My 18 yo loves board games like Risk, Monopoly, Axis and Allies... He occasionally plays Dungeons and Dragons with some neighborhood kids. He is an Eagle Scout so I second the merit badge idea. He also volunteers at the Salvation Army soup kitchen. He likes leatherworking and woodworking as well. What about odd jobs? Cleaning gutters, mowing/weeding, dog walking...

DH is still asleep. That will be his best gift of the day! My kids are 18 (he stayed at the ILs last night and probably doesn't realize it's Fathers' Day), 8 (he made a card and asked DH to go minigolfing with him), and 4 (she drew a picture of the dog). I bought a guide book of local walks and a water bottle that has a big slice of bacon on it that says "Fresh squeezed." That's about it from around here since he bought a camera as a "Mothers' Day gift" that he uses exclusively... How can it be my gift if I've never even taken a picture with it? Bah!

My dad died in October 2008. He had Alzheimers and Parkinson (my poor mother) but what finally took him was a lung infection. He and Mom would have celebrated their 50th anniversary this year. When we had his visitation, it was an amazing testament to how beloved he was. People were lined up through the Church and down the street for 4 hours just to pay their respects. Though it annoyed me as a teen, what I miss most is listening to him tell and retell and retell his stories.

Another vote for no calls after 9 p.m.

The best dog we have ever had was an American Bulldog. She was spectacular. Easy to train, obedient, protective, great with kids. I loved that dog and all others pale in comparison.

When it is that time of year to choose what the kids are going to use for curriculum, does your DH have input or do you choose everything? I teach, I choose. He doesn't care what we use as long as the kids are learning and I'm not going crazy. Did you have to convince DH to homeschool, was he all for it, or did he not care either way? He was all for it. Our son had been asking to HS since Kindy and it got to a point where it was really the only choice that made sense. What do you think? Any advice or suggestions? Re: CAVA, I have no personal experience so I don't know how regulated it is regarding hours, curriculum, etc. I can only say that I have really enjoyed the freedom to choose what and when we study, especially for the grammar stage. I've enjoyed being able to let DS follow rabbit trails. In the high school phase, if we are still HS'ing, I will certainly be considering options that will ensure an accredited diploma and the education he will need for college. Do you ever worry that you will fail at homeschooling? Honestly, I can't do any worse than the PS was doing. I know DS's weak areas and can work on those. I know what he enjoys and can challenge him appropriately. The school can't/won't do that. I know you hear homeschool kids getting into great colleges, but do you ever worry that you will do something wrong and your kids won't be able to get into college? ( I know this sounds ridiculous) No because I will do whatever it takes to get him the education he needs. I know there are resources available if I need them. If you had the choice of a free k12 virtual academy would you use it or homeschool on your own? My own. I want to keep the government and bureacracy out of my kid's education as much as possible. NCLB and the focus on testing vs. learning is, IMO, the downfall of our education system. I like the idea of a classical education and cannot see that my kids would get that with a K12. Do you think it is possible to do k12 with three children, or do you think it would be way too much work that is not needed? I have no experience there. However my understanding is that you have to teach each child/grade level separately and that would be a lot of extra work IMO.

I love love love Star Trek and I think the Borg, even though they were from Next Generation, were one of the best "villains" ever!

I'm in WA and we are required to do a test or assessment annually from 2nd grade on but the results are only for the parents. If you were to put your child into public or private school, you may be asked for those records in order to place the child appropriately (particularly for high school). Otherwise the state doesn't even have access to the results.

I believe it refers to the "Collective" or Hive Mind/Collective Consciousness of the Borg, a cybernetic pseudo-race from Star Trek. "Resistance is Futile."

I'm reminded of Homer Simpson at the nuclear power plant!:tongue_smilie:

We did CLE Math and LA's this year. DS and I loved CLE Math (and he tested 2 levels above his grade level on the SAT) but CLE LA's was not a good fit for us. It was a struggle just to get through a lesson because he didn't like the layout of the workbook and even with the use of the TG there just wasn't instruction for him to really "get it." We are switching to R&S for LA's next year and I'm hoping that's a better fit for us. But we are definitely sticking with CLE Math. We love it.

We did CLE Math and LA's this year. DS and I loved CLE Math (and he tested 2 levels above his grade level on the SAT) but CLE LA's was not a good fit for us. It was a struggle just to get through a lesson because he didn't like the layout of the workbook and even with the use of the TG there just wasn't instruction for him to really "get it." We are switching to R&S for LA's next year and I'm hoping that's a better fit for us. But we are definitely sticking with CLE Math. We love it.

Math--5 days/wk Phonics/Language Arts/Spelling/Handwriting--5days/wk Science--2-3 days/wk History--2-3 days/wk Art--as it occurs with science and history, probably 2-3 days/wk P.E.--5 days/wk Other: Reading--daily Music--daily Latin--4-5 days/wk Geography--with history Health--with PE I am considering making Friday our "fun day" to play learning games, go on field trips, watch movies related to History or Science or readalouds. I would still expect short history, LA and reading lessons on those days but 15-20 mins each vs. our typical 40-60 min lessons.

DS will be a 3rd grader and this is will be our first full year of HS'ing so I decided to start with SSL and see where we end up from there. If it goes well and we finish quickly, we will probably move on to Minimus.

DS18-- I don't remember the last time I saw him read but it was probably something by Harry Turtledove (alternate history novels) and probably last Fall. DS8-- Currently reading the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books... On #3 I believe DD4-- BOB books, lol

:iagree: Take it for what it's worth because we are not in an entirely dissimiliar situation RE: DSS, but I think what Chucki said makes a lot of sense. You have helped this young man immensely by opening your home to him and caring/supporting him, but now it is time he gains some perspective on life in the adult world. He needs to learn to function as an adult in spite of his disorders.

I spent about $100 with them on my first order but after receiving the huge RR Catalog today I could easily spend a few hundred.

Thank you all for your insight. I think we are going to put the decision in his hands and support whatever he decides upon. I have asked him to come up with what he sees as the pros and cons of the various choices so he can see (at least on paper) the reality of what he is choosing. It is his life and he needs to take ownership of it so perhaps this will be a first step.

We got rid of plantar warts on DD's big toe with Thuja, a supplement from the health food store. You take it 3 times/day until the tube of tiny little pills are gone and her warts were gone at the same time. I've heard about the duct tape thing.

Those are great ideas! Thank you!

They are in the Activity Guide or you can order the PDF Student Pages to get them.

This is why I am so adamant about him finishing up over the summer and starting the next page of his life. Maybe I'm wrong and another year of high school will let him "grow up," but I feel like he can do that at the CC 1/2 mile from our house (while still living here). I don't know. My MIL had the same experience as you speak of, with SS benes going through 22 as long as you are in college. However, that has changed. The SS benes only go through high school now. They stop as soon as you graduate. We have been trying to get him to get a job for 2 years. We felt that the outside responsibility (even just a few hours/wk) and interaction with other adults (especially those who are in a less than ideal situation) might give him some motivation/direction for his future. We have had jobs lined up through friends/associates and he has not shown either for interviews or the jobs themselves. Over the last week he did apply for 20 jobs (under duress, but he did it) and he has a requirement of applying for 2 jobs/day until he finds one. Jobs are sparse around here because we have 3 colleges in town (SPSCC, Evergreen State, St. Martin's University) AND a lot the kids who go to college outside of town are home for the summer. Oddly, he will volunteer for anything (Salvation Army soup kitchen, community service projects, etc.) but he can't be bothered to look for something that will pay him.

OP here. First I want to say that walking at graduation is really irrelevant to the situation at hand. We have no concerns about whether or not is allowed to participate in the ceremony. We knew the school policy is that no one walks unless all requirements are met. Our dilemna is his future, short and long term, and we disagree on how to proceed. Our district doesn't allow the kids to CLEP out of required classes. We had discussed this last year when he failed English. They can test into a higher/advanced class but they can't skip a requirement unless it is to take a more difficult (but same category) requirement. Well, the teacher allowed him time over the last month to make up all of his assignments. She sent us an email today stating that she was sorry but, since he put no effort into taking her up on her offer to let him turn in every assignment from the semester for potentially full credit, she couldn't pass him. The teacher tried but he did not put forth the effort. As far as walking at graduation, he never wanted to walk and told us as much. He doesn't see graduating from high school as a big deal. His mom never graduated and she was always able to get by. Well, until the end anyway. And most of his friends graduated last year or are younger than him. Actually, I can't think of any of his friends that are his age. I believe he is scared to move out of the known "evil" of high school. He is comfortable there. Adult life is scary. College is scary (even though he can live with us and go to CC 1/2 mile from the house). Work is scary. Having what you do or don't do is scary. High school life is easy.

I grew up on a farm shooting and hunting. We still hunt but primarily shoot at the range. One of the reasons we started a Venturing Crew was to teach the skills to those kids who wanted them.

He is bringing home the information about the online summer school course today. I'm not sure when that would start but it's listed as independent study so I would assume it was self-paced. He doesn't have any direction for after graduation. That's another story though. Yes, the Social Security benefits would continue as long as he is "full-time" in high school, which he could be. I do agree about the Psych class. It has to be Psych or Sociology but the course descriptions are somewhat similar at a 051 level. It has to be Psych or Sociology, both having similar course descriptions. And no, he cannot walk. They do not allow anyone to walk that has not met all of the requirements. Graduation is Friday and they pull people out of practice to tell them they can't walk once the final grades are in.