Use it for 2 of the 4 kids I'm currently teaching. Love it and they scored ahead in state testing. Not sure about the whole "gaming" the system thing. Never heard of that and guess my kids haven't figured it out. Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

Hi! I'm Sara (without an "h":)) I'm mostly a lurker...on and off the board frequently. I feel like I'm still in the learning stages so I don't post very often. I love this board and the people here! I've been homeschooling my oldest DD for a year and we plan to homeschool through 12th grade. We do it for many reasons, but mainly because we want them to have a Christ-centered education. I grew up in Hanover, VA. My husband and I got married in 2006 and resided in Hampton Roads, Va. He followed his dream to use his computer skills in Missions and in Nov. 2011 we moved across the country to San Diego, CA where my husband is a Web Developer for a Christian organization. We are a very blessed family:D

Yes, I've been reading about the form I need to fill out. It's somewhat confusing to declare your home as a private school, but hopefully I can get through it with some online help when the time comes! Thanks for the info:001_smile:

This has been helpful! This is my first time homeschooling in CA (we just moved here from VA) and I had no idea about how to file my letter of intent, etc... One question I have is: My daughter who is officially starting Kindergarten will not be 6 until March 2013, so do I need to file a letter of intent this coming Fall or can I wait until the Fall of 2013? Thank you ladies!!:D

I'm using her Letter of the Week and her K-4 curriculum right now. I agree, it is a lot of work to prepare everything, but if you do it over the summer and organize it, everything should flow quite well! I have at least 2 more children that will be using it so it's definitely worth it for me! Also, we have a black laser and a color laser printer...so this helped out quite a bit with all of the printing!

Thank you! I do want to do lapbooks so file folders are going on my list and also notecards!!!

Thank you! Where do you buy K size lined paper?

I have seen several threads on shopping for school supplies and the different deals out there already. It got me thinking about what I will actually need for my homeschooling kindergartner. She is my oldest and this will be our first year homeschooling. What sorts of things do I need to get for basic supplies? Thanks in advance for your help!!!:D P.S. We will be just covering the three-R's this year!

I grew up in Ashland. My sister lives in Powhatan so I am there from time to time. I am currently in Hampton...about 2 hours away.

I pack lunches a lot! My kids love picnic lunches. I kinda take the bento box route. I highly recommend this blog... http://www.anotherlunch.com ...she has great ideas for lunches. Also I think someone mentioned about packing apples without turning brown...this lady uses Pink Lady apples and those don't turn brown after you slice them. They are pretty much the only apples I buy now...love them! Hope this helps!:)

:iagree:

:iagree:

I would love to know the answer to this too!

Wow!! Thank you so much for all of your responses! We are very excited about this opportunity and it's basically a dream come true for my DH! I will check out these places that you all mentioned. I know it's going to be completely different from VA! Our biggest concern right now is going to be selling our house...yikes!

:grouphug: I'm sorry you are having a bad day...sending hugs your way!:grouphug:

Hi! We are very possibly moving across the country to the San Diego area! My DH has applied for a job out there and they are flying him out to meet him and have a final interview! Things are looking really good and they really like him so this is looking very possible for us. We are moving from the Va Beach, VA area :eek:....so needless to say this is a huge move for us. I have really never moved anywhere so this is a bit scary for me! The area he would be working in is Lakeside. We are already looking at possible houses to rent, but I have no idea where to start. I don't know anything about CA and I've never been there! Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Just looking for a good safe area close to Lakeside!

Hi everyone! I am attending the Heav Virginia Homeschool Convention in VA. Held in Richmond...June 9,10,11!!

I am no expert, but I'm pretty sure my mom does this!

Toms!!! http://www.toms.com

:iagree:

Every 5th Sunday of the month, our Church hosts a "Family Day". It's either Pot luck or a themed lunch. Like for example, next Sunday is Soup/Salad. We provide soup and desserts and the Church provides the salad. This has worked well for us. My children don't have allergies so I don't really know the "ins and outs" of all that, but I actually pack their lunch and bring it with me on those days...it's so much easier than trying to juggle 3 plates and figure out what each kid will eat and so forth. Maybe you could do something like that for your kids so that you are still able to participate??? :grouphug:

Thank you all so much for your suggestions and input! I have lots to look in to now! Looking forward to checking stuff out online and extremely excited about the Homeschool Convention in June (and DH is coming with me)!!!:D

Well I was looking into Saxon because from what I've heard/read, it uses lots of repetition. I struggled with math quite a bit in HS and college and I believe it's because I didn't have enough repetition. I'm hoping my kids take after my DH and don't struggle with math like I did. I just want them to have a good basis to build on. Sorry...I'm rambling! I also am considering Singapore and MUS. Suggestions and advice would be great!

Thank you so much for your input! I have been wanting to know more about OPG and also wanted some feedback on it! HWT is also something I had been looking in to! You are absolutely right about about researching curriculum...it's pretty much all I do now when I am on my computer! It's so hard to narrow it down. I think my hardest decision will be what math to use!

Thank you both for your suggestions...looking into them now!!!