It was joint and involved metrics, rankings, and computer programming. We are dorks.

Thanks for the input. This is helpful!

Thanks for the input! I am ordering up your suggestions via ILL so we can take a look at some options. I know you can't do it all, but we want to! Ha ha!

I went to public middle school in the late 80s and both boys and girls were required to take home ec, shop, personal finance, and etiquette. Over the three years of middle school, the time added up to one full year each of home ec and shop and a semester each of finance and etiquette. Home ec did not cover anything fancy. Lots of desserts and quick breads. But we also learned how to follow a recipe, prepare eggs, basic knife skills, safety, sanitation, timing different aspects of cooking, etc.... We also learned basic sewing. We learned meal planning and budgeting (as well as tax basics, balancing a checkbook, investment basics, etc....) in the finance class. My mom worked full time and was not a stellar cook so the only cooking/sewing/shopping/budgeting instruction I got was from these classes. These are the baselines from which I learned all of what I do now. I think it was valuable, even for a kid that came from a solid middle class family. I would rather see these classes in schools than force every kid into taking physics or pre-calc.

There are lots of thoughts swirling through my head on this. The SNAP changes I heard about this morning on the news are discouraging. I cannot even begin to explain all of the reasons this will be a huge step backwards. It is just part of a bigger narrative to demonize those who use/need "entitlements." I would also like to see infrastructure changes to help us have more walkable/bike-friendly cities and better public transit. I don't buy the "It's too cold, too far, too many things to carry" arguments. I currently live in a house and city that was planned and built well before cars were a thing. It also happens to be in an extremely cold and punishing environment. The people who lived and worked here got around before cars despite having much harder lives. And we could now, theoretically. I rarely drive more than 2 miles at a time. Dh and my places of employment are within one mile from my house. I could walk to 95% of the places I need to go assuming I was not picky about which grocery store or which hairdresser I went to. I often spend significantly MORE calories and time trying to get my car out of the snow than I would walking to wherever I am going! I won't even discuss how much time (and gas) I waste searching for a parking spot at my place of employment. Last week, I spent more time looking for a parking spot than it would have taken me to walk to work had there been a safe way to do so. But. We no longer have sidewalks. We don't have streetlights. We have way too many vehicles driving WAY too fast to make walking on the roads pleasant or safe. That is "car culture." It is not the weather, it is the lack of infrastructure. We made this and we could easily fix it.

I have looked at older threads on this topic and am hoping to get some new opinions. Dd is in 9th grade and has been studying ancient history and literature TWTM-style using The History of the Ancient World and the Great Books list in TWTM. It has been going well. Now I am looking to next year. In my planning, I had some unknowns that now must be resolved. We like the 4-year history cycle and tying it into the literature. That is great. One roadblock I knew we were going to hit right away was how to deal with the second year of the cycle. Dd likes Susan's books but finishing the Ancients in a single year is going to be enough of a feat. To stay on schedule and use her next books, we are looking at attempting to cover The History of the Medieval World and The History of the Renaissance World in a single year. What have people done here? I see a few options: 1. Dd could get through both books on a more surface level. 2. She could go as in-depth as she has been but would need to skip a significant amount of chapters. I don't know how we would even decide which to skip. 3. She could use another text. Anyone use Norman Cantor's The Civilization of the Middle Ages? It is recommended in TWTM but says it has a "focus on Europe." I don't know if that means it would not be sufficient as a stand-alone spine. Anyone know? Simplicity is important for dd. A single spine is best for her. As soon as we start juggling too many resources, she gets overwhelmed. I am open to any other ideas too! I can see that some of my other unknowns are going to be biting me soon. Looking ahead to years 3 and 4 or the history cycle, I worry about covering everything without overdoing it. I can get onboard with styling those last two years in a way that a full year of US History can be counted. However, I am even more in the dark for these years when it comes to finding an appropriate spine. Suggestions? I don't see any way to cover government and econ without those being additional credits. If anyone has stumbled upon a brilliant solution to those issues, I am all ears!

I didn't want to hijack the other CS threads with my specific questions. Dd would like to take a programming class next year. I have been researching different options and Edhesive Intro to Computer Science is currently at the top of my list. I see there are semester and year-long options. Anyone know if the semester option covers 1/2 of the year-long or is it the same content at double the speed? Is this course a good option for someone with zero programming experience?

We are off schedule here but spent way too many hours glued to the skiathlon and biathlon events over the weekend. The biathlon is so stressful! I'm really not sure why I do it to myself....

I actually don't know. It has not come up in the class itself AFAIK.

My dd is taking it right now and does not find the workload heavy. 5-8 hours per week, including class time. It bumps up to 8 hours on weeks when there is a more involved lab due or dd is studying for a test.

Thanks. Yes, I need to get over my disdain for test prep. No panic yet. I think our plans remain the same except I will now start the daunting task of finding a PSAT site and will add test prep to the docket in future years. It may be that everything will look the same. Half price at the local university may very well still be the best deal we can find even if dd does qualify for merit aid. Especially since we can reduce housing costs. It is highly ranked in the degree programs she is interested in and is also highly competitive in her chosen sport, so it is a good choice regardless of cost savings.

Most of the mothers that I know did have an occasional glass of wine or beer while pg, especially during the 3rd trimester, myself included. And I know several that did drink more than a single drink in one sitting before they knew they were pg, myself included. But I do not know of anyone that drank more than a single occasional drink once they knew they were pg. I do know several women who were not able to completely quit smoking while pg though. Some of my close friends are still expanding their families and I have noticed that they are more likely to 100% abstain now than they were in during prior pregnancies. So, anecdotally, in my circles, drinking while pg seems to be less common recently.

Oh boy. This just jangled something in the back of my mind that I heard our local districts might be going in this direction. That could even be why it was mentioned by the school. A hint, perhaps? I don't know any other local homeschoolers doing high school. All of dd's friends go to school and the few homeschoolers we knew when dd was younger entered school in middle school or high school at the latest. So, I feel like I am in unchartered territory. And we live in an odd geographically isolated area so things like non-school-affiliated testing sites are just not a thing. With no private schools, dd is one of very few people who would be affected by a lack of available testing sites. Sounds like I had better do some more research in case taking SAT/ACT might require significant travel.

Definitely contact the instructor. I use Canvas for my classes and there are some defaults in the grade book that can mess up the score that appears there. It could also be weighting as another poster mentioned. I always download my grade book and hand-calculate a few test students before I trust the math. I have found errors in the past and it is usually because I missed a default. I have also miskeyed a grade going into our university's system. It is easy to do when I have 100+ students.

This is a big issue for us. The closest private school is two hours away and our local public schools are very hostile towards homeschoolers for reasons I do not understand. I have posted here before about my struggles to find an AP exam site. It was when asking our local districts about this that I was informed she would NOT be allowed to sit for the PSAT either. The district I actually live in informed me, in writing(!), that if they had their way, she wouldn't be allowed for the SAT or ACT either. That is about when I decided it was not worth the effort since I didn't see National Merit Scholarship as reachable anyway. It probably still isn't, I guessing, but I will leave it up to dd. If she wants to take the PSAT, I'll look for a site. Sigh. This also means no more AP exams. I found a boarding school out of state that will allow her to take this one exam but I am not going through that hassle again.

She is still a little mad about being ambushed with the Iowa test to begin with so I will give it a little time then try a practice test or two. It is sort of a side note, but on the paper thing, I agree that it makes the most sense to replicate the actual test scenario as much as possible. I worried about dd taking the AP Latin exam simply because she did not have much practice with hand-writing essays in a timed environment. We have been doing some practice essays by hand at home as recommended by her teacher. The first 2-3 were really difficult. I started asking her to do some of her history and rhetoric writing by hand just to start developing the skill and stamina. Dd really struggles with not having the ability to edit on the fly like she can when typing. That is not a lesson she needed to learn during the exam! AP Latin at 14 was sort of an accident but I'm glad we did it. Dd has learned many non-Latin related lessons from these last four years. But it has been tough and her age was a factor for sure. If I could do it over again, I would have started her at least one year later.

Good to know, even if anecdotal. Some practice tests might shed some light on most of my uncertainties. I just really REALLY hate teaching to tests or anything test prep. Practice testing falls into the same category for me which is why I planned to avoid it. But I am reconsidering this stance now.

14yo dd took her first standardized test (Iowa Test of Educational Development) a few weeks ago. I had her take it for three reasons. The first was purely for my own curiosity. Second was to have another form of outside evaluation. And the third was to check a box for possible application to a semester school in which dd has expressed possible interest. Dd has taken very few tests in general, just what has been required in the few outsourced classes she has taken, and was not given any direction on how to take a standardized test. In fact, I ambushed her with the test one morning. She tends to have high anxiety and I knew she would unnecessarily fret over it had she known it was coming. I know little about this particular test. I selected in because it was easily accessible to homeschoolers, was affordable, and was recommended by the semester school. I assume it is legit or else the semester school would likely not have pointed us to it. If anyone knows anything about it, I am all ears. Dd has always been homeschooled. I have always considered her motivated and bright but not atypically intelligent. She seems pretty typical with ups and downs in different subjects. I do know I have high, and even perhaps skewed, expectations so my assessment of her intellectual capacities may not be accurate. Dd has done very well in her few outsourced classes and has received As in every one she has taken. Again, she has had struggles (I'm talking to you AP Lukeion Latin!) but has always earned high marks. We got the test results yesterday. I was pretty shocked to find that her composite score was in the 99th percentile. After the initial shock wore off, dh and I were talking about it and recalling our own school-based standardized testing experiences growing up. We both recall, but have no actual proof, that we also scored in the 90s for these types of tests.....but that most people we knew also did, including our siblings. Which of course made us wonder how much stock to put into these types of scores. We went to good schools and grew up pretty darn privileged as middle class kids with parents that valued education. Perhaps most students in that situation score highly? Is what I am seeing with dd's scores more likely to be a result of high expectations and carefully planned home education rather than a measure of academic talent? Up until now my own untested mostly-gut-driven assessments had me ruling out pursuing merit scholarships. But now I am questioning. Should I be questioning or are these standardized tests something that should not be taken too seriously? Perhaps 99th percentile really doesn't mean much? This is going to sound sacrilegious on this forum but the very idea of test prep for the SAT and ACT was not in my plan for dd. I figured she would score well enough without prepping to easily land admission to the local university where I teach, which means she goes for half price. No need to waste time we could be spending on other subjects and pursuits. I was not even planning to have her take the PSAT as our local schools do not allow homeschoolers to sit for it. Now I am starting to wonder if I should reconsider. Opinions, thoughts, experiences?

It's also covering-their-ass situation. The ladders are not made to the same standard as regular ladders so they say that so you don't try to use it as a regular ladder. There is not a safety factor of 2+ and not meant to handle repeat fatigue cycles, like a regular ladder. Ours is a pain to put back together but not impossible. ETA: It's not like you are going to be standing there with your house on fire and be like, "Gee, I guess I'll just sit here in the fire because this ladder was opened once."

Our bedrooms are at great heights. The master windows open up to a porch roof so that is an easy egress. Dd's is a three story drop. We bought a fire ladder when she moved into that room. It is "single use" and there is pretty much no way I would ever have her practice climbing down it, but we do a drill about once a year to make sure she can open the window, pop the screen, and hook up the ladder securely. It is a little tricky with our window frames so we feel this is necessary. We also have a meet up location planned. Unfortunately, like many people, our stupid alarms go off all the time for no reason we can figure so no one takes them seriously anymore.

I'm interested! Can you share the title. My Amazon search found too many people with that name for me to find it.

Oh boy. This worried me. I have a strong family history of cardiovascular issues and exercise for at least one hour daily. Most of the activities I do are at a moderate heart rate and likely fall into the lower risk category. However, my very favorite activity, which one can guess at by my user name, requires a much higher heart rate just to keep moving. Despite years and years of training and striving to improve my technique, I cannot get that heart rate down. I have noticed, just anecdotally, that an unsettling amount of people tend to drop dead while doing this sport. Very healthy and active older people. I was even in a race with a guy that had a heart attack right in front of me (he survived and even raced again the next year). I have always thought that was a strong possibility for me and now I am even more convinced. My dd also does this sport and her team does train year round. However, I am pretty impressed with her coaches. They cross train in the off season, focussing activity on fun and diversity. And they cap heart rate levels during in-season training. Luckily, those kids do have good enough technique to be able to regulate their heart rate better than I do.

I'm curious to hear from people who have successfully been through the process who did not do this. We will be counting outsourced foreign language from pre-high school years and I do not have anything like this to include. I'm wondering if this is going to be a problem.

Absolutely. Now I have a squeaky-clean 14yo. She has friends over. Good kids that I know personally and trust. Had this happened now, I would have to turn suspicious eyes towards them. Which would be awful. I shared this story to illustrate why locking up meds is important even if you trust your kids and everyone else who comes in your house. Clearly, in my case, SOMEONE took them. And the choices aren't great. It is either a disabled-yet-some-how-capable-of-scaling-appliances grandmother, a very crafty contractor, a trusted sitter, someone who broke into my house while leaving everything else completely undisturbed, or sadly (and most likely) someone I continue to know well and trust. It is not an awesome place to be. And it could have been avoided had I known (and done) better.

No. That is why I still get shifty when thinking about it. I cannot rule out that they are unrelated and that it could have been one of the contractors or sitters. I was always home when the contractors were here and they were not working in that room. They were primarily working outside and only came in to either use the restroom or turn the power on/off. It would have been pretty hard for me to miss if any of them had been in the laundry room, especially long enough to find the meds. The two sitters we had at the time were 14yo and extremely responsible. Both are now successful adults. Even if they were closeted drug users, I cannot see either of them looking in that particular location. They would have had to have ransacked so many other more likely areas first. But you never know. At one of the gatherings, a friend brought her MIL. MIL is the only common link between the three houses. She often accompanies this family for holiday things and had been to all three houses during the time in question. However, she is quite short and not very mobile. She uses a cane to get around. The only way to have gotten that far into my cabinet would have been to either climb up on top of the dryer or to have brought a chair or step ladder into the room. I have at least 6 inches on her and I have to use a stool to get to the back of that cabinet. So again, not impossible but quite unlikely. Dh and I have tried to solve this mystery for years.