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  2. It is so variable! High school definitely would have been less expensive if we’d sent them to public school. Homeschooling was less expensive than any of the private schools. ( other than if we figure in my lost teaching salary which would have made it comparable to some, but still less than others. However, I likely would have stayed home for most of those years because our family runs best with a slower pace than if we’d both worked full time.)
  3. My brother and sister-in-law bought a house 4 years ago and remodeled the first floor including moving the kitchen to a different room but not moving the gas becuase of the price. She bought a really nice induction stove but misses her gas stove and regrets not moving the gas line.
  4. Saxon is very procedural. Not nearly as bad as Life of Fred, but the hammering of rote work without fully working on understanding how something is working in the 4th-8th grade years is a drawback. It can hinder a lower student or one that isn't provided side by side conceptual learning opportunities. That said, when paired with adequate high school science, a student is getting both the procedural and the conceptual in side by side classes. For many kids, Saxon works just fine, all the way through from the Nancy Larson sets up through high school. The average student cannot be anything but competent with math just due to the amount of work and repetition. It's a really solid program in getting kids to be able to do math. And their high school books are quite a bit better than what is used in a public school classroom. At home, though, given all the options, I honestly would choose Dolciani, Jacobs, or AoPS as a preference and Saxon as a second choice. They're just friendlier to students overall.
  5. Except the test has changed as of March. Depending on the age of the student, it might be best to wait a few months and see what new resources are released. But, yes, test specific math practice helps a lot.
  6. I struggle too, but I bet I’d spot you! So many things you share, I think sounds like we are very similar on a lot things.
  7. Thanks, all. I am getting her a lantern and a mat for shoes/to keep tent clean. It seems weird to get a rechargeable lantern and not battery powered. I mean, recharging it all the time? Like, leave it in a building somewhere? But 8 weeks of batteries seems a lot, too.
  8. Does she have to wait until she is enrolled to take it? Can she take it more than once? My older daughter had to take a computer competency test before she could start community college classes. She took it without preparing. It was aimed more at adults who may not be familiar with computers, and might struggle with simple things like email or word processing, not at teens who have been using computers since preK.
  9. Returning love after what you received = really beautiful. Inspiring!
  10. I have looked that up in the past - when I learned the Latin word "formica" and wondered why in the world the company would choose "ant" as its name! 😄
  11. Wordle 1,014 5/6 🟩⬜⬜⬜🟨 🟩🟩⬜🟨⬜ 🟩🟩🟩⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟨⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
  12. You know those spatial awareness problems that you see on tests where you have to answer, “What would this shape look like if it were folded, turned, or cut in such and such manner?” Choose from figure A, B, C, or D. You are probably most excellent at those. 😁
  13. Today
  14. The biggest costs for us were during high school. Kindergarten and the early grades were more or less free; I think I would have bought the same books had they been in school. Math books were the difference, I guess. We traveled a bit when the older two were young which would not have happened if they were in school so that was certainly more expensive. Youngest did some outsourced classes starting in middle school, and seeing how many people outsource now that is likely to be a cost to her unless she makes a decision not to. Three of mine did DE which was a large cost. The local LAC has a program for people in the county to pay $1,000 for a class. The closest community college and state university are an hour away, which would have been cheaper but logistically out of the question. One kid cost way more than the others for everything music-related: lessons, travel to lessons, instrument rental. As a teen dd put on fundraisers and received scholarships to attend music festivals which would have otherwise been thousands of dollars. However, I'm unsure whether that would have been a cost if she had been in school as I don't think she would have had time or focus to get to the level required (obviously plenty of school kids do achieve that level but that probably wouldn't have worked for this particular kid.) The investment in this level of music paid off with an all-expenses full ride through college/conservatory, but the costs during homeschool were serious. I think that not putting mine in school insulated us from certain peer-related expenses. None of them asked for things they might have seen and wanted at school, other than youngest wanting "skinny jeans" that she saw the other homeschooled girls wearing. They didn't drive until they were 17 or 18, none had phones before 16.
  15. I just looked at all the purchases. You all are amazing. Thank you so much. You are making this easy for me. I only need a total of 10 baby dolls and I think you all have purchased 6 of them! And some socks, and some hacky sack balls. I really just want to take what they asked for, you know? THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU
  16. What about stew? Is it soup and if not why not? What is the characteristic difference between them.
  17. ikslo

    Wordle

    Wordle 1,014 3/6 🟩🟨⬜⬜🟨 🟩🟩🟩⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
  18. Ditto. Sometimes I swear you must be my long lost twin.
  19. gotcha I mean, this is an orphanage for special needs kids, I assume they don't need suits and dress shoes for one, but they said clothing (other than quality socks) they can get there.
  20. You could eat really mild tacos. I can't handle any spiciness and they don't bother me if the seasoning is mild. My dd doesn't like spicy either and she loves tacos.
  21. I puffy heart love my range with induction cooktop. If the burners on mine make a noise it's not one that's noticeable, and certainly not objectionable, to me. I have read that the noise bothers some people. If my burners cycle it's not enough that I've noticed. It's just a super fast, responsive, dependable, steady heat. I love that the "burners" themselves don't get hot enough to burn. I love that the burners adapt to pan size, so I can use my favorite (smaller) pan on my favorite burner (the front right one, which is the largest). I've had no problem at all with cold spots on pans, whether I'm using a smaller pan on a larger burner or a pan that's slightly larger than the burner it's on. My only cooking on gas has been in RVs and camp stoves, so probably not really comparable to a good home range (just as I kind of doubt an induction hob is really comparable to a cooktop). I never found gas to be all that. More responsive than a regular electric cooktop, but for me the gas/fumes part of it were a huge negative. After I got the induction there's no reason I can think of that I'd ever consider gas, except (maybe) if I lived in an area with frequent, prolonged power outages. Now all that said, and as much as I love induction -- if you really like gas that much then I'd go with it if the extra expense isn't cost prohibitive. I know for myself when I have my head and heart set on something I'm usually disappointed when I settle for something else.
  22. Up here they are seeking vernal pools, but my girls saw one last night jump into a fast-flowing little stream and zip along, then she crawled out and kept marching. Yellow-spotted salamanders, wood frogs, and fairy shrimp are the obligate species for a true vernal pool definition here, though I know other locations use different ones for theirs. We have all three in the wetland behind our house and I love to think of the frogs and salamanders trekking and hopping their way across the yard at night to the water. Blue-spotted salamanders are also part of the local vernal pool definition but I don't usually see those. Easter is the first sunny day in the forecast so that afternoon we expect to first hear the wood frogs, who sound just exactly like ducks quacking. Peepers will follow within about a week.
  23. Not dumb at all! Last night we just walked onto the road from our driveway and assisted 40 yellow-spotted salamanders over the road. We also helped 6 wood frogs - they are just starting to thaw out and I bet we will see lots of them tonight. We also saw quite a few wood frogs squished by cars, sad. They all move after dark, hiding from predators, towards water. The majority of the salamanders we saw were closest to where a culvert goes under the road, heading for the giant wetland behind our house. We went out at 8 and by ten were seeing fewer of them but they will move all night.
  24. Where I live (central England), the cost of public school itself varies quite a bit, although it is hardly ever free. Uniforms: there will almost certainly be one. £250 per year (on top of the amount that would have been bought if homeschooling) is typical, but some primary schools may only cost around £40 per year (two sets of regular clothing that happens to be in a specific colour, with the average year containing a mid-year growth spurt). Some of the stricter secondary schools can be more like £400 per year, due to wanting a much longer list of items from a specific supplier. Books: Usually none in primary school. Often rises to £10-£30 a year (fee includes all subjects; schools differ for which subjects attract the charge) in secondary school, plus another £10-£30 for each course that has an exam at the end of that specific year to cover revision materials (so maths would get the extra charge in GCSE year but not the others). Other supplies: similar to what the same items would cost in homeschool. Schools have different lists of what is required, but these are often shorter than I've heard is common in USA schools (there's no expectation of supplying tissues to the teachers, for instance - as you will see, schools typically prefer financial donations if they're soliciting contributions at all). Lunch: the absolute bugbear of many cost-conscious parents. Typically £2.50 per meal, and it's common knowledge by this point that in many schools, they only get 61 p per meal spent on the ingredients because the law requires it. (Costs to external suppliers for labour and services are the most commonly-cited additional costs in audits, though the sheer cost of heating is becoming an increasing factor, and ingredient costs are themselves rising). Quantities are reducing and unhealthy food is creeping back onto the menu simply to make the figures work. It has reached the point where it is usually half the price, and often healthier, to send in a packed lunch with pre-packaged ingredients (so, not even taking the home-made element into account) - if the school permits this. An increasing number of students also find school food unpalatable due to these changes, meaning that expenditure gains absolutely nothing. This is where the cost saving of homeschooling is most transparent. Some schools cost less than this, some give out actually nutritious meals. Breakfast is free where offered, and all primary schools are required to offer it (some secondary schools do too, especially in high-poverty or very affluent areas), but is a drop in the ocean in comparison to the high cost of lunch. School is 39 weeks a year in central England, so typical saving on lunch for homeschooling works out at £487.50 per year (assuming homeschooling lunch is a pre-packed meal from a shop rather than the cheaper but more variable cost of home cooking). The calculation also assumes that free school meals are not in play - this happens automatically in some schools (either for specific year groups or the entire school, the latter being more common at special schools and places where most people are low-income), but otherwise only covers students whose parents earn below a certain income that's largely only possible if the household is running on government benefits and/or part-time income(s) (the threshold is below a single full-time minimum wage). Transport: increasingly, even free public transport requires a £10 annual fee for the photo (as school buses start letting fee-paying general members of the public use the buses to save money and increase rural transport options for adults, on the understanding that they are then bound by the same rules as the children on board). However, even this only helps if one lives near a bus route. Otherwise, walking (the officially encouraged option), cycling or the car are the only options, and many school routes are considered too unsafe for children to walk due to inconsiderate traffic, bullying and/or badly-planned access routes to the school. Cycling sheds and the like are often no longer provided by schools as security cannot be guaranteed. Students with special educational needs that involve transport get that transport free (even if it is an adapted taxi) since otherwise most of them could not access school at all. The car costs an average of 20 gallons per year, currently £160, but if it's on the way to work that's somewhat cheaper. After-school clubs: often attract fees of £2-£3 a session nowadays, to pay for the teacher. This is far from a blanket rule, and many schools that do charge have free alternatives (e.g. the ability to use the library while waiting for transport home instead). Donations: British schools rarely have teacher kit lists, but many schools do solicit for donations. There are strict rules about this. Community events that are also fundraising are common and traditional (e.g. May Day carnivals, Christmas choir concerts). Some schools outright request donations (£10-£50 a year is typical) but the wording is tightly controlled - schools have to make it clear that schooling won't be affected for the specific children whose parents don't partake, also there have to be protections if someone on a sufficiently low income tries to donate (to make sure it's not peer pressure or inadvertent child coercion at play). However, parents do feel that pressure and it's not surprising if parents are finding themselves paying, say, £30-£40 a year on these elements. Sometimes there is separate fundraising or per-participant fees for specific elaborate field trips (think "spend a week abroad" or "three-day adventure trip"), although the typical field trip integrated into school hours is free (apart from optional gift shop expenditure and any extra clothes needed - that would probably have been bought anyway had a homeschooler organised the trip). The exception is if the location charges schools entry fees for children of the age that are visiting, which is not a given even for museums that charge homeschoolers (local schools often get free entry to paid-for educational attractions as a gesture of goodwill). Note that British homeschoolers often put students into college for examinable subjects on exam year, simply because otherwise it can cost around £400 per subject to get assessed, and an academically-included student typically needs 5 (GCSE Maths/English and 3 A-Levels or equivalently-priced qualifications appropriate to their preferred degree). Another big complaint from homeschoolers.
  25. No. Because I have never eaten a taco because I hate hot spiciness and whst orhers consider mildly hot is still way to hot for me. OTOH. gyros are completely efible for me as a person whose body rebels against hot foot always and too acidy good a lot of times.
  26. I watched the show at least ten times so I am very familiar with the layout if the second floor. My problem is how it sits on top of the first floor. I will take you through a few scenarios to show what I mean. When I first started watching I thought that the stairs were a single flight with no landings or turns. That would put Joyce's room immediately to the right at the top of the stairs placing it in the front right of the house over the dining room. This makes it impossible for Warren to shoot Tara through the window from the left side of the back yard. There are also several scenes and on-line sources that show a landing and at least a 90 turn on the stairs. If that is the case then it would swing Joyce's room to the back right corner of the house over the kitchen and small sitting room under the stairs. This would make Warren's shot problematic but not impossible. However that would move the bathroom windows to the side of the house and make it impossible for there to be any windows in the right front of the house as we can clearly see from outside shots. That only leaves the possibility that the stairs having a landing and then double back 180 degrees. This would place Joyce's room in the left rear of the house over the back part of the living room, then Dawn's room would be in the front left corner, Buffy's in the front right corner and the bathroom over the kitchen in the back right corner. I have seen floorplans on-line that show this as the plan and it does make the most sense. It would line up Warren's shot perfectly. However even that plan has a few kinks. There is an episode that shows Dawn crawling out her window (which are now in the front and left side of the house) and coming out in the back yard. Now it doesn't show the whole trip just leaving the window and landing in the back yard so she could have crawled along the roof towards the back of the house and jumped down in the backyard. But it also means that every time Buffy crawled out her window it was in the side window near the front of the house. There is a tree in front of that window and it is Sunnydale so maybe no one noticed her going in and out the window. Here is a picture of that orientation: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=buffy+house+plan&fr=uh3_my_web_gs&type=2button&imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2Fc7%2F74%2F1d%2Fc7741de9f1578f94c1b4c76df9a07f2b.jpg#id=13&iurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2F736x%2F26%2F90%2F18%2F2690181ba34fdac5ec51a8077b204b9d--buffy-summers-season-.jpg&action=click This has been bothering me on and off for 20 years now. This is what I think of when I am awake at 3:00 AM. Please discuss. I also had the same problem with the Charmed house which would require a whole 'nother post like this but I did finally figure that one out.
  27. I thought of some other possible exceptions other than chili. Chicken and dumplings - is that soup? I haven't had that since I was a kid, but I used to love it. My beloved aunt used to make it for me and I connect it with feeling loved and safe. In addition to hating soup, I connect it with bad memories/trauma (I haven't eaten it since I was a child). What about the inside of chicken pot pie? I remember liking chicken pot pie when I was growing up but maybe I mainly liked the crust when it got soggy.
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