Thank you for these boards, Susan! :)

:iagree: ;) :iagree: :lol: We're in year 7. My oldest is in 5th grade and we started with K4. :)

Our state does not require testing. We have our boys take the EXPLORE test through NUMATS beginning in third grade. Reason 1: I like having an unbiased assessment of their abilities. Reason 2: I like the EXPLORE because it doesn't have a grade level ceiling; it gives me a better idea of their abilities. Reason 3: I love the feedback that NUMATS provides. I've tweaked different areas of our curricula based on their feedback. Reason 4: I want the boys to be used to standardized testing. I don't want them to have an anxiety about it when it really counts for college. I've shared test results with my parents and my in-laws, but would never share beyond that. My m-i-l was a private school teacher, and was not 100% sure of our homeschooling plans when we began seven years ago. (She ended up with quite a few homeschool dropouts who were way below grade level in her class.) Over the years, she's definitely changed her mind, at least about our homeschool! :D

Elementary - 4, Middle - 5, High School - 4 Less than a mile away, but across the county line they are 10, 10, 10 :tongue_smilie:

:iagree: I know one girl who has her heart set on college doing Algebra I for 11th grade. I talked to her about taking her PSATs last summer (while there was still time to take them), but another homeschooling mom convinced their family that testing was unnecessary. :001_huh: I really like this girl and I think her heart is going to be broken when she starts applying for colleges. She's so not prepared. I cringe on these boards when I see posts like, "We've decided on no science or math this year". What gets me is that they'll get 50 posts encouraging them! :tongue_smilie: Oh well. Not my kids, not my family, not my place to judge, I suppose. The thing, though, about comparing ourselves to others whom we perceive to be doing a better job than we are ... I honestly, honestly don't understand why people get depressed about this! In my own life, I have quite the opposite reaction. When I read a thread or meet a person doing X, whereas I have been slipping in X (whether it be house cleaning, math, science experiments, gardening, or whatever), my natural instinct is energized evaluation of what I'm doing and inspiration to act. Seriously, it's like a second wind for me. And, if it's something I could care less about (we grow our own wheat, grind it, and bake it fresh every morning or we grow our own cotton, spin it, and make all of our own clothes with patterns that we designed!), I just shake my head and giggle. Good for you, but certainly not for me! :D

Wow! I remember Heather's original thread, but missed yours. Very exciting!!!

:iagree: Except that I didn't bite my tongue on the OP's other thread. :D

I think this is a common misconception among homeschoolers, i.e. the line of thinking that says "my child is advanced just because we homeschool". While many public schools are completely terrible (the public schools in my district, for example), there are just as many completely amazing public schools (like the public schools just across the county line from me), too. I know (as in really know, not just heard about) a lot of homeschoolers in real life. A handful are rigorous and above average, but most are working below commonly accepted standards for college prep homeschoooling.

I wish this article hadn't tied these two issues together. I have strong opinions on both issues, but I think that is a big mistake. The first thing that must be noted is that WI has the HIGHEST gap of achievement between black and white students in the country. Someone asked why our college entrance exams (statewide) can be so high -- the answer is that those are white students outside of Milwaukee county. What has happened in the Milwaukee Public school system is a travesty. It has been going on for years and years ... it's not one single politician's or teacher's fault. As evidenced by: Sept, 2007: Reading gap is nation's worst: Average ability of state's black students ranks lowest April, 2008: State black 8th-graders rank worst in nation in writing Oct, 2009: Wisconsin math test scores high, but racial gap is among widest March, 2010: State's black fourth-graders post worst reading scores in U.S. Jan, 2011: Science literacy gap wide in state: Difference in scores between black, white eighth-graders is highest in U.S. I could go on and on. Our education system is why we decided to homeschool. I spent more than 8 years writing politicians and newspaper reporters on this issue. No one cares. It's completely depressing.

Wow, thanks all! Dh and I have no experience at all with this. We had never even heard of these programs. I appreciate all of the info! Off to explore the threads. :)

Anyone?

Hi! My oldest is begging us to join Sea Cadets. Is anyone familiar with this program? Can you share your family's experience? We also have Civil Air Patrol in our area, and that would be closer for him to participate in, but he'd have to wait another year to join. Any thoughts on one versus the other? He's currently in scouting. He's a Webelos II, crossing over to Boy Scouts in the next few months. Has anyone's son been in both Boy Scouts and one of the other activities? How did that work out?

WOW! Congratulations!!!

Oh my gosh! This is so cool! It is so much fun to see some of those old posts (and especially to remember some of the old posters) again! {sniff} Of course, now, that I've remembered them, I'm really missing some of them.

from http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/faq.php

We bought them from here: http://www.furniture4schools.com/product_info.php?products_id=544 :)

We have the three rows of bookshelves on the eastern wall, and two more bookshelves plus a science countertop and shelving on the northern wall. There are four desks with chairs in the middle of the room. I like that the desks have shelves for each of the boys' books and supplies in them. Right next to the doorway, there is a teacher's desk with shelves and filing cabinet. We love our schoolroom! :-)

How the Earth Works is on sale right now for $129.95. :-)

Wow, what a thorough review! You've really piqued my interest in BJU history!

:iagree: It really shouldn't take you longer than 10 minutes a day. You can do it! :D

This thread has a lot on this subject: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=228902 Definitely put on thick skin before heading over! :)

What great ideas so far! I love this!

We are going to need a new vehicle soon. I'm so glad that you started this thread! I didn't even know about some of these vehicles! :-)

I know this is old, but I found this thread so helpful today! It answered a couple of questions that I had. Thank you all!

If we became absolutely desperate, I would use the free virtual public school option here in WI. One of them lets you pick between K-12 or Calvert; they give you all of the needed supplies, and issue a laptop and internet connection rebate.