I loved Asimov on numbers I didn’t realize he had history books too will look for them, thanks

Thank you! Just requested some of those from the library and getting lost in that podcast :)

Hi, my 11th grader is interested in learning more about the roman empire. He really just wants to read some great books. He's a fairly strong reader but anything too dry will probably bore him. Any recommendations? thanks

My daughter has decided that she wants to make a quilt. by hand. "like laura and mary (ingalls)" which is fine, I think she can try to make a doll size quilt, but I have no idea how. I googled and I'm getting overwhelmed. does anyone here do this? can you point me to a good instructive book or website? thanks

your dog is my dogs hero. our lab (7 mo) is hell-bent of catching himself a squirrel (or a bird) but so far all he's caught was a butterfly.

I loved the ACS program! I did go overboard buying the supplies bc it was my first year homeschooling and it was so much fun buying all this cool stuff. I liked that the readings were short and I really liked the videos too. true, its 'short' but that was ok for me, we didnt do science every day and we took breaks too. I might use it for a non-college bound high schooler and see where it takes you. its a nice foundation if your high schooler wants to go further. I have no experience with apologia.

for grammar, I like IEW's The Nose Tree. works very well with my check-listy kid. Its fairly gentle, lots of repetition, and I feel like it sets the child up for success. and they have a great return policy, so if it doesnt work for you, you can return it :)

thanks for all of the feedback I think we will give it a try and see what happens. I like the idea of reading it together.

I'm considering BA (3a) for my now third grader. was wondering if this is something that is meant to be more of an independent study thing or if its more parent intensive. It seems written to the student, do you as a parent just step in when the child isnt understanding something or gets stuck? or is it expected that the parent will teach the lessons? My ds is probably capable of getting most of it on his own but needs alot of encouragement to stay focused and on topic. and he lacks any initiative when it comes to math. so I will most likely be around while he is working, just wondering what level of parental involvement is expected. thanks

we bought my husbands childhood home from my inlaws. shortly after we got married they moved overseas where all of dh's siblings were living. I wasnt really keen on the idea, its a nice enough house on a beautiful property in a beautiful community that we totally dont fit into and I was worried about the 'strings' but dh really wanted it. so, be aware of any attached strings (was entirely as I predicted but since the inlaws live 6000 miles away its only an issue when they come to visit). I've learned to live with my neighbors, and am grateful that we have a nice house that we probably couldnt have afforded if we hadnt purchased from my inlaws (they did give us a good deal). my kids get a kick out of sleeping in dh's old bedroom and my brother in law gets a kick out of reminding my dh that he's sleeping in his dads bed. or that I'm in his mom's bed. (which I am not, we totally redecorated the master bedroom first thing!) so yeah, overall, its a warm-fuzzy for us. I would never ever not forever have purchased my own childhood home. too many demons.

not the OP, but I have questions... do you use the food grade DE? does the terro liquid ant killer need to be reapplied after it gets wet?

this. we had a terrible time with carpenter ants. all of my neighbors too. we hired an exterminator and after paying a bazillion dollars we STILL had ants now and then. so finally my dh educated himself. first thing...watch them. find the nest. kill the nest and if you can, the queen. as large as the ants are, the queen is obscenely huge. we found a nest in a dying apple tree in our yard. got rid of the tree and it really decreased the amount of ants around our house. keep your gutters clear. find and repair any leaks. they love soft wet wood. if you learn their habits, and follow them, they will tell you where they live and how they get into your home. then, even if you are using poison, you can use much less than an exterminator because it will be focused. we actually do use pretty toxic stuff, and its one of the major disagreements in my marriage, and I've chosen to overlook it because, well, I love my husband and he is more passionate about this than I am, so please no one try to explain to me why its so bad for me. I know and am choosing to live in denial about this. so we use an oil based powder and dust it around the perimeter of our foundation in the spring. we have pretty deep flower beds so the kids and dog do not get access to that area, nor would I plant vegetables in that bed. I think its called Delta Dust or something like that. and then my husband also has some sort of injection type tool for getting inside the wall for when we find an indoor nest (we found one in the wall of our linen closet once, which is behind the tub..turned out there was a leak there. we followed the ants into the tub which is how we figured that out). we did have one indoor swarm, thats really horrible, its when the babies all leave home and seek out new homes, we had literally hundreds if not thousands of them swarming around one window. turned out there was a leak under the window and the entire wall under the siding was soft and wet. we obviously repaired it and havent had a problem there since. and yes, it is all out war here. my kids know whenever they see a carpenter ant, they are to do their recon and follow the thing and find the nest. when we moved into our home it was infested. the previous owners (my inlaws) had been using the bait traps for years and couldnt get rid of them that way. we havent had more than a couple a year since my dh took over the extermination. good luck

I love my klean kanteen insulated water bottle. I mostly use it for keeping hot drinks hot (my hot water stays hot for hours when we're ice skating) and I would imagine it does keep cold drinks cold as well. the only downside for me is that the sports tops squeak and leak.

I totally understand you :) I bought the app even though we have the real deal abacus. it is cool. and it makes a nice clickity sound when you slide the beads. very sensitive to flipping over though, is my only complaint. its fun to play with (my kids dont even use it, I do)

there's a right start group on facebook. lots of people sell their used curriculum and manipulatives there. you might try that.