Awesome info, thank you!

This is awesome to know, too! Thank you!

Yes, I'm not yet sure if we would DE, but it's really great to have it as an option! So, it seems like Columbus State Community College is well-respected in the area? I've done some cursory reading about it on their website, etc., and from what I can tell, credits earned there would seamlessly transfer to OSU (or a similar 4-year institution), which is obviously a huge plus. (Even if we don't end up DE, I can definitely see us sending our girls to CSCC for their first two years of college and then transferring to OSU/similar, so buying a home in good proximity to CSCC would definitely be advantageous for that reason....)

Yes, the cost of living just seems amazing compared to the East Coast. And that is fascinating to me that your DD is technically enrolled in ps, but is full DE. I had never even considered that sort of thing as a possibility! Thanks so much for sharing!

Yay--thank you for responding from Columbus! This is all really encouraging! I have heard the libraries and parks are great, which is so important to us. Thanks so much for chiming in!

Thank you so much for this info! (And yes, from the research we've done so far, Ohio really does seem like utopia, lol.) I did not know that about DE in Ohio--that is great!

Good to know re: the tests! (I do have college degrees, so it's helpful to know that testing at home is an option.) And thank you for the general Ohio info; we are definitely exploring all the major cities!

Wow, thank you so much for taking the time to write up all of this information and provide links! So, so appreciated! And I didn't realize that if I did the testing option I could administer the IOWA myself at home. Interesting! Something to think about. Well, this is all great, helpful info. Thanks so much!!

We're actually considering Indiana as well--specifically because it seems so free and painless for homeschooling! It's very tempting, lol. But there's so much about Ohio overall that appeals to us, it's definitely at the top of our hypothetical list at the moment. Lots to think about! I feel confident that I can play the game and make things work wherever we land, but it's very helpful to get a sense of things from other homeschoolers!

Thank you again for the information! It's interesting to me in that it all sounds pretty subjective and that there is a fee attached, but as we're searching around at different places to live, I am learning that the rules vary wildly from state to state!

Thank you so much for the information! (And thank you for the link; I bookmarked it.) If you don't mind me asking a follow-up question: Do the teachers who do assessments charge you a fee for the service? (I'm curious if the teachers are independent contractors, performing this service as a personal home/side business? Or, are they active teachers currently teaching in the state, who do homeschool assessments as part of their job?) I agree; portfolios are more comfortable for me, too. It's what we've always done here. (I'm not afraid of testing or anything; I'm sure my kids would score fine, but I don't want to start teaching to a test over the course of the school year, you know? I like being able to write things up and evaluate in a more narrative way, etc.) Ohio actually sounds easier in some ways than my state, since the assessments are just once per year (in my state, there are two per year, but they are very easy.) Anyway, this is encouraging--thank you so much for taking the time to respond!

We also use and love Typing Club!

I would love to hear from anyone currently homeschooling in the state of Ohio! Is homeschooling in Ohio "easy," legally speaking? (Is testing required?) If anyone could please explain, in a nutshell, what is legally required in Ohio, I would greatly appreciate it! I've done some cursory Googling, of course, but it would be so nice to hear about it first-hand. From what I understand, it looks like a portfolio can be evaluated annually by a certified teacher, but how do you find a suitable teacher to work with? Would my local public school set me up with one? (Side note: I actually used to be a certified teacher in my current state before having children/homeschooling, but I'm guessing I can't self-evaluate?) Context: For the past several years, my husband and I have contemplated moving to a different state. We've considered several states and are currently considering those in the midwest. Columbus, Ohio looks appealing to us for a variety of reasons. (We currently live on the east coast and the cost of living in our area is out of control. We've rented forever and we're hoping to buy our first home next year, but we could buy one in the midwest for literally a third or a quarter of the price of what an equivalent home would cost here, so we're just not sure how much longer it will make sense for us to stay in this area, you know? Our oldest is only going into 7th grade, but college isn't that far out, financially speaking, and we're thinking we'd rather put our money towards saving for college than the insane cost of living here. Plus, we're also feeling a general pull toward an environment that isn't so "East Coast Rat Race," if that makes sense. We've lived here for nearly 20 years and are feeling ready for something new/simpler/more peaceful.) That said, I am a bit hesitant to move because I've been homeschooling very happily in my current area for seven years now. I know the drill, I am very comfortable with it, and I find it very easy: just two portfolio evaluations a year with the county, and no mandatory standardized testing. But, as I said before, moving just makes so much more sense financially, and it might be exciting to embark on a new adventure as a family. So, I'm really torn. But we know we definitely don't want to move to a state where homeschooling is more difficult (regulation-wise), so I was hoping to get a sense of things from someone who currently lives in Ohio. Bonus question if you live in Columbus: Is there a vibrant homeschool community there? Our homeschool community is wonderful here, so that's another thing I'm really hesitant to give up. Thanks so much for reading; I appreciate any feedback anyone might have about Ohio, or any general insight about moving to a new state while homeschooling.

Awesome info, thanks!!

Thank you both! I haven't heard of either of those; will check them out!

Just curious where you've had the best luck selling used curriculum? (I'm looking to sell some Math U See and All About Spelling, if the specific items influence your opinion.) I've never used the classifieds here, and am curious how active they are? (There appears to be lots of great stuff for sale, but not a lot of completed sales.) Just trying to figure out the best use of my time - trying to sell here, on eBay, or on Craigslist. Any input would be much appreciated! Thanks!

Enjoy your peace and quiet! My husband usually does something similar--takes the kids to my MIL's house for several days so I can do the bulk of my planning. Typically, I first tackle whatever tasks require actual brain power and focus. I do a modified file-folder planning system each summer, and for certain subjects (say, math), all that requires of me is tearing the pages out of the workbooks and filing them into folders. I don't necessarily need peace and quiet to do that; it's more like busy work for me, and I know I can work on it little by little over time. But for other subjects that I mostly DIY (that is, that I don't use a simple, single curriculum for)--the subjects that require me to stop and really think about projects I'd like to include, changes I want to make, books I want to read, etc. do require concentration, so I focus on those first. Additionally, any serious homeschool reading I might want to do (like re-reading sections of TWTM, etc.), are something I prioritize. Finally, I also like to muck out the homeschool room and shelves, etc., when no one is there to immediately mess them back up, lol.

We're into our summer schooling schedule, which for us means a little daily math, a little daily copywork, and lots of reading/read alouds. Instead of using copywork pages from, say, WWE or Brave Writer Arrows, I decided to just pull it from our current read aloud. During the school year, I typically do language arts one-on-one with each child. If I'm pulling copywork from a read aloud, I usually stick our current book in a cookbook holder, so the child can easily see the text for copying. This generally works well, but since we're doing school stuff all together each morning for the summer, having both girls share the same book at the same time for copywork has...not been working, lol. So, it dawned on me to just photocopy (on our home printer) two copies of the page in question. Now, I take those two copies and a highlighter, and just highlight the sentences I want copied. (I typically select a page that we've just read the night before during read aloud. I also pick different passages from the same page for each girl, so they are doing different work and don't compare. I also generally give the older child a longer passage.) Long story short, this has been working really well so far, and it takes me all of two minutes to prep! Mostly, I feel like an idiot that I didn't think of doing copywork this way before. It's so much easier for everyone involved. Anyway, thought I would pass it along, in case anyone else finds it helpful! :-) P.S. Our current read aloud (my girls are 8 and 11) is Splendors and Glooms by Newberry Medal Winner Laura Amy Schlitz. We're a little more than halfway through, and it has been a huge hit! If you love historical fiction (this one takes place in London, 1860), and you love spooky, creepy, witchy stories, I highly recommend! (It's set in fall and winter, so it would be a good one to put on your list for the fall, but it's been on my to-read list forever and I didn't want to wait any longer, so we just dove in. I don't regret it.) The language and descriptions in this book are gorgeous, making it particularly great for copywork.

We have happily used MUS all along and my oldest is currently in Epsilon (fractions). We absolutely love MUS. That said, my daughter also was confused by the "upside-down multiplication" in Delta, so I just let her skip that part. I told her that as long as she understood how to do long division and could get correct answers (which she did!), she did not have to check her division using the upside-down method. (I found it a bit confusing myself!) I let her check her division by doing multiplication "the regular way" or by just skipping the checking step altogether. I feel completely confident that she finished Delta understanding division, so I haven't lost a bit of sleep over it. My two cents: If Math U See is otherwise working for you, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Just use the parts that work and move on; don't fret about these small details! (Mr. Demme teaches similar little math tricks from time to time; some of them help us and some of them don't resonate, so we just keep the ones that work.) :-)

Thank you so much for this info! As I mentioned, we are still in the hypothetical stage of all of this, but if it turns out we consider the job/moving, I will definitely reach out. Thanks again; I really appreciate the help! :-)

Thank you so much, everyone, for all the input! (As for the testing, I fully expect my kids to be able to pass just fine, but was just curious what scores "meant." So good to know!) Thanks again!

Thank you so much! I so appreciate your taking the time to answer. Do the SCORES of the standardized tests matter at all? (Like, if your child "fails," does it mean anything? Are there consequences? Or do you just have to participate in the testing so the state can gather information?) Thank you!!

Julie Andrews' Collection of Poems, Songs, and Lullibies is definitely appropriate for all kids, and her reading voice, is of course, lovely. Highly recommend this one! A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson would be a great collection to start with (there are a few different versions available on Audible.)

Shakespeare's plays were meant to be watched!! If Shakespeare feels foreign to you, I would watch classic movie versions of the plays and then read the texts. (If you have a sense of the story before diving into the actual text, I think it will all seem a lot easier and less intimidating!) Audiobook versions are also a great starting point. Heck, even storybook versions of the plays (intended for children) could be helpful. Also, the Riverside Shakespeare is a wonderful resource! It contains ALL of Shakespeare's work. I used it in college as a literature major and it's still my go-to. (It is a huge book, but a good one!)

So, my husband and I are discussing a possible new job for him that would relocate us to Syracuse, New York. (It is very theoretical at this point, but I want to get a handle on what a move could mean for our homeschooling before we pursue the idea any further.) We currently live in a medium-regulation state and I really enjoy the freedom I have here. (The area I'm in is so homeschool-friendly and it is tough to even consider leaving!) I've heard New York and Pennsylvania are terrible for homeschooling (that is, high regulation). Is this true? How bad is it? Can anyone give me the quick-and-dirty version of the homeschool requirements in New York? (Some particulars I'd love to know: Is testing of any kind required? Is it one of those states where you have to call your household a private school and give it a name? What are evaluations like and what are you required to show the state? How often are evaluations? Anything else that is specific to New York that I should know?) Bonus if you live in/near Syracuse: Is there a good homeschool vibe there? Are there a lot of homeschoolers and extracurriculars to choose from? Would love to hear about your experience! Thank you in advance (so much!) to anyone who can fill me in before we put too much stock in considering the job possibilities.