I have a neighbor who does the same thing. They let their dog out of their front area to roam and use the bathroom wherever it wants. Unfortunately, where it wants is my house. It stops and pees on my Jeep first and then craps in two or three different places in my front yard. I have confronted the guy and he laughed at me and told me he has no control over his dog. Now, they let the dog out when they know we won't be paying attention. I called housing (we live on a military base) and they said they can't do anything about it. They told me to call the base police when it happens, but that just seems silly. By the time they get out here, the dog would be back in the house.

My MIL has hated me forever. I guess because I didn't need her to be a replacement mother and I didn't want to be her best friend. My DH is Navy, and after his first duty station, we have lived pretty far away from family (mostly because we are adventurous and want to experience different parts of the world). I guess she probably blames me for taking him and my kids away from her. She lives in GA and his first duty station was in GA, about 2 hours from her. My oldest two were born there. She only visited us a handful of times the whole 4 years we lived there. We were expected to visit her at least every off crew, but went more often than that. Since moving away from GA, almost 16 years ago now, she has visited us three times, and two of those times were side trips from a vacation she was taking. We visit her every time we've transferred (except for this last time because we were going from WA to Guam and it wasn't in the budget to go to the East Coast). When we lived in New York, we drove down to visit a couple of times as well. EVERY time we visit, we end up just sitting around their house (we either stay at her house of DH's grandparents, who at least have a pool). She says she lives in the country and there's nothing to do. My kids get so bored but DH's grandpa got really upset last time we were there and yelled at the kids for pulling out their iPods or DS's. She doesn't treat them bad, necessarily, she just doesn't pay them much attention. And she forgets that they aren't toddlers anymore. My kids are now 17, 16, 14, and 10. The oldest three have Facebook, where off course Grandma friended them and they accepted to not be rude. My BIL is divorced and has 2 children. He is also Navy, but he has always lived on the East Coast. Whenever he gets his kids, he takes them to her house and they post TONS of pictures of all the fun places they go and the fun things they do. She takes time off of work when he visits, but can't manage to take more than a day or two off when we visit. My kids ask me why Grandma treats their cousins better than she treats them, but I don't have an answer for them. They also picked up on the fact that whenever we are around them, she pretty much ignores me. The worst part is that at the end of every visit, she holds my DH and cries and makes him feel so guilty about it all that he gets teary eyed. She says she wishes so much that she could see him more and that they would talk more on the phone. But she won't call here. I don't think she has ever, in almost 20 years of marriage, called our house with the exception of once or twice to tell us of some relative that has passed (not even on Christmas or DH's birthday). I am almost certain it's because she doesn't want to have to talk to me but it also means she doesn't talk to her grandchildren. She tries to remember to send birthday cards every year, but by summer, she usually forgets (so only me and my oldest, with January birthdays, usually get a card). For Christmas, she sends one check in a generic card. She has even stopped wishing my DH or any of the kids Happy Birthday on Facebook.

DS 17- no clue (actually would love nothing more than to be a professional soccer player, but realizes that probably isn't going to happen), interests in cooking and would maybe like to learn more about radiology; will probably join the Navy to figure it out DS 16- Navy submariner like his Dad DS 14- Marine sniper DD 10- a rock star or a football player like Marshawn Lynch or maybe a scientist that studies space stuff

DD 5th grade: Switched from Fix It Grammar to Jr. Analytical Grammar. She loves it and is WAY happier. Dropped K12 Literature to just read books. She started out liking the K12, but I think got bored with it. She asked to drop it in favor of just reading, which made me happy since she doesn't usually like to read. DS 8th grade: We added Writing With Skill 1. He still does EIW, but on a lighter schedule.

Yes, all 4 kids, DH, and I can all do that. We have been taking the kids into water since they were little babies. The oldest three, DH, and myself are all SCUBA certified even (we had to swim 200 meters and tread for 10 minutes). My daughter will be SCUBA certified later this year, after she turns 10. Being able to swim has always been super important to me. I grew up in Texas and Florida and have always loved the water. It was important that my kids did too. My husband is in the Navy, so we have always lived close to water.

I was taught the one that looks like a 2 in the 80's but my husband says he was taught the other way. We just had this discussion as I was looking for cursive books for my kids. Both kids decided they want to learn the one that is like a capital Q.

I would have said, "Wow, you did a great job! Thank you for doing that for me. Next time just make sure you give this spot a little more attention." DH would have said, "You missed some spots." He is a nuke in the Navy and doesn't have many social skills, lol. Plus, I'm beginning to suspect he acts a lot like how his dad acted.

I am excited to be bringing my youngest 2 back home! For curriculum, I'm excited about BookShark for both kids. I really want to get them to love reading.

My goals for my upcoming 8th grader are to get him to take more responsibility over his work, get him ready for Algebra 1 in 9th grade, and get him up to or at least closer to being on grade level for his English skills (reading, writing, spelling, etc.). He was in public school for K, homeschooled for 1st and half of 2nd, homeschooled for 3rd and half of 4th, and public school ever since. We move a lot and I'm not always happy with the schools, hence the back and forth. He will be homeschooled for 8th with the intention of going to public school (which is really a DoDEA school) in 9th, but we will see when the time comes. Here is what I have right now: English: Grammar- Easy Grammar Plus with Daily Grams along with Fix It! Grammar Spelling- Apples & Pears, he will start with Book B and hopefully get through Book D by the end of the year Writing- Essentials in Writing 8 Vocabulary- English From the Roots Up, nothing too time consuming, just going over the cards a couple of times each week Literature- NO CLUE YET, possibly just the literature from Bookshark 8 but I'm not positive Math: NO CLUE YET, I still have to figure out where he is in math; he needs to be ready for Algebra 1 in 9th grade so probably a PreAlgebra program History: Bookshark 8, I plan on either typing the questions up in worksheet form or having him take notes or outline from the history reading Science: Elemental Science Earth Science and Astronomy for Logic Others: Japanese Typing Instructor

I have level 5 and level 8 to use next year. Level 8 doesn't include the grammar (it's separate in case you want to use it). Level 5 has it included, but would be easy to leave out if you wanted. Just skip to whatever lesson the writing part starts.

We have 4 kids and vacation quite a bit (hubby is Navy, so we've been all over the place). If you asked my kids, they would hands down, without a doubt, say the best vacation ever was the cruise we took. But we've never taken a big National Parks trip before (we have actually spent most of my husband's career OCONUS).

I will take a look at both of these. Thank you! I am looking for a list where each book is listed chronologically. Or even just suggestions for the best books to read and where they fit in on a timeline. I have looked at so many book lists the past few days, lol. They all have great suggestions but I don't know how to narrow it down and pick the best.

I think we are going to use Hakim's History of US for 8th grade. I have tried searching for a list of literature to go along with it, but so far haven't come up with much. It is for my son, who will be in 8th grade, but reads more at a 6th/7th grade level. Any suggestions or places I can find a list like this would be great! Thank you!

I ordered Essentials in Writing for next year and it looks good. I researched it and thought it was secular, but it's not. The religious content is pretty mild, but I admit I was a little disappointed that it was included.

I am pulling 2 of my kids out of school next year to homeschool. I think I finally have most of it figured out. Here is what my 8th grader will be using: English: Essentials in Writing 8 Fix It! Grammar Book 1 Apples and Pears Spelling B English From the Roots Up Need something for Literature Reading for Bookshark 8 Math: Not sure yet. I have no clue where he is at with math and he's taking his time finishing the placement tests. History: Bookshark 8 History with Reading Geography: Knowledge Quest Expedition Earth Science: Elemental Science Earth and Astronomy Extras: He is going to attempt to start learning Japanese. Typing Instructor He wants to learn photography. Art, using various things from the internet and a Usborne book I have.

My kids are going to start reading through the Mensa for Kids reading lists. My oldest needs to branch outside of his box book wise and the other three just need to read more and hopefully develop a love for reading.

Sorry, my husband did mean just below his level. I don't know why I wrote that! Thank you Merry! I will definitely be trying out your suggestions! He has been tested by a private company, with a battery of tests. The problem is like TracyP says. When he is being tested 1-1, he tries hard and does just fine. I've never had any of his teachers complain about his language skills either (although I suspect this is mainly due to the fact that they don't expect much more from him than a yes or no). I think I am going to look in to your suggestion for writing as well. It is definitely a weak point for him. We are using Bookshark next year, and I was just going to stick to the writing assignments in that, but I've been worried they won't be enough. He needs something slow and incremental.

Everyone under the sun, lol. He was tested by two public schools in WA, a special therapy place in WA, I've talked to pediatricians and dev. pediatricians. He always comes in as low average. He is in the DODEA school here in Guam right now, but will be homeschooled next year. I convinced them to put him in the Read 180 program (a class that helps with reading issues), but they really didn't want to because his Lexile Level is on grade level.

Cross-post: My son will be 14 in July and going into 8th grade next year. He has horrible communications skills. He doesn't speak clearly so we can understand him. When asked a question or talking about something he doesn't understand, he will mumble a response. Sometimes he just throws random words together that have nothing to do with the conversation. He leaves words out of sentences so that we don't understand what he is saying. He has been tested for learning disabilities, but always comes back as low average, so doesn't qualify for any services. He does have a slight auditory processing disorder and ADD. When talking about how to work on these issues, my husband suggested having him read books slightly above his reading level and then narrate back to me. Is this a good plan? Is there something else we should do? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Janice

Thanks. He has seen a pediatrician and he doesn't qualify for any services. He was in speech from 3 until about 6 or 7 and then they retested and said he was good. He has been retested several times since then, at my request, and he is just slightly above the level required for services. Thanks Minerva! I will post on the learning challenges.

My son will be 14 in July and going into 8th grade next year. He has horrible communications skills. He doesn't speak clearly so we can understand him. When asked a question or talking about something he doesn't understand, he will mumble a response. Sometimes he just throws random words together that have nothing to do with the conversation. He leaves words out of sentences so that we don't understand what he is saying. He has been tested for learning disabilities, but always comes back as low average, so doesn't qualify for any services. He does have a slight auditory processing disorder and ADD. When talking about how to work on these issues, my husband suggested having him read books slightly above his reading level and then narrate back to me. Is this a good plan? Is there something else we should do? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Janice

Thank you for all of the suggestions! I am looking at all of them and trying to decide. Jousting Armadillos looks interesting, but again, I'm not sure he could handle it. I don't know if he made any forward progress at all in math this year, so I need to give him a placement test or two and see what he is capable of. Kareni, the Guam public schools are even worse than the DODEA school. Had that been my only option, I would have homeschooled them as soon as we got here. I had such high hopes for the DODEA school though. I shouldn't have, after our experience in Italy.

Thank you! That looks like it might be good. Especially since there are free videos.

I haven't posted here for several years. My children were homeschooled for a few years starting when we lived in Italy. Then we moved to Washington and I homeschooled for a year before putting them back in public school, at their request. We now live in Guam and the DODEA school they attend is just as bad as the one in Italy. I am planning on pulling my youngest two out next year and homeschooling. They will be in 8th grade and 5th grade. I have narrowed down math programs for my daughter going into 5th grade. I just ordered the first Beast Academy book and we will start going through that program as soon as we get it. We will probably use it and something like Singapore or Math Mammoth for next year. I have no clue what to get for my 8th grader. He really likes math, but is just an average student. He hates school and therefore doesn't put forth any effort. In 6th grade he used a standard 6th grade public school math text, aligned to Common Core. This year, I don't think they are using a math text (this school hasn't adopted Common Core). His teacher puts a problem down on paper, teaches how to solve it, and they do more problems in that manner. He also assigns a lot of Khan Academy. I think he had them go through Khan Academy starting at a really low level. My son says he has asked to do something else because what the teacher is putting down on his paper, is stuff he knows from last year. Right now, my goal for 8th grade is to make sure he is ready for high school. As of now, I am not prepared to homeschool for high school so the plan is to put him back into the high school here (which is just as bad as the elementary/middle school, so I am definitely researching high school information). He needs a Pre algebra program to prepare him for Algebra 1 in 9th grade. I'm afraid Saxon will make him hate math. I'm worried Teaching Textbooks will be too light. I loved CLE when we used it before, but my husband did not like the religion in it, as we are secular. I love the looks of AOPS, but I don't know if I could teach it and I'm not sure his brain could handle it, lol. Any suggestions? Sorry this is long, but I wanted to give the background information in case it helps get better recommendations.

That's funny, OP. DH and I just watched that episode last night. We LOVE Bones (well, I watch it for Booth, lol). We were both gobsmacked by that episode and thought it was really poorly done. It will be interesting to watch the next episode tonight.