Have you tried asking on the G&B Facebook page? I'm guessing there are more active users there.

Yes. This. I have a 5 yo who spent his first 11 weeks in the NICU fighting for his life, came out with a g-tube and tracheostomy, came home to 16 hours a day of home nursing care and proceeded to be hospitalized for 200+ days in his first 18 months. His first 3 years were touch-and-go with numerous points where we could have lost him. One more than one occasion, I saw him crash and nurses and doctors working to bring him back. In another case, he acquired pneumonia while sedated to recover from a complicated surgery and had to be sedated for a total of a month to give his body a chance to recover -- and we didn't know if he'd ever wake up. He's now doing well, but the above statement is so very true. I am not sure whether I have PTSD but I can see how people in similar circumstances would. At the very least, it changes you and how you look at life and the world.

Continued prayers for your sweet girl.

I am planning on the LA for the fall - grades 2, 5 and 7. I started level 2 a few weeks before school ended as a trial and it went well. I purchased the Nature Notebooks and LOVE them. I've been looking for something like this forever!

This is very troubling indeed.

Good to know; thanks!

I'm planning to use The Good and the Beautiful for LA next year for grades 2, 5 & 7. It's an all-in-one and you can download some of the levels for free.

We used this book last year and added historical fiction, additional non-fiction, documentaries and field trips. It was a great year!

This is so interesting!

I have a special needs child who sleeps poorly so my own sleep is often fragmented. I'd estimate 6-7 hours a night, but not all at one time. I'd prefer 8-9 solid hours a night.

Our boys have played flag football, basketball and soccer. Youth soccer rules here don't allow headers or other physical contact and so far, we have had zero injuries. We won't allow tackle football or hockey because of the risk of head injury. My 12 yo son has done his own research on the risks and while he'd like to play, he understands why we won't allow it.

I think what I'll do is try Visual Latin on a subscription basis and if it doesn't work out, go to LFC. Thanks for the feedback!

The sports analytics looks fun for my sports fan. Thanks!

My boys have done about 1/2 of Getting Started with Latin and I want to continue with a video-based program next year. I was all set on Visual Latin since we used Dwayne Thomas' Word Up vocabulary lessons and the boys really liked him. They DID NOT like the look of the Latin for Children Primer A videos (they were somewhat dated and kind of hokey) so I nixed that option completely. Until yesterday, when I saw that LFC Primer A has been completely revised. The text looks so much better and easier to follow. The videos are now in HD and look to be much better quality. I'm starting to wonder whether VL will be a stretch for my 5th grader in particular and if we should go the LFC route this year after all. Anyone have an opinion to share?

Praying for Jenna and you.

FYI, there is a fantastic nature study notebook from the G&B ... I'm using it today with my 2nd grader. :) Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Have you looked at The Good and the Beautiful? I think it would fit many of your criteria and it's free for the download, although many purchase the printed version because even that is so reasonably priced.

I lived in Boise for 6 years. We loved it, but it was before we had kids. We travel back every few summers and our kids would love to move there but extended family keeps us where we are now. There is so much to do if you enjoy the outdoors. Homeschooling is very easy, cost of living is very reasonable and there are a lot of transplants from other parts of the country -- especially CA. The weather is mild most of the year but very hot and dry all summer. Temps in the 100s are not unusual for days or even weeks at a time. Boise is more diverse than the rest of the state religiously -- much of eastern Idaho is LDS. There are a wide variety of churches in Boise and I'd feel totally comfortable moving there and finding a church home.

We also use CAP's Writing and Rhetoric alongside CLE LA. It's very different and so they complement each other nicely.

I wonder if they were kept in too low of a temperature at some point, and if that stops the ripening process. When I was a young and naive college student, I put some bananas in the fridge because I thought they'd keep better that way. The same thing happened.

Has anyone used it? It looks very interesting and well-designed with a variety of activities to appeal to different ages and learning styles. They take a different approach to history than the typical classical four-year cycle: rather than covering one period per year, they cover all four, but at different levels and focusing on different aspects. Each year includes some American history. (That's been one of my hangups with the classical cycle because until we did a full year of American history this year, my kids had studied more world history than American. As Americans, I felt they needed to have an understanding of at least the basics.) For example: Year One: Unit 1: Ancient Egypt Unit 2: Middle Ages and the Renaissance Unit 3: French and Indian War through the Revolutionary War Unit 4: Victorian Era/History of Flight/Cold War I'm interested in hearing any and all thoughts, especially from people who have used both SOTW and The Good and the Beautiful. Kara

I'm considering the VP self-paced online classes next year for a couple of my kids. With three school-age kids and one preschooler with special needs and considerable medical challenges, this could be a way to take a little off my plate. I don't want to go totally hands-off, obviously, but it would be nice for each of the kids to have something online and self-paced that they can do without a lot of input from me. What other options are there for elementary and middle school age? My school-age kids will be in grades 2, 5, and 7. We already use Prodigy as a math supplement and have used Middlebury Interactive for Spanish. We've tried IEW SWI-A and it flopped big-time.

I use CLE math with my older boys, but started my daughter on Singapore because CLE 1st grade math was just too much in kindergarten and I got Singapore Essentials for a great price at a used book sale. After we finished that, we tried CLE again and it just wasn't a good fit for her, so we continued on with 1A and 1B. Somewhere around the middle of the school year, I tried to go back to CLE because it's easier for me to teach. Again, not a good fit. If Singapore's working well for her, I'd stick with it. Alternatively, you might want to consider Math in Focus. That's what we're doing next year because I really don't like the Singapore HIG. It looks easier to teach than Singapore (tip - look for it used; the books are extraordinarily expensive new, but easily available used!)

I have a child whose medical bills in 5 years are in excess of 2 million dollars. You can't predict what may or may not happen in the future. It's risky to go without -- for any of you. Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Have you considered Writing and Rhetoric?