We were in t-shirts and shorts yesterday and now have a few inches of snow on the ground plus 50 mph winds!

Here are some pics of our room:

We have a schoolroom. We love it! My husband also works from home, using our bedroom as his office, and when we did school in the kitchen, it was much too distracting to all of us to be in such close proximity all day long. We have desks for each of the kids, but they rarely use them. I'm thinking of getting rid of them but the kids like them for storage. We also have an old kitchen table that I use as a desk and it's also where I work on-on-one with kids. We also have a few sets of bookcases. Because we have a 4 yo, we do have toys in the room to keep him busy. I hide them in a Rubbermaid container under the table. We have a beanbag chair for seating but the room is also next to our family room on the lower level, so we use that room quite a bit for reading and watching documentaries.

I've lived in both areas, although I've only homeschooled in Minnesota. Cost of living is lower in MN. Commutes are generally shorter and easier. The health care system is very good. Mayo Clinic is in Rochester, about 90 miles from Minneapolis. Homeschooling is easy; standardized testing is required yearly but you don't have to show anyone your scores. There are many homeschoolers, activities for homeschoolers and homeschooling groups. The weather is colder, but it is sunny much of the time. There are great museums and zoos. Lots to do with kids. There is a lot of natural beauty; lots of lakes. The North Shore of Lake Superior is magnificent. WA has a different kind of natural beauty. The mountains are amazing. The dark, foggy winters are sometimes hard to take. We loved being near the ocean. My DH worked in downtown Seattle; we had to live an hour out of the city in order to find affordable housing. He commuted on the train. We ultimately moved back to MN to be near family.

Caffeine caused that for me. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We have a Bosch that is about 3 years old and stopped working about 3 weeks ago. :( The drain pump isn't draining. I hear you on how poorly made appliances are these days. We go for pricepoints about in the middle of the range, but it's rare that all of our appliances are working at once. Our washing machine is also on the fritz and it's only a few years old, too. I remember in our first house, 20 years ago, we had older appliances and never do I remember them malfunctioning ... we left them when we sold the house.

We are really enjoying Mystery Science this year! My kids beg to do it. We got a free trial for the year but I'm not sure if that offer is still available. I'll gladly pay for it next year; it's that good! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not a coach, but I do recommend Beachbody!

We already used CLE math and language arts for my older boys, so I started CLE Learn to Read with my kindergartner last year. It didn't go over well, to be honest. I do think the program is well-structured and very thorough, but as much as I liked it, it just wasn't a good fit for her. I don't know exactly what it was. She did learn how to read, but she didn't like the program. It had quite a bit of writing and that's probably a weak area for her. It was perhaps too slow on the phonics but required more writing than she was developmentally capable of doing at that point. We are now doing All About Reading and she LOVES it. Each kid is different, though!

Are you able to open enroll into a neighboring district in which you don't reside? That is fairly common here in Minnesota, even among special education students.

Yes, we used it for several months for our 4 yo nonverbal son with Down syndrome. He liked it at first but then got bored. He did learn some new signs. There are discounts and scholarships available with minimal effort. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I use 3 student planners for my 3 kids and one teacher planner for myself. In the student planner, I list out their assignments by subject each week. They check them off when completed. This is only for their independent subjects. Some subjects are covered every day, like math, while others are only two or three days a week. This doesn't generally change from week to week, although I may move First Language Lessons, for example, to a different day if we have a field trip or other activity. In the teacher planner, I list out the subjects we cover together (history, Latin, science, fine arts, recitation, read-aloud) and check off that work when completed. I used to use Homeschool Planner and then Lessontrek, but this has turned out to be the easiest system for us. I needed something where they each had their own to-do list because they each go to their grandma's to do school once a week so I can give more focused attention to the others. It also gives them some accountability to get their work done and satisfaction when they get to check something off!

We really love Mystery Science. It works well for a variety of ages. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

A kid? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We've been MFW dropouts twice. I've learned that I'm not a boxed curriculum person. We're rather eclectic now and it works well for us. You can see in my signature what I use for my first grader.

I'm in the same boat with my 9 and 11 yo boys so I appreciate all of these suggestions!

I love it, but two of my kids do better with mastery-based programs. I'm glad my oldest prefers CLE because it's what I feel most comfortable teaching.

My 6th grader just watched it last week and loved it. We're adding it to Morning Time next week -- we'll see how it goes with the younger kiddos.

We have a free trial this year of Mystery Science but it's been a huge hit. I'll gladly pay for it next year. All About Reading is pricey and I wouldn't be able to afford it without charter funds, but it's been fantastic for DD this year. IEW SWI-A was a splurge for us last year but it wasn't a good fit. I sold it. We've also tried some of the theme books, thinking the videos were the issue, but my DS just does not like how repetitive their programs are.

Praying! I've had a kid with a trach and g-tube, although they were placed in infancy. Praying both are a temporary measure to help restore her to health. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I also don't understand their reluctance to do the MRI. You're the one paying for it, either directly or through insurance. If you want it, push for it! I know I'd want it to rule out anything more serious.

Push for admission and a neurology consult. Stress to neurology that they need to consider all possibilities. I've found that you can answers more quickly when you're inpatient ... my son has been inpatient for more than 200 days in his mere 4 years. Sometimes you have to tell the doctors what to do -- you're paying them, and you're the only one who has the full picture of your child's situation. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I also don't like our WalMart, but their prices are good ... I prefer Aldi -- it's closer to home anyway and has better customer service. I also shop at a discount food store where the food is near its expiration date -- I can save a TON of money there.

I'm ready to pitch Apologia's Writers in Residence. It is incredibly thick because it is so wordy -- and that is the same reason we pitched their science programs. It moves too slowly for my son. I'd rather do more direct instruction in writing and get him actually writing compositions more often. I'm also not very happy with Zaner Bloser GUM. There's not enough review for my kids to retain the material. I'd wanted a lighter grammar year this year so we could focus more on writing but I feel like we're wasting time with it.

We used CLE and switched for the exact same reason. Math was becoming a battle. He loves BA. On the other hand, my other child hates BA and stuck with CLE.