Ds14 and Ds12 have unlimited cell phone access and texting. They occasionally text a friend during lunchtime, but they really don't use their phones until they leave the house for evening activities. If we ever have an issue with cell phones (texting during dinner and playing games while they're supposed to be watching Ds5 have been our biggest problems), they have to trade phones with Dh for a few days. He has a "grandpa" phone without texting and data, so this is a pretty effective punishment.

I've had a few people say things along the lines of "Oh, it makes sense for you to homeschool - you have five kids! It wouldn't be worth it for me to stay home just to teach [only child]." :huh: I would think she meant "active" vs. "busy". I was much more "active" before we started homeschooling, but obviously less busy.

My youngest has autism, so we'll be incorporating some of these into ABA and squeezing the others in here and there. All About Reading: Pre-reading & (hopefully) Level 1 Math-U-See Alpha (we started Primer last month) Handwriting Without Tears K Big Skills for Little Hands workbooks (motor skills) Nancy Larson Science K

We're big Math Mammoth fans too! My middle boys (3rd and 4th graders) are using it for the first time this year after coming out of public school and they're both doing great. We're also using Life of Fred and Singapore Challenging Word Problems, and math is their favorite subject! If you wanted to use either of these, I'd start with LOF Fractions and CWP 4. I'd have her take the MM placement test to be sure, but she'll probably test into MM 5.

We're working hard to remediate my 3rd grader's dyslexia this year, and his other subjects are definitely taking a hit. For science and history, he just joins in with his older brothers, and we aren't doing any "extras". It is very hard to watch him struggle with things that his older brothers find so easy, so I can definitely see where you're coming from. His extracurriculars don't require any homework, apart from piano practice which he does willingly every morning before we start school. He also plays hockey and basketball and does gymnastics. Between the four older boys, we're out of the house every evening for activities, but it's not stressful or tiring for me. I just chat with other moms or bring a book. I wouldn't sign kids up for something that I had to drag them through. If they don't love it, we don't do it.

I would complain loudly, but only to Dh. A few years ago, this would have been incredibly stressful if my youngest was with us, but now I think all the boys would hold up pretty well and make the best of it.

Same here! Ds13 attended his first SI last summer, about two hours away from home. He wanted a bit of an adventure, and loved every minute of it. We're pretty sure that he'll be going back this year. Ds9 (10 in a few weeks) will be in cheerleading and gymnastics camps this summer, and we'll talk about SIs when he's 12 or so.

AoPS Introduction to Algebra - not sure how far he'll go Biology (no idea what to use here) K12 Human Odyssey, Volume 2 Latin Prep 2 (assuming LP1 goes well) WWS 2 Analytical Grammar (over two years) Excellence in Literature – Introduction to Literature This might end up being too much, as he'll be committing more time to both hockey and cello. We'll see how it goes!

All subject to things continuing to work out this year. Math Mammoth (likely 5b-6b) Life of Fred (likely Pre-algebra 1&2) Elemental Science - Earth Science K12 Human Odyssey, Volume 2 Latin Prep 2 Caesar’s English 2 WWS (finish 1, start 2) Lightning Literature 7 No idea for grammar and whatever else I'm missing!

We've changed a lot of things over the course of the year, but the changes I decided to make over Christmas break were: 8th: No changes. :D 6th: Dropped MCT except for vocab. Started Latin Prep. 4th: Dropped MCT except for vocab. Started WWS, LOF Fractions, RS4K Chemistry and Latin Prep. (We gradually dropped a few things he was using over the course of the semester). 3rd: Started RS4K Chemistry and Sonlight Readers 2. I can't get him to read unless it's part of "school". Hoping this does the trick.

My 4th, 6th and 8th graders can spell it. The younger two are advanced readers/spellers, but I would say my 8th grader is about average.

I was an algebra fence straddler this summer (Ds13 tried out Lial's and switched to Jacobs), but I'm about 90% sure that Ds11 will be sticking with AoPS. He'll be going to a private high school, so I'll have to talk to the math department to decide whether it would be better to spend 7th and 8th on algebra and take geometry in 9th, or to move on to geometry in 8th.

This is our fifth Nutcracker, but performances don't start for another week. This year, I have a Fritz/Mouse Commander and a Party Boy/Russian who's serving as the Nutcracker Prince's understudy. I'm thinking about sending sleeping bags with them to the studio. :tongue_smilie:

My kids tease each other by calling each other Howard. Sheldon is definitely the best characters in their eyes.

Thanks! I might just go ahead and order Apples-Physics. At least one of my kids is bound to fall in love with them. :001_smile:

Thanks! Sounds like it will be perfect for my boys. :p

I've just changed my name. I realized shortly after I joined that there was already a Tazzie on the board. :tongue_smilie:

I'm curious about the storyline of Life of Fred - I'm looking at buying one for each of my boys for Christmas. Do you have to start at Apples to get the full story, or can you jump in at any point? Also, are the elementary/intermediate series more fun than Fractions and up? My 4th grader just finished learning long division, but I'm wondering if starting back a little (in Kidneys, maybe?) would be more fun for him.

That is such a strange reaction! I have two boys in ballet right now (9 and 13). Their old studio offered free tuition for boys and practically begged my other boys to join. The current program isn't as desperate for boys, but they're still in demand. I'll just echo the word of caution about teaching dance at home. Bad habits are hard, and sometimes impossible, to break.

I grew up in NYC and I was 10 when this happened. I remember Etan's face being everywhere in the city. It's really amazing that it took this long for someone to be charged.

Mine definitely would. I think my 9 year old would too.

Wednesday is our busiest evening of the week - two piano lessons, two hockey games and two dance classes, so we got an early start on school and my younger boys are already finished! Ds11 just has math left and Ds13 has grammar and writing, but they should be finished before 2. We have to leave the house by 2:30 and won't be home for good until 9:30. Maybe I should take a nap now!

I'm converting one of our two playrooms into a man cave/bar/TV room. It'll "count" as Dh's gift, but it's really for him and the older boys.

For the last four weeks, I've been sending Ds13 and Ds9 to work with Dh on Tuesdays. They have ballet from 1:30-3:30 and their studio is just around the corner from Dh's office, whereas it would be an hour round-trip for me to drop them off. Ds9 works in Dh's office and Ds13 sets up in a spare office down the hall. They get way more work done than I expect them to, go out for lunch with Dh and then get dropped at ballet. So far, it's working really well.

This is us. My older boys get to take over the basement and stay up as late as they want when they have friends staying over. But, they have to "tough it out" the next day if they're tired. They can't skip dance, hockey, piano etc. just because they're tired, and they know they can't get out of their usual responsibilities either.