Thank you!

I have been in the habit of logging on a spreadsheet every book my dc read each school year anyway. I also keep samples of their work and file them in a yearly folder or notebook just for my own paper trail. An attendance record is no big deal. I guess it's just the fact that I have to teach certain subjects and "demonstrate that appropriate education is occurring" that makes me nervous. Having an evaluator look through our work and interview my children seems so intrusive. I agree that the added paperwork isn't that big a deal. It's just that some school superintendents seem to like to give homeschoolers a hard time.

That's great to hear.

Good to know about the online CAT test. Thank you!

Yes! That website has been very helpful. Thank you!

Thank you! We are really excited about it!

:scared: I used to live in Delaware (very little reporting) and now live in the UK (no reporting at all), so I am very nervous about PA's strict hs laws. I understand certain districts give homeschoolers a harder time than others. We will be living in Chester County. I would appreciate any and all advice I can get to make this transition easier! Thank you!! ETA - Information on local homeschooling co-ops and support groups would also be helpful. :001_smile:

Writing/Grammar: Essentials in Writing Spelling: Apples and Pears Math: MUS Zeta (after a month or so of solidifying fractions) History: Personal book list concentrating on US history from the civil war to present Science: Apologia Zoology: Swimming Creatures Basket Time: Bible, Memorization, Poetry, Art, Music, Geography, Vocabulary, Shakespeare, Literature, History Discussion

I only do spelling with my ds who is dyslexic. For my other dc I only did copywork and dictation. If your dc don't have any major issues with spelling, I think copywork/dictation is enough. We never used any formal vocabulary program until the 8th grade when I had my dc read through Vocabulary Cartoons. Then in 9th grade they went through SAT Vocabulary Cartoons. However, I recently came across Word a Week and I've been going through that with my younger two this year during Morning Time. It's very low key.

So happy for you!! :thumbup1:

I only choose about three artists to study per year. I put prints of the artist of the term (about three months) on a shelf in our dining area so the kids can look at them daily while they are eating. We discuss the pictures every now and then. I have them read a short biography about the artist at some point during the term. Also, because we live in London, we try to visit The National Gallery a few times a year to see the real deal. We will be moving back to the US in a couple of months. I'll really miss the awesome museums here!

My oldest two are only 16 months apart. I always taught them history and science together. My youngest two are almost four years apart, but the older one is dyslexic and struggles with academics and the younger one is advanced. That makes them only about two years apart academically. I teach the two of them together. It has always worked out well, especially now that my oldest two are high school level and learning mostly independently. I only have to teach history and science to the younger two.

I agree. I use a bit less of the called for amount when baking with coconut oil. Coconut oil is yummy in brownie mix though!

We do a living books approach for history and science. I require 30 minutes each from a history book, science book and literature book from my 11 yo and 20 minutes from each book for my 7yo (a voracious reader who always exceeds that amount). Some books are chosen by me and some are their choice. Both of them enjoy reading. My high schoolers have a set reading list and weekly schedule for their literature and history. Science for them is textbook based.

We do Bible, literature and memory work (mostly poems and Bible verses) every day. Then we rotate through myths, fairy tales, Shakespeare stories, artist and composer studies. We have also started doing A Word a Week Vocabulary and Visualize Geography.

:lurk5:

Thank you! It seems like no big deal. I'm just worried about having to deal with it in the middle of a move in the middle of the school year. It's so good to hear there are lots of homeschool groups for support!

I so appreciate everyone's :grouphug: and advice! I understand the suggestion to wait at least 6 months to make a decision. I figured it would take a while for dh to find a new job anyway and so it would be a gradual thing that we could take our time with. I didn't expect a job opportunity within the company to open up right away. It still could take about 6 months for the job to start, but a decision whether or not to take it needs to be made in the next week or so. And it's actually a really good opportunity for dh. Of course he's still leaving the decision up to me, but now I feel like he could be passing up a great career move if I decide to wait a while before making a decision. The post-cancer care is a consideration. I have to be checked every three months, then every six months until I've been cancer-free for five years. I am going to plan a trip home for a visit. We had plans to go home for Thanksgiving in November anyway, but dh thinks I should go back for a week or two next month. Because of the expense, I would have to go alone. That way we could still all go back together in November, if we are still living here. Lots to think and pray about!

Good points. We have and used private insurance here in the UK, not the NHS. Still, I'm not sure what kind of insurance we would have in the US. My dc want to go back to the US for university anyway, as much as they love living in the UK.

I'm not sure. Dh spoke to his boss about it and got the wheels in motion. We could move as early as October.

It's nice to be understood. Dh took the job here knowing it was a permanent position, but we knew we would make our way back to the US at some point.

Yes, it's the older dc I worry about the most. My younger two would love to go back, but they want to live in the country.

I would love to! It's one of those things where you don't appreciate what you have until it's gone.

We moved here to London almost 2 1/2 years ago. I had lived in the same state all my life and was excited for this opportunity. My dc and dh (who took a new job with a new company to move here) loved living in London pretty much from the start. It took me a while to warm up to the place, mostly because I have never lived in a city before and we don't have a car. However, I have been content since my family likes it and we've had unbelievable opportunities to see and do things we would never have had from the US. For me, the ability to travel around Europe has been the biggest positive. If we couldn't have afforded to do that, I would not have wanted to live here. Things changed last January when I was diagnosed with cervical cancer. After the initial shock of the diagnosis, I was ok. I'm a Christian and believed no matter what happened was God's will. He was in control. I got excellent care here (chemo and radiation throughout Feb. and March) and finished treatment the end of March. I had the typical side effects for my treatment but was in good spirits throughout. About a week after finishing treatment IT HIT ME! Major exhaustion and depression. The treatment threw my body into menopause, which I know was part of it. April and May were rough! June was better because my sister and her family visited for two weeks. After she left, I got the blues again. I got a clear scan in June! Praise God! But I am so homesick! But not just for a visit. I want to move back to the US. I miss family and familiarity. My post-treatment counselor says it's as though I were riding the fence on wanting to be here from the start, and now the cancer experience has pushed me back over to the other side. I don't even need to go back to Delaware. I just want to be back in the same country. I want to be able to visit my family at least 2 or 3 times a year. Here we can only make it home once about every two years. I miss having a house with a YARD. I miss American sized appliances. I miss outdoor swimming pools and decent beaches. I miss the sun! I miss getting in my car and going for a drive in the country. I am not cut out to live in the city. Here's the deal..... Dh is on board with moving if that's what I want. He says he can be happy anywhere as long as we are together. However, dh has a great job that he loves. He would have to find a completely new job unless he transfers to his company's US office. That's in NYC. It would be close to our families in Delaware and New Jersey, but it would probably mean living in the city. No more than a 50 minute commute is very important to us. My two teens love the freedom they have in London and with the public transportation here. I don't picture NYC being as easy or safe for them to be on their own. The homeschool laws in NY are tough. I don't have to do anything here. We are basically off the radar. We have an awesome church and wonderful neighborhood here, through which my dc have made great friends. There's a small park-like green area in the middle of our neighborhood (probably the only cul-de-sac street in London) where I can safely send my younger children out to play all day on their own with the tons of other children that live in our neighborhood. My oldest dd, especially, has made great friends and is very involved with ministry at our church. I had wonderful support from our church family here throughout the cancer treatment, and even met new friends through this experience. But, I don't know...... I think facing my own mortality like that has made me want/appreciate a simpler life with more access to family. The excitement of traveling around the world doesn't seem as important anymore. I guess my priorities have changed. Am I crazy for wanting to uproot everyone just to be back in the US?