Very cool :)

We have used this successfully with our youngest. He is a very detailed person and very technical. He also hated to write but could make detailed drawings of Legos / Mario levels / Harry Potter characters and spells. He didn't even *gulp* at the size of the book (I may have...). He was able to read and use this program very easily. It helped me since I had a very different idea of what writing looked like. It skipped a lot of the "creative" writing that he hated so much and just dealt with the essentials. A few times he was surprised when he was already done for the day and was looking for more steps. I think that I would have liked to learn writing this way (especially since once I got to high school I needed to already have known this and didn't learn it in school). I think it is the most successful with an older child or with a younger child who is more of the engineering type (no fuss, let's get this done, Mom). I'd give it a real chance to work and if it is too much for your son, just try it again in six months or so.

We have used the online CAT and have had little snags here and there. We've used it for several years (the state requires it) and have been very happy with it overall. If you genuinely are having that much difficulty, just call them up and they will reset that section for you. I know what you mean about the pages being slow to load sometimes, but the timer does not count off for that. It stops when they hit the "submit" button and will start only when the next page is loaded successfully. Good luck, I know it can be nerve wracking!

As I have gone no contact to keep all the "crazy" and abuse from hurting DH and my kids (as well as myself), I would never know about frailty or aging problems.

I agree in letting natural consequences occur: paperwork does not get filed, you donate all the clothes, etc. When our kids were tiny, my DH was like this. He was not doing it to be mean, but with the stress he was having at the time with other things, he just disengaged at home. I felt completely alone with the kids and our household responsibilities. One day, I was changing our youngest (who was 6 months at the time) and mentioned that he hadn't changed one diaper for this child. Just an observation, not an accusation. He said, "I know." I was immediately in tears. I said this to him and it changed everything for us: "It is one thing to never have changed the baby's diaper, but it is another thing to have chosen not to. That means that you have watched your friend (me) struggling everyday and getting worn out and you have chosen not to help. Not cool." It was a wake-up call for both of us. Him being disengaged at home and me allowing it. A lot more attention has been paid to engagement ever since for both of us. I hope you find a solution you can live with.

I open Harvey's and do a lesson. The other day, we worked on classes of verbs. I could tell DS9 could not really understand them yet, so the next day we worked on the same lesson, but I had him diagram the sentences to find the direct objects and could therefore classify the verbs more easily. When I could tell that he had a good understanding of the lesson (3 days), we went on.

We have been using vintage texts since DS9 was about 3. They are wonderful, and many we used / are using are on your list. Some quick, general advice: 1. Vintage books are dense and concentrated. Sometimes 1/2 a page is a lesson for a day or even two days. Respect that and slow down even though it doesn't look like much. 2. As with any book choice, the power of the book is in consistency. Choose a book that YOU can pick up every day for weeks without hurling it across the room. Choose a book that has only as many "pieces" as you can handle happily (workbook, answer key, reference book, web search, etc.). For me, I like each subject (or a couple subjects) in one book or each in one book without needing to reference or use many other books/parts. Vintage books are excellent in that regard. Good luck with whatever you choose. Remember that nothing will be perfect - more than anything, just choose to be done with choosing. Stick with your decision and go with it without questioning it (yourself) again.

Reading on my kindle / always knowing where my kindle paperwhite is (it is within about three feet of me at all times if it isn't in my hand) A good pen (that doesn't skip) and a small notebook (I really feel weird if any of the above three are not with me - like a trinity that must not be broken, LOL) Jeans that fit with functional pockets Bright tennis shoes The color red...I am drawn to it irresistibly Good coffee Nutty bars (there is just no point bringing those home - they won't make it) My husband's chicken salad...I could live on this Biking instead of driving everywhere - these long MN winters are tough to wait through Fun thread!

If you don't mind driving about 20 minutes, check out skyzone. It's an indoor trampoline park. Our teens love it.

This is very exciting! I have not been able to attend a conference in the past because I am always working or homeschooling. What a great idea!!

We are up at 5am, but that's only because we run a coffee shop. On the weekends, the kids would get up around 6 on their own. I could easily sleep until 8-9 am if I was able to though!

I keep thinking about this list too. I think I would feel comfortable with only the Kindles (Paperwhite for me and the Fire for the kids) loaded with Rays, all four SOTW volumes, spellers, readers, CHOW, English, and huge mass of more literature than could be read in a lifetime. I have a whiteboard app that could be used in place of the physical whiteboard and markers. Then a charger and a solar charger option (maybe I am totally cheating Hunter, you let me know, LOL). Then with the remaining space, I would bring notebooks and pens. Physically writing is very therapeutic to me. What keeps me from just using this? Expectations of others I think. Like a PP said, the expectation right now is college entrance and specific pieces of information. So I use things that are familiar to me in meeting these expectations. But if that cousin came and our world was turned upside down, then we can decide what an "education" is. So what is stopping me now? Still pondering that....so much is currently upside down that I wonder what would happen if I just started to trust myself more specifically in the area of education.

Electronically, we'd be set. Just need a kindle or two and a charger. I have the books on there that would work from K-12. I think I would also bring Saxon Algebra 1 and 2. Without electricity would be much tougher since most of our books are electronic now: Pencils, notebooks, Whiteboard, markers Student dictionary (reading, picture study, parts of speech, grammar, new ideas) CLE readers (3), Rod & Staff Reader, Kingdom Tales, childcraft book (variety of stories, discussions, imagery) Rod & Staff English 5 textbook Higher math starting with Saxon 65 through Calculus (whatever would fit) Bag of lego bricks Clay It's a first pass at this, I will be thinking more though...

Prayers and hugs. May you feel peace in the midst of this storm. You are strong and courageous as you walk through today.

One other question for you, Hunter. If they can only be found "free" but online only, can we paste the text onto another document and make it into a PDF for your project? It wouldn't be as pretty, but it would be accessible. There are so many great books that sites have made "free" but then only accessible through their website online (thanks a lot to them, right?) They used to be free through every site (Google books, Project Gutenberg, Archive, etc.).

I have found The Discovery of New Worlds. It can be downloaded as a PDF. How do I paste a link on here?

Stop everything. Please hold the thread. This isn't true?!? Apparently I am an idiot. My youngest son's pediatrician told me the same thing. Is there such a thing as hind milk, etc.?

I LOVE this experiment, Hunter! Let me know how I can help. I can proofread, compile, pre-read, research something you can't get to....whatever you need.

A few more: For us, loop scheduling helped me ensure everything was covered without cramming too much into a single day. Writing down what we did after we did it to "see" what we get done even when it feels like we aren't. Relationships are the most important. I want the kids and I to look back on these years with fondness, not remember them as the years that "mom was always stressed out and yelled a lot."

Forgetting that this is a journey of a thousand miles. Nothing is permanent, both the good and the bad days.

Thanks for all the advice, I started him running laps and getting out to play way more the past few days. I can tell that it really does help him when he gets the blood moving. We'll keep it up and see how schoolwork next week goes. Thank you!!

You know the days....(Hopefully!) The kid sits down, well rested and fed. He's just fussy and has a very poor attitude from the start. Everything is a huge deal (good posture during handwriting, being on the correct page, neatness, etc.). I know that if I don't engage it is better. It is hard because it feels more frequent. If I continue to be patient and polite (but firm), the attitude continues. If I respond (and get upset), I waste my energy but he might snap out of it. The work is appropriate, the task is reasonable. How do you do this at that moment? Do you have a trick to help you blow off the attitude? To not take it personally? Thanks for any advice. I am all ears. You would think we had never done this before. Is DS just being nine years old?

My little guinea pig photo is my own. Sorry this is happening, SWB.

If you eat glue, you have to drink boiling hot water to prevent your mouth from getting stuck together permanently. This was the wisdom of my older brother.

We just found out that we'll need to be around Kansas / Oklahoma / Missouri for work the last two weeks of December. If possible, we want to make it a nice vacation for the remaining several days of the trip. I usually have only passed through that area. What are some places / things we can do in December around there? If it helps our kids are 9-17.