We did mostly NFP (but weren't 100% committed) throughout our 20s and 30s. Then peri hit in my early 40s and my cycles were hit and miss and I was Just. So. Tired. of trying to figure it all out and I just wanted to enjoy my husband now that my kids all slept through the night and I actually had some energy, kwim? Anyway, because of all the uncertainty we were ... a bit lazy ... and we figured I was getting too old anyway ... and now I am pregnant with my 6th and due right after my 45th bday We are very excited, don't get me wrong, but it's definitely not how we pictured spending our late 40s and has taken some adjustment to get used to the idea. So my advice is to make sure both you and DH are on the same page when it comes to how strict you're going to be with NFP - because just when you think you've got peri kinda figured out, it will throw you a curve ball lol!

My husband fondly remembers homemade pizza and soda for Christmas Eve supper every year as a kid. He keeps trying to get my kids to go along with it and revive that tradition, but they all want something "fancier" -although their idea of fancy is pretty hilarious 😂 We've done roast beef and twice baked potatoes, soup and salad, ham and noodle casserole, homemade mac n cheese, just to name a few I can remember. This year I'm thinking about assigning them each a different course to choose their favorite dish for. We might end up with an interesting menu that way! Lol No matter what the menu is we always eat on our fanciest dishes and drink from wine glasses with a sparkling juice toast.

I would lean towards #3 unless you have a motivated math lover. We did some of CTC Understanding Geometry and some Life of Fred (Fractions, Decimals & Percents, Pre-A with Biology) in 7th grade and it was a big hit and a no stress way to finish out the year. Only one of my kids so far has been a math lover, the rest have needed some time to mature and let things percolate a bit before tackling Algebra, and 8th grade was plenty soon for them.

This is a good idea if you want to outsource science completely! I puffy heart love Dr Wile! 😁 But if it's too much to swing financially, then Apologia is not all that much for the parent, honestly. My kids read and do experiments on their own and write lab reports, all I do is photocopy and grade tests and look over their lab reports and am available for questions every once in a while. But the books really are remarkably well suited to self study.

I grew up in the area and know many people who went there back in the day. My dad got his bachelor's, master's and specialist's degrees (in history/speech and then education) there as I was growing up. Nothing fancy or "wow that's such an impressive school" but a good solid education from what I understand.

We've bought our DS's these in the past couple years: Hockey skates (nice ones now that their feet seem to have stopped growing) Garment bag/suitcase Big stand alone monitor to hook up to their laptops Suit and tie for special occasions and interviews

I forgot to include how we start our day. We have a "morning meeting" where we sing a hymn, read and discuss some poetry, and then rotate through some misc books and resources that don't really fall neatly into any other subject or category, such as art appreciation, philosophy, famous composers and their works, orchestra instruments, holiday read alouds, etc. Sometimes we do a family devotional too. We don't really have a separate place for school, when we started hs'ing we all just kind of organically found "our spot" where we like to work. A couple of the older kids set up tables and desks in their rooms; some like the couch or lap desks on the floor; I prefer the kitchen table for doing written work with them and the recliner for reading to them. Having morning meeting helped set the stage for "ok now it's school time" and afterwards everybody just knows it's time to get busy.

Bring her meals even if your relationship isn't good 🙂 I think pajamas are nice, too.

I made sure to spend time with the toddler first thing in the am to get their "I need attention tanks" filled up. I also threw in a load of laundry and got out meat for supper. Then we started school relatively late - around 9ish - and I rotated math lessons with each kid taking a turn playing with the toddler while the others did their math. (Waiting til afternoon to do math is always a bomb at our house.) Then we did history as a group which the toddler could tag along with by coloring a picture during the the lesson. Then they all did on their own stuff until lunch with me available to answer questions but still doing stuff with the toddler and making lunch. We took a big break (12-2) for lunch so they could all go outside and play after eating with the toddler and get her good and tired and I could swap out some laundry. Then when she laid down for a nap I did LA stuff with them. When the toddler woke up from her nap we were usually doing a science experiment so she could eat a snack and watch while we finished that up. We finished school relatively "late" - around 4ish - but I felt much more in control of my day and less frazzled than trying to stuff it all into the morning hours and I still had time to prep for supper.

Going to an outside activity most days would drain me completely. From your post it sounds like you're doing everything you can to assuage your DD's concerns, which is good. A weekly playdate with school friends is a fantastic idea. As is finding some kind of new group of hs'ing friends to be involved with. But I'm not sure that bending over backwards to make every day "fun" initially isn't going to backfire. I mean, at some point she's going to have to stay home and do school, you know? That transition is going to have to happen sometime, might as well get it over with. My older kids came home from ps in 8th, 6th, and 4th grade, so they had each other, which I realize is a different situation from yours. But I don't think I'd let my 7 year old's attitude dictate my schedule. Just my 2 cents.

Are you looking for secular or Christian? I've had success with both Mr Q (secular) and Science in the Beginning (Christian) at those ages.

Well, yes, I never said I wasn't awkward at times 😂

Sometimes when I've forgotten someone's name and don't want to be embarrassed by asking because I really should know it by now I try to be all sneaky clever 😎 and ask them how to spell it.

People in Indiana call Louisville "LOO - uh - vuhl" with an extra syllable in the middle that almost gets lost but not quite.

Oh I sure hope that's the case. It would help restore my faith in the human race just a little bit.

I'm still trying to get over that it wasn't just the clerk but also her supervisor. Y'all that's 2 people. In the same place. My mind is blown.

Well, my mom worked in payroll for a big manufacturing plant in the 70's and there were 2 brothers she wrote checks for every pay period named "ABC" and "123". I have no idea what cultural group these men were from, my mom never said, but I don't think she was making up racist stories. She always assumed the mother was illiterate, which is a form of prejudice, but not a racial one. The plant employed primarily white men and they were mostly low income.

A child in my kids' old public school was named Calamity. It's such a pretty sounding name and I know the parents are big into Western stuff and were probably thinking about Calamity Jane, but every time I see this little girl I wonder when she is going to find out that her name is an actual vocabulary word that means "devastating disaster".

We do a quarterly report card. Since my kids came from ps they could. not. fathom. not having grades, even though the idea really appealed to me. Even my K'er enjoyed seeing "A's" for reading and math lol (I figured if she was progressing and meeting my goals, she got an A). I include a section on behavior as well with room to write a plus sign for doing well, a check for needs improvement, and a minus sign for you're driving me crazy about this 😁 They seem to get just as competitive and and/or proud of themselves on this section as they do with their grades. I include things like punctuality, attitude, organization, quality of handwriting, interaction with siblings, productive use of free time, etc.

You mean that's not what the floor is for?!? Somebody tell my kids! 😂

I'm pretty sure my mom got me one, but thanks!

Analytical Grammar was almost completely independent for us. 10-15 minutes at the beginning of the week to present the lesson, then a few minutes each day to grade the exercises with them. I liked that it was a 3 year program(6th-8th for us) and we didn't have to do grammar the whole year but could focus on it for part of the year and then focus on composition for the rest of the year with just a few independent review exercises to keep skills sharp. AG is thorough and no frills and has worked for all 3 of my oldest kids so far who are all very different learners. If I was you I'd consider skipping grammar this year and picking up AG next year. One year off isn't going to hurt anything 🙂

Our 13-14 it's get a cheap tracfone so they can text with friends and call me when they need picked up from places. I don't see any way around that and am fine with it. They don't have social media apps on their phones though (unless Group Me is considered SM?) and their plans only have a teeny bit of data on them. We also have Covenant Eyes on all of our devices (me and DH included) so that we can all be mutually accountable to each other for our time spent online. It sends weekly updates of online activity. I see no reason whatsoever for anybody younger than -13 to have a phone.

I agree that I can't make a list of "essential for everyone to read" books. But I do have a list that of what I call "comfort books" that I return to again and again. Some of them I probably wouldn't like if I'd read them for the first time as an adult, but since I re-read them over and over during my childhood/teen years they still have a place in my heart. My list is not nearly so high brow as many of yours ? Favorite fiction re-reads for me: Narnia, Harry Potter, The Clan of the Cave Bear (not the whole series where they turn into p*orn, just the first one lol), Roots, Gone with the Wind, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Watchers by Dean Koontz, A Time to Kill by John Grisham, Where the Red Fern Grows, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Count of Monte Cristo Non-fiction that has had a big impact on my life that I re-read or review periodically: The Bible I re-read every few years or so using some kind of reading plan, WTM I re-visit every year or so to make sure I'm still on track, a Bible study/devotional/self help book called Telling Myself the Truth by Willian D Backus about re-setting the negative and harmful self-talk that all of us play and re-play in our heads and replacing it with truthful things, Mere Christianity Fiction read alouds with the kids that we do over and over: Gilgamesh the Hero by McCaughrean, Beowulf by Sutcliff, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlotte's Web, Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Narnia, Harry Potter, The Hobbit, Summer of the Monkeys, Where the Red Fern Grows

An Ergo Baby and a home foot bath/spa/massager. Can you tell I'm pregnant? Lol