They look good. I want them even though my kids are too big! Can't wait to hear more.

For us Shakespeare was fairly easy. Before the move we had read several Shakespeare Story books--Nesbitt and Lambs are free on kindles now. Back then I had hard copies! I was having a really hard time finding "literature" read alouds lots of current fiction like Harry Potter but few classics to be found on the library shelves. While looking at the adult classic section my 7 year old son announced he wanted real Shakespeare -- they each picked one and home we went. Did they understand every word and completely rip each sentence apart? No, but they did learn a bit more and enjoyed themselves. Both kids still like Shakespeare and will happily read them again. I wouldn't pack them in my carry on for elementary but I would be on the look out for copies after I arrived. For higher grades they would go in my maybe pile. Unless you know you will use something frequently do not carry them.

The grade they would be in in the US. I can barely keep track of that much less the British equivalent!!! Nothing we use is for a specific grade so we all find it really confusing.

I can't wait!!! Thanks for the fun safety video.

We drive much further than that. It is difficult to maintain on a weekly basis much less more invovlement. Expectations will be high with your backgrounds to help grow the plant.

We had Fallacy Detective on the kindle for free with prime last summer. We loved it. We did MP traditioal logic a couple of years ago and ds really did not get it and hated it. He did actually manage to answer correctly but boy did he hate it. Anyway Fallacy Detective was fun. Everyone really got it. I plan to do the other book soon. Our biggest problem with content was that it based quite a bit on American Politics--things like the electorial collage had to be explained. That was timely at least. Generally each set of questions meant one long explanation for me about something--some knowledge gaps certainally got filled.

:grouphug: Praying

I recently went to a great workshop on handstitching. The teacher uses a normal mechanical pencil for all of her marking. You really can not see it after and my project is pale blue and dds is pink. She said on darks she occasionally has to use chalk. She also talked about washable markers as a possibility. The important thing with those was getting all the ink out. She blotted the fabic on top of a towel until all was gone. Whatever you mark with make sure you know if heat will set it before you iron.

My friend claims her chihuahua is paper trained. I have personal doubts because of little puddles and piles around house. But they are little. When I was growing up another friend had a 3 foot square giant metal box lined with paper in her basement, her german shepherd did seem to have her emergencies there. Crate training is a definate must.IMO Our dog loved his crate and had a complete breakdown if left home alone without being put in. While I adored my dog we spent a fortune on his health care. We also live out of the US for most of the year but we return for a couple of months in the winter. That would be really hard for any animal. Even staying at a friends would not be easy. So we haven't gone down the pet road here. My dc's are good with it but they love to travel and know their spontaneous trips would have to end with pet responsibilities. Good luck with this decision. I know it is a big one. :grouphug:

Praying for you :grouphug:

I can't edit or even scroll down to part of my original post on a kindle fire. I also can't do this during the original posting process if it is too long. I just managed to edit a spelling error in this one!!!

We have continued to use them with SL and they have worked well there. We have never done the 20th century before in detail so a good introduction to the time period. We have recently gone off the SL schedule for this time period. Dh is retired military and we now live in Europe. This part of history required being older for my dc's -- they learn enough of it in daily life. DS12 is not a history fan. Honestly has very little interest so keeping him engaged in any sort of a timeline is a challenge. The readings are short and make a good springboard. Usually something is mentioned that he does find interesting. This is where we pick up the kindle fire and start learning more. I always google youtube videos and watch a couple at the end to cement the topic in his brain. One seriously good one (discovery channel etc) and one obviously silly (ap world history classes seem to provide a great number of these) . I like it for this age.

While I place many unrealistic expectations upon myself others place many on me too. They think that we have tons of free time to complete their outside projects since we do not work and are home all day. That we want to spend hours in the car for no real gain for our family because it suits them. They want more people at their events and we are slackers because we won't attend. Other people do not get that we have lots of school work to complete and need to be well rested in order to do it. A rest day should be relaxing. It should also be fun and entertaining if desired but the definition of that should be ours. Also my kids are individuals -- many things do not interest them that may interest others. They do know how they wish to spend their time. No thank you should be enough. Sorry I am ranting. Also I just discovered someone already said this but I still am going to post because it will make me feel better. Obviously I am feeling a great deal of pressure from outside non home ed sources. I am not feeling so good due to a cold starting. But people really do not get that HOME ED MOM'S HAVE A JOB honestly jobs.

My friend stopped her chemo after the last diagnosis also. It allowed her to finish planning and planting an absolutely fabulous garden which will be used for charity events in the future. I am looking forward to helping in her garden for years to come. I am not a gardener but will learn. It was her last gift to her family and friends. Knowing that the work needs to be done is really comforting. Her last weeks were really bad. Not sure of the medical details because we really did not talk about it.

I have really enjoyed my fire. I am so not techy. My 12 year old bails me out all the time! No added fees. Even I can connect at Mcdonald etc. No added fees as long as you have wifi. It has been a really good investment for me. We use it tons during school. I keep it beside me and it is so easy to look stuff up.

Really glad that your dh finally got the help he needed. I remember the original threads. A good doctor makes such a difference. :grouphug:

I think the most important thing for us was having books that stood alone. Our Island Story created great writing practice. We found a small paperback science book after we arrived that had 100 great physics and chemistry questions answered. We spent months going over that book. We simply read our couple of pages with no illustrations and discussed. It should have been way over their heads but they loved it. We spent hours as a family with those topics. How nuclear power plants work and are built was forever -- fortunately Dh knew tons. My dc's were 7 and 9 when we did this but you can do lots without much. We got proper copies of Twelfth Night, Merchant of Venice, etc. And did full readings. Had a great time at it. They kept an illustrated journal of our activities. Everything was new and it is a great keepsake. Really our school went a bit downhill when my Rainbow box arrived. But I will say I don't know what I would have done without the library or access to books for leisure reading. A think kindles would be an absolute must.

Science Papa

Have they watched any Magic School Bus dvds yet? They just came out with the complete set on dvd. You can preview on youtube to see if they like them.

Maybe you could try giving him a couple of Tums. For some reason I find that with stomach cramps they help me more than anything else. DH thinks I am nuts but Tums helps me. Then lay down with a heating pad/ hot water bottle on tummy and hopefully fall asleep. Usually I wake up feeling much better. Hope he feels better soon!

She is very pretty. I voted.

About 20 years ago dh's grandmother was a resident in a nursing home that was actually closed while she was there. It was in Oakland county. Obviously the ratings must have been low but not our descision. We did not want her in one--I had just been laid off and we wanted her in the apartment next door. Because it was 5 minutes from our house and I popped in at least once a day. She received great care. It smelled great. The staff was friendly. Things were great until they closed it. She was moved a half hour away. The area was not convenient to anyone in the family. The ratings were OK. But I went on a pretty predictable basis and so did her daughter--I ended up driving mil usually because it was so far. Her care there was not good. I could list the things wrong with that place but will spare you. It was dreadful. If your mom can and will go often that is important. I know you have been visiting a couple of times a week. Vary your timing. Talk to the staff. Be very friendly. They made sure I knew the facility was closing way before mil got the official letter.LOL That made her furious!

I spent today at one of my best friends funerals. There have been a lot of ups and downs since the original diagnosis. She beat the odds several times and lived everyday to the fullest. The most important thing is to remain positive and be there for her. Try to treat her like normal. Have normal conversations with her. We only talked about the cancer when we had to. We were two home ed moms talking curriculum and what to do with our kids. She told me how much my continuing to treat her as normally as possible meant to her. If you knit there are some lovely patterns for prayer shawls. My friend also had problems sleeping because of the meds. She had nothing to do in the middle of the night while her husband and children were sleeping. Dvds were very welcome.

Laura, It looks great. Is there a table of content that we could look at? I am just getting the first chapter with my download. Thanks

:grouphug: I know that it's a bit late but I hope the drive goes well.