I previously did SOTW 1 and 2. Then I jumped ship and did two years of American history instead of 3 and 4. I just finished a second round of SOTW 1 and 2. I'm considering jumping ship again. I think I do the same thing a couple of years and then I get wanderlust. Is it worth staying the course?

In my neighborhood, people generally air their grievances on the neighborhood facebook page.

Agreeing with others that the cisterns are a must see.

She loves art. I'm not sure if such a thin exists or where to even start. I am the least artistic person ever. I think she's wanting to draw more across subjects. Not just an art curriculum.

It didn't rain!! It cleared up about an hour before the party! We had the pool basically to ourselves because it had rained all day. Thanks for all the ideas! I'm so thankful I didn't have to use them!

I say day-ta, but I think either is acceptable. Or would it be i-ther is acceptable?

We were supposed to have a birthday party for my 10 and 5 year old boys at the pool today. It looks like the pool option will be rained out. We've already gotten so much rain that my backyard is a mud pit. Any ideas on how to entertain 15 boys ages 4-14 in my house for two hours?!?! HELP!!

This is part of my problem in being decisive. I have LOOOVED every where I have ever been. New Orleans? Loved it. NYC? Loved it. New Mexico mountains? Loved it. Camping in Arkansas? Loved it. South Padre? Loved it. We have lived in various cities in Texas and explored most of what is available in our state. We have also frequently been to New Mexico because we used to live an hour away from the border. We've done Colorado frequently, but not in a long time... so most of our kids wouldn't remember it. I love camping, beach trips, mountain trips, roughing it in a tent, nice hotels, middle of nowhere, middle of a huge city. The kids and DH haven't come up with anything that they really want to do. So, I think I can be persuasive on just about anything. But, what to use my persuasive powers for...

I think flight prices for a family of 6 are going to be too high. My understanding is that driving to the safe parts via the border is not safe.

Where do you stay and what all do you do there? South Dakota has come out on top for me several times, but I'm having trouble selling DH...

We want to leave town for a week or so. Probably no more than 20 hours of driving. We don't have thousands of dollars to spend, but I am so itching to go somewhere that I'm trying to figure out a cheap way to do it. We are open to the idea of camping, but also a bit leery of the work. I saw one suggestion for DC because most of the museums there are free?! My son is in 4th grade, so I've spent a lot of time looking at National Parks because 4th graders get free entrance. I'm just sorta stuck. Yellowstone was at the top of my list, but geez, it's a long trip. We've done weekend trips so many times all over Texas. I'd really like something slightly more epic! Any suggestions??

I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on tv. However, it sounds like runner's knee to me. You can generally train through it. Sitting for long periods of time can irritate it further. I'd continue to go slow. I tend to have more aches and pains running on a treadmill than outside. All of the ligaments and tendons around your joints have to strengthen and get used to the added stress you are putting on them. That generally causes some aches and pains in the early weeks of running. Once your body becomes accustomed to the running, the pains go away. Ultimately, though, you have to weigh out how much discomfort you are in. If it is serious, you should see a HCP and make sure there isn't real damage being done. If it is tolerable and sporadic, then you can maybe take the advice of random internet posters. Good luck with the running! I started a C25K program four years ago and have since run four marathons and a dozen halfs!

My husband's theory is that the envelope for best actress was handed off stage as Emma Stone exited. Then, best picture was next up and that same envelope was handed back out to announce. Instead of the unopened best picture envelope. We were just in open mouthed shock. I couldn't believe La La Land didn't win. And, I couldn't believe it didn't win after they just announced it won.

I like this website for car seat options! https://carseatblog.com/safest-recommended-car-seats/

We took our four year old. Granted, if I had anyone who could have watched him, he wouldn't have gotten to go, but DH and I both wanted to see it with the big kids, so we dragged him along too and bought him a ton of snacks. My 7 year old was actually engaged and came out talking about unfairness.

We are 18 months post a big move. I feel fairly settled and less homesick in the last couple months. The first year was a lot of ups and downs.

I also would recommend Ina May Gaskin books. I reread Spiritual Midwifery with each pregnancy. It is completely a hippy book, but it really helps get your head in the right place. It helps you to feel strong and confident about the process. So much of pain is a mental game. If you can stay calm and collected, the pain will be much more manageable.

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I don't have practical advice for you like many other posters will, but I wanted to say that spending a bit over two months in Turkey completely changed my worldview. It is never as hard as you imagine. I was able to navigate public transportation, and ordering food, and paying for souvenirs with little difficulty. People speak English everywhere. You will probably have some times when you feel uncertain and out of place, but that is part of the experience. I would jump on any chance to travel internationally. Have fun!! Edited to add my ONE piece of practical advice: I agree with some of the others that the more flexible and understanding you are, the better time you will have. Did you get on a wrong bus? It's okay... you will see an area of a foreign city you might not have seen otherwise. Take those things in stride.

My kids are participating in this for the first time this year. I've been pleasantly surprised with how much I have enjoyed IEW writing. However, I'm really unsure about the grammar program. It is really different than the FLL approach or CLE. It seems really overwhelming to me so far. Introducing all the sentence structures in one week. Introducing every conjunction known to man in one week. I'm considering supplementing at home with something else because I'm not sure how this year will turn out as far as learning grammar. But, if I supplement with something else, it will take time away from making the program really work. Any thoughts? Did their program work well for your kids?

This has seriously been our favorite aspect of homeschooling this year, and it is free. My 6th grader loves it. The 4th grader is very interested. The 2nd grader is sometimes really interested and sometimes it is over her head. Overall, I feel like we are so much more informed of world events. I feel like they have covered very difficult news stories in an appropriate fashion. I actually feel more informed on what is going on in Syria and Yemen. I like that my children are getting some exposure to the presidential debates (without all the ridiculousness). They also do some really interesting special interest stories. This week they are doing a few minutes a day on the heroin epidemic. It has been great for discussion. I just wanted to share with everyone! It is exactly 10 minutes long every day. There are a lot of back episodes on the website if you want to preview it. It's recommended for teachers to preview it each day, but I've just been watching with them and discussing. We watch it over dinner with dad on our co-op day. We can't miss it, lol!

All our meets have had apps you can put on your phone that will alert you when your swimmers are close to going. You may need lawn chairs depending on the location. Entertainment. It is so boring waiting on your kid. And for your kid waiting to go. Lots of downtime.

Since you are posting on a homeschool forum, I will chime in with "pull him". The idea of having 1 kid public schooled and 1 kid homeschooled makes me tired. Pull him and go on a fun family vacation while everyone else is in school. He's 6. If all you get to this year are math and reading lessons, you will lose nothing if it bombs and you send him back next year. Find a homeschool group. Have him take an art class or something to be with other kids. But, hey, you are asking totally biased people, lol!

It was pretty crazy. I mean, I had an obvious newborn. But, someone official had to say that there was a baby. I know of some others who have struggled to get proper paperwork with out of hospital births. States don't always make it super easy to accomplish. Instead of all the threats to jail parents or make it mandatory to get a bc, maybe they just need to make it accessible to get one when you want one. I mean, I know they have to make it hard to claim to be someone you're not, but there has to be some middle ground.