Hi there...and introduction!!

[heatherh610]

Hi, my name is Heather. I am a PA mommy to 4 wonderful children. Brian is 7 and being homeschooled for 2nd grade. Mary-Lou is 4 and Molly is 3 and they are both being homeschooled for pre-k. And we have a new addition...her name is Dorothy and she is only 6 weeks old.
This is our first year officially homeschooling and we are really enjoying it. My son is very bright and we have already breezed through most of the 2nd grade work that the school district required us to cover so we are getting to delve into things that truely interest him and he loves it! The girls seem to be learning many things right along with Brian and having a fun time too.
I look forward to getting to know some of you as I navigate through this year and beyond!

[mamaheffalump]

Hi, Heather :D!

[jillrn]

Hi and Welcome sounds like you have a wonderful family! Jill

[Earthmomma]

Welcome!!

Laura
earthmomma

[Spikermom]

Hi Heather,
Glad to see someone else from PA. I have two wonderful daughters afes (almost)15 and (almost)13. This is our 4th year.

[Lornaabc]

We have lots of PA folks here. Heidi and Crystal too.

[heatherh610]

We have lots of PA folks here. Heidi and Crystal too.

Thank you all for your warm welcome...and as for lots of PA folks being here, I had noticed that today...I think it is interesting because it seems to be hard to find homeschoolers around here IRL, but I know they are out there! :smile:

[Brooke]

Hello! We have a 9yo boy and 6yo girl in our 2nd year of hs'ing. Hope you like it here!

[Mom2ampm]

Welcome! I hs my 8yo and 4yo in GA. We've been homeschooling for three years officially. Happy Homeschooling!

[Trish]

Hi I am Trish. I have a 7 year old daughter who is in 3rd grade. This is our 4th year homeschooling. We live in upstate SC. Welcome aboard!

[HeidiPA]

Hi, Heather!
I'm one of your fellow PA girls!
Where are you from in PA? I'm about mid-way between Harrisburg and State College. We live in a rural community- there are other homeschoolers around- but we don't get too involved in the group here. My girls are 11 and 5.
Crystal lives in the Lancaster area.
Jimmie Lu is also from PA, but I haven't seen her on board lately.

[heatherh610]

We are in the Lehigh Valley (Allentown- YUCK)for right now. We may be moving either up north of here or out to Ohio within the next few years though. All we really know is that we want to get out of "this area" and we want to be close to some sort of a family support system. Dale is from a small town about 30 min from Columbus, Ohio and I have ex-in-laws who I am still pretty close to in the poconoes here in PA, so they are the 2 areas that we are looking at.

[HeidiPA]

Heather,
I am about 2 hours west of you then.
My brother lives in Boyertown- looks like that's just a little south of Allentown.
(I'm not really very familiar with that area yet).
Anyway, welcome!
If you have any PA questions, let us know.
And, if you decide to move to Ohio, you can ask Jackie all your questions!

[chee65]

Hi Heather and welcome! I know you will like it here.

I live in Tucson, AZ and have a 5 year old son (just turned 5 yesterday) that I am homeschooling. This is our second year. Last year we did K4 and this year kindergarten yey. We are having a great time.

Charlie

[randa]

hello Heather,

welcome to hs group and congratulation on your new addition.
we live in Illinois and have 2 precious girls 5 and almost 4yrs.old

best of luck

Randa

[Jackie]

I'm central Ohio, Heather! Where is Dale from? Anything just 30 minutes from Columbus isn't TOO far from me, especially if it's north. Heidi, Jimmy Lu posted I think it was just yesterday. She's been really busy lately! Oh, BTW, Heather, we're talking about getting people together to see King Tut's Treasure when it's in Philadelphia in 2007. You'd be close enough to join in if you're interested!

[heatherh610]

Dale is from the tiny town of Croten, Ohio (I think that is how you spell it)...and 2007 for in Philly sounds great, even if we end up moving to Ohio by then we will be coming back to these surrounding areas fairly often as I have family here.

[Jackie]

I KNOW CROTEN!!! Harmony Baptist Church is located there, near Johnstown!!! When I was a young adult, we would go to a Coffee Shop there!!!

[heatherh610]

Ahhh...I have heard tales of the coffee shop...lets just say most of his best memories are not of that area, but he is a "different person" now. When we go to the area now, no one recognizes him and that seems refreshing to him. As the kids get a little older he misses many things about living in such a little town.

[Jackie]

Did he attend Harmony Baptist (either willingly or unwillingly, LOL)? I think most of us that attended their Coffee Houses were either members there, or (like me) Baptist friends of members that knew them from state Older Youth activities. Ask him if he knew Sue Perry or Bill and Pam Hypes. Though I am a bit older than many on this board, so he may be a good deal younger than any of them. I'm talking twenty years ago!

Croten is around Johnstown, and many people are moving out that way to "escape" Columbus. So it's not going to keep its "small town" flavor for long, I'm afraid. Plus the land there is rather pricey because of high demand.

[heatherh610]

His family has a great deal of land in the middle of the egg farms which they refuse to sell...we were thinking about putting a modular home on some of thier land (his mom's idea actually and I kindof like it too...) He says the biggest change is that there is egg farm everywhere instead of real crops and he doesn't like the smell...but he says it is better than the "city smell" around here (ok :? ) It really seems that all small towns are being taken over in one way or another and that is really sad. I guess his thing is that it is still better than in the city though and if you have enough family around it can be great. We are of the belief that it does take a real community to raise a child because you can not be with them every second of the day and you need people "watching your back." Then you combine that and the lack of morels in this area and it is easy to see why he would want to get back to the start of the bible belt.
I know that when he was growing up he was forced to go to one of 2 churches in town although I don't remember which one...I will ask him if he knows you though. I know that he knows a number of "older folks" though because he was not into the same things as his classmates. While they were out having fun he was working and volunteering on the fire department and such. (that and I don't know how old everyone is here...but he will be 34 in Dec.)

[Jackie]

I seriously doubt he would know ME, but perhaps some of my friends. Has he been back much since the egg farms arrived? The people have been fighting them for YEARS now. The EPA keeps fining them and threatening to shut them down, but are always willing to accept empty promises instead. The smell is a problem, but the REAL problem are flies in the summer. I guess they just practically swarm constantly. But his parents would know more about that than I would! I'd be very hesitant to move anywhere near it.

Ohio is relatively an easy state for homeschooling. You only have to send in notification each year, along with a list of what you want to teach and a list of your curriculum. Then in the fall you either have to have a certified teacher sign a paper saying that she has reviewed a portfolio and their work is acceptable for their level, or they can take a standardized test. There are many homeschoolers in the Johnstown area...I know of three families right off hand that use to attend my church, and I know there are many more. There's a skating rink there, and back when I started they would have a homeschool skate once a month that my kids enjoyed. One of my friends take part in a homeschool co-op of some kind in Johnstown, too.

[heatherh610]

Dale says that the biggest issue with the egg farm is actually what it does to all of the other soil and ground water in the area. It is something about the chicken poop...IDK, I am by no means an expert on this subject hehe.
It is awsome that there are quite a few homeschoolers right there...this homeschooling started out as just an "experiment" for us until we get out of Allentown but has quickly grown into so much more!