How exciting! Congratulations!

I love the idea of TOG, but when I try to use it I get terribly overwhelmed! I've had better success with Biblioplan. It has similar elements: 4 year cycle, living books, multi-age, multiple components, discussion. But it is much more straightforward and easy to use. It does have suggested literature, but no discussion guides or question to go with the literature. Biblioplan is not as intense/rigorous at the higher level, so that is a consideration. I don't think my boys could manage the Rhetoric level reading & literature. One of my friends uses it successfully at that level, but her teens love to read. So it depends on what your students need!

Yes, they are local to me so I know they're still in business. They changed their business name to Character Ink, and information on their books can be found at characterinkblog.com. It looks like you have to order by phone or e-mail, but they have samples of their books on the blog. They also have a Facebook page.

I'm not 100% on this, but I think it's $65 for at the door family registration.

The scratch & sniff manure is hilarious! We live outside a small town in an area heavily populated with Amish. They're putting in a new subdivision just down the road, right in the middle of Amish farms (yes, the former owner of the land deliberately did not sell to the Amish, some kind of animosity there!). Someone put a sign up at the edge of the new subd, "Attention home buyers, This is a Manure Spreading Area!" :laugh: Probably won't deter anyone, but so true! This is not a "high-end" area, it's rural. You can build your nice house here, but expect to have buggy traffic, rutted roads, manure on the roads, and bad smells. It's not "quaint", it's just real life here! Off my soap box now. :leaving:

I don't want to quote your whole post for the sake of space, but the entire thing may be the best post I've ever read here, particularly for where I am in this parenting journey. Thank you!

(((hugs))) to you, mommyx4. The year of 12 & 13 for boys is like the "pit of despair" for the mom. I'm on boy #2, maybe seeing a little light at the end of the tunnel, with one more boy to go. oy! And I've been there with the "reading on book on the toilet for an hour", sometimes a timer is just what you need! :laugh: YOU ARE NOT THE ONE TO BLAME! You are working hard to try to figure out how to move forward. And I don't think anyone here would say "just put him in school". He needs you now more than ever, but he is more difficult than ever! Oh the life with teenage boys! I think you should accept what his actions have told you clearly, that he is not able to manage big chunks of time in the way his twin does, and the way you are hoping for! He needs you to walk alongside him and help him to learn how to get there. You will need to do it in an accepting, non-punitive manner, even though it's exasperating! I don't think you need to sit with him all day, but it may be that you need to set small time goals for him, check in with him every hour, set a timer, have him work close by you while you're working with other kids. Expect that he may not be able to manage his whole day or even half his day for quite a while, maybe years! My 13yo ds manages time better than his 15yo brother. I spend way more time working with the 15yo on this! It drives me crazy, but I know what Tibbie says is so, so true - the relationship is more important. I try not to ever use an event where others are counting on my kids' involvement or where there was a specific commitment as a reward or discipline. I also try really hard not to let them get in a place where they're only doing school all the time, even if it seems like it's their own fault! I would take that as a signal that I needed to step in earlier, with help rather than consequences, to avoid putting my child in a place where he feels hopeless/helpless. Your boys are blessed to have a mom who's so dedicated to their learning and success. Hang in there! Put on creative thinking, get on his side, enlist his help and thinking, and little by little you can get to a better spot.

Wow, that's a lot of snow! I can't really imagine - we got about a foot last weekend and that seemed like a lot! Hope you get some rest today.

I don't have time to read all of the responses, so some quick thoughts. If you have specific expectations of your history program, you probably need to stop curriculum hopping, settle on the one that is most doable and working best at the moment, then add in or adjust the things that you'd like to be a bit different. I think if you switch again you're going to run into the same kind of problems - some aspects work well for some of the kids, some don't. I'm speaking from experience, lest you think I've used one history program for years! We'll just leave it at that! So Biblioplan. I think it is excellent if you have kids at different levels and don't want to do a lot of prep work ala TOG. If the companion is working for your older students, that's good. What do you want that is different for your younger kids? If you want question/answer, get the cool history for youngers and just read the specific parts of the companion that apply. If you want to do notebooking, it's pretty easy to find notebooking pages to print out (currclick, for example). MFW's notebooking pages are generally just a page with a picture and lines to write on. Nothing fancy, except for the state pages, but that is for Adventures and not the same history time period that you're looking for. If you want more crafts, pick up a craft book specific to the time period. Generally for history, It's pretty easy to add in additional things, like extra books, coloring pages, maps, notebooking pages. It's not easy to change the core structure of a curriculum. So go with the basic structure that works the best for you, then add in the extras that you need to make it work best for your family. And don't try to make a decision now for the rest of the years. Just make a decision for right now, this year, then re-evaluate before your next school year.

I've been to many (most) of SWB's sessions at convention over the past six years. She's an excellent presenter. Her sessions are interesting, well organized, and full of good content. And bonus, she's funny and honest. I love listening to her. Go!

We always get dressed, regardless of whether or not we're leaving the house. I don't like to wear pj's all day - just like to shower and get dressed at some point or I start feeling gross. So I don't think it's ever entered my kids' minds to do otherwise!

I'm just now seeing this morning's update - praying for you and your dh today. :grouphug:

I want to triple like every post in this thread. You guys are awesome! :hurray:

Congratulations to your family. Enjoy your little ones!

:hurray: Love your response! I'm so glad you have found a better option for him, and hope that works well for him and for your family. Kudos to you for fighting for what is best for your child!

I would agree with others that six weeks is way too soon to judge the success of your homeschooling! Also, some kids don't like to share, or don't know how to do that well. And some kids don't get excited about learning! I have some like that, and they have been homeschooled from the beginning. Sometimes it may be a matter of tapping into a subject or style of learning that they really connect with. It's not possible to do that in every area, but I do try to look for one or two things that they have a greater interest in, especially with my older kids. These can be turned into electives or just hobbies! As far as Tapestry, I just say today that they are offering a free unit (that is 9 weeks of TOG) in January to new customers. This is a great offer - working through one unit gives a very good feel for the curriculum. If you'd like more info, just send me a pm.

:grouphug: Praying for you and your family.

Congratulations!

Ditto. I love the Leslie Sansone dvd's. I have the 5 day slim down, and have mainly done the first mile. You can do the warm up, mile, and cool down in 30 minutes. There's nothing that's too intense for me, out of shape 40+ year old. If there would be something that's too much, you can just stop and walk until she get to the next move. But I definitely sweat and get a decent workout (for me)!

I have two pairs from Zenni, love them both. They are just as sturdy as the previous pair I paid $100+ for!

That is a great story! Happy anniversary!

Oh, wonderful choice of a color! I have Upward in my kitchen/dining area, and I love it so much. Like you said, it's a perfect sky color. Not bright, but light, airy, and calm all at the same time. It's been 7 years and I still love it! I have Bracing Blue in the office, which adjoins the kitchen. It's beautiful as well, not super dark but a beautiful grayed blue. I started a first coat with Distance, then decided it was too dark and navy-like, so I moved up a shade to Bracing. It a wonderful complement to Upward. I hope you enjoy your new room! Do show us pictures when it's finished. :hurray:

Thanks for the update, eaglei. I am continuing in prayer for your son and your family. :grouphug:

I have a Rowenta, purchased at Target so probably a lower end model. I've been ver happy with it.

Happy Birthday Susan!