Meh. We changed to liquid soap/shower gel, and it made all the difference in the world.

We homeschooled before co-ops were a thing. By the time they became a thing, my dc were taking classes at the community college for college credit, so no co-op for us. What I saw among those I knew who were in co-ops did not inspire me. Too much time out of the house, age-segregated "classrooms" = not much better than school, burn out. Support groups, yes; co-ops, no.

I never recommend the 5th and 6th editions, the ones published after Mrs. Spalding passed away. The first four editions have so much more information not included in the last two; additionally, Spalding Education International (SEI) has published teacher guides, and the 5th and 6th editions refer to the guides repeatedly, even though the guides don't add any actual information. SEI sent them to me to review, which was kind of them, but they didn't listen to me WRT homeschoolers. We don't need those guides. Classroom teachers don't either, which is why Mrs. Spalding refused to write such a thing. I recomend reading through the manual *at least* three times before trying to teach: the first time, read through like a novel, cover to cover, literally. The second time, read through and make notes. The third time, plan in your head what you're going to do. Once you begin teaching, it is totally open and go: review previously taught phonograms by dictating them and, later, by "flashing" them. Teach four new phonograms; first teach the letters that begin with circles, then the phonograms that begin with lines; after that, in order.When the dc knows the first 54 phonograms, begin teaching the spelling words (script included for the first few, but not for all, because you just do the same thing with each word). After completing the words to section, um, I forget, but it tells you in the manual, lol, teach the remaining phonograms. Contineu reviewing phonograms and teaching the spelling words until you finish. The end.

If he's reading well, he doesn't need any phonics, because phonics knowledge does not afftect spelling skill. I am also a Spalding fan. As the previous poster said, you want the fourth edition of the manual (WRTR is the manual; Spalding is the method), or earlier. You can find the fourth edition on Amazon. With the manual and a set of phonogram cards, you're good go to, for all your children, forever.

It would be a little weird, but if your guests have any manners, they won't comment, and so it doesn't matter. Under the circumstances, I would feel the same as you. (((((laura)))))

A pattern that includes black, or black skirt/pants/etc., would be fine. It's the all-black dress that is not ok. Dark blue is fine. Also, you don't need to tell the bride's mother, the bride, or anyone else what you are wearing. That is not their job.

Neither Mr. Ellie nor I have had it, or been sick such that it might have been. I also feel like I'm jinxing myself. o_0

Same. We started in '82. Never heard of it.

No. It's a Motorola Edge (Android). I'm getting rid of it ASAP, because it has other things I abhor. But there surely are adaptors for Android. I should check into that. In general, I like Bluetooth; I just can't wear earbuds...

My new cell phone, which I loathe, only allows bluetooth ear buds/headphones. That's a PITA. So that's why. Although surely they should understand how rude it is to do that, so they should bring a book instead. But still...I hate not having a choice. I can't use most things that fit inside my ears; my ears are just not shaped right or something. So I need the big ol' things that cover my ears like ear muffs, which are pricey. ::heavy sigh::

I'm in Texas. We don't get any of that stuff.

I'm so sorry to hear that. My condolences. I spoke to her once many years ago about her book when I invited her to exhibit at a convention I was organizing. 🙂 Thank you for dropping in and explaining what happened.

There's no need to write out all of the problems, or to write in the textbook. Have your dc fold his notebook paper on a line, and lay it on the page right under a row of problems. Then he just writes the answer. He would write out the word problems, of course.

I read at night when I go to bed. I started doing that when my first-born was just little, because I couldn't figure out how to read during the day when she was up. 🙂 So I shower, go to bed and read, go to sleep. Even though I'm an empty nester and can read any darn time I want to, this is a 40+ year-old habit, so I just keep doing it. 🙂

Often, the mother should be in a different position than the one that most hospitals require; that is easy for doctors, but not necessarily the best for laboring and delivering. Midwives will often turn the mothers onto hands and knees, avoiding forceps and other interventions.

There's no need to mess with his "grade level." Eventually he'll "catch up," and then you'll be trying to figure out how to "skip" a grade, and it will be mess. You can have lower expectations for awhile without mucking about with "grade level." Have you always homeschooled? Or are you trying to make up for what he didn't get in school? What kinds of things are you doing with him? Also, is he your first born? We first borns tend to be perfectionists, and one of the things that happens is that if we can't do it "right" 100%, we won't do it at all.

Where I'm from, we would always have at least coffee/tea. Food depends on how close to a meal. I love to feed people, so there's that. 🙂 But I'v never done a "play date," so there's also that.

It would also be important for him to do all of the assignments in writing, on actual paper (excepting the execises that are supposed to be oral). Even the activities which are not explicitly labled "writing" actually count as writing. I also wouldn't be too focused on "paragraphs." In the real world, not everything we write comes in tidy little packages called "paragraphs," each one with a topic sentence and X number of "supporting sentences." I love Writing Strands, but honestly, if your ds does all of the R&S assignments in writing as it was intended, your ds will have plenty of writing. And Writing Strands does require your input. You are supposed to go over the beginning of each lesson with him, and correct each little writing assignment, which may mean longer discussions than you might think. WS, while not taking as much time as some writing instruction, is not intended to be done independently.

Somehow I managed to forget about Talk Like a Pirate Day. So did Mr. Ellie, who has Pirate Mickey Ears he only gets to wear one day a year, and he missed it. ::heavy sigh::

Are you positively sure it's the law? As in you've seen it in writing? Often people think things like that are law when, in fact, they are not.* Many states don't have such a law; it's up to the discretion of the parents and any official authority types in case of an incident. *For example, many people are convinced it's against the law to drive barefooted in California, but no, actually, it isn't.

I use a gel nightly for my rosacea. As long as I do that, I'm pretty good. Untreated, my face just pinks up. I don't seem to have triggers.

I think it's vital to protect one's homeschool day. Sure, learning happens all the time and in all places, but those lessons/classes outside the home during the day are really deadly. So, yes, if it were me, I'd be looking for piano lessons that could be done late afternoon. My dc did dance, 4-H, and a few other things over the years, but never during the day. Once we went to a "homeschool" gymnastics class...just once, because it just didn't have enough value to replace the time sucked out of our home learning.

But why? Then there would be a boatload of writing all at once, which could be really difficult.

OH, and also, after we had worked on memorizing books of the Bible for some time, we started doing "sword drills." The dc enjoyed that. 🙂 We talked quite a bit about actually finding Scripture references, because I wanted them to be familiar with their Bibles so that they could easily find what they were looking for. This video shows more sword drills than I have ever done. We just did specific verses, e.g., John 3:16.

It's "Ignore This Thread," a thread which has taken on a life of its own. 🙂