Animalogic is a fun game for 6 yo. You could gift lessons or an experience. Science day camp? Dance or music lessons? A trip to historical re-enactment site?

Welcome! Some of my fav curricula are listed here and others in my sig. for you to check out. To find some articles look at the fb group Parents at The Helm. Best of luck! Connect the Thoughts First Language Lessons Writing with Ease Draw Write Now Excel Math Miquon Math Math Mammoth Nancy Larson Science Tops Science

My two eldest have very different interest levels in math. One needs the ongoing spiral but also needs intense instruction on each topic. For her MM and Excel are complimentary with neither leading. For my other dd using the program, she is speeding ahead of grade level. I use Excel just to be sure she is retaining everything or if we are flying too fast through MM.

Ideas that have helped at our house include: structure, consistent schedule, maintaining routines, excercise times throughout each day, schooling every day, schooling year round, consistent meal times, consistent bed times, adequate time for sleep, having a dog, no caffeine, limited sugar, kids write daily in journals, I maintain a hs progress journal so I can see we are moving forward.

We didn't use The Goops. We have used the others thus far.

Yes I use it and love it! PP is correct you don't need a teachers manual, at least for the younger grades. You need to provide brief instruction for the new skill then it is completely independent. We use it alongside MM. I'm not sure why it is so infrequently used. The only negative online review I found about it was that some folks didn't like that it is legal sized paper.

We live in an 1851 farmhouse. We have lived here a bit over a decade. We've put on a new roof, some electric, some structural reinforcement, door hardware repair/replacements, removed an add on porch, etc. It is definitely the money pit. We totally love it. Yes, we frequently question our sanity. There are few closets. You can only put pictures on some walls. No duct work to the second floor for heat or ac. Thankfully there was no plumbing in the house until the mid 1990s (long story). So the plumbing is in good condition. Think long and hard about doing this.

Never.

underwear with plastic pants? special privilege for being a big kid after one dry day and one dry week?

We split up the break. Two have a break with two doing work quietly at the table then the other two take their rest. It isn't a full Mom break. but it is better than running from room to room shushing them.

Try it out over the summer to see how it goes.

All 4 of mine do gymnastics. They would not like the tumbling or the coed as much as reg. boys class. Our gym has a trial you can pay per class. Can you do that first?

I just ordered HO and Connect the Thoughts.

Nope, I don't have any advice about balancing home and homeschooling.... Actually, they do have a set of chores they do during their independent work time (unload dish washer, put their clothes away, vacuum, fold washcloths and napkins, wash dog's water dish). Unfortunately this is not enough to keep the housework up.

http://www.pandiapress.com/?page_id=64 This one is pretty commonly recommended here and at other sites. I'm hopeful they will be complementary.