There's one in every bunch that just has to go there!!! ;)

I live in the land of coffee-- I don't have a 'favorite' but I lean towards the darker roasts. Right now I'm drinking KIVU's French roast.

This is me. I own a Kindle/dh owns a Kindle but I've been known to read a book on Kindle and then BUY the actual book for my library. I still prefer a real book. They smell good. ;)

This is how my dc's ortho's office is set up. I go back with my ds and will do so with my dd (going next week for banding). It sounds to me like the OP has need for an exception to made to this rule. I hope it works out for you and your ds.

A friend of mine owns and rents out a cottage there... Here's her link.

Nothing today--yet. Last week my 17 yo was crying because we told her it is not feasible to see her boyfriend every weekend. He lives 40 miles away --dd is a brand new driver, he doesn't drive and neither one have a job. Apparently dh and I are just big meanies and don't understand that the world revolves around him and their love for each other. :tongue_smilie: My almost 12 yo cried because my ds was joking around with her. She was so upset that she refused to come out of her room until he had gone to bed so that there wouldn't be ANY chance for her to see him--she hated him that much. The next day she started her period (not her first, but still). :001_huh:

Nope. You must be friendlier than me. :)

:grouphug: That's a lot to deal with all at once. I'm very sorry. :(

Who knew? :D

The first time I heard the term was when my neighbor accused me of 'hothousing' my dc. In OR, you have to test in grades 3,5,8 and 10 BUT you don't have to notify that you are homeschooling until the child is 7 as of September 1st which would be 2nd grade for the majority of kids. However, if you don't specify a grade when registering, they will assign your child as a 1st grader. I never assigned a grade when I registered my dc, therefore I was 'hothousing' since my dc would be 'older' than the other dc taking the test and would therefore do better. I never assigned a grade because my ODD kicks in sometimes and since I didn't HAVE to, I didn't WANT to. In this situation the accusation was silly, since I actually tested two of my dc a year ahead. I definitely got the vibe that the term had a negative connotation and implied that the parent is trying to give their child an unfair academic advantage. To what point and purpose? No idea.

I definitely feel my 8th grader is behind in writing--not for lack of trying though. I've attempted to use writing program after writing program without success. So, when we met with his teacher last week (he is attending an online charter school for the first time), I asked specifically about writing. I told his teacher what we'd done in the past and that he wasn't, imo, anywhere near up to speed. Know what he told me? That 50% of his 8th graders will not meet the benchmark for writing. He gave my ds a 97 on a report on Marco Polo that *maybe* should have received a mark in the low 80's. This school district is not the one I live in and is considered a good, solid district. The low expectations are appalling. So, I've ordered and received Jensen's Writing --it looks doable and I think we can do it in addition to his other classes.

My ds just outgrew me about 6 months ago. He's 13. I'm 5'9/5'10 and my dh is 6'1. Ds is now 5'11.

I was just having this conversation with someone today and they said that one can find cute shoes in large sizes by finding out where the cross dressers shop. :eek:

I used Writeshop with my ds last year as well.

My ds used LL7 last year. I LOVED it. He also did Core 5 and read all of those readers without any issue. He just told me the other day that he wishes he could use LL8 this year and that he really enjoyed it.

In my dealings with CPS/CW over the course of 7 years I saw EVERY case of every child brought into care in our county. Only ONE of those cases did I feel that perhaps the issues could've been dealt without the state taking custody of the children. I was fearful until I started dealing with the agency--I am no longer. I am not saying that there aren't cases of overzealous caseworkers or caseworkers that abuse their power, however, ime, the vast majority are truly decent people with a horrible, stressful and underpaid job who, truly, do not want to increase their already bursting-at-the-seams caseload.

You don't need to be scared of CPS. They don't want your dc, they DO have to investigate every report they receive.

:grouphug: I have a below average high school senior. She is the hardest worker--ever--BUT school does not come easy. She is lucky to test in the bottom 50% on standardized tests. Her reading/vocabulary has improved dramatically and sometimes she scores above average BUT she is fortunate to score in the 20% range for science and math. Her ACT/SAT scores are not stellar, by any means. She has been homeschooled (with the exception of 4th grade) exclusively. EVEN with our 'results' I still feel, very strongly, that homeschooling was the right option for her. She is articulate, confident, easy to talk to and, as I already indicated, a strong, hard worker. It'll be ok. She'll be ok, you'll be ok even if your dd isn't a Nat'l Merit Scholar . Mine sure isn't. :grouphug: eta: Wanted to say-- I struggled mightily with this for years. I was an Honors/AP student. It's been a humbling experience.

The commute from Vancouver in to Portland is a bear though---- Housing is high when compared to many places in Texas or the midwest and it's low when compared to San Francisco or Seattle. It all depends on what you are use to. I find food to be comparable to most other places--utilities aren't too bad, especially when you consider that the temperature is very moderate year round. eta: I don't live in Portland, but 20 miles outside of downtown. Now, back on East Coast where I'm from, 20 miles from downtown is close in--here, I'm told I live in the boonies. Strange. :)

I wish! ;) :D

It's always been 'our' money, regardless of who is working outside the home.

I'm about 20 miles outside of Portland. :)

No. I think what Zoo is trying to say is just be honest about her strengths and weaknesses in order to get the best possible feedback. I think you can view a sample of the EHE at SL--you might want to check it out --it will help you evaluate whether or not your dd is ready for that work. There are many SL'ers that use SL on grade level or with younger dc and are successful doing so--they just aren't as vocal. :)

:iagree: My dd is not going to do Core 6 this year--we are going to give Moving Beyond the Page a try instead. :)

I've done Core F with a 5th, 6th and 7th grader. It has worked well with all three. Core F is a bit different from the others in that the 'spine' is different--it's not a book, but a series of pages (the Eastern Hemisphere Explorer-EHE) with maps to be filled out, population/geography information to be found and various others bits of information needed in order to complete them. Due to the above, I think under 5th grade might be difficult, but my 5th grader had no problems with either the EHE or the readers--it was a great year for her. I think the general consensus is to do the cores a bit older for a couple of reasons. One, so you don't 'run out' of cores to do if you hs through high school and two, there is a lot of depth to be had in most of the cores and a child on the older side may get some of those connections that a younger child won't. I wouldn't stretch out D&E but I *would* take one year to do D and one to do E.