On my computer, the WTM forums background is white, and my floaters make it weird and kind of uncomfortable to read and view on the stark white background. Does anybody know how I might change the background color? My teenage daughter tried to find something, and coudn't. My search was also unsuccessful.

We use Prismacolor at our house.

I don't live in MS, so someone else will have to address that, but here is my understanding as a fellow person on the Gulf of Mexico: Vibrio is in the water (naturally I think). That's the flesh eating stuff. Do not go into the water with open wounds or a compromised immune system.

I would stick with Singapore. My understanding is that kids start Singapore math at around age 9, so the levels are about a year advanced. So 3a and 3b are the 4th grade level. And I would be super happy with those standardized test scores. I really always only look at the Grade Level Equivalents, and you have nicely and way above grade level in two areas, and nicely at grade level in the other area. She's doing great! You're doing great! Stick with Singapore!

No, not really. The Mathusee blocks were only slightly helpful. My visual spatial learner is more visual and less hands on. Manipulatives alone aren't the answer. See, it's hard to even verbalize it... like how Dianne Craft says if the kids are struggling with division or something, give them some algebra to do because they'll be able to do it. Arithmetic is hard and Algebra is easy. Abstract/Modern Algebra is even more high concept than that. Abelian groups and Modulo and open and closed number systems and stuff. But I couldn't pull out my textbook for that because of course it is written to assume the background knowledge of math through Calculus. I am now wondering if starting with set theory, like they did in the good old days of new math, might be a solution. My dd is great at set theory, always has been. Maybe I just needed to find math books from the 70s. Ha ha

Mathusee didn't cut it for us. Life of Fred was interesting but not helpful. Singapore Math was a bit better. We went back to the 1B book so many times because it covered what multiplication and division actually were, conceptually. But honestly, something that started from way high concept -- I honestly think like my college class Abstract/Modern Algebra and working backwards would be great. This is our number system, this is how it is grouped, these are operations, they can do all these different things. Seriously. My big picture thinker would have been great at the high concepts. Arithmetic for the first 6 years of school like to killed us both. We do like Mathusee for high school. But really, a completely backwards scope and sequence of K-12 math would have been better.

Oh man, a math curriculum starting in K and going all the way through high school that is suitable for my big picture thinker, right brain learner. That would have been amazing.

Hmm. I had to think about this. Sunday School for the kids... no food. But if you bring a friend to Children's Church, you go home with a box of candy. Sunday School for the teens... occasionally the teacher will bring doughnuts. Church in the other building... there is coffee and baked goods in the church foyer between services. Sunday night Youth Group... they get dinner. It's not usually junk but sometimes dinner is pizza. Burgers, tater tot casserole, jambalaya, baked potato bar... Wednesday night Bible program for kids... they get dinner, which is always from a fast food place. Plus a gummy fruit snack for dessert. I don't know. it hasn't seemed too bad. My kid has multiple food allergies, and we just do what we need to do to keep her safe. Sometimes that is bringing her own food, sometimes that is eating beforehand.

You did the right thing. Don't beat yourself up.

horriblebooks.com appears to still carry it. They are reliable.

Little Women? Heidi? Little Princess? Harry Potter? My dd loved all those at that age.

It was just too much. The Hoagland book was plenty. We didn't need to do two textbooks. We did all of the Hoagland one.

We sort of used Quarks and Quirks Biology, but mostly ended up only using the one spine, Hoagland's Exploring the Way Life Works: The Science of Biology. We did use some of the links and videos and experiments. It was fine. I don't have a STEM kid. The textbook is good, although I have been frequently informed it is outdated, but I don't think it is inaccurate, so I'm okay with not the latest and greatest in that field. It was very visual and engaging, which is what we needed.

For 9th grade, we used Seton's Composition for Young Catholics (we are not Catholic but it worked nicely and wasn't too much). We also used Seton's High School Grammar (that's pretty Catholic and has a lot of Mary miracles and saint stuff, so it might or might not be a problem for you.) For Ancient literature, we watched the movie Troy (skip the opening scenes) and then read The Trojan War and used Memoria Press' guide to go along with it. I think we did some additional fun mythology stuff, but it escapes me now. I think we also read a fun version of Epic of Gilgamesh. Oh, and we read stuff from Graphic Canon Volume 1 (edited with a black sharpie by me in places), and she wrote very short 3 sentence summaries of those excerpts. For Ancient History, we used Human Odyssey Volume I (yes I know some people prefer that for middle school. But I like it for high school. YMMV).

I'm not sure what state you're in, but in some states, you have to enter as a freshman or when you do enter, they make your a freshman anyway. YMMV, but you should definitely look into that, lest school want to deny him credits for entering later than 9th grade.

You might look at Timberdoodle.com's grade-level kits. They have secular options, and they always have great suggestions.

I would try the school for 9th. Commit to the year. After that, decide. It doesn't have to be forever, and this way, you're not closing any doors. And you hold off on getting a job until you see how life plays out, if you can. This happened to our family, but in 8th grade. It was a hard year, but well worth it. However, with all the afterschool support I needed to provide, having a job would have been really hard. We went back to homeschooling after that year, but solid friendships had been made and continue even back to homeschooling.

Federal job? The pay is pretty decent (at least for my area). Go to usajobs.gov and do some search term like "children" or "social work" or whatever. (I am assuming you are in the US)

Although I love our Corollas (we own 2), my 6 foot husband is ready for something more accommodating to his size, and also it sits really low, so getting in and out gets harder as we get older. I love Corollas, but I think they are too small for your needs.

Love them! Go for it!

Do you live next to my mother? J/K Seriously, though, plants are like pets to some people, and they get highly offended when people mess with their pet plants, no matter whose property they're on. It's a no win situation. Do what you want with your property.

Some of you have mentioned taking magnesium for anxiety. I have ordered Nature Made 250 magnesium. Is that a good start? Now, do I need to order B2 because it works in tandem or something? Or is that only for migraines? We aren't particularly troubled by migraines. Thanks!

I love the idea of a white comforter with fun colorful pillows!

Four corners One potato, two potato Simon says Charades Pictionary

Dark curtains will not lighten a room. I would go ahead and get a new, pretty bedding set with light-colored curtains. Even if dd doesn't visit that often, it would be a nice, bright guest room.