We got ours last Christmas. I like it more than I thought I would. I use it to listen to music every day. In fact I put on a regular Christmas CD the other day and was kinda annoyed that I couldn't just say "Alexa, skip" when I wanted to skip a song--I guess it's spoiled me. My youngest likes to ask it questions, and we sometimes ask it the Jeopardy questions. So mostly for music, but I have really enjoyed it for that. We have the Echo. ETA: My oldest has a name very close to Alexa. She finds it very annoying that the Echo responds occasionally when we say her name. It is possible to change the name, we just haven't.

I direct a co-op that is billed as elective but regularly offers academic options due to parent interest, including IEW classes and several science options. We are very explicit in class descriptions before registration that such classes require homework and that students will be dropped from the class who consistently come to class unprepared. It's a huge commitment to teach a more academic-focused class, so much more so than an elective, and it's a waste of time for teachers and other students to have kids who aren't doing the work. Because such classes fill up quickly and people know ahead of time what's expected, the kids who are in the class do the work. Our co-op meets once a week, and this is generally enough for the younger classes, but we also have a few high school academic classes that meet twice a week. For these classes we have a separate parent/student agreement that is signed, agreeing that the student will come to class, do the work, communicate with the teacher if there is difficulty, check grades/assignments on our e-gradebook, etc. I love these classes and have taught one for three years--but it's difficult to teach a discussion-based US History class to high schoolers who are failing to read the material and are disengaged when they do come to class. Having a signed agreement means everybody knows what to expect and is prepared to make it work. The pros of an academic focused co-op: the community, the opportunity to explore subjects that lend themselves to discussion/labs/etc., the opportunity to have parents as teachers which cuts down significantly on costs The cons of an academic focused co-op: getting families to reallly commit to the work it takes (including teaching), the wide range of skills and abilities represented, the fact that being committed to a one-or two-day/week co-op takes away some of the natural flexibility of homeschooling (you are tied to the schedule, you are doing assignments prepared by someone else, you might not like the text, etc). Our co-op has been great and I'm glad my sons have been able to take advantage of more academic options, especially at the middle and high school levels. But it's a lot of work from an admin perspective.

Wow, that's fascinating. I like to buy chicken individually packaged from Perdue, because they are thinner and cook up nicely. But when regular chix breasts are BOGO at Publix I have been known to stock up on those, and have definitely seen the white striping issue. I have also noticed texture and taste issues, but I honestly thought it was because I did something wrong in cooking. Looks like now I can blame the chicken!

My kids get a phone when I need them to get a phone, meaning when they are involved in enough activities apart from me that it makes my life easier for them to have a phone to contact me for rides, etc. For my oldest, that was around age 13, and it was a cheap flip phone. It was also 8 years ago, so there were still a lot of kids without smart phones at that point. I think we upgraded her to an iPhone about the time she started driving. Middle child got a hand-me-down iPhone at 15. Youngest does not have one yet at 14. Probably soon, since he wants to get a PT job as soon as he can. We pay for all of the phones. I don't really have strong feelings about kids and phones, other than the fact that they are so darned expensive, so that's why we wait until we need them to have one.

I got my degree in education not because I wanted a teaching career, but because I thought it would be a job I liked until I could do what I really wanted to do, which was stay home with my kids. What I didn't imagine was that I would end up using that training by teaching my own kids through homeschooling. I truly love teaching and look forward to going back to it in the near future, as I'm approaching the end of my homeschooling tenure. In the meantime, my degree has served me well not just in homeschooling my kids, but in the many and varied classes I've taught to other homeschoolers through the years. Short answer--yes, I've always wanted to be a SAHM. I am grateful to have been able to do so. I am also grateful to have earned a degree that has been and will hopefully continue to be in a field I love. ETA: I was in 5th grade when I knew I wanted to be a teacher. I always wanted to be a mom and hoped I could be home with my kids at least when they were little--my mom went back to work when I was in 1st grade, so something like that.

When my oldest was that age, she loved the Great Illustrated Classics series. They are abridged classics on a kid level. They're not exceptional literature or anything like that, but more of a fun and easy introduction to some classic stories that your reader is sure to encounter later in entirety. There are tons and tons of titles in this series, and you can usually find them cheap used (or at libraries).

Dd is at state U. Freshman and sophomore years she lived on campus. Freshman year we bought her the AYCE meal plan, just to have one less thing to worry about. There were less expensive, limited swipe plans, but at just a couple hundred dollars cheaper when you're talking several thousand, we went with the higher plan so she wouldn't have to keep track of how many meals she'd eaten that week or have to skip a meal to save a swipe. There was no real bargain plan--all of them were expensive. But she's a petite girl with a smallish appetite, so it was a lot of money we didn't need to spend. Sophomore year we went with no meal plan at all. Instead we spent $200 and bought a larger than dorm sized-fridge, she already had a microwave and toaster, and her room was steps away from the floor kitchen. Instead of paying the U $4-5,000 for a meal plan, I deposited $1,000 in her account so she could buy whatever food she needed for the year. She was also working in one of the dorm cafes at this time, so she got a couple of meals per week free from there. It worked great and saved so much! Junior and senior years she's been off campus in an apartment and loves having a real kitchen.

My oldest graduated in 2014 and had several FLVS classes on her homeschool transcript. I did not have anything sent from FLVS and she was accepted at all the schools she applied to. Obviously, things may have changed since then, and your best bet is to ask the college if they want/need that information.

I fondly call child #2 my lesson in humility. Because boy, did I need it! He's still my most challenging, though a great kid. But he has taught me more about parenting, myself, and life in general than the other two put together. And I have empathy in spades now--for other mamas with a melting down 5-year-old who "should" be past the tantrum stage, but isn't. I totally get it now--nothing like BTDT!

My thoughts exactly, except I'd add motivated. Because without that, if all it takes to beat the SAT/ACT is reading, working out, eating right, various other "good parenting" strategies, and Khan academy, there would be a lot more perfect scores.

Old Navy has a ton of cardigans. I tend to go for the more classic style, but they have a variety.

We generally rent from vrbo when we travel as a family, but try to keep it in the $2-300 per night range, and that's for a whole house (3 or 4 BR). So no I wouldn't rent a 2BR condo for $500/night if I could avoid it. Must be a happening place, the north shore of MN!

Warmest congrats. Love those chubby cheeks!

Look up Thinking Like a Historian by Stanford U. Lots of great activities centered around original source documents. In my class at co-op students are assigned two projects: An American Hero research paper/presentation in the fall, and a Decades Presentation in the spring. PM me if you'd like more info, I can send you the assignment documents.

Here's a trick for the milk: put a gallon or two in the freezer before the power goes out. Then when it does, you have this giant block of frozen milk that keeps everything cooler for awhile, and as it thaws you have cold milk to drink. Our power was out 11 days for Matthew. Dreading this one because while Matthew was October and not too too hot, it's the beginning of September. Hot and sticky--bleh! Praying hot and sticky will be the worst of it. This is certainly a big one!

I think the hard part was not the chore itself, but the fact that it was a spur-of-the-moment thing. You saw a free hour and plugged something into it--based on my experience with my son, he may have already had plans for that hour, like . . . thinking about the next video game scenario. Seriously, my son wants and needs time to just think sometimes. When my son has been playing video games (and we, too only play on the weekends), it's hard for him to shift focus to something else. He has weekly chores that he does--the same thing every week--and it generally works best if these are done BEFORE the games are turned on. If there's something extra I need him to do, I have to give him advance notice--drop everything and do it now jobs just cause stress for everyone. Routine, schedule, and plenty of lead time are what get the chores done around here.

I am using older DVD's/teacher guides with new workbooks for Geometry and Algebra 2 and they are matching up just fine, so I would assume PreA and Alg 1 would as well.

You might try posting this on the Accelerated Learners Board. While I have not used WWS, I have owned and investigated it, and I came to the conclusion that WWS1 would be difficult for the average middle schooler, or at least my average middle schoolers. You are asking for input on the third level of that program for a 10-year-old and 12-year-old, PLUS Elegant Essay, which is a high school level program. I'm thinking you're probably asking the wrong audience :-) Not trying to dissuade you or anything, just trying to direct your post to an area where it might get responses from those walking a similar path with advanced learners. Because a 12-year-old who has successfully completed the writing programs you mentioned is not an "average strength writer," at least not in my experience.

My oldest took a very similar path to what you are considering. She had 2 years of Latin at our state's virtual school but really wanted to move to Spanish. My sister teaches Spanish at the virtual school, so we enrolled her in Spanish 1 there. The next obvious step was DE Spanish, and the college actually recommended that she start at Spanish 1. She did so (and was glad she did--it moved a lot faster, and the students with no Spanish background struggled), and continued with Spanish 2 there. After that she moved to the university, continuing with Spanish as she had chosen to minor in it. Since colleges seem to favor DE classes from homeschoolers, on her transcript those were the Spanish options I listed--not the virtual school class.

Well, I was expecting it to be pretty neat, because we were in the 92% path. Had the glasses and everything. But at my house all afternoon? 100% cloud cover. I saw nothing more than a cloudy day. Bummer. Dd is 90 minutes away at college and they had a few clouds, but still saw it. She sent some photos and it looked cool. I wouldn't have cried regardless.

All kinds of cool stuff at St. Aug, more than enough for a day trip, plenty for an extended visit. A lot of it is rather touristy, but still fun/educational. Recommendations: Castillo de San Marcos, Pirate Museum, Colonial Quarter Museum, Old Florida Museum Also, the Lightner Museum, which depending on your kid might not be a good fit. There's also the Lighthouse nearby, and the area beaches are very nice. And that's just a few to get you started. There are trolley rides and carriages to give you a tour of the city which are fun.

With the 9-year-old you've described, I would do the Florida Sun Vacation condo and Disney. You already know it will keep him interested, your dad enjoyed it, the accommodations are cheap (and decent--I've stayed with FSV), and Cocoa is not far away. You could even do the beach for a day. October is a nice time to visit--still hot enough to swim, a chance to get a not ridiculously hot day, and the crowds aren't bad (though there are really no low-crowd times at Disney anymore).

We don't have to declare a grade in Florida, so you don't have to do anything. Since she has been in public, they will continue to assume that she's progressing according to where she was when you pulled her out, so if you put her back in school at some point they will need to know then. As long as you are homeschooling the only requirement for the annual evaluation is "progress commensurate with ability." Beyond that, you need name, address, birthdate, and parent names--no stated grade level is required. Just teach her where she is and call it whatever grade you like.

My youngest has a leopard gecko. Super easy and quiet pet, eats every other day, non-messy poop, tank doesn't stink. Highly recommended as a pet for kids. I did have my son do some research and write a short paper on geckos before we purchased ours, but I don't remember the specific sites where he got his info.