From what I can see from the comments locally...they were perfectly fine with staying in public schools until they lost the MEs, so I don't really see that they would place a high priority on avoiding the vax'd population. I also notice a lot of...who can I pay to do teach my kids or where do I find a classes for my kids. There are also questions about what co-ops exists where can I drop off my kids when the operative word they don't comprehend is co-op... There are a surprising number of people saying I need a homeschool program that is 5 days a week. The homeschooling community is like what??? that's school not homeschooling. Private schools are no longer open to non-vax'd either. Or they are coming in thinking the homeschooling community has built a lot of pods (aka microschools) when that's never been what has been going on in the homeschooling community.

FWIW, returning to the OT. My 12yo got his first shot 8 days ago. No side effects except for a sore arm for a day.

This is a general statement non-specific to Covid. I never would have thought I would ever have thought that about the homeschooling world in all my years homeschooling until this year. It's disconcerting and sad. It's coupled with realizing that there are things I can't unsee after this year which has impacted and changed relationships and community. I'm not the only one in this boat. The homeschooling community here is absorbing a lot more anti-vaxxers because this year, a lot of MEs (medical exemptions) have been revoked...we are getting a flood of newbies who don't necessarily want to be homeschooling. That actually changes the dynamics of the homeschooling community as well. People aren't necessarily vested in creating communities or a vision for homeschooling.

I never thought I would say I feel more concerned about the homeschooling community than I do about the general community. I am actually feeling quite good about my zip code. Sadly, homeschooling world is opposite world. Of the total population, about 67.3% have gotten at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and about 46.3% (23,105 people) have been fully vaccinated.Of the population over 12, 86.3% have gotten at least one dose and 59.3% have been fully vaccinated.

I hate to say it, but I get concerned because the ratio of unvaxxed to vaxxed in homeschooling populations is a lot higher than other activities in our local community at least where I am. Given the disporportionate number of minors relative to adults...I would say 30% would be an really optimistic number.

There is a Christian speech and debate organization here. Tournaments are available all the time. https://stoausa.org/ There is tool to help you find local clubs on their website.

From what I understand from my sister in Seattle area, PNW started experiencing a surge compared to other states about 3 weeks ago. It's quite the opposite here in California.

On night 2, my arm was sore and achy/muscle tightness across my upper left quadrant which was the injection side that made it hard to sleep until I took ibuprofen. Day 2 & 3, I had fatigue. On Day 3, I was pretty tired as well but considering I couldn't sleep on night 2...that seemed like a possible cause rather than a side effect of the shot.

I'm pretty sure Bruce Etter is now the Dean of Academics at a Christian private school called Veritas Academy in Lancaster. https://www.veritasacademy.com/faculty-staff/administration/

I like Jacobs and Art of Problem Solving. AOPS is pretty rigorous and challenging.

PA Homeschoolers' Jack Kernion offers all of his course without live meetings in a self-paced format here: https://www.physics-prep.com/ It's $175 for one year license.

+1 on this.

approximatey 3.85 million in the US at the beginning on May.

Try black tea foot bath. I assume you are making sure to wear different shoes every other day to avoid the issue of shoes not completely drying out. Loafer socks, bamboo charcoal bags for the shoes to absorb odor. Foor spray/deodorizers.

I would say that you can expect to see an increase of these types of offerings since UC/CSU are no longer considering SAT or ACT. The only way to differentiate academic competitions would be through academic competitions and APs. Asians will definitely put money towards classes/programs that would help gain an edge.

On the topic of lying...this was an interesting piece in USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2021/05/15/new-mask-rules-trust-americans-honest-vaccine-status/5107686001/

Look for women's hiking pants in sporting goods stores. I've seen them called utility pants as well. Another source that should be more availabe this time of year are women's travel pants with hidden pockets. Lots of choices on Amazon.

This was a really fascinating poll. https://news.yahoo.com/poll-vaccinated-americans-are-ready-to-drop-their-masks-after-cdc-shift-but-theyre-not-ready-to-socialize-with-the-unvaccinated-203811328.html

Are other areas tracking vaccination rates by zip code? I was feeling good about it when I checked when 16 and older were permitted that my zip code was 87% partly or fully vax'd. Less so now that appears to be 64%. Still great, but when I go to other zip codes you see that number vary signficantly. It's starting to influence where my family to be out and about. https://dig.abclocal.go.com/kabc/ca-vaccine-tracker/SoCal_vax_zip_map.html

It sounds like she might be using a center that functions sort of like semi-exclusive private education for live in-person small class size AP courses and test prep. There's a chain called Elite Educational Institute for example. From what I can tell they are targeting high income areas and areas with Asian populations. The website renders in Korean, Chinese (traditional and simplified) which is on purpose.

Except Glide Memorial finally left UMC...

Honestly I wanted to do this earlier if I could, but we couldn't swing it given #2's age. I know some people are happy to bring under 5's around, but I would have hated the hassle of all the little kid challenges with travelling long term. And then Covid happened which put this coming year as a non-starter for us to do this as we felt there was too much uncertainty.

I never quite understood why Saddleback was still part of SBC. I know this is a carryover from when Rick Warren first planted the church since he was ordained in SBC.

I like Japanese noodle salad like somen salad or soba salad. Lots of recipes online to try. like these: https://onolicioushawaii.com/somen-salad/ https://www.justonecookbook.com/soba-salad/ for this one, you can add all sorts of slivered veggies to it like carrots, red/orange/yellow bell peppers, cucumbers, etc. We really like Mexican bean salad as well. This version doesn't use tomatoes...it's similar enough to what I use. I will also add diced summer squash to it as well. https://belleofthekitchen.com/mexican-three-bean-salad/ Asian Chicken and Cabbage salad...Loads of variations online to suit your taste.

I think you got a lot of great responses. I don't have anything to add but I just wanted to send you a note of encouragement. I know you are new to this board, but there is a super helpful Learning Challenges Board. There are amazing parents on there with loads of expereince and so supportive. Hang in there, you are far and away the one person in his life who cares the most about meeting him where he is at and his needs. I want to say awesome job! for caring enough to want to do better for him.