Just wanted to send hugs and say that it sounds like you are doing a great job. This is coming from someone who is basically completed the home ed journey and my kids are fine. ;) Here are some things I remember doing that made things easier..... I bought several plastic shoe boxes when I had my son running around while dd was doing school and put an assortment of toys he enjoyed in each box. During school time he was given a box and that was special. When school was done dd might play for a bit wit it but then we put it away. It would not come out again for several days. That actually worked amazingly well. We also had a rug in the center of the living room that I kept clear of furniture and wold set up a few school type activities to be completed that day. Things like a box of duplos and a picture of the Tower of Babel. I used stacks of recipe type note cards and set up things where they put the cards in order, counting by 1's, 5's, etc. Pretty much whateve I could think of. Both dc's knew that if I was busy there was something to do there. I kept this stuff in a giant rubbermaid container where things disappeared for quite awhile ;) The library....I lived near a great library when the dc's were little but it did not match SotW well at all. I let that fact frustrate me and we didn't get history done well at all because I needed to do everything just like the book said. It took me weeks to do a chapter right. Life sort of made fun of me because we ended up moving to another country and I was able to take very little curiculum at that time. I ended up using the local library and enjoying it greatly for many things. We had a great year schooling mainly from the library (math I brought). Look around and see what they have. Something like Magic School Bus books and dvds can expand your science greatly. Use what is there if it suits you. Read the SotW and enjoy it for what it is, a great bit of history each week. If you have the workbook do the activity if it works for you. Groups...I have belonged to loads anything I could find. Signed statements where needed etc but can honestly say I have always felt the outsider. A funny thing has happened in the past few months a new group has popped up for teens which my ds likes (dd stays home few girls) and the few people I knew at different groups keep showing up. We are always happy to see each other...out of nowhere I have a sort of big group of home ed friends who are every type of home edder you could imagine. Who would have thought. Years have mellowed us all. Take a deep breath and pick one, I suspect the one at your church would be a good place to start. I hope something here helps a bit. :grouphug:

Not books but have you explored thishttp://www.nidirect.gov.uk/index/information-and-services/education-and-learning.htmsite for Northern Ireland now? eta....this might do for a start on historyhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/learning/history/

I was just browsing online and ran into thishttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1587987.Books_Baguettes_and_Bedbugsbook by Jeremy Mercer which looks wonderful. Several here including Jenn might be interested after reading The Movable Feast. Book, Baguettes and Budbugs: The Left Bank Worls of Shakespeare and Company is a book I would love to read.

I am so sorry. Sending prayers :grouphug:

Just wanted to second this course. It came out a bit after our dinosaur phase had passed but both dc's enjoyed going through it. I believe this is one of the Coursera classes we did with really enthusiastic teachers who emailed new findings for awhile even after the course was done.

Melissa, I am so glad your primary Doctor sounds like a wonderful one. I hope all goes well with the new doc and you continue to heal. Hugs! Kareni, Thanks for the report on your mom. Remember medication causes many unexpected side effects in elderly patients so the vision problems (not sure if that is still a problem) may be related. My mom had to stop reading her romances due to vision issues a few months ago but just reinstated her Harlequin subscription. For her things seem to improve immensely when the meds leave her system. :grouphug: to both you and your sister. Not being able to help physically is really hard also, I know. Mom Ninja, Not sure if this would interest your son or not. http://www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/q-a/04032015-q-a-dean-lomaxDean quit school as soon as possible and educated himself from 16, studying dinosaurs! My kids consider him to be home educated like them, so total role model. He was the one outside tutor we ever used during our intense dino phase. He was a very enthusiastic kid when he took my kids fossel hunting etc. I love seeing him in the news because he has worked so hard to make his dreams come true! Now for books.... I finished two..... Shadow of the Past by Judith Cutler.....Enjoyable historical crime solving. The main character is the second son of a Duke who has become a rural impoverished vicar much to his family's despair. I am now reading the third in the series.https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4215000-shadow-of-the-past Sycamore Gap https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26310229-sycamore-gapwhich is a kindle prime following Holy Island which I read earlier this month. This one starts with a body being found inside Hadrian's Wall near the famous tree. Yes, I know the spot and so had to read it! Not a Roman but a recent death linked to a serial killer, which is linked to the first book. These books are pretty good but very interlinked which I am not a huge fan of. I like my characters to continue into the next book but not my crimes. ;) Anyway the next one is coming soon, maybe things will eventually get resolved and the poor dectective can finally have a case involving other bad guys! :lol:

We would all love a birth announcement when you are able. Not sure if you will be able to check in while in the hospital or not. But I hope all goes well and you find yourself able to read a bit!

I definitely want to read this but now is probably not the time! I plan to find it when you read Mr. Bridge......plus I put it on my ever growing list! I loved Mr. Penumbra. It made my top five the year I read it. I also like your idea of a reread of Written in Red, the series, in preparation for the new book. Dd and I both love this series! Welcome back! My lists are always really long.......

With ds I was very fortunate that my problem was spotted during my ultrasound and was hospitalized at 18 weeks with an incompetent cervix. I was absolutely determined to reach 22 weeks and 4 days so that they would treat my baby when he was born. I absolutely hated the thought that he would be a miscarriage one day and magically be a baby the next. That was a huge stresser for me while lying there. The nurses had a little party on the 22 w 4d and gave me my steroid shot (lung development) with great joy. Praying for your family and the surviving twin. :grouphug:

Sorry double post.

Dd had an odd situation because her first time taking the Latin exam her exam was lost in the mail. Seriously. So two months later after having given up Latin she was back with a week and a half to prepare 3 subject exams(German and Lit also). Dd has never had outside Latin instruction. Has skipped around program wise quite a bit so has never completed any program. So we looked at the Collegeboard website about a month before and picked her path for the first exam sitting since she wanted to take it. She used the Cambridge and REA combo and felt that she scored well....at least 700 but she will never know. The second go she pulled the REA back out and went through the last half of Wheelocks using this http://web.uvic.ca/hrd/latin/wheelock/index.htmin order to go quickly. It was a retest exam, they make two at the same time each time for situations like hers. Even though she hadn't looked at her Latin for six weeks the Wheelocks review served her well. Wheelocks vocabulary matched a bit more closely with the actual exam she thought. Her score was higher than anticipated, well over the 700 mark.

Heather-I am so sorry for your friend's loss. :grouphug: The Burn's dinner is happening as I post, very similar menu to last year's. The dc's are in serving mode and I am waiting to see if I am needed for clean up. Things are much more organized than last year so dh and I enjoyed a Chinese carryout at home. I am due for my first check in soon. I finally got my hands on a book I have been waiting a long time for Anna Lee Huber's A Study in Death https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23398824-a-study-in-death?from_search=true&search_version=service. It is so good! :) This is another of my favourite series that is frequently recommended on goodreads with the St. Cyr books by CS Harris. I recommend starting in order with The Anatomists Wife. These are a bit milder overall I think.

Bluegoat quote.......We have year long parental leave here - most of which can be taken by the father or mother - and I don't think the trend to put more emphasis on the domestic is less here at all. In fact my experience is that your thought is accurate - a lot of moms do plan to go back to work initially but change their minds after having had that experience of being at home. That's very anecdotal of course, but I think it's at least as plausible as what she thinks would happen. We have the yearlong leave available also. I think that long leave sometimes makes the decision to go back to work harder for many previously very career minded women. Anecdotal also but several of my acquaintances with professional jobs/degrees have seriously modified their career paths, either returning to work with far fewer hours per week or not returning at all. I personally suspect more stay home here because of the leave compared to the US. I finished a book that I picked partly for the coverhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8191206-steamedbut since I knew it had to be Steampunkish (new word) probably won't use for my bingo. The author is one the is recommended to me frequently by goodreads etc because I like fluff ;) but have never tried. I found Kate MacAlister's Steamed to be clever in concept but confusing in the actual book. One of the main characters and his sister are blown into an alternative world that is steampowered by an accidental explosion in a science lab. He lands on an airship and is instantly attracted to the female captain of the ship. The idea was fun but the book was written in the first person with both main characters fulfilling that role alternately. Keeping track of who "I" was kept me confused.

You know she really wanted to go if she used her own money!!! It is always fascinating to see what makes them part with the money they have earned. Pam, I suspect you will really like Night Vale. I will probably keep the extra kindle turned off until I have a chance to give the book a bit more of a chance....I liked it but dd seemed pretty confident I wouldn't. The shared Kindle experience is always interesting. I put my fluff all on a kindle that is mine alone unless it is something that I know dd would like, Mysteries like Sue Grafton's etc. But alot of the stuff BaW talk convinces me to order I put unto the joint account and like to watch who looks at them.

As a mom with one boy who was always big for his age these situations were hard for me. Since the woman in question has two boys (safety in numbers) I would probably approach her with how you handled the situation with your one child. I would start with how she is lucky to havd two boys and since she isn't using the pool herself......

Dd did go ahead and read Welcome to Night Vale. It was on the shared kindle system so when I went to start the book I was mysteriously at 99% done. She reported that it was good, a bit odd, and probably not my kind of book. :lol: Somehow I don't think she left with the raising teens pov. I have enjoyed the few pages I read, I may try to get back to it. The violin mystery sounds intriguing, I may look for it. I did the suzuki method decades ago!

We are waiting for confirmation also. Thanks for reminding me of the dates.

I just read a very short (7 pages) Agatha Raisin story called Hell's Bellshttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17376015-agatha-raisin?ac=1&from_search=1which appropriately takes place partly in a bell tower. :) It is availiable free on Kindle. Kareni, Several months ago you recommended Jayne Castle's Harmony books. I finally read the first novellahttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/614866.Bridal_Jittersand liked it. I plan to continue the series.

:grouphug: Kareni Kareni, Thanks for the free kindle links also. When I went to download Stone Guardian I discovered the second in the series Stone Embrace was also free on kindle.https://www.goodreads.com/series/106982-entwined-realms

Mom22es, :grouphug: I can't like your post. I hope his recovery goes smoothly and you are soon able to do many rereads! I finished the first in an interesting mystery series today, The Herring Seller's Apprentice by L.C. Tyler. This one is cozy in nature but not really a tradional cozy. The main character is a popular mystery writer who leads a rather boring life that suddenly turns exciting when his ex wife disappears. His mystery solving companion s his literary agent. It is rather tongue and cheek and filled with red herrings. Overall I liked it and most likely will continue the series later this year.

Jenn, Thanks for understanding. You are right the book could have been set anywhere with a beach. My timing was poor. I haven't managed to read a book set in India either. I did watch The Indian Doctor BBC series which I really enjoyed, but it was set ironically in Wales.

I finished Wendy Jones' Wilford Price book last nighthttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18114398-the-thoughts-and-happenings-of-wilfred-price-purveyor-of-superior-funer?ref=ru_lihp_up_rs_0_mclk-up2863763574and have to admit I found it pretty upsetting. It just was not the book for me at this time, I think. If you are planning to read the book which others here liked you should stop reading now! I am so upset by the Grace portion of the storyline. I doubt that her real fate would have been anywhere near as kind as it was painted in the book, she most likely would have been institutionalized. I know her father was in a position to prevent it but..... Too many historical lectures for me with a woman's group I belong to. Woman were frequently institutionalized for life in her circumstances, frequently with the child. That did not change until the 70's. I disliked Wilford greatly, pretty much all the way through, spineless wimp. I am not saying he shouldn't have followed his heart just that he needed to do it sooner. I think my feelings come more out of the fact that I know the funeral practices part culturally so that wasn't so interesting. I think if I had found that portion interesting I wouldn't have looked at the book as a whole so harshly, instead I just found his funerals lacking too! Descriptions of things like semi professional pallbearers are the norm here but amazed me years ago would have distracted me. They have a military precision that I had never seen in a none miltary funeral before moving here. Very dignified and quite moving. They always come with the funeral director, part of the package you might say. He messed up some proper customs that wouldn't happen normally....wet earth at the graveside for the family, no kept dry in the box. The box is done in a ceremonial manor always. It has rained buckets at many of the funerals I have attended but people don't get muddy sprinkling dirt in the grave. His lack of respect bothered me greatly. I can't believe I am critiquing his funerals! Btw, some of the practices are obviously gone from custom. Did not like Wilfred at all and don't care that he was generous financially. Last night I gave it a 3* in a fit of kindness but may downgrade it upon reflection. I also discovered that there is a second book in the series. I thought about reading it to learn about Grace's fate but no library has it, probably fortunately! Sorry for the vent but this one frustrated me.

What wonderful news!!! Thank you so much for the update. :grouphug:

My feelings about 11/22/63 echo yours for the most part although I do like time travel books. I had no idea they were making it into a miniseries although it doesn't surprise me. The clip looks good, I just hope that it eventually ends up available to me. It's been busy. I finally picked out what I am reading next The Thoughts and Happenings of Wilfred Price Purveyor of Superior Funerals. I have read enough to find the book interesting but I am not fond of Wilfred at the moment! ;) Eta...I was just looking at the Bingo card, for 18th Century, are we doing set in or written in?

:grouphug: