This is great! Thanks so much for sharing!

Just joining in to say that I'm feeling overwhelmed facing high school planning right now too. Some days I make myself sick with worry about choosing the right courses. I too feel like there is no more room for fun and creativity in the checklist of required classes. I don't want it to be that way! Lori D.-Thank you! I have enjoyed reading several of your posts recently. You input is very helpful! Perhaps there should be a sub-forum for those of freaking out about this new chapter of home schooling; we could all just huddle together there for support...:grouphug:

My wedding and engagement rings stopped fitting during my third pregnancy 8 years ago. Even after slimming down to pre-pregnancy size years ago, they still won't fit over my knuckle!:confused: I have just never gotten around to re-sizing them. Instead, I wear a silver Claddagh ring that my husband gave to me when we started dating. I think I feel more sentimentally attached to it than my wedding rings because I've had it since I was 18. :001_smile: My husband still wears his wedding ring and doesn't seem bothered that I don't.

LOL Kirsten! I had to double-check to see that I didn't write this post myself. The way you describe yourself and your relationship with your boys fits me and my house to a T!

We have always had a fairly relaxed approach to our home school, and I know my kids are thankful for the flexibility they have had in following a new interest instead of always following a strict schedule. Right now though, with a rising 9th grader, I am trying to figure out how to maintain our current style/ learning atmosphere while also meeting expectations for high school credits and college admission. If anyone has advice/a chill pill for me on entering the high school years with a relaxed approach, I'm all ears!

I spent a long time reading her blog, including the eulogy she delivered for Jack. What a beautiful, loving family. I am so sorry for their loss. :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

AND you have a guinea pig!! You can't go wrong with a guinea pig on your blog!

I took a look and I think you're doing a great job so far! I like the natural colors you use for a background, and I always enjoy blogs with lots of clear, relevant photos. You're not too wordy and that's good, too. While very in depth posts have their place, I don't always have the time to linger. Your sidebars aren't too busy either. I think that playing around a bit will help you see any changes you want to make over time. As far as the name, it has a great meaning for you, and that's what counts!

Both! the website should have the original History Portfolio for older kids which has the blank pages/maps, and History Portfolio Jr. for the youngers. The junior version includes color/cut/paste pages for you to use. I have only used the original version. HTH Here's a description of both Portfolios

:lurk5:

Not the OP but thanks for all the ideas and links. I have a 13 yo who now wears that size and it is frustrating to not be able to walk into a store and simply buy him pants anymore. :glare:

I finished 3 books this week and I have linked to reviews on my blog. Interpreter of Maladies (Jhumpa Lahiri) The Rhythm of Family (Amanda Blake Soule and Stephen Soule) The Importance of Being Earnest (Oscar Wilde) This week I will be finishing up Little Heathens:Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression (Mildred Armstrong Kalish) I will also try out a little of Ahab's Wife and see if it catches my interest.

For week 1 I finished Dark Tide:The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919 and my full review is Here. This week I have started reading Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri. A collection of Pulitzer Prize winning short stories focusing on the experience of being an Indian immigrant in the United States. Full of emotion,culture, tradition and human experience. Also reading: The Rhythm of the Family by Amanda Blake Soule and Stephen Soule. I have read and enjoyed Soule Mama's previous two books and am looking forward to hearing about her family's activities as they relate to the rhythms of the seasons and the year.

For week 1 I have finished Dark Tide:The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919 and my full review is Here. This week I have started reading Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri. A collection of Pulitzer Prize winning short stories focusing on the experience of being an Indian immigrant in the United States. Full of emotion,culture, tradition and human experience. Also reading: The Rhythm of the Family by Amanda Blake Soule and Stephen Soule. I have read and enjoyed Soule Mama's previous two books and am looking forward to hearing about her family's activities as they relate to the rhythms of the seasons and the year.

Oh, That's so neat that you heard this story from your grandfather! Did he live in Boston at the time? And I love your German lit spin on the 52 books challenge. I will definitely be following your reviews. I haven't read anything significant in German in years, but maybe I'll have to try one or two for a challenge.

I'll add a review at my book blog (Fond of Books) at week's end!

I will be starting with Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919, by Stephen Puleo. In 1919, a 50 ft. tall steel tank filled with 2.3 million gallons of molasses collapsed on Boston's waterfront, releasing a 15-foot-high wave of sticky goo, travelling at 35 miles an hour. Twenty-one people died in this real-life molastrophe (or was it a molasacre?)! Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction!

I'm going to give this a try. This will be a good way to resurrect my sadly neglected book blog, too!

Not our complete week, but a little peek into some of our history reading for the week. We're finally starting the dark ages/middle ages and are pretty excited about it! History Reading

We're doing the Star Wars one this year too.

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Here's mine!

:bigear: Great links. Listening in for more ideas.

Mine is up here.

"Eggs-terminate!!" How cool is that!? I need need need to make a set of these--thanks for the link!