(cross posting - I wasn’t sure where to place this.) I am feeling a little panicked today. We started school again after taking a month off and for my oldest it will be his last semester. Nothing about this year has been as I thought it would be. I am curious if anyone who has gone down this road already has suggestions on how to spend the time. He is college bound, eventually, but has never been super academic. He has plenty of credits. The plan was to make this year a launching year - take the SAT, apply to school (Boyce), make a plan to spend a gap year in Indonesia and raise funds, get his license, get a paying job. Academically: he did a prep course for his time in Indonesia, SAT prep, writing course, Chemistry, and is reading a variety of books for growth & development. Thanks to covid, Indonesia is not happening (he’s now applying for a year in Scotland with 20Schemes) and every SAT we have registered for has been cancelled. Driver’s Ed was incredibly backed up and is finally happening this week. I was planning on adding consumer math but now I’m not sure because he still hasn’t been able to take the stinking SAT. Do we just keep prepping? I guess I wasn’t expecting this panicked feeling of “Has it been enough, and what else can I teach him before it’s too late?!” It’s not just me, right? Thanks for reading!

I am feeling a little panicked today. We started school again after taking a month off and for my oldest it will be his last semester. Nothing about this year has been as I thought it would be. I am curious if anyone who has gone down this road already has suggestions on how to spend the time. He is college bound, eventually, but has never been super academic. He has plenty of credits. The plan was to make this year a launching year - take the SAT, apply to school (Boyce), make a plan to spend a gap year in Indonesia and raise funds, get his license, get a paying job. Academically: he did a prep course for his time in Indonesia, SAT prep, writing course, Chemistry, and is reading a variety of books for growth & development. Thanks to covid, Indonesia is not happening (he’s now applying for a year in Scotland with 20Schemes) and every SAT we have registered for has been cancelled. Driver’s Ed was incredibly backed up and is finally happening this week. I was planning on adding consumer math but now I’m not sure because he still hasn’t been able to take the stinking SAT. Do we just keep prepping? I guess I wasn’t expecting this panicked feeling of “Has it been enough, and what else can I teach him before it’s too late?!” It’s not just me, right? Thanks for reading!

Hello! We homeschooled up until last year when all of my kids went to a private school. They are all back home again this year, and my oldest is a senior. College transcript info: My senior is settled on Boyce College (we are a NAMB family and will get a big scholarship). I have tried emailing the college several times asking for specific admissions requirements for homeschoolers, and they have not given me anything. Does anyone have helpful info on this? Is this an unusual question? I have basic homeschool transcript info. I was just hoping to meet their specific requirements as my son would like to graduate early and begin working. I don't want to needlessly fill his time with electives. Gap year: My son hopes to spend a gap year with missionary friends of ours in Papua. This means we won't be applying to college this fall, which feels strange. He is still taking the SAT though. How do gap year students handle the SAT? The school wants to receive scores directly from the test but we are not applying this year so I'm not sure how to handle that. Thank you!!

D mannose powder is amazing. But if it’s that bad already you should see a Dr.

We have been living in north Texas with our kids using CHIP for the past 6 years. It hasn’t been amazing but it has been do-able. I do think that with current politics CHIP is at risk.

Oh dear. I’ve been thinking about you. Has it not gotten any better?

I was going to say north Texas. We are about to move, but we have been here for 6 years and we have learned to love it. The intense summer heat would be an adjustment. And it’s also not as beautiful as Oregon.

My husband would walk outside and see them jump on his feet. This was happening even just in the driveway! It was totally bizarre. Other people in our neighborhood reported the same thing.

They could be in your yard. We don’t have pets either. This year we had a ridiculous explosion of fleas in our yard (north Texas). We had to call our bug people (because having a bug person is part of life here). They sprayed the yard. Then we found 4 in the house. They came and sprayed the house (that was a pain). And then they had to come out and do the yard one more time. It was crazy! The only thing I can think is that we must have managed to kill off some red ant colonies in our yard, which is a flea predator. All this to say, yes, I would call someone. Fleas are the worst!!

My dear husband wants me to outsource more of the schooling this year. Can anyone suggest classes for middle schoolers online? (I’m not looking for an entire program.) I will have a 6th & 7th grader. Thanks!

Either at this point. Not too difficult or time consuming (for me) would be a bonus.

That is bizarre about the neighbor kids! As someone who has a hard time sleeping, ear plugs and a white noise machine are necessities. Also, I started using melatonin this year and it is a game changer (both for me and for my child who was a terrible sleeper). I have also found that the problems sleeping lead to anxiety about not sleeping, which keeps me from wanting to go to bed at night. So making myself go to bed at a certain time can be helpful.

I have been searching for SO many things to prepare for our school year, and came across this great resource for high school health. (This is probably put together by one of the amazing mamas among us here!) https://www.walkingbytheway.com/blog/homeschool-health-high-school/

We will be without a co-op this year (boo hoo) so Science is all on me. They were in two different classes last year. I need something that will work for combining both of them. Thanks!

We are moving to New Bedford, MA from TX (the land of no homeschool laws). When we lived in PA there was one great website that was super informative. I am looking for something similar. I know I need to send in plans for each child, including text books. Do you include scope & sequence? And what are they really looking for as far as health & PE? Thanks!