That is awesome! For anyone still looking for ideas, I will agree with a previous poster about serving. During times that we have needed extra income, I bartend. I have also waitressed. Both have been very lucrative for me. I always average more than $20/hour (often much more) and the schedule can be quite flexible which helps fit it into our family's schedule. It is not right for everyone. The late hours, being on your feet, and dealing with the usual customer issues can be hard for many. I have had to cut people off, kick people out of bars, and lug kegs around. But if you can swing it, it can be a good gig. The hours go fast, I find it a bit fun, and I don't mind the extra exercise.

My search skills are failing me. If there is an existing review and someone can find it, please let me know! If not, can anyone give a review? We are considering this for 9th grade. Dd is currently taking Derek Owens Physical Science as her first online science class and is having a good experience so far. My impression is it seems a bit light on the time required. We're wondering how WTM Biology might compare and what people think of the class.

We live in a densely packed, mostly-rentals neighborhood so this is constantly an issue. At least 50% of the time, a simple conversation does the trick. We just go over and explain that their music/party/voices carry more than they probably realize and is disturbing our sleep. Half of the time they are sorry and ask us to let them know if it ever gets too loud again.....and then do response well when we do have to remind them. For these people, we try to go the extra mile to keep relations good by waving when we see them outside and sharing cookies and such. The other half of the time, they say they will keep it down but don't. We typically speak with them twice. On the third offense, we go to the landlord if we know who it is. This usually does no good but we feel it part of our due diligence. Most of the local landlords are not local and really don't care at all. After that, we work with the cops. Ours are pretty responsive. We also have a FB group for all of the owner-occupiers in our neighborhood and we communicate with each other when there is an issue. We even have a couple of police officers in the group. We rotate who calls the cops or goes to speak with the offenders so that they know it is multiple houses that are complaining which reduces the risk of retaliation. We have had a few that are borderline threatening and we use the group so that more than one person can go in case there is an issue.

My 13 yo has never been able to fall asleep easily. I should have known we were in trouble when she only slept for 9 of her first 24 hours! Even as an infant, she would happily stare at the ceiling for hours after "bedtime." Luckily she was content.....until she could move under her own power. Then we were in trouble. We have tried everything and finally gave up around the time she turned 10. The drama around trying to "fix" it probably caused more issues anyway. At age 10, we started shifting the focus on getting dd more independent so that she could manage her own time after "lights out." That is where we are now. Dd is mostly self-sufficient after bedtime each night. She is to be in her room at 9pm. What she does after that is up to her except it must be quiet and no electronics are allowed (aside from music). She is usually still awake when I go to bed at 11-midnight. She still gets up with the rest of us at 7am. I'm sure it is to enough sleep but she is healthy and does not seem tired most of the time. So, to answer your question, no, it did not change for us. But we are in a better place. Camps and sleepovers are hard for dd and we all suffer when forced to share a hotel room, but other than that it has become manageable.

Dd's main sport has very intense training during winter break. We miss it every other year for travel. She is not the only one. Because it is not a performance, it does not hurt the team when dd has to miss it, but it is a blow for dd. I would not agree to any activity that had required participation during the winter break as our travel is not optional.

Dh and I both had part-time jobs from the time we were first able to work, sometimes multiple jobs. I am pretty good with finances. Dh is terrible. So, anecdotally, no correlation there. My 13 yo dd is already earning substantial cash by babysitting, cat sitting, and playing her instrument. She pays for her own summer camps, extra music equipment, all of the standard "teen" expenses, and still has an impressive savings account. Despite the fact that both dh and I had good experiences entering the workforce at early ages, I do not see dd getting a traditional "after-school" or summer job at all before she becomes an adult. There are few jobs like that available locally and she has interests that make her time difficult to schedule. She is already very good with money despite not being specifically taught or having a "real" job. I think it is purely personality. So, I am not concerned.

My dd has a 4s that she uses as an iPod. The operating system can no longer be updated so she is starting to see issues with newer apps. And the battery does stink. This does not matter for how she is using it but would be an issue if she needed certain apps or a good battery.

We do so randomly. Dd has had a phone since she was 10yo and we made it clear that we could and would be checking in on it (and her email, instagram, etc....) whenever we felt like it. We also check her browser history on her laptop. We know she can delete but she also knows a suspiciously empty inbox or history is also grounds for termination of her access. We are close to most of her friends' parents and they also have the same policy so we all policing the kids as a group.

Yep. And maybe the egg salad.

In addition to everything else suggested, I would also suggest a second opinion if you haven't done that yet. I went to a new dentist once as a young adult and after having never had a cavity my entire life, he told me I had four! I got a second opinion and as told that I had none. And I didn't. That was over 20 years ago and I still have not had any treated cavities. I brought this up with our current dentist as we are acquainted outside of the dentist office. He said that there is a great deal of variation in what one dentist will call a "cavity" and what others will. He calls himself a "conservative" dentist that takes a wait-and-see approach more often than average. Several times, we have left an appointment with him saying he saw a "soft spot" or "possible cavity" on dd's teeth and that he would prefer to just "watch it." In all but one case, the issue resolved itself. He told me many dentists will treat those as cavities. I had no idea that there was any sort of gray area when it came to cavities until he told me all of this. BTW, he is also a proponent of leaving wisdom teeth unless there is an issue and was on the flossing-probably-doesn't-help-much bandwagon years before the newest studies were released. So, in your case, I am sure your kids do indeed have more dental problems than average but it might be worth a discussion with another dentist or two to make sure it is as bad as it seems.

Huh. I have a 20yo KA, base model that I make bread in weekly. Two consecutive batches which adds up to at least 20 minutes of kneading. And if I am particularly disorganized, that is sometimes after using it to grind the flour right beforehand. The machine has issues (specifically a loose tilt pin which means I have to watch it carefully) but burning out is not one of them.

As usual, lots of great advice. Thanks! This helps me to start to map things out. Is it still the case that some colleges only take one or the other of ACT and SAT or are they now universal? If they are both generally accepted everywhere, is there any reason to take both? Good to know about SAT 2 tests. I will have to research what might be needed. It is so hard to say this far out when I really have no idea what dd might want to do 3+ years from now. But she is currently taking Latin 3 so the SAT 2 for that is something that we might have to figure out sooner than later. I am not 100% opposed to test prep. It sounds like I need to be more open to it. I don't want to miss out on financial rewards even if I have little concern about specific scores being needed to get into the schools dd is likely to be interested in. Unfortunately, I am dealing with local school districts that are downright hostile to homeschoolers so that is another factor. I know anyone can sign up for the ACT and SAT but what about the PSAT? If that requires any sort of cooperation from the school district, I can just about guarantee it will be a bitter fight.

We only eat them in season. Like a lot of produce, we tend to eat lots and lots during the season then not at all until the next year. This year's local apples are really good.

Dd is in 8th grade and I am just starting to wrap my brain around what high school might look like. I have scoured the pinned threads about all sorts of topics. The topic of the week for me is testing. I understand that there are all sorts of testing and I see that many take the tests multiple times. I am having trouble figuring out what makes sense in my dd's situation. First question: Can someone who has been through this lay out what the bare minimum a bright but not gifted college-bound high schooler should consider in regards to testing and the timing of that testing? For instance, some 11th graders we know are taking the PSAT but I thought students take the SAT in 11th grade? Then I know of 9th graders taking the PSAT. I'm so confused! And what is the PSAT for anyway?!? Some background that might be helpful.... Dd will likely take some DE classes. My guess is that she will not be in the running for NM scholarships but it is not out of the question. We have no idea what sort of college she may want to attend but it is somewhat likely she will at least start at our local university in which she will have taken DE classes from and which is selective but nowhere near ivy-level-selective. There is also a significant, yet slight, possibility that she would pursue going abroad for college. Second question: I hate the idea of spending precious time on studying for these tests. I am OK with slightly lower scores in trade for saved time. Is this crazy talk? Aside from a practice test or two and perhaps some very brief discussions on test strategy, I would prefer to not spend time on studying for these tests. Anyone do this or would this be so far out of the range of what most students do that she would be at a significant disadvantage?

I didn't have one for 4-6. I just didn't find I used them that often but I am pretty mathy and found that I already think the way SM teaches so could get by without it. SM 6 was by far the easiest to do without the HIG so you will probably be OK. I was also in the same boat in that I felt dd needed that 6th year and now that she is doing very well is AOPS Algebra, I think it was a year very well spent.

Not weird at all. This is totally normal and the only acceptable way to eat either food.

I wear those puffy vests a lot as do many people I know. Keeping your core warm goes a long way. I usually wear mine indoors on top of a long sleeve shirt and sweatshirt/sweater on extra-cold days. Or as another layer under my winter coat when outdoors on extra cold days. But I live in an area where everyone also wears scarves, long johns, and often hats indoors most of the winter. Most houses and many businesses are not heated to over 60 degrees during the day.

Writing their events on their arms. You list the event and time so they know when to be on deck. However, do be warned......some kids have "eraser-skin." My dd does. It seems no matter the sharpie color, it would rub off quickly with toweling. Once or twice, her events had rubbed off before her last events so I also listed her events on an index card inside a ziplock bag safety-pinned to her bag so she had somewhere to look if she could not read her arm. In our case, the meets were total chaos, the coaches/volunteers do not help anyone over 8 at all, and the parents were sometimes not able to get to the kids so dd had to be able to figure this all out on her own. Anything I could do to make sure she was prepared was helpful.

You said it! I try to stay out of these "discussions" because it always ends the same way. And every time, my opinions of Christians decreases markedly. Whatever happened to leaving the judgement up to God? Isn't that in the bible somewhere? I don't care how many bible verses one throws around, it is not going to make it OK to decide that one's religious beliefs should be grounds for allowing illegal discrimination of a protected group of people. One can say something is or is not "scriptural" until they are blue in the face, but the fact is anyone can say anything is their "scriptural religious belief." There is no one single way to interpret the bible. There just isn't. Everyone thinks they are "right." And don't tell me to just "go to another baker." I probably would but would also be complaining to the appropriate authorities and/or pursuing legal action. Because if I didn't, then I would be just standing by allowing illegal discrimination. It is not "mean," it is making sure our laws are upheld.

Taco salad? We use them all the time as "croutons" on salads and in soups. Any soup, really....does not have to be tortilla soup.

Wow. I didn't know this was a thing. I have experienced this and just thought I was crazy. I even get a mild form of it sometimes after doing too many flip turns while lap swimming. I feel (and look) drunk in the locker room afterwards and once I even had to call dh to pick me up because I was afraid to drive. I have had it last up to two weeks after extended time on a boat. I did bring it up with my doctor once and she had no idea what it could be.

One of the best things about homeschooling is not having to do annoying fundraisers. I cannot imagine doing one on purpose!

Another update. After I-don't-know-how-many phone calls, I found one! There is a public school district two hours from my house that says they will be happy to work with us even thought they don't offer the class in question. Phew.

DE is very much part of dd's high school plan. Given the difficulties of test access, she might not take another AP class at all. But dd has been with a specific online provider of the subject at hand for going on three years and would like to complete the sequence for the final (AP) year, which I support even if she cannot take the exam and still chooses to continue with that provider. My efforts to find a place to take the test is to give dd all of the information before she chooses whether to register for the fourth year. I do not see a DE alternative for this particular subject at this time.

Thanks for this. I did get a response from the superintendent and in my response to her response, I will include that link and wording. She apologized for the rudeness of the response but did say it was school policy to not allow homeschoolers access to the tests. I did contact CB first to ask for coordinators but they said they would not be available until January 1. But, with our local schools, they are so small I was able to find out who the coordinators were by asking around. I will be casting the net further as I continue to search for a solution.