Prayer, spoonfuls of Nutella, and remembering that even when they push me away and seem like they hate me, what they really want deep down is to be drawn closer and for me to really *see* them and try to connect with them anyway

No offense to SWB, but there's waaaaaay too much in Grammar for the WTM that the vast majority of people really don't need to know, IMO. I actually do think diagramming is important because it helps you see the structure of the sentence in a very visual way when it's a complex sentence that has a whole lot of words in it. We use Analytical Grammar in 6th-8th grade and it's just right - thorough, complete, plenty of practice, concise and to the point, easy to teach, easy to accelerate if needed, and best of all by the time you're done with it in 8th grade you know all you really need to know about grammar in order to be a good writer.

I'm 45 and i don't have bangs. I also do not have a hairstyle at all, really - I just keep it in a ponytail or a braid down my back. I refuse to have one of those old lady hairstyles. I want to look like an old hippie with my gray colored braid someday LOL I think you'd look good with no bangs, but it looks nice the way it is too. If you do decide to grow it out, I'd invest in some clips or headbands or something to keep the in betweenish stage from driving you crazy!

K12's Human Odyssey (3 book series) is well written and engaging and we love it! We use it for 5th-7th, along with written paragraphs about some aspect of their reading and some geography stuff and maybe a project or two.

The most satisfying book I've read that no one else I know IRL has read is Til We Have Faces by CS Lewis. But I'm not sure it would have wide appeal. The best book I've read that I think almost everybody I know would like is called Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks. It's about a boy on the spectrum and his imaginary friend and it's told from the perspective of the imaginary friend. It is laugh out loud funny, poignant, and has a good message.

My dad acts like there were some support services when he got back from Vietnam, but mostly they were expected to suck it up and not talk about it much and get over it. Maybe that was just his perspective and the culture he was raised in and came back to though and there really was good institutional help in place at that time, I don't know. He has commented that the multiple tours that were/are common in Iraq and Afghanistan is asking way way way too much of our troops and would not have happened in Vietnam. I will say that I have been pleasantly surprised by how the VA is treating his heart problems that were likely caused by Agent Orange and he is pleased with his recent new hearing aids 🙂 I know there are lots of VA horror stories and I don't doubt any one of them, but his experience has been a good one, although he never used VA services until the 1990's, I believe. I think they asked him then if he wanted PTSD counseling at that point and he declined. I'm a pacifist, so I don't support war in general. But once my country has committed troops somewhere, it's my duty to support them no matter what I think about the policies that got us there. If we're going to ask men to die - and worse, kill - for us, then we need to be prepared to give them (and their families) e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. they need before, during, and if/when they return (and their families if they don't). That includes first responders, obviously.

I try not to get involved in political discussions on the boards and I still don't plan to on this thread 🙂 But this was comment brings up an issue that is near and dear to my heart, so I felt I wanted to pipe up. My dad had actual feces and urine thrown at him and people yelling "baby killer" at him when he came home from Vietnam. I'm not saying that Iraq/Afghan War vets are treated awesome and there are no issues, but I've never heard of that kind of treatment for American veterans of any other war except Vietnam.

This is what I did in my college stats class and it was The. Best. way to study!

We did a lot of folk tales from various parts of the world during our Ancients year in middle school for this reason. Tales from Africa, Jataka Tales, etc in addition to Greek and Roman mythology

I never really prayed much for our leaders in Congress or the President before 9/11 but I started to do that more and have continued no matter who is in office (although I should still it more than I do).

The things my parents did that I question the wisdom of are probably completely different than the things my kids will question my wisdom about. My mom and dad taught me that buying stuff you can't afford on credit is normal and it really affected me in college and early adult life until I was married and DH insisted we pay off the credit card each month. Now I'm sooooo glad he did and I wonder what the heck they were thinking. Also some religious/philosophy stuff that really confused me. My mom and dad have since said that they wished they'd done that part differently too. So we've worked really hard to try to address finances and matters of faith in a different way than our parents did. But I have no idea what big things our kids are going to take issue with. My thinking is that every parent, no matter how diligent and well intentioned, is going to leave holes. Their kids in turn are going to work really hard to fill the holes they perceived in their childhood, and in doing so are going to leave different holes for their kids to fill.

Golden Goblet (Egypt) Bronze Bow (Israelites at the time of Christ)

My 7 year old will read anything and everything, especially if it's a chapter book her older siblings have read and talked about. Right now she is obsessed with horses and the Warriors series of books (about wild cat "clans"). We found a free coloring page website and she and her 11 year old sister have printed off dozens and dozens of horse and cat pictures to color like their favorite book characters and plaster them on their bedroom walls. She tolerates math and does well with it but insists she doesn't like it - again, thanks to older siblings and their attitudes towards it. Up until this summer she was the spoiled youngest sibling, and she still is to some extent. She often doesn't try new things or give her best effort because she knows sooner or later one of her older siblings will help and/or do it for her. She does lots of trampoline jumping. She has a phenomenal memory - it had been a while since we had read a certain Harry Potter book aloud and so when I picked it up again I asked if anyone remembered where we had left off and when no one else answered she piped up and quoted the last sentence of the chapter we had read last! She is figuring out friendships and how to play in a group but can still be a bit awkward. We don't do T.V., just occasional movies, so she doesn't really have favorite characters unless they are in books.

I'd do B. It doesn't hold anybody back and let's them both work at their own pace and doesn't pile up extra work in a subject that isn't a strength. It would be easier for me to have them in 2 totally different math courses (Alg 1/Geom and Alg 2) than to try to teach the same Alg 2 course at 2 different speeds.

No BTDT experience here, but if it helps my 3 high schoolers have all commented at various times how sorry they feel for their public and private schooled friends because they all have so much homework and no time for fun stuff and pursuing independent interests and activities. Hopefully once your DD starts her new activities she'll have a little bit of that perspective!

@Terabith I think I might have accidentally reported your first post by accident as I was scrolling. If I did, I'm sorry and I didn't mean to!!! Moderators, if you're reading along, please disregard any reports by me 🙂

We use Artistic Pursuits just as HomeAgain described. We use just the books (older edition) not the newer ones with videos.

I'm not sure I'd focus on environment so much as I would focus on what skills you think she'll need in order to learn in a campus environment. I mean, if she knows how to take notes she can do that in a humongous lecture hall or in a small intimate classroom or by herself from a video lecture. And If she knows how to work with a group, those skills will transfer to a group project in a campus environment whether she learned them in a stable or at co-op or at her job or wherever.

When DS left again after the weekend I was surprised at how much it hurt ... like, wait a minute, I just did this, you mean I have to say good-bye AGAIN???? And it hit me that I'll have to feel like this every time he comes home now ... somehow I didn't see that coming when I was prepping for the big moving out good-bye scene in my head 😞

I think it looks fine, but if you feel the need to add anything I'd consider some output for the 5th grader in your history listening - maybe a written summary or a project or something to show what he's learned. 2nd grader looks good, very similar to what mine is currently doing! Just another thought - what about music? appreciation or performance? Or PE/sports/fitness?

Yay! Glad it was helpful 🙂

I have absolutely no useful advice whatsoever 🙂 but just wanted to say how excited I am for your DD!

I'm surprised they won't write a LoR! Did they give any reason why not? Here's our school profile (along with contact info at the bottom): Mission X Homeschool was founded in 2013 in order to establish a strong family bond as well as to provide an individualized and rigorous program of academic excellence. Community and School Profile X Homeschool is located in X County, Indiana. According to 2010 U.S. Census data, the local community is X% white, X% Hispanic, and X% other. X percent of the local populace is college educated, and both parents in our homeschool earned a college degree. The median income in the community is $X. Population size of the nearest town is X. The local economy depends on agriculture and related businesses. Academic Program X Homeschool follows the Indiana state “Core 40” guidelines, encourages all of our students to maintain a grade point average of a “B” or higher, and encourages all of our students to pursue an academic honors diploma. A minimum of 50 credits are required to graduate. This includes 8 credits of English/Language Arts, 8 credits of Math, 8 credits of Science, 8 credits of Social Studies, 6 credits of Foreign Language, 2 credits of Fine Arts, 2 credits of Physical Education, 1 credit of Health, and 7 credits of Electives. One standard Carnegie Unit is the equivalent of 2 credits. Courses Available Courses at X Homeschool follow a college-prep program using a mixture of textbooks, videos, and online resources. Honors courses are made available in subjects of particular interest to each student. Grading Procedures All courses at X Homeschool are graded on a 4-point non-weighted scale according to the following chart, regardless of honors designation. A 90 – 100 4 points B 80 – 89 3 points C 70 – 79 2 points D 65 – 69 1 point F 64 & below 0 points Student Activities Students at X Homeschool are encouraged to seek out and join community clubs and organizations. Our students have been involved in 4-H, church youth group, Math Counts, Indiana Beekeepers Association, National Christian Forensics and Communications Association Speech and Debate Club, X Drama Troupe, X Food Pantry, church choir, Friends of the Library, Harvest Call mission/volunteer activities, and others. For the counselor letter we looked at the "whole package" of their application - what he was going to highlight in his essay, what we thought the other LoR writers would highight, etc. And then I tried to figure out what else needed attention drawn to it to make the application stand out. It was written from a personal perspective, because obviously I'm his mom and we didn't want the letter to seem as if I was trying to downplay the fact that we homeschool. I ended it with something along the lines of "X is ready for the challenge of a university environment and would be an outstanding addition to any university campus."

I just typed mine in, and we had no problems.

We really like IEW and use that almost exclusively now, but I've also had success with the Wordsmith series. Your ages would be perfect for the Apprentice book in the series.