I am a Sonlight user and while we are not preparing for IGCSE and AS levels several of my friends are. The first thing you need to do is identify which exams your child needs to take for their degree. I suspect some of these will not be the Sonlight prepared courses but the Apologia sciences and the maths. Some of the Syllabus can be downloaded on line I think. I would do that first and see what you need to cover. For the sciences I know Apologia appears to be an odd mix for the GCSE not IGCSE exams. A science teacher friend is constantly amazed at the mixed presentation of the books compared to the Syllabus. As he puts it when working with my kids they have bits from every level including University level. Apparently my dds science vocabulary is highly impressive. After doing a comparison with what they have already done and the Syllabus then order the coursework. There seems to be alot of choice as to which text according to a friend. Our family is taking the US route. Maybe a couple of exams here. Science and Maths most likely.

I usually put plastic wrap over the bowl tight with rubber band and put in a sunny place. If it is not rising then I use the oven method. I think sunny is the key here.:001_smile:

:party:

My kids are 14 and 12 now so I can look back on this with a bit of perspective. We normally had organized play every two weeks at that age. Other kids at a neighborhood playground occasionally. So not alot of outside friendships. My dd did treasure her playgroup friends but really did not expect to see more of them unless someone acted like she should. They were very happy playing together. They bicker like crazy now but both have great memories of being little together. When they were ds9 and dd11 we started really hunting for outside friendships. We had a major move to the UK so really had to work at it. Both children have several friends now. Really as many as we can handle and get school done too. They honestly have social skills appropriate for their personalities. Ds is outgoing and very kind. I always hear how much his friends like him. His good friend's mom is dying-- he is such a good friend to him. I am really proud. Dd is the shy artist type. She has a few good friends. Not the magnet her brother is but happy. I honestly would enjoy their time now as a family. Lots of time for outside friends later.

:party:great news!

Just found this thread. Praying everything works out with the new house!:grouphug:

Dd14 loves to paint and absolutely loves seeing her finished work framed. To be perfectly honest I wouldn't worry too much about paying her. For dd buying her the supplies to do the painting would thrill her. Let your niece have some imput on what she needs. Dd would be thrilled that someone wants her work and love the challenge of being commissioned. New art supplies are always welcome.

How awful!!! Cannot imagine that happening while at the OBs.:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

We have never had a problem. We don't chew gum but I do remind them to "do" their ears when I do mine. Dd14 forgets without a reminder.:001_huh:So I would tell too.

From the time they were very little lots of mathematical and language based logic games and puzzles. The favorite product was anything by Thinkfun. They also enjoy chess. Dd 14 has continued with the MP logic series and really likes it. We will most likely continue with that for her because it seems to be a good fit for her. Ds12 has completed MP Traditional Logic. It was painful for both of us. Not again. All three of us just did the Fallacy Detective and loved it. We finished it on Friday. DS was shocked to discover it was fun. We plan to do the next book soon. We may wait until after xmas. After that I need to find something.

I voted drive but I do think the airline will put you all together as closely as possible. We only have two but an airline actually rebooked us for free because their reservation system reseated us on a full flight. They had moved dh to a great seat and left me with the kids at the back of the plane. We noticed the night before and called. They agreed dh needed to be with us. They were technically big enough but still young enough for me to want to stand outside if they needed the bathroom.

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

Thank you for the recommendation. I keep looking at SL300 and the spine books do not seem like enough.

In our little part of the UK it gets more popular each year. Big Halloween street party in nearby big town. Not sure how many trick or treaters because we are never home that night. We have a party at a friends not many at their house but country. The big fall event is Guy Fawkes night -- November 5. The bonfires will go on for the week before and after. Lots of communities/pubs sponsor them. They are huge fires that usually start with an effigy of Guy on top. One year the local pub had him sitting in an easy chair. Afterwords there is at least one round of fireworks normally two. Really good shows maybe 20 minutes long. Bonfire night is probably bigger then the 4th of July in much of the US in terms of actual formal event celebration. All because they failed. We usually go to a couple depending on weather. You have a huge choice of places and nights.

:iagree: I just think the doc has a plan of treatment especially since it is back pain. I know I went for meetings like that with my back.

It will be fine. When I was expecting ds I was hospitalized for a long time. I felt like they were giving me pills every single time they looked at me. Eventually I had a crying fit over it and my rather mean specialist came to comfort me. He actually helped tons, he told me that he thought most (obviously drug addicts aren't included here) women who hurt their babies by taking drugs do it before they ever even know they are pregnant. He did not think he had ever seen a situation where a baby that was developing, after 6 to 8 week gestation point, was harmed by comman meds. He wanted me to be as comfortable as possible which meant treating my headaches etc. Ds is just as healthy as dd(nothing ever with her) so I wouldn't worry.:grouphug:

:grouphug:praying

We no longer live where this is possible but when the kids were little we tried to go monthly. Actually did it every six weeks probably. Dh took the day off and we did it all in one day. We found it easier then taking everything for spending the night. It was to visit my mom--she is easy to be with which definately motivated Dh.;)

We have used both so I will try and answer. Christian Studies is what we used for Bible when we left SL for a while and I did my own British and European history. Christian studies is time consuming if done properly. There is a lot of great stuff there. We did it a bit light-- if I had it to do over again I think I would try more for as written but my son could not handle the writing. With your age range the bigs do everything and littles by ability. I would run SL or at least SL style with that for history etc. Move slowly through the books. We did the first history core when ds was 5. He loved it. Dd was 7 and had covered much of it previously but still learned tons. If you are able to make it work for all it would make a really special year or years depending on how long it takes. It won't coordinate well time period wise. I would not even try. Run them both separately. The main thing is a good history spine which can be used frequently. We like the Usbourne ones. That ties things together well and keeps the time line moving. I like a more in depth illustrated book like the time traveler Usbourne one for major time periods(Egypt, Greece, vikings, etc). There is also a Time Travel Agency series used by VP that we loved. Fill in a historical fiction book for each time period. Some myths or short stories. You have the basics covered. For the older children they can read off WTM lists, read other SL books if you can't do them all, maybe even a bit of VP list. See what you library has. Magic Tree house books and guides are great. When I was just starting this journey I had to coordinate every single thing. Frequently I ended up buying way too much. Frequently I stalled and did nothing because I could not decide. I have come to understand that children do learn even if everything isn't perfectly lined up. Out of order slightly makes for great review. I hope you have a wonderful year!

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug: Are you feeling better?

I would look at things Hunter has posted. Do a thread search. This is what she does sort of. I think you will find inspiration there.:grouphug:

We moved to the UK with our baggage allowance so a lot doesn't have to be spent. I am not recommending that type of a move for you but it is something that can be done. When we started planning we were planning to ship furniture etc. After pricing what the moving company was going to charge we decided our furniture was not worth that. We had been married for 20 years and the stuff needed replacing. We looked at IKEA and starter stuff was under $2000 when finished. Bought more when we found things we liked. I love pretty china-- found a lovely set that suits this kitchen for about £100. My wedding stuff would not have matched even if it had survived. It is stored still. But I did use IKEA cheap stuff for over 3 years while hunting for what I really loved. After 5 years we could use more space. Stuff accumulates quickly!:lol: We do have possessions in storage because of how odd our move was. Last year I brought the scrap books--things are pretty permanent now. I would take a look at the cost of living in both places on a daily basis and go from that. It sounds like your dh would need to travel back frequently so storage could be emptied and moved by car. Much cheaper.

About once a week. More often lately but we have some unusual circumstances going on. It is nice because their moms are my friends.

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug: I have a friend who does this. Oh, how I hate wondering how bad it will be.

:lol::lol::lol: Seriously I have been asking this to RL friends. The answer seems to be around 20. So I think Imp is right!