Thirty-five miles away through nightmarish traffic. And $23K/yr tuition.

A list of curriculum does not a WTM education make. The SotW and Apologia are pretty much bare bones because she goes to a 1x/week tutorial, and they don't make a lot of demands there. LA, foreign language, and math are about all I can manage with her at home after dealing with the little ones. I work part-time so there's not much extra time. She'll be old enough for the "dream school" next year, and I'm going to be mourning that it's impossible to send her. She is a very social kid, and would thrive in a classroom of other smart kids where education really is an atmosphere, rather than trying to concentrate on math while her siblings are going bananas. Another week is over, and once again I did not get to science with the little ones. I have Elemental Science Intro to Science, which is about as easy and age-appropriate as it gets. But my executive functioning skills are pathetic, so we're scrambling to get the basics done every day.

I come up short because I compare myself to the best private schools in the city. I arrogantly thought I could give my kids that kind of education. Now that I realize it's impossible, it's too late to go back and make the changes that would allow the kids to attend the top-notch private schools. And so we are destined for the very mediocrity which I began homeschooling to avoid. At least we avoid all the bureaucratic nonsense, age-inappropriate expectations, and bullying of the public schools.

I've heard good things about Ananda Apothecary but haven't tried them yet.

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Memoria Press has a book of memorization questions and answers for each grade.

My very sensitive child read it at 8 with no problem.

This is what I was going to suggest. My 5yo started Level A last year, and he is working through B now. Lots of color, lots of pictures, not a lot of writing, but the concepts are great!

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I'm strict about language with my kids, so they make up their own swear words.

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After much struggle, I think this is where I've ended up -- as a YEC who accepts that the scientific interpretation is not going to line up with the Biblical account. It is a mystery, just like the mystery of Holy Communion (Lutheran here, so I appreciate that comparison). My kids are still young, but pretty soon I have to figure out how to explain this to their little black-and-white minds.

I had 3. The recovery was hardest the first time, but probably because I was so weak from a month of bed rest. My OB said after #3 that I was good to keep going for more, but I ended up not having any more for other reasons.

Just to sum up a response to everyone's suggestions... She has read and liked: Mysterious Benedict Society Caddie Woodlawn - Carol Ryrie Brink Little Women - Louisa M Alcott Mrs. Piggle Wiggle - Betty MacDonald The 100 Dresses -- Eleanor Estes Just So Stories The Jungle Book The Wheel on the School and Along Came A Dog Understood Betsy The Door in the Wall Desperaux Wind in the Willows Peter Pan Five Children and It Heidi A Little Princess, The Secret Garden, The Boxcar Children Doctor Dolittle She has read and kind of liked: Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler Marguerite Henry books She did not like: The Saturdays - Elizabeth Enright the Railway Children Paddington She has read but I don't remember if she liked or not: All of a Kind Family Ginger Pye The Moffats Strawberry Girl Twig I went to the big library and got these: Caroline Years series What Katy Did The Borrowers The Trumpet of the Swan Stuart Little Wolves of Willoughby Chase The Penderwicks An Old-Fashioned Girl the first Nancy Drew book (original) plus she picked out a Royal Diaries book that the local library didn't have Let's see how long it takes for her to go through these. She did her tutorial homework for the week in 30 minutes yesterday, so she has lots of reading time!

Yes on the AG mysteries, I think she's read all the ones in the library. She read the first 3 Betsy-Tacys I think, and sadly didn't love them as much as I did. It might be time for her to read All of a Kind Family again, she was pretty young the first time. I can try to track down the sequels too. I'm going to have to bite the bullet and pay for a card for the city library and make a trip there once a month. Our little town's library just isn't working for her book habit.

Thanks for the suggestions! Of the books listed, I estimate she's either read or tried about half of them, which gives me a good number to work with.

I'm running out of ideas for dd9. In the last two weeks, she finished the Little House series, the Martha Years, and the 3 Charlotte Years books I have. (Sorry, dd, but I'm not paying $50 for an OOP paperback!). She hates The Saturdays, she read the first 3 Anne of Green Gables books but lost interest after Anne grew up, she's read Little Women and all sequels multiple times, she lost interest in Narnia after LWW and Prince Caspian, she's read every Oz book, every Lang's Fairy Tale book, Hans Christian Andersen, Jacobs' Fairy Tales, The Hobbit, started LotR but burned out mid-Two Towers. I don't know what to give her to read next. To make it harder, she's going through a phase of being really sensitive and can't handle reading about situations that are upsetting or gruesome or sad or unjust. She had to quit reading the "You Wouldn't Want to Be..." books because the gross stuff would stick in her head. Book suggestions?

If you want to try going cold turkey, I've found that brushing your teeth after each meal helps. Eight weeks sugar free here except for my son's birthday cake.

I sent my middle child to preschool for two years, when she was 3 and 4. My youngest went for his pre-K year when he was 4. No regrets. They had a great time. Now, I didn't have a baby to deal with at drop-off and pick-up time, which would have made it a lot harder, and is a big reason why I didn't send my oldest to preschool.

It's weird how certain things trigger the addiction. Last night was our first church choir practice since May, and that was the worst craving I've had in awhile. I would always drink diet coke on the way to and from practice. Classical conditioning at its finest, I guess.

I make a batch of turkey sausage and eat that for a few days, then go back to eggs. Breakfast was a really hard adjustment for me because I usually feel queasy first thing in the morning. The paleo diet seems to have fixed that, and now I can eat pretty much anything first thing.

When I started doing Whole30 eating, the diet coke is what I missed most. Unsweetened tea was allowed, so I drank that to ease the caffeine withdrawals. It's been nearly 8 weeks, and I no longer get the cravings at home, only out places (like taking the kids to McDonalds or going to a picnic). Saturday we were at a friend's cabin, there was all kinds of food there I couldn't eat, and nearly everyone was drinking soda. I cracked and took a couple of drinks out of dh's diet coke. That was enough, and I left it alone. Interesting what fairfarmhand said about hair falling out. I just noticed yesterday that I'm losing less hair in the shower. Maybe there's a connection!

There's no help setting on Elements. If you get stuck on a level, you're just stuck. My dd6 is better at it than I am, I think she has finished nearly all the levels.