He does a warm bath, reads at bedtime, has a late snack. No ipad or other blue light source; they have a 20-minute turn sometime in the early afternoon for flashcards, etc. Lots of exercise with swimming, kung fu, trampoline, hikes. Keep the ideas coming. I'm baffled, sad, and frustrated.

Help! DS9 has turned into a monster! The last three weeks, he has been almost impossible to work with and is getting very little work done. This is VERY atypical, and he usually has no problem getting his things done or learning with me. He says he needs more sleep. He is in bed from 10:00-9:00 every day, but it often takes him two hours (!) to fall asleep. I have stopped waking him up, hoping he can get more rest. His behavior is definitely that of someone who is sleep deprived. There is nothing worrying him. Life in our house is pretty stress-free. His learning load is good, not overdone. He also really doesn't eat well... Just dairy and wheat (pancakes, cereal, toast, etc.). All whole grain, but still... The other three kids eat everything. Tons of veggies, spicy and not spicy, really everything. They have a great diet. I do all the cooking; only buy 1-ingredient items at the store; we don't eat out (no kosher restaurants here!). If I insist he only eats from what is served, he will go to bed hungry. For days! Food allergies have crossed my mind, but we went dairy-free for a few months a few years ago, and also did a gluten-free experiment. Neither had any positive affect on his wellbeing. He has chronic headaches and frequent stomachaches. We've tried allergy medicines;those take the sniffles away, but that's it. My DH has migraine issues, but if he walks a very careful line gets at least 8 hours of sleep, keeps stress low, eats a little bit every 2-3 hours, and does a vigorous forty minutes of exercise, he can usually avoid them. Anyway... I don't know if anyone has any insights, but I sure hope so!!!

Yay! They surprised me and sent the corrected score, gratis.

We just got the test scores for Ds#2/3rd grade. It states within the test that five questions were "not attempted" but I know with certainty that every question was answered! BJU Press wants a $25 retrieval fee to investigate. That's half what we paid for the test to begin with. It irks me a lot, but we also can't afford the Johns Hopkins or Northwestern classes anyway, so I guess it doesn't really matter? He's qualified for NW and very nearly for JH. I've really never been one to worry about test scores AT ALL, so I should probably just let it go, but it just irks me. Has anyone else experienced this? What would you do if you were me?

We did all the elementary level Apologia books as readalouds and it worked out great. As Jews, we easily edited out what wasn't for us.

Sequential Spelling was written dor dyslexic children, and my non-dyslexic children have really thrived on it. Might be worth checking out. It's simple, straightforward, and very effective. No busywork!

We've decided to go with WWS during the week, and do the first half of CW over the course of 12 months. So WWS 4-5x per week and CW 1x per week. Excited!

For the last week, when I select "View new content" it says there is no new content. Has this been happening to anyone else?

We read the whole Apologia series as bedtime stories. Worked great for us! There are actually several subjects that are done as bedtime stories. :) Frees up our day a bit. :)

I think having too many problems is much better than having too few. The kids love crossing out the superfluous ones, and I'm really glad the "too many" ones are there when we need them. LOVE Math Mammoth! :)

We use Mr. and Mrs. Last Name, but if they are close friends, they are Auntie and Uncle First Names. :) In our southern Jewish community...

I love to just mash a clove of garlic (or two!), add a teaspoon or two of mustard and a bit of salt and mash it in. Add maybe 1/4 cup lemon juice and 1/2 cup oil. Oh, yum... I could eat this right from the bowl. Ad it has to be made right before eating. I used to make it all the time, and get the oil emulsified and everything, but it just doesn't taste as good from the food processor!

Math Mammoth might be good to use. If she has a weakness in, say, fractions, you can order the fractions-only series. http://www.mathmammoth.com/blue-series.php

One of the Fernbank museums is free. http://fsc.fernbank.edu/ And the Atlanta History Museum is A+ fantastic! :)

I ave the same problem, and I also have no idea!! :)

That's a Jewish company that makes swimsuits similar to what I wear, except I happen to purchase mine elsewhere. You may find them odd, but in our orthodox community it is not. When I look at a Christian modest clothing website, it is also very different from what I am accustomed to. We may have differing ideas of what is a modest swimsuit, but I can assure you it is not to draw screaming attention to ourselves! You wouldn't find me in my swimsuit on a mixed beach anyway. There are cultural differences that lead to assumptions.

Yep, here too! Lots of animals, 4 kids, and we keep kosher so can't eat out anywhere when we travel since we mostly like to travel in the boonies! :)

Definitely the closer their ages huddle around toddlerdom, the more crazy. At one time my kids were baby, 2, 3, and 5. Three in diapers for a few months there! Now that they are 10, 8, 7, and 5-1/2 it is SO much easier. One very civilized, one nearly civilized, one that will terrify me until she's 25 at which point she will be rich and famous, and one who's just sweet and easy. :)

I played trumpet all through my braces years. You just get used to it! :)

For DD going into 5th grade: LANGUAGE ARTS: Michael Clay Thomas materials for poetry, grammar, vocabulary Writing With Skill The Creative Writer Sequential Spelling SPANISH: Espanol para chicos y grandes 1 LOGIC: Building Thinking Skills 2 TYPING: Mavis Beacon MATH: Math Mammoth SCIENCE: Real Science 4 Kids, Chemistry HISTORY: ancient history, primarily through literature MUSIC: recorder, Orff-style ensemble w/siblings, singing ART: Artistic Pursuits JEWISH STUDIES: Chumash siddur Rashi commentary Lashon Hatorah (grammar) Chayeinu Yahadus The Midrash Says

We just replaced our front loader 6 months ago and did lots of calculations to find the most frugal option. Our estimated cost per load ended up being slightly less with. New machine (based on the washer lasting 10 years x 10 loads/week). We rarely buy new anything, but we got a new LG front loader and have been very happy with it (and did have the cash to do it).

Mary Poppins is my all-time least favorite. What's with her obsession w/admiring herself in the mirror? And the zoo with people in cages? Ugh, ugh, ugh.

Here's what I do for a subject such as history. Our Story of the World book has 42 chapters. I divide it into 9ths and note in the book that, for example, by the end of our first month (which is half August, half Sept because of theJewish holidays), I hope to get to ch 4 or 5. I know, that with our busy dual curriculum we'll likely only have time for one historical fiction readaloud every other month, related mapwork, and two small projects per month. I plug in that guide and just gauge it as we go. Our tenth month, June, is for finishing up anything we didn't get to in the first nine months. So if we're "behind" I know we'll still get to fit it in. This is all for sure just a starting point, because I might discover that DS has a newfound passion for all things WWII. I don't want to leave the subject too soon and miss some inspiring learning. And really, if you delete a topic or two to spend more time on something else, it's fine. Learning is such an organic, continuously adapting thing that you really can't plan all the details in advance. The real joy comes in uncovering things together, both the somewhat familiar and the completely unexpected. What a journey! :)

My DH keeps a heating pad by the bed for his severe cramps. Works every time. He also wears socks to bed. So sorry! I know how dreadfully painful they can be.