Thank you!

Not really. We live in a really rural area. McDonald's, the library, etc. are all the next town over, about an hour and a mountain away. The roads are bad in the winter, so I would like to not be dependent on crossing them daily.

Thank you! That's a neat way of doing things, by the way.

Thank you!

I'm willing to look at correspondence courses, especially for math and science. Thank you!

Thank you so much! Can I ask what you don't like about TT and MUS? I've heard mixed reviews about both, but I've definitely heard more negative reviews about TT. Thank you!

For high schoolers, there are no LPN entry requirements. They simply sign up at the local trade school at the end of their junior year to take the class during their senior year. It used to be much more competitive, but enrollment has dropped amongst high schoolers. Normally, there are only about four or five high schoolers in the program. The bulk are adult students. Our cell phone service is worse than the internet. We have to use our WIFI to use our phones.

Thank you so much! That's really helpful; you don't know how much. Your physics lab project sounds really interesting (and doable). I've been panicking a bit about physics labs because it's easy to get biology or chemistry lab kits, but it seems like there are much fewer options for physics.

Thank you!

They have only offered AP U.S. history in person. Only one student even tried the exam, and she got a 2. I've heard similar stories about the other three high schools in the county. One used to have a fantastic AP World History program; the students always got 4s and 5s, but the teacher retired and moved further south during COVID. Everything else has to be done online through the state's virtual program, and the teachers don't put much effort into it. My niece tried to study Chinese on it. She would start her lessons on Monday and email the teacher that day if she was stuck. She would usually not get a response until Thursday night, despite all of the work being due on Friday. It was a mess.

They're both eighth graders (twins). We've used Ambleside Online so far, and I think they've done well with it. We use Ray's for arithmetic, and we add in some hands-on geometry with Sloyd. They are both working through the Classical Composition series and Memoria Press' Traditional Logic II right now. Yes, please, any suggestions are appreciated.

My daughter plans to earn her LPN at the local trade school, then work and bridge up to an RN at either the local community college or a nursing school about an hour away. She plans to keep working and bridging until she gets her Master's of Midwifery. My son wants to be a SEAL or a Ranger. I'm not really sure how one prepares for those careers, but I've been informed that snipers need to know math?

Thank you! Just hearing it has and can be done is huge help. Truly, you don't know how much it helps my nerves to hear that your son has already college. It gives me hope.

Thank you! Your signature mentions Brown precalculus and Zumdahl chemistry. Are those the ones with which you are struggling? Do you mind me asking what makes them bad for self-teaching? Are there any red flags I should look for in descriptions or samples that would suggest it would be bad for self-teaching? Thank you for telling me about Lantern English! I'll definitely give it a look.

Thank you! Honestly, I think I'm overthinking the science and math part. It's like I completely forgot that Google exists and almost certainly has the explanations I will need.

Thank you!

Thank you so much! What did you do for math and science? Did you have trouble finding programs that were clear in the instructions? Elementary and middle school math never phased me, but high school math has me terrified. Did you have any of the issues @birchbarkmentions regarding development and healthy relationships? I think my anxieties have anxiety now. Again, thank you!

Thank you! Yes, we're thinking about downloading videos or using programs with DVDs. I'm just feeling a little overwhelmed regarding what works together, I guess. I really like the looks of VideoText, for example, but the trig unit is all online - at least, that's my understanding - so I'm worried about being lost when we get to trig/precalc. Sorry the reply is late. I dropped like a rock into bed.

I forgot to quote your post in my original reply, so I don't know if you saw it. Sorry! Thank you so much for the advice! It seems like everyone outsources so much, and it's a little disheartening. There are a few threads here about it, but quite a few of the responses are more about making outsourcing a possibility, not homeschooling without outsourcing. Really, just, thank you for giving me answers I can use. Volunteering is an option I'll look into now, but a job will have to wait until they're sixteen for legal reasons. 😕 Thank you so much again for the advice and the encouragement.

Thank you for the suggestions. I had a longer response, but it was eaten. I will look into some of the curricula that use CDs and Easy-Peasy. We're looking into the VideoText DVDs, but that will only get us so far, and the trig unit is entirely online. 😕 Tutors aren't an option. I could list reasons, but suffice to say, I meant it when I said that we must do it ourselves. Yes, I'm the mom. My dh tries to be involved in our homeschooling, but his work schedule really doesn't allow for the consistency of him taking the reins on any subjects. I hope this didn't come across as rude or unappreciative of your advice. I really do appreciate it.

Thank you so much for the advice! It seems like everyone outsources so much, and it's a little disheartening. There are a few threads here about it, but quite a few of the responses are more about making outsourcing a possibility, not homeschooling without outsourcing. Really, just, thank you for giving me answers I can use. Volunteering is an option I'll look into now, but a job will have to wait until they're sixteen for legal reasons. 😕

We plan to homeschool through high school, and outsourcing just isn't an option for a variety of reasons. To start, our internet will not support streaming, so that's out. The "local" community college is about an hour and a half away, but they charge full tuition (about $300 per credit) for homeschoolers, so it's not really a viable option right now anyway. Also, the dual enrollment options at the local high school are... lacking. For example, in DE College Composition, last year they watched a cartoon version of Beowulf, read an abridged version of the Odyssey, and read a modern English version of Macbeth. They didn't write a single paper. In the past five year, they haven't done any labs in DE Biology. DE Spanish is taught over a TV to all four high schools in the county, so there is no real conversation practice or anything like that. They offer no other languages. The only "co-op" is ran through the local library, and, well, I know the people who work there. They're all anti-homeschooling and only offer the program because of a grant they received; they don't put any effort into it. I point all of this out to make it clear that we have to do it all ourselves. I know I'm not the best at everything, but I also know my kids can read, write, and divide decimals without a calculator, so I can at least say we're beating the local public schools. :/ The kids both do martial arts, and Youth Group. My dd does two days of ballet each week, and my ds does two days of gymnastics, so we have a decent handle on time with peers. I hope, at least. To be honest, I'm not sure with what I need help. How do we not get in a rut in our conversations about history and literature? How do I teach/support them in upper level math and science? How do I avoid burnout? How do I not create kids that are totally dependent on me? Any advice is appreciated.

I wonder how many of these kids are going to trade school (either in high school or directly afterwards), then "bridge up." For example, where I live, many of our nurses take the first year of the LPN course in high school and finish the program the year after they graduated. They make as much as a teacher with a four or five year degree just one year out of high school. Then they can bridge to an RN in two years (one year of prereqs, one year of actual RN bridge), and they make $65,000 or more a year. If they want, they can keep "bridging," and they're actually able to afford the tuition.