I'm happy to say that we are below average. We have one card that we use for basics and pay off monthly. We keep it mostly in case something unexpected happens and we lose income for a stretch. We have no family to help in any way so the cc is really our fallback.

Yes, the family room next to the kitchen! We have friends with this set-up: kitchen-eating-family space. It is so family friendly and I envy it every time we are over. I would do this.

Used very successfully here and liked by both boys. In both cases kids were well prepared even though AoPS was their first and only preA course.

Congratulations!! Is this the kid whose love of physics was inspired by kinetic physics?

Check out The Nature Connection by Clare Walker Leslie. It will either get you outside or support your outdoor wanderings throughout the year. It's just an easy peasy year of nature studies.

Another tally for the curb. We inherited this same kind of bed from my brother's family, complete with stickers. Someone might really appreciate it.

Nice plaque! The kids are divided by age. As a Cub Scout ds had at most 2 other kids to work with throughout. One is almost aged up and doesn't seem to come much, the other left scouts after gettjng his AoL. :( Now as a Boy Scout ds will be the only kid until fall. The other local troop does not do this so ds would be able to mix with all the kids and participate more. Middle ds has a larger bunch. Youngest wants to be a tiger, but this pack doesn't do tigers and won't let kids start until 8. The other does. I just really like the moms and kids, but it isn't the best fit for 2/3 of my kids. Oldest also wants to do summer camp, but can't as an 11 yo. Again, not an issue if he switches. Well, I think he can go as a provisional troop.

I am very curious about how you handle this. Mine are considering an AP course at the high school prior to 9th. I don't really care about the AP designation, but it would be weird for the school to have to modify the course description for you when reporting. Or maybe it's easy? I'd appreciate it if you can update with how it works out.

Interesting. I did not know that. Thanks.

In what sense do you mean 'cannot take an AP class before high school' -on the transcript?

I do believe that in times of need people should set aside other issues. That's why it isn't a matter of having a relationship that benefits you. It's about your dad, not your SM or you. Do try to connect with hospital staff. Obviously I know nothing of your situation, but it seems like one of those times to work with what you have. Keep conversations all about your dad. Don't let yourself be provoked. I have in the past written a dialogue for myself when in a similar situation so that I didn't have to think about what to say once the be started. Even when you can predict what will happen it can be very hard to keep emotional distance. Maybe you can work on a set of written responses that are generous and kind or ambiguous or whatever you think will help you.

Check with the school. The U I am familiar with does not require ACT or SAT to audit. However, auditors pay full tuition and are only considered after the class has filled. Prereqs must be done and need prof approval. Labs and fieldwork don't take auditors here. I'm sure every place has it's own policy and degree of flexibility. Can't hurt to look into it. Good luck, sounds like something your dd would really like!

My dh has a toxic person (TP) in his family that we cut ties with after a decade of trouble. Successfully doing that gave me confidence to cut ties with a TP in my own family. There is still contact, just as limited as can be and with very strict boundaries. Yes, EVERY time I have an interaction with my TP (dh handles interaction with his TP), there are inflammatory, prodding, manipulative things said. Expect it. Ignore it. Just don't bite. So a blatant lie is said publicly that makes you look bad (happens to me almost every interaction with my TP), take the high road with no comment and end the conversation. You will never win with crazy. Adding prayers for your dad.

I don't allow skipping. I do allow verbal answers though. We use or have used Singapore, EPGY, LoF, AoPS, Rogawski. One kid has many levels going at the same time, but still has to do it all. Youngest needs more reinforcement so he has to do more -Singapore text, workbook, IP and CWP. Oldest has dyslexia that ensures he will never have a mistake free paper. He has to show every step. I'm mean like that.

My oldest got his arrow of light and crossed over last month. I'm very proud of him! Scouting is just a great experience for my guys. Unfortunately I'm starting to think oldest would be better off with a different troop. I love the folks in our troop, am very involved and feel awful about wanting to switch, but mine is the only kid in his group and I don't get the sense that he'll have much support. He is eager to get going on advancement and badges, but wants to have the group. Our other local troop has more kids. Nobody new is coming in to this one before next fall. Ugh. I just feel so guilty about leaving....

You can tell your kid that the grades are just averages, like height. I think that's easy for a kid to get. Show how an average _yo is _ft tall and let the kid accept how wide the range can be in reality. Not better or worse, just variety. My kids never asked, but that's how I'd probably handle it.

His has been an interesting thread. We have many CC folks in our community. Most parents in it that I've run across have kids younger than mine. Even though it sounds like tutors need not have knowledge or experience to tutor, the parents that I have met seem quite capable and knowledgeable. My guess would be that a parent is tapped to be a tutor in an area of knowledge- at least around here. I had no idea it was a business or expensive though! Not for my family, but happy it works for some.

Homeschoolers are such a varied group. I can only speak for what would have helped me, largely because my family is quite different than the bulk of homeschoolers in our area (lots of CC btw). It would have been helpful to have had something like Meyers-Briggs / learning style assessment to help understand how to best approach teaching. It seems like there are many great resources as far as materials go, but it took me a long time and going through lots of stuff before I had a sense of what style works for each kid. In some cases the materials are the same yet instruction looks very different. We do a mix of everything from B&M classes to unschooling (days...weeks). Less judgement from all ends and more flexibility on definitions along with a healthy dose of assumption of best intentions would go a loong way in making homeschooling easier. I'd like to see in my community: Homeschool resource library or even just a browsing library Mentoring program Clearly defined administrative pathways for record keeping (more bc of mix available between hs and ps here) And FWIW in our state one is legally defined as a homeschooler and must file a homeschool declaration of intent at very high ps attendance percentages. I can't recall right now, but something like 90% ps participation or less and it is classified as homeschooled. Just to keep in mind when throwing around legal definitions. Even that varies state to state.

I find the easiest route to be to start with the people. Make a contact with a teacher (in an area of strength) at the school, have your dc speak for themselves. Finding someone within the system to advocate for your child(ren) seems effective. Mostly though, make sure you have a good sense of why you want the CC access and whether that is the best pathway. FWIW for both CC and high school options for elementary students nobody has cared about iq scores. School and state tests, compass are all anyone asks to see.

My kids don't blog, but I'm sure they'd like reading hers. Thanks for sharing it!

Agreeing- yes you can start at CE. Maybe take a look at the poetry books though.

Have you looked at Spell to Write and Read? It supposedly covers all levels and rules. The placement tests tell you where to start.

We are using CE 1 expanded this year for a 4th and 5th grader. We did island for 2/3, Town materials for 3/4 except Practice town and CE 1. This year we are covering CE 1 (both books) and PT. It gets split into two blocks during the week. One day we go over the words and stems, write them on notecards that go into a little book, write sentences using the new words. We talk about the books referenced or pick apart the example sentences. The guys do the crossword/sentences. The second day we do remaining reading and writing assignments and take the quiz. A couple of pages of PT get fit in wherever. I really enjoy talking about the words, sentences and books/authors so it is an involved program for us. For example, when the assignment is to compare one vocabulary word with another from the list of similar words, we go over every word and spend a lot of time talking about small differences, context, sometimes historical uses. We have done the assignments for MCT all the way through, though sometimes do an alternate topic for writing paragraphs. It would have been too time consuming for us to do all of the Town level materials in a single year. Some do it sooner, some later and to varying degrees. I do not have a strong LA background. I find spending the time on MCT materials to be personally enriching and fun, quality time with my kids. My oldest has picked up a few of the referenced books and both boys like to tell me when they run across a studied vocabulary word in their reading. This more drawn out pace has worked for us. HTH.

I appreciate all suggestions. Right now I am weeding through programs, but it will probably take months to decide. I titled this 'really awesome physics' to capture the attention of moms who felt that their kids loved what they did for physics. Calc based is not appropriate at this time. By fall, with some concurrent learning, it could be. Alg based that really gives the math meaning is what I think I'm looking for. We look for secular materials for science, but religious content or philosophical tangents are fine.

Piano or voice? For what purpose?