But do we need a snack? And a bathroom break? And to change our socks? And to check the mail? And a drink? And moment to stand on our heads? And to comb our hair? And to change our shirt? And a break Mooooommmmmmmm plllllleeeeeaaaaasseeee we've been working soooo loooonggggg how about a break? ;)

Not sure what is on the regular lists, but these are some of my favorites: Maniac Magee Freak the Mighty Tuck Everlasting

My son is a pretty young 14 and I am finding that in the last year or so he has periodically forgotten and re-remembered all kinds of things he used to know. How to capitalize properly, spell, punctuate, multiply, subtract (!), etc. It seems to come and go. I assume when the hormones chill his brain will stabilize.

We try to do a lot of extras, partly because my son is an only child in a neighborhood of strangers, partly because I think outside play is important and it's hard to get that alone in a rocky back yard, and partly because we just like doing them. We take breaks when there is not enough time or too much financial pressure, but we generally make things like co-op and park day a priority. I assume that each family strikes the balance they need to strike. Every choice to do one thing is a choice not to do infinite other things. When we are on the go a ton in a week, we are getting social interaction and time management skill building. When we are home a lot in a week, we are getting more one on one time, have time for working on more home-keeping skills, and we have time to relax and pursue solitary activities. If you are happy with what you are doing, be happy with it and don't make yourself crazy by comparing. If what others are doing is really bugging you a lot, examine your choices and see if you need to make some adjustments somewhere. That's the beauty of homeschooling, right? That you can be flexible and address changing needs in your family, even when those needs are so different from other families. :)

There are a zillion possible labs for biology. You could do a whole lot without a microscope, it will just change what labs skills you develop and what areas you concentrate on in your bio course. Also, microscopes are not all that expensive if you go with a low end one. Have fun planning! :)

Unless she is having medical problems, wait. The baby will never be so easy to care for again!

So deeply not concerned about how anyone wears their hair. Mine is really long and I keep it however I feel like - usually pulled back into a messy drooping half folded over ponytail. Sometimes I get crazy and keep it down or put it into a nice, high ponytail. :P

My understanding is that universities want students to have experience doing hands-on real labs. Harvard says: "...scientists perform experiments, make measurements, and develop theories to explain and predict the phenomena they observe. Such experiments and observations are the essence of science and are a critical part of secondary school as well as college science education." http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/preparing/index.html#science

He nursed until he was about four and a half. I would have preferred child-led weaning but other circumstances made that impossible. He probably would have self-weaned very very soon anyway.

How do you feel about your choice to homeschool? Good. Are you happy you started homeschooling? Yes. Are your children happy to be homeschooled? Mostly. What do you feel is your favorite part of the school day? least favorite? Reading aloud and discussing is my favorite. Least favorite would be towards the end of the day when he is tired and cranky and a small request is met with OMG MOM YOU ARE SO MEEEAAAANNN. What is your favorite part of the school year? least favorite? A few weeks in when things are still fresh but we have settled into a routine. What is your favorite subject to teach? Your children's favorites? His favorite is history. I like anything that gets us talking and exploring. How do you feel inside when you tell people you homeschool? Depends on the context. Anywhere from thrilled to very nervous, depending on if I think they are going to be a jerk about it. This exact moment in time....what are you feeling when you look back on your day (or yesterday if your day hasn't started yet)? Frustrated. We have not yet found our groove this year and I am trying to figure out how to make it all work.

Nurse your child when and where you are safe and comfortable, for as long as you are safe and comfortable. I rarely nursed my child in public when he was older than 2 or 3, but I definitely did in certain stressful situations, especially airports and bus stations, even at 4 years old. Sometimes life hands you a really hard time and the best way to mother a nursling is to nurse them.

I think most university classes would be much improved by engaged, interactive students.

About 6-10 hours Monday through Thursday with some reading and a bit of review on the other three days. It just depends. If we have things like drama class or labs it pushes the day out a lot farther.

We're doing a group lab of 2-4 hours every other week, and an at home lab of about an hour on the off weeks, plus time outside that to complete questions and lab write-ups, for a 36 week school year.

It's totally self-paced. No teacher - just instructions on the screen and a place to immediately use the instructions and try out your new knowledge. It's the best way I have ever found to learn this kind of stuff. :)

I love love love purplemath. Anytime I have been stuck on something (I do LoF before my son) purplemath has rescued me. :)

I don't even know! I plan on using movies we have seen a zillion times and leaving subs off, or maybe even turning on the Spanish subs. If it's a movie we don't already know well, then definitely English subs. :)

Seconding codecademy.com! I really enjoy it.

Watching movies or TV in Spanish. Spanish word games - Scrabble, Hang Man, charades, whatever Have him teach you or other children what he has learned. Emailing someone who knows Spanish in Spanish. Changing his Facebook or cell phone to Spanish (if he has those).

One thing we use sometimes that really helps is writing out the answer in the form of a sentence with a blank, then listing only the relevant information. So the problem might be: Jane has 4 apples. Anne has 10 grapes. John has 16 oranges. If Nelson eats 4 grapes, 3 apples, and 4 oranges, what percentage of John's fruit has he eaten? So your sentence is: Nelson ate ____% of John's fruit. And the relevant facts are: John started with a total of 16 fruits. Nelson ate 4 of John's fruits. Solve! Writing it out is really important. Referring to it again and again grounds the student back into what the problem is asking for and what the relevant facts are. It also gives a place right at the top of the problem to write the completed answer with the correct unites and labeling already in place.

Given that the other family behaved completely like they were going to invite her up to and including getting your address, I would assume the invite was lost in the mail and comfort my child and talk about how things sometimes just suck for no good reason. :(

One place I started was by looking up the grad requirements for public high schools, private high schools, state universities, and prestigious universities. Then altogether I made a plan that would very definitely graduate him from a local public school and if we reach all our (my) hopes and dreams, also get him into Harvard, if he wants to go. Here is what Harvard has to say: http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/preparing/index.html#tothestudent Our local university: http://nau.edu/Admissions/Getting-Started/Requirements/Courses/ I linked those, not because they are anything special, except they are CLEAR about what they require. I really struggled to find clear expectations on university websites! Here is what HSLDA says about high school credits: http://www.hslda.org/highschool/docs/EvaluatingCredits.asp Good luck and have fun! :)

One thing I did find is that many of our DVDs that we already own have a Spanish language track. Check yours - it's very entertaining to watch long-time favorites in Spanish! :)

I'd like to be able to watch Netflix TV in Spanish to support our Spanish curriculum. Anyone know how to change the audio settings? I found where I think it should be, but I haven't yet found any movies that actually have Spanish as a choice. Is there a way to search for that? Thanks!

I think I might do that if I could get away with it. I feel like my son is pretty young for his age in non-academic areas. In academics he is way ahead or on target. But in four years, even though his academics will be fine will he really be ready to take on college life? Or any adult life? Scary! As the mom of a very young 14 year old, I am always going to err on the side of going slower and giving them more time to be kids. Growing up comes fast enough!