I have a 9th grader and a 7th grader using it. The 9th grader can often finish a lesson in 30 minutes, the 7th grader takes longer, he would probably need 45 min- 1 hour to do the longer lessons but he would melt so we don't do a whole lesson every time. We work for 20 minutes and pick up where we left off the next day. It's a challenging program and I do not think either of my boys will finish it in just a year.

I would stick with unabridged also. But I will say that my dd9 loves the Classic Starts books to read to herself. She checks them out of the library and more than a couple times has wanted to read the original afterwards because she already knew the story and felt like she could tackle it. So, I like those too!

I have the TG and the student book but I don't have him write anything, we just discuss. I like having a book for him to follow along in while I read because it keeps him focused, but it isn't necessary, you could definitely do without it. I also have a 4th grader who is usually around while we do AoA and I haven't come across anything I wouldn't have wanted to read out loud with her there.

Differin from Target seems to be working for my daughter too. It did take about 3 months to see results though!

We haven't done a separate geography program, but I try to keep either a map or a blow-up globe (the kids favorite) nearby and just have them find a place or two from whatever history/lit read-aloud we are doing.

I haven't used R&S either but two of mine (9th & 7th grade) are using Grammar for the WTM this year. It is definitely teacher intensive. I probably spend at least 20 minutes a day per kid doing the "discussion" part of it and another 10 correcting their work and going over mistakes. I had originally hoped to teach my boys together but they work at different speeds and it just wasn't possible. I really like the way it is set up, but my boys find it tedious. I'm not sure they'd find any grammar fun though. I will probably try something they can do more on there own for next year.

If we're counting sports, definitely that. We have four kids and four different very involved sports and I am afraid to even add up that cost. Aside from that, our biggest expense has been community college classes and high school science at home. I have one doing biology this year and I really wanted to do it "right" so I bought everything. I'm not sorry, we're using it all, but it wasn't cheap!

I got Suffolk, that was a fun link! I'm going to share with my kids. Thanks for posting it!

My fourth grader is using You are an Artist chalk pastel ebooks this year. She is on her fourth one I think and has quite the gallery on her bedroom walls. She loves it!

We have done a taco bar the last couple of Christmases. It works well because we have some vegetarians in the mix and it's super easy for everyone to pick just what they want. We set out a bunch of different toppings, most of which we can prep the day ahead.

My 4th grader is using Writing Strands, Zaner-Bloser handwriting, Spelling Workout, and First Language Lessons

I definitely could not have done it without the TM

I've been picky lately about making everyone get every last thing out of the car (except for a few things we purposely leave there) every time we get home. I spend a ton of time in the car and it makes me much less stressed if it isn't full of stuff. It helps that our car is a little smaller than we need - there just isn't space to let a lot of stuff collect. But I wouldn't define it as clean, at least not as clean as I'd like. I try to vacuum it every week but that only goes so far with two girls who ride horses - it is always full of sand. And I only wipe it down once a month or so because for some reason I just get overwhelmed at the thought of doing it.

Once the kids drop spelling, I have them do Wordly Wise or Vocabulary from Classial Roots. I let them pick. Before that we just discuss any unfamiliar words as they come up.

Things my 8 year old makes (with help or at least supervision) - lasagna, baked chicken tenders (I buy the chicken already cut into tenders to make it easier, she dips them in milk and then in cracker crumbs), tacos, baked potatoes (her job is to brush them with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt, then we pop them in the slow cooker for the day) and homemade pizza. She just started having a night to cook once a week, so we are slowly widening her repertoire.