I've spent my whole school budget, but if I had the money, this is what i would buy: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Dissection-Vertebrate-Animals-2351591

Wow! Really cool. My oldest will love this!

When my husband and I got married and bought our first home, he didn't understand why I was so desperate to replace the futon in the living room with a nice, new sofa... And it probably wouldn't make sense to most people... But I spent a few childhood years with other's cast off ripped sofas followed by many years of sitting on the floor in the living room... I especially remember Having a friend come over tho visit and then later being teased at school because we didn't have any furniture in the living room. Having a nice sofa in the living room meant I was settled. ETA: it wasn't really about the sofa though... It was more of a symptom of an unsettled life where needs frequently went unmet. I admit, I have the luxury of homeschooling. Our bills are more than paid and life is good. If things were different, I never would have left the workforce.

I only read a few posts on the thread that spun this off because it made me so sad... And I haven't read any of the replies on this thread... And I haven't ridden off into the sunset because my girls are only eleven and eight...BUT... I wouldn't trade this time with them for anything. 18 years each, that's all I get of them at home before they go off and make their own lives. This time is so precious. No, I have no idea what I will do when this time is over. So much time will have passed(has already passed) that stepping back into my career will be impossible. I don't care. I wouldn't give this up for a moment. Is it all sunshine and roses? Nope. But what is?

Wow, thanks! That's on our read-aloud list this year and I've just saved myself some breath. Now I can color with the girls while we all listen! What a bargain.

Thanks. That's really helpful. I really liked what I saw in the sample but didn't know how to get a copy. It's kind of pricey, isn't it? (For spiral review I mean. I'm not afraid to spends lots on our primary curriculum.)

I've used both. I didn't care for the look of HWT when my oldest used it and I'm not sure she thought it was that great either. I started my youngest with LOE Rhythm... and it's much prettier. I don't think one is harder or easier than the other. Pick whichever you like and be consistent. ETA: My oldest has changed over to a more traditional style and really prefers it.

We did about half of RSO chemistry and we did Nancy Larson 2 and 3. Of the two, I prefer Nancy Larson. I guess I felt like it was more open and go and since I don't like to spend a lot of time planning, I really appreciated that. On the other hand, Nancy Larson is pretty schooly and we ditched the worksheets and some of the scriptedness to make it our own. Maybe I'm just not good at curriculum. That seems to be the case more and more these days. :) ETA: I think I also appreciated that Nancy Larson isn't a full year of a single topic so around the time you get tired of pulleys, etc, you move on to a bird study. That said, we are giving RSO Biology 2 a shot this year and I'm really excited about it.

Where do you buy that? It looks like the link only caters to schools.

Did you know that Math Mammoth has a review workbook that is spiral? My youngest tends to forget some basic concepts like time and money if we don't touch on them often so we used this with Beast Academy this year.

We usually start back when the public school starts back and run about the same schedule because my oldest dances a lot and the studio follows the public school schedule. So, we finished end of May and will start back first of August. I understand why you would want to change that because of the temperature (it's super hot here too), but it's just easier for us to be doing what our friends and extracurriculars are doing. I second showing them the calendar and letting them see that they are getting just as much vacation as everyone else just at a different time and explain why. Your kids are old enough to be reasonable about these kinds of things. If they don't like it, you can go one of two ways with it: 1. Tough luck kids, I make the schedule. 2. If you don't like this plan, get together with your siblings and present something you think you would like better and be prepared to convince me that your plan is superior. (I think this sounds like a kind of fun assignment actually.)

With my youngest about 30 and with my oldest it became closer to 45 - 60. We don't go by number of pages because it can really vary depending on what's on the page. And, if the work is really frustrating, doesn't matter how much time we've spent on it, we just put it away and pick it up the next day. With a fresh mind, they are usually able to tackle it and work it out.

We probably spent 3 to 3.5 hours on it a week. One hour of that was the online lecture/discussion, and the remainder was split between reading the text and hands on demonstration type things. We made a fountain of the type invented by a 1 AD physicist (that was probably out favorite activity) and did some hands on things with the Pythagorean theorem. We measured the circumference of the earth. She had lots of things to do and I really appreciated that it wasn't read the book, listen to this lecture and then fill out this worksheet. The instructor is great, she seems very knowledgeable. There are plenty of opportunities to discuss things in class and she also has online office hours if the kids have other things they want to talk about. She's kind of nerdy like my daughter and referenced things like Avatar: The Last Airbender, ViHart's youtube channel, and I don't remember what else, but she really seems to get children and she has a youngish daughter herself so maybe that's why. We liked it enough to sign up for her next class. The online portal is really well designed and once my daughter figured out how to navigate it, I was able to mostly turn the class over to her. My only complaint, and it isn't about the class, is about the text itself. The information is great and very interesting, but the presentation is very ADHD. There are so many sidebars and other topic boxes that it sometimes really hard to read. I finally asked my daughter to just read through the chapter just reading the main text and then return to the start of the chapter and read all the extras. Maybe it's not the best method but I haven't found a better one.

RSO has a new Physics text. It's brand new so I don't think you will find any reviews. http://www.pandiapress.com/store-5/

http://giftedhomeschoolers.org/ghf-online/ We've taken the Aristotle course and are signed up for Newton in the fall.

I'm curious too.

I've been trying to track that book down for ages. Wonder how it ended up at your place??? 😉

It's huge! I'm planning to spread it out over two years for my sixth grader.

Poor guy. Anxiety stinks no matter what age. I keep thinking as my daughter gets older that I'll be able to reason with her (which is just stupid as I have anxiety and I'm not at all reasonable when it crops up).

My parents spent a lot of money at the dermatologist and it did help, but birth control pills are what finally helped. I know that's not what most people want to hear.

My mother had to apply for a grant to receive radiation as palliative care for the stage 4 cancer that killed her. She was unable to afford insurance even though she was working full times before her condition prevented it.

I second the psychiatrist comment. We went onto a six month waiting list for Emory in nearby Atlanta for my daughter who was really suffering. After two months they called to tell me that they wouldn't be able to see us at all, they were just too booked. I could have spent that time on someone else's wait list. Three months later we were finally seen by someone else. This is for a child who could not be more than a foot from me, no longer slept at all, and had hands that were cracked and bleeding from constant OCD hand washing. Thank God we were homeschoolers because going to school would not have even been a possibility. There was one place we could have gotten in...a place that didn't take any insurance at all... Just cash at the door, $2000 for initial consultation alone. It was money I didn't have or we would have been all over it.

My daughter's broken arm cost us four thousand and did not require surgery. EKG and simple bloodwork to ensure my oldest was healthy before starting ADHD medication...$2000. Health insurance for my family including company contribution monthly...$1600. It's disgusting. ETA: Out of pocket.

I'm already booked for Northern Ireland (and have been for a year). I felt guilty thinking I was glad my money will go further.

Been pretty much there with other clothing: tags, socks, shoes, wrinkles in any sort of clothing. How old is your son?