In glad to hear I'm not the only one. It's just so monotonous.

Yes! I that's a great idea 🤣🤣 she probably would.

In my experience it takes 3 years to really teach a child to read. DD 12 and DD 9 are good readers, and we are so close with DS7. I have always used a mix of Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, All About Reading, and Bob Books. I think those programs work great and I know how to use them. The problem is that I have a 4 year old and I just don't think I can do it again! My goal was to teach her the letter sounds this year, but the thought of sounding out "I am Sam" for the next year just sends me in to spontaneous ticks. I have been having her watch Letter Factory videos and play reading eggs on the iPad instead hoping that she can just absorb it ;) She is a fast learner and if any of my children can teach themselves it would be her. Do you have any advice or suggestions on teaching reading to a weary momma?

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Deleted. I really do appreciate the alternate perspectives, but I would hate for my neighbor to stumble onto this post so I have deleted it. Thanks!

Today was our 1st day of coop and things went pretty well. Some kinks to iron out, but overall everyone was trying to follow all the protocols. It was made clear many times that masks were required at all time indoors unless you had a medical reason not too. There was 1 family (mom and 4 kids ages 9 to 3) where none of them were wearing masks. I can understand if someone has a medical concern but it seems unlikely to me that all 5 members of that family have a medical condition. I am not the kind of person to raise a fuss, but I really want to email the director and ask if they have a medical excuse. But I don't want to get labeled as "fussy." Plus, I'm wondering what would I do about it anyways. Would I really quit coop if I was told they were consciously objecting? No. Would you email and ask? 1 of the kids is in class with mine. Also, I don't know if this is at all related, but I have noticed before that the mom has a very nasally voice. Like she talks through her nose. So perhaps she has some sinus issues?

We are planning to start school next week and dh has suggested we start getting ready by going to bed earlier and getting up earlier. No way!! If I only have 6 days left of summer I am soaking every minute up! I LOVE summer break. We stay up late, sleep in, swim at the pool, have bon fires. And the older I get the more indulgent I become. I am just going to set the alarm for 6am on the first day of school and we will all have to deal with it. Do you start winding down to prepare for the back to school routine, or do you soak it up and rip off the bandaid?

A few weeks ago I read the thread about refinance rates and have contacted some local mortgage companies. I have 2 good options and need some help from Mathy types! My current mortage is $209k, 27 years left @ 3.75% Refi option 1- 20 years @ 3.0% and closing cost of $1139 Refi option 2- 20 years @ 2.5% and closing cost of $3317 So, which would you choose. The extra $2178 in closing cost for the 1/2 percent lower rate or not? If I did the math right the lower payment would be $51.50 less than the high one. So dividing the extra closing costs by 51.50, I think the lower interest rate would pay off after 42 months. We hope to be in this house for at least 10 years so hypothetically the lower rate would be worth it. But based on experience, life doesn't always go the way you plan... Also, are rates negotiable? Can I tell lender 1 that lender 2 is offering 2.5% and see if they can give me a better rate?

We are in the same spot. Hot and lazy. Especially me- I lay in bed too long in the morning, I watch too much tv at night. I think we are all functioning with a mild depression baseline. But I think that's 100% reasonable. We're all worried about our jobs, worried about the economy, worried about the election, worried about getting sick. We aren't able to see our friends, our kids can't participate in activities. Then, we can't go to church, or if we do we are stressed the whole time wondering if we are doing the right thing. I think we are all mildly depressed, and a lack of interest in things is a classic symptom. I try to push through, one foot in front of the other. We will be starting homeschool in a few weeks and I am letting the laziness continue until then. Then it's time to get up and at 'em.

My sons loves the "I Survived" series. They have several airplane/Ww2 books. I survived pearl harbor, etc.

My oldest who is fine with traditional instruction is going in to 7th, the next who needs something different is going in to 4th. (And there is a 2nd and preschooler too)

Hi! I'm sure this has been discussed before but I tried searching and couldn't find any. I'm wanting to do some "professional development" this summer and work on improving my teaching abilities. I feel like I'm a little stuck on teaching like I was taught in the traditional classroom. I'm struggling to think outside the box. This was fine for my oldest dd as she loves school and thrives in all areas of it. My 2nd dd doesn't like school. She has a lot of interests and is good at a lot of things, but anything "school" she bawks at. I'm looking for how to be more outside the box for her, to help her foster a love of learning. Do you have any books or lectures that have helped you grow in this area of your teaching?

Thank you for these responses! I struggle with feeling like a push over, but it really helps to have reinforcement that switching is a good choice. I will do that 🙂

My dd’s are 12 and 9 and we are doing swim team this summer at our pool. The 9 yo is on the swim team and 12 yo is on dive team. Their 2 best friends Are on dive team. Now my 9 yo wants to switch to dive team but I want her to stay with swimming and we are in a stand off. I wanted her to do swimming in order to strengthen her swimming skills. I feel like she just wants to switch to diving to be with her friends. She sees these 2 friends everyday (they are our neighbors) so I feel like it would be good for her to branch out a little. She says that’s not what it is about, she really wants to learn the diving skills. Also, she says that swimming is too hard and that she gets too tired (which is actually what I like about it.) I can’t decide if I should stick to my guns and keep her on the swim team. She would get stronger and I think she would be proud of what she gained. Or if I should say it’s summer and I just want her to have fun and let her switch to diving. Basically I’m being worn down by her daily fight to switch and can’t imagine having this argument every morning for the next 6 weeks... also, they aren’t doing in person meets this summer. They will have virtual meets where they time the swimmers from different teams and the fastest wins. I think the incentive of winning would be fun. I talked to her coach and he said that she could switch if she wanted too, but he was surprised because “she’s such a good swimmer.”

I am looking for an upper elementary book that covers the three branches of government; local, state, and federal government; voting. Just a basic overview. Usborne has this one, https://www.usborne.com/quicklinks/eng/catalogue/catalogue.aspx?cat=1&loc=usa&area=EN&subcat=EGK&id=12990 but it doesn't seem to cover the 3 branches. Any other suggestions?

I love summer break and fully embrace a relaxed lifestyle. We sleep in and then I use to enjoy a cup of coffee while watching the news. But I haven't been enjoying the news for a while. I need something else to watch or listen to while drinking my coffee. Just like 20 min. Maybe a light podcast? Any suggestions?

What online providers offer summer reading programs? I have found Schole Academy and Memoria press. Any others?

We are in the market for a new family physician. I have been unhappy with mine because she is too hard to get ahold of. When I call and leave a message I never get a call back. I want to use Adventhealth, so I looked at providers in my area- there are physicians assistants, nurse practitioners, MDs and DOs. I thought I wanted an md, not sure why, just sounds good. So I looked at the list- one lady had great reviews but she is 60. I have no problem with an older doctor- in fact I prefer it, but I don’t want her retire in a few years and I have to look again. Another lady seems exactly my age. I would prefer someone older than me. I would just like someone who has been through my life stage and can relate. I though I found the perfect one, 40’s and mother of 4. But when I called they said she only works 2 day/week. Since my current complaint is that my dr is hard to get ahold of, someone who only worksm2 days/ weeks doesn’t seem like a good idea. Am I being too picky? Should I look at DO’s? Any suggestion at what to look for?

We are just finishing R&S 6 for my 6th grade dd. When do people usually switch to pre-algebra? 7th? 8th? I’ve heard r&s is a bit behind, so should we do another year before going to pre algebra? I have also read that r&s 7 is redundant and some people go from book 6 straight to 8. And insight?

My oldest will be in 7th grade in the fall and I am looking for a science program for her. We have lightly done 2 years of science. She has read through apologia astronomy (5th grade) and physical science (6th grade) on her has done some of the experiments also on her own. I haven’t done an good job of engaging her on it and with no teacher involvement I don’t think she has retained much. She doesn’t show much interest in science and isn’t super curious about science things. I am willing to be more involved than I have been in the past. And I think outlining would help with retention. But I need a simple curriculum with a few experiments (not a ton) that would give her a basic foundation. Any suggestions?

Next year the kids will be in 7th, 4th, 2nd, and pre-k. We started with SOTW when ODD was in 1st, but for various reasons we are still finishing it up 😬🤪 This year we are finishing vol.3 so next year we need to do modern times. We listen to the audios and discuss it. We also do one or 2 real alouds on the time period. I think that we are getting a bit tired of it, especially since we have been doing it for so long. Especially for 7th grader, I think she would like something a bit deeper and less of an overview. But I hate to quit when we are so close to finishing. Is there a different program I could use for modern times just to mix it up a bit but still feel like we completed the whole cycle? Or if you were burnt out, would you just throw in the towel and go for something else? Suggestions?

I've been trying to come up with a plan, but there don't really seem to be any options. What would you do with your young kids if you and dh get corona and are unable to care for them? My kids are 11, 9, 6, and 4. I would assume that they would be contagious so no would could take them. I would need 11 yo to take care of everything😬 I think the older 2 would be ok, but taking care of the younger 2 would be a huge thing for them to do for a week or so.

We live in suburban Midwest. We have a neighboring family that we are very close with. We have 4 kids, they have 3. Usually, our kids play together everyday. The other mom has said that she is comfortable with them still playing together outside. She says that it’s harder to spread outside, and that our families are both quarantining with little outside contact so she thinks it’s safe. I’m pretty sure this isn’t what the professionals are telling us, right? Does anyone still have kids that are playing with one specific close family as long as it’s outdoors?

https://babylonbee.com/news/homeschoolers-to-continue-quarantining-themselves-from-everything-like-alwa This website is satire and conservative. This article gave me a laugh, especially about the cardboard in the toilet paper rolls :)