This is something that I've been thinking about too. Where we are now, the only activities in town are band and sports connected to the public high school. My kids aren't interested in either. I guess the activities don't need to be specifically homeschool, but there do need to be some within a 30 minute drive of us. Though it would be nice to have some field trips with other high school aged kids.

I'm coming from Idaho. There are no regulations at all. Don't even have to register with the state or school district, let alone keep track of anything. The CC here just wants a diploma printed at home and everyone takes the compass test to see where to start--they don't even want ACT/SAT scores--then you can transfer with an AA to wherever without having had to take the tests (they are accredited and accepted at most universities). Just saying...it's all the prospective from which you are currently seeing things ;) I can track things if I have to though...

Thanks everyone for all the advice--keep it coming. I do think that there will be no comparison between living in places like Idaho or Montana or Oregon (all places we have lived) and the east coast. I am worried that it will be so different that dh will not want to be there--he has never lived east of the Rocky Mountains. A little more information...dh has a degree and is working in agriculture, so the travel will be to the more rural areas of each state. He will likely fly some for meetings, but not extensively. One of the things we have been talking about is just being there for the next three years for the experience and moving back west after that (closer to family). Because of this we will be renting. But there is no guarantee that he will be able to find a job right at three years, so we will need to keep colleges in mind just in case. We have hsed in enough states that I want to be aware of hsing laws, but they are not a huge deal. Unless you guys say they are ;). Then I would listen. I am more concerned that there is a strong inclusive teen group. We have lived in too many places that there is no teen group to speak of and my kids are not happy there. We happen to be in one of those places now. I know that larger cities usually have larger groups, but at the same time we prefer a more rural place to live. Makes it hard to decide where to live. We have also not experienced any of the history sites, museums, etc, and are excited about being closer to them. We plan to have lots of field trips :) And all of this is just dreaming at the moment--he doesn't have the job yet ;)

My dh is applying for a job that would have a home office and travel. The travel would cover Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, and part of New Jersey. We could live in any of these places and still have that job. We are currently living in Idaho with no hsing laws and are hsing twin 15yos. What are the laws like in each of them? Do you know of any areas with active secular teen groups? We are not used to high population...any suggestions for more laid back areas? Not too much traffic? Dh likes to hunt and fish and we all like camping...are there better states to be able to do these in? TIA

Mine started Monday night. I have had 3 days of constant fever, then today it was on and off--mostly off. All the other symptoms you guys have listed also except the stomach bug thing. How much longer am I going to have no energy? I'm not quite done Christmas shopping. I did go out today and buy milk and frozen stuff the kids could make for themselves in the microwave. I had absolutely no energy and was practically laying on the cart, but we needed something to eat. (Dh is out of town)

She is in middle school and has been working through a pre-algebra text. I'm looking for something that is just fractions--like MM or Key to--thanks for those suggestions :). She's about at the end of the chapters on fractions and is still frustrated by it. She gets the concepts but just needs more practice (mostly with reducing and with converting from a mixed number to a fraction). I might have MM around somewhere. I'll have to check our old computer. I think I don't have Key to anymore, but I'll look at it again. I've been hsing for 13 years and she and her twin are last of our 6 kids. We've tried a lot of things over the years...It's just been a while since I've had any of them at this level ;).

What would you recommend?

Thanks for all the advice. I've been reading every word and will continue to as long as anyone is still interested enough to write it. We're still mulling over how to procede. The things that we both seem to agree on so far are-- Neither of us wants to count calories. We seem to do pretty good with our eating habits about 50% of the time, so we just need to work on the other 50%. I think a big part of this is changing our snack foods to healthy ones. We don't have many unhealthy ones that we buy on a regular basis. We don't drink sodas except when eating out (not often), don't have any sweets unless it is made from scratch (the kids make some, but I don't), and the only chips we have are plain corn chips. For me that would be not eating chips and salsa every time I get the munchies, for dh that would be not eating a sandwich with homemade bread between meals. I think if I had a vegi tray available we would both use it, but it's not currently available and neither of us wants to cut up vegis every time we want something. The rest of the food is in meal planning. I really like what Slache was saying she does for eating--protein and fruit/vegis for breakfast, vegis for lunch, and a fairly regular dinner (for what we tend to eat, anyway). That lets me make dinner for everyone just once. I also read the thread you (Slache) linked to--I'm really impressed with what you have done. For exercise, I would like to talk to someone that knows how to advise us on how to procede without hurting ourselves. I was trying to do couch to 5k, but slower than they recommend (like 6 months to get there instead of 9 weeks). I think I will still incorporate this but would like to do some sort of weight training also. I'm not sure how to do weight training so will definitely need help there. I would like to join the gym in the small town where we live. The gym (the only one) is locally owned by someone that has lost 100 lbs and has tried to hire people that can help with this sort of thing. I think it will help to have an opportunity to do something out of the house that is just for me and that we are paying for so that I will feel guilty if I don't use it. I have found that I actually like walking on treadmill while listening to podcasts. They also have free classes if I want some variety. (Zumba, Yoga, Boot Camp, Spinning, etc.) And they are only month-to-month (no contracts). Dh, on the other hand, does not want to join a gym. He would rather just do things at home in his pj's ;). Hopefully with us being accountable to each other, we will be able to keep it up even though we can't really do it together at the same time. I guess we have decided on quite a bit ;). A doctor visit probably wouldn't be a bad idea either, but we don't have a regular doctor...I hate finding a doctor.

Like a 100 lbs or so each. We obviously haven't eaten the way we should in the past and have no regular exercise habits in place. I have thought about getting a gym membership, but wouldn't know how to even use it appropriately except maybe the treadmill. What are all your suggestions for starting a diet and exercise program? Any books? Or something else?

But...you tried to give the dog back to them when it didn't work out. Aren't they breaching their own contract when they didn't take him? It's not your fault they didn't want him back.

Thanks :) That was just what I was looking for--it's #74, if anyone else is interested.

The one where s3x was first referred to as TeA? Does anyone have that somewhere? I used to have it followed before the boards changed, but now it is gone...

She sounds like she doesn't understand social issues. She got stuck on one topic, couldn't give it up, didn't understand that what she was saying wasn't ok...could she be asperger's?

:lol: :lol: :lol:

I completely understand ;)

It might be easier if you posted your questions here? I might not be able to answer questions but would enjoy the discussion.

In our last ward (we moved in October) my kids were excluded all the time. But they still chose to go to church. My son that is on his mission right now was intentionally left out of Priest Quorum activities. He didn't know about them until they were reported on in priesthood after they had happened. They had planned things while at school and texted each other (including the leader). They knew my son didn't have a cell phone, but didn't call him either. When we said something to the bishop, he said it was our own fault for homeschooling them. In this ward, the other kids have been completely welcoming. It has been such a blessing after being in that last ward for 6 years.

I would think that if your budget would be uncomfortably stretched, you should apply. Hopefully they have their application worded in a way that they can tell when someone else has more of a financial need, and then would give it to them. I especially think this when you are making a choice between this class and public school.

I would think it depends on the type of cream, eggs and bacon. Free range chickens, grass fed cows have good cholesterol instead of bad. Not sure about the pigs.

We use Mvelopes. http://www.mvelopes.com/

Thanks everyone--I just ordered the 5th grade set :).

That is an interesting post. Thanks for the link :).

From what I have read, I am planning to use no higher than 5. I'm sure they need the amount of review that is in 5 because they haven't done some of it at all before. I'm not sure of everything that is covered that they haven't done, but diagramming would be one of them. I was under the impression that this would be a writing program too? It is, isn't it?

There is an obvious consensus--I will definitely get the teacher's manual ;) . The worksheets and tests don't cost much, so will probably get those too for our first time using the curriculum. They both have down some basics for parts of speech and punctuation--it's just really basic. Ds12 is understanding everything we've done and picks up new concepts quickly, but I've had to read it all to him then discuss it with him. From looking at the samples, he would have a hard time reading the student book on his own at this point, so I would probably need to read it with him everyday. And he has a hard time with any writing assignments at all. Would you still put him at book 5?

So, what I am seeing is most of you starting at 5 if they are 5th grade and up. LLATL and Daily Grams are both pretty basic... My 12yod is reading at about 6th grade--where she would be if she were in ps. And the most productive, regular writing she has done is in her personal journal and emails, which I haven't read much of since they are personal. I was thinking that since we haven't had much in the way of grammar or writing up until now she should start at 4 or 5? My 12yos, on the other hand, has struggled with reading and is not yet up to grade level. He is probably at about 3rd grade right now, but is improving quickly. How do I decide what level to start him at?