I've owned a pitbull in the past and have one now so what I'm saying is nothing against the breed. Any dog that will go into someone else's home is at risk of doing harm (just like any other uninvited visitor). But even more concerning is the owner's response (or lack of a response). If one of my pets were to do such a thing while my child was walking it I'd address the problem right away. The fact that it didn't stop even when your husband was there means that it isn't under any sort of control and isn't used to being controlled. Although I do think even older aggressive dogs can be taught by the right owner. Pets are not children or status symbols and some people shouldn't ever have pets. And all animals should be spayed or neutered.

I don't save any money or time. In fact, it usually ends up costing me as much or more than if I'd bought a SL core. I always buy my IGs new from SL. Sometimes I can find books used at a library sale or used bookstore but not enough to make a big difference in the amount of money I end up spending by putting the core together on my own. When I decided I wanted to use Core 300 for the upcoming year, I looked for books in Barnes and Noble but only found a few. I do wish SL would sell some books separate from the cores; things like SOTW (because so many hser's already own them) and the bible portions (because so many people use their own materials and it can really add to the price of the upper level cores).

As much as I think hsing is the right educational path for my children ( and many children) they don't always agree. Younger dd was so miserable and vocal about how unhappy she was hsing that we finally sent her to school. I'm not going to change my mind about hsing being better than school though. But if you were to ask my older dd who is stuck home with me waiting for the cable guy instead of going on a field trip she'd probably disagree today.

I have the 20th century world history core but dd won't be starting it until July. She has looked through the 2 books they use for history spines and likes both of them and has been looking up tons of information in them. I have to keep reminding her to save them for school. I am not having her use the LA portion. It requires the student to write about what they have been reading and to think at a depth that I don't think my 9th grader is ready for yet. She needs more hand-holding through writing than the LA assignments provide. In addition, I wanted some sort of LA program that provided me with an answer key to assist in monitoring her work and something to make her accountable for doing work at the required grade level(thus using a LA program designed specifically for her grade level). We are using this core for history and literature at dd's request.

Romeo and Juliet for 9th grade. To Kill A Mockingbird for tenth. Paradise Lost in 11th grade.

Hospitals in bigger cities generally pay more than those in smaller cities and towns. Nurses who work in hospitals are usually paid more than those who work in nursing homes and those who work in dr's offices usually make less than that. But it all depends. And there are jobs in prisons, working for private companies and school nurses. And don't forget the home health agencies. If you work in a facility you can get hired for part-time if that is what you want, even as a new graduate. But as a new graduate and last hired you have the least seniority. That means you probably won't get your choice of holidays or shifts you want to work, at least for a while. If you have never worked in the healthcare field, I strongly encourage you to work as nurse aide. Nurses do everything that nurse aides do and more besides. But I've seen people waste their time and money going to nursing school only to find out that they hated the realities of being a nurse. It isn't what you see on tv. Carli's right; there is a ton of paperwork and it does take time away from the bedside.

Math-LOF Begining Algebra and books 5-10 of Key to Algebra series English- OM 9th grade English, How to Read a Book, The New Oxford Guide to Writing, and Wordly Wise History and Literature-Sonlight Core 300, substituting for 4-5 books and skipping the LA portion. She'll follow WTM reccomendations for writing about literature instead. I also plan to have dd read The Aenid over the course of the year and to read along with her and we will discuss it as we read. Science-OM Environmental Science Art-OM History of Art course Health- a "home-made" health course of 5-6 books for dd to read. Foreign Language-Rosetta Stone Spanish P.E.- dance 5-6 hours/week and I plan to have dd audition for some performances next year for the experience.

It was completely her choice. She had been begging on and off since st grade to go. She was convinced she would be happy there and,in general, she is.Yesterday she told me she was undecided about going to school next year. "50% homeschool, 50% school" in her words. But her dad and I feel that it will do her good to go for a full year. After that, if she decides to come back to hsing it will be with the understanding that she can not go back and forth between hs and ps. I don't think hsing works well if you are trying to hs a child who doesn't want to do it and that's really the point we had reached. We briefly considered private school, but at $7000/ year, it's a bit much and our local ps is adequate. So mostly, she's going for social reasons. I don't think it's a great reason to send a child to school but if she's going to go, I'd rather she start now than when she gets in jr. high. Older dd has no desire to go to ps. Since she isn't interested in sports, there isn't anything there to entice her.lf it were a school specializing in dance it would be a whole other story though. She has friends with whom she shares common interests but she doesn't crave the social experiences with people only her own age that younger dd says she wants.

It's mostly just a matter of paperwork and having it in on time. But that depends on the district. Some are lax and some aren't. If you are thinking of a particular district, there is a Yahoo group:NYHEN-support where you can ask questions.Winters aren't really that bad. Good tires will get you through almost anything. In general, the weather can be worse in the winter in Oswego, Rome, the Tug Hill area, and east of Lake Ontario. Syracuse and southward tends to get less snow. Ithaca is lovely. I personally think it is much more child-friendly than Syracuse. I work in Syracuse but wouldn't ever want to live there.I wouldn't send my children to ps there ever. Taxes are very high in NY. But housing prices are cheap compared to other parts of the country. We'd move but doubt we could find property as nice as what we have. NY state does have a tendency to take care of it's residents (whether they want to be taken care of or not). I say the people are reserved...we keep to ourselves. DH says NYers are just rude (he spent time in Texas and says people there were more polite and friendly). I know lots of people love Wegmans. I think it's great in theory, just horribly overwhelming. So much...stuff. Things you never knew you wanted or needed.

but older dd was insistant that she did not want to use Apologia. I think it was the use of the word "creation" in the title. I was a little nervous about it anyway because I'm not sure that all colleges will consider the program to be on par with ps science courses, simply because it does contain religious content (I can't remember which college it was in California that dismissed the use of BJUP texts). Anyway, I plan to have her use Oak Meadow for Environmental Science, chemistry, and possibly biology ( or I may use the biology materials I have on hand instead). She wants to do Cornell's Bird Biology course too. She does not plan on majoring in the sciences or math in college.

For grades 9-12 I plan to report everything that counts for credit. So, while a foreign language isn't required to meet state hsing regulations, it will count for a credit on dd's transcript. It will make it easier for me when she begins to apply to colleges. I will have a list of materials used and I won't be trying to remember the title of a book that we used 2 or 3 years before. There are so few people in my school district who hs their high schoolers that I guess I don't feel any obligation at this point to make things easier for someone else. I do need to do what is best for my dd (and me). Things that do not count for credit, like dd's volunteer work will not be reported on her IHIP.

More for any outside activities. With only 1 child hsing, for 9th grade next year I ''ll be spending about $1200 on curriculum. I've decided that it's worth paying the money for curriculum that we will actually use rather than trying to be cheaper and getting something that just doesn't fit our needs.

for a long time when older dd was just a baby. It really became an option when younger dd came along. We couldn't afford private school for 2 children. And our local ps offered only full day kindergarten and we felt that was too much for a 5 year old. Hsing really just works better for us. Younger dd is in ps now. It is actually not a bad school (not great either) and I've seen some maturity in her since she started and she is very happy there. But...it really doesn't fit our lifestyle. We plan to allow her to go for 4th grade next year but we are taking it year by year. We are finding that she is developing quite an attitude. I don't blame the school for the changes we are seeing. I don't think it has been advantageous for her to be around so many of her peers.

tell her that your dd struggles and the assignment is too difficult for her to complete independently. My dd's school tells me to notify the teacher when an assignment is too difficult so they can work on those skills in school. My dd started ps in 3rd grade and had done WWE for 1 year and FLL for 2&1/2 at home. I thought she would struggle with those independent typical school writing assignments but she hasn't and I think it's thanks to the texts she used at home. (Older dd who used a more typical textbook-like writing curriculum at home struggled for all her elementary years with writing.) FLL covers grammar and FLL1 and 2 are mostly oral lessons. WWE is for writing-it has the child practice skills of copywork, narration, and dictation. I think the WWE workbooks make my job of teaching easier but it's also possible to use the hardcover book and write out your own lessons. Younger dd will still take FLL 1&2 off the shelf and read it for fun.

my FJ cruiser. My first Toyota product and it's the best vehicle I have ever driven. Maybe it's because they will go almost anywhere. With good tires(a must for NY winters) I feel like I can drive in any amount of snow,mud, or up to 3 feet of water. And it's easy to clean out the back where the dogs ride- just gently hose it out! Only necessary repair in 3&1/2 years and over 80,000 miles has been a rear axle seal (cost less than $200 to fix). I'd happily buy another one. The first time I ever saw an FJ I said "that's what I want" and when dh started researching new vehicles he felt it was exactly what we needed. Dh insists that we only buy vehicles that we can reasonably expect to get 200,000 miles or more out of before they start costing too much to maintain. He prefers Toyotas, Subarus, certain Volkswagons just for that reason.

or National Geographics to teach your child. The workbooks are good too but not necessary. For grammar, First Language Lessons is easy to implement. Depending on how much grammar your child has had in school (and practice diagramming sentences) you could start with FLL3. It is incrediubly easy for the child (and repititious) but I've found it really helped my dd cement concepts in her head. Younger dd was using both when she decided to go to ps this spring and found grammar assignments are review of what she was doing at home. I thought she'd have problems writing due to nature of school writing asignments (lots of creative writing) but she has done ok. Actually very well with listening assignments and taking notes. I plan to have her finish up both WWE2 workbook and FFL3 over the summer for review and preparation for 4th grade.

My older dd isn't at all interested in anything the ps has to offer. But my younger dd is. I'd be willing to submit to a little more oversight of her hsing if it meant she could take some classes at the school. As it is now, we can either hs or send her to school. So she is going to school but it's far from the ideal situation for our family. I already have to submit quarterly reports, year end reports and (some years) testing, and IHIPs for my hsed student. We already have so much oversight of hsers in NY state that I don't really see why hsers aren't allowed to take classes.

But it's not great either. When I go to pick dd up at her elementary school all the other children seem happy, the adults all seem kind and seem to like being around the children. I see evidence of learning taking place. My dd is happy there...she loves it. My local school has never been on a list of failing schools or even on a watch list. But, as a parent who has been very involved in educating my children, I also see lots of first hand evidence of wasted time and busy work. Nearly every week there is a schoolwide assembly for some sort of character education/ self congratulatory event. I really do think though, that every adult there is really trying to do what they think is right and best for the children. I think every parent has to decide for themselves. I'm just really glad that my family is able to have a choice between different types of educations. I know there are many children in dd's school who would love to stay home and be hsed but they won't ever be allowed to make that choice (some of them have even said they don't understand why dd would choose to go to school).

My long term goal in hsing my children is to prepare them for work they will be doing in college. I went to both a community college and a 4 year state college. I feel ps prepared me well for community college. I feel I was not prepared academically for the type of work required in the state college. I can tailor my hsed child's education to prepare her for college. I have absolutely no faith that ps will adequately prepare younger dd for college. I hope it will if she decides to stay in school for the next 9 years. Right now she chooses to go to school. If we ever decide that it isn't working we will have her come back to hsing. However, if I were mentally or physically unable to hs my children I'd send them both to school. It's not ideal but it's...ok. I know older dd would be unhappy in school. She has no desire to go to ps.

Older dd will be going into 9th grade next year. I need to make sure I stay on top of her schedule, make sure she does the work and that it is done to the best of her abilities. In other words, no more slacking. Dd started at a new dance school this year, far more challenging than the one she was at. Her dancing has improved tremendously. I'm proud of her for taking it seriously but all the credit goes to her (and her teachers). This year younger dd went to ps. I had a hard time letting her go and feeling ok with it but I'm finally there. So I'm proud of that. And she managed to fit right into a classroom without any difficulty even though the year was more than half over. We were concerned the school might try and hold her back for next year but her teacher says she will be passing on to 4th grade with the rest of her class.

inside or outside of various buildings. Outside of the building/hospital, if we see someone who needs help, we call 911 and an ambulance would come and pick up the person and bring them into the ER. Doesn't matter if it's in the parking lot or 6 feet away from the front door. Even our "drop off" gun shot/stabbing victims get left at the threshold (everyone knows the rules). Inside the building one lone person still wouldn't be expected to pick someone up off the floor. You don't refuse to help but you get assistance.

Her choice- she wants to do 20th century world history. If I'd had my way, I'd have her do Core 200 literature first so instead I'll fit some of that literature in too. The issue that I have with insisting teenagers read The Great Books is that it's wasted on teenagers. Most of them just don't have the life experience to understand or care about the themes in some of those books. And you can point out the themes until you are blue in the face but they don't get it. They can't contribute to a discussion about TGB unless it's something they really care about. So I advocate giving them some of TGB but also books that increase (I hope) their understanding of how the world works. Some good books, some classics, some just for fun. Anyway, I always supplement the SL selections and don't insist that dd read every book on the list. Dd will do Oak Meadow's grade 9 English course for official (meaning to meet high school NY state requirements) credit and use Wordly Wise. Dd and I will discuss some of the SL books but not all of them. We've decided there are a few books we will skip (she's just not interested in a few of them). I plan to have her read books from Core 400 in the future and she wants to do their English lit. At this point dd has no desire to be a Lit major in college or to study TGB in college and she's 13 going on 14 and fixated on dance. She could care less about Homer (unless we're talking Homer Simpson).

Younger dd chose to go to school recently. She loves it there. She cried when school was cancelled because of the weather. She loves the bus ride, the socialization, even the math program the school uses. She seems to be having no difficulty fitting in but she has always been the child who loves to socialize. Because of other commitments (karate), we don't afterschool right now but she has no trouble finding time to do her homework. We have found that she can be quite grumpy when she gets home. Those of us still home (the rest of the family) find it highly irritating that we have to adjust our schedule around the school's. I've always know what my children are learning and been involved in making the decisions about my childrens' educations and it's not always easy to let go and let someone else do it instead- for better or worse. We've seen some good changes in her behavior and some bad ones. The bad ones have been minor, mostly the use of certain irritating slang words. I'd love to think that she will choose to hs again someday but there is a good possibility that won't happen.

I recently attended a college fair and only one of the reps said they wanted to see a list of all the books a student read for high school. I'm thinking that could be quite a list for hsers. Anyway,almost all were mainly interested in ACT/SAT scores and courses studied. They wanted to see challenging courses. But most students who attend high school are not going to read as many books as SL uses for an english course. At the most, maybe 6 or 7 per year (and most students won't read that many). So there are a few books on that list that certainly count as high school level and more that could if the student were writing about them and/or discussing them. I personally feel it's maybe going a bit overboard to require my soon to be 9th grader to read a book list that consists only of the classics (as some homeschool curriculums do). I think that might stifle all love of books and learning if a person is scheduled to read only the most difficult things. I also think that required reading of many of the old classics is wasted on teenagers;they simply can't relate to them because they have no life experience.

here's a general idea of how her day/week goes. She has math every day. Out of a rotating 6 day schedule she has art, music, and gym twice and math lab twice. Not everyone does math lab so she isn't sure what the other children do while she is there. Writing seems to happen across the curriculum. She doesn't get graded on her handwriting at all. She has a cursive writing book but I haven't seen it come home since she got it (she's in 3rd grade). She brings home a grammar workpage for homework once or twice a week. Social studies and science are done in units. They use Brainpop for quizes. Math gets done in units, like a traditional worktext or workbook method. Dd brings home math homework 3-4 days a week, rarely on Fridays. I believe the class goes to the school library once every 6 days. The children are required to take out at least one book. I have never seen a textbook come home with her. Many papers. A few are graded but I'm not sure what work is correct and what is not. She tells me she is doing great in school. Honestly, I don't really know. I'm so used to knowing exactly what my child was learning and now I feel like I don't have much of a clue. The children read from real books of their choosing but sometimes have minutes taken off their time allowed to read if they misbehave. If I forget to sign dd's assignment book she loses minutes off her recess time. There seems to be a rather large amount of time in class devoted to making projects. Dd tells me hsing is harder than "real school." She likes "real school" better.