Thanks for all the suggestions. I hadn't heard of any of these options, so appreciate the information & will let my daughter check them out to see if any look interesting to her.

My daughter just turned 15, finishing 9th grade, and has OCD/anxiety. She is very smart, but writing has never been her favorite subject. When she was younger I thought it was the physical act of writing and her need for perfection. The cycle of writing, erasing, re-writing was painful to watch, but she types most things now, so that is not the issue anymore. Admittedly I have been relaxed with formal writing and we just discussed things. And when she was younger that worked. For 8th and 9th grade she did Oak Meadow for most subjects, which allows for a lot of options for assignments, and I notice she tends to avoid writing papers but chooses the presentations or other less writing intensive options. She is an avid reader and does enjoy writing poetry, but formal papers seem to take her forever. She can literally spend hours trying to get started or gets caught in the writing/deleting cycle. Writing a paper almost always ends in tears. I am trying to find a writing curriculum we can use that will help give her guidance and structure and prepare her for high school level writing and beyond (and doesn't feel too juvenile). She is definitely college bound so we need to step up our writing expectations as she progresses through high school. I believe she needs the steps broken down into manageable pieces so it's not so overwhelming, but I really don't know what will work at this point. Brave Writer was suggested to us and we tried an online class this year, but honestly it seemed very expensive for what it taught. It was encouraging, but I feel like she needs instruction not just inspiration. I've considered purchasing the curriculum to do on our own, but not convinced it is really the best option for our situation. Anyone else face a similar issue and have suggestions?

My 14 daughter was going to attend a charter school, but last minute our plans changed and we find ourselves homeschooling high school. It's been over ten years since I homeschooled a high schooler and there are so many more options now I am a bit overwhelmed. And apparently the SAT has changed. Although my husband and I are both fairly capable of teaching math, I work full-time from home right now and my husband struggles with multiple chronic health issues, so it's just not an ideal situation for a parent intensive math program. We are leaning towards something that she can do mostly without us, but not "live" classes due to the cost and the fact most classes have started already. She's good at math, but doesn't enjoy it. Personally, I think it's because she's been doing Saxon for the last few years. She is self-motivated and always gets her work done. She's college bound, so a solid foundation is important. However, I would be surprised if she were to pursue a STEM degree. But she's young, so who knows. She has done very well with Saxon through Algebra, but not sure how much she is retaining. She prefers to stick with Saxon, as it's the method she knows. I am concerned this route won't prepare her well for the SAT, but not really sure. I've read the Saxon videos for Geometry are pretty useless, Art Reed doesn't appear to do videos for the Geometry specific course, and we don't want religious videos. So that seems to leave Nicole the Math Lady and My Math Assistant. Neither of which look that impressive to me. Anyone use these? Or any other Saxon options I am missing? Other options I am considering are Derek Owens, Thinkwell, and Mr D. DO uses the geometry text I homeschooled an older sibling with, and I remember those math lessons took us forever. Anyone have thoughts on how long DO Geometry takes an average ability math kid? Thinkwell seems to have mixed reviews ad I'm concerned Mr D isn't rigorous enough. Ugh. I have tried to read through the geometry threads and watched several sample lessons, but still unclear what geometry makes the most sense for her. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. Basically, I need a solid math program that she can mostly complete without us, doesn't take more than 1-1.5 hours a day, and won't be too frustrating/difficult for kids that doesn't love math right now.

My oldest daughter was struggling in high school in an early college program. She ended up in counseling and eventually tested and diagnosed with ADD and a nonverbal learning disorder. She was 17. We felt terrible. We didn't associate her behaviors with ADD, as they weren't the typical hyper active symptoms we usually hear about. And we had never even heard of NVLD before, so that was a complete shock. She did find a medication that helped with her attention, but the diagnosis of a NVLD was really devastating for her. And there aren't a lot of resources for it. So, yes older teens and adults definitely do get diagnosed with learning disabilities.

I have a teen with OCD, often debilitating for her. We've tried numerous meds, but they all have had to be discontinued due to side effects. I think it is very difficult to know if a medication will work or cause problems until you try them. I honestly wish we could just give her a pill and her OCD would get better or go away, but it just hasn't been that easy. I know you are asking about SSRIs, but since meds haven't worked for us we've had to look for other treatments. One of the most helpful things we have found for her anxiety, OCD, and sleep issues is an Alpha-Stim. It's an electrotherapy device you wear on your ears. I thought it was really odd when one of her mental health providers suggested it, but they had one in the office we could borrow for a month's trial, and surprisingly after about 3 weeks it started helping her. We could never get our insurance to pay for it, but we bought it and she uses it daily. If she misses a day it is very obvious. It might be worth looking into.

I think it really depends on the specific school/district and if they have space. I have known families to do this part-time option at a local brick and mortar, then be told the next year, due to overcrowding, they had to enroll full-time or not at all. But overall, Oregon has pretty ok homeschool laws. We have to register, test during particular grade levels, and get our districts sign-off for the DMV (kind of weird to me) before getting driver's permit, at least that was the rule when my oldest started driving. I am not sure I would consider them progressive, I think it just helps fund the schools if they get more students into the classrooms, but maybe that is negative thinking on my part.

I haven't read all the replies, but I grade skipped in elementary school and then completed high school in 2.5 years and I don't resent my parents or the school, however, it seems like most kids that need to grade skip will probably need to accelerate more than one grade to make any impact. Overall, grade skipping doesn't solve much long term, that is the main reason I homeschool my daughter-even if it is costing me a small fortune :) I was a late bloomer, and being extremely young made that all the more obvious, especially in the middle school years. I think that is just something to keep in mind. Entering college early wasn't a problem for me, it was the first time I enjoyed school. In hindsight, I should have gone sooner. On the other hand, I have a sister that is still angry that she skipped a grade and went to college so young.... there are no easy answers.

My husband deals with chronic pain and only after numerous physicians suggested he tried it, did it even cross our minds. He has been using it for a couple years now and for him, the tinctures work way better (and cost waaaay more) than the other forms of cannabis oil. We live in a state that recently made marijuana legal recreationally, and we now are unable to find the right tinctures, party due to the new regs and partly due to the profit margins, but that is another issue. Anyway, for him the tincture works better than morphine for pain. He does use the less expensive cannabis oil mixed with lotion and some essential oils (rosemary and mint, mostly to combat the cannabis odor) and uses it like lotion over his most painful areas and that seems to help quite a bit, but not as much as taking it orally. I must warn you, it tastes and smells awful, so you might want to buy gelatin capsules, usually in the health food store, to put the oil/tincture into that way you don't taste it. I was never a pro-pot person, but I have seen that medical cannabis can have a positive impact. It has not been a miraculous cure for him, but it does help more than anything else he has tried, and hasn't really had negative side effects. We have a family friend with Parkinson's and she also found the high CBDs helpful, but can't afford to continue use. In our experience, the shops are a mixed bag with advice. A lot of the owners seem to just be stoners who now can make a legal living, so they don't necessarily understand you don't want the mind altering affects, just the pain reduction. It seems like you pretty much have to experiment with dosage and what percentages work for you, and that can be costly and frustrating. If it were my child, I would try high CBDs. I personally don't think it has nearly the side effects of most major prescription pain meds. We have pretty much kept it to ourselves that my husband uses medical marijuana because there is so much negativity surrounding it. So just be prepared for that aspect if you should choose to try it. Even though it's helped my husband, even close family has been pretty rude about it.

I started homeschooling my oldest over 15 years ago and didn't give a lot of thought to homeschooling my youngest (now 10) until dad became chronically ill and now on permanent disability. He is a disabled veteran with a lot of chronic symptoms/syndromes and unexplained neuromuscular issues. I have had to go back to college and try to start up a career after a nearly 20 year stint as a stay at home mom, now dad is homeschooling (something he never dreamed of) and is ill to boot. Not the ideal situation, but our daughter wants to keep homeschooling. He will be glad to know others teach from the couch, recliner, bed, etc on bad days. We are actually trying to find some more independent options for next year, so she can work mostly on her own if necessary. I appreciate his efforts homeschooling, and I know my daughter appreciates the time she gets to spend with her dad. Overall, we are just taking it one year at a time.

Thank you for all the replies. I didn't understand about the course swaps, that makes it a lot more appealing.

I have been homeschooling a long time and really enjoy pouring over curriculum choices and spending the day homeschooling my kids. Unfortunately, life has been turned upside down and I find myself tackling the CPA exam and starting grad school, while my now disabled husband homeschools our youngest dd10. He isn't well, so he doesn't have a lot of energy most days, but our kid really wants to stay homeschooling so we are hoping to make it work. I am trying to find more independent options (preferably secular) for 5th grade and I am wondering how much teacher involvement is needed for K12 5th-6th grade levels. I am not referring to using K12 through a charter school, we would be purchasing it as independent users. From the sample lessons it looks confusing, like you are reading online but need to get out books, CDs, etc to finish a lesson. Is this something a 10 yo would need a lot of parental involvement with? And any thoughts on the quality of the courses? Thanks

We live in the Portland area, although it is a beautiful area, I wouldn't say there are a lot of programs for gifted youth. One of the main reasons we homeschool is the public schools are so bad and the gifted programs are non-existent in our local school district. I know a couple of the larger districts have more options, but nothing I would move here for. The homeschooling community is big here though, so that is nice. There are tons of enrichment/homeschool type classes, but I have never come across anything specifically for "gifted" kids and I have been homescooling 10+ years. Perhaps I am not in the loop though. Portland does have a great park and rec system with tons of art and music available and we are home to the nation's first youth orchestra. So those sort of activities to attract very intelligent/gifted kids in our experience. We are considering moving, for different reasons, and I really think finding a community that you'll family will thrive in is important. What what family or gifted kid would love another one not so much. I think you should make a list of the things that are most important and then narrow it down from there. There are some pretty neat city comparison websites where you can enter your preferences and get suggestions. For us the cost of living, traffic, and weather would play a huge part in our decision. Good Luck!

I am not sure what the situation is at that University, since I have never known anyone to start piano at 4, but my daughter started cello at 4 with an instructor with a Ph.D. Having gone through music lessons with two kids now, I personally wouldn't want a "student" teacher. It is a big investment of time and money, so I would want the more qualified instructor. With that said, not all the folks that teach at college are all that good, let alone with young kids. I would try to read bios of the choices or ask someone in the department for a recommendation. They most likely want the program to be successful for both the student and the teacher, so they should point you in the right direction.

As a child I went to an ACE school (in high school) and I think they are very easy, at least at this level. It is really just fill in the blank. Maybe the lower grades are better, but I never even considered it, nor have any of the folks I know that experienced paces as a kid. The overall education you get with PACES is the opposite of "challenging." I do use CLE LA and reading with one of my children and I am quite happy with it. I think CLE requires a lot more reasoning and includes a variety of activities, not just fill in the blank. CLE also seems to update their stuff more frequently.

We did some of the early Kumon books, they are more cutting/pasting/folding type than workbook style. Some were a bit too frustrating for my kid at 2 though, as she didn't have great fine motor skills. We also had a lot of success with mazes (lots and lots of mazes), puzzles, tanagrams, magnetic pattern blocks, building train tracks, etc. during these years. While my daughter was never into playdough or coloring, she did enjoy making bigger messes, like cooking or painting. Perhaps finding something of interest for imaginary play? That can occupy hours of time, if you can find the right thing for the right kid. For my youngest it was those little Schleich animals. She just loved them. I broke down and started teaching her phonics at 3 because she had already started teaching herself to sight read. But I wouldn't be in too big of a rush to start formal school stuff, especially if he hates workbooks. And for what it is worth, my daughter hated those Leap Frog videos. Although I know a ton of people love them, they apparently aren't a hit with every toddler :)