I believe Visa charges a $3.95 fee on the purchaser end, more for higher value cards. I gave one last year as a gift and was surprised that that the card actually cost $28.95. The receiver did not need to pay a fee, UNLESS the card was inactive for a year, then there was $1.50 or something taken off the card's initial value. It may actually be a monthly inactivity fee after a month. I received a $50 gift card that had been unused (it was in a family member's estate). It only had like $6 on it due to inactivity fees.

The search function and I are not jiving, so I'd love a nudge in the right direction. I am looking for 7th grade writing. I own WWS 1 & 2 and will continue to pull from WWS1 for my rising 7th grader, BUT I need something more/different. We did some WWS1 this year (through about lesson 12?), Faltering Ownership projects and summaries for history and science. This kiddo has a pretty good grasp of writing basics. I would love help in developing voice. We will probably hit mechanics a bit harder next year, as that seems to be the big area of need. This child does not love writing, although I think they are pretty darn good at it. What threads have helped the most in developing your vision for middle school writing?

Hard to say because I have all these other little children to educate as well. I happen to have two children, one of them being our high schooler, that need a lot of assistance managing themselves and their time. My current 9th grader is probably the worst, so my perception is quite skewed. My kid had a ton of difficulty just learning independently. Many, many skills (that have been taught) needed explicit instruction again. I did see progress by the end of the year and some of those discussions I had read so much about were happening. My kiddo did try very hard, but was just not ready to be let loose with regular check in from me. As a few other people have said, my kid needs direct instruction. Honestly, it is one of the major reasons my kid is heading to school next year. I have heard multiple times this year from my kid, "Homeschooling high school takes a lot of self discipline and self motivation." I think that is so true. My kid wants to be self disciplined and tries, but will probably perform better with a more regimented and clearly laid out schedule. I have another kid that would probably do quite well at home. Very motivated and able to manage their work quite independently. At this point, that particular child is planning on going to high school, so I may never know. One of my biggest frustrations this year was in my personal expectations. I have been reading this board for a number of years and thought I would be able to take more of a facilitator role once we moved to high school. I should have looked through the lens of my experience with my student, not someone else's lens and experience. I set myself up for failure. Now that I have a bit more experience, I think I can be a bit more realistic about what high school might look like for my family and the students I have. I guess just another vote for depends on your kid. :001_smile:

I tried half heartedly to get access this year, but it was not worth my time or energy to deal with them. I do not think they want homeschoolers to have access to their materials in the way it available for public/private school teachers. I purchased some other elementary science from them that they specifically billed for homeschoolers and sent it it back. It was a joke. The resources they offered homeschoolers were pretty much worthless and definitely not worth the $60+ they were charging. I talked to them and told them so. They were basically offering an immensely striped down version of the teacher site that did not include access to any of the worksheets, tests or anything. IIRC, it was just the teacher's manual. I found enough other resources available to make the Macaw book work without going through Pearson, although we ultimately ended up switching science. Glad I have all these biology resources... :closedeyes:

I use NomNom Paleo's recipes for both. I actually don't know the precise measurements for the mayo. I have made it so many times, I know it now. I like this recipe because it uses the immersion blender, which I vastly prefer to dropping oil one drop at a time. I can make mayo in about 3 minutes. I find it vastly superior to store bought mayo. I do not use a pasteurized egg when I make it. http://nomnompaleo.com/post/39474749548/whole30-day-2-paleo-mayonnaise I think you need to scroll down to find the immersion blender recipe. Basically, I start with the egg yolk, add the other ingredients, with the olive oil being last. I use extra light olive oil. Her ranch recipe uses mayo (I think a half cup). http://nomnompaleo.com/post/127040982773/paleo-lunchboxes-2015-part-2-paleo-ranch I find this dressing better if it sits, preferably for a day, to allow the flavors to meld. We still enjoy it fresh, but I like how it gets dilly and a little onion-y as it sits. Even my kid that dislikes mayo enjoys that recipe. Yum!

Yes, in my heart, I know that. Thank you for the reminder.

Thanks all so much for your thoughtful feedback! As I was typing that yesterday, after a couple of minutes of crying, it got quiet. We had a quick errand to run, so I called dear child. When the child came downstairs after about 10 minutes, they said they had fallen asleep on their floor. I insisted on an earlier bed time (I have been kind of lax on that) and dc slept in until almost 8:30. Clearly I had a sleepy child yesterday. Now to answer some of the questions. The crying occurs namely around school and sibling interactions. The common theme is frustration. Some of the sibling stuff is just general clash of personalities. The twelve year old growing up and moving away emotionally has been difficult for my ten year old. Now that she is ten, she is leaving behind some of her childhood things, and I know that has been a very hard transition for her. The oldest and ten year old just clash. They are very similar and have always needled each other, now they are just bigger. I am certain this child has some learning glitches. I just dealt with diagnosing the older sibling this fall, so I am sure we are dealing with some similar issues. Nothing major (well, it's all relative). I am a former EC teacher, so I do see those glitches. I also choose direct instruction materials, with a phonics heavy emphasis. When I said we had areas to work on, it is not really because dc is behind. With the exception of spelling(which improved this year and happens to be an LD of my older child), I think everything is at grade level. I will know in a couple of weeks with end of year testing, but I expect to see growth across the board. I want to hit spelling hard next year and continue to focus on writing. I know the areas I want to hone in on are not areas a school is going to ficus on. My kiddo has the big skills, so they would likely not be flagged. Also, when my oldest was tested one of the things the evaluator said was that it was clear my kid had a very strong phonics foundation, as phonemic awareness tested extremely high in comparison to the other reading scores (which were closer to average/high average). I have no doubt that is because we continued to hit those skills solidly into middles school, and I know that is what my ten year old needs. I am not opposed to testing and it is something we will be doing, but it will probably be closer to next year. And emotional management around frustration has been a long standing issue for this child. Honestly, this year was markedly better than last year, which was better than 2nd grade. It has only been the last few weeks that it has really amped up. This child is very sensitive to lack of sleep and hunger. I often forget this in the heat of the moment and that is on me. I need to be better about anticipating, especially the food piece and helping her learn to identify what she needs. Like I said, we have made a lot of progress this year. I also need to work hard at responding with love and calmness. We talked yesterday after the storm. I reiterated that I loved her and when I left it was just because I needed a break. She told me, "Sometimes I need a hug, but I don't know how to say it." She says she does not know why she gets so upset sometimes. Today math was fine. She said she decided she wasn't going to get upset and felt a strong sense of accomplishment when she was able to meet that goal. Hope I answered everyone's questions. Thanks again for the great food for thought.

I just cannot handle it anymore. It is wearing on me. It has been almost a daily occurrence for weeks (months?). I started keeping track, but it was too depressing. I am sure some of it is hormonal, but I am not really able to parent/school effectively because I honestly cannot handle the daily multiple outbursts. It is not one subject; it seems like every subject elicits this response, although math is the worst. It definitely has to do with frustration, but also when expected to work independently. After about the 5th meltdown this morning, I just got up and walked out of the room. The response was to run upstairs and sit in the bedroom crying, "I hate myself. Why can't I stop crying? No one loves me. I just want to be around people, but no one wants to be around me." I do feel badly that I need some space from the hysterics, but I have offered suggestions, read a book (everything was fine in that interlude), snuggled and hugged, but as soon as the expectation is to be on task, the other shoe drops. I am actually strongly considering school at this point. I have waffled back and forth all year. We still have some very specific areas to address in 5th grade, but at this point, I just want a break. I want to not deal with the hysterics every day. This child does have two days at outside programs and does not have this issue, although those programs are not really academic, more enrichment. Maybe we just need to change the narrative for a bit? (My strong hesitation is this child has some anxiety stuff that I think may magnify in a school environment, and I really do want to hit a couple of next year that I think will get overlooked in a school setting). I hate being held hostage by one kid's emotions. Of my four children, I have two that have this tendency, although it manifests differently for each of them. It is so draining.

Agreed. My 9th grader took it last fall. It was fine. I am not sure how much was gleaned, but it was a good class to boost confidence in various skill areas. Expository Essay was done in the spring and was awesome. It has offered a great "blueprint" for us to follow for the final papers of the year. Unfortunately, my child has not transferred the skills from that class to the extent I would like. I wish we would have done it sooner in the year so I could have offered more practice using the techniques from that class and thus help cement the skills. My kid just needs an insane amount of repetition before transfer occurs. Poor first trial and error kid! My current plan is to have my rising 7th grader take KWI in fall of 8th grade and EE in the spring of 8th. That child turns 14 early in the school year and I imagine will have a string grasp of the skills covered by EE at that point. Of course that is a year and a half away and at this point in my career as a hs'ing mom, I have learned not to plan too far ahead!

Well, in my head I have plans to be all kinds of productive and proactive. Chronic underestimator that I am, I'd say I'll manage a fourth of this list... Declutter, declutter, declutter! That's the biggie. We are just about out of little kid phrase and need to move on. I literally want to go through every room and cupboard and reset everything. Some rooms have been done fairly recently, so they need more of a putting back to order. Cull and reorganize the book shelves Plan for next year. Looks like the oldest is heading to the local school for 10th grade, so that is a huge thing off my plate. My youngers need some dedicated and focused planning, rather than the solid, but half assed version I have been serving up the last two years. Paint the dining room Continue with math, reading w/ the youngest and read aloud to all Take a long trip by myself w/ the kiddos. That will be in August. It is two solid days of driving, but is usually lovely and magical when we get there. Visit my aunt on the opposite side of the country, by myself! Do something creative for myself regularly. I have some paint-by-numbers I would like to at least start over the summer. Visit the gym regularly Enjoy the kiddos. I am realizing we are in the last summer or two of everyone being around and home (as it stands, my oldest will be gone 4 weeks this summer not couting the August trip). Everyone is going to be going in their own directions in the coming summers, so I should enjoy this season.

Arg! We just discovered the 12 year old actually has another chapter of math to complete! :w00t: Yeah, not a happy camper. We had been thinking this was the last chapter, then MM6 end-of-year test next week for the wrap, now we need to bust out the statistics and probability chapter. With other things falling off the list, it should be completed in about 2 weeks, but it was a bit of a downer. Thankfully, that particular child had a nice attitude about it and was only bummed for a couple of minutes, then declared, "Well, I will be getting that finished in the next two weeks. I am not doing any of that math over summer!" Other than that, we are wrapping things up around here. We wrapped history this week. Latin will be finished next week, I believe. Everyone will continue working on math over the summer and will read voraciously. The littlest and I will continue reading instruction (AAR level 1) over the summer, play lots of games and lots of read aloud.

No. He definitely teaches them skills, such as bike mechanics, computer/tech skills and general mechanical things, but all of that is incidental and not interest led. He has occasionally explained a math concept when another perspective or take is needed on it, but that is rare. I am not opposed to him offering instruction, but he is not really wired to impart formal academics. It is not something he would enjoy on a regular basis. Not too mention, he is quite busy running a company.

don't. (that's what I thought when I read your title, "If you bring a pet into the store...", just don't. We have an ice cream shop that let's people bring their dogs into the shop (they sell doggie ice cream!) :w00t: It grosses me out. (and obviously, service animals are completely different)

I am always the weirdo walking around parking lots when I am waiting on a kid. :thumbup:

Off to a good start! Activities are starting to drop off the calendar, so I will not have three afternoons a week where I am shuttling one kid across town with the others in tow. That means I can get back to my regular gym time rather than squeezing it in between the aforementioned shuttling. I have been working on a new strength routine this week. Strength has been getting a bit of the short stick because I wasn't able to take class at the gym due to scheduling conflicts. I need to figure something out for my legs besides lunges; they are not making my knee happy, but enjoying the new routine thus far. Still getting in my daily steps. I broke my amazing streak in early April when several at my house got a funky little puke thing, including me. I had hit a minimum of 30 minutes activity and 5 miles every day from December 26th-April 8! Man, was I sad to not be able to walk that day. I was back on track the next day, but was still sad to break that streak.

This made me a little teary eyed. edited b/c i left out a word. Yeesh, who let that girl near a keyboard?

My book club is called the Lazy, half ass bookclub or something like that (I just joined in January). No one has any obligation to read any assigned book. We meet once a month, talk about the books we read that month, let other people borrow books if we want and generally keep it super low key. It is great. Obviously, no pressure to read a certain book on a deadline or anything AND it is fascinating to hear what other people read. I have a huge list of books I never would have found just from hearing others' reviews. I also have about 4 books I have borrowed from members to enjoy, with no pressure for returning them. Honestly, it's a thing of genius. Our library does offer a traditional book club and they have a couple of selections I have wanted to read coming up in the next few months, so I may check that out in the coming months. edited b/c apparently I can't spell.

3 zone heating/cooling system...amazing Location, location, location (just count that as one) :tongue_smilie: Our yard is pretty great I really love lots of things about our house. It is pretty awesome. The only thing this house is missing is a finished basement, so I could have a place to bump the kiddos when they have friends over and want to play video games or watch a movie. It's one reason I don't often host my kids' friends. Basements are actually not that common in our area and our house is really old, like 120+ years, so we'll just deal. In 10 years it will be moot.

We are a few years ahead with our oldest, but in a similar position. We are in the process of enrolling the oldest in public school for 10th grade. I have very mixed feelings about this transition, but for a number of reasons we feel it is time to explore some other options (and kiddo wants to go). Anyway, after doing 9th grade at home, I have no doubt about my capabilities of high school. I couldn't say that at this time last year. I see where I need to outsource and what I would do better (or be mindful of) next year. There is a learning curve. I totally stressed over the "transcript for real" and "It counts for college, now!", but really, if you are diligent, mindful and have a plan, ninth grade is just the next step after 8th. You just keep stretching those skills. Overall, my child had a very solid academic year. Putting together the portfolio for the school to receive credit for our classes this year has been reassuring. Yes, we could have done more, but my kid will be able to take honors and AP classes next year. (I should note we are not in a super challenging district, and that is what has been recommended to keep challenging my child). Every kid is unique, so I don't know if your child will flounder. I fully expect there will be a few challenges adjusting and getting used to that environment all day, BUT I don't think the benefits of going to school in middle school outweigh the education we were able to provide at home. I am glad we did a mix of outsourced and home classes this year, as well as another year to mature. We started outsourcing in grade 7 with one class, two last year and two again this year, along with some Bravewriter classes. It has been good to get used to other due dates and how different teachers teach. I think kids who have been adequately challenged in middle school, practiced time management skills and have a supportive home environment are off to a great start for the high school transition. As long as it isn't a sink or swim, now you're in high school kind of thing, I personally don't feel it is necessary to go to middle school for practice. High school isn't college and most schools aren't expecting high schoolers to have it all figured out in 9th grade (I think!). Good luck with your decision.

It was one test, on one day. Please do not think you have messed up homeschooling in any way. My kid tests terribly on regular tests. Seriously, the low working memory bites him on regular class tests pretty much every week. I do not think he has gotten an A on any test this entire school year. I could regularly feel like a homeschooling failure, but my kid can't be defined by a test score or even a year's worth of test scores, nor can our homeschool. The ACT is one measure. At least two states have composites in the 18 range. Your child walked out with absolutely no prep and got an 18; that's a fine baseline! I am assuming he had not even seen the test format, yes? Many people spend lots of time preparing. I am sure even if you did nothing to prep for another test, his score would increase, just because he is more familiar with the format. Really, it is a snapshot of one four hour time period, not a year or sixteen years worth of learning. :thumbup1: edited for clarity

We got ours. Overall, score was up two points from last year (as an 8th grader) and just above the national average. :hurray: Unfortunately, math went down! :( I suspect it was the lack of algebra this year. English was the same, and both science and reading were up 4-5 points from last year. Yay! It was great to see that reading sore up 5 points from last year. I think the accommodations were absolutely helpful and the increased scores on those last two tests help confirm that. I think given my kid's misunderstanding on the extra test at the end and the first year of accommodations, all in all we are happy. (Actually, I think kiddo was a little disappointed, thought it might be higher and had we just held ground on math, it would have been, but it's ok).

Way too many to count. That's why a message board is nice; I have a delete key. If I only I had one IRL!

I wish there was more consistency with the proctors. My child felt like it was not clear until the end of the test that he didn't need to do that section. At that point it was too late. I think it only ended being 30-40 minutes not used, but he did cut short time on the reading section because of that pesky last test that he thought he needed to budget time for the extra section. Ahh well, it's too late now. We'll see where the chips fall.

We are DEARing @ 10 AM! I love A Girl from Yamhill. I have never read the follow-up, On My Own Two Feet, but someday! We had celebratory blueberry muffins for breakfast and will be having graham crackers and apple juice for snack, "I'm going to have a partee!" Dinner tonight will be hamburgers, a la Whopper Burgers. We will be taking "walking" tour online of the area in her stories and play some Beverly Cleary trivia games. I am never the "fun" homeschool Mom, so today is a good day to don that hat! :party:

Many thanks for the hours of joy you brought me during my childhood. I have a book inscribed by a recently deceased aunt that reads, "You asked for Beverly Cleary books, so I hope you enjoy this one." It is a treasured gift. It has been a lovely gift to rediscover and share your books with my children and quite fun to read them from an adult perspective. One of my favorite Beverly Cleary quotes: "Quite often somebody will say, "What year do your books take place?" and the only answer I can give is, in childhood." Thank you for capturing the joys and trials of childhood in a way that is timeless.