I love this! And it is very true. As a military family, we say each new station is an adventure, a chance to make new friends, and a chance to explore and make a difference. Thank you so much! Thank you everyone for taking the time to give me some really great first experience feedback about both homes. What a great community we have! We have to submit our request in the next few weeks and we will know where we are headed around December (my husband is wrapping up medical school and is choosing his residency location--this is the only way we have any sort of influence or solid timeline!!

Thank you all for sharing your suggestions! Pest control would definitely be a must have if we went to Florida (and probably Omaha too just because bug creep me out!) I will show my husband this post when he gets home so he can read through and we can get it sorted out soon. They are really almost polar opposite places, it seems! It is kind of exciting either way--I love tons about both places. Thank you!

We are making our next military move next year and we are trying to sort out the order of our location preferences. At this point, it seems like it might come down to Omaha vs. Fort Walton Beach FL and I am having a humdinger of a time trying to figure out where we would want to live. Has anyone lived in either or both of these places? Can you share some of your feedback? Quick summary of why I am stuck--scared of the long dreary cold winters in NE (I don't like cold!) and PETRIFIED of the palmetto bugs in FL (grew up in SC and am all too familiar--ew!) Perhaps you have some insig

Cake in the Morn has some cool science resources. Their website has a free constellations science project too. http://www.cakeinthemorn.com Human anatomy set: https://www.etsy.com/listing/97682600 Animal cell set: https://www.etsy.com/listing/107333580

There is a great series about the seasons that is written by Heidi Pross Gray--they are living books and the writing is geared towards preschool and lower elementary, but the illustrations are amazing and even my big kids love them! Every time we read the books, they spark a new topic of discussion, like migration and why animals are busy in the fall or why do some leaves fall off of trees. The newest one, Spring is Here, has a bunch of stuff about seeds growing--very cool!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/02/09/a-warning-to-college-profs-from-a-high-school-teacher/ Not that it is all new information to us, but it is really interesting to see the perspective of a long standing high school teacher. Thought it was worth sharing. :)

Thank you for all of the great suggestions! I am really hoping to find a good brand that is clean and safe for my peanut/tree nut anaphylactic kiddo so we as a family can include it in our diet more frequently. I will look into all of these brands! It is sort of funny coconut is classified as a tree nut. It might be worth a call to several of the companies to see if this is effecting their labeling. I have never considered making my own! Eek! HAHAH! I bet it would be fun to learn!

I have been shopping around for raw coconut oil in hopes to find some that is really great quality, but not processed in the same facility as treenuts or peanuts. I love the idea of wilderness family's brand, but they have the extra nuts floating around their facility. Anyone have any recommendations for a great raw coconut oil that isn't processed in a plant with other allergens?

Tapestry of Grace looks great, but it seems like there are a lot of books required--if you have 4 kids, you would have almost 200 books to buy that year! If you use Tapestry of Grace, do you buy all of the books? Do you think it is too many? If you haven't bought it, is it because there are too many books?

What other living books do you all like to use for science?

We are in the other category--we just read regular books ALL.THE.TIME. Some are very hard, some are very easy, but we just hang around and read. We also throw in a bit of starfall.com and Baby Brainy ABCs. When the kids start to read, we use Dick and Jane and another collection called Rime to Read.

We love using living books and we also picked up a used copy of a brick and mortar science book, Macmillan Science. It works well for us!

We love living books and use them a lot for science. Winter is Here! by Heidi Pross Gray is a beautiful living book that encourages the love of family while also sparking a bunch of questions about nature, like hibernation, migration, what animals eat in the winter, why a tree loses its leaves, etc. She also has a book about Autumn called Autumn is Here! that the kids really love too! I have seen it both in hardcopy and in kindle edition. Worth a look!

I am also having the same problem--the searches aren't turning up much of anything.

I LOVE the cardio based P90X videos--my favorites are Kenpo X, Plyometrics, and Yoga X. These three along whip my butt into shape if I do each one once a week. Can't beat it!

Nice! Sounds wonderful, even if it is modern. Thanks!

It should be great for him! I wouldn't let my 7 year old watch it, but 12 is a great age. Great flick!

:iagree: Yeah, it is too bad that there are just a few things in JJ that the littles shouldn't see quite yet because we love that movie! Thanks for the recommendations and the info about the Alaskan family. How awesome is that!

We were reading about mountain men and fur trappers today and as we were reading, I was thinking that it would be fun to watch Jeremiah Johnson to go along with our studies. Then I remembered that it probably isn't very good for 7-8 year olds. Hmm...any other ideas on good mountain men movies (fur trappers/traders/indians, etc.) that are suitable for elementary aged kids?

Oh HURRAY!! I don't know how you could have been there for so long without one and not have gotten an ulcer from worry! HA! We have a very severe peanut allergy kiddo and I don't let that pen leave my side unless we are in the house and everyone's hands are washed. Even then, I know exactly where it is if we need it. SO glad you have them now! What a relief!

Yay! I love making new friends! :) I am glad you are up and out of the way. We are doing okay right now too. I anticipate the power to go out (yay Pepco) but so far, we are hanging in there! Stay safe!

I am in MD just north of DC in Silver Spring. It has been raining all.day.long with steady winds right around 40 miles per hour with gusts up towards 60 every now and again. Some of my neighbors have some water coming in, but so far we are doing okay. The rain and wind is very steady, though, and don't have any signs of letting up anytime soon!

Home to Boston is a good supplement and it can be used along side Make Way for Ducklings to see and learn about the places the ducks visit along with landmarks' historical significance. There are some extra things added to the Boston book outside of Make Way for Ducklings landmarks, but it is still a good American History supplement.