I'm commenting because I'll be there in October and don't want to forget this post :)

Ditched my charter two days before testing last year. Best decision ever!

This past year we had a commitment on Monday for a couple hours and much of the day on Wednesday. It was the perfect balance for us. Next should be very similar, though we are considering either adding and art class or fencing class one afternoon, but there will be a minimum of 2 days at home each week with nothing on the calendar. For us we like to have 2-3 days with nothing on our calendar. It makes for a very peaceful learning environment, plenty of time to dig deep and get lost in projects, plenty of time for the toddler to be a toddler, plenty of time to bake and cook together, plenty of time to read. Just plenty of time to be us and nuture relationships in our family. But that is us. You may be different. The beauty of not just homeschooling, but of being your own family unit :)

I don't use a library so I have to purchase my books. I am curious if any of these are worth. I am thinking I would like at least one, but which one would be the best choice? Pepi and the Secret Names The Shipwrecked Sailor The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone Seeker of Knowledge TIA :)

Thanks! This has been my thought all day. We are pretty relaxed Sept-May, so a little bit more on the schedule for a few months won't be so bad. Mine is an introvert as well, but he absolutely loved each of his camps last year so much. He really thrived and gained a lot of self-confidence.

I am curious if your kids will be heading to any fantastic summer camps this year? Mine are signed up for a few and are super excited. Each camp fits their interest level perfectly and I am so excited for them. Okay, so today I got word of another excellent summer camp. It fits my 4th grader perfectly. Now I am wondering how many weeks of summer camp is too many? My kids have plenty of downtime all year long. We spend plenty of time at the beach and pool through November. So should I sign him up for another camp? He'd say yes if I asked him! It is this mom who worries about doing too much ;)

Thank you! This is exactly what I was looking for!

My 4th grader is passionate about animals - birds, mammals, ocean. I'd like to gather a list of great books for him to work through next. We've got animal encyclopedia's galore, but they just wet his appetite. I need to put the books on hold at the library because the local library is small and pitiful, so they will need to travel to me from across the county. So...I'd love if you could let me know of any great books I can be on the lookout for!

I have a hefty book budget. It isn't that we have a bad library system as a whole, it's that our system charges for holds of any kind and the branch within a reasonable distance is horrible - super small and terrible selection. I have to use the hold system to get what I want and it gets expensive between that and late fees, so I may as well put the money towards the books I want.

I'm in the same boat. We allow 2 activities/classes per child. There are a lot of potential great friends in these classes, but they are over scheduled and don't have time. My son has a friend across the street and he is never available because between him and his siblings he is never home. It makes me sad for my kids too, but I don't really know what I can do to change. With toddlers too it is hard to be super flexible...

I am gearing up to start SOTW1 with my 4th grader in the next couple weeks here. While we have read all kinds of history over the years, we have never done SOTW before so this will be new to us. I am curious if I really need to add much additional reading material outside of the suggestions in the activity guide. I'd like a variety of picture books, read aloud books, and read alone books. He is a very strong readers. I did plan to add the You Wouldn't Want to Be series and Horribly Histories series. I also have Egyptian Diary & Roman diary on my shelf. If there is anything you'd recommend that I wouldn't find in the guide that I should add - either to read aloud or to read silently - I'd love to know what that is :) TIA

My 9-year-old has always loved fairy tales. I've been considering reading some of the real tales with him soon.

Let's see... Books I have and the library should get us very far. There are lots of book lists out there for the different subjects so I'd research there and get what is available at my library only. We use MOTL & LOF so I am covered through pre-Algebra. If I had to go at this on my own (rather than get the rest of LOF which is the plan) I'd have to do some research, but I am confident I'd be able to figure something out. It really wouldn't be much different than what we do now, I'd just have an issue with math when we hit Algebra.

Thanks!!!

I was going to sit down and match these by chapter but I thought I'd see if someone had already done this and posted it somewhere. Thanks :)

Hi Ellie ~ I've been following the unschooling thread and noticed you were an unschooler when your kids were school age. Today I saw your post in another thread where you listed Monday & Tuesday as 'official school days.' I am curious, as unschooler, what these types of days looked like for you. I really liked the weekly routine you set up. It has really made me think about our similar routines. Thanks!

I've got youngers that will need many of the books I used the first go around. But just a couple weeks ago I went through and purged a TON of books from my shelves. Even books I'd need again in a few years. The epiphany for me was realizing it was far easier for me to head to the library website, request the titles I needed for certain lessons, and stop by and pick them up when they were ready. I can still make sure there is a large variety of non-fiction titles to browse and be inspired by through the library alone. What I did keep was fiction. Lots and lots of picture books. Lots and lots of chapter books. Good reference books that I'd like to have available 24-7. All of our 'friends' that we have gotten to know over the years. Much of what is left I imagine I'll always keep. What I didn't keep was fluff (this is very, very easy for me to toss - if I don't enjoy reading it I toss it - if it is twaddle I toss it). I got rid of majority of our non-fiction (except reference style books & some picture books). I got rid of books that I knew weren't going to be books you pick up when you want to snuggle up and read. I cleared up a lot of space and it felt very good. Of course I plan to fill it up with more of the good picture books & chapter books we love as the months/years go. But I am fairly certain I will leave majority of non-fiction needs to the library. Like someone posted earlier - they can track, shelve, and dust them for me. I'll just let them when I need them :)

Ive been looking for checklists and there are some goodies here. Thanks!

Thank you - I'll check out all the suggestions. Glad to know you enjoy NOEO. I am still considering going this direction, but the more I think about it the more I want to give the resident toddler another 6-months before I add something else to our lineup.

I need to put some good science kits on the shelf for my 4th grader. I know I do not like the Nutshell kits. We were really close to going with NOEO, but I am hesitant because of the Young Scientist Kits and the reviews I've read. I am liking what I see from the Little Professor Science Kits, but not liking the price... So any ideas???

I'd be interested in knowing this as well.

This has been an interesting read. We've been unschoolers for years, and even though I've been considering a change, it looks like we will be continuing down this same past for another year, if not longer. No regrets so far. And just taking each day/week/month/year as it comes :)

Thank you! My son just finished up 39 clues and I stumbled across this and it sounded similar. I'll have to put it on hold for him :)

I don't remember who recommended the book but just wanted to say I just read it and it was great. I'll be passing it onto ds next. Thanks for the great recommendation. If you have others I'd love to hear them :)

Anybody read this one? Looking for books for my ds and stumbled across this.