I haven't used it, but I have a friend who is using it and I've looked closely at it. It's a serious contender for my 8th grader. It's very easy to use, independent, and I do think it can easily be done in less than an hour. It's not a traditional Geography text, though. Not near as much about land formation and history, etc. More focused on people there now. I liked it! As for 8th grade, it's a transition year- we are going to have several HS level Texts. Plan includes a HS text for science and English, and most likely history. I'm on the fence regarding math. She's ready for Algebra 1, but we may just take the year to cement stuff with other Texts instead.

I feel much the same- August is too far away. Littles soon through a phase, then stall out for a while. I feel like we've been hanging out at the same spot since before Christmas. I think I'm going to ramp up Little Kid once Big Kids are about finished with this school year. It's hard to juggle all the grades! I'm currently trying to figure out 11th grade!

We have used Saxon Algebra 1 and Algebra 2, and started Advanced Math. They did Algebra 2 Freshman year, so that's the only thing on their transcript for high school. This is for 10th grade. As for why I chose College Algebra, this course had a lot of review, but also stuff we haven't covered or things Advanced Math started. FoG, GoF, logs, Advanced graphing of different types of equations. Saxon requires the first part of Advanced Math to cover the Geometry- so I could call this year Geometry with Advanced Algebra? The college they are currently looking at is a harder Technology school. They require 4 years of math for admission, and want to see math all 4 years, not including stuff from middle school. My CC offers Calc 1 and 2, so that's the plan for Sr year. The college will accept it for general credit, and they will have to take Calc 1 and 2 again at the college- it's a much more difficult class. If they change their mind, they will still have DE Calc 1 and 2. I am looking at AP Calc classes online, but haven't been able to find testing anywhere near me. Pros of putting College Algebra on the transcript- show they took an outside class, increase GPA with weighting on HS transcript, pad college GPA with class that doesn't really count for the degree - and it will not count, it will just be an extra class. Cons- it costs money and has no real value to their degree.

Very long, sorry! I would love to hear advice! This year's Math Saxon Advanced Math lessons 1-40, using Art Reed DVDs, doing half a lesson per day. That was too slow, so I upped it to 20 questions per day so they got 2 lessons done in 3 days. Tests for this were all As, but I felt it was jumping all over and I wasn't happy with it. Khan Academy- next I had them do Geometry and part of Trig, but it wasn't very many problems. We only did this a month or so while I looked at other options ASU-UL College Algebra- they are about 80% done with the class after 1 month- most has been review. I expect them to finish in March with an A. I do not know if I will pay to put it on the transcript or not. Questions: 1. What do I call this years math? If I pay to put this on the college transcript, admissions has said I need to have it on the HS transcript exactly as it's on the college one. I'm assuming of I don't transcript it, I can call this whatever else I want, but cannot use "College." It will be as if I used it as a resource for my high school class. 2. What do I do next???? Kids seem STEM College focused right now. I think PreCalc but I have no idea what provider. Should I start in March, if they finish the College Algebra? Or wait until next fall- that seems like a long time. Other options to fill this time? 3. How do I find a good fit with an online provider? I would like for them to be able to ask a real teacher if they are having trouble. I would like a real textbook, online videos, Zoom optional, but might be nice. I would like the teacher to grade everything and give feedback if they notice kids are struggling with something. I can proctor tests, but proctoring software is okay if necessary. 4. Thoughts on paying for the ASU credit for a STEM focused kids whose degree starts with Calc 1? It would be like an elective.

I cannot believe this kid is getting ready for 8th grade! She's a reader, so hoping to add some literature. Math: Saxon 1/2, it will probably go quickly bc she's rocking 87, but I like to give more foundation at this age. Then maybe MUS Geometry and Arbor School books English: Writing with Skill 2, Fix It Grammar, maybe 7 Sisters literature units? Still working on this. Science: Earth Science 🌎 Holt Textbook History: World Geography or Ancient History? Maybe a mix or both! Looking at resources and options, particularly lit based ones. Other: Co-op, classes TBD

How fun! Mine has really struggled with the physical writing but has so many ideas! I have some little blank booklets from Target that she uses to write and draw her stories. They are just blank pages, no lines. You could get the tablets that have blank space at the top and lines on the bottom. I wouldn't push anything specific, just let her do her own thing. We took a long break over the holidays and it's taken a while to get back into a groove. I love the Zaner Bloser spelling book I bought! It's been going very well. Starts at cvc words, ends with words like broom, pain, etc. She can read those easily, but we've struggled with the handwriting part. I have her draw a smilie or put a sticker next to her best writing. She has had a growth spurt in the last 6 weeks, lost 4 teeth with another almost ready to come out! It feels like she's finally ready for more serious school time. It's time to start thinking about next year, but I'm not quite ready! We will be starting LoE C soon.

Prayers for your healing, kids emotions, and for DH.

It's very hard to get the license taken away! I would have DH call the doctor and let them know that a report needs to be made. Given this diagnosis, he may give some cognitive assessment at his next appt., then file the paperwork. Another option is to contact the local PD and ask. Here, I think it had to be the highway patrol? What ended up happening in our case is he was caught driving the wrong direction on a divided highway- thankfully no one was hit! Highway Patrol took him home, wrote tickets, and filed to revoke license. To get them back, he needed to pass all the tests again, which wouldn't happen. Other things we did- spark plug would dissappear ;) Keys would be misplaced (and not always by us!!! He lost his wallet over and over).

What I see is kids fail to get the basics in elementary and are pushed along anyway. They have no hope of catching up by middle school. I strongly believe in tracking starting in in K/1st. Some kids will pick up on math and learn quickly. Others need a slower introduction and more repetition. Our current system of going through each section of a textbook in a prescribed number of school days will not ever work for a lot of students. They need fewer topics taught to a higher level of mastery and at a slower pace. Other kids get really bored because the math just seems so simple. I do believe that this is a brain thing, it doesn't make someone dumb if they need this slower pace. Sometimes brains just need longer to wrestle with a topic. As for high school math, I do think there are some topics that could be dropped in exchange for others. Drop logs and teach interest rates! They are basically the same thing. Reading graphs, statistics, etc. Are important in all careers as well as just being able to understand the news (particularly economic news). I do use a lot of Algebra 1 and some Geometry. I don't use much from Algebra 2, but I do use a lot of finance math. I can't teach past that. I try, but I just can't get it. Unfortunately my twins are at this point and we've been struggling with online options. Online math sucks! My boys struggle with inputting the answer more than they struggle with the content. My older kids ended up taking notes on how to input different types of answers. Some used Pearson MyMath Lab. Others are using Aleks from ASU-UL. I've got one in a stats class this semester and she reports that it's a different software and she's still learning to input the correct answe correctly! We've done online and in person, but all of them have required all the work to be submitted in the software. One instructor did go back and give partial points on tests if you solved it correctly on paper- that's at a small CC.

I would send the 9th grader for sure. For the 12 year old- I hate middle school! I was bullied in 7th and 8th grades (new kid in 7th). As an adult I went to sub and 7th and 8th grades are the worst! I have a 7th grader this year and her social needs are higher than in years before. I'm trying to be more involved but it's very hard to find activities with kids they jive with. If there are no options, I would allow her to go to public school. If you have options that are available, I'd probably try other things first with a promise that she can go to public high school. The 8 year old- he cab have a lovely year at home with mom! Full focus, lots of activities and projects. As a Homeschooling mom to several kids (4 this year, 5 at the most), I do find it really hard to stretch to meet the needs of high school, middle school, and elementary. This year I have all 3 levels and I'm just letting the little one hang where she is because I just cannot find the one on one time when I'm working with the older ones who need quiet instead of fun games. It's not just a juggling of curriculum and kids, it's also juggling the social needs and the noise level of our house! It's okay to admit when one kid needs something totally different than another. My purpose in homeschooling is to meet the needs of each child as an individual. Sometimes that means public school!

My boys took PSAT and it's adaptive- if you don't do well enough it won't give you the hardest sections. The reading sections were much shorter with fewer questions per passage.

I would have him get the AS. He's still really young and this is just replacing the high school classes he would need anyway. We are a farm family and I see physics, biology, and chemistry in caring for our livestock! Physics- farm equipment repairs. Biology- vaccines, birthing and genetics, sickness, nutrition and supplements. Chemistry- fertilizing, nutrition, all the farm chemicals!

Gld he's feeling optimistic! I hope it's nothing serious and resolves soon.

If it were me, I'd tell him to ho to sleep. I'd set my alarm for 7am Ireland time and call him then. If he has any symptoms, then go to clinic at the campus.

She has one child and is a helicopter mom. I would cut my losses and move on. Tell her that kids misbehave sometimes- he was punished and it was a month ago. If she's still hung up on it, it's her problem. There is no need to have some big discussion about it, plan out a time to talk, etc. If this is something that your son does regularly, I would suggest looking into it with a Dr., but kids do impulsive things and one temper tantrum us not grounds to end a friendship.

I have Oak Meadow and like it. 👍

I was thinking about you today. I'm sorry to hear this, I hope you hear back soon.

Good luck!

My concern is how bored will the kids who can read be? I would suggest leveled groups according to Phonics decoding skills. Paper Pie (Usborne) books has a Beginners Science series that are very easy for lower readers. They are also internet linked with activities, videos, etc. The Young Beginners are easy enough my 1st grader can read them.

And to add to the drama that is AirBnB, those types of rentals are very popular with short-term tenants like traveling nurses, doctors, and other professionals who stay in one area for a few months at a time. It does fill a need for professional housing. I have several friends who have one to three Air BnBs. They get a lot of situations like this: elderly mom is sick, daughter and her kids move in for a month to care for her, lots of traveling nurses and doctors, families considering moving to the area so they rent it for one month, families between houses- buying or selling. There have been a lot that rent for a month or more. Is this "short term?" It's not vacationers- we aren't a vacation destination. Most of the time it's people visiting extended family.

Oh my! This is way too much to deal with at once. Hope life calms down soon!

My grandparents have been on the list for a place like this for over a year. They are rental only and still cost a lot of money when you consider their house is paid for- only insurance and taxes to pay each year. If they move, the rent for the senior living space could change at any time! They are old- like 90- but if they had rented at one of these places at 75 or 80, they would be broke by now. Their home is nice, they built it new about 20 years ago with the idea that they could grow old there. One day a family could move in and enjoy it, but for now I don't think there is anything wrong with them living there! The idea that they need to move in order to make space for families is insulting- they are just as deserving of a nice house as anyone else! That town has had a real estate run, and DH and I think it's in a bubble. Houses are more expensive there than in 2 other larger cities (it's a small, rural town). Why? Well since Covid there have been families moving in from HCOL areas and running up the prices of all homes and rentals! A home that was $150-180 pre-Covid is now $300+. And yes, that's now a starter home in a very low COL area that cannot support those prices with current wages. Many are people with remote jobs who moved during Covid- lots from very blue areas. Our co-op has doubled in size, and they are all from out of state. Others retired here- realtors did a great job with advertising low prices and small town living ;) Another really weird one is that other states have sent disabled people to live here- my parents are landlords, I swear this is true. They can rent places here cheaper, so they keep renting places, hiring caregivers (Also cheaper here) and moving Medicaid patients here from higher COL areas. There is a business that has just exploded in the last 10 years that focuses on high needs, 24 hour care individuals on Medicaid. This influx of people has also caused some growing pains as we don't have enough Dr's and hospitals. They are renting lots of houses. Meanwhile my tiny, dying town has empty houses that no one wants to live in- it's too remote, not good internet reliability, too far from everything (an hour to Walmart).

I wouldn't skip it, but you can make it lighter. If you have ML books still, use them again and breeze through. You could also use summer to get a jump-start. I'd suggest the same for math, to get a little breathing room.

One of mine has had 2 classes that have taken that amount of time. One was Chemistry for majors- it had hours of homework every week balancing equations, then inputting them into the online auto-graded program. The other was A&P- she had to spend a lot of time memorizing everything- correct spelling was graded and that's always been a struggle for her. Depending on the week, she would spend 2-4 hours per week, 7 days a week, on these classes. Most other classes are a small fraction of that!

My college age DD sent me pics of her and friends playing it last night- looks like my crew would like it! I put it on my list!