My Kinder is currently reading at grade 2-3 and we only do copywork (we use ELTL). If there are spelling issues, I'll address them later. We dropped ETC because it felt like busywork.

Crimson Wife and others, please correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that you pay full cost, get regular priority, and don't have the credit limitations if you take the CHSPE.

I thought taking the CHSPE gets you around this problem, no?

I must be daft. The only link that worked for me was the last.

I couldn't get them to work.

I would like to own a winery, but freelance writing for the Onion and spend my weekends as a college football commentator.

I wonder if they are new courses.

This is my experience as well. More important IMHO, and economics aside, most lawyers that I know (most especially BIGLAW inclusive) have miserable job satisfaction. I always say (only half joking) that I will support my sons in any profession except the law.

Yes, this must vary widely. In San Diego, and I assume to a similar degree in other CA urban areas, at least half of the homeschoolers on our FB and Yahoo message boards school through charters. And personally, I'd have a hard time telling prolific posters like Crimson Wife, and others who use charters, that what we do isn't homeschooling. While our children may technically be enrolled in public schools, we are primarily responsible for their educations.

I'm a homeschooling newbie, but I'd add that a lot of us secular homeschoolers use charter schools, which tend to come with much more of an instant community for kids and parents. As a result, we have much less need for support from the broader homeschooling community.

This thread made me think of this npr piece I heard the other day: http://www.npr.org/2014/10/25/358358540/the-nbas-shortest-player-never-gave-up

Great list! Has anyone seen a similar list for empowering boys?

If you are upset about Netflix removing Magic School Bus, please contact them. http://www.techtimes.com/articles/18821/20141027/netflix-november-2014-movies-and-tv-shows-leaving.htm

Nora Gaydos books.

Ooh, tonight was good!! What did everyone think?

Let the debate over the ethics of vegetarianism begin! ;)

Cat videos. Enough said.

We used Progressive Phonics + Nora Gaydos books + AAR and Elson readers.

Wow, a lot of these courses look interesting -- and not too expensive. I would love to know if anyone has used them as well. Thanks!

Meh. I have bigger fish to fry than to impose strict screen time regulations for my older. I do keep it to near zero before age two though, per the AAP, for my little.

Yup. Another vote for Dorco. They even have coupon codes online if you Google it. Cheap and amazing blades.

I would see an endocrinologist to rule out insulin resistance and PCOS, especially if you have long, irregular cycles.

I appreciate this discussion. As someone who experimented with drugs and alcohol from a young age, I have some thoughts. I can say that a 'zero tolerance' policy would have done absolutely nothing to stop me. I hid so many things from my parents precisely because I was afraid of their reaction to my truth. At the same time, I am not sure that an "I'm here for you, so call me no matter what' policy would have stopped me either -- though I must admit that I probably would have been closer to my parents and shared more with them had they communicated with me in such a manner. I think that I experimented with sex/drugs/alcohol primarily because 1) many of my friends did and 2) I am simply a risk-taker by nature. I knew the possible repercussions of my decisions; I simply did not care. The thrill of experimentation and the desire to lead/fit-in with peers were simply stronger motivations for me. I thank my lucky stars all the time that I did not become an addict -- at least, not in the traditional sense of the word (my addictions are mostly of the working/spending variety) -- because I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder as an adult and have many relatives who have struggled with mental illness and addiction throughout their lives. What will I do with my children? I am not entirely sure, but I do think that taking the "I am here for you" approach is the wiser course of action. At least then you stand a chance of being clued into what is happening in your children's lives when they are scared and/or unsure. I will likely also show them movies like Trainspotting and Requiem for a Dream, and try to give them as realistic picture as I can of their choices. The reality is that the vast majority of people that I know who use drugs in adulthood are functioning members of society. They have good jobs, great kids, own homes, went to good schools, pay their taxes, etc. But, I also have several friends that have struggled with addiction. The scary part is that they did all the same things that the rest of us experimenters/recreational users did; they just drew the short end of the stick in the genetic lottery. Given the significant likelihood that at least one of my children will also struggle with mental illness, I definitely worry that they will attempt to self-medicate with drugs/alcohol.

I am also intentionally slowing my son down to go deeper. In fact, I cut out a lot of things I had planned for this year because I decided that they were busywork and/or had little educational value. We only homeschool 3 days per week (he also goes to a charter school 3 days/week), and I have a 15 month old to chase after. I have no time or interest in busywork.

We use a public charter school in San Diego to homeschool, but I would not enroll in an online school like this. In our charter, we are able to pick our [secular] curriculum (you can use religious materials on your own dime), can accelerate or slow down as necessary, and turn in 1 work sample from each subject every other month and a PE/schoolwork record (I only have to demonstrate that one thing was learned each day -- in this way, many unschoolers are able to participate). For us, it is totally worth it. My son loves his [optional] charter school classes -- they are the fun stuff that I am not good at (art, gardening, music, Legos, robotics, etc.) -- and we enjoy being a part of a larger school community while still being able to do our own thing as homeschoolers. It is the best of both worlds for us -- at least at this point. But, I would not want anyone else to dictate our curriculum choices, etc.