SO much to do today, but I don't feel good. At All. I have a feeling the only thing that's getting done today is driving 5 minutes to Target to get toilet paper. We are down to less than 1 roll in the house. :ohmy:

My DS is almost 10 and he is into writing songs. I am so NOT a writer of anything, so I have no idea how to direct him on this. I REALLY want to encourage him, but the only thing I've come up with is getting him started with writing poetry. What's out there for his age?

How about Biblioplan?

I have been known to donate homeschool books to Goodwill.

I used to get migraines with the flashy aura - once I had the aura, sometimes I would have pain, sometimes not. As soon as I get the aura, I take Tylenol and drink some strong coffee. What helps me - eating gluten-free. I discovered this quite by accident. Before I started eating gluten-free, I would get maybe 4 migraines a month. Now, in the 2 years I've been eating gluten-free, I've had 5 migraines - 2 of which were the day after I ate something that wasn't gluten-free. I don't think gluten causes all migraines, but getting rid of it is what has helped me. I do still get frequent allergy headaches. If I could get rid of those, that would be great!

We don't usually start new levels in the fall. We just keep going whenever we finish one thing. Math - currently doing Beast Academy level 4 History and Geography - Biblioplan Year 3 Writing - currently working on IEW SWI-A, not sure what he'll do when he finishes that one Grammar - nothing right now - maybe Easy Grammar Science - Elemental Science Biology for the Logic Stage

I'd like to join, please.

I have an idea that I'd like to implement, but I'm not exactly sure how. Here's what I'm thinking: My kids are 2nd and 4th grade and I have great lists of literature. But I was wondering if Literature Task Cards exist? I've searched and searched, but there are a zillion resources and I'm not exactly sure if they are what I want. On Teachers Pay Teachers, there are some amazing things, but so many of them! I would like to have Task Cards where my kids could have 1 card for say, the beginning of a book, with the author and Intro types of things. And then some Task Cards for different activities for the books - character list, plot summary, etc - that could be used for any book. I don't want anything too in-depth, just something that is somewhat independent. I love discussing the books, but with 3 kids, I sometimes need them to have more independent things. I have a Lapbook set that has some generic Lapbook elements that can be used for any book. So maybe I need to make these Task Cards myself? I'd love any input, even if it's that this is a ridiculous idea!

See the above post I quoted. It's hard to find. Took me FOREVER.

I love the book lists in Reading Roadmaps by the Center for Lit. It has book lists from K-12.

Yes, EM's Botany is scheduled in with Quark. But you have to get the Notebooking Quark book, which is here: http://www.lulu.com/shop/kathy-jo-devore-and-ernest-devore/quark-chronicles-botany-notebooking/ebook/product-21878776.html When you get to that page, click on the tiny Preview under the book cover and a Preview of the book will open!

Great advice, everyone. Thank you so much!!!

I have 3 kids - ages 9 1/2, 8, and 5 1/2. The 5 year old isn't doing a lot yet as far as formal school goes. I lean WAY towards a Charlotte Mason approach. My oldest is OK with that, but my 8 year old is not. She struggles greatly with anxiety/OCD and she LOVES workbooks. She wants to have a list of which pages in which books to do. I am finally realizing that I have been spending an inordinate amount of effort trying to combine the 2 oldest ones and it's just not working. I don't want to completely do different history and science with them, but I have got to figure out a better way. We are pretty good with Math - everyone has a math curriculum that is working for them (knock on wood, quick!). But for example, right now, for DS9, we are doing BF Early American History (Intermediate) and I thought DD8 would listen in, but she is not interested AT. ALL. DS9 is also doing BFSU, vol 2 and again, I thought DD8 would join in, but nope. And to add to the issue, all 3 kids are fairly advanced for their ages. Both DDs are adopted from China, so I have 3 genetically different kids and I seriously cannot figure out how to make this work. I would love any insights anyone can share so I don't lose my mind! Thank you!

When we used ToG, we pretty much always used the Primary History and Literature resources. I only used the alternate ones if the primary ones weren't available at the library. For everything else, I just picked what I wanted to do. Some weeks we did hands-on projects, some weeks we only read the bare minimum history selection. (We only used ToG at the Grammar levels).

I have the HL-L2380DW and so far, I am pretty happy with it. My only issue is that it doesn't copy 2-sided. I'm sure it says that in the description of it, but I must not have seen it. I am thrilled with the print quality, though.

BA is a huge hit with my oldest, my next kid, not so much! I have the entire Island level of MCT, but we haven't done much of it. I need to pull it back out and keep at it.

Last year, I tested my 2 oldest kids with the Iowa test and I used the one for their grade level. They both scored in the 99th percentile on everything. I'm in VA, and the testing requirement is that the composite score has to be in or above the 4th stanine. This year, I'm planning on giving them the test for the grade level above where they currently would be in school. I'm confident they will still score well above the requirement. But I guess what I'm wondering is will the school district be concerned if their scores go below last year's score. Or maybe they just check each year to see if the score is above the cutoff and don't compare them to the previous years. Any input? Thank you!

I have so many ...... Every closet door in my house must be closed in order for me to sleep. All the way closed. Other doors can be open, but there are monsters in closets, you know!!! I have supersonic hearing. I can hear weird, random things that other people can't and the noises drive me insane. I can't stand for anyone to touch my face. My kids are always trying to put their fingers in my face and I can't stand it. No turtlenecks or even t-shirts with a regular crew neck. It has to be a v-neck. Volume on the radio and TV have to be on a number that ends in 0 or 5.

I currently have a 4th and 2nd grader. I just ordered the Intermediate one. I figure my younger one will do some of the reading, but she won't do as much writing.

You said this much better than I did! This is exactly why I am trying to not be a curriculum hopper.

I am a hopeless curriculum changer. I am really trying to change this. I read something recently about a homeschooling family where the mom builds in review weeks into their schedule. They do school for 6 weeks, then take a week off. During that week, is when the mom looks at goals, looks at any changes that need to be made, etc. She doesn't change any curriculum until one of these weeks so that she has a chance to really research it and make sure it's the right decision. And so that she's not changing something every other week. For me, I'm a grass-is-always-greener person. Always have been, probably always will be. I am actively trying to work on it, though. For homeschooling, that means that I need to stick with a curriculum unless there are serious issues. I am not changing anything any more for silly reasons.

I have kids in K, 2nd, and 4th grades. We haven't done any formal penmanship - maybe a little here and there, but we've never stuck with anything. I'd rather them just go ahead and learn Cursive. Which levels should they start with?

My DS is taking the EXPLORE test for the first time next Saturday. I'm nervous for him!!!

Here's a site that will list lots of resources near them: http://abbalist.org/service-listings I'm in Virginia Beach, but I don't know much about Chesapeake. I'll ask around and if I come up with anything, I'll let you know.

My word for 2016 is LESS. Less clutter. Less of me (pounds) Less screens Just LESS.