I've started shopping too. My lovely pink laptop is getting old, and I think it's wise to be prepared. It's a Sony VAIO and if they were still in production, I'd just replace it with a newer model. I started my decision process with: -what size of monitor? portable little guy (13")? enormo screen I don't need reading glasses for (17")? somewhere in the middle (15")? -I want an i5 or i7 processor, -how much RAM and what size of hard drive -do I need an optical drive? Then I started searching within those parameters. I haven't made a decision yet, but it helped to narrow my options. I haven't found pink again yet...

I woke up this morning and read this thread before coffee (bad decision :-) btw) and I've been mulling it ever since. I just want to encourage you. You sound like a dedicated mother and homeschooler. Your daughter's 9th grade science class won't make or break her college choices or her career! :-) Sometimes folks can get so caught up in rigor and "what *you* should do's" that they lose sight of the bigger picture, or, I suppose, the smaller one: an individual person making decisions for a particular period of time -- and maybe with particular constraints they need to work around like your co-op's schedule (even ps kids can have this problem, especially in smaller schools). It looks like you're in California and I know nothing about those particulars, so I won't even go there. I get that there are specific guidelines for UC schools, and NCAA. BUT in general, most colleges aren't going to ask for a list of textbooks. None of my IRL homeschool grad friends/ kids of friends have supplied that, and if they had, I can't imagine that they would've lost out on their top school choice because of the textbook of their 9th grade science class, you know? Yes, in general, A&P are done after biology. Likewise, in the US, most kids still do Physics later in the high school progression because of math. But, you know, some kids now do physics first, and that physics counts. I think the most important part is that there IS a 9th grade science class! BTW, I am using GuestHollow this coming year for my SENIOR. And I'm really fine with it. Yes, it's a fairly easy textbook. (For a *college* class.) It's not an AP class. And yes, some of the other books are high-interest (read: not rigorous, but interesting). But he's had lots of rigorous science, and this is his 5th science. But even that -- I sound like I'm justifying... Even if it weren't for that, this class is IMO fine for high school. It has lots of dissections as well as other labs. It is interesting -- which I hope means he'll LEARN and REMEMBER (not just memorize for a test). A curriculum is what YOU make it. Even a rigorous curriculum/text can be a milquetoast learning experience -- either because of the teacher (ask me about my high school physics teac... ehmm, coach) or the student. And a seemingly "gentle" one in which the student learns and is engaged can light a fire and ignite a passion!

Skitter is, I think, nearly there, but I tend not to associate "smooth" with skitter. ETA: Actually, I do think the word you want is skitter.

We recently did a long road trip. My dh was with us on the drive out, but I knew I had to do the drive back alone. I spent the whole trip out, and the actual vacation/visit part, dreading that trip back! I pondered alternatives (sell the car and fly!) and leaving early to get it done. But that return trip turned out to be the best part of the whole trip. My kids and I had a great time together, and it was a lot of fun. We also planned an intentionally fun stop on the way. Take heart!

I did a similar road trip a year ago (further on destination but basically the same). Are you wanting straight line options, or meandering and bunny trail ones. We went to Monticello, visited a coal mine in Charlestown, WV, visited the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY. We thought about staying in the hotel in Bartlesville, OK designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and visiting Woolaroc, but the dates didn't work. With another day, I would've done the Magic House in St Louis for my youngest and the Arch for the rest of us. And maybe a MLB game.

Any building/engineering ideas? Especially that would involve animals somehow?

Oh, that's a good idea too -- I bet she'd like seeing how to mold something.

Oh my goodness! How have I not seen this before?! In the cart! :-)

Oh, I think she'd love that book. I just put it in my cart. Thank you! Her Christmas present last year was a dolphin encounter/swim. It was a huge hit and I do think she'd love a camp when she's a bit older.

My dd is about to turn 7. She has, since she was 3, been very, very interested in (okay, obsessed, really) the dolphin Winter. She spends a great deal of time paper crafting various iterations of Winter, then constructing different "tails" and trying them out. She tries different designs, different "socks" (newspaper bags, ziplocs, etc), different stabilizing structures (straws, toothpicks, popsicle sticks) seeing which ones work best (i.e. which one Winter likes best, which one allows her to swim the fastest, etc.). I primarily think of this as a dolphin interest, but it recently occurred to me that there's a lot of engineering/design experimenting going on too. Are there any good kits/sets that would build on this interest?

I'm getting ready to make one from galvanized steel -- magnetic and can be used for dry erase.

We've enjoyed the Organ Stop pizza restaurant. We're in AZ visiting family and I just saw an ad on TV for a new aquarium in Phoenix but I don't think we'll get there this time. Another place we wanted to visit but didn't get to this time is the Desert Museum in Tucson. Saturday nights in the summer they stay open until 10p.m. -- apparently it's great fun to go out there with black lights and hunt for tarantulas. Not a bad day (or night) trip from Phoenix.

Oh, pick me! Pick me! :-) I just recently looked at the back of a jar of Trader Joe's lemon curd and it suggested mixing it with whipped cream. Since TJ's shelf-stable tetrapack of whipped cream was what I had, that's what I used (8oz, I think). It was so, so divine! And such an elegant cream over berries. I served it over blueberries, over strawberries, and over mixed berries. I poured some into little tart crusts and let them set up in the fridge and served them as lemon tarts with a lemon twist on top for decoration. AND (my favorite), I mixed a spoonful onto plain yogurt and stirred it into berries in the morning for breakfast. Easy peasy and delicious!

My son still lives at home but will happily eat Tasty Bite's microwaveable entrees nearly every meal. If you watch, you can get them at Costco or Amazon for a little over $1.50/bag. It's supposed to be 2 servings/bag but he eats the whole thing, usually with a (Tasty Bite) microwaveable pouch of rice. It would cheaper if we had frozen bags of rice for him, but I haven't gotten that organized. *Madras lentils are his go-to but there are several other entrees he likes also, like the vegetable tikki masala. These are all vegetarian, and Indian/Asian flavors, so they may not be everybody's cup of tea.

I normally have a pretty robust order: batteries, Scrub Daddies, shower gel, razors, canned pumpkin (I eat a lot of canned pumpkin), Tasty Bite microwaveable meals, face cream, trash bags, dishwasher tabs, baby wipes, printer paper, etc... but if I ever find myself running short, I use this blog site (not everything's up to date but it gets ideas flowing) to find some cheap items to add. Remember you can always add an item, get it one month and then cancel it. You can also adjust the frequency of delivery. Some items I only have scheduled once every six months.

Thanks. Can you link? I've been trying g and can't find anything.

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We've used MathSeeds as our primary math curriculum this year for my youngest -- she'll end up at about lesson 100 when we break for the summer, and I plan on using it next year too. I would agree with the assessment that additional fact practice is necessary. However, this is my youngest, and I'm used to having to add in fact practice regardless of what we're doing. I really like the early subitization practice -- recognizing number groupings, etc. -- and it's been very effective for my dd. (She is tracking as a very mathy kid, fwiw, and I've had one mathy kid and one very not-mathy kid for comparison.) I do use the worksheets occasionally, add in additional $ practice also, and I nearly always sit with my dd while she works. We don't usually work more than about 15 minutes at a time, so it's not onerous, but it gives me a chance to check in her understanding and add additional explanation if necessary.

Reading Eggs only goes to 120. I'm pretty sure that 112 is the automatic placement for the high end of the test. I assume it's to give the student a chance to get familiar with the program, and to have a way to veryify/shore up basic reading.

I've used it this year as my primary curricula for math and reading for my K/1st grader. She has thrived with it. This kiddo kind of stalled on learning to read with the program I'd used with her older sibs, and switching to Reading Eggs gave her some nice independence (although I usually sit with her) and got her over the hump. There's a lot in the program if you take time to investigate. There's The Library (kind of like an online Book Adventure, in that the books are digital but there are quizzes at the end), Storylands, etc. We are just getting ready to move up to Eggspress so I don't know if the Spelling feature is there, but we've used it for weekly spelling this year too. And then printing out the worksheets for both reading and math.

Money for vestments is always appreciated.

BambinoLuk here too, and well enjoyed in the 3-4 age ranges. I'm planning to move to miniLuk once the Bambino ones sell, as they do a nice job of giving some engaged independent time.

I really like how MathSeeds focuses on developing numeracy skills. Lots of different kinds of activities, lots of different ways of seeing numbers. It's usually available on Homeschool Buyer's Co-op. I use it year-round but I think it would be good for summer practice too.

I'd either do the parish hall, or find a restaurant that will let you reserve a private room, decorate it and bring in cake/cupcakes. As suggested above, pre-order a selection of appetizers from the restaurant (so they know you'll be spending $$), then have guests order drinks when you arrive.

What wise words!