"Home Educated and Now Adults" by Brian D. Ray. It's chock full of data on homeschooling. When I was originally researching the viability of homeschooling myself I found myself frustrated by the lack of objective data either for or against homeschooling. All of the information seemed to be biased toward one direction or the other with very little solid research behind it. This book provides that.

My son graduated from high school with 30 college credits from the community college. I think it would be very difficult to take enough classes to actually earn an associate's degree, which requires 60 hours. Maybe someone on the forum has a child who has done it though. You'll need to research carefully and decide how you want to proceed. There are scholarships available for homeschool students, just as there are for other students. Most colleges that I know of don't have money set aside specifically for homeschoolers though. What you'll need to research is the monetary difference between incoming freshmen scholarships and transfer student scholarships. If you count the dual credit hours as college credit when applying for a four-year college, he won't be admited as a freshman and won't be eligible for freshman-only scholarships. On the other hand, many colleges, especially public universities have generous transfer scholarship available, especially if they have good grades. We did not pursue any CLEP credits but I do know of others who have used that method for college credit. Again, be careful about how much college credit he earns if you are interested in freshmen scholarships. You might get a better response if you post on the high school board.

The stuff in pencils we call "lead" is actually graphite.

I had to look it up too. Very funny!

I second the "I See Sam" books. They worked for my daughter when the phonics workbooks didn't.

Me too!

My daughter and husband made this video and uploaded it. I think my husband provides the comic relief.

I ordered it directly from their website for $116. Amazon also has it for $116.

It's actually $116. I gave a subscription to my husband for Christmas this year. He traded in some airline points for a 6-month subscription last year which he enjoyed immensely but then felt too guilty to renew it when it ran out because it's so expensive. It will definitely be worth it to him. He loved it!

Yeah, me too! I've never given a second thought to eating and enjoying whatever was given to us. Therefore, I've also assumed that everybody enjoyed home-baked goodies. My assumption has been shattered and now I'm feeling like maybe those loaves of pumpkin bread weren't such a good idea. Wish I had known this sooner. :glare:

We've only been without cards for a year and a half so haven't had a whole lot of experience yet. We already had a mortgage so that wasn't an issue. Our debit card is issued by Visa and works for almost everything for which we would normally use a credit card. Debit cards work fine for hotel reservations. The only problem is that they put a hold on your account when you first check in for more than the cost of the rooms and it can sometimes take several days after checkout to be removed. It can tie up money you might need or cause a check to bounce if you cut it close and aren't aware that they do it. Car rental policies have different policies concerning debit cards. Some take them and some don't. I researched it once and found a chart online with all the policies but I'm not sure now where it is. We use the debit card for all online purchases, hotels, airlines, etc. We try to use cash for all purchases in town. Research shows that we spend 18-30% more on purchases when using plastic, although almost everybody will say they are the exception and don't do that. I said the same thing before we converted to all cash spending, but was proven wrong. I definitely spend less when I'm using cash. The key is to keep the cash in envelopes designated for each budget item and leave them all at home unless I need one for a planned purchase. HTH, Kris

BTDT! They've been chopped up for a year and a half and we're still working on paying them off. We've been canceling them as they're paid off.

I guess I'm going to be the odd man out here. We're followers of Dave Ramsey and have decided that all credit cards must go. We are closing all accounts as we pay them off. Dave says if you play with snakes you're going to get bit.

No way.

I used the biology book for part of 2nd grade. It got old really fast. It's a lot of cutting and pasting. My daughter starting dreading science everyday. It does have different levels of assignments so it can be adjusted for different ages. For instance, the upper grades are required to write more detailed labels and information in their lapbooks than the lower grades. We were so glad to stop using it! Now science is my daughter's favorite subject again. Kris

I love my flat top stove better than any other electric I've ever had. It's easier to clean, heats up faster, and the temperature is generally easier to control than other electrics I've had. However, I like every other gas stove I've had better than the flat top electric. I just greatly prefer gas and if we could afford to run a gas line to our kitchen I'd switch out. Kris

I use a razor blade to scrape off food and a rag to wipe it. Every once in a while I use the special polish to shine it up. Kris

We like Character Quality Language Arts.

I haven't tried the new blue ones. I use the one that was extensively tested several years back in which the studies showed marked improvement in depression. Kris

We generally don't allow headphones while in the presence of other people. Exceptions are made for long cross-country car trips. I think it's rude to have earphones in when with other people. My husband will sometimes walk around with news radio playing in his earphones, which he only sticks in one ear so he'll still be part of any conversation, although I still don't like it. It was a compromise because I SO hated listening to the ranting and raving he listens to on the radio everyday and he didn't want to turn it off.

The F word combined with the word "me."

We absolutely love "The Week." It's very popular in our house and disappears as soon as it arrives and I have to hunt it down for my turn. We like to give gift subscriptions at Christmas and everyone we've given it to loves it also. Kris

This is my third year using a therapeutic light box. It has enabled me to quit taking antidepressants. I mentioned this on another thread and was quickly drowned out by people who said that vitamin D works better. But it has made a world of difference to me! I actually enjoy winters now! Kris Edited to add: I take fish oil for diagnosed ADD and can tell a huge difference.

We've been Angel Tree recipients in the past and I can tell you that if anyone had given me a gift card I would have immediately gone out and spent it on the kids. I couldn't have used it for myself in a million years. For that reason, I would get something personal for her to go along with a gift card. Kris