My son started his college at 15 and my daughters are doing cleps at 13 and 14 and will be taking courses at the college next year. :)

Zimmerman's story changes to fit what he thinks will get him off. There is evidence that he was stalking the victim based on the police call and the victim's statement about her conversation just prior to the murder. Zimmerman is a liar.

We're in FL and our son goes to UCF (close to where this happened). I've been following and I'm furious that the shooter has not been arrested. I hope that with the media coverage gaining momentum and the Feds involvement that the family may see some justice soon. Zimmerman (the shooter) seems to have a history of instability and IMO should never have been walking around with a gun, acting like some kind of self appointed superhero. The neighborhood should have put a stop to his craziness before this happened. The police need to be on the hot seat for their handling of this too. It is outrageous. I signed the mom's petition calling for an arrest of Zimmerman.

We live in Florida too and we've done standardized testing all along. I like it because I relate to seeing the assessment and numbers. It's just a personal preference. We've had the same tester for every year and she comes to the house to test for a few hours over 2 days. She is a very nice person and we've known her for so long that she is like family. The home testing environment is less distracting and stressful. The children are also learning how to feel comfortable with testing which is a nice thing too. I could do group testing via a local school or coop but like the home environment better. Ordering the test from BJU is a bit of a pain (lots of security regulations) but it is worth it for us. My son did great on the psat and sat which he took in a large group setting and I think the years of testing did make him more comfortable.

I agree! I'd be down at the county court tomorrow filing a claim for hospital costs and damages. Gotta get tough and hurt them in the pocketbook for sure. I would also make a point of hanging around for a while when the kids are out or having them use a phone or monitor so they can call you when they see trouble coming. Then I'd head out to intercept the bullies and let them know the police will be there if they EVER even consider messing with others again.

We have 5 cats (3 males and 2 females). They get along well. Sometimes the younger female will anger one of the males and they'll chase her but they work it out quickly. Our baby male was a feral from outside and we adopted him. He (as are the others) an indoor kitty and one of the males has really taken to him. Watches out for him and the other day was showing him how to catch a lizard. It was touching and they're buddies. My vet told me that older males will usually be the ones to take a kitten under their wing. That sure was true in our case. I don't think cats need one another but if you're considering it, I'd probably do an older male and a kitten.

Just another article written by someone who clearly didn't research and had an ax to grind about various topics. It was way too long and an absolute drudge to read through. A load of nonsense.

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

Totally send this!!! :iagree: I'm in shock reading what your "friend" did to you. If that is a friend then give me solitary confinement! She is HORRIBLE! Saying those things and knowing how it was hurting you and continuing to say them makes me think she is seriously warped and very probably a narcissist. RUN AWAY...FAST!!!

Oxford University Press has study guides and teacher guides too. http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/?queryField=keyword&query=history+of+US&view=usa&viewVeritySearchResults=true&ss=relevancy&page=1&

We had a litter of feral kittens in back of our yard and about the same time noticed a huge hawk hanging around. We managed to catch the kittens and kept the smallest one. To this day he is scared to death of birds flying overhead. We have an enclosed lanai and the cats sun out there but any overhead birds will send the little guy streaking into the house. I suspect he had a bad encounter with that hawk. The hawk disappeared once the kittens were no longer around. We never let the cats outside. There are too many predators.

Keeping her in my thoughts. :grouphug:

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug: Hope you're feeling better today.

We do this! We have a computer hooked up to the computer and I use a wireless keyboard . We show DiscoveryStreaming videos, Project Gutenberg books, and all kinds of online games on it. I also have a Bamboo tablet hooked up to it to work out math problems and science formulas. It is fantastic to see it on the big screen! :)

This could be a good thing for folks who aren't into packing a lunch at all. They can just pack a candy bar and the child gets a free lunch and the candy bar back at the end of the day. :D

I'd get some 'goo-gone' and try that to take it off. I had some of that stuff and it didn't come off cleanly either. That's not supposed to happen. :glare:

I wouldn't have touched him or led him anywhere. It is just too risky. What I would have done (and have done) is stand near him and start yelling for the mother-loudly. Then LOUDLY ask that she control his behavior because he is hitting and threatening the other children. I would do it EVERY time he acted up. :)

A few things stand out for me: 1. Classes don't look as 'rigorous' as they claim and the selection is limited. 2. Requiring 'references' is absurd and if I'm going to have to collect references for a school, it will be for a college only. 3. The admission procedure in general seems to scream 'clique' and self-absorbed. I bolt when I sense that sort of thing. BTDT. 4. The bit about the tax-exempt status troubles me. 5. The fund-raising bit positively turns me off. IMO 'fund raising' and money management are their issues and I don't do sales and marketing jobs for free. Other than that, it seems fairly average. Not real 'inclusive' sounding even though they claim to be. I personally wouldn't join it but then I have sworn off coops anyway. ;)

The coops we have now are IMO time-wasters. The classes are generally dumbed down and over-priced, and there is so much clique drama that it is better to find classes offered by professional organizations.

But it is soooo good! :001_cool:

Love this! You need to post it to the comments! :thumbup:

Mine all bite...love bites. Cats don't always know that their bites hurt human skin. My fur babies all bite but they are trained to stop when we tell them 'no' or 'easy'. We also halt play when they get overexcited and try to bite. They aren't doing it in a mean way. They're just playing and forget sometimes that their people aren't covered in protective fur. There are good resources on the net that have info on how to discourage this type of behavior. If the biting is mean spirited then I'd have the cat checked by the vet because as prev poster said, it could be feeling ill. If it is not spayed or neutered, that may also be a factor in behavior. Unfortunately, the odds are that a cat surrendered to a shelter because of biting will be considered a bad risk for adoption and because of liability issues will likely be put down.

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug: My friend adopted a RAD child and due to violent behavior that didn't respond to meds etc. they disrupted the adoption. It almost destroyed their family to have to do that. I know they only did it as an absolute last resort. They did find a special placement that was familiar with RAD and the child has done so much better. It was so hard to watch my friend and the child go through that. It is hard for people who are unfamiliar with the condition to understand how difficult it really is. I hope you can find help and relief soon.

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

To the OP-if you live in the US, you are supporting the school with your tax dollars. I see myself as an 'Independent Contractor' of sorts. I report to the school in the form of yearly evaluations, I pay a 'participation fee' (my taxes). I am a teacher to my students just as any institutional teacher in the area...I just do it at home. I see no reason whatsoever that my children should not be included in any of the extracurricular activities. Apparently the school agrees because we are able to participate and homeschoolers do not generally have any problems and it is encouraged. IMO it seems like the OP is disinclined to want access to the school activities based on a personal need/quest for separation from the school 'system' rather than on actual circumstances that mostly don't prohibit homeschoolers from participation. The tax statement was simply in error. Additionally, by homeschooling you do not 'opt out' . You are still bound by the regulations of your particular state and cannot legally 'opt out'. If by 'opt out' you mean you are homeschooling under the radar (without proper reporting) then that is a different situation and not one that I would recommend. In either case, you are still supporting the school with your taxes. :)