We'll be going from Algebra I into Geometry...and sticking with Chalkdust

Don't overlook dual enrollment -- that's our plan for our youngest son, who's an 8th grader. His career goal right now is Journalism. We're then looking mainly at in-state schools - public and private. And, if he isn't accepted, he can stay at the community college and earn his AA degree. He then has guaranteed acceptance at any Virginia in-state public college or university. My oldest daughter has followed this path...that has turned out to be wonderful in the end. She pursued her AA degree at the community college after finishing her homeschool studies. After graduation, she moved 5 hours away to an in-state public college --- AND HATED IT! -- was homesick beyond belief and missing not only her family, but all of her friends from this area (she made lots of friends at the community college). So she transferred to a university 20 minutes from our house after her first semester and is now commuting from home. She's currently pursuing her BS in Psychology and is planning on continuing her education with a Masters in Occupational Therapy. In that light, she contacted a pediatric occupational therapy clinic near our home, asking about the possibility of a summer "shadowing" opportunity (all graduate schools require at least 40 hours of shadowing -- working under the instruction of a licensed OT -- before you can be admitted into the program). She went in over Thanksgiving break and interviewed with the clinic director -- who then ended up calling her this past week, asking if she was interested in a paid, part-time internship, and could she start immediately? I believe she could have floated toward the clinic instead of driving her car! She was that excited! So she's now working in her chosen field AND earning money WHILE attending college AND living at home. She couldn't be happier. Oh and she has ZERO college debt. None. (Of course she fully expects to accumulate some when it comes time for her Masters program!) Just our own personal experience -- hoping to encourage those readers who may feel the "Ivy-League-or-Bust" path isn't quite their cup of tea.

Great advice in this thread! My oldest son (now 18) has Asperger's and I homeschooled him for K-12 and he's now taking classes at the community college. My youngest daughter (just turned 11) has autism. She attends public school part-time (from 8:45am until 1:45pm) where she receives daily occupational therapy, daily ABA instruction, and speech 2x per week. We homeschool her in the afternoons. It's really the best of both worlds. We tried homeschooling full-time and doing private therapy, but that was costing us a fortune! (We were paying upwards of $300 a week just for therapy) Now she receives therapy daily for free at school..and she's included in a gen-ed 4th grade classroom for homeroom, recess, music, art, etc. She loves it -- we love it -- no issues at all. But EVERY school is different and EVERY teacher is different. Your experience may vary.

We're going to be using Runkle Geography next year. I purchased it from Geography Matters and they have LOTS of cool stuff for Geography! Here's a link to their page and their prices are reasonable: http://www.home-school-curriculum.com/

I'll have a 9th grader next year, so I'm definitely going to be following this thread! Here's our plan so far: English - Smarr's Introduction to Literature History - Runkle's World Geography Math - Chalkdust Geometry Science - Shepherd Biology Art - Geography Through Art Music - Piano Lessons (3rd Year) Foreign Language - Visual Link Spanish I Extras - Special Olympics Volunteer Buddy - Swimming & Basketball

How do you know if you need to take a subject test in addition to the GRE? My oldest will be taking this over the summer --- she's a Junior right now -- and she's planning to pursue her Masters in Occupational Therapy. She has 6 colleges on her "apply to" list and they all mention just GRE test scores, so I'm assuming this is just the general test?

We used Rainbow Year 1 last year and are working through Year 2 this year. I don't think there would be a problem doing it that way. Now there are times when some reference will be made in a lesson such as, "As we discussed in Year 1, blah blah blah." But those references are few and far between.

Ewwww.....that's a pretty bad house. Clutter in the pictures is one thing, however....mattresses with no sheets or bedding?? no pillows? yuck! Don't get me started on the kitchen....and I wasn't about to search for any bathroom pictures! It makes me wonder what underlying issues are involved with the parents -- drug addiction, alcoholism, etc. -- that, even more than the condition of the house, would worry me and I'd want CPS involved. As for my house.... the main level is always clean...always. I'm a stickler for a clean kitchen and clean bathrooms at all times. Now...my daughters' bedrooms? That's another story! Both of them are terrible about keeping their rooms clean. But there's bedding on the beds (just have to walk over all the clothes on the floor)...*sigh* My sons?? Different story! Go figure! My 18yo son has always been rather OCD compulsive and my 13yo son has always been a neatnik (his nickname when he was little was "Felix" as in Oscar and Felix from the Odd Couple because he couldn't stand messes!) so their rooms are usually kept clean.

13yo - piano lessons every Monday - art co-op once a month with our homeschool group - assistant basketball coach with Special Olympics every Saturday (hubby is the head coach, so that's something they do together)

I went to school in high school in the ( *cough* ) 1970s and I was taught "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally." I taught the same phrase to all of my kids, too. If that's easier for your kids to remember than the one about pandas :)

Let's see... Hubby is allergic to eggs I'm allergic to soy & chocolate Oldest dd is allergic to shellfish Oldest son is sensitive to dyes & preservatives Youngest son is allergic to tree nuts & eggs Youngest daughter is allergic to wheat (gluten) & soy I think that about covers it

Steak, mashed potatoes & gravy, green beans

I'm thrilled!! Wide Receiver Torrey Smith is from our little small town in Virginia so it's nice to see a local boy going to The Show. :) Go Ravens!

That's what we do...and I add in a can of chicken broth. Yummy!

You could try zabasearch on your own if you have a name & state. I found an old high school friend using zabasearch several years ago. http://www.zabasearch.com

My oldest dd took classes dual enrollment as a homeschooler at our community college and we had to pay full tuition & books. We live in Virginia. Haven't heard anything about it being phased out. I plan on doing the same thing for my now-8th grader in just a few years -- so hope it remains an option!

My 8th grader did. And he knew what it meant to "live in squalor" so he used that to figure out the definition.

Classic Rock. That's all we play here. In fact, we're studying the History of Rock n Roll in school this year. We started out with Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley and worked our way up. We're deep in the 60's now....so Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin are shaking the rafters. :D

We're going to Disney World for 10 days in May!! Star Wars Weekend events are included. :D In August, we will probably go out to see my mother-in-law .. who lives at the beach in Delaware. It's nice to have a free place to stay at the beach for 3 or 4 days in the summer! ;)

What IS Disney Quest? Is it like laser tag? That does sound interesting, too! And..silly question...if you have the Water Parks and More Option...can you go to Disney Quest in the morning and then Epcot in the afternoon using your base ticket for that? Or do I need park hoppers? Or if we wanted to go to Epcot for fireworks after spending the day at Typhoon Lagoon?

I have a Disney guide book and, after reading the descriptions of both water parks, he chose Typhoon Lagoon. The swimming with sharks was what won him over completely! He'll be thrilled to have a new video to watch. :) My hubby, meanwhile, is thrilled that adding the Waterparks and More option to our tickets gets him a round of golf at Oak Trail! He's a happy camper now! :D

Thanks a lot people!! LOL! :D Now we're adding a waterpark visit -- or two! -- to our Disney agenda for May! Seriously.... this is great! We had something special planned for everyone on this trip (i.e., oldest dd - lunch at Rainforest Cafe; oldest ds - Star Wars Weekend events; youngest dd - character lunch at Hollywood & Vine) but I didn't have anything special planned for my youngest ds -- until now! He watched the clip on the other Disney thread about the Summit Plummet and THAT is what he wants! Hey...13 year old boys don't have a lot of sense. :lol: Off to do more planning!

Off to order the book! Thanks!

I know what you mean! We have 2 large amusement parks in Virginia -- 1 is an hour away / 1 is 2 hours away. We get summer passes for the one that's 2 hours away because they have fireworks nightly in the summertime and we might visit 3 or 4 times over the summer. But it's NOT the same as Disney! Even my hubby -- who's not a Disney fanatic like me -- admitted as much last summer. Our youngest has special needs and the Disney castmembers really go out of their way to speak to our daughter and make her feel special. At the Virginia amusement park, the folks running the rides have glazed looks on their faces like, "Is my shift over yet? Can I go home?" She really fell in love with one ride and we went to customer relations to ask if they had a guest assistance pass like Disney does so that our daughter would have an easier place to wait for the rides. Disney has one of these and, say the ride line is in the dark or a closed in space, we're able to wait outside until it's our turn and then just walk in -- it doesn't reduce our wait time, but it makes it less "disruptive", if that makes sense. And, although they don't advertise it or it will be abused by those who aren't disabled, they've waved us through several times without waiting -- but only if the line is REALLY short -- like 5 minutes or so. The Virginia park said, "We sell these passes where you can go to the front of every line for $60.00 a day, but we don't have anything special for her." My hubby just shook his head and walked away, muttering, "Well..this place isn't Disney!" ;)

We go every year for a week. Absolutely -- hands down -- our favorite place to go on vacation! Well, I love it .. and so do my daughters. Hubby and sons? Not so much -- maybe it's a girl thing. :D We usually drive from Virginia to St. Augustine (10 hours straight), spend the night, and head to Orlando the following afternoon (my hubby went to college in St. Augustine so we meet friends for dinner & drinks...spend the next day on the beach or swimming in the pool...and then can reach Orlando in just two hours). We do the same thing the following weekend when we head back home. We stay off-site at a townhouse in Windsor Hills for $105 per night...includes a full-kitchen, three bedrooms, and private splash pool on the rear patio. We're headed there again in May...and I can't wait! Hubby is talking about a beach vacation in 2014...followed by a family Disney trip in April of 2015 -- AND a mom & girls only Christmas trip in December of 2015!!! I can barely contain my excitement! And, because there will only be 3 of us, we'll be able to stay on-site! A real treat! (We've never stayed on-site...it's just not affordable for all 6 of us). Favorite park? Magic Kingdom -- followed by Hollywood Studios -- then Epcot -- then Animal Kingdom.