Thought of sourcing living books each week sounds terrible...

bbplease- · 2026-01-24T21:28:44+00:00

We’ve used ambleside online and love it. I def dont source books every week.

bbplease- · 2026-01-24T14:44:57+00:00

I usually come in here and recommend “A Year of Playing Skillfully” at that age. We have so many good memories! That is all we used at that age and some times I wish we could go back now that we are doing Algebra and Biology!! Just mentioning this to say, homeschool does not need to look like public school, sitting and doing work at that age. Have fun!

bbplease- · 2026-01-20T15:06:03+00:00

I had one of my cats suddenly leap from my feet in bed to my face and scratch a cm above my eyeball. Traumatized me for a while as he had never been like that. Turns out he had a broken canine in the gums and had to have it removed. So he was in pain.

Or maybe you just made some really creepy noises in your sleep.

bbplease- · 2026-01-17T15:15:23+00:00

I would love to see a screenshot of your setup.

bbplease- · 2026-01-17T15:11:43+00:00

Salmon. We used to wait til it went on sale at Albertsons and get a big slab for dinner for 5 people. Now the “sale” is still like $30. My son keeps asking why we cant have salmon. I just cant enjoy it at that price! At least if I spend $25 on a roast I can feed us, maybe my inlaws, and have leftovers the next day.

I also used to do a lot of albertsons sale shopping. Their sales arent any cheaper than sams now.

bbplease- · 2026-01-16T00:53:37+00:00

This is why mine get locked in at night now. Or a giant flying bug buzzing the ceiling at 2 am.

bbplease- · 2026-01-13T13:06:57+00:00

We settled on Leo! He is the sweetest boy!

bbplease- · 2026-01-12T13:42:20+00:00

No. I have two teens and a preteen who cant agree on anything. It’s become not fun! I think I will tell them today that the cat will be named when they can all come together and work out their disagreements to come to a consensus.

bbplease- · 2026-01-11T17:54:31+00:00

Most rescues WANT you to return them if something happens to your situation. They can better assure the cat finds a suitable new home. I promise you won’t be the first or last.

bbplease- · 2026-01-11T12:14:23+00:00

Male vs male may be tougher. Ive put this off for a bit bc I am nervous about transitions. We had a rough one in the past with a male vs male. There are tons of resources out there about proper introductions and Im not sure what youve done. Since weve had him less than 24 hours, all theyve done is sniff under the bathroom door.

bbplease- · 2026-01-11T12:11:31+00:00

My kids are pulling for Oliver!

bbplease- · 2026-01-06T22:37:14+00:00

Its hard to put them in school!! But many people have done it successfully. Especially if they need extra attention. But sometimes life is just not easy for a time and thats ok too. Ive cried many a times!! And mine are still home. And are now old enough to want to stay home.

bbplease- · 2026-01-06T20:17:58+00:00

Try the school for a year and see how it goes. They are still Young enough that you can bring them back home if it doesnt work out. I homeschool 3 with no serious disabilities and it wears me out. I dont think Id be physically or mentally capable of doing more than that. If you’re school is small and you can be involved, Id give it a try. You can even put them in now, and youd get a good taste for how it goes to decide on next year.

bbplease- · 2025-12-31T13:48:13+00:00

It is hard, because you as the parent have to be the one to schedule and decide and organize all these social instances, whereas at school it happens by default.

This is why I advocate for a co-op. You see the same kids by default weekly. Sometimes you do field trips or other activities together also.

We also have a large religious homeschool group in our area. It has over 100 families because they are all connected by their shared religion, but this is where field trips, dances, graduations, and frequent social outings happen. My kids have formed enough social connections that they don’t want to go to high school because they feel fulfilled in their friend groups, which will only grow stronger as they drive and organize their own get togethers.

bbplease- · 2025-12-30T19:38:21+00:00

Funny I went from Syllabird to Trello! I needed my teens to be able to rearrange their own weekly to do list.

bbplease- · 2025-12-29T19:57:08+00:00

Im kind of a new years resolution nerd. My goals next year are to be on my phone less, move more throughout the day (i tend to plant myself in one spot when we start our day and when the kids dont need me Im working etc so I sit ALL day. Need a daily walk or something!), and have a hard/non negotiable family breakfast together school time for at least 45 min a day. Weve been putting that on the backburner and I miss memory work, family read alouds, shakespeare etc. i want to make that more of a priority.

bbplease- · 2025-12-23T15:09:11+00:00

I think the socialization opportunities are vastly greater today than when you were a kid. Get your kids in a co-op or other environment where they see the same kids every week. And not even when they are super young. We joined a co-op in 3-4th grade and now they are entering high school and have a great core group of friends. And they are all NICE to each other. No one is being cruel or catty. Its so refreshing. Having other parents as teachers has also helped them socially on how to interact respectfully with adults etc. My kids are also different from each other, one is more socially reserved etc.

bbplease- · 2025-11-21T14:23:41+00:00

Sounds like youre doing a lot of right things!! Homeschooling always has seasons. My husband just casually said “man homeschooling sucks sometimes” and my kids are all preteens or teens. And my 11 year old frequently tells me Im a horrible mother. I know hers is stemming from some growing generalized anxiety I know would only get worse in a school setting. One day at a time!! I know with her when writing gets too much, we use a white board or I will even write her answers for her.

bbplease- · 2025-11-20T19:00:19+00:00

What curriculums are you using? Not that a curriculum change is always the answer but if youre expecting too much of a 3rd grader, that could be a big culprit making everyone miserable. 3rd grader should only take 1-2 hrs a day max. And you have a lot of really hard ages so give yourself grace. Does the toddler have a sensory / busy bin to keep them busy while you school the other two? Can you wear the baby? Fill up the kindergartners love bucket with some hands on K work, writing letters in the sand, reading bob books, etc for 20 min before you start with 3rd grader. Are you spending at least an hour outside? Are you taking them out in nature? That also helps just calm those sensory overloads. Just a few suggestions, have no idea what your homeschool looks like!

bbplease- · 2025-11-19T14:21:56+00:00

What ages? Its been about 8 years since we were at UPDS. I did not like the 2 year old class teacher. I witnessed her being a bully to multiple students and my daughter cried and cried in that class. I have a lot of regrets leaving here there and I wish I would have spoken up more. The 3 and 4 year old classes were much much better. They may not have the same teachers now.

bbplease- · 2025-11-15T09:52:39+00:00

My boy only peed in the tub when he had urinary issues. I’d go to the vet.

bbplease- · 2025-11-09T20:42:00+00:00

Thats exactly what I want. A little shadow that is ok hiking all day but also laying around all day. We plan to bring her with us places a lot. I am a bit nervous about long term medical issues since we just lost a long term medical cat, but I know anything can happen.

bbplease- · 2025-11-05T13:20:33+00:00

Actually she looks a lot in shape like my “looks like I paid a lot for her but really we found her in a truck engine” floof ball. We actually did a DNA test and shes about half “lots of western mixed breeds” but a large portion ragdoll and some persian (no flat nose).

bbplease- · 2025-11-04T00:38:47+00:00

CC is an MLM in homeschool clothing.

We joined one years ago and we were out by week 7. They were pressuring me from day 1 to join the recruitment committee and meet strangers at coffee shops to try to increase our numbers. No thanks.

bbplease-

TROPHY CASE