Totally agree---Core 400 is AWFUL!! Dd did it last year and truly hated it! It was her final year, having used SL since 6th grade, and she complained the whole time. I had her drop the Bible portion and the awful Govt book and found a more understandable Govt replacement. Therefore, ds will be doing Core 100 for 11th with a select few of the 400 books and some additional guides to cover American Lit---of which there was NO proper guidance for in 400 . He will go on to cover Core 300 for 12th with SOME of the history/historical lit from 400. The 100 IG does a pretty good job of addressing Hakims liberal bias too!

Yes, I am using the newer format SL IG---I would never have attempted it otherwise! We are not using the poetry book and I'm also not using the writing portion. Ds is just reading the lit as scheduled and we discuss it. It's a LOT of work!! He has a lighter history schedule this year, so he is able to keep up on the reading, although he complains a LOT! The lit really is scheduled at quite a brisk pace.

My 10th grade ds is using the SL 530 program and I can say that this review is not accurate. There is background info for each novel read, as well as for each time period. There are lit analysis questions in addition to a tremendous amount of other comprehension questions. Also many, many writing assignments based on the books and the college level poetry analysis book used. This is a VERY challenging and intense program! My dd used the Winterpromise Brit Lit program, which she LOVED, but not even close to the breadth and depth of the SL program.

Thanks! We only have 2 years left, so no time for 2 chem courses :001_huh:

The labs were my biggest draw for this program, especially since we used the Rainbow. We loved it! He has decided to try and ClEP as many subjects as he can, so I am trying to line up courses to correspond.

Thank you! This is what I was figuring because ds is actually doing a quite strong ICP course this year and I was worried about 'regular' high school chem simply being a repeat of what he is doing this year. I still plan on him doing the DIVE chem with both Apologia books in 12th. I think we will hit the Apologia Physics next year.

WOW---Landry Academy is quite expensive :001_huh: I think I will use the DIVE Chem instead. It sounds like it will most definitely prepare for the CLEP!

Oh no---that doesn't sound very promising! Anyone else??

Would Spectrum chemistry be enough to allow my son to take the chemistry CLEP?

We've lived in our remote location for so long, I didn't even know what the heck Black Friday was until a couple of years ago. But driving 2 1/2 hours over a mtn pass that will likely have snow doesn't sound like fun. But---I honestly am SOO looking forward to living in a civilized urban area and participating in all of these things civilized people do in well populated areas with plenty of stores---even if we can't afford to buy anything! ;) I'd show up to shop at midnight...simply because we could! Just once anyways.

Yes. Our entire small town downtown (where we live and homeschool) is a ghetto. Drugs, s@x, alcohol, child abuse, child abondonment etc. It's all here in our faces. Sometimes I have a hard time coming here or to other homeschool chat boards and reading about all the wonderful enriching activities and classes people have access to, the healthy socializing etc. Because it doesn't exist here in our world. Our town is THE poorest county in the entire state. Homeschooling has NOT sheltered our kids from these realities one bit because the town is so small and remote. I worry about filling in the Extracurricular part of my son's transcript: Activities: Say no to MJ, Hydro's and alcohol on a daily basis :001_huh: Pretty sad. The economy has made it even more difficult for us to relocate, which we have been trying to do for 2 years now. Our ghetto town is awful.

DD got hers at 16 when she started driving, ds at about 14 because the plan was so cheap to add phones. I really like being able to keep in contact with my kids when they are out and about.

:iagree: Our situation too after 10 years---although HE was the one to suggest homeschooling :tongue_smilie: He is here for support and discipline issues if I need it---doesn't bother me at all. We laugh at him trying to come up with the name of our curriculum :lol:

TEA TREE OIL!!! I did Melaleuca for years, and one thing I know is that tea tree oil has been shown to even kill MRSA. We use it for everything under the sun and it really, really works. You should be able to get it at a good drugstore ;)

Gluten makes my hair fall out in handfuls. Same with my daughter. Before I knew I had a problem with gluten, I had switched to JR Liggetts shampoo bars and did my own vinegar rinse. Wow! It really stopped a lot of that awful hair thinning. Apparently, some of the thinning can be due to a certain type of hormone that stops up the hair follicles? Maybe baking soda isn't unclogging your follicles enough. And yes---I have had those pictures taken that I can see my scalp through :001_huh:

:iagree: Reheat well though. We do this too occasionally.... :tongue_smilie:

Yes, it does count. Animals fed wheat DO get the lectins into the flesh---lectins are sticky proteins. And some people intolerant to wheat do react--like my family :glare: We also have our typical gluten symptoms from wheat fed chicken eggs and grain fed beef. I know some Celiac's who do well with Tyson, many who don't. The good thing is that the arsenic laced feed is now outlawed!!! Tyson did feed their chickens the arsenic. We all got violently sick from our one local brand of chicken that is fed arsenic. In fact, that brand had one of the highest levels of arsenic measured in chicken. The chicken growers said the arsenic didn't get into the meat. They lied. Corn fed chickens have yellower fat so obviously, the grain components get into the flesh. Foster Farms chickens are NOT ever fed wheat---yay! We eat tons of it every week and have no problems. And I just want to congratulate you for being WAY ahead of the game even considering what the chickens were fed!! :) Really---it took me 5 years to even consider this as the source of our continuing problems.

It IS very tough Natalie, but the beginning of the whole process is the worst part. Trust me, once it's over a HUGE burden is magically lifted from your shoulders and as time passes, you realize it is just a short phase of tension. Again---don't get caught up in the guilt. In these times, it's obvious that if some of us need to move or work slows, these choices are necessity and not a moral slip. ;)

So stressful! We went through this...with 2 homes in 2009 :glare: If you are that far underwater, a short sale or foreclosure if you need to move really are your only options. We tried working with our mortgage company for a YEAR trying to do a Deed in Lieu---they are very, very difficult to arrange. Especially in these times. And no, the mortgage companies generally won't have anything to offer until you are behind in payments. You could talk to a realtor to find out real estate activity, especially for a short sale. Not making payments and saving that for a purchase in another town in an option. But honestly, you couldn't pay dh and I to own a home anywhere for at least another 4 years or so. This ride down isn't done yet. And please don't feel guilty----in the world of business, what you are proposing is called 'Strategic Default'---but for us working folks, it's considered morally wrong?

Well, since we have gone through it already with dd, 19, and ds is 16 and ALL of his friends are now doing the drugs and drinking and probably s@x too, I can offer some advice. We are the 'town' mainstream homeschoolers, so we didn't start homeschooling in order to shield or shelter our kids from the world---so they have heard and seen many things. 12 is still young and if you can keep open communication going, it will be your best friend when they hit the teen years! Our dd told us 'everything'!! It does tend to make them a bit unpopular when they do tell you everything, especially if you hear something hair-raising that their friends are doing and happen to mention it to the other parents who you thought actually cared about illegal behavior. Our son loves to skateboard, and we let him go to the local skatepark after school and skate and hang out. But his sister has kept watch and her friends too, so he did get in bit of trouble for smoking cigarettes a time or two and 'thinking' about pot with his friends. But we put a hard stop to it. For instance last night, he came home early because his friends were headed to smoke pot. He doesn't do it, makes it very clear, so he doesn't even go there. He has learned it's easier to just tell us the truth if we ask a point blank question than to lie---so he tells the truth if we ask him where his friends are and what they are doing. Apparently, none of these parents here care if their kids drink or do drugs. But we do and it makes our kids VERY unpopular. We are happy about this, but it is sad to see your kids lonely. Kids these days are doing naughty things whether they are in a church youth group, sports, anything. Never underestimate kids and what they can get into. Never think 'MY child would NEVER do ________.' Because they will. Open communication is the key. Be able to listen to them without freaking out, or that will scare them away from being honest. This may not be popular, but I honestly think with teens they are guilty until proven innocent. Always question. Always be alert. And I seriously can't wait until the last of these awful teen years are done in our household :tongue_smilie:

Food intolerance comes to my mind, especially the weight loss, headache, body ache and slight fever symptoms. I am thinking gluten issues? Those symptoms sound very familiar to what I have seen in our family. And parasites if you were in Mexico? Chewing down a fresh clove of garlic twice daily for about 4-5 days is a great natural way to clear up that problem. Perhaps some sort of gut dysbiosis? Did he take antibiotics after surgery? Maybe try a good yogurt or daily probiotics to reestablish proper flora.

I incubate my yogurt for 24-30 hours and it always comes out really thick. Maybe you need to give it more time?

Aloe Vera juice will help heal your intestines from the inflammation. Also, try eating really easy to digest foods for a few days---bananas, eggs etc. I usually have no appetite but for lots of fresh fruits and veggies, mainly in smoothies from the Vitamix. The goal is to get all you body's energy into healing the damage and not into digesting hard to digest foods. Advil is excellent to reduce the inflammation caused by gluten. We are experts here at dealing with this----6 years GF and we haven't been able to even go one month 100% gluten free :glare:

You can still be Gluten Intolerant, a newly recognized Non-Celiac condition. You can do a gluten challenge whenever you are feeling up to it. Obviously, if you get tremendously ill on gluten, then you can be considered GI without Celiac. Honestly though, they really have not identified all of the particular genes that actually are Celiac related, and many are of the mind that Celiac is simply the end stages of gluten intolerance in which you intestines are being destroyed. Our son doesn't have one of the 'main' Celiac genes like dh, dd and I have---but he still reacts the EXACT same way as his sister to gluten. I still call it Celiac ;)

Sorry Joanne---I wasn't trying to be political or raise hackles. I just get really saddened by reading stories of healthcare nightmares like yours and hearing about any politician raising millions for TV ads for re-election. It just seems so wrong when so many are suffering :001_huh: