No nausea at all with #1 & #4 -- both girls! Horribly nauseous for MONTHS with #2 & #3 -- both boys!

Art of Animation! We stayed there in May with our family of 6 and the suite was ADORABLE! There's a queen bed in the bedroom and a bathroom with a walk-in shower. The kitchen table turns into a murphy bed that is quite comfortable according to my daughters and my sons had no complaints about the sleeper sofa. There's a second bathroom, too, with a shower/tub combination. Now, the kitchenette is small -- it's a mini-fridge and a microwave. Didn't want to give the impression that you could make dinner in it! But it's great for cereal in the morning or heating up a can of spaghetti-o's if your kids are hungry at midnight.

We followed the same path with our Aspie son -- now age 19. We worked on reading and math only for all of elementary school -- we used Sonlight cores and BJU math -- if he popped into the kitchen to watch a science experiment, I was elated! He loved art so we always managed to get that covered. Around middle school I added in writing -- that was like pulling teeth at first! But then found IEW and that worked well for him. For high school, he discovered that he really loved history, especially government and politics, so that's what he focused on. We covered a little bit of world history, but mainly European history -- and he knows more American history than I do! We used Apologia for science -- he struggled with it but did okay -- we covered Biology & Chemistry -- he didn't have the math abilities to tackle the Physics text. We used Teaching Textbooks for math but he never made it past Geometry. We knew at that point that he was going to the community college and he could always find a professor to teach the higher math courses there. Well, long story short, he graduated from our home school last year and is in his 2nd semester at the community college. He's working on a degree in Information Systems Technology, with an emphasis on Network Security. And loving every minute of it!!! He has blossomed socially and doing better than we ever thought possible academically -- he made the Dean's List last Fall with straight A's!! :) I'm one proud mama!

We're using Oak Meadow and my son's enjoying it! Oak Meadow provides a syllabus along with the textbook, which has questions and answers as well as activities for each weekly chapter. Many of the activities are research-style projects and can certainly be completed with the help of a computer. The text is by Glencoe (I think!) --- informative and very colorful with lots of detailed maps. I highly recommend it as it's easy to pick up and go....and my son is able to complete the work independently. Here's a link: http://www.oakmeadow.com/curriculum/high-school-social-studies.php It's the 4th one on the list and there's a sample available to view for the syllabus.

My 22yo dd asked for an apple peeler. :) It makes cute little curly-q apple swirls and cores apples. Bed Bath & Beyond should have some good choices for both ladies.

BOOMER SOONER!!!

Update #3 --- Application still says "in process" so my hubby called the 1-800 number. He was told that we would hear something in the mail *IN THREE WEEKS* if we have been "approved"!!! :cursing: So I guess we won't be able to look online and pick our plans and all that stuff for awhile! This stinks!

Our update: Completed the application early yesterday morning ... about 24 hours ago....and it's still in the verification process. This was supposed to take less than 24 hours but I guess not! Spoke with someone via live chat and they said that, unfortunately, they don't know how long the verification process will take as it varies from application to application and that I should just keep checking. *sigh* So I haven't been able to shop for plans or anything yet.

Success this morning! Sort of... Took about 45 minutes to finally get a profile set up...but then the application process (filling in all the names and other info) went very quickly. Now waiting for application info to be verified...supposed to take less than 24 hours (we'll see!). Then we'll be able to actually see the quotes! :crosses fingers: Our own insurance saga -- dh is self-employed and we've been without health insurance for almost 10 years....so if this works the way I think it's supposed to work, this should be great for us! I mean ... I look at this program as government-subsidized Select Quote. You can go to Select Quote and fill out all of your info for life insurance and then they give you quotes from different insurance companies. You choose the one you want and pay the premium and...voila...you have life insurance. For this, the government is going to help you pay for that insurance if you meet the income qualifications. I don't mind paying ... just keep it affordable!! The last time we had health insurance - almost 10 years ago - we were paying over $1000 a month for coverage. A decade ago! It was easier to just go self-pay and that's what we've done...and it's been hard --- our youngest has special needs and therapy is expensive .. our oldest had her appendix out several years ago, etc. Will keep everyone updated!

Has anyone tried to enroll today? I've been trying off and on since 8am and I can't get past the log-in section! Extremely frustrating!!! :cursing:

I have a few ideas but nothing definite Oldest dd wants a photo printer Oldest ds wants the new Batman game for his X Box 360 Youngest ds wants a Wii U (we'll see about this one!) Youngest dd is the hardest to shop for....not sure what she wants this year....will have to wait until the toy catalogs come out.

I spent over an hour this morning, just reading that message board! LOL Thanks for the suggestion.

My 14yo has no interest in girls whatsoever. His best friend is 15 and in public school and he has no interest in girls (at least not enough of an interest to ask them out on dates! I do think he "checks them out from afar" ... LOL) My 19yo has never had a girlfriend and has no interest in dating....he doesn't dislike girls....he just has no interest in having a relationship. He's happy hanging out with his friends and going to class.

I'll be batty right there with you!! My 13yo uses LOF as a supplement to the new version of TT Algebra --- and we owned the original! The new version is sooo much better! My oldest (now 22) had used the original TT Algebra I and she, being a girl, wasn't as allergic to pencils and paper as my 13yo boy is. ;) Seriously -- he does fine with scratch paper but having it filled in neat and tidy with the properly lined up problems?? No way. Loves the new version where he answers it all on the pc.

Sounds like she's living at home while in college, Azmom? Our oldest is doing the same thing! She's a junior this year and she also has classes 5 days a week. Today was the first day of the new fall semester!

That was probably me! My 13yo is enjoying it --- but we're only a few weeks into school! I think he's completed the first 4 chapters of the Windows Programming book (the Game Programming book is the 2nd semester) He's been able to complete the assignments 100% on his own --- since I can barely understand how to cut and paste...lol....so that's important! Each day's lesson takes maybe 30 minutes? And there's an activity at the end of that week that he spends another 30 minutes or so on. It seems to be a nice introduction course, from what I've seen so far!

Hits & Misses -- Grade 9 Hits --- Teen Coder -- Son loves it!!! Teaching Textbooks Algebra I & Life of Fred Beginning Algebra -- Another great year already underway! Oak Meadow Geography -- See "miss" below. ;) Misses --- Runkle Geography --- Not what I was looking for; focused only on physical Geography, not people / cultures Switched to Oak Meadow Geography (uses the Glencoe text) --- we both love it!!! So/So --- All other curriculum choices earned a "meh" -- not bad, not great (Smarr's Introduction to Literature; Holt Biology; Visual Link Spanish) ................. For my special needs 5th grader, McRuffy 3rd grade is a HUGE hit!!! Love their curriculum! (We're using it for science, math & English). And she loves Beautiful Feet's Geography through Literature -- so two big thumbs up! No misses for her this year. :)

That begins in 5th grade in our Virginia county.

They're in the process now of rolling out FP+ (FastPass Plus), where you will reserve your fastpasses from home 60 days in advance of your trip for your top 3 rides. So you'll want to have that taken care of, in addition to any dining reservations. For us -- we pick where we're staying (on-site or off-site, which resort, etc.) and how many days we're staying and then match up the tickets with the correct # of days. I usually do this 9 months or so in advance. Then, 6 months before the trip, the park hours for the planned visit are released and we decide which parks we're going to on which days and what sit-down meals we're going to reserve. That used to be the end of the planning! Now with FP+, we'll have to plan rides 2 months out as well (normally I just picked a park -- i.e., Tuesday we'll do Magic Kingdom -- I didn't plan it down to "We'll ride the Haunted Mansion at 10am" -- this will be new!) Hope this helps! 266 days away from our 4th trip! :D

Virginia Tech, Radford University, and the University of Mary Washington in Virginia also require SAT-II subject tests from homeschoolers...Virginia Tech & Radford want 2, Mary Washington wants 3....but they are willing to waive them if the students have college credit --- my oldest took classes at the community college via dual enrollment and all three were satisfied with that -- she chose to enroll at Mary Washington.

Exactly. They can't put it on the internet if it isn't true. Everyone knows that.

Yes.....I'm one of the few homeschoolers that I know "in real life" who homeschool through 12th grade. I have 2 homeschool graduates and another one just starting the 9th grade this fall. The majority start putting their children into school when they hit 7th or 8th grade, if not earlier.

I have a 9th grader & a 5th grader (with special needs) this year. My older two children are in college. They're growing up fast!

My 19yo, who has Asperger's, just finished an orientation class at the community college this summer! It was a good experience and he learned a great deal about navigating the campus and remembering to complete assignments on time. He earned an A so that helps a lot in the confidence department, too! He now has 3 weeks off until his fall classes begin (he'll be taking a computer application class & English composition). My oldest daughter completed her AA degree and is now working on her BA at a nearby 4 year college (and commuting from home) -- we have nothing but good things to say about our CC experiences!

English -- Smarr's Intro to Lit, Writing With Skill, Vocabulary from Classical Roots A Math - Teaching Textbooks Algebra I w/ Life of Fred Beginning Algebra History - Runkle Geography Science - Holt Biology w/ Lab Art - Geography through Art Music - Piano Lessons (3rd Year) Foreign Language - Visual Link Spanish I Elective - Teen Coder Windows & Game Programming