My Ds (grade 9this year) did windows to the world, and wrote lit analysis papers for the first time this year. Though he has always been a strong reader and writer, and I tried lit analysis earlier due to that, it didn't "click" until this year. It's a great program, by the way, and cheap, so you could try it and if it doesn't work out shelve it for a year. My Ds could write and think about literature only in the "book report" way, as in who, what, where type stuff (I'm sure there is a word for this, but it's early here...) until this year, I do think it's a developmental thing to be able to analyze literature and think about it at a deeper level.

Ah, good to know! I hadn't thought of extra-curriculars...he basically has none, so instead of grouping the bands with music theory, I will put them in extra-curriculars. He helps assist at the beginning band, too, so that is a nice extra/volunteer type thing. Another question! Is music theory a fine art, or a performing art? I asked Ds, he doesn't know. I'm not at all musical.

Thank you all! I'm bumping this in case anyone has anymore input.

Ds has been dual enrolled since middle school, and it's been fabulous! For one thing, it helped quell the grumblings from family about my kooky idea of home schooling going on so long, lol. It made Ds and I more confident (hey! He can raise his hand and stand in line after all!) and it cemented in Ds (and my) mind that ps full time is not where he wants to be. It also saved us some money in not paying for outsourcing things I couldn't teach well, like foreign language. It does sort of stink to be held to the ps schedule, though. Classes are moved around for finals weeks, and Ds is grumpy he will miss a teen home school get together due to his classes at the high school being moved to afternoon tomorrow. I suppose that helps with learning structure...but we still chafe sometimes.

Ds plays 2 instruments in 2 different home school bands. He doesn't take lessons at the moment (it's expensive and music is a hobby, not a passion, for him so the bands and daily practice are enough) and the bands meet each for one hour a week, with occasional concerts. Can I count this as "band" for an elective credit each year? I can't see a need to have 2 credits, though really I probably could as one is advanced band for one instrument, one intermediate for another. He also takes a music theory class and will take the ap after the second year next year. I was going to just combine the bands and music theory into 1 music credit per year, but since it seems the more credits the merrier, maybe separating them is better?

My Ds attended a middle school part time that awarded high school credit for foreign language. So Ds has 3 years of Chinese, complete with high school transcript of credit awarded, for 6th-8th grade. Seems weird to put it on a hs transcript (a mom-made one that will also include his part time high school stuff) for such early grades, but hey- it's 3 years of Chinese! Should I include it on it's own column (and attach the transcripts from the school), or leave it off? He will end up with a ridiculous 7foreign language credits, if completes the planned 4 years of Russian...

Ds is taking Russian, and has lived in Asia. Our 9th grade year has gone so darn good I'm taking the training wheels off next year (aiming for a Keystone diploma "just in case" and doing a history sequence more in line with ps). He wants to do modern history, of Asia. Communism in China, Vietnam, Japan and WWII, Russia pre and post czar, north and south Korea, Cambodia and Pol Pot, India. Probably also with emphasis on how these events influenced/were influenced by the US, since we are American. Specifically I'd love some sort of spine, he likes textbooks. And anything else anyone may have in the way of resources- audio, video, literature, whatever. Throw em at me! Thanks in advance!

We used sl way back when, in 4th-5th grade for my oldest, 1-2 for my youngest. They adored it, I adored it. Older Ds wanted to so sl high school us history core this year, remembering fondly the elementary version from long ago. It was basically a waste of money. I used it to schedule the Story of US books (light for a spine, but Ds loves them). He read all the core books, but most I did not include as part of his studies, I had to add because they were far too light for high school. The discussions in the ig were also not at ALL how I remember sl being, and it seems there had been a leadership shift I was unaware of. A small example- the Civil War is referred to as the Great War. Take from that what you will. We ended up using hippocampus ap us history writing assignments and lessons, lots of good stuff from the National Endowment for the Humanities for AP US, and online book guides I found via Penguin classics and others for discussions of the literature I added in (The Jungle, Great Gatsby, Scarlet Letter, etc). It worked fine! I need some hand holding in the form of guided discussion, but it is out there online if you search around for most (all?) of the great books that would fit history lessons.

The benefit to starting competition early is, IMO, they are too young to get nervous. Ds started as soon as he turned 6, and when we moved to a place overseas they didn't normally start competitions until 8-9 he was far above the others. Skills wise, they smoked him (gotta love Asian training methods!) in the gym, but they choked at meets. This transferred over to other things- he can act on a stage, shoot a commercial, etc and no nerves, because he started high pressure competitive things so early. So that is one reason to start earlier than later.

What unsinkable said. Most of the anecdotes are of personal experiences, 30 years ago. It is NOT like that now. Since graduation is normally in May, I would say the child is young for their grade. In my area, most likely the youngest. My oldest is summer birthday, and also been dual enrolled in first middle and now high school. Despite making the K cutoff all those years ago where we lived then (Washington state), as the years have gone on, he has always been the youngest student in his grade. Middle was a small expat school, so I thought well- moving around is tough, so that is why. But now we are in one of the top districts in the US, and when I went in to register him the counselor mentioned he would be the youngest 9th grader. By quite a bit. She questioned whether we really wanted to have him in 9th grade classes at his age. She was right- Ds cannot apply to some competitive language summer programs, they are for 9-12 grade, but must be 15 by June 1 or 15 or some date he isn't. Ditto forensic camp. No drivers Ed with peers, must be 15 and 6 months for a permit. It's nice we homeschool except for the 2 dual enrolled classes, but though he is fine academically, it's a pain being the youngest. I would advise any parents with summer b day kids to start academics whenever they want, but not officially notify for kindergarten until age 6. You can always do more, take a gap year, travel, write a novel, get more CC credits, etc...but you can't get around age requirements.

Everything Stephanie said!

I wouldn't mind! Even bed ridden, I could watch tv all day (and not feel the least bit guilty) or listen to audio books (assuming my eyes are shot) on full volume- imagine all the books in the failing years between 90 and 116!? My favorite line of the article was the 122 year old French woman who smoked heavily umtil age 100...why in the heck would you cut back at 100!?

My add child fits a great many of these. He is not hyperactive, but inattentive. His social problems (interrupting, saying things that are mean without meaning to, ignoring or annoying friends) and the reading issue are exactly the same. We didn't medicate until 9, and for academic reasons (he just couldn't read or focus without it) and the social issues we modified with therapy. Or are trying to, anyway, it's a long road.

My question is kind of dumb, lol. I take my 11 year old niece to or fro from dance class at least once a week, and next door is a Halal butcher/Pakistani grocery. We eat a lot of Indian food, and they carry fabulous stuff for far, far cheaper than International Groceries or Whole Foods, so I always combine a trip into the store for garlic or gar am masala or something. Anyway, the couple that owns it is Muslim, and I feel a bit funny when my niece is in tow, dressed in tiny dance clothes, and the owner is in hijab, and her little daughters are pretty covered (but not hair, they are 4-7). I've never been treated with anything but polite behavior, but I wonder, is it disrespectful of me to have her dressed like that in the store? She meets state "no shirt, no shoes, no service" code...but just barely, lol. Personally, I think she should have some sort of cover up for going to and fro from dance, but I'm not her mom.

My first was a 6 day...thing. I went to a training camp, forgot my bcp. Dh brought them to me at the small break (1day) between sessions. We also...uh...well, you know. Because I was sure based on ovulation we were ok. Well, no actually. I spent the last week at the training (by that time about 4 weeks pregnant) climbing mountains with a rucksack and barfing into every other bush. But I was NOT repeating the training, by golly, so I told no one I was pregnant and made it through. So use, in my real world experience (very regular, have pain in ovulation so I know) those swimmers can live a long while!

Woah- glad he is okay! Shock is no joke, I put a knife through my hand, and was "okay" (ie, not going to die or anything) but I went into shock and had to rushed to the hospital for that. Our bodies are so interesting, the actual injury required some stitches and a tetnus shot, but the shock was what kept me at the hospital for so long and was way worse than the actual injury. I hope he makes a full recovery soon, and that you were home in time to help him!

Thank you- I will have to read it (aloud, lol) to my 11 year old dyslexic. He knows his brain is different, but he longs so for a normal one!

When you are the only foreigners in a big town, it's about the same! I went to eat a special stew while Ds was at a sports practice- the next month at a big meet, everyone mentioned I liked that stew. We would roll into a strange town whilst traveling, stop for gas, and by the time we got to a restaurant, everyone knew we were the Americans who spoke chinese with the big foreign car. They knew where we'd been, where were going, it was crazy. It was like living in a fishbowl, but if we ever lost anything, you can bet it made it back to us intact! And my kids had free reign of the country- everyone knew where they were, all the time, lol.

In my perfect fantasy neighborhood, SI lives one side of me and Sweet Brown on the other. I'd just sit on my porch and listen to them talk alll day- heaven!

Hooray! The comments made me giggle- especially the guy disappointed she won't be able to blow herself out of jail using sweet and low packets and Kleenex. (or something like that, lol).

Oh Faith. Wow. I am so, so sorry.

I lost a pregnancy to b strep, so I am extra conscious of it, but if you can get an antibiotic drip at home, then no need to go to the hospital. They would do just the same there.

I don't think there is any harm in meeting the doctor experienced with breech delivery. You may decide it's not for you, but then you will know you explored every option- that is a good thing! I will say I am eternally grateful to the young resident who was chomping at the bit to do a section for calling in the CNm who delivered Ds. he had never been the primary doctor doing a section- I was going to be the first. Obviously, this concerned me, lol. But god bless him, he saw Ds was in no distress, and I was adamant to try, and he called a grouchy old CNm in in the middle of the night (she was a really mean old coot!) and by golly, Ds was born vaginally. Which broke my pelvis, because his head got stuck and the rest of him was hanging out.not what I'd planned, and a section would probably have been easier...except fast forward 4 years and we are living where they will not do vbacs, no exception, so second Ds was a breeze normal birth, not a repeat section, because that resident found a doc to deliver breech, and it saved me a second totally unnecessary surgery. After ds1 was born, I would say never attempt a breech delivery, but after ds2, my tune sure changed! All that to say, what happens, happens for a reason. You don't know now the reason- you can't. But I am confident that whatever happens, your baby turns, you deliver breech, you have a section- it will be the outcome it ought to be.

I love these stories! They are free, and alive, and it's so wonderful to me. I'm so glad they hung on for so long and were reunited with their families at last, what amazing strength.

Aw, I'm sorry! He may still turn- my oldest turned breech at 37 weeks, I'm retrospect I ought to have known, but it was my first pregnancy and I didn't. What a surprise to get dilated and find a butt not a head, despite an ultrasound not 10 days old with him head down. The good news- breech doesn't have to be a c section, if you have acknowledgeable doctor willing to try. Or in my case a midwife, the dr, a resident, called a CNm in who had experience and she delivered Ds. This was a military hospital though, and i think the general culture of non litigiousness (is that a word?) helped. Still, it didn't go nearly as planned, expected or even dreamed. Bad all around. And yet, he is now almost 15 and that mess of a birth is just a blip on the radar. Given all the things over the years that have gone wildly wrong from my plans, and are patently unfair, the birth experience is very small. Which doesn't at all mean you ought not be sad, frustrated, and angry- totally normal to be, and totally ok. It's ok to cry and rage over it! I just mean in the end, it will be ok, no matter what happens. You will get through this, and it will be ok!