Thanks so much, Lori! We'll check these out.

I would second Spalding and the Writing Road to Reading. I think it's a clear, repetitive road map for second language learners of any age. I'm using it with some older (9 and 11) refugee students I tutor. I made them each a set of the cards to use at home to practice the phonograms.

For those who have kids who listen to podcasts, what are some of their favorites? My 11 year old son enjoys listening to radio shows when I'm listening (npr, science Friday, Clark Howard), and I think he would enjoy other science/history/how things work/interesting off beat stories podcasts. He especially loves space. Thanks!

We've always gotten the flu shot for everyone starting as early in age as possible. We each experience arm pain for the next day, but it isn't severe.

OK, I'm going of topic, but I had to share this in case anyone is interested in supporting this cause. There is a bill before Congress called the PAWS Act. It's intended to provide more funding so that more vets who suffer from ptsd can receive support dogs. 20 veterans a day commit suicide. This bill won't solve everything, but it does something! https://www.k9sforwarriors.org/blog/paws-act-time-act-now www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/2327/text

We did all of them k-3rd. I just recently ordered 4-6th and we are enjoying them as well. The projects are fairly simple, and it helps us do art without me having to plan. The kids enjoy Ms. V. as well. I have all the k-3 videos if you are interested in purchasing them. They are just sitting in a drawer gathering dust. PM me if you're interested. If you don't purchase them used, look at homeschool buyers co-op. They always seem to have a deal on them there.

My oldest is in 5th, and we'll be finishing up GSWL this year. I also want to introduce a foreign language at some point. I've decided to do Lively Latin next instead of Spanish because I think continuing with Latin will benefit my kids in both developing vocabulary and learning Spanish. My plan is to start Spanish in 9th, so we'll keep slowly going through Latin until then. These are just my plans now, though. Things can always change!

After reading all of this, I would definitely say Chromebook. They are so much faster than Windows laptops. I love ours!

This is just awful to hear. There is an endless amount of curriculum switching that happens in schools. It's one of the reasons I quit teaching after 10 years. During those 10 years, I used 3 different math curriculums, not by my choice. It was incredibly difficult to teach with so many changes (each curriculum was written from a different philosophical perspective), and it was so frustrating! There are many teachers in my family, and we have a running joke about which teaching method is now the "new" method being used in their schools. These "new" methods are just old methods that cycle through and are repackaged as the shiny, new breakthrough in teaching.

My oldest (5th grade) has never been a natural speller, but after almost 6 years of use, I credit his advancements in spelling over the years to Spalding. He knows the rules and uses them daily in his writing, and he can usually use the rules to fix a misspelled word I point out. Sticking with Spalding over the years has paid off tremendously for my spelling challenged son. ETA: I don't think starting Spalding in 5th grade is too late at all. I've also been on these boards long enough to know that if you are serious about using Spalding but have questions, Ellie is the resident expert.

I freeze a lot of things like extra shredded cheese, muffins, tortillas, chicken, soup, pasta sauce, etc. What is a good alternative option to the freezer bag?

There is hope for a new life for used plastics, using them in roads. I didn't know this was a thing. https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/netherlands-to-build-roads-with-recycled-ocean-plastic/

This is so old school, but it was exactly what I was looking for. It's actually a book! I didn't want to use a computer program. We use it with our keyboard cover, and my 11 year old is doing well. It's totally how I learned to type on an electric typewriter. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1576907643?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

Yes, I love food for fines! I never pay my late fees. I just pay in donated food. I prefer to do that because if I pay a late fee, that money doesn't go to the library. It goes to the city's general fund instead, and that bothers me. I'm lucky, though, because I can still check out books as long as my fines are below $25. I have some pretty big fines on our 4 cards...

Well, I've just started looking into resources. So far I've found: Pollution and Waste: Environmental Facts and Experiments Where Does Pollution Come From? (Clever Calvin) Pollution (What If We Do Nothing?) It's Getting Hot in Here: The Past, Present, and Future of Climate Change Earth Care There are a ton of books out there on the topic of pollution, but I'm finding few that discuss the science behind why and how it happens and also have experiments to go along with the exploration. Let me know if you find anything else!

This looks awesome! And it's streaming on Amazon. Thank you!

This is what I have found, too, especially with language arts.

Also, any good recommendations for books about the evolution of plants?

I'm putting together a biology unit for my 9 and 11 year olds kids. I'm thinking we're going to focus more on pollution (their interest) and how it affects plants, but we're also going to study the basics of plants, too. Here are some books I've found so far: The Plant Hunters: True Stories of Their Daring Adventures to the Far Corners of the Earth 10 Plants That Shook The World (World of Tens) Keepers of Life: Discovering Plants through Native American Stories and Earth Activities for Children Janice VanCleave's Biology For Every Kid: 101 Easy Experiments That Really Work What were/are your favorite Mendel resources? I'm thinking of a mini study about him.

I see the suggestion to be a generic NASA person as a lost opportunity to introduce the neighbors to someone new and great. I think it wonderful for a child to have to explain her costume, "I'm Katherine Johnson. She's an amazing African American mathematician who helped advance NASA, and she's my hero!" I would be thrilled if my child dressed as someone they admire rather than a princess or cowboy or ninja. ETA: not saying a child can't admire a fictitious character, but I think admiring a real person is pretty special.

Do you have any links to a preview? Amazon doesn't have a "look inside" for them. They are a bit expensive to purchase without seeing first. Thanks!

I would agree with this. It's very important to know why you are choosing to homeschool your kids. Homeschooling requires a lot of mental energy regardless of which approach you choose. It is a job, and one that should be taken seriously.

Thanks for the feedback about the units. I was wondering how secular they were. And thanks, too, for the advice about narrowing a topic down. I sometimes get too wrapped up in the big picture and forget to see the value in teaching specific parts. You've caused me to question my purpose in teaching biology. What is the main goal I want my kids to achieve? My son has expressed a concern about air pollution and how many people die each year because of it. Seems like I could easily incorporate lessons and experiments about how pollution affects plants and humans. We'd certainly have to learn about plant makeup in order to learn the effect pollution has on plants. Same with the human body. OK, thank you so much for replying! I'm off to look for some inspiring books about environmental pollution. That sentence sounds kind of weird....not sure inspiring and pollution should go together....

Do you have a microscope recommendation? And, if you'll share, was the issue with Ellen McHenry's unit just for that unit, or is it her units in general? I'm looking at using some of her things and would love your feedback. I'm so intrigued with your homemade units. I'm trying to do something similar for 6th biology, but I'm having trouble narrowing down the big ideas I want my kid to become familiar with. I know we'll spend some time on plants, human body, and animals, but I'm stuck on the overall big ideas, especially for plants and animals. Ideas?

I did this about 2 months ago. I determined (after reading online and talking with my husband who had a herniated disk) that it was a herniated disk (very common). The only thing to do was stretch and use it. I did (and am still doing) these stretches every day when I first got up. https://www.backauthority.com/herniated-disc-exercises/ I actually did them 2-3 more times throughout the day during the first month. I hope it's not a herniated disk! I'm still dealing with mine, although I am almost back to normal. I've been doing my normal exercise routine again for about three weeks, but I still feel the pain slightly when I bend over and when I get up in the morning.