We went white water rafting with our teens this year and they loved it!

This will be my first time homeschooling an 8th grader, my older two went to PS in 8th. Plans so far: Math - Derek Owens Algebra 1 Spelling - finish Apples and Pears, then maybe Megawords Writing - IEW Following Narnia plus writing across curriculum Grammar - Analytical Grammar Season 2 Literature- Mosdos Press Gold Science - Science Mom Physics History- A Story of US Concise Edition + projects I am creating Arts - Piano, choir classes, beginning band classes, theater, passion projects (sewing, crochet, art projects of hew own design)

Science Mom Bio 1&2 were a huge hit for my 7th grader! We will do Physics with her next year and my rising 5th grader will do her Earth Science. Math With Confidence (pilot testing) has continued to be a great fit for us.

She will probably do fine going to MWC 2 without finishing MM1 or doing any extra work this summer, it's pretty gentle at the beginning of the year, quite a bit of review. If you want to add something more, maybe a kumon workbook?

My teens will play with these magnets during long road trips: https://a.co/d/h64gaES

My DD17 was diagnosed with POTS/dysautonomia earlier this year. I have found Dr. Gupta's youtube videos about POTS helpful and his website as well. https://www.potsspecialist.com/ I don't know what your DD's symptoms are, but our cardiologist was quick to get her on some prescription medications that have helped with some of her symptoms (fainting specifically).

ELA- Spelling - AAS finish level 4 and begin level 5 Literature - Mosdos Press Coral Grammar - Winston Grammar Writing - Hake Writing 5 maybe or IEW or something else Math - Math With Confidence 5 (pilot testing) Science - Science Mom Earth Science History - Hakim's A History of US conscience edition Other - choir classes, acting classes, probably a cooking class, archery and whatever else we can fit in our schedule 😉

You could stay in hotel circle and be pretty close to beach, sea world, the zoo and Old Town. The wild animal park is a little further out. Check out the museums and gardens in Balboa Park next to the zoo. There is also the Birch Aquarium. You could go to Coronado Island, we like to walk around that area. There is Cabrillo National Monument, you can see the tide pools there if you time it right.

They announced recently that they are not doing an Algebra 1 class this coming year because they did not have enough interest. They may in the future, but it's not a guarantee. So you may want to take that into consideration. That said, I have not used their math courses, but we are big fans of their science classes and will continue using them for as long as we can.

They have a system for underlying and labeling parts of speech. They also have parts of speech cards that you can use to model the sentence, but we just set them out to reference.

We've been working through Winston Grammar this year and enjoying it, no diagrams.

We have used Noodle Tools for research reports. It does have a digital notecard feature that I like. My DD finds it helpful for creating a good annotated bibliography. We pay $15 for a one-year license.

Ivy Kids Kits?

I think my kids enjoyed the LL workbooks better. They are colorful and usually pretty short and if i remember correctly, one day a week is a game or puzzle. The Mosdos workbook seems more traditional elementary school classroomish if that makes sense. We do not do everything in the Mosdos workbooks. For example, we answer questions orally instead of in writing. We did do all the workbook pages in LL because it was also our grammar.

We are using Mosdos this year for the first time with my 4th and 7th graders after having used Lightning Lit for quite a while. I really like both programs and ultimately, I think you will need to decide what is most important to you. Lightning Lit includes grammar in the workbook and my kids enjoyed the book selections. I never used their writing portion because I needed more hand-holhing for writing instruction. Mosdos uses short stories rather than novels, which has been a nice change of pace for us. Having been through LL a few times with my older kids, and reading many of the novels aloud, we were growing tired of hearing the same stories (although many of the storieshave become favoritesof ours). My kids have liked most of the Mosdos short stories they've read, although not all. I like the vocabulary pages in the workbook and have used some of their writing prompts but we have added in separate grammar programs. We will continue with Mosdos next year. I personally feel like Mosdos is less time consuming, although I have to take into account that my 7th grader is almost completely independent with it whereas we were using LL when they were younger and needed more help. If I were combining two kids close in age, I would probably pick LL and read and discuss the books together and do the workbook separate if needed.

I have never looked at BJU, so I don't know if this compares at all, but my 7th grader is really enjoying Science Mom biology this year. She is putting out a middle school physics course next year. They are video lessons (they were live, now recorded) PDF worksheets that are filled out during the lesson, quizzes and semester exams. My daughter finds the lessons really fun and engaging and she is retaining a lot. I've been very pleased with it. ETA: it's completely secular.

My DD is working through DO PA this year. She finished Singapore 6 last year and is having no trouble with DO. Older DS went from MM 6 to DO PA and did well although he often got distracted by being on the computer so I had to put some restrictions in place with him. He still did well with PA. After his 7th grade year, he went to school for 8th and did very well in Algebra.

My DS really likes the shirts from Old Navy. They are very soft.

Depending on the type of putty, it may dissolve with rubbing alcohol. I have used that successfully with removing thinking putty and fart putty. We no longer have putty in our house 😂

We're using Science Mom biology for my 7th grader this year, she really likes it.

Our orthodontist gives every new braces patient a sonicare toothbrush because he really feels it helps keep their teeth clean, obviously they roll the cost of the toothbrush into the cost of treatment. He also recommends that if they can't reasonably brush after lunch they at least rinse and chew sugar-free gum like trident. We take our kids to the dentist 3x a year when they have braces (our insurance covers this), and I think that really helps keep their teeth clean and healthy. Also, make sure she knows how to floss with braces. Yes, it's time consuming, but it really helps. If our orthodontist notices thay aren't brushing well, they are very straightforward with them telling them that they need to brush better/longer/more frequently. ETA- these floss threaders are super helpful - DenTek Floss Threaders | For Braces, Bridges, and Implants | 50 Count (Pack of 6) https://a.co/d/6pStQh3

Thanks, I'll ask for that when I talk to the cardiologist on Monday.

Thank you, I will talk to her doctor about POTS and try to have her follow the protocols anyway. I did get her some compression socks and electrolyte drink mixes, I'll see if she's been using them.

Thank you, I will talk to her about hydrating. I know she's not drinking massive amounts.

My DD16 has fainted 9 times in the last month. We went to urgent care about two weeks ago. They did bloodwork, an EKG, and a chest x-ray. Everything came back normal. We had a follow up call with her pediatrician who referred us to a pediatric cardiologist. I have a phone visit with him next Monday. What questions should I ask? Any other tests you recommend asking for? A bit of background, DD has fainted a few times prior to this, starting around age 11, but only once a year or so. I had mentioned this to her pediatrician and she felt it was nothing to worry about as long as she didn't faint while actively exercising. Last December she did faint while running around with her friends, so I brought her in to see her doctor. They did bloodwork and an EKG and said everything looked fine (checked iron levels, blood glucose, thyroid, etc.). She hadn't fainted again until September. Most times she has fainted during band (she stands at her instrument, doesn't march). But she doesn't always faint while just standing, once she was pushing her equipment off the field, once loading it on the truck. Today she fainted while giving a presentation in class. I have talked to her about not locking her knees, keeping hydrated, eating regularly and she says she's doing all of that. I just don't know what else to do for her and I'm worried she is going to hurt herself one of these times. Any advice?