I've never heard that acronym! (Midwest), but I did know the meaning of Netflix and chill.... 😁

I have a ~40 page file I can send you if you PM me. It's the "how to" instructions for the league my DS16 competes in, but it is a great structure and could make a good jumping off point. The format is less technical than a lot of policy debate formats, but it is still set up to be a 2v2 style (if that's at all what you are looking for).

I'm on my third kid doing the homeschool --> public school high school thing (though my DD actually started full time in 8th grade). With my boys I did find it helpful to have them do a part time enrollment (1 class) if that's an option for you. For us it was math, because they needed Geometry in 8th grade and the public school wouldn't take an at-home credit for it if we did it at home in 8th - they would have had to test out for credit right before the start of 9th. So, it was simpler to have them do it at school, and it had the side benefit of adjusting just a bit to the school way of doing things in middle school where there is just a bit more hand holding. General skills we found useful: remembering to write first and last name and teacher/hour information on all work, even work submitted electronically. Having a system of remembering due dates and tests (none of my boys could be persuaded to use a paper planner, but they have found systems that work for them). Knowing how to use Google Docs, and how to navigate Google Classroom. Knowing that one can and should talk to the teacher if an assignment is missing (that was thought to be turned in), if a grade seems really "off" in the gradebook, etc. Memorizing ahead of time lunch PIN number, school ID, etc. I think what's expected writing-wise might vary a lot from school to school. At my kids' school, it was absolutely expected that they knew how to write a 5 paragraph essay, and could write one about a personal topic over the course of 1 to 2 class periods. For example in English class this year DS14 had choice of a couple of prompts, and had 2 class periods to write an essay right at the beginning of the year - prompts like - "Write an essay explaining a holiday or tradition you celebrate, and why it is of significance to you." Not really the best prompt to write a thesis statement based essay, but the teacher made it clear a 5 paragraph essay was what she was expecting. I am guessing this district covers the format in 8th grade English. On the other hand, they were expected to be beginners at literary analysis. I thought my older kids said they needed to already know how to do it in 9th grade, so I was working with DS14 on it last spring and was worried because he was not really catching on very quickly. When I talked to his English teacher at conferences, she said they started the year with no expectations about knowing how to do literary analysis. My kids have had to do very, very little in terms of research reports in high school. I've been surprised. The most has been small amounts of research on a topic that has been presented as a power point presentation in class -- not even any papers with works cited. I feel like maybe in AP Lit my DD might have had to do just a bit of writing that was more in a "report" format, but not much. My kids' school also does work in 9th grade to teach all students about note taking - it wasn't assumed students had learned how in middle school.

Nope! I've never had one! My DD got one as a gift from someone one year (in high school) but other than that no one in our family has ever owned one.

I think given that he is doing this after school + summer, the pace is great. I have had three kids go through the AOPS PreAlg book as homeschoolers. One essentially took a calendar year of actually working on it to finish, and did every problem (not counting a 3 month break we had due to a big move). He was only about 10.5 (fall of 5th grade) when he started, then finished right before turning 12 (again, part of that time was a total break). The next kid was a bit older, and had done a little bit of outside work between BA and AOPS. He started in the fall of 6th grade, but I let him "test out" of the first few chapters by doing only review and challenge. Then he picked up from there doing all problems and finished by the end of 6th grade. My third kid doing AOPS is dyslexic and I scribe for him, so it's less of a fair comparison. He started even younger (half way through 4th grade) and finished half way through 5th grade. But then we took a break before starting AOPS Intro to Alg, because he just needed more maturity. I wouldn't worry about projecting ahead and thinking he won't have time to finish the whole series - any amount he does do will definitely put him "ahead" and having done more challenging math compared to peers who only do typical school math. Even in the Intro to Alg book, we discovered that my oldest DS had already covered about 2/3 of the topics covered by our Alg II classes in public school. He was able to sit for a "test out" exam for Alg II Honors with only a minimal amount of extra study from a different text book. By high school, your DS may have more of his own ideas of how he wants to spend his time (either be self-motivated to continue spending time outside of school studying math, or maybe spend that time on a job or extra curricular activities). High School also opens up other options - special programs, test out opportunities, dual enrollment classes, etc - things that might not be possible at the middle school level.

I haven't had kids in public school for elementary, but in our public middle/high school experience it is less than 50% that participate in dress up days. I'd be shocked if he was the only kid not dressed up. How many people really have an "ugly sweater" for their kids at every size every year? None of my kids ever had one, except my DD who got one as a gift in high school. I could see doing something silly for the Christmas headgear - taping a paper star or tree to a hat or something like that.

My personal favorite game is Wingspan, which probably can easily be learned by kids 10+, maybe younger if they are good at games. We also like 7 Wonders, Isle of Cats, Bargain Quest, Azul, Calico, Dominion (well, my boys like that one!), Above and Below, and the Fluxx games. And of course classics like Catan, Carcassonne, Ticket to Ride.

I hang out in a board game group on FB, and before I opened the thread, I thought the poll choices might go up to 100+, 200+, , etc based on polls in that group. 😁. I'm sure we must have at least 100 games but I've never cataloged or counted them all. We are pretty in to games here.

I'd say about a mile to 1.5 miles. As others said, it would also depend on terrain, safety, proper walking features like a sidewalk, path, or quiet residential street. I've definitely walked further when on vacation to reach a destination, but under normal circumstances I'm unlikely to choose walking if it is further than that (for example, I usually start considering public transit or biking if I wasn't able to drive and the distance is greater).

I've only had a Roomba brand, but Roombas look to return to base when done, so it will wander around until the battery runs out if you don't bring the base upstairs too. We do move our older Roomba around the house, as it has s very basic charging base. Not every day, but when the bedrooms are clean enough to run it! 😁 Our newer main floor Roomba has a big base, with a bag to hold dirt. The newer Roomba empties itself automatically, which is nice. The big bag has to be emptied only once every couple months. That Roomba base would be a pain to move around, so that Roomba stays on the main floor.

That's what we call it too!!! ♥️

Our older one is boringly named Roomby (it is now the basement vacuum, as its battery life is now abysmal, and it can't really handle the main floor). Our main floor vacuum is named The Krakken. We wanted to program our Google Home so that we could say, "Ok Google, release the Krakken" and have it send out the vacuum, but we couldn't quite get it to work correctly.

I personally prefer email for activity information (especially if it is a well organized email sent out on regular intervals), unless it is last minute announcements like a weather cancellation. The problem for me with getting an info in a text is that it's harder to search for it later. I'd rather be typing in search terms on my computer than trying to scroll through texts on my phone or trying to search there. I also like having a known spot I can go to if I can't find the right email (a website or facebook page or whatever), because it's nice to quickly be able to double check a schedule, or to send a link to DH or older sibling that is taking care of a pick-up from an activity. But, as someone who runs activities, I try and send out as many types of communication as possible, because I have had so many people tell me they never read their email. I organize a lot of church events, and we don't really have the budget for texting (the kind of texting where each person gets a separate text rather than it looking like a group text - it costs money per-text to send - at least with services we have looked at, which can add up), but we do use email, website, facebook page, facebook group, google calendar, and physical paper announcements/church bulletin. Different people like different methods, so we are trying to hit all our bases.

I exchanged phone numbers with my DD's prom date's mom when she was a senior. Mostly to exchange pictures and just as a contact "just in case." . They weren't really dating though - just good friends. I would probably be weirded out now that she's in college to exchange numbers with a boyfriend's parents unless they were engaged or close to it. It feels like that would be odd, given they would be adults in the relationship. I guess the only time it might make sense is if we were doing something like coordinating travel plans...but even then I would expect my DD to coordinate. (I was just thinking of Thanksgiving break where she got a ride home from a mom and her son who used to be our neighbors...the mom reached out to me to offer DD a ride home, as she was making the three-hour-each-way drive anyway, so we did some coordinating ahead before I passed along DDs number to the mom...but that situation arose more because the mom and I used to be somewhat close when we were neighbors...again, it is different if someone were a stranger to me!).

We've done a lot of co-ops over the years, starting when oldest was in preschool (she's in college now, and I'm currently just homeschooling my youngest, who is 12). Being assigned to teach a class you didn't choose sounds rough. I was in some co-ops where I just had to volunteer (class monitor/assistant), and when I did teach I always chose the subject. I think co-ops were especially great for my older two kids who are neurotypical. Also, when my older two kids were early elementary age it was the hardest to find extracurricular activities that worked for us due to nap/bedtime schedules for the younger ones or the fact that some activities were a pain to drag babies/toddlers along to. So co-op filled a social need. But, my younger two didn't "fit" in a co-op as well. We nearly got kicked out of one when my 3rd kid was in early elementary because his at-that-point unmedicated ADHD was just more than other parents were willing to put up with. My youngest is dyslexic and as soon as co-op classes required any kind of academic activity, he couldn't keep up and parent teachers weren't necessarily willing to accommodate. Things that worked better, once my younger kids' needs were a factor - finding one other family to go through a fun curriculum together that included writing and science experiments (we met at co-op and were both ready to bolt), teaching a small class in my own home that met my kids' needs (I advertised in a local facebook group), and starting a casual club for something we enjoy doing (in our case, a board game club). I think it's good to identify what needs you are looking to meet - the type of activity you create or join might be different depending on if you are more looking to meet kids social needs, or if what you need is mom friends. If you need mom friends, you could advertise a book club for homeschool moms in your local Facebook group or (however people network in your area), but if it is a social need for your kids, you could start a club or class and invite others to participate.

I think the current "typical" method of high school teaching doesn't prepare well for end of course exams. My kids going to public high school have never had a cumulative final in any class. They rarely even have a semester final. So, then for the first time in an AP class, they are taking a cumulative exam that covers all the material in class that year. I think my kids' AP classes have done a decent job of preparing them (teaching the material) for the exam, and even teaching them how to answer the particular style of question they will find on the AP exam. What the class doesn't teach them how to do, and they have to prep for and figure out on their own, is how to review a whole year's worth of material in the month or two before the exam. So far, my older kids have had pretty decent success with this. My DS16 discovered last spring that even a subject you think you know really well (in his case, AP Stats), should still be reviewed for. He spent virtually all his study time on APUSH and got a 5, and barely reviewed at all for Stats and got a 4 (he is really good at math, a 5 should have been in hand for him, but he neglected review). DD19, when she was in high school, also got a 4 on the stats exam. She is NOT a math person and worked very hard for that 4. Her other AP exam was English Lit. She got a 2, but I think no amount of prep would have helped her do well on that exam. I read all her papers she turned in for class that year, and I really saw a lot of growth in her writing ability, and she easily got an A in her college English class. But she hates timed writing, especially if it is literary analysis. Luckily most writing is not timed and under high pressure. I assume a lot of test scores are low because students either don't care enough to study for the exam, or just really have no idea how to even go about reviewing for an exam that covers a year's worth of material.

I think about 20 places, not counting college dorms. That only adds two more though. I moved around several times as a kid, and in my 20s as well (from graduating college at 21 to turning 30, I think I moved just about every year). ETA - this was in a total of 8 different cities

Just to make everyone feel better about themselves, we probably spend $1000/year on coffee - mostly for coffee beans from a roaster we like. This is for three coffee drinkers, but my husband is responsible for the vast quantity of the coffee drinking. Clearly if we were in a pinch we would chose more economical coffee. The price has also increased by close to 50% in the last couple of years, so it used to be a lower figure. We may look into other options soon. We mostly do espresso, so the bean quality is a huge factor in getting a good drink.

We are so fortunate to have a local math club that organizes the exams (they handle sign ups), but the club still has to work through the schools to have a place to host the exams and a teacher who creates some kind of account with MAA and adds the students who sign up thru the math club. Usually AMC8 is at a local middle school and AMC10/12 has one date at a high school and one date at a community college. It isn't always the same teachers hosting the exam at the schools though - so I think what the math club is doing is rather than approaching the school as a whole and saying, "please offer this exam", they are just finding a willing individual who essentially uses their school email address and ability as a teacher to reserve a room to host this exam that the math club does other legwork to get students signed up for. "

Is it a potluck? If it's just a few people bringing food for everyone, I'd say no. If it's a potluck, then I'd either eat before/after and not participate in the meal (it doesn't seem fair to eat at a potluck if you don't contribute), or pick up take out to bring if you want to eat at the potluck. The last few potlucks I've been to for youth organizations people have brought pizza, rotisserie chicken, fried chicken, Chinese takeout, etc and people seem to love it!

We like King Arthur!

Every place I've had with trash pick-up, if cans aren't in the alley (so, they stay out all the time), then we put out the night before because pick up can be as early as 6am. Everything else varies by trash company or city rules in terms of if they will pick up extra stuff/bags outside the can, etc.

He's not super into Legos any more, unfortunately. We have a ton, and sometimes he still builds, but has said he doesn't really want new sets. I didn't mention it, but he does mountain bike in the summer/fall, and is on a team along with his brothers - but the problem is that DH has wanted the boys to be very "outfitted" for the sport and buys them most of the gear they need at the start of each season, or the younger two get hand-me-downs from the older if he has outgrown them. The water back-pack he doesn't have, but it always seems like the boys already have everything they need in that realm. I feel like right now he would save it...he has a bunch of cash saved up from some previous gifts (though he did spend a lot of his saved money on a new guitar last spring, which we split the cost of with him!). He also might like to spend it on something non-tangible like a class or camp. I would be fine doing that as a gift from us, and I might do it, but my mom has been not super open to that type of gift. Or if she spends money on that, she still wants to buy stuff too. The feedbag looks cool! We have a lot of bike gear, but I haven't seen anything like that! He does like board games, but we own quite a few already (I tend to buy them as gifts - some years everyone got a board game). DS14 right now feels like he doesn't get to play his favorites as often as he would like, because we have so many. 😁 But I definitely keep seeing new games that look like fun, so if we run out of ideas, that is definitely my go-to. He got one for his birthday last year! That's a good idea - he has a really plain strap, but maybe he would like a nicer or fancier one! Thanks for all the ideas so far!

I think when this kid gets his braces off, he would be thrilled to get a 5lb bag of gummy worms... 😁 I took DD for a fancy caramel apple when she got hers off, but I think gummy candy is going to be his request all the way!

DS14 is having such a hard time thinking of anything he wants for Christmas. My mom likes to buy physical things (as opposed to memberships or experiences or cash/gift cards). My older two kids can still think of clothes they might like, or they come up with practical things they need (for example, DS16 needs a suitcase of his own, as he is taking more trips where he ends up borrowing one of ours, and needs something more sturdy than an ikea duffle bag). DS14 can't really think of anything all that practical he needs, he is asking for one or two new shirts, but is pretty well set with clothes right now. He is asking for a hydration back pack (for hiking/biking) and a hammock. We still need a couple more ideas for him (also because his birthday comes relatively soon after Christmas, so if we don't think of more things, in two months we are still just going to need more ideas). DS14's hobbies are guitar playing (doesn't really need anything for that), reading (he mostly likes to check out library books - says he doesn't want to read most books more than once anyway, plus we own a ton of books already), and drawing (he already has an apple pencil and procreate, and is already set on his preferred paper and pencils). Any other brilliant ideas? He could get a suitcase too along with DS16, but I think it would seem just like a thing to throw in the closet for now, as he isn't doing any travel right now that he can't just use his ikea duffle bag for.