Year-round but in summer we do more fun stuff. This summer we're doing Hogwarts Summer School again since they loved it last year. We're also going to do the Forensics program from Duke TIP. We'll also keep up with math and Spanish. We'll do lots of swimming and playing outside too. :)

This same thing happened to my son. He took the macroeconomics exam all by himself. I was surprised too.

We have Cigna and we're happy with it. Never have any problems. :)

I get this. I like stormy weather and a headache really ruins the mood. :(

Deep breaths! I won't say much since the others have given you great tips. I just wanted to say that I've been there and done that and it isn't bad at all. High School hsing just means some more record-keeping (you'll be glad later), a transcript which is easy-cheesy and getting some college entrance tests scheduled, and possibly dual enrollment paperwork. It sounds like a lot but take it in small bites and tackle each as you go. Keep good records!!

I have 4 kitties and they do that too. One day they were all lined up at the lanai screen chirping at a squirrel. Silly cats! :lol:

Just wanted to let people know that Simple Homeschool has a new website and they have some sales going on. I used their Middle School Physics and we enjoyed it a lot. There are other course too. http://www.thesimplehomeschool.com

:grouphug: I'm so sorry.

http://www.amazon.com/History-Pockets-Ancient-Rome-Grades/dp/159673261X We did these and they were a lot of fun and full of great information! :)

I was doing 3 at one time. Now one is in college so it is easier. The other 2 are close together and above grade level so we do a lot of the same things except for math. When they were in elementary they were doing more separate grade level work but as they get older it is easier. It was challenging when I was teaching them to read and their math facts and writing but once they hit about 4th grade we were smooth sailing. The older they get, the easier it becames because they are more responsible and cooperative. We still have our moments but they are few and far between now. I find that as they mature, we can really enjoy the more challenging subjects together. I think there are great ps's out there and I've been impressed with some of the skills my ps friends children have achieved. But what I find is that some of that can be attributed to an exception teacher. We had our oldest in private and he did fantastic for 2 yrs with one of his teachers and when he moved up a grade the next was awful. It was like night and day. I think the anxiety with ps for me would be that I wouldn't like the success of the year to be 'luck of the draw'. I've seen my ps friends having the 'who is the teacher this year' anxiety and it doesn't look fun, especially when they get one that has a bad reputation. Having been there, I wouldn't consider going back. Even on our worst day we like hsing better! :)

I'm not a fan of the census but I was getting this same feeling too. Even though I am not crazy about answering the questions, we sent in the form. If a worker had to come to our home because we failed to send in the form I would at least be courteous. I'm guessing being a census worker could be a dangerous job these days. But with the economy there are a lot of people doing it to make ends meet. They don't need more trouble IMO.

True. FLVS offers middle and high school courses. Homeschoolers can take any amount of classes free of charge and it does not require them to give up their homeschool status and they are NOT considered public schoolers. The FLVA is also known as K12 and that is different. They are a charter and offer k-12 classes and in order to do that free of charge requires a homeschooler to become a public schooler doing school at home. There is also another way to do k12 and that is as a private homeschooler but that is not free. To do K12 that way allows a homeschooler to retain hs status but it is costly.

I plan for the year mostly because we hs year-round. I have a long term masterplan that I keep for up to 1.5 yrs in advance and from that I break it down weekly and that weekly plan is on a spreadsheet that I print out for the corkboard for each child. They can check off what they have done and it gives me the security that we will meet our goals and it is also easy to tweek if we need time off. I have a notebook that has copies of all of our weekly sheets so I have a running record throughout the years. I love planning, it keeps me sane. :)

I don't see online schools as a threat at all. Nobody is compelled to partake of them. It is simply another option. We have an online school that homeschoolers can enroll in and take classes. We keep our status as independent homeschoolers but the option of the online classes is an added benefit to us. My son was able to take High School Latin for 2 years with the free online school. I loved that because foreign language always got stuck on the back burner when I did it. Now my girls are doing Spanish and it is challenging and getting done. I love that! All the kids took keyboarding via virtual. I see virtual school and just another useful tool to our homeschool. I don't see it as a plot to entice homeschoolers to public school at all. Those who want to do it full time under a public school umbrella will do it and if it works for them then that is all that matters IMO.

This is just so much fun! The girls traveled to Mexico City today! We did some Cinco de Mayo studies and being able to virtually walk around Mexico was awesome!

My evidence: Ds started college in 10th grade, scored 31 on ACT, earned a full Bright Futures Scholarship. He is halfway through his college degree plan. :)

So cool! I just took a virtual walk around the neighborhood I grew up in. 'Walked' to my old schools and hangouts. :)

Your sisters biggest giveaway would be her drivers license. Many people think they are tracked via postal info and while that is true, the drivers license is a big giveaway too. Have her get a pob and then change the address on the drivers license to the pob. If she explains her circumstances to the drivers license office they should allow a pob. I know this because I used to work in an agency that worked with abused women and men.

My triggers are: Wheat, barometric swings, heat and bright sunlight for extended periods. If I eliminate wheat the headaches pretty much disappear. In bright sunlight and on hot days I make sure to wear dark sunglasses, hat and drink LOTs of water. There is no cure for the weather change headaches but if I can I will try to head them off by taking an aspirin early before the weather can get to me. HTH!

I used Rainbow Science several years ago with ds. Neither of us liked it enough to want to continue to the next level. It wasn't as interesting as we had hoped. Most of the experiments were IMO too elementary for the grade represented and the cost of the program. We're using the ms/hs Apologia for the girls (middle school) and while many of those experiments are predictable at least we didn't spend as much. I like the way Wile explains the concepts. I'm also concerned that Rainbow has promised an elementary program and took pre-sales on it and it has been delayed for a couple of years. I'd hate to be waiting that long for something I pre-paid for. They also let their website expire. It is up now but that kind of negligence is a cause for concern. Not that it matter for us now but that makes me a little wary of the company. :confused:

Well generally our yards back and front are pretty trim but for some reason the flower pot under the mailbox never gets done and the HOA gives us little reminders occasionally. I 'planted' fake flowers one year and that kept the HOA happy for awhile until they faded and blew away.

After years of having to spend money and time trimming our neighbors out of control bushes between the properties I finally had it and poured weed killer on the bushes. I didn't think it would work as well as it did. It completely nuked them! :eek: Honestly, I only wanted to retard their growth. I can't say I'm sorry though because those bushes were a safety concern and were wrecking our roof. We'd cut them for years and had to dispose of the cuttings too. The neighbor has never mentioned it and we'll never tell.

I loved Wuthering Heights! Now Moby Dick's a different story...I'd go for the red hot pokers in my eyes rather than read that ever again.

Sounds really dangerous and would be really awkward to explain to the paramedics when someone gets hurt....'I was only trying to light my pickle'....hummm.

She is teasing the dog and it will not trust her offer of treats. Dogs don't understand being given a treat and having it withdrawn like that. She will only condition the dog to grab at the treats and be prepared to fight for it. This is dangerous because dogs need to be trained to take treats 'calmly' from a hand to avoid any possible nips or scratches.