We really love our Bluetooth speaker. We all use it.

Last year, I tried to order the Illustrated Harry Potter book 2, but my order was cancelled several days later due to selling out. (They ended up giving me a $10 coupon to use toward a different book.) I'd like to try to order the third book this year, but I fear I may have the same problem!

Wow, I've never seen that! I've only seen the 25% off one book code.

I know many annoyingly entitled people from different generations. I'm sure a couple of them were born during that time period.

How do you use streaming video content in your educational efforts? I like to find curricula with suggested free video content supplement lists. (Wile's Chemistry, BYL, etc.) Do you watch videos about homeschooling, parenting, skill development, or education? Not in the past few years, but I did in the beginning. I needed quite a bit of help learning to teach certain math styles. Do you use videos with your children as part of your lessons (not counting full online classes such as Well-Trained Mind Academy)? Yes, about 25% of the time What are your favorite programs/channels/presenters for this type of content? TedEd, Veritasium, SciShow, Numberphile, CGP Grey Why? They are entertaining and many include animation. How long, on average, are these videos? 3-12 minutes For this content, do you use paid services (Hulu, Amazon Prime, Netflix, other [please describe]) or primarily free ones (YouTube, etc)? Primarily YouTube.

This isn't a permanent or great solution by any means, but if you want to be perfectly static-free for an occasion, spray some Static Guard into the air and walk into it. It's stickier than hair spray, so kind of a pain to deal with. It's what we do backstage in the winter when my dd has half a dozen costume changes and crazy flyaway static hair. It's an immediate fix and her hair stays static-free for the remainder of the performance. We keep a little travel bottle in her backstage bag.

I love PTE! Thanks for the reminder!

Pee after s*x and baths. Unless you like UTIs.

I never had my kids flu vaccinated until they were older and it wasn't a problem. I think we probably started when they were 4 & 6? I don't remember. We just weren't around as many people when they were younger (especially during flu season.) Ds is like you and gets a flu-lite every time. I feel so awful for him! I'd love to not vax him, but he gets flu-FULL every year or two when not vaxxed, he can't take Tamiflu (he can, it just comes right back up,) and he's guaranteed to pass it to his sister. Dd has a heart condition and has to be vaccinated. Fortunately for her, she usually has no reaction from the shot beyond slightly sore arm. I've never had a flu vax, but I'm considering getting the shot this year. Dh never has and never will.

To those of you who can't handle/are allergic to dogs, please be aware of the list of places which allow dogs and either avoid them or write to their corporate offices and request a change in policy. (List in link is >3 yrs old and may not still be accurate, but it's a good starting place.) This discussion doesn't affect me much, since my dog is an obsessive crotch-sniffer and therefore only accompanies me to dog-specific places: Dog park, pet store, vet, etc. However, I have been bothered in the past year by people complaining about dogs where dogs are allowed to be (public park, department store which has approved all dogs.) At that point, you should be complaining about the store rather than the dog-owner. Please do check out the list. I was surprised by how many department stores allow pet accompaniment. ETA: Dog owners, please know the list as well. My husband works for a large hardware store which does not allow dogs. About once a month, he is yelled at for asking a dog-toting patron to leave. He loves dogs. He didn't invent the policy. You don't have to be rude. If you have a problem with a store's policy, write to their corporate office.

I'm right there with you! Moms of neurotic stay-at-home-dogs unite!

If it could possibly be something else, I might consider angular chelitis. I get it in the corner of my mouth sometimes. It's painful and itchy, but not a cold sore. I can usually knock it out with natural cures such as vitamins and Oreganol.

72 during the day (73 if husband is away,) and 69 at night. I've already forgotten the summer settings, but I think it's 78 during the day, 75 at night. We live in a split level, and our thermostat and bedrooms are on the top floor, so our lower floor is always about 5-8 degrees cooler.

My kids shared a flip phone from ages 5&7 on because we didn't have a home phone. At ages 10 & 12, they received cheap (Galaxy phones 3 generations behind) smart phones (wifi only, no carrier) which were seriously locked down. At ages 12 & 14 (now,) they both still have those wi-fi only phones, eldest has a basic phone attached to a carrier, and youngest has a Gizmo Gadget watch phone attached to a carrier. I have no intention of ever getting either of them a smartphone plan on a carrier, as neither dh nor I have that.

It sounds like you mean Logic stage rather than rhetoric, right? That's not unheard of at all. :) We used Zinn's "A Young People's History of the United States" along with SOTW 4. I'm sure others will chime in with suggestions to supplement other levels. ETA: Oops! I see now that you were looking for SOTW 1 supplements specifically. Sorry!

There are definitely enough labs in the chemistry if you purchase the kit. He often has 2 labs per week.

I'm not sure what exact curricula we'll use next year, but my 9th grade ds is using mostly tangible curricula this year: Discovering Design with Chemistry by Wile (w/labs) Foundations of European Lit (mom-made) Writing With Skill 2 Warum Nicht (old-school radio program German class with printable worksheets. It's available on podcasts.) ACE Economics + Microeconomics (CLEP prep book) Intro to Engineering (mom-made) The computer-based stuff: Teaching Textbooks Geometry, a free C++ programming course online, and a free C++ & AutoCAD class at the high school for his robotics team. Hopefully next year will be more of the same. Things are going really well so far this year and we're both happy with the choices.

My son, otoh, can't be bothered to prepare anything and just eats pesto on crusty bread or toast. Thank goodness for the big pesto jar at Costco. I guess it's our thing. :laugh:

We buy the 10-pack of rice noodles from Costco and my dd makes ramen with homemade chicken stock (my homemade stock is higher in fat than store-bought stock or broth.) I also buy edamame noodles and basil pesto to mix together. She loves pasta, but I don't love how worthless it is. We've compromised with the rice & edamame noodles. The edamame noodles are pretty high in protein.

This is palilalia. It's a type of verbal tic. Many, many, many kiddos have motor or verbal tics at this age. Google a list of tics and keep them in mind in the future. In my experience, if you ignore a tic, it eventually goes away. If you draw attention to it, it tends to stick around. Know your tics so you know which behaviors to ignore. :) As for the rest of it, she sounds like a wonderful, imaginative child!

Or, hey, I'm up for any discussion on the topic. If you used DDwC by Wile, tell me anything you used after it and how it went. There aren't that many posts here discussing this curriculum, for some reason. I'm not sure why! We are thrilled with it. Ds is doing all of the supplemental videos and work, hence our concern about not finishing within a school year.

Agreed! I usually use parchment paper in these cases.

Ds is probably not going to finish Discovering Design with Chemistry by Dr. Wile in one school year. It may take him a couple of months into the following school year. (I could have him finish it over the summer, but I'm trying to be realistic here. We typically don't get much done during the summer.) I'd like for him to be able to sit for the CLEP or AP Chem test after next year. Is there anything (preferably secular or not overly religious- Wile was fine) he could complete in a matter of 6-8 months which would prepare him for this? I'm considering Thinkwell AP Chem, but it has no lab component. He will need proof of labs for the colleges he's considering (STEM major.) It needs to be under $300 total.

Right? Come on, ALDI. It's awesome and I'm tired of paying $6 at Kroger for it.

The frozen fruits and bagged leafy greens are cheaper than anywhere else I've seen. Produce is cheap, but you have to be willing to buy whatever they have. (You can't get a spaghetti squash in May, and you can never just buy one zucchini. Most of the produce is pre-bagged.) I particularly look for their gluten-free baking mixes, prunes & dried fruits, chips, almond milk, vanilla extract, tuna, meat, bagged frozen shrimp, fruit leather strips, knockoff Larabars, granola, and half the stuff in the "OH MY, I didn't realize I needed this random item" aisle.