We don't really have an age. Our 2 oldest (12, 14) are able to watch whatever they want on streaming (Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu) G, PG, and NR Documentaries. We don't have cable. Just Roku (2), Kindle/Tablets, and the Internet (no filters). PG13 they ask permission before watching unless we have already watched it as a family together or it's in an action/sci-fi series like Transformers, GI Joe, James Bond, LOTR, etc. if DH or I haven't seen it we might read a review before letting them watch it alone or suggest watching it together as a family since we enjoy action/sci-fi movies. We've only watched a few as a family rated R mainly historical like Patriot & action like The Last Stand. For TV shows it's about the same....we do ask they ask permission before watching anything TV-14. We watch TV-14 together like Revolution (when it was on), Sherlock, Once Upon a Time, Downton Abbey etc. Currently, we do restrict TV-MA but it's not restricted forever. DH and I haven't determined when they can watch MA, I think it will depend on the show and then we'll probably watch it together like we do TV-14.

Time for learning ? They have a program for K. You could just do the math portion. I have considered it for my youngest.

I felt the same way you do about the TM so we didn't buy it. We were going to get the readers and work text but decided after seeing them in person to pass. We are doing the Phonics practice work text along with the handwriting book (black and white pages). That's it. Our goal is to introduce him to phonics/reading (exposure) and to increase his fine motor skills through writing. We having been doing it for a couple of weeks and it's working very well. He does a page from each book (5 days a week) as "seat" work.

My son (13) is using Life of Fred (LOF) Beginning Algebra with Zillions of Practice Problems. We are working through it together. We've tried Saxon, TT, LIFEPAC and a few others before landing on LOF. It works well for him (he is an struggling/avg student) such as in pre-alg fractions never stuck. He does the Zillions of Practice Problems on his own, I check the work. We do a lesson a day and that works out to finishing the book in about 6-9 months. I do type a test using the last page of each chapters Zillions of Practice Problems. It's a good fit and we plan to use it all the way through Pre-Cal/Trig. We will include Test Prep for the SAT or ACT separate so he is use to multiple choice questions/timed tests in a few years. My daughter (12) is using LIFEPAC 9 Algebra I. She did 3 units in their 8th grade Pre-Algeba and was ready for LIFEPAC 9. She is doing all high school level work and plans to graduate high school early; she is thinking of going to an engineering/design college so we went with an honor algebra. It's a good program but VERY heavy reading in math terms and concepts along with practice problems. It's an HONORS math class. It's a self-teaching course, which works great with my daughter. The teacher's manual is very helpful not just giving the answers but it works on each problem so you can check your student's work. They have built in reviews which are helpful. If she misses any problems she re-works them. We teach math for mastery. We do allow both children to use calculators (good practice for SAT/ACT).

I say go for it until she doesn't want to do "seat" work. My son (4) has been doing "seat" work since he was 2ish. We started with simple Abeka 2 & 3 year old workbooks along with a critical thinking company book. We also let him loose on an older kindle with tons of educational (like starfall) & just for fun games (racing/jewels). He watched all the LEAP frog letter/phonic/math dvds and picked up the alphabet along with lot of the sounds. Then I started Horizons Preschool (workbook A) along with R/S Preschool Workbooks. He finished the Horizons and did almost all the R/S books so I got the B workbook but it doesn't have a lot of math and requires a lot of practice writing which wasn't his strong suite at that point (3 year old). It was the first time he ever complained and asked not to do the workbook. So we dropped it. He was a little upset but did some stuff I just printed from blogs/free sites so he was still doing "seat" work. After a few weeks, he begged for more color. So we went to BJU K4. He finished it in 4 months. I was torn to go on... So I tryed Bob Books and Explore the Code for reading but he didn't like them. So we dropped them. Together (him in my lap) we looked at several samples of K5 and he picked BJU K5 (just the phonics worktext, handwriting (black/white), & math) & LOF Apples (Fred makes him laugh and he loves the story). If we had sent him to traditional preschool (which we were going to last fall) he would only be in K3 (since he has a late fall b-day) keeping him at home allows him to learn at his own pace even if it's accelerated. He is really happy and that is all the matters to us. So again...I say keep going as long as it works for your child!

I second twoxcell. Horizons is very colorful. My daughter used it in elementary and was very pleased. She switched from R/S Math (black and white in textbook) to Horizon and loved it. https://www.aophomeschooling.com/horizons_overview

For 9th Grade - They pick their own curriculum, we school year-around, and once they finish a subject they pick another and start it. My son is doing: History: BJU U.S. History, BJU 9th Grammar/Writing & Literature, Lifepac Physical Science, Oxford Latin Part I, Life of Fred Beg. Alg. My daughter is doing: Lifepacs (U.S. History, Algebra 1, English, Physical Science), Oxford Latin Part I, World History w/ Streams of Civilizations (she wants to graduate early so she is doing double credits for S.S.)

Welcome! What I have learned from other posters on the WTM forum is that classical education can be adapted and made to work with for your family and children. I think combing all your kids for History is a great idea. I think the key to schooling multiple children is combing what you can, finding some independent work they can do by themselves and then deciding what needs to be 1 on 1. Enjoy reading, posting, and asking questions! - The forums are a great community of people!

I am torn too about Gatsby. Recently, I showed my oldest a copy and he wasn't thrilled. Yet, I agree with KungFuPanda that it's referred to often and I hesitate to not assign it. I did think about just having them read a summary and moving on. My American Lit alternatives are To Kill A Mockingbird, The Old Man and the Sea, or The Last of the Mohicans. But before I do that... I decided to see if I could "market" it to them (sell them on reading the book) and so far they are warming up to the idea. They have watched a bit of Downton Abbey with me. I've pointed out the roaring 20's fashion (which my daughter adores) and the history-behind the show (which my son likes to talk about). They listen to Taylor Swift's 1989 CD often. I found a music video for one of the songs "Blank Space". It gives off a Gatsby vibe. So we watched it together, singning along and then talked about the Gatsby vibe it gives off (the mansion, car, fashions, and torrid relationship). Last month, DH and I watched the 2013 movie based on the book with Leonardo DiCaprio/Tobey Maguire. I know it got mixed reviews but I found it entertaining even if it was a bit over the top. So I've casually suggested that if we do read the book we could have a viewing (book vs. movie) party. Watching movies based on books we've read is something they always look forward to so I figure it might be a big win for reading the book...I promised to cut their studies for the day and we would indulge in treats of their choosing. So far...they are coming around the idea of reading the book. If we do, I've already found a PP guide to go with it to make it so I can use it for their portfolios.

One of my husband's clients (buying a house near Atlanta) went to Costco of all places and they gave him a great rate. The closing costs were avg. for the loan amount. He got the sellers to pay for a good portion of it so that was a plus. He's been happy with their service. https://www.costcofinance.com/ If you belong to a credit union, I suggest checking to see if they do loans. Many times... they can offer good rates with min. closing costs because they are direct lenders.

Treadmill while watching Netflix/Amazon. I've been under the weather, so I am not pushing myself too much. I am walking at least a 1/2 mile everyday with the hopes of getting up to 1-2 daily in a week.

Where in the South? I am outside of Atlanta and the market was slow last fall but has rapidly picked up. Right now homes that are priced at market or a little under are getting lots of showings sometimes even multiply offers and are under contract within the first two weeks on the market if not next day. My husband (a real estate broker) listed 2 homes this month. One was under contract with mutiple offers within 2 days. It was priced right at market. The other home is priced a little higher then the neighborhood and it's had a couple showings but no offers yet. In our market, homes that are sitting are not under contract is because they are priced over market. Price right, they are going very quickly. Have you gotten comps/CMA for your neighborhood? Are you able to price at market or even a little under? Do you know how long most homes are taking to sell in your neighborhood? If your home sells really fast do you have somewhere to live? If you are going to list your home with an real estate agent, do you have one in mind? If so, reach out to them and get their views on the local market how slow or fast it's going and how your neighborhood is selling. An current CMA from a local agent can give you a clear picture of what homes are selling, how fast, and at what price. Of course, after being in real estate for the past 12 years even through the great recession of 2007 I always say...if you can price at market (or under), can be flexible for showings and you can maintain your home in show condition (decluttered and lookomg presentable) then get your house on the market. Good Luck :)

I've heard taking Vit D can help with any thing related to the eyes.

Since they didn't give you a real answer, I would suggest talking with her about the following things: 1) How does your daughter feel NOW that the org. is honoring the accepted email? Is she happy? Nervous? Excited? Confused? 2) Is the opportunity something she really wants to do? Is it worth the time/$ you and her are going spend on it? 3) Whatever the opportunity is...will she have to deal with the rep directly that made the mistake? Is the opportunity cut and dry? (meaning does she know what she will be doing and what they are offering her in return) If not, personally, I would be hesitate.

After talking to the rep did they tell you or your daughter why she wasn't going to be accepted? That would play a huge role to me in deciding to accept and go or pass.

I don't know about the workbooks. I've only started the preschool ones with my youngest. However, several years ago we brought a membership for their online program and it helped my son jump learn to read, we felt it gave him a great foundation and jump started his reading. He went from reading Bob books to Magic Tree House within several months.

We haven't done Cultural Geography but we are doing BJU U.S. History. Like you we've added in lots of extras (books, streaming videos, Internet reading, MAP TREAK, & field trips ). We are not doing the student activity book. We do open-book tests sometimes skipping the essay questions. I plan to give him 2 Exams that will not be open book. I hope to create them based on a few end of the course tests from various states. I will create a study guide to go along with each exam. Noting things he should be familiar with like events, people, places, themes, and dates. Currently, He completes 1 chapter a week for BJU. Day 1: Read 1/2 of Chapter. * Day 2: Finish the Chapter. * Day 3: Do half of test. (He tries to do as many problems as he can without the book then he uses the book as needed.) Day 4: He finishes the test. Day 5: I grade the test and then discuss it with him. We chat a bit on what the chapter was about...if he learned anything new, etc. * *Extras are assigned on these days and can be pushed as long as they are completed before the next week.

Zillow.com is good too.

For amazon I put things in our watchlist that are family-kid friendly and my kids can pick from that.

Before adding something...What about making the current program more "fun" or at least a little different...here are the ideas that have worked for us: For word problems: Do them on a "small/individual" white board. Then just transfer the *answer* to the workbook. I'm a scribe. The student tells me what to write, I write it on the white board, scrap paper or sometimes in their workbook. I'm a student too. We do the problem individually and then see if we get the same answer. I don't do all of the above for every lesson. I've picked 2-3 days a week and do a couple problems for the lesson this way. It breaks up the lesson, making it "fun" or different for the student while allowing me to *see* they are understanding the concepts. Some problems could be done *orally*. This does take some work from the parent to detemine what problems can be done that way. But even just a couple can really help.

I thought it was just a trend where we live (by Atlanta) but as I can see it's a trend everywhere. I don't really understand it. I think it puts a lot of pressure on close family members/friends to find a sitter. For weekend weddings it can be hard if you are in the wedding party evem if you can go home night. We tend to send gifts since most of the weddings we are invited to our out of state or several hours away. We are going to one this spring and making a weekend of it only because DH set up a sleep-over visit with his mom for the kids. My older kids (12/13) were disappointed. They have only gone to 1 wedding when they were tots, they told me they feel weddings look so much fun when they read about them or see them in movies. The spring wedding is for clients and we don't know if there will be kids are not and it wasn't very clear. Most of their friends don't have kids and when I got the RSVP this week it had only 3 options (attending, attending +1, not attending) so we figure it was a no kids wedding.

I just finished planning the rest of the year out (until Aug). I am getting exicted about what's next. For math it's just the next book but I am starting to think about what novels we'll read and how to intergrate more movies/films for history and science.

Amazon.com, search for the book you want and check to see if any USED copies are available. You have to hunt through a list of sellers but I've found some great books pretty cheap this way.

It's tough. The worse for us was my kids have thought about working part-time to earn money. We learned quickly that their "income" would count as income for the household and it would make my monthly insurance payment go UP over $100 more per month. It really stinks because I've always felt kids earning their own moeny was a good thing, but now at least for mine it isn't.

Sears has worked for my boys. My husband has found several at Macy's too.