I was really nervous. Turned out I had no reason to be. What a relief.

There are two reasons to start them both at the beginning in my mind: 1. Your oldest has no point of reference to jump into later history. Learning history in a linear, from the beginning fashion really makes things build and make sense. Public school will have had "social studies" but no in depth study of any history time period unless they are highly unusual. Certainly kids can jump into any period of history, but you have a great opportunity here to let them both start at the beginning and get a better feel for the sequence and cause and effect nature of history. 2. It makes your life so much easier! There is no reason for your kids not to do SOTW together. This is great family time and they will both learn at their own level. Getting the concept of putting multiple ages together was something I struggled with coming from a ps mindset. However, history, which normally has no required order (unlike math), is the perfect opportunity to combine and both ease your stress and build your homeschool/family community bonds. I don't know what your state requirements are. I'm unaware of any state that puts specific topics into homeschool history requirements in third grade. I would talk to others in your state and see if you have the freedom to chose your own history sequence.

I do detailed prep for fall semester in the summer. Then I gradually prep spring semester when opportunities arise during the fall and finish it up over Christmas break. I started off prepping a week at a time. It had good points, but I do much better with having everything done and ready. It keeps me on track!

I haven't used Kolbe, but all the discussion on this board says it is easy to use secularly.

"As of next year, parents in Nevada can have 90 percent (100 percent for children with special needs and children from low-income families) of the funds that would have been spent on their child in their public school deposited into a restricted-use spending account. That amounts to between $5,100 and $5,700 annually, according to the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice. Those funds are deposited quarterly onto a debit card, which parents can use to pay for a variety of education-related services and products — things such as private-school tuition, online learning, special-education services and therapies, books, tutors, and dual-enrollment college courses." Wow. Just wow. I know there are plenty of people who are afraid of government involvement in homeschooling, but I would be all in, in a heartbeat. There are all kinds of opportunities we could have taken advantage of if this had been available. My youngest will be a senior next year and I'm paying dual-enrollment fees out of my pocket and this would cover it all!

I used EIL with both my kids. Their writing abilities were different when they started EIL, but they both improved. The class doesn't offer writing instruction, but it does offer samples/models of each style of paper and a rubric for grading. The intro to lit level, has a lower writing expectation (fewer words/paper) and I think any average high school freshman could do it. If she is writing phobic (ds who will be a writing major in college next year used to be), you might consider something like Sharon Watson's high school writing course. Jump In, her middle school course moved my kids beyond their writing phobia which was caught in public school.

I don't know if you want Christian or Secular. For World History, I would look at Oak Meadow for secular, but with an inexpensive easy to follow syllabus. Buy the textbook used, not through OM. If you prefer Christian, Notgrass is easy to follow. You could also go with a combined history English using My Father's World. That isn't the cheapest route, but it does offer a detailed schedule. For English, I would use EIL. I've used multiple levels for 2 different kids and it was one of the only things I've ever tried that they both did well with. It is easy, scheduled and super cheap! I would start with Intro to Lit. I don't have any recommendations for Spanish, but I would definitely recommend an online class or looking into the local CC for this.

We met with disability services at the college ds will be attending in the fall. It went great! He said all of our documentation is in order (all we have is an eval from the public schools and they weren't sure if a medical eval would be needed for this school), and he saw no problem with any of the accommodations we requested. He didn't give us any trouble about me joining in the meeting either and encouraged me to stay involved. The coolest thing he told us is that all students that are registered with disability services get to register first for classes each semester! Ds didn't properly appreciate that until he got his schedule yesterday (the college makes it after you fill out a form) and he didn't get the class he most wanted because it was already full. I told him this was the last time he would ever experience that and then, in that moment, he got it. He really didn't want to register with disability services, and now he is glad he did.

The things we have done: Final Transcript sent DE credits sent Got current vaccine records Accommodations request made and approved Met with disability services Received dorm assignment and schedule To do: "Freshman First Day" is two weeks from today. He'll get to check off most of his todo list then including: Make changes to schedule (they put him in 2 classes he does not want or need) Meet roommates Talk to health services to see what additional vaccines will be required if any Setup checking account with on-campus bank The only things I know of that we need to do that can't be taken care of on Freshman First Day: Send in CLEP and AP credits (waiting as he plans to take a couple more CLEPs over the summer) SHOPPING! The boy needs clothes and dorm stuff and school stuff. There is a lot of shopping to do and no one who likes to shop in the family. :lol: :svengo: ETA: The big stress for me is that dh is going with ds to Freshman First Day because I will be in NC at Acrobatic Gymnastics Nationals with dd. I have been trying to get them both prepped. I have a folder of stuff for them to take and to discuss with those they meet with, but I wish I could be there! Deep breaths - time to let go.

We consider the decision to be primarily about fit and the college experience, but we expect them to find a fit and a wonderful experience within our budget. There are lots of state schools, some very reasonably priced private schools and some pricier schools that give good aid that all made the options list. My kids never considered the budget to be prohibitive, but they didn't shoot for the moon either. I couldn't afford the rocket.

Cat dissection guide? There are a couple on Amazon that get very good reviews, but I'd love a btdt.

We have a new magnet stem elementary K-6 here that has slightly longer school days and goes a month longer into the summer. It is very popular and I think it is a great option. It is a good option for some, but I wouldn't want the whole district to move to this schedule. On the subject of long bus rides creating long days, when I was in high school, the bus picked up at 6:00 am. If I rode the bus home right after school, I got there around 4:00. If I rode the activity bus after sports, I got home at 7:30 pm, yep 13+ hours. Usually my mom took me to school (start time 7:30) and picked me up after sports (end time 5:00), but there were times when she couldn't and I couldn't swing a ride. I was so happy to get my license at 16 and be able to drive to school and stop the insanity!

The road in Yellowstone is basically a figure 8. It is very worth it to drive the entire 8. Every section of the park is different and worth at least a pass. Normally it is a very pleasant drive, but in July the road may be so crowded that it is just too time consuming. The west side of the park has all the main attractions. Bridge Bay is in the SE as I recall. You can go around the south end to get to Old Faithful or cut through the center and up to the hot springs.

I'm confused about what it is that would be better for kids than getting to go home? You think everyone being required to stay at school 9+ hours a day would be an improvement? No way! We would have left ps far sooner if that was the case. Our schools run 8:30-3:30 for K-4; 7:30-2:30 for 5th-12th grade. It is definitely long enough! Spending more time at school would just turn the school into a daycare. The purpose of school is to educate, not to provide childcare so both parents can work.

If he would have more fun doing it at the CC, go for it. Derek Owens is what we have decided to do for Physics next year.

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You can also choose to see only important posts. I'm not sure how they determine "important" but I think it is posts that get a lot of likes and comments. Doing that helps you to know if they actually post something that you might want to see.

We only used Apologia for Chemistry. I gave grades based on chapter test scores, no weighting.

My understanding from someone who posted about this last year was just as you said. The 2014 edition is just referring to the online license. The book hasn't changed.

That is cool! I wish I'd known about this years ago. Right now ds doesn't like any special privileges based on his disability, but I would definitely have gone for it when he was younger!

Lori already expressed most of my thoughts. Lightning Lit is a great choice, but you will have to throw out the slow schedule and pick and choose from the worksheets. I highly suggest both of those things anyway. LL8 moves at almost twice the pace of LL7 and might be a better fit. I love Excellence in Lit. There are no comprehension questions. You read the books and write a paper at the end. The Introduction to Literature level is considerably gentler than the others and could work for a 7th grader, but is written to 8-9th. With a good reader, my plan would be skip LL7, do LL8 this year and move to EIL Intro to Lit next year. We did LL 7 & 8 the moved to EIL. My advice is definitely what I would have done with my own kids in hindsight.

I would probably do on paper what you have already done in practicality. He is attending church with the group a year younger (ds did that too) so outside of your home, he is already hanging with the kids a year younger. I'd make that official. The other alternative is to not make the decision until after 8th grade. Middle school boys are chronically immature. If he still seems young or if the testing continues to slide, or if for whatever reason you and he agree he isn't ready to start high school after 8th, do 8th again (of course continuing forward academically). In the mean time, just continue to meet him where he is academically and move at his pace. In a couple of years you should be able to see how that is playing out and if an "on paper" change is really needed.

Sounds good. I would just drop Latin from her 9th grade year and put it in 10th. Is Criminal Justice her social studies credit or is that the great books? I am assuming great books was her part English credit along with the research and reporting, but I don't know if it is also history in which case the Criminal Justice might be more of an elective. So, I'm seeing 1 credit English: GB +writing, 1 credit FL: Latin, 2 credits science: Chem & AP Bio (dd did that in 10th too), 1 credit math: Algebra 2, 1 credit Social Studies: Criminal Justice, 1 elective credit: Theology. It looks good from here. :)

I would sell it and use the $8000 to buy a used small car with a good safety rating two years from now, or whenever you actually begin to need it. I have two teens driving and we just added a fourth car because ds will take car 3 to college with him in the fall. I know and understand the need for a car for teen drivers. However, a minivan is far from the ideal car for them to learn in/use and 2 years seems like a long time to hold it, although I also know it will be here before you can believe it!

I'm pretty sure my oldest was at least 10, maybe 11 before he could tie shoes. I had given up and thought he'd be wearing velcro as an adult. My youngest could tie by 3 and could do her own ponytails before she went to K. That said, ds did have some issues and did OT from age 3-12. Those may be signs of a need for evaluation.