I agree - it is getting very elitist. Our city has now mandated that all pets must have a microchip and be spayed/neutered to get a license. While yes they do chip clinics, it's still $30 PLUS getting the pet across town to the shelter, since that is where they do all the clinics. If you have a small pet you possibly can take them on the bus in a carrier, but otherwise if you don't have a car you're just out of luck. Our cat now was a stray that just stayed. The one before that was a stray we found as a very young kitten. Neither have been registered because of the requirements.

Ours is you get a free book plus a few extras. Last year the extras were a pencil, a free kids burger from Whataburger, a free cone from BaskinRobbins, and a free ice cream cup from a local place. All are within a block of that branch, so not sure if they were just for that branch or not.

I'm thinking ahead to next year since this year is all ready to go. I work a year ahead in picking up materials, so need at least a general idea of what I'm using now {although I am flexible to change if needed}. Next year would be dd's 6th grade year fwiw. I have Sonlight Core F, older version, on my shelves. But I'm concerned that SL probably will be too much for us again - while I love the program, we get bogged down in the books. This year to avoid that we're taking a lighter year and using Lifepac Grade 5 history {American History}. Is there something workbook based like Lifepac but that would cover Eastern History like SL? Bonus points if it's from a neutral or secular perspective, though I can edit religious based items if needed.

I had a school room when we moved here, but it didn't work for us. We tend to school in the dining room as it's 2 steps from the kitchen and 6 steps from the laundry, so I can supervise while working. All our school stuff goes on a single short bookshelf in a corner. One wall is cover in white boards for to-do lists, notes and such. This year I'll also be adding in some math related posters from a Mr D Math workshop.

I'd make them put in writing that THEY requested you to remove your dd, despite the fact that she was fine in your opinion. Pretty sure you'll need that to avoid a he said she said over the horse riding bit. And then take that to whoever runs the camp to make a very large complaint and ask for a full refund since your dd definitely did not have the promised camp experience due to the CAMP's workers. I also find it very odd they wanted you to pick up both your girls even though the other was fine. Am I the only one wondering if this has happened to more kids? I could totally see counselors saying we've got too many kids so let's make up a reason to have parents come get some. Or just we don't want to work as hard. I get it - running herd on that many kids is hard work. I've run merit badge U for BSA and about halfway through the day I'm always like can these kids just go home. I can't imagine a week of it! This just confirms my decision to not let my dd attend camp. She would have serious issues with dumb policies like these.

I'm guessing it has to do with the version of android it runs. Pokemon Go needs 4.4 or higher - our devices all run 4.0 or 4.1 :( I'm eyeing the LG Volt on freedompop - $40 shipped and I think it should run Pokemon Go. But they also have a Nexus 5 or Iphone 4 for $100 each. I needed a new phone anyways, so I'm okay with it. Dd will get my old one

I've done both in the past. I tend to alternate months of Prime / Netflix, based on what is on. They normally don't have the same shows, so take that into consideration.

Following! It won't run on my phone or dd's tablet, so we've been playing along with dd's friend on her phone. I'm eyeing some of the phones on freedompop - I think they might work and are not as costly

oops should have put that in the post. It's this one - https://www.amazon.com/Skills-Scholars-Government-Works-Grade/dp/0768235359?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0 It has 63 pages, and since we'll start back August 1st it works out to have us finish it up just before the election.

As I was working on lesson plans today, I discovered that the US Government workbook I planned on using this year has exactly the right amount of pages to turn it into a unit study on the election process! So - give me your best ideas to flesh out studying about elections, The Constitution, how government works, etc for a 5th grader. I'd also like to do some type of related field trip {more than just taking her with when I go vote} - any ideas?

Thanks everyone - keeping her home for Monday at least. I'll re-evaluate Monday and see how she does. It's odd - she is fine at home doing small things, but if she does more activity / tires it's right back to the stomach issues. If it keeps up through Tuesday she'll be heading to a checkup to see what is going on.

Any other opinions? Still trying to decide....

lol - it's actually not that bad most of the time. We spend the late afternoon / early evening sitting under the back patio, drinking iced drinks and doing the occasional hose-off to cool down. If it gets really really hot, we do head for the library or go shopping to escape the heat but honestly we've only done that a handful of times over the last couple of years.

I wouldn't be on site but would be nearby. I normally take VBS week to have quiet time at starbucks to lesson plan for the first part of our year. It's maybe a 15 minute walk? Nearly 10, but she is a young 9 for maturity level if that makes sense.

Paging Dr Hive. DD has been feeling off since the 4th. She got sick at the 4th of July parade with what I first thought was a food allergy reaction {there were folks next to us eating and she has airborne allergies}. But it lasted over 24 hours, so was a stomach bug I think. Well she is still a bit queasy at times nearly a week later. Mostly just queasy, but the occasional dry heave or very small vomit. Nothing major, and she is fine in between spells. She has a finicky stomach that takes a while to calm down, so I'm not super worried about it or anything. We don't have a/c and are in South Texas, so there is also a pretty good chance that the heat may be a factor as well. My issue is this - VBS at the local church that is accommodating of her food allergies is this coming week {the 11-15}. It's 3 hours a day, but mostly inside in a/c. Would you be comfortable sending her? I honestly am not sure, even after us running errands today to see how she tolerated activity {she tired quicker and got a tiny bit queasy but soda fixed it}. My gut instinct is to play it safe and keep her home, but she is really really wanting to go so I want to make sure I'm not playing it too safe as I tend to do that. If I did send her I would send her snack with something I KNOW is not contaminated allergy-wise and stay nearby to get her if she wasn't feeling well {her group leader can call me if she says she is queasy}. ETA: She just tossed her cookies again fwiw. My gut is saying she is still sick.

I keep adding things to my list :) I remembered I also want to get an small exercise ball for dd to sit on while doing lessons. I'm hopeful that the constant slight movement will help her to concentrate better AND also work on her core strength.

Be warned - the washable fun color expo markers tend to stain dry erase boards. Happened to several of my boards. I managed to egt them clean but had to work at it and use 90% rubbing alcohol to remove the ink.

The last big item on my buy list for this coming school year is a GOOD electric pencil sharpener. I am tired of trying to sharpen a ton of pencils at once with a manual one as it just makes my hands hurt too badly. I've gotten battery operated ones before and they normally conk out in a few months. Must-have criteria: Electric or battery operated Works well to sharpen a bunch in a row {my method is to sharpen pencils about once a month in one go while watching TV} Must be able to handle cute plastic wrapped pencils, as dd loves them. Needs to either be less than $10 in store OR any price if available on Amazon since I have gift cards for there. So - please tell me there is a decent sharpener out there!

Forgot one thing - a GOOD electric pencil sharpener. Any recommendations? Needs to be able to handle "cute" pencils aka those plastic wrapped abominations that gum up our manual sharpeners. I wouldn't buy them but dd complains far less about doing school with Frozen pencils

This is very tempting - I've tried for years to lose weight and it never comes off / stays off. Mostly because as soon as I start eating, I tend to binge eat on everything I denied myself. I'm tempted to do this, but what, medically, is the difference between this and Anorexia? Is it just that this person has enough body fat to lose without issues? Because to me it also seems like medically sanctioned Anorexia.

Composition notebooks {or possibly spirals - depends on price} Dry erase markers Red pen for me for correcting Ink cartridges, but I buy those along as needed Other than that - not much. I'll probably get some cute stuff to for dd

South Texas here. Normally we follow the local school which would put us starting August 22nd. But this year is sooo hot that we'll be sticking closely to home and a/c, plus I need to be home to check to make sure our chickens aren't overheating, So we're going to start back probably next week, and then take a nice long break in fall when it cools down.

On the subject of social events - would it be terrible of me to drop dd off at a local church's Sunday school & go to the coffee shop a block away for some me time? She enjoys their VBS every summer {and I enjoy the down time} so I know she would do ok. She made several friends last time she attended. But right now I have no interest in church for myself {long story} but I don't mind dd attending Sunday school. I was debating seeing if the church had a program to pick up kids for Sunday school as some in our area do.

We have a YMCA nearby, but even with scholarships it's out of our reach {Their policy is to only cover 50% via scholarship} PLUS they were iffy on dealing with dd's ASD. Free Homeschool PE fizzled out here, the only other option is $100 a month which is too much. She is interested in Girl Scouts & I'm trying to find her a troop but having trouble finding one that meets at a time we can make it AND somewhere we can get on public transit. I'm perfectly happy to stay home nearly all the time :) but I recognize that dd needs social events. We've done a hodgepodge over the years, but last couple of years was Sonlight, Apologia science, and Ace Paces math. I edited my OP to reflect the items we'll be using this year - I need to make those work due to my budget this year.

Please don't quote as I may edit / remove later. Talk to me about survival schooling please. I'm in a position this year where if I could put dd in school, I would. But our local school is terrible, and dd would not do well there with her mild ASD. Charters wouldn't be much better, and would add in even more stress with transportation issues. This is my 6th year homeschooling, and dd is going into 5th. I'm terribly burnt out, dealing with a lot of stress {mostly related to being a single parent with no support network & limited financial resources}, a fair dose of depression {seeking treatment is a last resort for a variety of issues that I don't want to get into here, but I'm self-treating with high dose Vit. D which normally helps after a while}, and chronic health issues that aren't going to get better. Unschooling for a year isn't an option - I've done that before and dd does not unschool well {she does not have good school habits}. I've already planned to switch to mostly workbook type things that dd can probably complete on her own / with minimal supervision on my bad days. I can handle grading in batches if needed. DD is also getting to the age where she wants to do more outside activities {which is not good for my issues} and she needs that social practice / friends so I'm trying to line up options for that as well that don't necessarily require me to go out or deal with people. If you have had to survival school - what helped you? How did you get your kids a basic education while dealing with issues? What tips/tricks do you recommend? ETA: Not exactly looking for curriculum suggestions right now, but more things you did while doing this type of schooling that helped. Even with things like cooking / cleaning / etc as those are also big issues for me - when I'm not doing well our meals stink because by dinner time I'm fried. For school this coming year we'll be using the following: Spectrum Language Arts workbook Caught'cha Middle school, Lifepac Grade 5 History with fiction added, Saxon 5/4 {more teacher intensive but I own it already so no spending}, Apologia Human Anatomy sans experiments / notebook, and Texas History dabbles {mostly field trips}.