I hear you about the game playing. I feel like my eldest go the benefit of all my one-on-one time and the others are getting the dregs from my attention bowl.

Thanks, maize. I added info to my OP about needing to step back as their math teacher for fear I am just making it worse by frustrating them. Is BA scripted or very independent? I have often thought it looks like a very fun program, but didn't know if it would be a good fit for either of them. They are both do it and get it done boys, so they might not be receptive to anything that takes more than the cursory calculations. I will show them samples.

Started thread twice. My apologies.

CLE? I have convinced Alvin that he is fine sticking with it as he has good retention. Once he gets over his mumbling and grumbling he usually does quite well. Simon and Theodore are a different story. I was giving them placement tests for various well-known curriculum. They totally bombed the one for Saxon Math. I think the wording of some of the problems threw them off. They could do the calculations of the straightforward problems very easily, but anything of the word problem variety was missed. They did much better on the Teaching Textbooks tests, but they still placed only in Level 5, which would basically be 4, wouldn't it? They would still basically be in 4th grade math after working their tails off all year. I would still use it though and hope that the novelty of the cd-rom format would carry them through the lessons at a quicker pace and then bump them up to Level 6. My hesitation is that I keep hearing it is not very rigorous. Neither one of them has any idea about what field they want to go in to. Plus I wonder if it would be like offering them the candy version of a math program, all the fun taste, but very little nutritional value. They each have the aptitude for math, but I want to find something to help their attitude in slogging through it. I have never used Singapore. Is that something we could easily step in to, or has that boat long sailed? I would like to get them thinking more mathematically, so that word problems do not make them shrivel up in fear and self-doubt. I have always had to help them with the CLE word problems and have made up similar problems for extra practice, but apparently that wasn't enough to give them any confidence in word problems. I have tried Key to books to supplement, but then they forget the other things they had learned and it is like starting from square one again. I have considered MUS, but the fact that it is mastery makes me nervous. We have and dislike MM across the board. What other non-Internet options are available? What do you think would be a good fit for my math-capable, but math-hating boys that might make them tolerate or -gasp- perhaps even like math again? I think Teaching Testbooks is at the top of the list right now. ETA. I think it would be best for me to step back as their math teacher for now as my explanations just frustrate them further. This is why TT is at the top of the list. A highly scripted program that I couldn't screw up would be an acceptable option, however.

CLE? I have convinced Alvin that he is fine sticking with it as he has good retention. Once he gets over his mumbling and grumbling he usually does quite well. Simon and Theodore are a different story. I was giving them placement tests for various well-known curriculum. They totally bombed the one for Saxon Math. I think the wording of some of the problems threw them off. They could do the calculations of the straightforward problems very easily, but anything of the word problem variety was missed. They did much better on the Teaching Textbooks tests, but they still placed only in Level 5, which would basically be 4, wouldn't it? They would still basically be in 4th grade math after working their tails off all year. I would still use it though and hope that the novelty of the cd-rom format would carry them through the lessons at a quicker pace and then bump them up to Level 6. My hesitation is that I keep hearing it is not very rigorous. Neither one of them has any idea about what field they want to go in to. Plus I wonder if it would be like offering them the candy version of a math program, all the fun taste, but very little nutritional value. They each have the aptitude for math, but I want to find something to help their attitude in slogging through it. I have never used Singapore. Is that something we could easily step in to, or has that boat long sailed? I would like to get them thinking more mathematically, so that word problems do not make them shrivel up in fear and self-doubt. I have always had to help them with the CLE word problems and have made up similar problems for extra practice, but apparently that wasn't enough to give them any confidence in word problems. I have tried Key to books to supplement, but then they forget the other things they had learned and it is like starting from square one again. I have considered MUS, but the fact that it is mastery makes me nervous. We have and dislike MM across the board. What other non-Internet options are available? What do you think would be a good fit for my math-capable, but math-hating boys that might make them tolerate or -gasp- perhaps even like math again? I think Teaching Testbooks is at the top of the list right now. ETA. I think it would be best for me to step back as their math teacher for now as my explanations just frustrate them further. This is why TT is at the top of the list. A highly scripted program that I couldn't screw up would be an acceptable option, however.

I just write the sentences on the board and have the kids take turns translating them. We are usually done in 5-10 minutes. I am contemplating typing out the sentences and having them translate 5 per day to make it more independent, but I rather enjoy my current system as it allows them more pronunciation practice, rather than writing them with a quick oral read-through. We really like GSWF and the other books in the series.

I am in this boat as well. I read through RLTL, but I'm rather at a loss as to how to implement. Faith is struggling with spelling. Everything else is great, but she just started AAS 2 and it is painful for both of us. Looking forward to hearing more...

At least he tried to clean up the lemonade. My boys would have just shrugged their shoulders and walked away.

My mother still has the 45+ year old Filter Queen canister vacuum she bought when she got married. That thing still runs like a champ. I meanwhile have to replace my vacuum about every 18 months. My last two have been Mieles.

Thank you for the encouragement, Jenn. Our house has a fairly open layout in areas and is more closed off in others, so it's kind of tricky to figure out where he could have gone. He actually lives in our dining room right now. He had been in our family room downstairs, but I was concerned it might be too damp and chilly for him, so I brought him up to the only available safe spot I could find. The dining room opens into the kitchen, which opens into our living room and the schoolroom. I usually keep the schoolroom door shut when we're not in there, but sometimes it gets left open. Our washer and dryer are also in there. On the other side, the dining room opens to a small hallway with the master bedroom, a bathroom, a large closet, and another bedroom. He could conceivably be in any of these rooms, as obstacles are few and far between. I have a feeling one of my daughters would swoop in and rescue any live mice I might set out. We've already had pet mice. I really don't want any more, but if another week goes by, I may resort to that tactic. Unfortunately, our house is filled to the brim, so I will have to accept help from afar. Armchair quarterbacks are very much appreciated in this snake search!

I thought I was doing well by looking on all the upper shelves. Light fixtures? Sigh. Our dogs are pretty oblivious about Jack. I don't think any of them have given him more than a cursory sniff and promptly walked away. Our dogs are not known for their intelligence. If I told them to find the snake they'd probably bring me a pair of dirty underwear. But at this point, I'll give anything a try.

In my world, this is totally normal. I just want the little guy to turn up soon. Alvin is not happy. 😥

No, he's definitely not in a toilet bowl. As my sons refuse to flush the toilet...ever...I know he did' get flushed. The girls definitely would have noticed and let me know about it.

Nope. He's still missing. I cleaned the entire upper level of the house again, trying to find him. We will work on the downstairs again tomorrow.

Believe it or not, we have tried that. ☺ï¸

I'm laughing over this. No, he hasn't appeared yet. He's about 3 feet long. I think the only pictures I have are from when he is eating. Everything else is video. I'm not tech saavy to try to share a movie. He is what's known as a "normal" ball python. Black and a couple shades of brown. He has some lovely heart shaped markings in his pattern. One of us (usually your truly) is always carrying the chihuahua around. I think she still remembers how to walk. 😠I will keep you posted!

I have a child I "get" more than the others. We enjoy the same humor, react to things similarly, like and dislike similar things. It would be easy for outsiders to think this child was my favorite. This child would have been a dear friend even if we weren't related. My boys always tell me I like the girls better. In a way I do. They are tidier, more helpful, and more willing to pitch in without my "mean mommy voice" or giving them "the look." I have to fight with my boys to get them to do anything around the house. I am so over the drama. I just do not understand my boys at all. Their humor, games, and imaginative play are so foreign to me. I try to understand what they are playing and the characters and plot, but it gets so convoluted that I always feel like asking them questions makes me look dumber in their eyes. "Boyisms" are a foreign language to me.

Please quit the job. Even under the best of circumstances, it is very stressful to work in your place of worship. I was the parish secretary at my church for two years and had to quit. If the weekly bulletin wasn't perfect, I would stare at that error throughout the entire service and mentally beat myself up. That was definitely not a good for me spiritually. Your family misses your presence at home. They see/feel the stress you are under. Other people can step up and do the work at the church, but you are the only mom/wife your family has.

If he doesn't admit that there is a problem with a crown he did, i wouldn't want that dentist touching my teeth, even if it were free. I would be looking for a different place to work.

I just hack the ends of my straight hair off myself. It's shoulder length and I always wear it twisted up with a claw clip, so who cares if it isn't perfectly even? within a couple of weeks it grows out and the unevenness isn't obvious anyhow. I am in the don't want to waste the time or money camp.

Day 3 of Snake Watch...no sign of him yet in spite of having the heating pad, lamp, and water arranged for him

School supplies, especially composition notebooks and glue sticks, copier paper and some more ink, too. Does anyone know if there is going to be a sale on ebooks at Lulu? I was hoping to pick up a couple of the Barefoot Ragamuffin Curriculum books, but only if they go one sale.

Thanks, Silver. I was just wondering what each section contains. It sounds good. Now, does anyone know when there will be a sale on ebooks on Lulu?

Thanks for that link, Susie, but it won't load on my iPad. Bummer. It wants me to have Adobe FlashPlayer for some reason.

I have been searching high and low for a sample of the Quark Chronicles Notebooking pages without any success. Can anyone point me in the right direction?