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Aoife

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    Is this a good idea?

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    Yes, she is on track to graduate if she were to stay at her current high school.  I called up our local high school and spoke with the guidance department about the situation.  I was told that for one they would require an updated custody agreement that has my husband listed as the sole physical custody and custodial parent. Right now his custody agreement is joint with her mom as custodial parent.  We then need to come in with her transcripts for an interview to make sure that the credits line up and meet their requirements for graduation.  As for homeschooling her up here the superintendent's office said I would also need an updated custody agreement and proof of withdrawal from her current high school.  For the withdrawal, it must be done by the custodial parent in writing.  After that we would send in our letter of intent along with the proof of withdrawal and the official copy of the custody arrangement.  They would not tell me if the would still approve the homeschool though, since it is for 12th grade only.  Does that sound right?  If I don't take all of those steps her mom could get in trouble for truancy through her school down in WV

     

    Is this a good idea?

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

     

    Let me clarify things.  

     

    You have a 17 year old step daughter that is going into her senior year at a school she has been attending since she was a freshman?

     

     Your husband wants to pull her out of school and homeschool her for her senior year, off grid, away from her friends, the year she is supposed to graduate, and you would be homeschooling her right after having had a baby, your home is not set up yet, you have other littles who will need you and you have no plans in place, and no idea what to do but your husband is pressuring you and her to do this?

     

     Do I have the scenario correct?

     

    Homeschooling High School on a limited budget with the summer to plan would seem doable to me.  But with all that you are facing, it seems a really hard path.  What does your stepdaughter say?  Is she on board with this?  What about her mother?  If step daughter is really wanting this, too, then maybe she would be willing to step up to the plate and help plan.  Hopefully she would also be able to function relatively independently on many things or even most things.  But if she is not on board, I wouldn't even attempt it.

     

    :grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:

    Yes you have the scenario correct.  As for my stepdaughter she had no plan to help with the planning.  She wanted to homeschool for the sole purpose of being able to move up here and not switch public schools.  Her mother is not keen on the idea but at 17 DD is old enough to override her in the eyes of the court.  She has a track record of not following through on things as well.  I should also add that we cannot do anything online based because being very rural we only have satellite internet and a pretty low data allowance that anything streaming would eat through in days.  

    Is this a good idea?

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    I need the advice of all you more seasoned homeschoolers!  For some background:

     

    I have been homeschooling about 3 years now from the beginning and my oldest is in 2nd grade going on 3rd grade.  We just moved from WV up to NH to build a homestead and live off grid.  We are starting from scratch up here and are already behind schedule on getting our yurt up so we are living in a hotel sucking away our savings which is all budgeted for the various projects we must get done before winter.  I have had no time to research schooling a highschooler.  No time to figure out how to get her math up to level (she is a bit behind and struggled with Math 3 in school this year)  It is partially our fault too because many times before we had talked to her in the past about how much homeschooling can benefit.  Keep in mind though this was years ago when we could have pulled her out and had time to transition and figure out our path.  I just feel incredibly overwhelmed and the last thing I want to do is fail her!

    I know budget wise would could school her for little cost or free but that it would take a massive amount of planning and time that we realistically do not have.  My husband does not want to hear any of this.  He wants her to move up here because he misses her which I of course understand.  I feel though that he is glossing over this and putting off researching because of his desire for her to move up here.  Also we are expecting a new baby this September!  I know that I am not capable and am stretched way too thin as it is and this is just one too many things on my pate for this year!  That said I would have to defer the research, planning and teaching to my husband and my 17yo step daughter.  My husband also needs to go back to work this fall after completing a sizable list of things that have to built on the homestead before winter hits.  Things like our well, solar system, bath house.....  So things that are pretty essential and not easily put off.  I can understand pulling a child in 12th grade out of necessity and having to make it work but the fact is that this is not necessity.  She can move up here and go to our PS or she can stay wit her mother in WV and attend the school she has been going to.  

     

    My question is what would you do in my shoes?  Is it responsible of us to pull her out of PS to homeschool 12th grade with no plan or direction?  Is it possible to pull off a solid plan for 12th grade in 3 months time on a small budget?  

     

    Thank you all so much in advance for letting me get this off my shoulders for one and for any and all advice.  Any help or insight is greatly appreciated because I am feeling very overwhelmed and lost here.

    Brand new to highschool HSing and starting in 12th HELP! STEM kid too!

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    Math 3 could also be Integrated Math 3. Integrated Math covers topics in algebra, geometry, statistics, and some other topics (bits of number theory, counting, probability), with the complexity of the topics increasing each year.

     

    Here, the schools have IM 1-3 followed by precalculus.

     

    Based on her description, I believe this is what it is. It seems to cover various topics and move around between them quite a bit.  It is, from what I understand, the "basic" math course that her school offers.  In that it is what kids who were not able to fit the higher maths (honors, AP) into their schedule just get put into and what kids that could not get into honors etc get put into as well.  She is not a fan of it, because for one, the people taking it as well as the teacher are very unmotivated.  She really likes the environment in honors and AP courses because everyone wants to be there and are motivated to do well.  From how she has described the Math 3 class it is quite the opposite.  

    • Like 1

    Brand new to highschool HSing and starting in 12th HELP! STEM kid too!

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    She likes it but she has not had a good track record as far as teachers and curriculum goes.  I spoke with her a bit today and so far she is pretty against the idea of a 5th year of highschool.  

     

    As far as math goes, she took math 3 this year.  Neither she nor I really know what that equates to and I am having trouble online figuring that out. We are pretty sure it has covered a decent amount of algebra but from my understanding it really tends to hop around actual topics.  I have linked her so far to the hippocampus page so she can start watching some more videos and we are going to look into getting her some curriculum to work on independently before she moves up with us this July.   

    • Like 1

    Brand new to highschool HSing and starting in 12th HELP! STEM kid too!

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    thanks so much all :)  I believe I still have a copy of Lial's floating around from trying to help with math earlier and if not I will definitely grab another copy!  

     

    I mentioned AoPS because I <3 them LOL  We have been using beast with my 8yo starting this past year and have been loving it and looking forward to using them for higher maths.  I will ask her what she has actually taken in math thus far so I can get a better picture of where she is actually struggling and where we can go from here.  Unfortunately with being in PS and for the last 11 years being 50/50 split custody we have simply not had the full amount of time to really help her gain a foundation the way we do with our younger children who start in SM+Miquon.  

     

    So far as I know the other courses she has taken were honors.  This year was the first of the AP courses and it was American History I believe and her test for it is coming up soon.  I will have to talk to her and her dad about the idea of a 5th year of highschool because with where her interests lie I would really rather spend the time giving her a solid foundation then rushing her off unprepared and possibly ending up disappointed in what she is able to take in college.  

     

    Again i appreciate the help more than you all know!  <3 

    • Like 1

    Brand new to highschool HSing and starting in 12th HELP! STEM kid too!

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    I have 3 years of HSing under my belt so not a total noob but my students are 8 and under.  This year we have moved out of state and my 17yo step-daughter, soon to be 12th grader will be home to HS for the very first time.  She has always been in public school down in WV so not a top school by a long shot unfortunately.  She is very science driven but she does struggle in math.  We are ok as far as history and English goes as she has taken all honors and AP courses up until now and I have afterschooled English in the past as well to get her stronger there.  

     

    My main concern is getting her not only caught up in math but strong enough for a STEM path in college.  She right now is toying with an astronomy based major or going the route of hubby in software engineering.  She took Algebra this year for 11th and has been struggling with it and unfortunately with her being at her mom's the majority of the time we haven't really been able to help her with it either.  Would it be crazy of me to attempt INT ALG from AoPS and then maybe into pre-calc with a kid struggling in basic algebra?  I am lost where to go with her so I can challenge her yet not completely loose her.  

     

    Next worry is for science.  I want to give her a good rigorous science but again with the struggling in math I am not sure where to go with it.  She has taken an honors bio course so not sure if I should go AP level bio or skip onto Physics since she has a greater interest in astronomy and astrophysics.  With physics what would be a good course that would not kill her in the math area?  i was originally looking at CPO or OM physics but I keep questioning myself.  

     

    We have a good college minutes away from us now that is listed as an open center for CLEP testing which I was hoping to do for her, so I am really wanting to make sure we can get her well prepared for that as well. 

     

    One thing I should mention is that we are living off the grid, so we cannot rely on online courses or materials due to the fact that electricity and internet are limited resources in our home.  

     

     

    Thanks in advance for any responses as they are super greatly appreciated!!!!!  I am kind of freaking out a wee bit since I am about to jump into highschool with two feel and no prep HAHA

    • Like 2

    Math in Focus for 1st then swith to PM?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    we did MiF 1a and 1b and are now in standards 2a .  I did it mostly for myself being not very mathy and needing a helping hand in getting into how to teach SM before jumping into SM I took it very slowly with my DS and we really delved into it and supplemented with montessori hands on stuff, PM and CWP and he really built a firm understanding to the point we are almost flying through 2a.  

     

    However now that I have a handle on how to teach SM I got rid of MIF 1 and am using standards 1 with DS2 this year for kindergarten (he is my super mathy kiddo)  and we are loving it.  I would better be able to comment on the differences later this year but so far I do not feel like it is less gentle then MiF at least in the beginning

    writing for an ASD kiddo that hates to write

    in Special Needs Board

    Posted

    my DS 7 1/2 hates to write, he has very sloppy handwriting even with HWOT and just doesn't enjoy the act of physical writing at all.  Now he doesn't mind writing numbers though which is odd LOL.  Anyway for things that require writing is there a way that anyone has found to use a computer to type up things like worksheets ect.  

    MCT island level in first grade?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    thanks so much! I feel more confident about starting it now. I think he should be able to handle a good deal of the writing as he's been journaling and writing little stories for a while now. We'll just take it slower on the poetry as he hasn't had much exposure to poetry yet.

    How do you tell if a turtle is dead? (graphic turtle content)

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    I had a homeschool group over at my house and one of the kids went in to get popsicles-

     

    Dialogue (yelled back and forth from the deck of the kitchen and the kitchen):

     

    Kid-I don't see them

    Me-They're in a freezer bag on the middle shelf

    Kid-This one up top?

    Me-No, those are frozen mice-look lower.

     

    Whole deck full of homeschool moms looking at me like I'm insane, and several boys going "cool!"

     

    I sometimes forget that not everyone has pet reptiles!

     

     

    this would be our house :lol: with four snakes we have an assortment of frozen rodents in our chest freezer. At least we got our leos eating freeze dried crickets because well crickets give me the heebie geebies :huh:

     

     

    In the future I would not pet sit any reptile unless I had a separate enclosure for it. Any new pet entering a home should be put into quarantine for a min of six months because of the threat of spreading illnesses to your existing pets. If your turtle is showing signs of illness now I would get it to a local vet that sees herps.

    MCT island level in first grade?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    DS1 is 6 and we have done grammar work using GWG so he knows basics. He reads on a 3rd grade level and can independently read chapter books. I already have the full island level set and was thinking of starting it with him this year. If we don't start it I am not sure yet what we'd do LOL. I should mention he has also completed LOE essentials. If you think it's too early can you offer some suggestions I could look at? Thanks!

    Do you allow your daughter(s) to wear bikinis? (Poll)

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    I have step daughters and don't get a say in it. Their mom is very into popularity, looks and trends so regardless of my own beliefs they would get overruled anyway. I am ok with bikinis past a certain age but uncomfortable with them before that point as they are specifically made to show off the body and be sexy which I think is ridiculous for a younger girl.

    How can I help my baby's ultra sensitive skin?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    all my kids are really sensitive but my youngest has the worst eczema by far. I make my own soap for him, only wash him rarely and sponge bathe him as needed. then i use a salve I also make myself that works wonderfully at clearing it up. If it get really red or crusty then it likely has formed impetigo which is common from bacteria already on skin and when that happens I treat with tea tree oil and salve.

     

    also I use cotton only breathable clothing. Cloth diapers as well. my kids just don't tolerate disposables at all.

     

    the soap I make is really gentle and has colloidial oatmeal in it too.

    Complete this statement. My in-laws are.....

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    My FIL and step-MIL are both awesome! they are very kind and welcoming people and they sure do love their grandbabies <3 I never got the chance to meet my hubby's mother as she passed away before we met but I hear she was an all around awesome person who I would have gotten along with great. I definitely lucked out in the in-law department lol

    What does morbidly obese mean to you?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    you do not need to put him on a "diet" per say but you need to change his diet and if the entire family struggles with weight issues you all should change your diet or way you eat along with him. He needs a lifestyle change to a healthy lifestyle that includes a nutritious diet and a healthy activity level. I would start by cutting out ALL processed foods and limiting sugar intake greatly. Eliminating soda and reducing fruit juice to a minimum of 8oz per day and having him drink water for the rest of the day. If he craves flavor squeeze some lemon into the water. Cut out potatoes as they have a very high glicemic index. Give him lots of protein rich foods like chicken and have him exercising frequently. You can get him some wii fit games and make it fun then add in things like yoga or if you have an ipad you can get the zombie running app and again make a game of it.

     

    morbidly obese is when you cross over the 100% percentile which by his height and age he does. It is a medical term and was probably not said to hurt you but rather to give you that bit of shock which makes you think enough to be more motivated to make a change for him. Obesity is scary, it puts a lot of strain on a person's heart and other major organs because it causes them to have to carry out much more work then they are supposed to.

     

    I would focus on making this a lifestyle change though which carries with it being a lifetime change rather then a diet which by many people is seen as a fleeting thing that you can just suddenly stop doing when you have lost weight.

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