This is wage theft. I know that can be hard to nearly impossible to prove and pursue, which is really unfortunate. I wouldn't work for an employer who treated employees like that but I get that some people don't have much of a choice. I know it's somewhat common for employers to press for inaccurate time cards to get around the law. Stuff like that makes me pretty mad for employees who are getting shorted.

Here, the ALE can allow my son to access Running Start two years sooner than he could if he went to a regular school. Two years of free college tuition in lieu of high school is definitely worth it for a lot of families. Once he is in Running Start FT (if we go that route) he would be a public school student.

I guess what I am saying is that it doesn't matter if the child is legally homeschooled or legally a public school student if that meets the educational needs of the child and satisfies their parents. So often on these boards charters and other options are all but jeered at as "public school at home." I think that sort of nonsense is wholly unnecessary. Charters/ALEs/public school options aren't bad merely because they are publicly funded. They aren't right for all families but they are a valuable resource for many, especially when paying out of pocket for everything is out of reach or if a child needs options that the parents can provide at home or the parent is really wanting support. I don't homeschool to be a homeschooler. I educate my children using any and all available options that work for them.

In our state you are still legally considered a homeschooler if you are only participating in school on a PT basis. And you still file the DOI. http://washhomeschool.org/advocacy/part-time-enrollment/ Homeschool centers here are ALE (Alternative Learning Environments) and can't require you to enroll FT or be a public school student. That said, I personally don't care who is FT and legally a public school student and who is PT and legally a homeschooler. So long as the child is well served, who gives a rip? Also, the main reason I prefer the SPED services via the ALE is that the teachers there, including the SPED teacher, are all supportive of homeschooling which has not been my experience with staff at the regular schools.

Conversely, it also potentially means that a lot of parents can afford to meet their kids' educational needs. Not everyone is well served by free resources or has the money to pay out of pocket for curriculum. I didn't particularly feel controlled by the schools as a student or as a parent of a student. We do access some limited resources via the school district here (same state as Jean) and again, don't feel controlled nor do I especially feel that I need to be unaccountable for my actions as a homeschool parent. And before you or someone else whips out that "public school at home" accusation, no. My son is registered with the state as a homeschooler and I pick all the materials we have used for every home based subject. Being PT at the homeschool center means a few things- free classes like pottery I am in no way qualified to teach, easy access to the SPED services he is entitled to, spelling bee eligibility (which is his #1 concern) and a few bucks towards the materials we use. He also participates in private homeschool enrichment and support programs so I haven't noticed a dearth of homeschooling resources just because there's a small parent partnership program in most districts. My son will also be running track with a public school. That's an opportunity that is not available at the same level through parks and rec or a private program. He tests, or not, through the district or privately, as I see fit on a year by year basis.

Tsuga, the middle school I walked out of was in Washington State. The high school I transferred from with the 9th graders reading 5th grade books was in Washington State. There are good schools here. There are also terrible schools here with very low standards. I had to pull my son from one of the "best schools" in the state, from the gifted program no less, due to boring academic offerings and other serious problems. The schools here are not all good. That's no different than elsewhere. Nor is every good school a good fit for a particular student.

In the first couple of months of 7th grade I looked around my public school, got up and walked out. Out of the classroom, out of the building, off of the campus and all the way home. I never went back to middle school. I read at the city library (including the complete works of Dostoyevsky), worked PT at a daycare and sorta, sometimes, worked on an algebra book and typing program my mom obtained a year or so after I left school. I was homeschooled but mostly left to my own devices. I went back to school to do high school a couple of years later and was not only not behind, was far ahead and after a semester of a nominally regular high school program, I would have left school for good again no joke. I was not especially gifted, I was just not especially dumb and dull. It was preposterous work. The english class was reading 5th and 6th grade level books, the social studies class was all stuff I learned in elementary school etc. Had I stayed, I would have failed or gone mad. Thankfully, fact my district had a magnet that I could go to which was competency based, student run and had interesting opportunities with challenging classes. The teachers at the magnet school wanted me there after I visited and they bent the rules to get me in immediately (they were technically full, they had me register as a homeschooler, attend classes there and then when they were able to formally enroll me at the start of the next school year, they filed the credits that I earned while technically not a student.) They didn't have sports teams, very many lab sciences or foreign language option or any shop type electives or even a legal lunch room. Those wishing to take those classes had to cross the street to the comprehensive high school where you could take up to 3 classes if you wanted. You could also take community college classes once you had 1/2 of your high school credits done. They ran a soup and salad lunch program in contradiction of district regulations and fed all comers regardless of ability to pay. So I was a rebel going to a rebel school. I seriously doubt my alma matter is still breaking rules like that because of increased district oversight and the old guard of hippie teachers retiring. High school credit was awarded for demonstrated competence in the material, no completing busy work. Regular schools treat high schoolers like small children. They are not. They are nearly grown and in some cases fully grown adults. I see no merit to the idea that everyone has to punch the same boxes on a transcript form to be a successful person.

Exactly. The most advanced gifted program in the public school here accelerates the students 2 years. When you have a 1st grader reading at a 6th grade level, this really doesn't solve the boredom issue.

Can parents opt out of state testing in your area? If they can, then you could as well. Are the worksheets to be work examples of whatever curriculum you choose? Do you meet with a teacher from the charter at any point in the year?

Masculine women or people transitioning from female to make face plenty of threats and violence. Sexual assault against FTM trans people is also both a threat and a reality. I don't want to discuss the details but we saw this (primarily harassment) up close when my brother transitioned. Brandon Teena wasn't an isolated example of more extreme violence though.

We do use Mint. My husband does the day to day bills as such and he likes it ok.

Mint. You Need A Budget (YNAB).

It's pretty common here for HS kids to take 1-2 classes at the middle school or high school level. All of the kids I know who have done it have enjoyed it. Or at least that is what they tell me and I have no reason to disbelieve them. I am considering having my older son run track at the junior high here, which is another option we have available to us.

I used to work for a small nonprofit where the board members and donors were all fairly old fashioned. I was never considered dressed up enough unless I was in a dress or skirt. I could have been wearing a sundress and they would see that more dressed up than a fine wool pants suit. I wear dresses and skirts most of the spring and summer and switch to pants in the fall and winter for the mos part. There's a distinct difference, even in the liberal bubble I inhabit.

American women are not mocked for embracing the cultural markers of femininity such as makeup and dresses. Find me examples of powerful women or famous women for whom wearing makeup is the exception and not the rule. It is simply an impossible thing to do. I can't begin to tell you how much more favorably people respond to me in a dress vs. pants.

I am not a complementarian. At all. Not even a smidge. I don't consider either sex superior to the other. I believe the sexes are equal. Equal doesn't mean the same but it does mean equal and it acknowledges the fact that people don't fit into neat little boxes all the time. I reject the idea that I need to be a complementarian to be feminine. Femininity is defined as the quality of being female, with the denotation that female means fitting the cultural norms of feminine. Personally, I am feminine because I a cis gendered woman. My tomboy tendencies and propensity for certain activities generally associated with masculinity (such as following baseball and fixing cars) doesn't make me less feminine anymore than baking or being a good caregiver to children and having minimal propensity for team sports makes my husband less masculine. We are masculine and feminine because that is what we are.

I would either do a private Facebook group or a Meetup group (not free, but you can charge a few bucks dues to cover the organizer fee). Facebook: Pros are that a lot of people are on FB already so it's not some separate thing to check. It's easy to set up events. Cons are difficulty including people who aren't on FB and no built in way for people to pay for field trips. Meetups are easy to use, have a lot of event features (like capping the size of an event and paying field trip fees) that FB does not, it's easy for someone who just had an email to sign up for your group, no one has to join FB to participate. The big con is that it costs about $100 a year to have a group with up to 50 people. You can easily collect $2-5 from people though as membership dues. Also, sometimes people take something they pay a little for more seriously. I am in a homeschooling group on Meetup and the dues are $5 or $10 a year. I don't mind paying and find that people tend to be more reliable in their RSVPs on meetup for whatever reason. I hate yahoogroups. I always feel like I'm time traveling to 2003 when I use it!

That is a beautiful kuchen and I like the fresh berries being added on top. I'll have to try it.

You have to taste the berries and tweak the super from there. I bake a lot of blueberry pie and sometimes 1/2 cup is too little and other times it's almost too much sugar. You have a bake a fair number of pies to get a sense of the right level of sweetness because the berries vary in sweetness so much.

Spring for a dog and all the necessary set up/classes as your daughter's college graduation present once she has a place to live.

Thanks to everyone who pointed out that they wish their parents would have mentioned it so they didn't have to. I know that my niece is aware of hair removal (her mom and her best friend) but I also know her mom never discusses such things with her (long, complex story) so I will think of ways to mention that if she decides to remove some hair, she can get that stuff with me anytime. My husband started seperating his unibrow before 8th grade (he's a lot hairier than my family) and if we had a son who took after him on that, we'd mention the options. Also it's no secret my husband grooms his eyebrows, both of the kids have seen him do it and when one of them has a splinter, the common phrase is "I need daddy's tweezers", lol.

No. I tend to assume good intentions unless I have a very good reason not to. I'm pretty optimistic about people.

Well that depends on the consistency you want. I make some lemon bars with blueberries that I practically jelly the blueberries for. In general I would prefer my pie not leak out everywhere and cause the top crust to droop. Cobbler though, I just bake it and let it do what it will do with no cornstartch or reducing.

I use the blueberry pie recipe from Grand Central Bakery here in Seattle. 4 cups of blueberries 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of sugar 2 tablespoon lemon zest 2 tablespoons cornstartch 1 tablespoon lemon juice Mix berries, sugar and zest. Mix the lemon juice and cornstartch into a slurry. Combine. Assemble a double crust pie with either a lattice top or plenty of vents. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes, then rotate pan and lower oven temp to 350 and back for 30 more minutes. Filling should be bubbling. If you have designs on cutting this pie while it is still warm, up the cornstarch. This pie is a hit with my friends and family.

Yup, Seattle area. Safeway is under a block from where we live so they get a lot of our grocery business just because it's so darn convenient. I do go to Costco and Trader Joes. I have a Haggen nearby but I keep calling it Top. I get a fair amount of stuff from Grocery Outlet and Cash and Carry.