My 16 year old still loves getting the historical Playmobil - Roman, Egyptian, etc. My youngest is 9 and we still have pretty active Playmobil sessions here. The oldest makes funny historical scenes with them.

I have a rising 9th grader whose current goal is to go to MIT or similar school and study aerospace engineering; and, a rising 11th grader who likes science and is good at it, but plans to study history. My 11h grader plans to do physics next year. He hasn't had calculus, so it will be an algebra-based physics. Should I: Have the 11th grader do physics, and the 9th grader do biology? The 9th grader will, by 11th grade, be ready for calculus-based physics. Is this a better idea, given his goals? Or, could they both do algebra physics this year (to make it easier on me!), and then he can do a more advanced physics his 11th or 12th grade year?

My personal preference is to remove sports from schools, too. But if that's not likely to change, I very much support letting homeschoolers have access to ps sports. My family will stick with the community sports, though :)

I'm losing my co-op! :kicks, pouts: So I have to learn to plan for myself again. I think ... Great Books, Ancients, ala WTM Math - Life of Fred Geometry +?? He does his own math. He's already done LoF beginning and advanced algebra, and he uses Khan Academy for extra help. Science - still up in the air. Physics with his older brother? Or biology? And how? Latin - Lingua Latina Greek - he's in Athenaze this year. I can't teach it, but he might arrange distance lessons OR Italian Writing - ?? He's teaching himself assembly language and iPhone programming. He'll also do Boy Scouts, and hopefully continue with robotics, violin and soccer. We're moving, so we'll have to see what we can find in the new place. If we can swing it, he wants to trade soccer for fencing.

I was 21 and dh was 22 when we got married - this year we'll have our 20th anniversary. Congratulations!

It's my understanding that USAA will accept standardized test scores. I haven't tried it myself, yet, though :)

Right. It was an important war for us because we were able to assert our status as an independent nation, especially against Britain. That's why it was a "win" for us.

I only know one thing about Indy, and that is that it has the BEST Children's Museum ever! Especially if you've got a child into dinosaurs. We took a road trip once and meant to stop in at that museum for an hour or two on our way. We stayed the whole day.

You might also want to check out "Sarum" by Edward Rutherford. He has other books, too. He takes a particular place and has stories that take place there throughout the ages.

You're using it correctly. It is a map app, not a GPS direction-giver. There are apps you can download that will give you voice instructions. I use the map app. I keep it open while I drive, and consult it at red lights. If I make a wrong turn, I backtrack until I"m on the path, or tell it to redraw the route. I've never had the other kind of GPS so maybe I don't know any better; but for me this is a lifesaver.

Last night I drove off with the back hatch of the car wide open. :lol:

I bet I'm the only one who went to Lollapalooza last summer. :lol:

That is not fun :( Hatha yoga is gentle, and a knowledgeable teacher should be able to understand and help. There are even "gentle yoga" classes around. I bet Tai Chi would be a good thing for you to look into, too.

Jean, Yoga is wonderfully beneficial. But remember, you do *not* have to stretch further than your body wants to to gain the benefits. Do not stretch to the point of pain. Yoga should *not* involve pain, or much difficulty. You will still reap all the benefits by only going as far as *your* body is ready for. If you keep it up, you'll eventually be able to do the full poses. But let that eventually come when it will. It is is not only fine, but important to modify, modify, modify. Can you speak with the teacher before class? A good teacher will understand and give you modification tips, and encourage you to only go as far as your body is ready.

Jenny, Most people use the content defined by their state or local school system as a guideline. I think that colleges want the grades so that they can fill in the boxes. Many colleges ask for corroborating evidence of homeschool achievement, such as SAT II scores, etc.

I haven't noticed this preference. I have four boys, and although I love them each dearly and would not trade them, I would have dearly loved to have a daughter, too - as a firstborn, or in any order.

Rose, I grew up in public school, and traditional college. Now, when faced with giving my kids grades, I find that I can't do it. They don't make any sense to me in a homeschool setting. In a classroom, grades give an indication of how well the child is mastering the material. This is necessary because the teacher generally 1) cannot spend enough individual tutoring time with each students to ensure mastery for all; and 2) must move on, regardless of whether students master the material or not. For our high-school transcripts, I'm going to grade based on a combination of how well they met my expectations, and how well they do on outside evaluations. (My oldest will get an A in biology because he made a good score on a public school bio assessment, and a good score on the SAT II subject exam. He will get a B in algebra because he scored lower on the public school assessment, and took longer to finish the material than he could have if he was more diligent - it was his favorite subject to slack off on.)

Awww, thanks :) I've been ... busy. It turns out that the high school years get a little crazy!

Hi, Laura! Oh, I'm glad to hear that about the museums and the volunteer opportunities - and the library! I'm also glad to hear the rec centers have classes. Are there generally good opportunities for community sports? Like youth associations? My kids love soccer, but I don't think they're interested in going through the public school system for it. It sounds like Ohio's homeschooling process is very much like Virginia's. Every year we have to notify the local school superintendent, and then at the end of the year submit standardized test scores or an evaluation. Are qualified parents allowed to test their own kids in Ohio? I looked around on the web and found mostly very religious groups and Classical Conversations groups. I'm not particularly interested in Classical Conversations, and we are not Christian. We have no problems being in a Christian group, as long as they don't require a statement of faith. We're pretty hardcore classical, though relaxed in method, if that makes sense. Right now I'm with a great co-op. We meet weekly and all the moms teach. My kids take Latin and Greek; the younger ones have classical studies, the older ones have humanities and great books. It's wonderful. I know I won't be able to replicate that in Columbus, but if I could find some classical groups or content that would be fantastic. I'm also interested in musical opportunities - right now two of mine are taking violin lessons, one is on trumpet, and one on piano. What's Columbus like, in general? I like that it's so centrally located - easy to get to many cities and interesting places. Is there a lot of snow in the winter? How's the traffic?

Beth, Can you get me an email address or contact information for OCA? I'm definitely intrigued! I'll be leaving behind an *awesome* classical co-op herein Virginia, run along the lines of the Latin-Centered Curriculum.

I posted on the networking board, but it doesn't seem to be used much. We may be moving to Columbus. Who has the scoop for me? :D

We're considering a move to Columbus, OH. Anyone? Anyone nearby?

We've had several computers named after mythological characters, or Greek or Celtic gods. My first iPod was Polyhymnia. Our iPhones have been Orac (another sci-fi computer), Ghostwheel (another one), and H.A.A.R.P. I'm working on a name for an iPad, now. I'm thinking of calling it TMA-1 (from 2001: A Space Odyssey). But character names are good. Like I said we go for mythology, so Artemis, Helios, Athena, Calypso, Ariadne ... :) A friend of ours named all of his computers after sites of Alexander the Great's big battles.

I cried, and loved it, and there should be one of these every Christmas.

Good. I consider it a fine score, too. I'm just new to all this :)