No, I don't think Charter's have to provide service to children with severe special needs. They don't have the man power and/or choose not to provide those services. I don't know of any charter schools that have any specialty therapist in house. The kids who need special services seem to have to get them from a non-charter school. For example, my dd's charter school doesn't have a physical therapist on staff despite the fact that there are at least two children who could benefit from that. I guess they just do without? That is a negative of charter schools. I don't think they are obligated to educated children who need personal aids and therapies associated with that.

Yes! My dd is going to the school in our neighborhood. The school has taught the kids to give certain hand signals to their classmates when they're talking or doing something that could get them into trouble. My dd has taken it to a new level and feels very responsible that it is her duty to keep the class under control. I've basically had to tell her to ignore the school rule and just mind her own business. I explain that I'm her mom and if she gets called out on not helping administer classroom control (every kid is supposed to do this), that they will have to come talk to me. She's gotten verbal tics that usually happen when her body is stressed. She fails to understand why kids just can't listen to the teacher.

There are a ton of charter schools around where I live. The education level at these charter schools is not that much different than the regular public school. If the charter schools closed down, there would be 40-60 kids per classroom in the public schools in our district only because the schools are having trouble keeping up with the population explosion we are seeing here. So, instead of the Charter school being an alternative to public school education, it becomes just another public school with no difference in class size or academics. They opened a new 6-12 grade charter school in my neighborhood. It took 6th-8th grade out of the elementary school. Instead of allowing smaller class sizes because they now had more classrooms at the k-5 level, they maxed out each classroom to 30 kids and increased their enrollment significantly (around 60 kids per grade). They had to. The elementary school assigned our neighborhood is a small rural school that has been swallowed up by massive suburban type growth. There are some charters that are excelling in academics, but they are in the "rich" section of town. You pay a lot more per house to live there. I fail to understand why our district can't do better.

I am trying to give my family some more treats without adding extra sugar. Here's a for instance. When I make banana muffins, I will replace at least half - usually more of the flour with coconut flour and whole wheat flour to give more fiber without taking away taste too much. I have been replacing about 1/3 of regular sugar with coconut sugar to reduce the glycemic index also. But even with all of the above modifications, I don't make baked goods nearly as much as they would like. They already fill up on plenty of fruits and vegetables but it really takes a ton of those to fill up growing teenage boys. I've made "kind bars" with dates that they do like, but wow- they can eat a whole pan in a day. I'm trying to think outside the box a bit--give them a healthy snack without adding sugar overload.

I am trying to cut even further the sugar content of my family's diet. I am not opposed to sugar in general - I'm not going to panic if they have a candy bar, but I would like to be able to give them more treats without adding sugar. I see a lot of recipes that have a stevia/ Erythritol blend. I have known from others that Stevia can leave a bitter aftertaste. Has anyone tried these recipes - especially the muffin/cookie recipes? Are they any good? I'm also trying to experiment with coconut sugar. It's expensive, but I know that it does have a lower glycemic index. Not as good as stevia, but better than white sugar. Any other suggestions to cut sugar content back but still fill up the hungry boys with some sweet treats would be greatly appreciated.

Our charter school has a 64% grade proficiency failure for math and a 40% failure in English according to testing. But it’s doing better than the state average and people say how great the school is. It’s also a very heavy parent participation. So, if the school spent all of its money on technology and didn’t buy basketballs for gym class, the PTO will raise money to offset things like that so it makes the school have an alternative funding source. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ditto on appendicitis. My DH thought he had bad horseradish on Christmas. He was miserable for two days and then went to the hospital with appendicitis. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

New chapter 40+ every woman’s in daily multi-vitamin Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We are having ds go for a traditional AA degree. He has a list of classes he can pick from. There are a certain number of classes in different divisions - for example, he has to get 7 credits of science, one with a lab, 6 credits for english, and so forth. They have emphasis tracks such as engineering or communications but we want him to get a good feeling for a bunch of different classes to see what interests him most.

Thank you all! This gives me a really good place to start! This board is awesome!

It may be something like the above. Sadly, I think his shoe size is a boys sized 3 or 4. He’s 5’4†and 18 years old. But the surgery to fix his feet is brutal so we’re just going with what he’s got and any ability to stand Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

He has a really severe pronation. He has AFOs and they are worried he’s going to get some skin breakdown because his feet are putting so much pressure in certain areas. Ds doesn’t walk and we really only want to keep standing transfers. So, he’s not on his feet much anyway. We just need some traction and a really cushy base with some support. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I am reading a book from an author who is lamenting the education in our country because people use to read about Odysseus and now our children are reading vampire stories. The author is a little harsh overall, but I am wondering how to have my 13 year old be able to read and understand literature that is harder to read and understand. It’s a brain muscle that I’m not sure how to exercise. I have him read books mostly from Sonlight selections but I’m not sure how to get him further into novels/material that is harder to understand . Suggestions on how to get him to the next level? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Long story short, my ds has horrible deformed feet. At his orthopedic visit yesterday, they mentioned that his braces may do more harm that good at this point. He just needs a supportive shoe with some good cushion. I’m thinking a high top? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The window cloth is great for anything glass (windows, mirrors, eyeglasses). It also works really well to clean stainless steel without streaks. I would buy that one again if mine bites the dust. That being said, any microfiber would probably work also for that. I also have one of their towels for drying my hair. It works well and really dries it faster than a regular towel. A bonus is that the towel is lightweight and not heavy like a bath towel. But again, any microfiber towel would work the same.

I hated the prep but everything went very smooth. They gave me something to relax and I had a nice nap when I got home. The prep was worse than the actual procedure.

My ds got his scores. They were very good, but not good enough for the national merit scholarship range. I guess it really doesn't change his plans of which college he thinks he's going to attend. I was hoping he would get options of further choices. But I'm not even sure he desires other choices.

My friend who has been homeschooling for over 20 years has noticed a trend in education. She thinks that a college degree has replaced the status that a high school degree used to years and years ago. The master's degree has replaced the BA degree and so on. For example, her dd went to school to become an occupational therapist. Years and years ago, it was a simple four year degree. Now, it's a masters degree. In the near future, there is talk about an OT degree being a PHD.

I get muscle tenderness/spasms/joint pain when I have gluten. I had a licorice craving and ate a bunch. The same night my hips were hurting. They bothered me for a week. Licorice has gluten. So sad. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm only 15 minutes away. I was so impressed with the program. They are using every single bit of curriculum I would use if I actually had enough brain power and more than one student. I'm still not totally sure if my ds will go there as we have to balance friendships and academics more with him. He's in a great program right now through The Classical Academy if you've heard of that. Side note, I'm confused at your siggy....eternal summer it is not where you live! Beautiful though! I can't blame you for not wanting to drive down a mountain twice a week during the winter! Can you see yourself getting down and then they close the highway on you? Not fun!

I am planning on joining this group next year. They use a lot of curriculum that is considered classical in nature. The younger grades do a faux classical conversations group with the possibility of further instruction in the afternoon as they approach junior high. They are definitely not for everyone and those who are not looking for academic work tend to drop out quickly from what I understand. They are definitely not cheap and the teachers are those who are passionate about their subjects and really know how to teach them -- it's going way beyond a homeschool mom who will learn Latin to teach a class next year (I'm looking at you CC). It's someone who's been teaching or knows Latin for years. http://twelvestones.education

I directed a community 6 years ago. My dd at the time was four but acted more like she was 2 due to being adopted. She really didn't belong in a CC classroom even with a GREAT tutor for that age group. She was just too immature even for her age. She sat in the windowsill, played with the toys in the room, or laid under the table. She wasn't interrupting so the tutor just let her do her thing. If they had some wiggle room in the rules to let the parents have some discretion, she would have been in the nursery where it was really developmentally appropriate for her. Then, a year after I stopped directing, the whole state blew up a little when my state administrator went on a retreat with CC and found out what really went on behind the scenes. She wound up telling what happened to her and a bunch of directors quit as a result. It had a lot to do with how CC is a ministry at the base level and pay "ministry" pay (i.e. it's the ministry not the money that motivates me), but the people who own it really treat it like a money making business. Most people know that now, but 6 years ago, it was hidden what Leigh Borton was really making.

Also, if you ever do return to public school, they may not give any credit for the “Wâ€. We moved in April 2 1/2 years ago and pulled my ds from public school. He is full special education with credits that basically meant nothing, but the new school almost didn’t want to “graduate†him based on his not completing his month of his courses. I’d imagine the stakes are higher for a typical learner. Eventually, they did give him credit for the courses only because I told them he wasn’t coming back anyway. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Basically, when he's found out a way to sneak it, he watches stuff literally all night. Last night his brother needed a drink of water at 2 am and noticed he was up watching youtube video. He had get up to be at a homeschool co-op at 6:30. He had 4 1/2 hours of sleep. When he sneaks, he stays up into the night. He has no off switch. So, the latest episode was probably a week of getting less than 5 hours of sleep a night. Last time it happened, he had a month of staying up into the early morning. It was to the point I took him to the doctor the last big stretch thinking something was wrong because he was falling asleep during the day all the time. The lack of sleep affects his ability to have energy to do anything. This is what is affecting every part of his life mostly. He's plain tired. This issue is easily going on 8 months where he's not getting bored with it. We're starting to get drastic in how our house is set up. If he gets a decent night's sleep, he's a happy kid. Otherwise, he's just moody.

His obsession is messing with his day to day life, his time with his dad, his relationship with me, and his school. It's an addiction that is probably fueled a bit by mild ASD that we don't have diagnosed yet, but is only a suspicion right now.