You know what grieves me the most about these threads? I have educated my children from preschool to college, getting them tens of thousands of $$ in scholarship money and admittance into elite schools. My husband and I would have sent our kids to private schools for sure if we didn't hs. My entire family knows my worth, needs me and praises me. No one could pay me enough to do for them what I do for my family... Yet, if I want to find a job, the world says I'm worth $7 an hour :(

Thanks for letting me know. Best wishes for his scores!

Just wondering if anyone here dc took the new SAT today? What did they think?

horrible

My thought exactly. She's made some very bad choices throughout her life. It said she never really planned for retirement, which is why she is living it by the seat of her pants. I think most people just assume that the elderly are wise and if they are living in bad situations, it is something that wasn't their fault. It was the economy, or a horrible company, or bad financial advice. Although I am sure there are many who did their best and things are still hard, there are many more who were careless when they were younger. Then the question here is, are we responsible for them at the risk of our own retirement?

Thank you for the encouragement!

Thank you all for your advice. You have all confirmed what I suspected :lol: I am planning on growing this blog into the future, so being anonymous isn't really a option. I am just going to have to figure out how to write in a non-offensive way, although I don't know if that is possible, if you've ever read comments! I think I am going to start with several posts on my past and history. Then perhaps it will show how my ideas and ways came to be? Like with hsing. I know many people have had good public school experiences. I accept that. Mine was not. It was 13 years of torture. It is one of the biggest reasons I chose to hs. But people always get defensive and start telling me how wonderful their school years were, or about how their kid's school is so great. And I always say, that's great, but not for me. But they do not hear me! This blog is one way I do plan to say my side. I generally always stay quiet, but I now feel restless and it is not for me anymore. Thanks again.

Absolutely. I wouldn't do this without each of their permission. Which I already have. They all think I should start one. I did tell them I would want them to read my posts before publishing them. They are great editors! :)

Exactly!

As a over 40 yr old, veteran hsing mom, you can bet I have some strong opinions and views! :) I have thought of starting a blog for years, and my husband has been encouraging me to do so forever. But my biggest concern is close family and friends. How do you keep from offending/alienating them? There are many things I don't say to people because I do believe it is their life and their choice, but if I am writing a personal blog and I voice my opinion, and they read it, and they then know we are at opposite ends, then what? For example, I have a very close, long-distance friend. We have called each other a few times a month over 15 years talking about how our kids and families are. When our kids were young, we were very similar in our child raising ways and bonded over that. As our kids got older, the differences in our child-raising grew. Obviously, with hsing, I am very hands on. She is not anymore. The first disagreement she and I had, happened because her oldest got caught drinking in 11th grade. She was beside herself because she believed her child was a strong, independent leader. Instead she had to hear her daughter say how much she wanted the approval of friends. When she called me to tell me what had happened, she proceeded to tell me that I should check up on my daughter and that I shouldn't trust her. When I told her my kid was fine, she called me naïve. Can I say, that I saw the writing on the wall with her child? I saw the kid's insecurity but mom did not. If I write a blog, talking about some of the things I have done with my kids concerning child raising, and people I know read it and they know they are not like that... is this even worth it? And I would never talk about people I know. I will only draw from my own life and my work with kids. My husband thinks this is my people pleasing side coming out and that I have to get over it. What do you think? Any and all advice appreciated! Thanks!

This was/is a huge issue for me because my kids have heavy school loads. They could sit there for hours, and unlike public school where the kids at least have to get up to change classrooms, my kids don't have to move. They play organized sports but when you see all the studies on how dangerous sitting is to one's health, it's best they not sit much. So I had their dad put blocks under their desks to make them into standing desks. I also made them walk .5 mile on the treadmill each hour.

Thank you for your responses. It's all so overwhelming to read so many vast experiences. I'm guessing I'm not going to be able to fully figure it out! :) My heart grieves for people who struggle so much during life. Life is hard enough as it is! I think there must be serious brain changes...now to figure out how not to pass it onto the next generation...

Hi, Sorry, I just got back on and saw that this thread got responses. I don't think I am addicted to anything, but I guess I could be wrong. No, I'm not addicted to anything. Including the internet as evidenced by my spotty presence on these boards. :)

I am looking for help from people who would be able to share their experiences so that I can better understand family members. I want to be gracious and understanding. I do not have an addictive personality. If I want to stop something, I just stop it. So I can't understand it when people struggle with destructive behavior/addiction. Of course, when I was young, I'd think it was because the person didn't want to change enough. But as I get older, I am seeing that is not true. Now, I think people do want to get past things, but just can't. Is it too late for them? Has their brain been so altered, it's too hard?

If Drexel is a choice for you, I encourage you to ignore what they sent and just continue with the app. Or call the admissions office directly and tell them to look for your application. That is their "official" policy but in the end, the admissions officers are people who are smart enough to see your son is qualified. My daughter absolutely did NOT do a GED, and we did not do a diploma program. They never contacted me saying anything was missing from her application. We heard back in one month, enough merit scholarship to cover most of tuition and automatic acceptance into their Honors College.

Sorry if this is too late to help, but the answer is no. My daughter is a freshman at her first choice but we did apply to Drexel. I live in PA and do not participate in a diploma program. She did the Common App, and I mailed in her mom-created transcript, her resume and a Secondary School Report I wrote up. She was accepted with significant merit aid. No problems or questions.

It is comforting to know others have seen it happen. Looking at the cost of the AP classes are what is making me think. If I let each child take one class, it would cost me close to $3K (rounding up). No, they don't allow part time enrollment. You are right, it isn't a big step to put them into a public cyber from just paying for online classes. I have this one friend who put her son in ALL online classes for 11th and 12th grades. When I saw that (and how common it was), I asked her why she didn't just put him in the cyber. She said she still wanted to homeschool. huh? I was confused.He was doing all online classes. I saw no difference. To do exactly what I want to do, it will cost us $8K this year. This is with a few online AP classes, tutors, curriculum and extracurriculars. The public school spends 13K per student. It just goes toward buildings and staff. Thanks! :) Because we are just paying other people a salary to do what we can do! Thank you for sharing that. I'm seriously leaning that way too No, public B&M is out of the question for us. I know that would cost us more money, time and everything else. This is a online cyber. It is well established and well run. I agree with all your observations. I am just so tired of putting things together. Thank you all for your thoughtful replies. The costs I am facing are weighing heavily on my mind. Especially since I just got a tax bill. I know that there are alot of ways to cut costs. Such as self studying for an AP exam. But think about the work involved on the part of the parent. The research and organizing needed. I just don't want to do all that. I can't handle all of it, so I want to (and need to) outsource. And I live in a heavily regulated state, so there are costs with that too. It is so embittering. Especially when I am bled dry by taxes!!! BUT..... My kids want to continue the way we are and do not want to do cyber. You know, I homeschool cause i want to spend more time with my kids. But because I homeschool, I have no money to do anything with them. Everything we have goes toward school costs. If they did cyber, I would have more money to do things (expensive field trips, they've never been on an airplane). But they like what we are doing and they want to stay this way. UGH!!!

Can anyone tell me about any science curriculum that has video lectures with a corresponding textbook? Thanks!!

I have 3 high schoolers and the cost of the classes I want (I know I could them myself or not do them) is overwhelming. Online AP classes, language classes, math and science help (tutor as needed), it is all getting so costly. Especially since I have cyber school options in my state. All of it would be covered. And the one I am considering offers some customization. It is so tempting. What does the HIve think? Sharon