I think you've been given good advice about working through challenges with narrations, but if he really dislikes ancient history... switch to something else. At 7, I would talk to him about what he wants to learn about and go the pile of books from the library route. Knights? Dinosaurs? Airplanes? He can practice the skill of studying history without the four year cycle.

I use RSA for Kindergarten, but Miquon is great and inexpensive. Reception from MEP is free and easy to add manipulatives.

I probably wouldn't consider it a health food, per se, but it certainly has less sugar than your average chocolate cake. In the world of treat snacks, it's one I don't feel guilty about serving.

I was also skeptical, but chocolate hummus is amazing. It tastes like cake. My kids love it. I serve it with graham crackers and assorted cut fruit. In theory I put it out as a snack for the kids. Usually the adults at the party get there before the kids do. I have made my own, but I've purchased several as well, including a brand at Target that I can't name off the top of my head and Trader Joe's. Most have been very good.

It takes my current K student somewhere between 15-20 minutes per lesson in RightStart A. Her older brother was a bit quicker, but he was also an older K. The lessons in B were about the same length for him. The games can push a lesson longer, if it's a game they enjoy. For reference, I also have four, and we're exactly a year ahead of you with almost 7 (in Feb), 5, 3, and 2 (on Wednesday!). For RightStart, I have everything organized into a file box. The manuals/worksheets I'm currently using + the game manual are in file folder in the back. Dry erase boards and abacus slide right in front, and I have two small boxes holding the rest of the manipulative in the very front. Almost everything fits in one box, and certainly everything I grab on a daily basis. I flip through the lessons on Sunday evening to make sure I don't need to prepare anything else (rare), and we're ready to go for the week. And to speak to your other question, I do no worksheets or textbooks for literature (or any subject) with either my 1st grader or my K student. My oldest in an advanced reader, and he reads what he wants from a "school list" I have given him (and truly what he wants outside of school time). He starts by reading aloud to me for 5-8 minutes to work on fluency and then reads independently for 20 minutes while I work with his sister. For literature, I don't have him narrate until the next day, when he fills me in on what I missed in the story. I specifically work on narration with other subjects - usually history or science - and I let him know that he will be required to produce an oral narration before I read the relevant section of the text. His only writing is copywork. I use copywork to discuss grammar and mechanics, any spelling issues that might pop up, observations about the writing itself, and penmanship. Honestly, as someone who came from classroom teaching experience (five years in 2nd grade, and five years in 8th grade LA), I'm thrilled to ditch the lit guides and move strictly to rich conversations about what we are reading.

It is abstract clouds with this wispy thing sticking out the... well, it should be bottom, but now all the wisps are blowing up! Fortunately for me, I have a bunch of airplane prints that will shortly be hung on the wall, so hopefully that will obscure it a bit.

That are more healthy than dessert but actually taste good. Alternate flours are fine. Something with protein and/or fiber is a bonus.

That the wallpaper recently installed in my boys' room is upside down. The installation was okay'd by DH and the 6yo, so they clearly think it's fine, but I want to stand on my head every time I'm in there.

I’m a good to possibly very good home cook. I enjoy cooking most of the time and experiment in the kitchen. I view most recipes as loose guidelines. I was gifted Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat for Christmas along with a gift card intended by the giver to be used toward cookbooks. Of course I can do what I would like with it, but I would like to invest in some books that you might recommend that have changed the way you cook.

My dad always does “tipping” envelopes - either an envelope or those bank books with $1/$2/$5 bills inside for tipping at places like Starbucks or Chipotle (or Taco Bueno!). Also handy to keep in the glove compartment for small charges from parking garages, etc.

June. I was teaching and he was living in another state with a new-ish job. We planned for two weeks after the school year ended, so I could breathe and pack my house for a cross country move.

Today I love homeschooling because we got to see the awesome mall Santa who usually has crazy lines at 10:00 am this morning when no one else was there. He spent time chatting with each kid, and even the almost 2yo got brave enough to stand within 4 feet of him. Now it’s cold and rainy and we can have hot chocolate and watch Wild Kratt.

My kids (ages 1-6) play daily with MagnaTiles paired with small plastic animals from Target. As in, almost daily for at least 2+ years. We have two sets of bristle blocks that also get played with frequently. Very good for making vehicles/people/robots, less good for structures. Our classic wooden blocks get played with if I have them displayed right, but still get ditched for the Magnatiles. We are recently into Plus Plus blocks. I keep them in my bag for being out and about. They have a large size that would work for those ages. My almost two is definitely frustrated by the little ones right now, and my 3.5 is only just getting the hang of them.

We have an angel my great grandmother tatted. Our tree is also covered with snowflakes that she tatted. I love them.

My almost 7 yo is suddenly very interested in chess. We found a local homeschool chess class run through a chess center, and he's happily completed the first two beginner courses and is asking for a chess board for Christmas (and to enter some competitions.... I'm wondering how deep this rabbit hole will go). He's definitely getting the chess board, but are there any other chess related gifts I should wrap with it? He's a fluent reader with an elementary age attention span.

Another vote for Speed Queen. Mine just moved halfway across the country with us.

“Basic household supplies”. Yours?

We're finishing some attic space in our house and gaining about 400 sq feet of. The space is L-shaped with dormer windows on one side and skylights on the other. The walls are about 6 feet tall where they meet the ceiling, but the ceiling height in the middle of the room is... high. The only plan I have is one (long!) wall of book shelves. What would you put in your dream playroom space? My kids are currently ages 1-6, but we're obviously planning this as a long-term flexible space.

One member of my extended family definitely homeschooled because of peer pressure. Their (small, very conservative) church strongly advocated homeschooling and several other family members (in other states and unaffiliated with that church) also homeschooled. The church also strongly pushed radical unschooling. Neither homeschooling nor that educational philosophy was a fit for this particular family. Their kids eventually ended up in b&m school, but the first few years were a real adjustment for their older kids.

I was also going to recommend kima. Here’s the recipe we use: https://wellnessmama.com/5228/pakistani-kima/

Hanna Anderson and Tea Collection have held up really well here and fit my aesthetic. The clothes are pricey, but most of them have gone through at least three boys and four girls and by and large come out the other end still wearable/donatable. This winter the only clothing item I bought for my three yo is the shirt he needed to "coordinate" for the big cousins/grandparents photo. Everything else comes straight from the two above brands.

I love Christmas cards! We send out around 150 and receive 75-100 every year. I’m picking my cards this week, in fact. Fun!

Coming back to add that I grew up with grandparents in close proximity, so holidays always involved large extended family gatherings. DH was similar. We talk a lot about the example we are setting for our kids - small, nuclear family holiday - but we still think we are making the best decision for our circumstances. I certainly hope that our small family Christmas turns into a big, chaotic Christmas with my kids and grands, but I acknowledge that our choices might impact what our children choose.

We do stay home alone for Christmas. We extend invitations to our parents (but not our siblings), but often it’s just our nuclear family. We made the decision to stay home with just us with the expectation that it would always just be the six of us, and we have a lovely time. It’s peaceful - I control the pace of the season, which I can’t do if we join in the family fray.

Be flexible. Acknowledge that not everyone will be able to make it to all holidays. Plan non-holiday times for full family get togethers. Hopefully be the kind of in laws that make our kids want to come home occasionally. We don’t opt out of family holidays because of drama but simply because traveling hundreds of miles with four young children is expensive. We do try to alternate sides of the family for Thanksgivings, but we stay home for Christmas. I miss our big family Christmases, but staying home is much nicer for my kids. We invite my parents and in laws to join us, and some years they do. They have more disposable income and fewer people to fly. None of our siblings or parents live in the same state as any other.