I sent the link to a family with 2 bio kids, 1 adopted, 2 in progress of being adopted (hopefully finalized in October) and one foster. :)

It completely depends on what he wants to do. Some geographical regions and fields of interest would strongly support a top tier school. For others, there would be no benefit. You really don't have to make that decision until the year before he goes though. Continue with school at his pace. If you're not sure in 2 years when he hits 14, then plan 15 to be dual enrollment. Don't graduate him but let him try the local State U. At some point, it will be clear which will fit him. There isn't a right and wrong answer here. It is all about finding the one that would be right for him and we can't do that for you.

I agree with this. Go thoroughly check out the public pre-school. My youngest did half-day public school preschool (which was not free). It was wonderful. There were 18 kids and two certified teachers. She is extremely shy, but the teachers were great and she got acquainted quickly and thrived there. Dropping your expenses by $6000 will help you stop working that much sooner. However, I would make sure you like what they are doing in ps preschool. Make sure you like the teachers and their philosophy. Ours was quite academic, but there was also outside playtime and lots of center time. The kids weren't expected to sit still much at all. If she goes to the public, will she lose her place where she is or is there a chance she could return? If she can get back in where she is, it would make me even more willing to try the public.

Many employers, particularly in the midwest care nothing about what college you attended. They will hire a grad from "Southwest Regional State College" just as quickly as one from Harvard. In fact, some will reverse discriminate against the Ivy grad. There are no Ivies in this area. Most kids don't aspire to them and most companies don't prefer their graduates. There are fields and grad schools that are exceptions, but as a rule, I don't think where a degree came from means much here. As far as a completely blind hiring process, dh's hiring process starts with resume, then phone interview, then programming skill test, and not until the candidate is through all of that do they get an in-person interview with multiple members of the company to make sure they are a good fit. No one can see race, disabilities, or guess their sexual preferences. They do of course know m/f. It is rare for a candidate to be discarded at the final interview and it wouldn't happen because of any of those reasons.

Just wait... until they start figuring out who they are for themselves. until your kids are smarter than you. until you can discuss absolutely anything with them. until they challenge your thoughts and preconceptions. until they drive and fly away. until they get jobs and grow even more independent. until they move out and you don't get to see them as much. until they become your best friend. ...yeah, just wait. :)

Goo gone.

This. Very much this. I loved my babies and toddlers. I particularly loved the cuddling and adoration I received. I had fun playing with my kids and watching their independence grow through childhood. I feared the teen years a bit. I've never liked teen-agers, not even when I was one. But my teens are fabulous people that I love and enjoy. Watching them spread their wings and fly has been just another joy. Now as ds is away at college, I am enjoying establishing a new relationship as he chooses to continue the relationship instead of being in relationship just because we are forced to live together. There was not a time I didn't enjoy my children. The toddler stage was probably the hardest due to the combination of their needs and my sleep deprivation, but there were so many good things about each stage. I was always afraid the next stage wouldn't be as good. That never happened.

We really liked EIL. I wouldn't have called the writing focus heavy. There is no writing instruction. There are typically 2 papers (one short and one full essay length) per unit and a unit is 4 weeks.

The full eclipse was around 10 pm here. We sat outside for about 30 min and watched it through binoculars as it reached full. It was a beautiful evening and we all enjoyed it. None of us would have been in bed at that time, so there was no suffering for it. No littles left here.

This. When my kids were very young, I wanted obedience. My oldest is a naturally compliant chid and I actually spent a good deal of time teaching him to rebel. Seriously, I wanted to make sure he would think for himself and not follow blindly. My dd is a natural rebel and complies when she feels she must or when she agrees. I think the reason kids are better behaved in public is the concept that has been repeatedly mentioned, home is safe. I want home to be safe. Also if being publicly compliant and doing what is necessary socially is demanding (and it is for many kids my oldest especially) then when they get home they need to let all that go. I love who my young adults are. I loved who they were as kids too. My youngest was great in public and a struggle at home. My oldest was great at home and struggled in public. I wouldn't have cared at all what you thought of either of them at any point along the way. Judge less, extend more grace. The problem is yours not with the families you are observing.

This is the fear I live with. I've seen several people say things like this for various higher ed and jobs. I have a small portfolio for each year of high school and I plan to keep them. I am thinking of combining ds's into one complete high school portfolio now that he is in college. I never kept everything, but I have tests, some papers, and some lab reports. I also keep electronic copies of everything they ever turned in in digital format which is a lot in our homeschool.

My ds hasn't suggested fostering kittens, but he did leave me his ferret since it isn't allowed in the dorms. I know he was quite worried about me and asked dd a few times if I was ok after he left. He wasn't completely off base, I missed him painfully when he left, but we have all adjusted :).

We're waiting for the Wednesday release as well. I already registered dd for the October test, but we have a set score that she can achieve and not take it. The score is a big stretch for her, but she is holding out hope lol. She decided late last spring to make this her senior year and skip her junior year. As a result, she has started ACT testing late and unfortunately she is not the excellent tester that her brother was.

They are not homeschoolers, but will be homeschooling for a year, right? When they get back do they need the credits to transfer back to a local high school? If so, have they talked to that school about what they will accept? Most will not accept any of the options mentioned, although if they are in a private Christian school, they might get approval for some of those. I would talk to the school before I even started the search. They don't want to waste the year or be forced to homeschool the rest of high school if they are so strongly opposed to being homeschoolers.

None of the colleges either of my kids has applied to have required any of those classes. However, in our search, I have seen at least two colleges that list PE as a high school requirement. However, they were non-competitive state colleges with a guaranteed acceptance with an ACT score of 22 or 24.

I've been called twice in almost 30 years and I only remember dh being called once. It seems amazing to hear of people being called every two years. We asked for and received exemptions when we were called. I would be happy to serve now that my kids are grown but who knows if I'll ever get the chance.

I borrowed a few things when I started homeschooling (suddenly). However, I only borrowed for a few weeks until I could get curriculum ordered and in. I have loaned things, but generally only things we are finished with anyway. I give things away more often than lend them. I would like a better system of giving things that I'm finished with away. There used to be a HS lending library in our town. They lost their space and gave away all their books. I had planned to donate a lot of stuff to them when I was finished with it. I wish I knew how to find local homeschoolers that need (rather than want) my stuff. This is our last year of homeschooling.

We're still waiting here. On CC it looks like most people are still waiting, although the scores are trickling in.

Dd has been up most of the night checking for her score. She is so distracted she can't get anything done. In all the times we've done ACTs here (5) this is the first time they've been late posting. The website says: This morning we are experiencing some technical difficulties with our September 12 test score release. We are working to get them out ASAP. We apologize for any inconvenience. :toetap05:

I think there are many ways to have someone who "knows the student academically" without having ever taken an outside course. Youth ministers often know students "academically" from their time in bible study together. I have a friend who is a school administrator who has been a sounding board for me though out my homeschooling years. She would have been glad to do this for me even though she never taught my kids. Friends and leaders of various groups can help here. Are these recommendations as all knowing as the homeschool parent's would be? No. But many B&M school students face this too. I hated my principal (for long and complicated reasons) and never spoke to the counselor outside of a 2 min appointment for scheduling once a year. I was in a large high school and never had a teacher more than once. I had some I loved, but none knew me that well. Is it more awkward for homeschoolers to fill this requirement? For some, definitely. For others, probably not. We are not all alike. But in my mind, the process is fair and even handed. I appreciate that.

How is she doing with the current schedule? Is she struggling or keeping up with ease? 6 APs plus 2 college courses is a crazy load, but you do have several of the lightest APs in there and doing 4 of them at home makes them flexible. You can always scale back and have her not take all the exams if it gets overwhelming. Most kids couldn't handle the schedule she has, let alone adding to it, but that doesn't mean it isn't perfect for your dd. None of us can know that. Only you and your dd. Best wishes,

My oldest was in public school through 5th grade and we were still reading aloud at home. Certainly not all ps families would find that odd. Of course we continued to read aloud until the kids were in high school and even a lot of homeschool families find that odd. :) To the original question, both of my kids learned to read at very early ages (2 and 3) with no instruction, just by following as I read aloud. I know that isn't the norm and they still received direct phonics instruction in K-1, but they were reading well long before that. I think the lists of benefits from reading aloud already given in this thread are valid, but I also think it actually helps children learn to read.

If the teacher says he is ok and he thinks he can turn it around, I wouldn't pull him yet. I know it is hard to watch the failure, but sometimes kids need to fail and he really needs the opportunity to prove he can do this. I think it could be a substantial blow to his self-esteem to fail and have to pull out and homeschool because he can't handle high school.

I didn't answer the poll because I an't group years or even give a definitive answer for any year except 9th when neither outsourced a class. We outsource as necessary for content or as desired. It isn't a set thing. DS 9th - 0 10th - 0 11th - 2 12th - 2 DD 9th - 0 10th - 1 11th - 4

Most Biology courses can be done without labs, however, I would caution that some of the homeschool Biology courses do include material only presented during the labs on tests. DIVE is an example of this. The labs are included on the DVD in the form of narrated still pictures. The information and calculations done in a lab may be on the test and your student may miss test questions if they don't watch the labs. However, watching is enough for the tests. Not enough to count it as a lab science IMO but enough for the tests none the less.