Are you wanting suburbs of the bigger cities or full on small town outside of the major cities and their suburbs, but within an easy drive of suburbs and city? FYI, I live in the second of these two categories. I'm not in Houston or the suburbs, but in a small town (less than 15,000 people) that is an easy 25 minute drive to be in the suburbs of Houston, and I can be in downtown Houston in 45 minutes (if traffic cooperates!). Small town living with major city amenities less than an hour away is our families preferred living situation, but some people wish to be closer or farther away so I was just trying to figure that out before talking about places you might investigate.

Yeah, but that's true even if your kid is in ps except for the transcript part. I remember having loads of paperwork and deadlines to keep track of when I was in my junior and senior years of high school. Not disagreeing with you, just saying that the paperwork you speak of for high school would be true in any state and in almost any school setting.

No. I live Gulf-ish in Houston. While the weather is not great (hot and humid for at least 5 months of the year), I do love the diversity in population and culture that is found here as well as a TON of things for homeschoolers to do. It's pretty perfect in that respect. There are lots of other Gulf cities as well like Corpus Christi.

I'm assuming you mean homeschooling freedom, so I'll answer from that viewpoint. We already live in TX, but I will admit that the freedom we have with homeschooling here has definitely played a factor in keeping us here. i would love to move closer to my family in Arkansas, but I don't like the laws in Arkansas. I'm totally spoiled by TX so anywhere I look I get whiny. "But you have to take a test there." "But you have to count days there." "But you have to notify there." It's a really ridiculous attitude on my part to be honest, but I like being off the grid so to speak.

That should definitely bring in a huge influx of points! Or possibly you could be the leader of our coup to rid ourselves of Texasmama as point bestower. :ph34r:

The WTM Know-Nothing Party...... I'm coming in and pulling up a chair. :biggrinjester:

Coming late down the stretch for the win!!!! :driving:

Hello! Thanks for the link to the Texas thread....... I'm getting a late start to the points, but I'm going to do my best to catch up. I do have a few negatives to start with though. 1) I'm actually born and raised in Arkansas so not a true Texan. I just moved here 8 1/2 years ago. 2) I still prefer pork over beef for BBQ, but I do like the slow-cooked Texas method. 3) I do not like the part of Texas I live in (Houston) when it comes to weather and landscape, but there are parts of Texas that I do really like (Hill Country, San Antonio, Fort Worth). 4) I do not, nor will I ever cheer for UT in football. I would never be able to show my face in Arkansas again. Now I plead my case for points. 1) Buc-ees and HEB are my two favorite Texas stores. I think every state should have them. 2) The pecans down here are crazy good and really big. Best pecan pies EVER! 3) When I lived in Colorado, everyone thought I had a Texas accent so even though I'm not from here apparently I talk like I am. 4) I received 85% on the How Texas Are You quiz. I failed when it came to gas station food. I just can't do it. I'm too much of a foodie. 5) The awesomeness of Texas highways with wide shoulders and high speed limits makes it like the American Autobahn. 6) While I might now like the weather or landscape of Houston, the shrimp is out of this world! So good and fresh off the boat! 7) The homeschool laws in Texas are the best in the nation. No argument to say otherwise shall even be addressed because it's too ludicrous to even consider. 8) I really want to meet Texasmama in person. I think we could get in a lot of trouble have a lot of fun together. :sneaky2: 9) My very nicely numbered lists should count for beauty and ease of presentation.

Here's my take on it all.... Ashley didn't stay in the back of the bus. She decided to insert her opinion about something that women are supposed to keep quiet about: sports (I mean, that's a man thing, right? :ack2: ). She posted her opinion on a huge public forum as a famous person. A famous man who posted his opinion about a sports event would not have received rape threats (apparently his daughter does, but not him). That's just a fact. Guys generally don't threaten to rape other men with whom they disagree. Threaten to fight them. Curse at them, yes, but not rape them. What Ashley is calling attention to is that fact that when men are upset with a woman about something she says or does, they feel that it is completely acceptable to threaten with being violated in the most personal and degrading of ways. What she wants people to realize is that is 100% unacceptable. It doesn't matter how you feel about her personally. It doesn't matter if she used a litany of curse words to express her thoughts. Men should NEVER threaten to rape a woman as a show of how to keep her quiet or "in her place." It's disgusting. It's vile. It makes me want to vomit that some men can't just argue with her about the game or her comment without having to resort to such inhumane threats. I absolutely believe that some men have felt this way for many decades, but they didn't feel safe to make those comments with other people around. But the internet, for all the good it does, has given people the ability to spread their deepest, darkest, true feelings to the world. Maybe none of these guys mean it. Maybe they get caught up in the moment of trying to make the most pithy, cruel comeback so that their tweet gets lots of attention. I don't know, nor do I care. It's wrong any way you slice it, and it should have ramifications. It is not okay to threaten a woman with rape or assault. I don't care what she said, what she wore, or how crazy you think she is. We all should get behind this cause.

So with all the awfulness that is splashed all over the news 24/7 (My dh said once that someone should start a news channel that only shared uplifting, good stories; they'd make a mint!), I thought we needed a thread about good, generous people and/or kind actions. And I've got a doozy of a story to begin! I had the most bizarre, awesome and generous thing happen to me tonight. I'm standing in line to checkout at Target with over $100 worth of items when I realize I've left my wallet at home by accident (Thank you, children who get in my purse without permission!). The cashier offers to hold the items while I run home. I tell her I live in a town 25 miles away so don't worry about it. Then the lady in front of me, who just checked out, says, "I live in that same town. I'll buy your stuff and you can pay me back later." I couldn't believe it, but she paid for my stuff and gave me her number so I could call her when I got back in town! I was floored. She doesn't know me from Adam and when she paid for my things, she had no guarantees to ever see that money again. I know that I would not have been brave enough to do that for a total stranger. When I went to pay her I told her how stunned I was that she would do something like that for a perfect stranger. I told her I was shocked since I could very easily have been someone who scammed her. She told me that she helps people when they need it on faith. Sometimes she gets paid back and sometimes she doesn't, but she keeps on giving. I didn't know people actually did stuff like that anymore. Do you have a story to share that was so amazingly generous or kind that you couldn't believe it?

I got pregnant with my son right before my period was supposed to start. I am very regular with my cycles and my period was supposed to begin about 4 days later so i thought it was all clear. Nope. :thumbup1:

This is such a difficult area for me with my kids. At least for me I see it as one of the positives and negatives of homeschooling. Since we homeschool, my kids have always talked to me about everything. We discuss things we are studying, TV shows, movies, music, etc. We debate and disagree, toss ideas around, etc. Which is perfect to me, it's how I want our family and homeschool to run. Don't get me wrong. There are times dh or I have to let them know they have crossed the line from debate to rude and disrespectful and there are definitely things dh and I discuss that get a closed door so we can be private, but for the most part dh and I have a very back and forth relationship with the kids. This is the positive for me. And now for the negative....when I'm at church or out with the kids and I am talking to an adult sometimes my oldest will come up and insert herself into the conversation with her opinions and comments. Because of how we've raised her, she doesn't see her being a child as making her thoughts or comments less valid or unimportant . The conversation between myself and the other adult is not necessarily heavy or important, but I notice that most people look surprised and annoyed at her intrusion. She is not rude or disrespectful in her comments, but I can tell that 90% of the time the person I'm talking to is initially surprised and then standoffish about it. I've tried to explain to my dd that the way she interacts with us at home is not socially acceptable to all adults so when we're out in public if she "joins" a conversation I'm having, she just needs to stand and listen, but not provide input unless asked. She is getting better about this, but she is very extroverted so having to be silent when there are people to interact with is VERY difficult for her. I probably should make this a spin off question, but am I wrong for telling her to be quiet instead of jumping into an adult conversation?

I plan for the entire year but I do it be subject so we are never "off". If we need to slow down or speed up we can because only the subject is planned for the year not all of the subjects together. It's extremely helpful to keep me on track if I plan that way. ETA: Here's a link to the blog post I wrote on planning an entire school year by subject.

1. D 2. Not sure. It could be A the picture showing that the dog brought them the hat at the end of the story. It could be C or D showing that the dog hid the hat which is why they couldn't find it.

You can now buy the student pages as PDF files through Currclick which makes it more family friendly.

Wonderful movie! My girls and I enjoyed it and agreed that it needs to be purchased. I think we're going to watch it again on Tuesday at the local theater. The matinee tickets are only $2.50 apiece that day. I thought it was beautifully filmed and I loved the extras that they added to the story as well, especially the relationship the prince had with his father. That was the only time I cried.

One quick update since people had asked..... I responded to my friend's email with some ideas and convicting words that people had shared in this thread. I tried to be kind but firm in my wording. The next day after I sent the email, she had her baby so I've heard nothing back from her. Anyway, thanks for all of your help. This thread and the situation with my friend has definitely inspired me to write a blog post about educational neglect in the homeschool community, but I'm going to wait a bit (probably half a year) to post it since I don't want my friend to see the correlation.

My oldest daughter gets stopped all the time by people telling her or me how beautiful she is. I've even had people ask if she models (tall, thin, blonde hair, blue-eyed). You know what though? She's teased and picked on by other kids because very quirky and weird (their words). She likes playing with dolls still. She likes and quotes Shakespeare. She wears crazy looking clothes, kind of Bohemian, hippy stuff. She doesn't gossip about boys or know the latest styles. She is just who she is, and she gets teased and picked on by kids at church and some kids in our homeschool group. I share all that to tell you that your daughter might like to know that it's not weight or looks that gets you teased. It's two things: 1) Mean kids that have a herd mentality and 2) Being different in any way than how others think you should be. I know that it's easy to know that in your head, but still not believe it in your heart. I've been there. Probably every woman has been there. I agree that you need to get media out of your house as much as possible. Fill her time with things she's successful at and just keep piling on as many positive comments and messages every day as you can. You might see if there is an older lady who your daughter respects and looks up to that would pay special attention to her and do special things with her once a month or so. Lots of times my kids don't believe all the nice things I tell them because I'm their mom so I have to say those things, but when they hear it from another adult they believe it. If you could find someone like that for your daughter that could be a tremendous encouragement for her.

In our 6 quart tea maker, I mix 1 cup of sugar into the hot tea. It's not as sweet as my grandma's was (hers was probably closer to 1 cup 1/2 or 2 cups in 6 quarts of tea), but it's close enough for me. If it's anything less than 1 cup, it's not sweet enough for my Southern taste buds, but 5 cups is WAY too sweet. That's not sweet tea anymore. That's just syrup.

Take a look at Bible Study Guide for All Ages. You could use the beginner pages with both or bump your oldest up to the primary pages if you feel she's ready. You study the same chapter in the Bible, but each child would have pages at their own level. There is a review section, memory work, the bible story, and an application section.

Fudge Pie here!

We saw it yesterday with some friends. The five year old in the group was wiggling in the beginning parts where things were slower, but once the magic started happening she was fine until the end. My girls and the other girls who are the same ages (11 and 7) all loved it and were talking about it the rest of the day. We even got free movie posters for going on opening day and being some of the first hundred in the theater. It was really cute and fun. Disney did a great job with this one!

Together: A Bear Called Paddington (2nd attempt) Baby Island Heidi Builders of the Old World (during Morning Meeting) Gilgamesh trilogy by Ludmila Zeman (during Morning Meeting) I've Lost My Hippopotamus (during Morning Meeting) Grace: My Side of the Mountain Gilgamesh the Hero Sophia: Christian Liberty Press Nature Reader Book 1 Science in Ancient Mesopotamia (popcorn reads with me) Me: Salt: A World History Oliver Twist Consider This

It takes at least 20 pounds for me. I'm 5'10" so there's a lot of surface area to lose from before it starts leaving the tummy and hip area.

Stop before you get to the current season. Trust me on this one. We were faithful watchers until this season when they jumped the shark (IMO) with the entire Frozen tie in. But, yes, it's very fun and quirky until that point.