It is really amazing how different everyone’s experiences are. (And I bake too.) Just to clarify: I didn’t mean to attack anyone! I was talking about how I have felt like completely inferior in a sea of competitive mothers, and how various trends and behaviors have taken their toll on me. None of the people of the type I described were religious in the slightest. They were the “countercultural” types, and, yeah, there were a bunch who showed up regularly visibly soiled. That is who I have been around. Yet I know of ONE secular homeschooling group in my area, compared to the variety of Christian organizations offering up to five days per week of instruction by non-certified teachers teaching classes like cooking, art, music, and sports, OR very strictly classical topics. I see two extremes here.

I think there was a huge trend a good ten or so years ago of blogging all the natural homemade things you were doing, making all your food from scratch, sewing tons of stuff, homebirths, etc., and it was all very competitive. I think homeschooling was an extension of that sort of professionalization of motherhood with very well educated moms educating their kids. I think this generally made me feel like a failure. The homeschoolers I saw when my kids were younger were also from this type. They don’t bathe much, might go barefoot in public, wear old faded clothes styled from eras past (hippie skirts) and so on. I literally never saw so many children with uncombed hair (meaning, matted and sticking in strange directions) as in homeschool activities, and it’s definitely from upper middle class white people. I don’t know many religious homeschoolers, but the only surviving homeschool groups seem to be Christian groups that meet at least once a week. I stumbled across an online forum where people were stereotyping homeschoolers as completely socially deficient and weird, and it just made me really sad. A lot of homeschooled kids I know can barely write anything, both physically and in terms of their ability to compose. Then there are some who are very advanced and motivated.

I am glad you are posting on here. Pls ask people in real life to help you. With cleaning, cooking, educational matters, and giving you a break. If you can find more ways to take the load off, it might help. I hope things continue to improve.

A while back, kids in my old school district had a Life Skills course. We had a Career Education course (which went with the 0.25 unit drivers ed). I think a few of these things are normal, just like most colleges don’t require PE and health but most high schools do.

I gave 0.25 for drivers ed bc that’s what I was given when I took it in public school. I wouldn’t be inclined to give it credit, BUT you also don’t want to be in the situation of looking like you are hiding it. Also in some situations, there are classes taken that count for just high school, just college, or both, and some places deal with these differently. So if you want to avoid that, you could give 0.25 for it. I don’t like thirds of credits.

You might want to see if you can find local information. It can be so variable in terms of what is available. It might also be worth looking into hiring someone to come help them out with cleaning and running errands like shopping or picking up medicine. My grandma permitted one particular lady to come a couple days a week to clean and run errands but refused to let her cook. Also, a lot of these meal services also generate huge boxes full of stuff, and just dealing witn the recycling/trash can be a lot of work.

Oh, that’s interesting. The Ontario Universities’ version of the common app directs students to list anywhere they have taken one or more class including “private virtual schools,” and have them directly send transcripts. For Form 101 (for those attending an Ontario high school), though, it notes, “You do not need to include institutions where your “home” school registered you for courses (e.g., board virtual school, dual credit, Specialist High Skills Major, e-learning through a consortium).”

Potty Pax! I like how the first toilet is filthy, but the one she puts the device on is pristine. My question is, what if you need to go a second time before you get home to wash? Way too much trouble. But very entertaining!

I know of this, which seems to be geared to the high school student as it’s mostly about using academically relevant programs https://www.fundafundaacademy.com/product/computer-fundamentals/ (asynchronous year long) or https://www.fundafundaacademy.com/product/computer-applications-self-paced-online-class/ (Parent graded, self paced version) If you want very basic, I think in person at the library or if you have community classes through a community college (not the regular college classes) might be gentle and friendly.

If she wants to go to community college, then I say why not do that and extend it for a year of high school as mostly dual enrolled classes.

Northern Michigan University says it will admit any student with a GPA of 2.25 or higher, and will consider applications from students with lower GPAs provided they submit additional information. They do not use tests in their admissions decisions. They say they don’t have deadlines, but I’m not sure how early they accept applications. Additionally, UM Flint typically makes decisions very quickly after receiving an application. They have no application fee. I’ve had a couple of very positive encounters with their admissions staff and advisors, who all seemed incredibly committed to supporting students. This page might also give you some ideas: https://blog.prepscholar.com/the-best-colleges-with-low-gpa-requirements

People absolutely start Arabic in college. Mike Pence’s daughter Audrey and her husband, Daniel Tomanelli, both minored in Arabic in college; I don’t know what they did in high school, but neither seems to be a heritage speaker.

With my limited experience with the general Khan Academy website, which is what I think you’re referring to, Khan Academy and AOPS seem (to me) very different in many ways.

I think your perspective is probably not in line with how a lot of four year colleges operate. I don’t think they see their degrees as a laundry list of classes that one checks off in order to graduate; they are imagining a cohesive experience with a range of classes that’s part of their schools’ culture and unique educational experiences. However, I think it’s worth investigating with the schools involved. Some states have specific transfer agreements between community colleges and four year universities, so that students can easily transfer in credits, because it’s all been worked out and there are advisors there to make sure students take advantage of this. Other states don’t, or you may be anticipating your child applying to a wide range of schools all over the country/world. And I doubt many “bureaucrats” have “pet courses.” (It would have to be a tiny school to even make this possible to imagine.) I don’t think “bureaucrats” are involved with coursework at such a level. When I was in high school, some college board official came to promote APs as this fabulous way to save money. Neither I, nor any of my high school friends, who passed multiple AP exams and received college credit, actually shortened our time in college. Because many received merit scholarships, it was also not hugely advantageous to rush through. That was the financial advantage we enjoyed from our APs. One of my friends spent a year abroad, for example, studying art, whereas in high school, she had been sure she’d be majoring in science. Spending four years in college may also make one a more attractive candidate for grad school, provide better letters of recommendation, and give more time to explore courses and careers in a meaningful way. Of everyone I have ever known who went this route, only ONE person graduated in three years due to AP credit, but she seemed to do so only because of a unanticipated family health problem that drastically reduced her family’s income.

I’d certainly do something like sign a kid up for Khan Academy. Some kids may enjoy that. It’s free and would give you valuable information about your kids in short order.

I would not reduce high school to under four years. But some kids started younger and will graduate young after four years of high school. This was common when I was a kid, and I was a young graduate. It worked okay for me at the time, and I wasn’t unique, but I think it’s better to just go deeper and do more and graduate at around 18. There are a lot more options especially with homeschooling such as DE, online APs, pursuing more niche classes, etc, for the advanced student. If your child is having behavioral or mental health issues, or clashing with the homeschooling parent, that is likely to be another issue altogether.

Wow, I just looked up August SAT registration, and we’d have to go really far to find an available seat!

I would only anticipate colleges requiring church attendance and the like are a certain sort that is well known for being that way, and they often are not affiliated with any particular large religious group and/or do not accept federal financial aid. I don’t think most of these are the sorts of colleges that anyone outside that particular group would be interested in attending because they are religious first, colleges second.

Debbie Downer here.…..My kids never made a friend from an online class or even a friendly acquaintance they’ve kept up with after the class ends. I don’t think isolated online classes build friendships, and I think this is something many kids and teens want and need. Also they want to take multiple classes with the same people, and do things together like study together outside of class, and work on projects and labs in class. Online classes are very tricky. Homeschooling is very tricky. Parenting is too, for that matter. My kids really didn’t like most online classes, and most weren’t worth liking. And there is a lot that can go wrong — technology malfunctions a lot. It is very disruptive when the internet is going in and out, the computer is sluggish, the teacher can’t figure out how to use the meeting software, other students are posting AI generated “feedback” to their essays, and a classmate won’t stop boasting in the comments section. (True stories, all.) Most of all, I think it’s worth figuring out if your kids will hate online classes, learn nothing, feel lonely and cry/withdraw, or if they will find an amazing community of peers from around the world to support them as they stay up late discovering the cure for cancer and writing epic poems.

I don’t believe in a math gap year. Strongly discourage taking a year off from math. Most kids get rusty after the summer. Do something fun or interesting, and different. In addition to counting and probability, number theory, or other discrete math topics, “Mathematics: A Human Endeavor” is a great book. I used it with one of my kids in 7th grade, who combined it with self-directed learning of using an abacus and a slide rule, which worked well with the chapter on logarithms. Understanding logarithms is very useful. There’s a lot of MEP stuff on probability and also sequences and series, which you could fish out from various years, or consult their Jamaican program, which is arranged topically. CIMT (which does MEP) also has some supplemental material that could give you ideas, e.g. codes and other everyday things. https://www.cimt.org.uk/menus/resources.htm If you really want to be away from textbooks or anything vaguely traditional, you could also have a lot of fun with cryptography, math puzzles, and mathematical art, but another skill would be learning how to write computer programs to solve math problems, like in these two No Starch Press books: “Math Adventures with Python” and “Doing Math With Python.” Also the Murderous Math series by Kuantan Poskitt and other similar books for kids might be worth looking in to (some of the Murderous Maths books will likely be too low of a level, but others may be of interest).

I am so sorry for your loss.

I don’t think children can be independent or teach themselves all subjects, generally speaking. If you have a tutor or a class for your child, then the child isn’t “independent,” but the parent isn’t teaching. You will still have to help, though. I have had good experiences with CLRC’s Mrs Carman, Blue Tent’s Mrs Hilton, and Mrs Seboly from Clover Creek Physics. Live classes, engage teachers, good assignments, attentive feedback. I recommend against anything that is watching videos and doing multiple choice questions or otherwise having a lifeless experience. It doesn’t turn out well.

I think the FBI is the right agency to contact, and I know someone whose experience with the FBI investigating cyberstalking and threats was uniformly positive, first and foremost because they took it VERY seriously. I think the problem with the police is that they’re unlikely to do anything, BUT they may still have ideas, and would very likely be willing to tell her this is indeed suspicious behavior. It might be helpful to go to the police and try to find someone who is willing to talk to her in a sympathetic way, instead of just showing up and hoping to find such a person. I know someone else who had a very kind police officer assist in getting someone out of a domestic violence situation (permanently). So I would see if you or someone else could feel out these agencies, and see if they have other ideas as well. They might have tips and suggestions for YOU even if this person isn’t ready to file a report or talk to them. Someone else I know of thought some male celebrity was madly in love with her and was ready to start their life together, and basically walked away from her family and job to await his arrival. Spoiler alert: he never showed up. She was devastated. People had been telling her it was a scam, but she didn’t believe it. It’s heartbreaking.

I think you’re very wise. I heard about about a girl who was really interested in sloths, but when she finally saw one in person at a pet store, it bit her, leaving her enthusiasm rather diminished. (Her name is Amarianna Ramon.)

Wild? Or exotic? Or both? Because a squirrel is wild but in the US at least, not exotic. Ditto a raccoon. Both may have rabies — yikes. Exotics can be found at zoos and other nature type programs, and you can see animals like bison, moose, polar bears at various places, apparently. For example, Catalina Island (in CA) has a huge number of bison. Fodor’s has a list of ten “safari” locations in the US.