I haven't read the entire thread, but I need to say this ... I appreciate threads like this! Thank you for sharing and helping me to not feel alone. I stopped attending church eight(?) years ago and I haven't really figured out what I believe. My BIL was my "go to" person and he died a year ago. We grew up in the same Christian denomination. He informed his family that he was an atheist a few years ago. He was so accepting as I moved through my journey of change. He listened and cared about me unconditionally. And now? I have no one "safe" to talk with. When I was growing up, I assumed every family was like mine. And then I started hanging out with friends in their homes and realized that there are many different types of families in the world. It was eye opening. I think that is how many Christians function. They think everyone is like them (the Bible is literal, Jesus was a real person, all families pray, all families practice religion, etc.). They assume everyone is viewing life through the same filter. I'm one who has stepped back and realized that not everyone sees things through the same lens. It has been and continues to be eye opening. No, not everyone is like you. Not everyone shares the same beliefs. No, I'm not merely a different flavor of Christian. I might not attend church with you anymore, but I'm still myself. It is upsetting to my family (especially my MIL and sister) that my beliefs have changed. I won't discuss it but they know (I hate confrontation!). Each and every month a couple visits our family mainly with the goal of convincing me to attend church regularly again. It is maddening. Lovely people, but I'm so tired of getting attention only because I'm an inactive church member. I politely receive them into our home because my family still attends church and I don't want to cause a rift between DH and myself. When I stopped attending church it put extreme stress on our marriage. I try to support my children in their choices. For those who are Christians, I encourage them to attend most of their church meetings and activities. I drive 14yo to an early morning church class every school day. We leave the house at 6:20 a.m. then I sit in the cold parking lot for an hour while she goes to class. In our homeschool we do Christian Studies as a subject. I do have one child whose beliefs changed when she started going through serious depression (suicidal). I'm just thrilled she is still alive so what she believes is not significant. I want her to know that I love her and accept her as she is. Hopefully I'm her safe person. Hopefully I can be like my BIL. Gosh. I was just going to write a short paragraph. I guess I feel a little more strongly about this than I realized.

Hang in there, Mama!

Thinking of you and your family. HUGS!

Definitely crazy weather right now.

Congratulations! :001_wub:

There was a Yahoo Group that had some good discussions. I think they might have fizzled out too. I've pulled a blank and can't remember my password. LatinClassicalEd https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/LatinClassicalEd/info It was started in 2004. It is inactive but I believe there are some good discussions archived there.

I was ... um.... surprised.

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

For Carl (37) my bil who passed away Jan. 1, 2016. Dude, we will always miss you!

Thank you, Anthony!

Coming from my own experience as someone who attended community college, here's my advice. Make sure she can write. Practically every class I took involved numerous papers. I was a poor student in high school (C and below). After working menial jobs, I appreciated school/community college so much more. I loved learning, but the papers were a definite stumbling block. Every class I took would have been so much easier if I had felt more confident with writing.

Another resource? http://www.homeschoolfree.org/2014/09/a-comparison-of-homeschoolfreeorg-and.html

Does anyone know if these guys are active? http://www.homeschoolerscubed.org/

For the reality of how it works, I suggest contacting the person who ran the ministry. I'll see if I still have a name and address. Edited: The snail mail address is the only thing I've been able to find (http://hsbapost.com/2011/10/17/the-book-samaritans-come-to-the-rescue/)

This may have been mentioned up thread. Co-op classes - ask about the availability of scholarships. I've been to a few used homeschool book sales where there was a "free" box. Also, if folks didn't pick up their items after the sale, those books were offered for free.

And this is when I'm bummed that The Book Samaritan closed down. I used to send them all of my homeschool curriculum that I no longer needed. Another possibility is to make an Amazon wishlist and let relatives help out with schooling expenses by purchasing items on the wishlist. Not always the most exciting option for the child.

There are many small towns which are without libraries. I grew up in a county in FL which didn't have a library until I was an adult. There were larger towns within a half hour drive but I would have had to pay a yearly fee since I didn't live in those counties.

Hunter, I found the last copy of the science book and bought it today. :) DK has a set of books you might also find interesting: "Help Your Kids With ________" Math, Language Arts, Science, Music, Computer Coding, Study Skills

Our local library replaces their World Book encyclopedias every few years. I was able to buy a set for $100. If all else failed, I knew I had my encyclopedias.

I also have another code which expires New Year's Eve (12/31/2016) for $5: 5OFF Edited: I tried using the code and it said it didn't exist. Sorry!

We have used Memoria Press Christian Studies I-III. Ahem, we've never been too studious about it though. This year we've been using CS lV which has been a bare bones review of the entire Bible. I thought it was a little dry, so we've added in What the Bible is all About for Young Explorers (older edition?). What dd receives at church is more doctrinal but I also wanted her to have the When? Who? and Where? part too. I really like the Young Explorers book. For grammar - R&S is the only thing we've used. It is a pretty weak subject for me and I've learned quite a bit myself. I do it with her. We only do the grammar lessons and try to do as much orally as possible. I have her complete the worksheets after the lesson to have her practice it on her own. DD is 14yo and we are using R&S 7 this year. I'm not very religious at this point in my life but it doesn't bother me too much.

We have two independent bookstores in town (new and new/used). Both stores sell this series. It must be quite popular. Honestly, I still miss Borders. Barnes and Noble is just too far of a drive (at least an hour).

The ONE I haven't bought yet. ^_^ With Christmas and being sick I haven't had the time to thoroughly look through them yet.

Woo hoo! DD just checked the mail and handed me my gift card. :thumbup: I've noticed they usually arrive after Christmas (west coast).

Thanks for explaining this. When I read the news that she has passed, I was one of those who thought, "But I thought she was stable." I'm still surprised.