Thank you! I hadn't heard of Dos or Hanabi. Those look fun; I'm going to put them on our list to get (whether to take or to enjoy before/after ? ) I'll need to organize a few game nights where we play all the games back to back and vote on what we want to bring with us ?

And thank you to Kareni for making this post!!!!

I’m so grateful for all these responses!!! I can’t wait to comb through them later and take notes/look them up. We have many of these games but some are new to me—we’re always on the lookout for new games!

Oh my goodness, you’re so kind!! Thanks for doing that and for the great suggestions!!

One we will most likely take is Qwixx… We all really enjoy that one and it doesn't take up much space! During the summer, we also enjoyed both King and Queen Domino... but I don't think we will want to carry those. I'm sure we will also take a few decks of cards! Do you have any other suggestions for games that are not space-consuming?

That is good to know, thank you!!

We've had conversations about which game(s) we should take! We have both of those--both great options for not taking up much space!

I hadn't heard of Monarch and watched the intro video -- I love the all-in-one-ness of it! Will check out the other you mentioned as well. Thank you!

Oh!! I looked too quickly and didn't scan down to see the primary source pages. Makes sense now--thanks! Thanks for your comments re: TT as well!

I opened an account and have been exploring this... I am wondering how to fill in the gaps of information... I see the power point and the lesson plan, but is there a place that I'm missing that fills in the details?

Thank you for all these specific suggestions!! I love that; I need things spelled out for me so this is very helpful ? I will look up all of these! I've seen Teaching Textbooks suggested a few times now (also in my chat board post) -- you mention going for a different system, using TT as a last resort... I know nothing about TT so am curious your reasoning? What is ST Math? It probably would've been helpful if I'd mentioned math levels..... Math-wise, we'll be teaching: Precalculus (8th grader); Algebra 1 (6th grader); Pre-Algebra (5th grader); and (if we were to stay at our current school next year) Saxon Math 5/4 (2nd grader) Is ST Math good for the younger 3? Our boys do Wordly Wise at school so that would be familiar (I like familiar ? ). I will have to see if there is an online option for that.... Those history options look excellent. I wonder about needing more flexibility/not being able to commit to live classes... especially w/ time zones in mind. I'll look at the website a little more to see when the classes are...

Thank you so much!! Teaching Textbooks online -- I will look at this!! Exactly!! Staying semi up on their stuff is the goal.... I haven't homeschooled before but I do a lot with them supporting their school work.... I have a feeling it'll take the beginning part of the trip to get a good flow (not doing too much/little)!

Thank you!! Purely pleasure...to disconnect w/ our crazy lives... to bond as a family... experience different cultures... We are excited! and overwhelmed. ? I love this idea. Was thinking of starting a family blog that we take turns writing in... Would be a good way to assure the grandparents back home that we are okay ? Am buying kindles all around for reading on the planes, trains, etc.... Can we access our library system back home while abroad? Hoping so... Will need to double check that, I suppose.... This is helpful! alcumus -- is that aops? We are in a brick & mortar private school and I'm hoping they all can keep up enough to continue on their progression in math... Aops looks great... They all really love math. Our next-year-8th grader will be in precalculus (while we're gone) which feels so serious! I am excited to know that there are online options that should be able to help them move forward. Does alcumus (aops?) always meet for live teaching sessions? That's what I'm gathering from looking at the website. I really like the idea of a once a week live class but wonder about it being too restrictive?

AOPS = Art of Problem Solving? This looks great. What does BA online mean?

Thank you all for the responses!! I am taking notes and will look at all of these!!

online curriculum to do while travelling? We will be travelling for one year and will be carrying laptops and kindles with us but don't want to carry math textbooks, etc. with us. Our kids will be in grades 8, 6, 5, and 2. We will be on five continents (skipping Antarctica and not counting the U.S., where we live) and believe the experience in and of itself will be a large part of their education for the year but we would also like them to keep up in a few subjects... math, in order to keep skills sharp... writing/reading... what else? History seems like an obvious subject to hit on... I don't feel the need to keep up with science (or should I?)… But I am not really sure how to approach it all. Khan Academy seems like it could be a good idea for our oldest.... maybe for all of them in math? What would you guys do?

online curriculum to do while travelling? We will be travelling for one year and will be carrying laptops and kindles with us but don't want to carry math textbooks, etc. with us. Our kids will be in grades 8, 6, 5, and 2. We will be on five continents (skipping Antarctica and not counting the U.S., where we live) and believe the experience in and of itself will be a large part of their education for the year but we would also like them to keep up in a few subjects... math, in order to keep skills sharp... writing/reading... what else? History seems like an obvious subject to hit on... I don't feel the need to keep up with science (or should I?)… But I am not really sure how to approach it all. Khan Academy seems like it could be a good idea for our oldest.... maybe for all of them in math? What would you guys do?

Ah, I hadn't realized that! Thanks for the clarification!

I was going to say the same thing — our oldest had MRSA misdiagnosed as impetigo when he was 2 years old... It took about four months before it was diagnosed accurately. The bactoban seemed to help temporarily but it never kicked it entirely. Once it was accurately diagnosed and we went through the children’s hospital protocol (including the rest of us in the house being treated with the nose antibiotics) it went away and didn’t come back.

An older mom recommended this (Soft Scrub) to me and I haven’t gone back! We have four baseball players—white pants are the worst. I squirt some on and rub it around and let it sit for a bit and then put it through the wash with oxyclean and detergent.

Homemade vanilla?

I don't know Lexi at all, but imagine if her child plays those sports competitively, she (the child) must really enjoy them. If she isn't able to play for a full season, I can imagine that would be very sad for the little girl. I'm making some assumptions just based on my own boys' love for sports. I don't care about sports in the slightest but I know if any of my (four) boys had to be out for a season they would be very disappointed (even our younger two, 8 and 6 years old). I'm assuming that's all that Lexi meant!

OP: I read your first paragraph and thought, "Actuary!" My husband is an actuary (FCAS); he started in 2005 and worked quickly through his exams (those are brutal) and other requirements and earned his designation in 2009. He was very focused and methodical in his approach; he studied very hard and efficiently and was successful.... He couldn't have done it any quicker. Most people take longer than that... some even up to 15 years... He would plan a study schedule at the start of a study season and try the best he could to stick to it. It got tiresome for me but it was good he was able to put his mind to it and get through it. He loves the industry... He finds it fascinating and dynamic and it suits him very well. He works at one of the large P&C insurance companies and while at times the hours can be longer, he typically works 45-ish hours per week. I think his hours are definitely on the lower end of what is typical around here for corporate jobs. He makes it work to be able to coach a couple of our boys' sports teams... He's almost always home for dinner... He can work from home when he needs to... He can always work out being at school conferences, chaperoning field trips, etc. I don't want to mislead; it's definitely a demanding job... But there is a very comfortable amount of flexibility. Times are changing and there are quite a few companies, including his, who do even allow people to work from home full-time. He has known people to move away and stay with the company/work from home so the employee's spouse can accept an out-of-state job opportunity... I think DH feels more productive in the office, but he does work from home a fair amount. He loved how promotions and advancement in his career were self-directed (can't think of a better word...): he would pass a test and get a bonus and his pay would go up. He'd pass another test six months later and he'd receive another bonus/pay raise. It felt very rewarding to him to be able to put in the effort and then immediately feel a reward (it made it feel like all the effort was worth it). For each exam, his company would pay him for 100 study hours. Those hours had to be planned around his workload, but the bosses are typically good about making sure their employees receive the hours. The amount of time recommended to study for any given exam was 100 x the number of hours the exam was. E.g. for a four hour exam, the recommended time to put into studying was 400 hours. He seemed to make really good use of his time (I'd probably have a bit more daydreaming in there had it been me... :-) ) and didn't need quite that much, but that was the general rule of thumb that I remember. The pass rate is pretty low (back then I seem to remember it typically hovering around 20%) so they are very difficult.... But someone with your mathy/analytical background would probably do really well and similarly fly through them. (4-5 years of taking tests is hardly flying....but it's all relative!) I'd disagree with the above poster's comment about low pay to start out, but I suppose that is relative as well! DH has told me that students (those still taking tests) start out at the company (1 exam required to be hired) at (base) $70K/year. When someone passes an exam (or two) in a year (sometimes people try for more but often aren't successful so it's not encouraged or usually even allowed), the person receives a bonus for each pass, and the person's salary increases as well. And there's an end-of-year bonus in addition. I sold two childhood friends on becoming actuaries:-)... They both went the SOA route and also love their work. They are both in consulting (different companies from one another) and have longer hours than DH (consulting is notorious for being long hours) but it's cyclical (DH's longer hours are cyclical as well, but I think the long hours are longer in consulting). I'd be happy to answer any questions (or try!)... I could always ask DH as well. Best wishes to you! I feel a little exposed so might delete later!!

That is very obnoxious!

Our oldest had recurring staph diaper infections and it turned out to be MRSA! We followed the children’s hospital protocol for treating it (which was pretty time-consuming and overwhelming!) and it went away and never came back! Has she been tested for which type of staph?