I used LfC when dd was in elementary school and I will be doing Latin Alive when she is in high school ( we took a break from Latin to study French). I love their programs and I highly recommend them to folks.

You should not need the TASC no matter what. Most districts will do the letter of completion I have only heard of one or two that refuse it (and those are some schools that really have it out for homeschoolers in the first place). I think it is actually getting more common since the SUNY schools are really asking for it. As for the 24 credit hour option I know many folks who have completed that but they have used them on their transcripts and gotten the letter too. I do know one person who did the 24 credits at a local CC and then the parents had to fight the CC because they put on the transcript that they had essentially earned a GED. The parents did not want that label on their child's transcript. This was something the system did automatically for kids without a high school diploma once they received the 24 credits. You could contact your local CC and see if that is something automatically added to the transcript in your area.

This has been a huge mess in NYS this year. I know that there is a proposed law that should be coming up that will state that a homeschooling diploma is valid in NYS. I have friends whose son has had major issues with this and he was already doing dual enrollment classes at the school. I am very thankful that LEAH and HSLDA are really working on this with legislators to hopefully get this resolved soon.

As for their direct use in college it is going to be professor dependent. Now their indirect uses are abundant. A DBQ is an excellent way for a student to work on analysis and in history primary source analysis is really the basis for any good paper. So in that aspect they help a student develop critical thinking skills (which are important in all aspects of life) and they are helping them develop research writing skills. Students who can successfully work with primary source documents and integrate them in an essay are learning how to develop their own arguments not based on others opinions. That is a skill that can be carried into any other field.

We used the Bluestocking Press Economics guide (the package shows other guides but we only used the one but read the books) http://www.bluestockingpress.com/economics-high-school.htm

Our hs group sees the same thing. I think most of dd's friends will stay homeschooling because they all had older siblings who were homeschooled through high school. Maybe you could look at some volunteering options for him. Have you looked to see if there are any Explorer groups in the area. If you are not familiar with explorer groups here is a link http://www.exploring.org/about-us/ Our local ones are done through Boy Scouts (both boys and girls can join). I know your other child has a tight schedule but maybe you need to carve in some time for him to get together with the ps friends. If he and his friends like games maybe form a weekly or bi-weekly game group that meets at your house. Maybe do a once a month movie night or if he is invited to do something with those friends make it a priority to make sure he can go even if you have to adjust schedules.

That sounds a lot like dd some days. She reads the book and does the problems. Most days it is between 5-10 corrections that need to be done sometimes more sometimes less. It takes her normally about an hour to do her Math (reading and problems) then another 1/2 hr for corrections. There are some days (more lately I think due to spring fever) that it takes her 2+ hrs to do her Math. When she is done with her Math I do the corrections and then I can usually see where the errors are, she normally finds them herself too. I think finding the errors yourself is one of the best ways to see if they have truly learned something. When dd takes her tests normally she get 1 maybe 2 wrong and can normally correct those herself. Now anything she cannot correct herself we work through together (or at least with me sitting next to her since she normally does not want my help unless she is really stuck). I found when we had long stretches of her taking too long or getting too many wrong I would challenge her with some type of reward if she kept it at an hour and less than 5 wrong. A couple of days of that would usually refocus her.

I would pull him out and not stress to much about the socialization at this point. You might look into homeschooling groups and co-ops for the future. An a la cart co-op would probably be the best for you because you could just do one or two classes at a time. Play dates and Sunday school are fine for right now, just do not close the door on getting involved in things for the future. You will be able to tell if he needs to be around other kids or do some different activities.

Have you joined the Yahoo group for MysteryofHistory2 ? There are lots of resources listed there.

We have done the PASS Test in the past too. We have done the Stanford for the past couple of years but we are switching to Iowa this year.

The Highly Sensitive Child is also an excellent book http://www.amazon.com/The-Highly-Sensitive-Child-Overwhelms/dp/0767908724 My daughter is a highly sensitive person. I have not really noticed a connection between being extra sensitive before a developmental leap but that does not mean it was not there. That also just maybe the way your daughter grows, which does make sense. Changes either physically or mentally can be taxing on the body so that may be her way of processing it.

I like IEW for writing, especially for your rising 7th grader. it will give a strong foundation in writing. As for Grammar I really like the Easy Grammar program. You could do the Easy Grammar plus book with both of them (it is for jr/sr high) over 2 years. As for Latin, have you looked at Latin Alive yet? I really like the Classical Academic Press materials. We plan on doing that program when dd is in high school (she is doing French now in middle school). I also highly recommend Art of Argument if you are thinking of doing some logic with them.

Has it always been the weekend after Easter? I know change dates can sometimes effect attendance.

I went for the first time this year and had a blast. Normally I would just attend our state convention but that is not happening this year. I know many conventions are struggling, folks are just not going to them the way they used to. Many people are just buying things on line. I was very impressed with the speakers. I know most of the sessions I went to were packed and only a couple had plenty of open seating. I had the issue where many of the sessions I wanted to go to were all happening at the same time and at other times there was nothing I really needed to go to. I really enjoyed Professor Carol and Dr. Perrin. My dh went to a bunch of the science/creation sessions and really enjoyed those. I was also impressed with the vendor hall but if folks say it is not as large that is a concern. That is what started happening at our state convention about 7 years ago. I wonder if the TTD conferences are having an impact. I know a few people who were planning on going to one of those because the drive was a little less. It would be interesting to hear what the number in attendance was.

Can you have her shadow someone in the high school for a day? I know a lot of kids who do that in the 8th grade here. This way they can see what the day would really be like and they can talk to the kids and get a better perspective. I know many kids who have done that and decided not to go back.

Oh for those who did go, who were your favorite speakers/sessions? Anyone find any new treasures or ideas?

I had a blast while I was there. I went to a couple of Dr. Perrin's sessions and then a few others. The one on teaching from primary source documents really gave me some great ideas for a co-op class plus I found some great material to go along with that in the vendor hall. We did not make it to the end on Friday, just too tired but we were back first thing Sat. to catch the classical education unplugged session. That one was good too. I am hoping to convince dh to go back next year.

Dd is going to the grandparents so both Dhabi and I will be there. This is our first time going away together since we went on our honeymoon 15 yes ago.

Our homeschool group currently uses Google Groups for our communication. We have three different groups set up. One is an announcement group, only members of the board can post on there. That is where all the official information comes out on (events, field trips, meetings, co-op...) We also try to have different people be the contact person for different events. Sometimes the person is a member of the board (those would be meetings, co-op info things like that) and sometimes the contact person is just a member of the group (field trips, some events). The second is what we call the exchange group. All members of the group can post on that. Folks can send out information on community events, requests for services (do you know a good plumber type of things) and things for sale. The third group is just for our board. That is how the board leaders communicate with each other. We do have a fb group but that is rarely used.

Thanks every one. The airbnb we are staying at is in my niece'so neighborhood Hyde Park so I know it is decent. It also has great ratings from those who have stayedone there (it is an apt/ condo). Thank you for the suggestions on food. That is one of my biggest concerns since I know it will be hard to fit in. I will also be finishing up some antibiotics that dictates when and what I can eat. We have a rolling cart and I will be bringing my back pack that can slip on it. I already planned on brining some water and snacks. I did not know that Timberdoodle and MFW were normally there. I am looking forward to going to Miller Pads and Paper again. They used to come to our state convention but have not for the past few years. There are also some other vendors I have not heard of that I want to check out plus there is always Rainbow Resources that place is dangerous.

Hi All I have been to our state convention in the past but this year we are going to Cincinnati for the Great Homeschool Convention. I was wondering if any one had some good tips for that convention (places to eat, parking....). Even though I have been going to our state convention for years I feel like a newbie since I do not know all the insider tips for this one. We are staying at an airbnb so we will be driving into the convention each day. Any ideas are appreciated. Maureen

I did Literature every year and then I also did a year that included grammar (Easy Grammar) and then a year with a writing focus (Jensen's Format Writing). I then chose 4-5 novels a year and did either Progeny Press or Novel Units literature guides to go along with them. Oh I also used Jensen's Vocabulary too. For sd's senior year I opted to use Movies as Literature which is a wonderful course.

Have you looked at Latin Alive? I know a few people who have used that. I think we will be using it also.

I know quite a few folks who have used Sonlight and still do. I used it up through Core E. I was not a huge fan of Core F and then I started using Mystery of History which I liked better than Story of the World so I used a modified Sonlight for 5th, 6th , 7th grades doing World History. I might go back next year or just keep pulling out what I like from their program, I really have not decided yet.

I just bought one today. I had previously printed some sheets off from the internet but they always get destroyed. This will be something to do at co-op or when I am stressed out. I did not think it would really reduce my stress until I tried it one day. I cannot do it for hours on end but for a little bit it is good.