Yes, I've already admitted that I am at fault for not being more on top of things and getting the money order into the mail or sending her a message sooner to let her know that I had been delayed. But even if I had mailed the money order the very next day, the way the USPS is, it could easily still be out there somewhere, not yet having arrived at her mailbox! She could not have known whether it had been mailed because she didn't contact me to ask before she sold to another buyer.

One week ago, I confirmed with a seller that I wanted to buy her book. She said she doesn't do PayPal, but asked if I could just send a check. I told her I would send a money order. I've been overwhelmed with starting our school year--I have 4 students, 3 of whom are not my own, so I asked dh's secretary if she would buy a money order for me when she went to the post office, which she usually does every day, but as it turned out, she didn't get the money order until today. This is our first week of school, so I have been way too busy to think about a money order! Anyway, the money order was put into the mailbox at dh's office today, and I sent the seller an email to explain and to apologize for the delay. (I do realize that I should have been more on top of things, so please don't throw tomatoes!) I quickly got an email back from the seller, stating that she'd already sold the book to another buyer. Huh? I would have expected to get a courtesy email asking if I'd changed my mind and letting me know that she had another interested buyer, but there wasn't one. How could she be certain that the money order wasn't in the mail already? It's only been ONE WEEK since I agreed to buy the book, and sometimes a letter does take that long. I called dh and he was able to get the money order out of the mailbox before the mailman picked it up. But is there any need? If we take it to the post office, is it possible to cancel it and get a refund? Or since it's made out to her, do I have to mail the money order to the seller anyway and have her cash it and then purchase another money order to send to me? I know that the delay was ultimately my fault, but I still feel that she should've contacted me before selling to another buyer. Am I wrong? (Be gentle.) And THIS is why I should just stick to PayPal. It's just too much of a hassle to deal with money orders. ETA: Just in case you were going to tell me that I should have communicated better, I already admitted that. I am at fault for that. But she could not have known whether the money order had been mailed because she didn't contact me to ask before she sold to another buyer. And the moral to this story is that both the seller and I were at fault.

I like my coffee a little on the strong side, but "bold" or "French roast" is a little too strong. But if I drink light roast, I might as well be drinking plain hot water. :tongue_smilie:

For me, the WORST spelling & usage offenders are you're vs. your , sale vs. sell, and did vs. done (as in "I did that yesterday" vs. "I done that yesterday"). When I see/hear them, it's like nails on a chalkboard. Some of the runners-up are (in no particular order): y'all vs. ya'll there vs. their vs. they're its vs. it's Revelations vs. Revelation (book of the Bible) curriculum vs. cirriculum maceroni vs. macaroni definite vs. definate Occasionally when I rant about one or more of these, someone is offended because they think I'm being hypercritical of other people's typos. Not at all! I make plenty of typos myself--as I'm sure most WTMers do (hence the booK threads, etc. ;)). But a typo is just a slip of the finger, not a way of life! I get frustrated with the people who consistently mess it up. :tongue_smilie:

Oh, my goodness! I feel so sorry for you heartburn sufferers! The only advice I can offer is to never let your stomach get really, really empty. The only two times in my life I ever got heartburn occurred during pregnancy--I had it ONCE with each of my two children--and it happened during the night when my stomach was empty. It scared me to death the first time because I was 29yo and had never had heartburn before! I thought I was having a heart attack. Dh laughed at me, and then sat up with me while I chewed a couple of Tums and then ate some graham crackers at about 3:00 AM.

According to my state's graduation requirements, "students choosing a career that requires a college education should take 2 years of the same foreign language. Although foreign languages are not required for high school graduation, most colleges/universities do require foreign languages for admissions." I know that the high school offers foreign language, but I don't know if the middle school does. (There is a middle school, but not a junior high.)

Prayers going up!

As with most things academic, it depends on the child. EK turned 13yo a few weeks after school started her 7th grade year. I tried to start her in Kindergarten when she was 4-almost-5, thinking that she would be fine because she would turn 5 just after the school year began. It took her 3 years to do Kindergarten + 1st grade, and in the end, she was just where she would've been if I had waited a year to start K anyway. ER turned 12yo in the summer before his 7th grade year. He was much more ready for learning at a much younger age than EK was. He was one of those rare boys who was young for his grade but did just fine with it. I say rare because it is well-known in educational circles that boys with spring or summer birthdays are often too immature to do well if they start K when they've just turned 5. At the local private school, the pre-school teachers routinely recommend that a boy born in March-August be kept back a year so that he starts K when he has just turned 6.

:iagree: I turn on music pretty much every day while we're working. I only want instrumental music, though, because the lyrics are distracting. I love light classical, but it makes us all sleepy, so we listen to light jazz instead. It's channel 851 on DirecTV.

Note that this form requests the students' birthdates. GA law does not require you to give this information, and the fact that the DOE forms request it has been a major point of contention for the past few years.

I know next to nothing about ACCEL because we've never used that option. I wondered how participation would affect HOPE eligibility later on down the line. It was my understanding that homeschool students wouldn't be accepted anyway because we aren't accredited, but I had no idea that the law had changed. I am teaching high school students, so I will probably continue to report attendance monthly (or thereabouts) because I know the girls will want to get drivers licenses soon. I found the online forms confusing, though, so I have to do some research so I can file my DOI & attendance reports before September 1.

Yes, home skills--cleaning & laundry, using basic tools (hammer, pliers, screwdriver). I'm not so much interested in car care or yard work, but we might get to that too, later on.

I'd rather do something that does NOT involve cooking or sewing, but I'll take it if that's all you've got. ;) I want something that can work as an introduction to life skills/home ec. And by the way, do any of you know of a survey or questionnaire along the lines of "what are your responsibilities around the house" or "which of these chores/household tasks have you (n)ever done"? I want to see where they are so I'll know how to proceed.

Thanks, everybody! It's not especially stylish, and I'm not much of a decorator, but the space is very functional. Some people commented that they are envious, but I don't want anyone to think I'm boasting. Please understand that it has taken YEARS for us to get to where we are with our schooling area! I am excited to finally have it organized enough to share pictures with you. ;) As for all those books, dh & I began our home library when we started college in the late 70s :ohmy: and we've added to it over the years by shopping at thrift stores and used book sales and accepting hand-me-downs from friends and family. And of course, I've bought lots of homeschool curriculum (mostly used). Most of the furniture is second-hand too, except the bookshelves/bookcases that dh built (which are very sturdy, but not ornate). I am very blessed to be able to homeschool my children and to be entrusted to teach the children of some of my friends. I am excited to be able to use this great space when we begin our new school year tomorrow. I wish all of you a blessed school year too!

:lol: I'm 5'5½", so I don't have a lot of trouble reaching the top shelves, but it does help that the ceilings are low in that part of the house. :)

Thank you! Building bookcases is one of my dh's many talents. ;)

My youngest is a high school senior this year, and I had decided a few years ago that that I love homeschooling so much that I want to continue even after she graduates next May! A couple of years ago, a dear friend approached me about teaching her then 11yo dd who has some reading/comprehension/critical thinking issues. She also has some social difficulties. I didn't want to do it at first, but I prayed about it and felt led to do it. So I taught her in 6th & 7th grades along with EK (10th & 11th). Of course, they did different work for the most part, but there were some things they did together. Let me tell you, it's not easy teaching an above average 10th/11th grader alongside a below-average 6th/7th grader, but I did it, and both girls has very good test scores this year (SAT & ACT for EK, ITBS for the younger girl). About the time we finished up the school year, another friend contacted me about teaching her dd also. The family had some turmoil this past year (parents divorced, among other things), and the girl had fallen behind in school. She's a year younger than EK, but I will have them working on the same courses except for math this year. I was a bit concerned that my younger student would feel left out, with so I began to pray about a partner for her as well. And a couple of weeks ago, another friend approached me about teaching her dd as well. This girl would be the same grade level (8th) as my younger student. She has some learning issues as well, and also some family and social issues. My homeschooling efforts are turning into not only teaching academics, but also ministering to the girls and their families. I find the academic challenges much easier to address than the social/emotional issues, but I believe God is using me to touch these girls' lives.

:iagree: A friend of mine was telling me yesterday about seeing the child and her mom and 12yo sister at the grocery store. My friend pointed out Honey Boo Boo (real name Alana) to her own dd14, and the mom & sister overheard. She had been acting like a normal kid until the mom & sister tried to prompt her to start acting the way she does on television. My friend said she could tell that Honey Boo Boo/Alana just wasn't into it, so she wouldn't do it. Around here, word is that the mom takes the child into Walmart stores all around the area--not on "official" visits, but purportedly just to shop--in hopes of getting the attention of customers, and then has her child "perform". It's just.so.sad.

For some reason, two of the pics didn't load. I edited and I think they're there now.

About 10 years ago, we closed in our big back porch to create a storage room, a school room for the kids & me, a foyer, a bathroom, and an office for dh. Dh worked out of his home office until his business grew enough that he needed to rent a larger office space in town, so I took over the office space at home and converted it into a den and additional classroom space. :) (I need the space because this year I am teaching 4 teenage girls, only one of which is my own child.) We also have a desk and computer in one corner of the living room. Homeschooling is taking over the whole house! The first picture (013.jpg) is from the doorway of our original (10 x 12) school room, looking into the room from the foyer (10 x 7). Behind the door is a set narrow shelves just the right size for paperback books.The double doors are the doors to a storage closet where we keep art supplies, science supplies, extra books, and lots more. The basket in front of the closet doors is where our kitty sleeps every night. :) The second picture (014.jpg) is the same room from another angle. The window is my kitchen window. (Remember this used to be a porch.) Dh built all the bookcases! The third picture (016.jpg) is the (10 x 18) room that I converted into a den and 2nd school room, looking towards the foyer. On the right is a big filing cabinet that doubles as a worktable (there's paper cutter, hole puncher, comb binder, and postal scale on top). Dh built the suspended bookshelves (attached to the wall) all around the room. Most of the books you see on those shelves are his books. (He's a minister, and still works in this room sometimes, so most of the books are theology and Bible study books and the like, although some are homeschool books.) Dh also built the tall bookcase you can see in the foyer where we store many of our games and puzzles. The door you see to the right of the shelves of games is the bathroom door; to the left is the door to the original school room. The fourth picture (017.jpg) is a view of the den/2nd school room area from the foyer. On the right is a table where students work, and on the left is a storage cabinet and an old secondhand bookcase with sagging shelves. (Dh didn't build that one. ;)) At the far end is a couch, beanbag chairs, a mini refrigerator (with my copier/fax/printer on top!), and a television; ER & EK keep their video games and game systems in the totes and baskets under the a/c. The three blue totes stacked in the corner contain sewing and knitting stuff--yarn, fabric, thread, notions, etc. The sofa is a sleeper sofa, so this area doubles as a guest room. :) The fifth picture (018.jpg) is the desk area in the living room, next to the fireplace. The window you see looks out into the foyer I mentioned earlier; it's actually a sliding door; it used to be our back door before we enclosed the back porch and made office and school room space out of it. On the other side of the sliding door is my sewing table, in the corner of the foyer opposite the bathroom door. I hope you enjoyed the tour!

;)

:iagree: If the water was off, it would've been hard to get a bucket of water, but lots of stores sell jugs of water pretty cheap. The right thing to do would have been to drive to a store & buy a couple of gallons of water, then drive back to the house & use them to flush the toilet. :iagree: I would definitely complain!

Thank you!!!

Family of 4 (2 parents, 1 young adult male, 1 teen girl) here plus one extra teen for lunch Mon-Thurs and my budget is up to $100 per week.

I'm not sure what's the "rule", but I know how we've always done it, whether eating at home or elsewhere.