Thank you. I guess I was worried that starting her at her level will actually put her below her brother going in to 3rd grade. I guess it doesn't matter where she starts as long as she progresses. I just printed off the Singapore 2 placement test. Thanks!

I am starting to plan what we will be using for curriculum next year. DD will be in 6th grade and her school has been using Everyday Mathmatics. Unfortunately, her ITBS for the last 2 years have shown a severe problem with math computation skills. (Last year I figured She rated in the bottom 12% this year. I had her try placement tests for Singapore...it is not even a possibility for her. Tonight I had her start the Saxon 5/4 placement. I explained that this wasn't a "test" it was just to see where she was at so I could find the right place to start for next year. As soon as she started she melted down. "It's a word problem. I can't do word problems. They have too much information and I can't figure out what I need. Can you read it to me?" "Math isn't my thing" "My teacher said we didn't have to memorize that, we can use a calculator." "I'm never going to need to know how to divide 3600 by 9!" She completed 12 problems before I told her to go ahead and be done for the night. She got 4 of the 12 wrong. I'm wondering if I just need to start next year reviewing addition, subtraction, multiplication tables and then division. I need to build her up. Right now she's written math off. Any suggestions?

Dementia, in any form is very tough. I know it is REALLY hard to deal with. We just received a diagnosis of Lewy Body dementia for my husband's grandmother. We've been helping take care of her for years. I've gone thru the anger, the emotional detachment, the sadness, and now humor. I think you can find some tremendous support in online forums if you can't find anyone locally. You do need to talk about it. Also, if you ever feel as though you are in danger, don't hesitate to get immediate help. It's not your mom, it's the disease that is causing the anger and aggression.

public school gets out May 26...they started right around the middle of August

I'm close by :001_smile:

This makes sense to me now. The ortho will probably have to re-evaluate the wire strength and the course of treatment for those 2 teeth. I wouldn't do anything drastic like switching Orthodontists over this. I would schedule the appointment to get the brackets fixed and discuss the issue with him/her. Your DD is probably going to be pretty uncomfortable. I feel bad for her. I remember eating a lot of baked potatoes after I got my braces on. Ouch.

I just got my braces off after 3 1/2 years and I never had any brackets pop off. Did the brackets pop off teeth that are in a drastically different position than the rest of the teeth? I could see that happening if the teeth are maybe set way back from the other teeth and they are trying to move them forward. Those brackets are naturally going to have a lot of pressure on them.

DS8 is getting in to the Hardy Boys series.

I'm so glad to hear the positive feedback. I had considered the other conferences mentioned buy I specifically want to attend a secular convention. I noticed several workshops on unschooling, but found plenty of others that I know would be helpful to me as a new homeschooler. I know it will sound funny but I hadn't really considered taking the kids. :001_smile: I'll have to talk to DH and see what he thinks. I'm getting more excited as we make more decisions down this homeschooling path.

I am almost ready to take the plunge in to homeschooling next year. I was thinking of attending the INHOME conference in Illinois. I found several workshops that I think would be helpful for me. Does anyone have feedback on it?

Lol! I've thought about pulling the whole family in to the bathroom to give lessons and then watch them all practice a few times.

Thank you. I'm loving it already!

Thank you! I appreciate the support. I submitted my open enrollment paperwork today as the first step to our homeschool jorney. Hope your headache is better.

I just started reading the old Hardy Boys books with DS8. He won't independently read and I was hoping that getting him in to a series would help. We're enjoying the vocabulary.

Thank you for sharing your experience. I don't think our Assistance Program would actually include any classroom time unless we want it. I think I would use it mainly for the curriculum, use of textbooks and the teacher guides. We would also have a teacher to meet with a couple of times a semester to evaluate how we're progressing. I'm glad to know that you started this way and gained confidence. I'm glad to know it can be done. :)

I really want to home school, but I need to get DH on board. I won't pull the kids unless he agrees that we can make this work for our family. He's worried about me being able to handle it. I'm going to call a couple of homeschooling families we know to get together with DH and I. I've been talking to them about homeschooling over that last several years and it has really put my mind at ease. I think DH needs to hear what they have to say. I'm great at starting things. I love researching and buying thing, but I lack follow through and completion. I tend to be a "quitter". I'm afraid that if I'm not accountable to someone (the school) I won't be good at keeping the kids on track. Also, since I'm not sure this is a lifelong decision, I want it to be easy for them to integrate back in to public school if they decide to. That being said, the flexibility is what is really drawing me more towards the homeschooling now. I'm scared to make this decision. Is that normal? I'm trying to teach the kids that we don't make, or avoid making decisions, based on fear. I'm trying to realistically evaluate all the pros and cons.

Hello. My name is Julie. I have 2 kids that are now in public school. DD is in 5th and DS is in 2nd. We live in a great school system but I have always felt the desire to home school. DH is open to the idea but is not opposed to leaving them in public schools. We are happy with the level of education but feel like there is a lot of wasted time that we could be filling. I am considering open enrolling them in the Des Moines Public School system to take advantage of the Home School Assistance Program. Anyone have experience with this? Unfortunately, the deadline for next year school year is March 1. I'm not sure if we're in the position to make that decision in the next 2 days. I'm looking for a purely secular curriculum that I can supplement with our own religious information and materials. I look forward to reading all the great information on the board.