We are pulling our two oldest kids out of a fantastic public Montessori school next year. It's a little sad for me to pull them out of such a great school, but we have realized that we want six years of homeschooling before college rather than just the four years of high school that we had been planning on. They will be in 7th and 8th grades next year. They'll have the same curriculum except for math and science. Besides the age difference, there's also the fact that the older one is STEM-obsessed. The younger is artsy and language-focused. Here's the plan for the younger one: Greek: Athenaze (already well into it with afterschooling) Latin: Wheelock Mechanics: Fix It! (starting with Nose Tree to make sure that we fill any gaps) Writing: IEW B Math: AoPS Prealgebra. We're pulling our current 6th grader out of public school at spring break and starting prealgebra then. If this program doesn't work for her, we'll have time to find something else before August. Science: Apologia Physical Science? not totally sure Logic: I don't know what we'll use. They haven't gotten any of this at school, so we'll be starting from scratch. Lit/History/Religion: We're planning to do a three-year cycle instead of the typical four-year cycle. We want to do classical education not just as a method but as a focus of content, so we'll spend each Fall semester on the ancient world. In the Spring semesters we'll cycle through medeival, early modern, and modern/American. My husband and I are both classicists, so we're going to do this without a formal curriculum. We'll use great books and narrative histories like Human Odyssey, SWB's History of the X World, and selections from college textbooks. Here's the rough draft of our plan for next year: Fall (classical) themes foundational narratives Plutarch’s Lives (philosophy via history/exempla) philosophy primer (Plato) Hesiod, Theogony Homer, Odyssey Homer, Iliad Herodotus 1.1–92 (East/West Conflict, Croesus) Livy, Book 1 Plutarch, Life of Lycurgus, Life of Numa Pompilius Plato, Crito (Christian) OT/NT books Genesis Exodus 1 & 2 Samuel Nehemiah Matthew Spring (medieval) (medieval) Song of Roland Beowulf Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Monmouth, History of the Kings of Britain

We are pulling our two oldest kids out of a fantastic public Montessori school next year. It's a little sad for me to pull them out of such a great school, but we have realized that we want six years of homeschooling before college rather than just the four years of high school that we had been planning on. They will be in 7th and 8th grades next year. They'll have the same curriculum except for math and science. Besides the age difference, there's also the fact that the older one STEM-obsessed. The younger is artsy and language-focused. Here's the plan for the oldest: Greek: Athenaze (already well into it with afterschooling) Latin: Wheelock Mechanics: Fix It! (starting with Nose Tree to make sure that we fill any gaps) Writing: IEW B Math: AoPS Intro Series as primary curriculum, LoF and Khan Academy as desired/needed. I think she'll get through a lot of math when she's working at her own pace. Science: Apologia Biology and Marine Biology. She is obsessed with marine biology and wants to do science year-round, so we'll do both of these books and use library resources. We're also going to join our local aquarium again after taking a few years off. Logic: I don't know what we'll use. They haven't gotten any of this at school, so we'll be starting from scratch. Lit/History/Religion: We're planning to do a three-year cycle instead of the typical four-year cycle. We want to do classical education not just as a method but as a focus of content, so we'll spend each Fall semester on the ancient world. In the Spring semesters we'll cycle through medeival, early modern, and modern/American. My husband and I are both classicists, so we're going to do this without a formal curriculum. We'll use great books and narrative histories like Human Odyssey, SWB's History of the X World, and selections from college textbooks. Here's the rough draft of our plan for next year: Fall (classical) themes foundational narratives Plutarch’s Lives (philosophy via history/exempla) philosophy primer (Plato) Hesiod, Theogony Homer, Odyssey Homer, Iliad Herodotus 1.1–92 (East/West Conflict, Croesus) Livy, Book 1 Plutarch, Life of Lycurgus, Life of Numa Pompilius Plato, Crito (Christian) OT/NT books Genesis Exodus 1 & 2 Samuel Nehemiah Matthew Spring (medieval) (medieval) Song of Roland Beowulf Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Monmouth, History of the Kings of Britain

Math U See sounds like what she needs, but I've never looked through the books in person. It might be helpful to have something arranged by topic as we to fill in some gaps. C-rods were the thing that got us through first grade! That sounds like a good plan. It would get her back on track but still give her plenty of time to run around outside in the afternoons and me plenty of time to work. It would also allow us to set a positive tone as we began homeschooling. The idea of homeschooling is beginning to feel less overwhelming. Thank you!

We homeschooled when our older kids were little but have been sending them to a public Montessori school since 2015. Now we're thinking about bringing #2 (6th grade) back home midyear. She is intelligent but lazy. She does well with literature, creative writing, and history. She has a knack for languages. She has performed above grade level in math up until now but is starting to struggle as it gets more complicated because she doesn't really understand what's going on. Please give me curriculum suggestions! I have six kids and work from home teaching online, so I'm flexible but busy. We didn't budget for homeschooling and are recovering from major medical bills, so inexpensive would be great. Next year we can plan ahead and have more to spend. Here's what I think we need: 1. My husband and I are classicists, so a lot of our homeschooling time would be used to speed up her Greek (Athenaze) and start Latin (probably Wheelock with a lot of supplementation). 2. A grammar curriculum with quick and simple lessons 3. A reading-heavy history text 4. A science curriculum with clear goals and measurable outcomes that will get the job done without busy work 5. A math book that has clear explanations (bonus points for lessons that use manipulatives) and a lot of repetition 6. Something for English literature and maybe creative writing Thank you!

I remember hating Lifepacs and Saxon math. I also remember trying to convince my mom that the kids from the homeschool group were weird. My homeschooling experience was not great. I loved being done by lunchtime every day and finishing the year in March.

When my kids are older, the benefits of having a pool may outweigh the drawbacks. For now, there's no way I'd buy a house with a pool. Our neighborhood pool is just under a mile away. We all enjoy walking through the neighborhood and being with friends and neighbors once we're there. It's great that I don't have to take care of it or deal with broken pipes, pumps, etc.

Maybe you could try making a list of things that DD can always help with. Making coffee and feeding the cat can go on the list. If she wants to be helpful, she can start working her way down the list. I understand why you feel frustrated, especially since you've talked about this before.

In a lot of ways I understand the sentiment. I'm home with my kids all the time, but I'm sure it would be a shock to have the kids in school seven hours a day during the year and then home 24/7 for the summer. The big problem here is that it was said in front of the kids. It's one thing for moms to vent and bond over coffee while the kids run around in the yard. It's another thing to say it to the kids directly.

I voted yes, but I wouldn't do it for a team sport. My kids are missing half of their swim meets this summer. In this case it doesn't really matter to anyone else if my kids are there. My kids are young and just learned to swim this summer, so they're not contributing points or participating in relays.

I second the Zappos recommendation. You can order several for her to try on without having to pay for shipping. I order a lot of my wide shoes there. I usually order my kids' shoes there also.

I thought this, too. Several of the PS around here told the parents last week that they would not be taking attendance or planning activities this week. They had been watching movies and having parties for two weeks already, so I guess they were out of time-wasting activities.

I think that you can let her know the basic reason without going into details. "X's dad is not safe for you to be around. We know this because we can read about it on a website published by the police (or newspaper archives or whatever). It is not okay for you to talk about this with X. It would make her feel uncomfortable and sad. This does not mean that X is a bad person or unsafe, but it means that you should never, under any circumstances, even in an emergency, go onto their property or near X's dad." If she presses for more information, give her as much as you think would be helpful. Beyond that, just say that it's a grown-up issue that you will talk about when she's older.

The other moms and kids will appreciate it if you keep the sick child out. Nobody wants to swim in someone other person's snot. The child will probably recover more quickly with rest and light activity rather than swim practice.

I would, especially if her parents aren't very religious. It's your responsibility to raise her as a Christian even if her parents aren't really contributing. We send just cards for our godchildren's birthdays and gifts on their baptismal anniversaries. Our godchildren are still young, so it's easy to find things like Tomie dePaola books that are both fun and religious. As they get older we may start to send something small and fun on their birthdays and something more serious and religious for baptismal anniversaries.