My mom was talking to her friend who mentioned that she buys her grandkids' school clothes. My mom commented that she'd never done that and the friend responded, "Well, they're homeschooled ... they don't need clothes." To which my mom responded, "They're homeschooled, but they still wear clothes!"

This is a big part of it. I was not explicitly taught much grammar in school but I internalized enough through reading to be a decent writer and earn a master's degree at a fairly prestigious university. I loved learning languages and had minors in both Spanish and French in college, but I hit a wall in terms of fluency because of my lack of grammar instruction in English. In our native language, we know when something doesn't sound quite right, even if we don't know why. When I studied other languages, I got stuck on grammar points like direct and indirect objects. I had never learned what they were in English even though I was an decent speaker and writer, so I couldn't understand them in another language either.

My kids love it. I use it for grades 1, 4 and 6 and add additional books and assignments for the two older kids. We do most of the experiments and they have gone well, too. We've had a hard time finding science programs that don't suck the life out of my science-loving kids. This one is working well for us! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My 4th and 6th graders are excellent spellers and despise busywork. I use Natural Speller with them which is somewhat similar to Spelling Power. It has grade level lists. I only make them practice words they can't spell correctly orally.

We can keep all of our supplies as long as we are enrolled for the whole school year. After that, it is ours to do with as we wish.

I have 3 kids enrolled in a public charter, grades 1, 4 and 6. We get funds in exchange for filling out worksheets tied to state standards. My two younger kids also attend a weekly enrichment program where they get art, music, PE and cooking classes. They love it. The worksheets are a little annoying -- we have to turn in one every two weeks for each subject: math, language arts, social studies and science. The subject matter is not usually aligned with the curriculum that we're using. My 6th grader feels like he's getting nothing out of the deal; he just gets extra work out of it. My 1st and 4th graders deal with the worksheets knowing they get to go to their weekly fun classes. The funds are nice, but I feel like I bought more than I really need and won't use all of it. Next year I may just sign up the two who really like the enrichment program so that they can continue with that.

This sounds interesting, but what do you do with all of the papers after they're completed? Once you tear the math workbook apart and they then complete the pages, do you re-file them into a binder or just toss them?

Have you taken a look at Mystery Science? We love it!

Ditto Mystery Science! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hits: Beast Academy for my 4th grader Middlebury Spanish for grades 1, 4 and 6 Mystery Science FLL & WWE for 1st grade All about Reading 2 for 1st grade Natural Speller + Spelling Wisdom for grades 4 and 6 Prodigy Math Getting Started with Latin Misses: Math Mammoth for my 4th grader Math Mammoth and Beast Academy for my 6th grader; he's back to CLE. :) Just OK: Zaner-Bloser GUM for grades 4 and 6. I don't see the same retention we saw with CLE Language Arts, but it is short & sweet. Hoffman Academy for piano; just can't find the time.

I don't think the ACE curriculum is known for being particularly rigorous. And if the mom's not actively engaged in his learning, I can easily see how this could happen. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We are in MN and have used the Stanford and CAT. On the intent to homeschool form you submit to the district, you specify which test you plan to use.

This is pretty common practice in MN. It's called shared time here, and we've done it for music, art and PE at the elementary level. We're no longer participating due to scheduling issues. Some do it in high school for higher maths and lab sciences. Many use it for band or orchestra.

I'm so sorry. What a shock!

Ditto CLE!

I like the digital myself, but I want my kids to get used to using an assignment book. So I make my to-do lists in Homeschool Planet and print out their weekly lists to put in their assignment binder. It's a good compromise for us.

I used Homeschool Planet two years ago, and then got a free lifetime membership to Lessontrek so I used that last year. It was fine, but did not have all of the features that Homeschool Planet has. I really need to make my own life easier and simplify planning so I'm back to Homeschool Planet this year. It does everything I need it to do!

I sometimes put a drop of oil on an unexposed part of my clothing.

You can also get Swagbucks for purchases you make at various online retailers. That's actually how I get most of my Swagbucks.

I requested it from my library and I'm first on the hold list!

I was a Spanish minor in college and was really excited about Spanish with Children. I love the look of everything from Classical Academic Press. Once I got it, I started realizing that their approach would not work for my kiddos. I'm not sure if would have worked for me, either. Introducing different tenses and conjugations at once would turn my kids off to language learning right away! We're now using Middlebury Spanish Online and it's working great for us!

I have a Moto G. I love it, but I should have sprung for the extra memory when I bought it a year ago. 8MB just doesn't cut it!

I dislike curricula that look unprofessional, especially those that utilize Comic Sans. I'm a sucker for good graphic design.

I'm using the Natural Speller book with my 6th grader this year, as well as some prepared dictation through Speling Wisdom.

I can't find that coupon code; does anyone have it handy?