My dd holding her favorite chicken as she takes it for ride on her scooter or on her lap for a swing and my other dd playing either the piano or violin. My husband making breakfast while he demonstrates all his (awkward) "cooking techniques." A full tank of gas in a car loaded with library books and the thoughts of all the potential places I could go when in an airport.

Yes, we usually have classical music going all day. We have found music with lyrics very distracting because their "story lines" become discussion items.

8th next year: Algebra 2 Honor's English Honor's Biology Spanish 2 World History Speech Piano, violin & orchestra I can't decide if I should call her an 8th or 9th grader, the classes are all high school level.

We got back original birth certificates and outdated passports. The outdated passports had punched holes along one side however all the country stamped dates remained visible:)

Be forewarned, the original birth certificate goes along with the application so make sure to retain a copy. We were surprised that a copy wouldn't suffice for the application.

It's a great program but I don't think it is enough to count as a credit. My dd uses DuoLingo Spanish as a supplement to H.S. Spanish Homeschool Academy which is accredited.

This behavior (stealing) appears passive/aggressive, the child is resentful/hurt/angry with the teacher, stealing might be a way to gain some control in the relationship/situation. She is unable to express her true feelings regarding the teacher. Additionally, she is not expressing her emotions in general causing depression and suicidal thoughts. She needs some counseling.

Milovany-Thank you, this video is just right:) Yes, definitely want to see the crocs! Zip lining might just be for two of us:( Thanks everyone, I am really looking forward to our trip!

Thanks Miss Marple, sounds like you had a wonderful time! We are renting a house via VRBO as well. I am glad to know driving wasn't difficult. Regarding the ziplines, how comfortable was the experience?

Pacific side near Jaco. Yes, planning to do the above:) Did you do much snorkeling? We snorkeled in Hawaii and it was amazing but I don't hear too much about it in reference to Costa Rica. We are renting a car so we can explore as well. We drove a lot through parts of Mexico, specifically the Yucatan Peninsula area. Did you drive in Costa Rica?

We are planning a trip to Costa Rica in January with our two teens. We've traveled to other parts of Central and South America but not Costa Rica. Anyone familiar with Costa Rica like to share some advice before we go?

I've been over on the HS board looking at all the resources pinned by subject and wondering, could we also make our resources pinned? I am really not the person for this job but I know it would have been helpful to me when I first started homeschooling.

My dd figured it out around six/seven from how adults (librarians, co-op parents) reacted to her independent reading choices.

I have James Madison Critical Thinking Course on our shelf but haven't used it yet. My dd completed Fallacy Detective and Art of Argument last year.

Handwriting is still an issue for "Anna" too (poor hand muscles). She can write however her handwriting looks more like something from a 2nd grader. She really fought me on practicing handwriting and her actual ability to write summaries was slowed because handwriting was so tiring for her. Instead of continuing to fight her on it, I got her typing with Typing Pal. Her writing output has increased and she is much more receptive to writing summaries from science, history or literature reads. We have done a ton of reinforcing games and used manipulatives to help solidify math concepts and skills. Times Attack for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts and Dreambox which has adaptive programming. Consumer math would be very helpful as she learns more how to use money in life. Anna's comfortable giving away her money in exchange for something but doesn't have the awareness to know whether she is getting something of value, on sale, as priced or shortchanged. The idea that the other person giving her change back, for instance, could be wrong, doesn't even cross her mind. On a social note, are you involved in any social group specifically related to the special needs of your dd? We haven't found such a group. It would be so helpful to find other families to socialize with especially during the teen years. Yes, I completely understand about the emotional ups and downs and lack of maturity. We have definitely done some coddling as well. Chores are good and being and feeling responsible is invaluable. Anna started a chicken egg business. She cares for her chickens; cleans the coop, daily feeds and gives them water, collects eggs and distributes them. The chickens have imprinted on her so they follow her and it is the cutest thing to see. Anna's speech is now beginning to bother her. We can understand her just fine but she recently began taking a drama class and they were not accommodating. She had a speaking role at the end of the class showcase which they cut right before the performance. She was heartbroken. She had memorized her lines on the first day of receiving them and she has stage presence so the issue is her pronunciation. I'm not sure what to do. Maybe start speech therapy again. She likes drama and it is public speaking. I'm so proud of her because speaking in public when you have some speech issues takes courage. Does your dd have speech delays? If so, are you utilizing speech therapy? I am going to start writing out a list of academic skills to focus on during high school rather than curriculum/classes. Also, I want to develop a list of independent living skills so as to focus our high school years towards more independence. Thank you for the suggestion to post on the high school board.

I had to laugh when I read about encouraging kids to read by allowing them to stay up later at night if they were reading. Oh boy, my dd12 has become such the night owl, reading until 11pm-12am on a regular basis:( We seriously have had to throw the circuit breaker to cut off power to her room so she would get to sleep! She places towels under her door at night so we can't see the light shining from her room. Sounds funny but not so when school starts at 8am. It all started out with a little extra reading time at night to encourage her reading when she was little :huh:

We are currently watching Infectious Diseases to supplement dd's general science knowledge and practice note taking. Our local library has many of the Great Courses available to check out and Amazon offers on-demand episodes for some of the courses.

So nice to hear from you ElizaG! How is your dd? Thank you for the linked story, what an amazing young man:) Yes, I am mostly focusing on developing my dd14's basic skills and with high school approaching next year, I will need to qualify and quantify her learning when I create a transcript. I thought seasoned homeschool moms here could share their "sp needs high school transcript" so I could get some ideas of how to put together a hs transcript. I know what I need to work on with dd14, I'm just not sure how to express it in a transcript other than what is listed below. Because the materials aren't at grade level, I am feeling like I can't assign it as high school. Maybe if I just focus on describing the skill verses the curriculum, it would make it easier to quantify her time spent learning. Here is an idea of what she will be doing next year for a high school English credit. BTW: She is doing the below schedule now however is using Hake's 6th grade so I know the below is doable. She has currently read The Borrowers, Holes, and recently, Old Yeller for 8th grade English. English Skillbuilding 1 credit: Read 6 novels (TBD) Write daily summaries Hake's Grammar & Writing 7 & work towards learning to write an essay Spelling with weekly tests I would need to add in some work on Literary devices. She does 1.5hrs dailyx5days= 300hrs for school year.....I could give her one credit for high school (next year). Since learning to type, she has started writing her own short stories (mostly retelling of movies). I never correct her summaries or short stories but rather have her read them to me. Math these days has been a little better. She makes many small errors that can really add up. She works about 1.5hrs on math daily and completes a lesson with corrections as well as computer time with Dreambox. Saxon has been the best fit for her because of the sheer volume of repetition :hurray: It is possible she could go into Saxon 8/7 PreAlgebra next year...will see, I am not sure yet or Consumer Math. I believe focusing on Health as a Science would be smart. I need to look into curriculum options for health. I plan on using living books for History. I could align her literature reads for history, making her day more manageable to do some volunteering at the library. Thanks for listening and yes, we need our own special group :001_cool:

Could I do one credit for orchestra & one credit for instrument (including both piano & violin) music? She could easily meet the hs credit hours for two credits. I would just be counting these as extracurricular credits. Debbie-I think you answered my question. Thank you How did you list the Fine Arts credit description?

Spanish Homeschool Academy The instructors' Skype from Guatemala!

I am trying to get ahead on my high school planning for next year. My dd plans to continue playing next year with a community orchestra she belongs to now. She also plays two instruments. With orchestra practice and individual instruments (lessons/practice) she easily reaches over 120-180hrs needed for one hs credit, actually she could receive 2 credits with the amount of work she does each week. My question: How do I actually list the credit description? Is it as simple as how many hours for instruction, practice, and performances? How specific do I need to be regarding pieces? I will ask her teacher to create a list of actual skills learned to be included in the description. My dd does not plan to major is music in college however she has developed a love for music:)

My dd12 wants to be a pediatrician and my dd14 wants to be a preschool teacher.

The opportunity to homeschool and to do it well takes a lot of work so why feel guilty about choosing to work? And being a feminist in our culture is challenging for most women no matter their profession.

My dd14 has developmental delays where as my dd12 is accelerated. My dd12 is taller too so people who don't know us think she's older. The jealousy my dd14 feels towards my dd12 can be hard to deal with. I just keep trying to focus my dd14 on her interests rather than what her sister is doing. I have to say that my dd12 can be both very supportive and then not so as she runs out of patience. Homeschooling is challenging as I traverse between two extremes without losing my unique approach to each student.