I forgot to mention I baked him a carrot cake last month when it was his birthday. I just did not know he would want another one so soon. And yes, he will come over out of the blue just for a grilled cheese sandwich.

We were already making homemade ice cream. I just need to learn to say no to him.

I don't drink coffee, and as I was voting my internet went out. Our internet goes out all the time, sometimes several times a day. The phone company tells us we are lucky to get it all all.

Does your grown child make unusual request? An example is you invite them to eat, and they request you bake a cake when you had no intention of baking cake. Not just any cake, carrot cake with cream cheese icing, cake that requires you to grate a pound of carrots. do you immediatly say yes or do you say no. I ask because it is difficult for me to say no to him. I had planned to be very lazy this weekend.

I could handle going without lights. I coul dget used to not having a stove. I was thinking the hot water heater, and running water. I would hate to have to use a hand pump.

Can someone please explain to me how the economy would cause a shortage of electricity? Or is it that not many will be able to afford electricity? Many people I talk with are having a difficult time affording food. We have stepped up our gardening, and plan to step it up some more. We are even considering raising our own chickens for food. We have some chickens now, we just don't eat them. I am not trying to be paranoid, I just want to prepare myself if things get worse. There was a time when people lived more simply, and did not rely on the grocery store for a majority of their food. We have been reading a book about homesteading. I really value electricity, so it would be really hard for me to learn to live without that. I could learn to ride a horse to take me where I need to go, and give up my car. When it comes to the luxury of electricity, I would have a hard time.

What about studydog.com for your younger child? It is free to download, and you child can do it alone.

One fear I have is power bill doubling or trippling.

These are scary times. I see a lot of small business going out of business. Big business in our nation are sending jobs overseas, because it is considered industry standard. I am no expert as to why our economy is crashing. It is not just one thing but many things. Times are tough. i am thankful for every day I have a roof over my head and food on the table.

Truthfully I am suprised that other states and districts have not started doing this. School budgets are suffering everwhere. In some areas it might create more traffic jams. Parents might protest against it, but will protesting do any good? I am shocked. I would not be suprised if other states started charging for books, and other things too.

My vote is for Netflix, we use it more.

You can try out the VA to see if you like it, there is no harm in that. You can read reviews online to see what problems other families have encountered. Join yahoogroups for the VA to see what others think about them. You can check out their website, review their materials to see if they agree with your style. If you don't like it after you tried it, no worries, just withdraw your children. It won't be the end of the world, there will still be cheap and free resources available to you. This way you gave it a try and know it is not an option for you. If however the thought of using a VA makes you very uncomfortable, it is your decison to make and no one is forcing you. Money is not needed to provide you children with a quality education. These boards are wonderful about showing where great resources can be found.

Are monthly attendance forms still sent in just like regular homeschooling?Or is attendance documented differently? For the mentor, how is this documented?

This sounds fairly simple. I think we will try to do this. I was thinking to work on the list during the summer, and try during the fall. Would a letter from our accountant suffice? I have really not budgeted accordingly for our books. I buy here and there. I am working on that though. I do have a seperate checking acount that I will now use for this purpose. We will get the fire safe storage too. I believe the list is doable. I am so glad you mentioned this is an option.

Can you give a little more inormation about the requirements. What are the fees involved? Do we have to have a masters degree or a degree in education? If we only have 2 students is that a problem? It mentions to get a consultant. My husband has a degree from the university, but I don't. Would we call me the director and him the teacher? Do we make sure all our books are located in one room? How does the budget thing work? Who has to look at our school budget? We do not have a set of encyclopedias, but the library does. How does the visit to your home go? We have animals, plus we school all over the house. I think this is a good idea, I just never knew this option was available. It would make things a lot less stressful.

We were considering public high school at one time. They are too strict about the age grade level thing. Too we decided we wanted to stick with homeschooling all the way. We are trying to prepare ourselves. I just do not want a hassle when it is time for my kids to get into college. I had a hassle with my oldest and he went to public school. I was told GA colleges are unfriendly toward homeschoolers.

This is from Gainsville State Collage. Notice that if you come from a non accredited High School, your SAT scores must be higher. It appears they puwant to make it tougher and harder for homeschoolers to get in. They want at least 970 from public school, but 1060 for others. Accel Program Definition: High school juniors and seniors enrolled in accredited Georgia public or private high schools who wish to enter college and earn college credit while they complete their junior and/or senior year of high school. The Accel Program is designed for high school juniors and seniors enrolled in accredited Georgia public or private high schools who wish to enter college and earn college credit while they complete their junior and/or senior year of high school. Under Accel regulations, students may simultaneously receive high school Carnegie unit credits and college credit hours. Beginning Winter/Spring term 2005, Accel funding will apply only to the five CPC areas (English/Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies, Science, and Foreign Language). Accel applicants must have prior approval of their parents or guardian, high school counselor or principal, and must be enrolled in an accredited high school. Interested students should contact their high school counselor. All Accel applicants should be on track for the College Preparatory Curriculum diploma seal. Their high school grade point average (as calculated by the College on academic subjects only) must be at least 3.0. Accel applicants are also required to submit official college entrance examination scores. Minimum scores for Accel admission are: 480 Verbal and 460 Math on the SAT-I or 21 English and 19 Mathematics on the ACT and At least 970 combined SAT-I, or ACT composite score of at least 21 The College Preparatory Curriculum (CPC) requirements for admission to a University System institution may be satisfied in English and/or Social Sciences during joint enrollment. Students with SAT-I verbal of at least 530 or ACT English score of at least 24 who have not completed the final unit of high school English and/or Social Sciences may be permitted to fulfill their high school requirements with the appropriate college courses taken through the Accel Program. Students who wish to complete the fourth mathematics may do so at the college level if they have at least a 530 math SAT-I or ACT mathematics score of at least 22. The CPC requirements in natural science and foreign language must be completed at the high school. Documentation required for Accel status includes: Completed application for admission as an Accel student with the appropriate application fee. Accel students are encouraged to apply online. High school transcript with an academic grade point average of at least 3.0 SAT or ACT scores as specified above (Test scores must come directly from the issuing agency or on an official high school transcript. Photocopies of score reports will not be accepted.) Letter of permission from parent or guardian Completed Certificate of Immunization In addition to applying to Gainesville State College, students who are participating in the Accel program must also complete the Accel application through the Georgia Student Finance Commission. Information on the program and its requirements and limitations can be found at www.gsfc.org. Accredited Home School Admission for Joint Enrollment Home schooled students who participate in an accredited home school program, as recognized by the USG, will meet the same admission criteria as all other students applying for Joint Enrollment. Non-Accredited Home School and Non-Accredited Private School Admission for Joint Enrollment Home schooled students who participate in a non-accredited home school program or non-accredited private school, are required to meet the following criteria in order to be eligible for admission: Minimum SAT I score of 530 Critical Reading and 530 Mathematics sections, or ACT 23 English and 22 Math (Test scores must come directly from the issuing agency. Photocopies of score reports will not be accepted.) Minimum cumulative high school grade point average of 3.0 or higher on courses taken from the required 16 CPC units Exemption of all LS requirements for early admission Letter of permission from parent or guardian On track towards the completion of the University System of Georgia 16-unit CPC requirements and high school graduation Home schooled students are not eligible for ACCEL funds

I am trying to think ahead, my son is going into the seventh grade. I was checking out the local community college online, and they want the student to have taken the SAT before enrolling into classes. Oh and they require higher SAT scores from homeschoolers than students from public schools. I was considering possibly sending him for a class in 10 grade. It appears the university has changed their requirements and only want the cream of the crop those with the highest SAT scores, and GPA. I was looking at what they require on a transcript from home educated students. It confuses me. It appears to be worded in such a way that your SAT scores must be perfect or they do not want you. Can someone please tell me what this actually means. It looks to me like they make it more difficult for homeschoolers. We made a decision recently to continue homeschooling for all 12 years. At the same time we don't want our kids to suffer when trying to get into college. If a student pursues a home study program that is accredited by a regional authority (SACS, MSACS, NCACS, NEACS, NACS or WACS), a state’s Department of Education or certain Georgia authorities (Georgia Accrediting Commission, Georgia Private School Accrediting Commission or the Accrediting Commission for Independent Study), an official transcript should be submitted for review. If a student cannot verify completion of the College Preparatory Curriculum (CPC) with an official transcript, he or she must demonstrate very high academic ability by having earned an SAT I or ACT score equal to or above the average scores of the first-year students admitted to UGA for the prior Fall term. The student must also be able to validate completion of all CPC subject areas through submission of the following: Official scores from the SAT I or ACT (for math and English only—see below), SAT II, International Baccalaureate (IB) and/or Advanced Placement (AP) exams; Coursework for credit that appears on an official college or an accredited high school transcript; and/or, An SAT I or ACT score in the top five percent of college-bound seniors nationally to satisfy the English and mathematics portions of the CPC (in 2008, the requisite SAT was 1370 and ACT was 31). Upon completion of an application file with the required documentation, the University of Georgia will review the entire application file of a student who has been home educated or who has attended a non-accredited high school. From the pool of academically qualified students, UGA will select the students who are most competitive for first-year admission.

I am confused. Using hair is natural and is better for the environment. I would assume it could work effeciently and quickly as well. BP does not want to clean it this way? I am no expert, but i would think using hair would be the best way, not using chemicals.

Writing with Ease has been more than helpful to me. It gives specific questions to ask. Then it also gives specifics to how the summary should look like.

He was in the Army for 3 years prior to going to the university. He has only had one tour in Iraq, so we assume a second tour is near. He says when he was there, they called people to come back to Iraq who were already out of the Army. He had someone advising him telling him he would be better off taking ROTC, it would help keep him close to home while he was in school. I think there was some type financial incentive for joing ROTC. He has used his money wisely taking no student loans, and paying off a truck. He got the sign on bonus too, plus he had the Army scholarship, and the pay from the National Guard. After school it is back to the Army full time, hopefully that will be delayed until January. He says he would rather be across the ocean than on the other side of the US. If he can't be close to home, he wants to be where he can travel and see the world. He also does not want to be stationed at one of the bases in the middle of nowhere in the US. He says there was nothing to do in Oklahoma, it bored him. He claimed there was not enough to do there, and it was too far from bigger cities. He is a people person, and active. He likes to be where there are lots of outdoor type activities, near big cities to explore. He is not the kind to sit home and do nothing. He makes my head spin sometimes. He is on a soccer team and a hockey team. He is always doing something. School is important to him, he is so close to finishing.

Thanks ladies! I feel much better now. I believe Ft. Lewis is actually some type of test. I was unclear if the Guard could derail his training. Knowing it would benefit them if if finished makes me feel more at ease. In the past I have seen students deployed in the middle of their education. He is so close to graduating, I keep my fingers crosseed that he will.

At the moment I am unsure of his orders. He said he had to be evaluated, because he was completing ROTC training. He did basic, and AIT for artillery years ago. He did not have to do any AIT for the national Guard. He just does his weekend duty for the guard which he says is mostly boring, plus he does ROTC. He says ROTC has strange schedules that often interfer with his other studies. His is not suppossed to have ARMY orders until after he finishes school in the winter. My fear is things getting heated with Korea, and more units having to ship out. I am worried they may decide they need him before winter not giving him a chance to finish his fall classes. So far he has no idea what the winter holds for him. Gosh, it is unbelievable they would decide to move a family to a different place at the last second. WOW! I do know soldiers have been sent to Iraq fresh out of basic training. It breaks my heart.

My oldest is set to graduate from the university after his last fall classes. He has to go to Fort Lewis for two months in Washington to take some sort of evaluation for ROTC I think. He is also in the National Guard. After he graduates it is back into the ARMY in infantry. Why he chose infantry, I do not know something else would have been better for me. He does not want to be stationed in a small place, he is hoping to be stationed close to home. If he can't be, he wants to be stationed in Germany. Now I am seeing all this Korea stuff on the news, and I do not want to get freaked out, or let fear set in. I do not want him going there, as I am sure other mothers and wifes feel the same for their loved ones. He has already been in Iraq. I am not sure if something happened and things got too heated, would they make him go somewhere without finishing school first? He could not take his classes until the fall because of the trip to Fort Lewis. I am assuming he would be more valuable to the Army after this two months in Fort Lewis. I am already afraid that as soon as he graduates they will send him somewhere that I don't want him to be. Can someone more familiar please tell me how this works? Right now I just want him to finish school. He has always been so casual about this sort of thing, as if there is nothing to it.

I usually ask what state an item is being shipped from because it gives me an idea of how long shipping takes. so far I don't think it has offended anyone. Also I just recently learned how to give feedback. You never know maybe this person has traded before, and feedback was not left. I still can not figure out how to leave feedback twice for the same person.