New Posters - We'd like to get to know you!

[Jean in Newcastle]

I'm an old poster but I'll introduce myself first. I have two children, a son who is 13 and in 8th grade and a daughter who is 8 and in 4th grade. We've been homeschooling since my son was in Kindergarten so that would be 9 years. We started with a Charlotte Mason approach which I still use with a classical bent.

[Jenny Piaaree]

I feel like I'm still new, both to the forum and to homeschooling. I have two kids. My son just turned 16 and is in 10th grade. My daughter is 10 and is in 5th. We just started our third year homeschooling. We began in our local school district's homeschool program, but struck out on our own after the first semester. Nice to "meet" y'all! :D

[annlaura]

What would you like to know? ;) I have an absolutely wonderful little boy who just turned 4 in the last week, and a delicious baby boy who is 15mo. So to be honest, I am always teaching but not officially homeschooling yet. I have been implementing ideas gleaned here into our home already, and feel more intentional about some aspects of the boys' learning. I never allowed myself to consider homeschooling as an option because I feared it would be too hurtful to my mother, a dedicated life-long school teacher. Then one night this summer while spending some time with her, she said, "DS4 would be very easy to homeschool." Upon returning to the land of internet connections, I started a flurry of research and found all of you. :)

[Parrothead]

 

It is nice to meet all of you. Welcome to the boards.

[Corraleno]

Hi how are you doing.

 

I have had some experience of home school material over the years.

 

When I taught J. Latin in the house he enjoyed it and so did I and he went on to do well with it afterward in exams, over a number of years.

 

It's a good, encouraging, nurturing atmosphere which I certainly recommend.

Interesting. You had very different stories the last two times you were on the forum. :glare:

 

I'm curious why a guy, who (allegedly) once taught Latin to a public-schooled child a long time ago, would want to hang out on a homeschooling board asking about teenage boys with piercings and tattoos and long hair? Especially since you've been repeatedly banned and this is your third "incarnation" here. Seems like a lot of effort to go to, when there are surely a lot of other websites and e-groups that share your, um, "interests."

 

Jackie

[Peela]

You are a lovely hostess, Jean!

[Jean in Newcastle]

Thank you, Peela.

 

And welcome to the boards, newbies!

[cindergretta]

Hi! :)

 

I have 6 dc. This is my 9th year hs'ing. My oldest went to K & 1st and my 2nd went to K in a public school. Then we moved and the district was simply NOT an option for my dc! So we started hs'ing. :001_smile:

 

We are eclectic. My 10th grader is using Teaching Textbooks for pre-algebra. (He struggles mightily with math.) My 9th grade dd uses Saxon for algebra. They share history, literature, and biology books. They have done a couple of courses with Time4Writing. My oldest plays guitar and has really got his head in the clouds. ::giggle:: My 14 y/o dd is a total soccer girl and plays the Celtic Fiddle.

 

My next 3 - 4th, 2nd, and K are all using Oak Meadow. We are new to it and loving it while being totally confused by all that goes into it... This board has been great about that! My 4th grader is a very talented soccer player but hasn't chosen her "instrument" yet. She and my 2nd grader are playing the recorder. My 2nd grader is also a sweet Aspie. What a challenge! :D

 

I also have a 2 y/o who truly believes she is the sole center of the universe! LOL No doubt b/c her older sibs give her that impression! :tongue_smilie:

[Parrothead]

Interesting. You had very different stories the last two times you were on the forum. :glare:

 

I'm curious why a guy, who (allegedly) once taught Latin to a public-schooled child a long time ago, would want to hang out on a homeschooling board asking about teenage boys with piercings and tattoos and long hair? Especially since you've been repeatedly banned and this is your third "incarnation" here. Seems like a lot of effort to go to, when there are surely a lot of other websites and e-groups that share your, um, "interests."

 

Jackie

Why do you keep harassing this person? Twice tonight you've laid into him/her about being banned. Quite a few of us have been banned at one time or another. If you don't like what he/she has to say report it and let the powers that be decide or block his/her posts from your view.

[Corraleno]

Why do you keep harassing this person? Twice tonight you've laid into him/her about being banned. Quite a few of us have been banned at one time or another. If you don't like what he/she has to say report it and let the powers that be decide or block his/her posts from your view.

This person has been banned by the mods, under three different names, three times. The first time he posted here, he posted photos of adolescent boys with long hair and no shirts on, claiming they were his kids and saying he thought long hair on boys was really cute, and he asked other parents to post pix of their boys with long hair. Some people got suspicious, because he started three different threads about boys with long hair and how cute they were. When he was asked about homeschooling, he didn't know anything about it. Several people complained and he was banned.

 

He came back last summer under a different name and started posting in lots of threads about piercings and tattoos, again mostly asking about boys, and also posted a lot of "I agree" and other content-less posts. Again people got suspicious and asked about homeschooling and he got very defensive and eventually posted some vague answers about having homeschooled his children a long time ago and not remembering what curriculum he used.

 

Now he's back, again posting primarily in threads on piercing and tattoos (if you look as his posting history, all of his initial posts were in piercing and tat threads). He had a very distinctive speech pattern, which Nakia caught shortly after he joined as "person" and he immediately went back and altered his post after he was caught. He's careful not to use that phrase anymore, but it's still the same guy. And I find it kind of creepy that someone with no background or interest in homeschooling is repeatedly joining this board and asking parents about their boys with piercings and tattoos.

 

Jackie

[Whereneverever]

I don't know how new I am- less then some, more then others. But I'll chime in.

I have two daughters and a son. My oldest is 6.5 and a voracious reader. My middle DD is super sweet and just starting to puzzle through phonics- and I'm really enjoying doing it again! And my baby is an adorable happy terror.

 

I've been homeschooling since DD1 was 4. We did Kindergarten last year and this year she's doing 1st and DD2 is doing Pre-K. :001_smile:

[wendybird]

Hi there. I have 7 DC. We have always homeschooled, though I don't recall ever making a formal decision to. I do a one room schoolhouse style. We are somewhat new homesteaders(6 years) and have alot of animals to occupy the time we don't really have left over lol.

I love reading on this board, though I don't post as often as I would like/should.

[deannajo]

Hi! I've been a lurker for a while, but have only recently started posting every so often. I have four daughters, three still at home and actively homeschooling - I've been homeschooling off and on since 1993 (my oldest daughter was mostly in public school though) :-) Currently I have an 11.5yo, a 9yo and a 6.5yo - they've all been homeschooled from the beginning and we have no plans to stop anytime soon - I lean towards more relaxed approaches, but as my older one ages, I find myself desiring more structure and accountability. I also work pretty much full-time from home, which certainly presents its own challenges.

[Lovin Learnin]

Greetings. This is our first year home schooling our dd, although we've had an interest in it for awhile. Our plan is to hs at least through 8th grade and then figure out high school when we get to it. Dh and I also have two sons. Our oldest is a sophomore at a small private college and we are currently guiding our youngest son in his search for his next educational home. Both boys were public schooled all the way through.

 

I spend a lot of time lurking on these boards and appreciate all of the wisdom of this group.

[Mona100]

Well, I only have one daughter who is 15. She loves Pokemon and that is all that is important in the world. We use different websites for math at times. We also use Progress Academy. Wished she would read more but doesn't.

Didn't really choose homeschooling; homeschooling chose us. Bully issues at school and anger management issues on her side didn't help so I pulled her out last year. I will say that our relationship is much stronger and she is much happier. My parents wanted her to go back to school but I decided it wouldn't have worked out. She is a freshman in high school. I truly believe that they would have eaten her alive there. She acts much younger than 15 and has no desire to drive. Thank goodness.

I am a single mother and I work a job that allows me to work 7 days straight and then 7 days off. It helps alot.

[jasar31629]

Hi there! I found this board awhile back and lost it again...I stumbled upon it about a week ago and have been poking around daily :) There's a wealth of information here! Dh and I have a 7yo dd we homeschool. We're pretty eclectic here- I'm feel very new to things, though I've been reading books, going to conventions and all that since she was 2. There's so much out there nowadays that it's hard to find your bearings! We do our own thing right now for everything save math and part of history- we use Singapore and SOTW for those.

 

Thanks for the warm welcome!

[kiwi mum]

I am homeschooling an "only", but actually started out by homeschooling our two teenaged neices when they were living with us. Seeing how great they did with homeschooling gave me the confidence to bring DS home too when he was 6 1/2.

 

We lasted 6 months on a workbook program (all I knew about at the time) before discovering Sonlight. As I have gained confidence I have added, subtracted, adapted and done my own thing until I think we are now truly eclectic.

 

DS is gifted and has Aspergers and sensory processing issues so it is great to be able to mix and match what works for us. DH teaches 4th graders so we know that there is no way that a standard 4th grade program would suit DS.

 

Until this year I had lived all my life in New Zealand apart from three years in Australia (where I met and married DH) but in August we moved to the Middle East where DH is teaching in an international school, getting paid much more than in NZ and allowing us all that time off each summer to go explore the world.

[TheReader]

I'm new over here, but have hung around the Sonlight forums for, oh, ages. I popped over here at the request of ZooRho, when someone had a question about hs'ing in Brazil.

 

I'm mom to 3 boys -- 13 (7th grade), about-to-be 10 (4th grade), and 5.5 (K-ish). We've been hs'ing, using SL materials, since my oldest was preK (since March 2001). We've always used SL materials, though I do not now nor have I ever followed the IGs completely or do every single book in the IG each year.

 

I'm really not a Classical HS'er, but I enjoy the conversation over here. Until lately, now that we're approaching high school, I've had something between a very relaxed hs'er to an almost unschooler bent. Not quite unschooling, as we definitely do specific things, but very, very relaxed. Until this year, as I'm prepping myself for teaching high school.

 

We school on a semi year round-ish schedule, so we'll finish our current year in late Feb and begin "next year" in April. We moved from Texas to Brazil a little over 3 years ago, due to my husband's job, and we're enjoying the travel opportunities and all.

 

You can find out anything and everything you'd like to know about me over on my blog, www.musingsonthemove.com

[Jean in Newcastle]

It's so nice to "get to know" all of you!

[mommyofthree]

Hi All,

 

I'm more of a lurker than a poster. This is my 5th year homeschooling my three kids. I have a 16dd (11th grade), a 13ds (9th grade) and a 9dd (4th grade). It has been an exciting, exhilarating, frustrating, humbling experience thus far:001_smile:. I look forward to the rest of the journey.

[Impish]

:seeya: to the new folks.

 

I'm Imp (duh), living in the 3rd coldest place on the planet according to the radio dude Wolf (my dh) listened to this wk. I have 3 at home, type 1 handed, and find homeschooling lovely, difficult, rewarding, challenging, like trying to herd cats, best thing I've ever done, would rather groom rats with my teeth. Depends on the week/day/hour/moment.

[rfhsmom]

Hi! I lurk here a lot, but rarely post so probably considered newbie? I have homeschooled since my oldest DS (15) was 4 and younger DS(13) was 2. We used Charlotte Mason in the beginning before moving to modified WTM in the past couple of years. You are my source for great wisdom!!!! THANKS!

[DaffodilDreams]

I've been here since last year but became more active a few months ago, and I'm so glad I did. I love, love, love this forum. I have one dd, recently turned 7. She did preschool a couple of days a week, but that's as close as we got to traditional schooling. Sometimes I look longingly at a few of the local private schools in the area, but what we are doing seems to be a good fit for her. No complaints from her yet. I just sometimes feel lacking when I see the tremendous programs and resources available elsewhere - particularly fine arts since my dd is drawn to acting, music, sculpting, and painting. She's also strong in science and math which blows my mind. I figured artistic sorts would lean more towards language arts - not so with mine. She loathes reading anything herself but does adore being read to. We use a blend of CM, Waldorf, and Classical philosophies. When she's involved in a play, I fit in whatever I can, whenever I can and hope that something is better than nothing.

 

Enough about her, though. It's my turn! :001_smile: I worked until dd was 2. That's when she was diagnosed with SPD. Our two nannies (they split the week) left around then, as well. One to join her dh in VA when he returned home from the military. The other to grieve her fiance's death. My job required extensive overseas travel, so all this happening at once was a wake up call of the "hey, you're supposed to be home with your only child or you're going to miss all the fun" variety. I've been home ever since and haven't regretted a single moment of it - though recently it has been horrid financially and dh has been particularly stressed over being the sole provider in this economy. We didn't plan on homeschooling, but advice from dd's ped and OT headed us in this direction, and here we are.

[twoxcell]

Hello!:) My name is Abbie, and I will be 27 in about a week. I have been married to my fabulous dh for 8.5 years. I have 4 dc that I have homeschooled from day one. My dh and I were both homeschooled for at least part of our school years, and we always new we would homeschool our own children. Our kids are: ds1 7, dd1 5, dd2 2.75, and ds2 1. For the first two years I pulled together my own Charlotte Mason/Eclectic curriculum. This year we found HOD, and love it. I do add some things to it. We live in the Pacific Northwest, and love spending time outdoors.

[TheReader]

:seeya: to the new folks.

 

I'm Imp (duh), living in the 3rd coldest place on the planet according to the radio dude Wolf (my dh) listened to this wk. I have 3 at home, type 1 handed, and find homeschooling lovely, difficult, rewarding, challenging, like trying to herd cats, best thing I've ever done, would rather groom rats with my teeth. Depends on the week/day/hour/moment.

 

Imp, this made me LOL and I had to read it 2x before I got it.

 

I was putting a semi-colon before like trying to herd cats and so read that as

".(and I) like trying to herd cats, (it's the) best thing I've ever done, (although honestly I) would rather groom rats with my teeth"

 

Was the 2nd or 3rd pass through before I realized you were still saying you find hs'ing to be "...like herding cats, best thing ever done, worse than grooming rats w/one's teeth".

 

I blame it on the frazzled state my brain is in at the moment, thanks to many cooking disasters that have flustered me today. My 20 minute prep and then stick in the oven and ignore it dessert wound up taking 2 hours of prep. And then my 9 yr old decided he wanted a stuffed duck instead of just a cooked duck.

 

Basking in a brief moment of relaxation before I head back to the kitchen......

[Jumping In Puddles]

Interesting. You had very different stories the last two times you were on the forum. :glare:

 

I'm curious why a guy, who (allegedly) once taught Latin to a public-schooled child a long time ago, would want to hang out on a homeschooling board asking about teenage boys with piercings and tattoos and long hair? Especially since you've been repeatedly banned and this is your third "incarnation" here. Seems like a lot of effort to go to, when there are surely a lot of other websites and e-groups that share your, um, "interests."

 

Jackie

 

Ewww, was he the same guy that kept posting about boys in locker rooms/bathrooms? CREEPY!

[Impish]

Imp, this made me LOL and I had to read it 2x before I got it.

 

I was putting a semi-colon before like trying to herd cats and so read that as

".(and I) like trying to herd cats, (it's the) best thing I've ever done, (although honestly I) would rather groom rats with my teeth"

 

Was the 2nd or 3rd pass through before I realized you were still saying you find hs'ing to be "...like herding cats, best thing ever done, worse than grooming rats w/one's teeth".

 

I blame it on the frazzled state my brain is in at the moment, thanks to many cooking disasters that have flustered me today. My 20 minute prep and then stick in the oven and ignore it dessert wound up taking 2 hours of prep. And then my 9 yr old decided he wanted a stuffed duck instead of just a cooked duck.

 

Basking in a brief moment of relaxation before I head back to the kitchen......

:lol:

I thought about putting a '/' btwn each statement, but worried I use the '/' as a short cut too much as is! Sorry about the dessert, and good luck on the duck!!

 

- Imp, whose Thanksgiving was last month :D

[Barry Goldwater]

My stats are in my sig. We've homeschooled since day 1. Our approach is Charlotte Mason-esqe and eclectic, mixed in with life/survival/non-agribusiness farming skills. We are also embarking on some self-education for the older DDs as well. Primary priority is family discipleship (Deut. 11:19). Closely followed by educating the whole heart, and cultivating God's gift of curiosity and love-of-learning that all children are born with. :)

 

And I'm a dude...

[GinaPagnato]

I've been lurking for awhile, on and off over the years, but just started posting recently. Have been home schooling classically since day 1, and have a 9th grader, 5th grader, and 2nd grader. In years past, I came over here to read about curricula and how to get it all done. I've since realized that there is no "getting it all done", lol, and that's okay.

 

I've learned a lot, and hope that I can be of some help to some of you, too!

[8circles]

I guess I'm new although I don't feel so new anymore - I've lurked for a while. I don't post often because most of the time someone else has said exactly what I would say & I'm usually NAK these days.

 

4 boys (2nd grade, K, PreK, & baby) homeschooling for 2.5 years. We follow an eclectic/classical style.

 

I love these boards! You ladies (& a few men) rock! :thumbup1:

[JenC3]

This is my 3rd year homeschooling my dd and I will start kindy with my 4.5 yr old in January. I also have a 2 yr old who is VERY BUSY.

 

Let's see I read SWB's book back in early 2000. I think it had just come out and I picked it up at the library. Dh and I were just engaged:0! Anyway it pretty much cemented hsing for us.

 

My methods....research crazy adn I'm hoping I don't end up a curric junkie. I'd say we are CM/classical/LCC with a tiny bit of unschooling.

 

Currently we live in SC which is very hsing friendly, but we are looking to relocate to ME in the next 18 months.

[MamaT]

Just wanted to say that it's nice to get to know you, everyone! Welcome! Great idea, Jean.

[Liz CA]

Old timer here. Hello and welcome to everyone.

[Laurie in Life]

Hi everyone! We've been homeschooling our identical twin girls from the beginning, using what we call our "classically eclectic" method. The girls are now 10 year old 5th graders so we are in our sixth year of this journey. I do the bulk of the schooling although my husband has always covered math because it's an area he really enjoys. We are blessed to be able to do what we do, together, and our whole family knows it! :)

 

I've/We've been visiting these boards since before we even started schooling the girls. I actually joined two years ago, but continued mostly lurking until recently when I decided to start jumping in on more threads. Like others, I have picked up an incredible amount of help from these boards. Now, who knows, maybe I'll be able to pass along some help to someone else.;)

[Lady Florida.]

I registered several years ago, and have lurked on and off. I only recently started posting.

 

I'm a former ps teacher, and my son has always been homeschooled. I also helped homeschool my now 22 year old niece when she came out of ps after 7th grade.

 

We started out with a Charlotte Mason style, drifted into several other styles, then recently realized CM is what works best for us. I do believe CM is classical.

 

My stepson was 13 when I met my dh, who was the custodial parent, so I actually did the teen years first. I can't believe my baby is now the age dss was when I met dh!

[Hunter's Moon]

Now "new" as I have over 1000 posts, but I've been here for less than a year, so why not?

 

I'm 17 years old, and in March of my Sophomore Year at PS, I decided I wanted to be homeschooled. I did all the legwork (research, forms, blah, blah, blah), and 8 months later, here I am :)

 

I plan to homeschool my Senior Year as well, and I also plan to homeschool my children in the future.

 

I will be attending college in the Fall of 2012 to pursue a career in Occupational Therapy, which I hope will be flexible enough for my plans to homeschool my kids.

:D

[mommyto4]

This is our first year homeschooling our children (ds8, ds6, ds3.5 and dd1.5). Ds8 and ds6 are loving being home and are able to learn at their own pace. I love the new lifestyle of doing things as a family, and not being ruled by school.

In preparing to homeschooling, I read the WTM and thought it would be a good fit for us. And it has!

I do struggle with the chaos of four children and try to meet their individual needs. I often feel like I don't have enough of "me" to go around in a day.

 

I am so thankful for this board as it has so much great advice and information!

 

Julie

[Parrothead]

It is so nice to meet all the newbies.

 

Barry, I hope you keep hanging around. It is great to get another man's perspective.

[missesd]

Well, I think I just jumped right on in here and never really posted an intro... or maybe I did, I don't remember... LOL After so many kids, and the long days, coupled with holidays you kind of lose memory of little things like that, so forgive me if I have posted before... LOL

 

I am Lisa, a 36yr old stay at home mother. I have 6 children- Erik, who will be 17 in January. Sean who will be 15 in January. Alyssa, who will be 13 in January. Then I have Jamie who will be 8 next month, Olivia who turned 6 in May, and Miss Elena who turned 4 in September. Then I have 3 step-children. There is kind of bad blood with one though, so that's why I don't mention him :( It wasn't always like that, and I *did* homeschool him, but he turned 17 and turned on me and the family... Anyway that leaves Kathy, who turned 15 back in September, and David who turns 14 in February.

 

I started homeschool with Erik and my husband's oldest son in 2005. I tried to duplicate the public schools timetable, but using the internet... it didn't go to well. Then we took time off to deprogram, plus I was pregnant with Elena at the time, and had my 3rd c-section with tubal. The following December/January, we started an online program. This worked till the oldest went into public school for 9th grade. Then Erik started Saxon, and did the online LA program through HLN (which is what we were using) to prepare to go back for high school as well. Just as that happened we moved to Reno, and while Erik moved out of my roster, Kathy and Sean moved in. We did HLN and Saxon till we moved to Texas 5-6 months later, and the in-laws demanded they all go back to school :( It was Jamie's Kindergarten year too, but I hadn't pushed him yet because I *knew* he wasn't ready yet. I fought my in-laws and he did get to stay home, so we started on workbooks wit him. 4 months later we moved out, into our own place, and it was the start of summer. As school began, everyone who had been in public school returned- the eldest, Erik, Sean and David. Kathy wanted to stay home, so she did. I started Jamie with 1st grade, skipping Kindergarten almost completely, and I had Olivia in Kindergarten.

 

Then things went downhill... the house we were renting got foreclosed on, and we moved into our tiny duplex. We started having problems with DH's eldest child. He ended up moving in with my in-laws who absolutely hate me and hate my homeschooling. One of Erik's friends brought a knife to school and was stalking a boy he believed ratted him out about something *very* minor, and he didn't. Erik turned him in... afraid of retaliation I pulled all 3 remaining boys from the school district we no longer lived in. It had been a 29 min drive there and back twice a day all year. I enrolled them in our ISD. But while the one ISD was TOO loose with way too much freedoms. This one was ridiculously strict... the smallest thing landed a kid in in school suspension. So during the summer we decided to pull all remaining children and homeschool them all. I took 7 weeks off with Alyssa who was out for the summer. Then I bought my own copy of TWTM, and set about teaching myself how to teach all these children. We got a bit of a late start, because really I needed more time to plan out curriculum for all those kids. But we're on our way now. We still have a few more things to buy, but I think we're doing fine, and everyone is enjoying it :)

 

I have Jamie and Livvy doing basically the same stuff, so I am not sure if that is upping Livvy a level or bringing Jamie down... And I have David doing history and science with Sean and Kathy too, so it is much the same situation. Elena does little Pre-K stuff and history with Jamie and Livvy, as well as science.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Some familiar names and some not so much. . . but you are all welcome to the boards!

[Annie]

Let's see here... My name is Annie, and I have an amazing little boy who is 6 1/2 months old. He started army crawling a couple weeks ago and has really been keeping us on our toes. :001_smile: We've always known we wanted to homeschool, and I stumbled across this forum while researching something or other, and I just couldn't leave. You're such an interesting group of people! So, I hope you don't mind if I hang around until I actually start homeschooling.

[silliness7]

Hi,

I've been here since April but I don't think I ever officially introduced myself. I have 7 kids (details in siggy) and have homeschooled since the beginning. Next year starts my first year with highschool and I'm freaking out a little. I can't say how much I love this board. There is such a wealth of information here. You ladies (and guys) are amazing!!

 

And thank you to Jackie for blowing the whistle on "person." He/she sent me a friend request last week which I accepted. (I don't really know what friend requests mean on here but I accepted anyway.) Too naive for my own good. :001_smile: I have since de-friended but maybe it looks like "person" has gone bye-bye. That is just too weird!

[Guest MomToJohns]

Not sure where to begin... I'm Mindy, just recently joined the board however I've been reading and learning from all of you during the past year of lurking around the boards.

 

My family and I live in an extremely small town in southeast Arkansas. A few years ago the PS district closed the PS from our neighboring town. That district was combined into ours and chaos soon followed. The number of classrooms and teachers remained the same but there were far too many students per class. The quality of education took a nose dive as most teachers spent the majority of their class time just trying to maintain order in the room.

 

We pulled our son from PS in the 7th grade at the end of his first semester. We've been happily stumbling our way through homeschooling ever since. So far I'm still trying out different curriculum trying to find what works best for DS15. We've been playing catch up and trying to fast track all at the same time which has presented a unique set of issues all their own. We HS year round in a relaxed but fast paced manner. Since bringing him home we've completed 7th & 8th grade. We're now knee deep into our 9th & 10th grade lessons. His grades and test scores have never been better and I'm finding that the one on one attention has revealed a thirst for knowledge in my son I never knew existed. My only regret is that I did not decide to HS him sooner!

 

DS15 is not college minded and is looking to pursue a career as a United Iron Worker after high school. He plans to attend our local CC for their welding program and then off to an apprenticeship with one of my older brothers in the same field.

 

In addition to our only DS my husband and I have taken in DS's best friend. He has bounced between his father's home and our home for the last several years. After being told he would have to repeat his freshman year in high school his father gave him a choice to quit PS and go for his GED or continue on through PS, he chose the GED route. It then became too inconvenient for his parents to ensure he made it to GED classes and they abandoned that plan. I'm now beginning to HS him along with my DS. We've worked hard to obtain his drivers license and apply for after school jobs. As far as his education goes taking into account his age, 18 approaching 19, and how very far behind he is I'm lost in how to actually ensure he can survive life as an adult with the limited education he has. I'm currently on the hunt/searching for the right curriculum for him. In an area where so many teenagers drop out of high school and never go back, I feel that I must do all I can to help this boy we love so much better himself even if it drives me insane along the way!

 

It is an adventure but we're loving every moment of it : )

[BarbecueMom]

I guess I never introduced myself either.

 

I'm a SAHM of two boys. "Monkey" is 2 1/2 and "Baby" is 13 months. We call "Baby" by that pseudonym in real life, and I need to stop. His brother doesn't realize he has a name. We live in midwest "rural-urbia".

 

DH and I decided in college, years before having children, that we were going to homeschool. I can't pinpoint any one reason why, and that makes it hard to explain to others why we've chosen this path. Our intention is classical education... but for now we just read books, put together puzzles, and attempt to play board games without someone eating half the pieces.

 

I decided to jump in the conversation about a month ago, after lurking for almost a year. I really have no idea what I'm doing here (I feel like the person who shows up an hour early to a party), but I'm laughing and learning!

[Jean in Newcastle]

So good to see so many of you introducing yourselves!