Another vote for reverse osmosis.

I've only ever used Shutterfly, and I've always been happy with them.

Dd once lost my wedding ring (I think I'd taken it off to knead bread dough). I looked everywhere and dug through multiple trash bags. A month later, I was mopping, and discovered it under an area rug. That shows how often I mop... Did you ever find them? My vote is in the couch. Deep down under the cushions, where you would have to cut the fabric to get anything out.

It's on sale right now for $89. I've been wanting to get a filtered internet service. Time limits is a huge bonus. Tell me about it. Things you love? Things you hate?

I always do the slow cooker without liquid, but yes, you need liquid in there to come up to pressure. I'd put about a cup of liquid in to start, so your roast doesn't burn and to get the pressure up. It will have a ton of liquid when you pull it out, which comes out of the meat. Here's an official Instant Pot page on meat: http://instantpot.com/cooking-time/meat-poultry-beef-pork-and-lamb/ You can turn the pot to saute, and brown the meat before adding liquid and changing it to the meat setting for pressure cooking. I love being able to have a truly one pot meal.

Thanks for resurrecting this thread! I didn't see it the first time through. And I'm ready to start writing across the curriculum. Writing programs don't seem to work for me.

Ohmygosh, you guys. In discussing your dd, she sounds just like my dd15 (except my dd loves creating art). She's never been diagnosed with ADHD, but I've wondered since dd7 went through a psych evaluation this summer and the psych pointed out she's super impulsive with low working memory. I'd always thought of dd7 as a smaller version of dd15. She's just *more* so. Dd15 can memorize anything. She loves to create stories with people on her forums. She has to have noise cancelling headphones, and desperately wants her own space to work. She can't write an academic assignment to save her life... Sigh. Thanks so much for this thread. It's so helpful to see I'm not alone and that her writing woes aren't all my fault. I suspect that she would be floundering if she were in school. Dh thinks she can't write because I've never expected enough....

Ohmygosh. My 7yo is like that. I'm an extreme introvert and I was an only child. Dd is like, "I want to go swimming, but nobody will go in the pool with me." Or "nobody will play on the trampoline with me." In her whiniest voice. I don't get it. I keep trying to tell her that I *always* played by myself at her age. Surely she can play by herself for half an hour. I would have loved to have a trampoline all to myself. Maybe I should introduce her to my gang of imaginary friends...

I took off about 6 weeks total. A month of that was before the baby was born. Everything was easier for me after birth than during pregnancy. Newborns just sleep and eat, and I kept my expectations low, but I was ready to do something with my new found energy post pregnancy.

Looks like Texas Tech Independent Study Department https://www.depts.ttu.edu/ttuisd/high_school.php

I see: History/geography/Bible/readers (if you do SL as written) Math Spanish Writing Literature Religion Science That looks complete to me. I wouldn't add more lit or grammar. I like the idea of doing geography, but only if you want more to do, and I'd probably do it in place of SL. For math, I most likely wouldn't add more if she hates math. Depends on your goals. I was so burned out the last 2 years. I get it. I had to drop almost everything in January for my sanity, and I just emerged from the fog this month. Don't add more to your plate. If she likes reading, suggest books you enjoyed as a kid and discuss them. Or hand her a book list like this and have her put books on hold at the library. ETA: I did a quick search for cosmetic chemistry, and I'm only getting a bunch of expensive textbooks. And a lot of soapmaking books. Chemical Composition of Everyday Products was at my library. That might be interesting. Soapmaking and perfumery books might be a good place to start. It's kinda hard to find soapmaking guides that aren't anti "chemical". I'll post if I see one that looks promising

I think MCT and BW sounds good. I like the grammar sections of MCT, but not the writing assignments. There's no instructions on how to write. I love BW. I haven't used partnership writing, but I have done Kidswrite Basic and my oldest is using Help for High School. The BW philosophy is gentle and natural. Having something to say is the emphasis rather than mechanics. Julie encourages you to scribe for your child if they need it, and to work as partners, with both of you providing words and ideas. I think it's a great way to scaffold reluctant writers, unless you have your own major anxiety about writing. In that case, I'd do pre-expository writing with WTMA. They are relaxed and encouraging. My ds12 was able to take ownership of his writing last year in that class, without my anxiety spilling over into his work.

About 10 min. My 11yo has about the same attention span. :glare:

My understanding is that book 1 is for grades 1-4, and each volume advances one or 2 grade levels. I remember seeing that volume 4 is for grades 4-8.

Me me me! I think both my 7yo and 11yo would enjoy this.

I have a girl who's really hard to place, because she doesn't tolerate too easy or too hard. I am really liking Aleks Math for her. https://www.aleks.com/independent We are still in the honeymoon phase, but I love how the program evaluates what they know and keeps them on a topic only until they achieve mastery. DD14 jumped in halfway through algebra, and I have yet to hear any complaints about how she already knows this stuff. She just gets on the computer, does her work (with occasional questions) and I get a weekly report emailed to me. You can do a free 48-hour trial, which is enough to do a placement test and get a feel for how the program works and if it will work for you.

:lol: My dd has expressed the same sentiments about ancients. We are currently doing US history for 10th. I think we may do modern for 11th,--it was supposed to be for 9th, but history fell off the schedule last year. Then 12th would be gov't/econ. Maybe let her choose a period she's interested in, like renaissance, if she has interest in a 3rd year of history. Our history sequence has been all messed up. I started reading WTM 4th edition, and I was comforted by SWB's words that a systematic study of chronological history is more important than the 4yr cycle. That's the reassurance I needed! At least I know dd has had a better experience with history than I did, even if I never got through 4 consecutive years. Sorry OP, I'm not answering your question at all. I agree with pp that early modern and modern history would cover American, especially if you supplement with additional US history sources.

We were just talking about this on the site news forum. Try clearing your browser's cache. It worked for me. Not for some others, but it's worth a try.

Ohmygosh, yes!! Long school days and no recess for my 2nd grader was the last straw that drove me to pull oldest dd out of school. I could have dealt with the other issues if she only had time to play and pursue her own interests.

I would have breaks in October and March when the weather is beautiful and everyone wants to go out and enjoy it. Then, we'd have school during the summer months, maybe with a 3-week summer break. If that was totally unfeasible I'd give the kids a week-long break in February, just to break up the monotony of winter semester. It's too hot to do anything outside here June-Sept, so I always want to do school in the summer and let dc play outside when it's cooler. But most of their friends go to school. And their friends call us up daily because they want to come over or go to the beach or to the pool or go fishing... While I just want today in my air-conditioned cocoon with some books.

Absolutely, let her switch. I strongly prefer to write with a high(ish) quality pen, where the ink flows smoothly. Pencils feel icky to write with (unless it's math with a nice, sharp pencil). Years ago, when I heard Andrew Pudewa talk about using pens for rough drafts, I actually tried to swtich dd over to pens, but she's too perfectionist and fought me over it. I agree with pp--use pn for rough drafts, with plenty of space. Type final drafts.

Right after I posted, I went and looked it up, then figured out how to do the same on Chrome. Posting now from my phone!

I have the same problem on my phone. I have to use Tapatalk to view on my phone. No problems on my laptop, though. I don't even know if there is a cache on iPhones or how they work...

What are you using for the election unit study? I've been thinking about doing some government/election things, since that's all we hear on the news,and I'm embarrassed at how much I've forgotten about how the process works. :blink: I bought W&R books 2-4 to use with my 6th grader, but now I'm rethinking. I just want to do a Bravewriter lifestyle with everyone, have them write regularly, and give feedback. Your plan looks thorough. Is reading comprehension an issue? That's the only thing that stood out to me. I have an intense dislike for reading comprehension questions. I much prefer narration and discussion. I think I'm turning into an unschooler. I've definitely been relaxed with my 3rd kid. :blushing: But here's my 6th grade plan for comparison: History: Complete Book of US History, lots of field trips (we will be in VA) and documentaries Science: Astronomy--using various book I've pulled together Math: Singapore through 5B, some 6A if I'm lucky. Grammar: MCT Town level Spelling: studied dictation using Spelling Wisdom Literature: Books of his choice from the Outside of a Dog reading list Latin: finish Latina Christiana, start First Form Latin Writing: W&R or Bravewriter ETA: I used WTMA Prep for Expository Writing last year for ds12. He loved it. He's a reluctant writer, but he agreed (with a smile) to EW1 through WTMA for 7th grade.

She stopped recommending it in newer editions of TWTM because it went OOP. But SWB has said (online) that she still likes it best, if you have it available. It has the best narrative of the encyclopedias I've seen.