget and paying off debt.

It sounds to me like she has a shorter torso for her size, if I'm reading the problem description correctly. I'd try Lands End Plus in a smaller size. You might want to order several sizes to try and return the ones that don't work to Sears.

:iagree:

My child is working at grade level and we state the grade that matches the local school's requirements. I would do the same if they start working at an accelerated level. Most people here who ask "What grade are you in?" really mean "How old are you?" Lots of gifted students in public schools are working well ahead of grade level. It is exceptionally rare that a school would agree to actually move them to a higher grade.

I will add Sonlight is Protestant and does not favor any particular Bible version.

Do you have a friend who is placing a big Sonlight order or who ordered a core in the past year that you could combine you order with to take advantage of their free shipping?

:grouphug: How heartbreaking.

Another recommendation for the Finish Tabs here. We have septic and so do most people we know; I've never heard that liquid dishwasher detergent is better.

It sounds to me like you love it and may come back to homeschooling in the future. Maybe keep it for a year or six months and then reevaluate how you feel.

How sweet! That is great.

How sad. I'm realizing as I hear more news reports that things are much worse than I originally thought.

The packaging issue is a huge one. I'd guess a large percentage of "lost" packages are actually broken packages. A couple months ago I ordered some used books from an individual and received only the brown paper she had used to wrap the items. She was honorable and refunded my money, but I was shocked that she attempted to send books wrapped in a single layer of brown paper.

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