Be careful..when I clicked on a magazine to read it, there was a paragraph below saying that it would start an automatic paid subscription after 30 days.

I had mine out 12 days ago. I needed a week to recover. It was tougher than I thought. If you know that you get nauseous from anesthesia, definitely discuss that with the Dr. I had a tough time getting that under control in recovery and throwing up after abdominal surgery is on my top ten list of crappy experiences now! I had my surgery on a Friday and I was able to have my kids do school the following week but it was mostly their independent work. This week is much better and things are getting back to normal. Keep in mind you won't be able to lift anything, my DD13 has been doing the laundry. I hope you have a speed recovery!

I did this two years ago. Our co-op hosted a bee and I had 4 spellers! LOL. Check first to make sure there is a regional bee for your area. The year I hosted the homeschool bee, the winner moved on to a regional bee in my state. This year the same bee decided to exclude our county (grr), so even if I had hosted a local bee my DD would not have gotten any closer to Scripps. Disappointing as she placed 14th the year before and was ready to try again. I find Scripps is extremely difficult to work with if you are a homeschooler.

Thank you!

Thanks for this quiz, I am tearing my hair out trying to pick math for my two youngest. I got Math Mammoth which I had been looking at.

Thank you for this info!

Hello! I was reading a topic last week where a poster mentioned that the digital edition of TOG is hard to use because of their copyright concerns. Another poster agreed. Of course now I can't find the thread, but I was wondering if anyone can elaborate on exactly what the difficulties are? I'm looking at using it next year. I have used it in the past but only paper copy. Thank you! Erin

I have to admit that I am intimidated by Singapore. Again, my math background is weak (ugh). Is it open and go or will I need to work with it myself first? Here is where I also admit I sometimes have to watch the MUS videos before my kids so I know how to help them!!!

Thank you! These are helpful suggestions. I am looking for more critical thinking, word problems, etc. I feel like the kids are learning how to solve the problems but not understanding why they are learning these concepts. My math background is very weak and I don't want them to end up like me!

Hello, If you are a MUS user, have you found any supplemental materials you can use alongside? I find that most of the grade level books don't match up with the concepts they are learning since MUS is set up differently. I'm looking to add a bit more depth. Thank you! Erin

Thank you. ..now to do some research!

Hello, My son is in 5th and my daughter in 3rd grade. I had them using Wordsmith Apprentice but they both hate it. They are both reluctant writers but they do have a sound understanding of grammar, parts of speech, etc. my 3rd grader did well with PLL last year, but I felt some of it was very dated. Any suggestions? Writing prompts are met with horror, LOL. This is new to me as my 7th grader would be happy to write all day. E

I'd lean toward Weymouth/ Braintree. . Dorchester can have some rough areas.. but I don't know if you are looking for more urban or suburbs. (I grew up in Boston but I live in the boonies now in central mass)

I am in Massachusetts and you are correct that requirements vary wildly by district. My town only requires a letter, they have never asked for anything else. I track things for myself and in case a new superintendent decides to come along and bug me lol. Good luck with your move!

How strict is the age brackets for these classes? It's something I will keep in mind if offered again, however the programming obsessed child in my family is only 7. She already knows her way around scratch.

I'm in the same boat. I wish I knew the answer!

I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 (Android phone) and Audible works fine on it. I'm not sure about cost as it was a gift from a friend.

Thank you for sharing your experience, very helpful!

Hello, I'm considering having my 7 yo dd tested, possibly using the WISC IV. I feel like I don't have enough information about her abilities when I am planning her schoolwork. We are having some concerns lately about her behavior, and I think a lot of it may be related to boredom. I don't think I am giving her enough challenge, but I am afraid to push as she has perfectionist tendencies and gets easily frustrated/tantrums. Has anyone done this? What was the process like? Cost? I am planning on contacting a local child psychologist this week, but I am completely out of my element. Thanks! Erin

A loom?

I live in the town he went to and was subsequently fired from. My dealings with him last year as PTA president were one of the many reasons I pulled my children from the schools. Small world.

Thank you for your thoughts! I didn't even think about copywork, I think she would probably do that. She just hates to come up with her own ideas. She will tell me stories if I write them down.

Hello, I have a very bright DD6 who I pulled from Kindergarten in February of last year. This child has a will of iron. One of the reasons I removed her from school was that she was throwing temper tantrums of up to an hour every morning about attending (peeling her fingers one by one of the van door and carrying her bodily into the school was the last straw). That, along with many other reasons, finally made me take her out. Her behavior did dramatically improve upon her removal from school, however, now we are facing some different issues. She taught herself to read at 4 and will read anything that SHE wants to read. Anything else, forget it. She is rapidly completeing her second math curriculum of the year, that is one thing she enjoys and will consistently do. She hates writing. Any task involving writing is met with terrible resistence. Her currency is the computer, so I do allow her on it sparingly. Right now I can really only get maybe 30 minutes of seatwork from her and then she is gone. I force her to sit with her two older siblings for history and science, but it's painful for everyone. It's frustrating when I know she is capable of so much more. She really just wants to be off in her imaginary world all day with her stuffed animals. I have warned her that next year we will need to get a little more work done each day, but I am not sure how I am going to do that. My older two children are generally able to buckle down and do their work, but she will just refuse until the end of time. HELP!

Thank you! I printed both of these out for her and she is in heaven! (her version of heaven is much different than mine, :lol:)

Oh, she will love that, thank you!