That's interesting. I don't really consider S.A. South Texas. If it is, it is the tippiest top of it. I actually sort of consider it the beginning of the Hill Country.

Instantly clean bathrooms. I hate cleaning toilets and tubs and floors and sinks. Ugh.

I'm a pry-the-physical-books-out-of-my-cold-dead-fingers person, but my husband loves his Kindle Paperwhite. My dd loves her physical books, but I don't know that she is opposed to ebooks.

Look at arbookfind.com. Maggie's Dare is 5.2. Rebekah in Danger is 4.6.

American Girl has a book called The Feelings Book, which I make my dd read periodically.

I live in South Texas, and up north is everything above San Antonio. Also anywhere it snows.

Thank you!

Is there a chemistry book similar to the biology book, Hoagland's Exploring the Way Life Works? It is so wonderfully visual and easy to understand. Does such a chemistry book exist? Bonus points if you also know of a Physics book in a similar style.

We like Horizons Algebra. The lessons are very short (this is NOT a text-heavy book in the least.) I do not use a Teacher Guide since I have a very strong math background. I present the lessons VERY quickly on the whiteboard, and then my dd goes to it. Sometimes I break the lessons up, highlighting half in yellow and half in pink. She does the yellow the first day, and the pink the second day. Each lesson has some review of previous skills, but not in a painful, obnoxious way. She is a big picture thinker and Algebra really clicks with her. Now, for background, we started Algebra eons ago by reading a couple chapters in Zaccarro's Real World Algebra (I love the chapter on math language). She also had done the Key to Algebra first book, which I believe teaches negative numbers. (It's been awhile.) HTH!

Well, I went to Office Depot today, and they were all out of the 4 pack of Sharpies for $1. The worker guy who double checked for me said that I needed to get there Sunday morning to get all the deals. I did manage to buy a pack of 3 pink erasers for a penny, but then somehow, 54 dollars later, I emerged from the store. I'm still not sure how it happened. I did get a 12 pack of fat sharpie highlighters for $6. That seems like a great deal, right? And we bought some lollipop shaped erasers for $1 each to use in my dd's Sept. birthday goodie bags. Plus there were two adorable composition notebooks. One had something about smores on it, and one had a picture of a wedge of cheese smiling standing next to a smiling, fanged cheese grater, and the wedge of cheese says, "This is awkward." I still don't exactly get it, but my dd assures me it's funny. Those were a bit pricey, at 2 something each, but I feel like part of the fun of homeschooling is cute school supplies. Plus my dd fell in love with a banana pencil bag so we had to get that. And some nifty post it notes. Gosh, I love school supplies.

Aww, hugs. It's all in perception, isn't it? I read your email and thought, well what if we took a different perspective? Hubby got a new lawnmower. Yay! New washing machine and fun clothes shopping. Yay! New wardrobe! New bunk beds and new floor in kids room. Yay! Free range chickens! Awesome! Working dryer. Yay! Brand new roof. Yay! We own a dually. Yay! My dd has a laptop. Yay! I have two iMacs. Yay! We own a Honda Odyssey. Yay! 14 new baby chicks. Cute! A week's vacation from school. Yay!

I do one "yearbook" every year. It's usually around 40 pages. I do it through Shutterfly. All events, major or minor, go in there. Bigger events take more pages, but I don't mind.

My dd's school has an Intro to Algebra class and a separate Algebra class. Maybe you could do that? What textbook are you using? That might make a difference. For instance, my dd used a Pre-Algebra textbook at her private school, and they only got through Chapter 8 by the end of the year. I don't think it was even half the book. The book was HUGE. Maybe your book is huge and your ds doesn't need to do all of it? Knowing which textbook he's using will help the Hive advise you.

Maybe Clive Cussler? I love his Oregon Files series.

As large as possible. I agree with the white tile board from Lowe's or Home Depot. I have two, full size, that my wonderful husband put on sliding tracks. Awesome!!!

Wisconsin Dells? Are you Laura Ingalls Wilder buffs? You could do the tour. Many sites in the midwest. I loved Meramac Springs Park in MO as a kid. Just beautiful. Did you see Grant's Farm already in your travels? That used to be fun and inexpensive. Arkansas has Hot Springs National Park.

Pogo stick Hula hoop Archery

Back of the book. Before the index. Really tiny print.

Any other symptoms of mono? When my dd had it, she was very tired, plus had somewhat swollen eyelids and very poor cold tolerance. As in, after her nightly shower, she would put on long johns (in Aug. and Sept in deep Texas so HOT), a warm robe, and warm slippers because she was cold. There are other symptoms, obviously, but those were some of her weird ones and harder to find listed anywhere. If I had realized they were symptoms before her doctor appt., I would have mentioned them. By the way, she tested negative for it, but I am sure that's what it was. The lab initially lost the results so who knows what happened there. We really had to cut back on school for about 4 months. We did math, handwriting, bible, and reading. No more than an hour or so total during that time. Then she rested on the couch.

Seton Books has a High School Grammar Book. I bought it recently to use with my upcoming 9th grader. It looks really good! And it's Catholic, so shouldn't bother you at all :) Here's the link: http://www.setonbooks.com/viewone.php?ToView=P-GR09-22

You might check out Christian Liberty Press' American Pioneers and Patriots or Child's Story of America. Get some Dover coloring books and the other HIstory Pockets to supplement (they do have Colonial America, Explorers of North America, Moving West, the American Revolution, and the American Civil War -- so what if they say Grades 4-6? The crafts still work in littler hands.) If you want "depth," you're going to have to go a little older anyway. For your visual learner, did you look at Abeka's History stuff for 5 year olds? They have large cards that would be a great supplement. http://www.abeka.com/ABekaOnline/BookDescription.aspx?sbn=202045 My other thought is graphic novels by Capstone Press, but those are older, too. Very visual, though, and tons of history ones. Timberdoodle.com has several or check out Amazon. Here's an example: http://www.amazon.com/Mystery-Roanoke-Colony-Graphic-History/dp/0736896570/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1435254446&sr=8-14&keywords=graphic+novel+capstone+press Oh! Almost forgot! The cartoon series Liberty's Kids is wonderful for visual learners!

I think my concern would be that it is a "secret." To you and your kid. That's a heavy burden. Not the same thing at all, but when I was a kid, my parents would lie about my age so I could get the reduced price kids buffet. It caused me a lot of anxiety and made me feel dishonest. I would try and calculate what my birth year would be because I was afraid they would ask. I didn't enjoy the experience because I was afraid of getting found out. And it was dishonest. As an adult and a parent, I look back and think I would not do that. It's not fair to the kid. ymmv

How about "World History I: Ancient Greece and Rome"? Or "World History: Ancient Greece through Fall of Rome"? Call it World History, but qualify it. That way, they get to check their box, and she gets to study what she wants.

I once got a complete set of World Book Encyclopedias for $30 from our library. 2002 edition. So happy!

I feel like I would go with fairly independent workbooks in that situation, plus audiobooks for the car. I like The Adventures of Genius Boy and Grammar Girl for the 7th grader. It's fun, too, so they will be motivated. For the 5th grader, I might use Language Smarts D (if they are not beyond this yet) or something like The Sentence Family or I Laid an Egg on Aunt Ruth's Head. Again, something fun. For writing, maybe Winning with Writing at the appropriate grade level? Drop spelling for now. Fun books for literature. Just to read. They don't need to analyze now. Although if you want, we enjoyed Take a Bite out of Rhyme for poetry and Awesome Alliterations for literary elements. Handwriting practice if they need it. A Reason for Handwriting. Quick and easy.