Maybe he might enjoy the Horrible Science series. Ray from Horriblebooks.com sells a box set - my dd loves them. http://www.horriblebooks.com/horriblebooklist.htm

Rainbow resourses sells Phonetic Zoo.

I concur - don't leave the troop. Instead, from now on maybe have a pre-clean up pep-talk or something. Gather the girls in a circle and talk for a minute about how fun their project was or what they learned from the activity they completed. Then have a saying - like the Girl Scouts say something like "A Girl Scout always leaves a space cleaner than she found it!" Have them say it as a group and then direct them to clean - or assign tasks: Sally has the broom, Susie holds the waste basket, while Kelly picks up scraps, etc. That way, every girl will be very clear on what they need to be doing at that time during the meeting, and nobody can claim to be caught off guard or startled. Maybe you could also have an older girl from a different group join your meeting as a helper? I'm not familiar with Heritage Girls and how the groups are set up - but I've seen them do this frequently in Girl Scouts. I hope everything works out for you!

We got my Dad a BÄ“m Bluetooth speaker for Christmas. He's very hard of hearing, and he loves it. He said it really makes a difference and he can watch movies on his tablet without difficulty now. http://www.bemwireless.com It's the little square one listed as #2 on the website above. We paid $25 for it at Costco. I figured it wouldn't be much good, but it really is loud and clear. He's not very tech savvy either, and he had no trouble getting it set up.

Right Start Math was a big fail for us. FLL, and WWE were things I bought brand new to homeschooling - they didn't work for us. Sequential Spelling, Check the Deck, ETC online... Those are the few that I can think of right off the bat.

We're going to LEGOLAND in May. We took our oldest when she was about 4 - we went during off season, and most of the park was closed down. The water park wasn't built yet back then. This time we're going mainly for the water park. We're bringing the travel trailer and staying off property, and plan to do at least 2 days at LEGO. One day for the rides, and one day for the water park. We're still deciding if we want to go to San Diego zoo, or just hang out at the beach the rest of the week. Have a fun trip! :001_smile:

I like my name. However, you'd be astonished at how many people are not only unable to spell it, but they aren't even aware that it's a season. I even had one fella argue with me and inform me that there are only 4 seasons: summer, winter, fall and spring. He was very excited to inform me that autumn is NOT a season - all this time, I thought.... :crying:

Mine have also watched them several times, and they like to do the little experiments at the end. So, for us, the price is definitely worth it. Especially after our last trip to Disneyland - the kids told me all about the rides we were on and what they learned about them from the videos.

I concur! We love the Disney Imagineering videos here! :-)

Do you have a Children's hospital close by? They may appreciate books for long term stay wings.

My son also finished the prep books at lightening speed. He started book 1 this past fall, just after turning 4. He forms his letters pretty well and does fine with pen grip. We work slowly, and he's doing great with it. You might try using a plastic cover and letting him write in colored dry eraser if that's what he enjoys. Then just remove and wipe. You could take some snapshots of some of the pages to mark his progress.

Wide Awake by Katy Perry

We did the USA edition. My kids didn't really pay them any mind - they came in the mail, and they tossed them into a box, where they still sit, mostly untouched. Every month, you receive 2 states. It's basically a small activity book; coloring pages, a state history timeline, crossword puzzles, etc. Each state also comes with a pop out paper thing to build. Sorry, it's early, and I can think how better to explain. I think NY came with a taxi cab. You pop out the parts and make a 3D paper model of a cab. My kids never touched them. They did some of the activities in the books, but we're mostly uninterested. The books are nicely done - colorful, with cute activities. We just didn't enjoy it as much as the world edition, and didn't continue our subscription when it was time to renew. The only part that my kids did like we're the postcards that came with each state - I didn't think that was worth the price.

Those are so great! My kids love doing Friday free write - we just do it on Mondays for some reason. :-)

My daughter read is series and really enjoyed them: http://www.scholastic.com/isurvived/

Ouch - driving across Texas is a seriously long and exhausting trip! I've had the pleasure of doing it about a dozen times, thanks to the military. I will say that the Grand Canyon, and many other areas of the southwest, are gorgeous. However, that seems like a physically exhausting trip. I plan our trips out so we're traveling about 300 miles per day when I'm hauling our travel trailer. That allows us a relaxing trip with plenty of time to do things during the day along our route. The little Mom & Pop camper parks along the highways in the SW are usually very quaint, too. The kids love having that extra time every day to ride bikes, play ball, and meet people around the campgrounds. I don't think our trips would be nearly as fun if we didn't allow for that relaxed time. I hope you all have an enjoyable time, wherever you decide to roam! :-)

Green smoothies - I never use dairy in mine. You can find tons of recipes with a google search.

We have all of them but geography, I guess I'll have to send in an order for those soon! My dd9 loves all of the Horrible series. Science is her favorite - we got the box set, and she's read them all more than once. I don't assign them as school, she just enjoys reading them for fun - the facts stick, and she often wanders around the house to read everyone snippets that she found interesting. I always order from Ray at Horriblebooks.com

:grouphug: Maybe you can find someone that does equine therapy in your area. They have great programs that help people with emotional growth and confidence building. I'm not sure, but some may do work specific to adult children of alcoholics.

We just purchased all of the Math books from Ray at Horriblebooks.com - they arrived last week.

I'm not sure if she has samples on the full website - I'm on my phone. I bought it when it it first came out, and I needed 2 additional books to complete it. One on Norse Mythology and this one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0547997345?cache=0fcef413a074069f22a2a06dc0b1d59d&pi=SY200_QL40#ref=mp_s_a_1_2&qid=1391868124&sr=8-2 My dd had fun working through it.

Build Your Library has one: http://buildyourlibrary.com/new-unit-study-the-hobbit/

I order some books in late December that were shipped Priority Mail, and noted as recieved by USPS on 2 Jan. I didn't receive them until this week. Right now I'm waiting on a box from Horrible Books. I watched the box sit for over a week before it was sorted in Dallas (Ray ships from San Diego, and I live in El Paso). The box went through the El Paso sorting facility today and has left the area. After reading this thread, I wonder if it's on it's way back to San Diego now.

My husband is absolutely wonderful about helping out around the house. He does the laundry on the weekends, and the dishes every night. He said that his parents used to tell him that they didn't need a dishwasher because he did their dishes for free. He had to hand wash all of the dinner dishes alone every night. When we got married and moved into a home with a dishwasher, he was like a kid with a new toy. I, on the other hand, grew up with a dishwasher and despise unloading it. After all these years, he still does it gladly. On top of all of the chores he gladly helps out with, he's a terrible enabler when it comes to buying curricula. I'd say he's a keeper!

My kids all use MBtP. My 4yo wanted so badly to have his own school work to do like his sisters, so I got him the 4-5 year program this year. He knows his numbers and letter, and does pretty well writing them. We've had so much fun with it though, and I really like that they've provided materials for both kids that are already comfortable writing letters, and those that aren't. Every week has a story book, and a bunch of fun activities to do to accompany the book of the week. We cuddle up and read our book every day, and he just thinks he's such a big deal because he has his own MBtP box to work on like his sisters. :) Last year, I stopped using the program to try out some different things. We did fine; however, work seemed a little more tedious than it did with MBtP. I sat down with my eldest one day and brought up some subjects that she work on the previous year with MBtP, and I was a little surprised to find exactly how accurately she was able to recall all of the concepts and projects that we worked on. The program really does a great job of making things stick - at least with my kids it does. dd10 still has her plants that she worked with in level 7-9 when she learned about water pollution. The program is writing intensive. I can see how that would be problematic with some kids, if writing isn't there thing - my kids have not had any issues with the reading assignments or writing thus far. I would suggest getting just one concept, instead of buying an entire level, to see if it works for you. They have wonderful customer service, and will gladly help you decide which levels would be right for you, if you need. There is also a great Facebook page called Differently Schooled who use Moving Beyond the Page. You'll find lots of families there that use the program on all levels that could answer your questions in greater detail. MBtP website also has a forum section where you could make inquiries as well.