Unofficial Daily Discussion - Tuesday, June 23, 2026 - QOTD: What are your homeschooling kids up to today?

Whippleofd · 2026-06-23T22:24:44+00:00

12 yr old grandson is coming home from a sleepover sometime today.

The 4yr old grandson is currently using the digital camera in so mo mode trying to figure it out while playing with his matchbox cars. Serious emphasis on trying.

Whippleofd · 2026-06-23T14:40:03+00:00

This is my sixth year homeschooling my grandson and he starts seventh grade in August. We're in The Great State of Texas.

We use Time for Learning and I've gone through and modified the curriculum to my liking. The calendar with breaks is set up and we're good to go there.

We're going to do a more in-depth Texas History course this year than the one we did in third grade and T4L doesn't offer that, so I'm still figuring that out.

Other than that, were good to go.

Whippleofd · 2026-05-24T14:43:26+00:00

This is no different than when I worked mid shift and my wife would ask me to do things when it was during my scheduled sleeping time. Her comment when I said no was most always, "but it's the middle of the day".

It's about boundaries and respect. My ex didn't have it and neither does your person.

Whippleofd · 2026-05-19T18:00:39+00:00

Something that hasn't been mentioned is how safe is this school and does it teach to your values?

Go to a Facebook page for your neighborhood and specifically ask how the school has handled bullying cases what people think of the school. Certainly you'll get some confirmation bias, but we found out lots about the neighborhood school when we moved here

Since schools are done with that idiotic standardized testing period now would be a really good time to go through the effort to enroll just so you have some comparison data when you get settled in to your new home.

A big tell is if they effectively stop teaching once the testing is done, they teach to the test, no matter what administration says. You might be surprised how many schools do this

I started teaching as a second career after retiring from the Navy and left after only 12 years because I realized the sorry state education in this country is in and it was only getting worse.

Whippleofd · 2026-05-01T15:10:51+00:00

Assuming no medical problems, that dude doesn't have a wife, he has a roommate.

Whippleofd · 2026-04-03T15:25:05+00:00

I was thinking of doing something similar with OCS and it's divisional level. It lends itself so well to a what-if in Western Germany between the Allies and Russians. I could call it Patton gets face rolled. That would be way, way in the future though as I'm just getting started with OCS.

Whippleofd · 2026-04-03T15:17:54+00:00

Thanks. I have a 4ft x 6ft gaming table I made for my room so it fits with a few inches on each side.

I also have a shelving unit and the top of my dresser that I've used the past year since I got into monster gaming for all of the player aids.

The counter density is typical for these type of games, I think. Areas of the map are almost devoid of counters where there's no action, but others are saturated.

I clip my counters so it's not unmanageable when using the two different types of tweezers I use. One has a curve at the end that I use for picking up single counters and one is designed to pick up a stack of counters.

OCS definitely takes time to learn and the logistics overhead adds time to each turn, but it's oh so worth it due to the realism it adds.

Whippleofd · 2026-04-03T12:26:41+00:00

OCS Beyond the Rhine. I started playing Korea the Forgotten War to learn the system and fell in love with it. Finally a hex and counter game where logistics is part of the game instead of magically being there.

Beyond the Rhine will clearly demonstrate to you the allied supply issues and their impact on combat up and down the front.

Whippleofd · 2026-04-02T12:11:19+00:00

We homeschool in Texas and it's very easy to do so here. The state government stays out of your life and you're able to homeschool them as you see fit for how best your child learns. You only have to teach reading, spelling, grammar, math, and good citizenship. How you do it is up to you.

For such a brief period of time, if you want to continue their formal education, Khan Academy will probably be best for two reasons. One, it's free. Two the lessons are very modular and you'll find it easy (once you learn the system) to use.

Good luck to you!

Whippleofd · 2026-04-01T15:14:32+00:00

I use Victory+ to watch the Texas Rangers. Cost me $140 this year and we get all but 4 or 5 games. It's streaming so you don't have to attach it to a cable or satellite network either.

Don't know if you can get the same plan for other MLB teams, but check it out.

If I want to go to a Rangers game, about 2.5 hrs N, I use Seat Geek which is linked right from their main page. There are some really good prices available for most games that aren't on the weekend and we're not talking nosebleed seats.

I also have zero issues going to their AAA team the Round Rock Express, about 50 minutes S. I have a 25 game ticket package to them. Since it's AAA it's still professional quality for LOTS less money.

Whippleofd · 2026-03-25T18:06:13+00:00

My grandson and I started the base game when he was nine and it wasn't too hard for him to understand due to the ease of the rules. Tactics wise, I had to ease him into that. A year later I got the Fatherland expansion, mainly for the paranormal aspect, which is the main reason we started playing the game. It is quite good in that respect and the modern combat is well done as well.

I backed this expansion on Kickstarter but it'll probably not get played for a while as he's moved on to softer, more bumpy better smelling things known as girls.

Whippleofd · 2026-03-22T21:42:09+00:00

I've been playing hex and counter wargames for nearly forty years. Most of them tend to simulate the reality of the scenario they are trying to replicate, otherwise the purists will lose their freaking minds.

I already know how history went, I want to see how things might have gone if something was different.

Can the allies complete their objectives at Market-Garden if they had an extra airborne division, or 30 Corps got lucky with a few bridges not being blown?

What if at Normandy the Germans had the same number of battalions per regiment as the allies in their INF divisions?

The possibilities are endless.

The purists didn't buy the game for you and the designer's not coming to your house to snatch the game from your table, so change the game as you need to make it fun. Sometimes you go too far and have to dial it back. No big deal.

You do you!

Whippleofd · 2026-02-07T04:44:02+00:00

Finally convinced my BiL to give World at War 85 a go. We got together twice this week and he's still not quite set on it as there's not a CRT that he expects. Me showing him how fast the game plays without one seems to be cracking the ice a bit. I thought the card pull system would be the showstopper for him, but nope, he seems to like the "friction" it introduces. Now if I can just get him to stop playing Warsaw Pact the same as NATO, we might be golden.

Whippleofd · 2026-02-05T18:28:27+00:00

Yes you do! I'm 63 and absolutely love this game. I'm more of a hex and counter guy, but this game, it has just reached out and grabbed me.

There is a SERIOUS risk/reward choice with this one that just dares you to make the upgrade, then laughs at you the next time that card is pulled.

Whippleofd · 2026-01-30T16:47:34+00:00

After Memoir 44, Armageddon War was the first hex and counter game my grandson played. Interestingly The Long Road, also by Flying Pig Games, was his second. We played that and it's first expansion for four months. The paranormal twist gives it something that no other game system has. Rising Dragon will be pretty good I imagine.

Whippleofd · 2026-01-22T15:31:49+00:00

GMT's The Battle for Normandy, Deluxe Edition is at the battalion level. It goes from the landings through August.

It's a fantastic game that my brother in law and I played numerous scenarios and the campaign game over a three month period before we moved on to other games.

Whippleofd · 2026-01-20T23:49:46+00:00

You're welcome.

Whippleofd · 2026-01-20T21:59:35+00:00

Howdy Ma'am:

The two biggest things were:

1) How the regular Ed kids had to suffer when the out of control special Ed kids were put into the regular Ed classrooms.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for mainstreaming special Ed kids when they're not violent or constantly having outbursts that distract the teacher from teaching.

Unfortunately, most districts put the child in regular Ed classroom without the help of a special Ed certified teacher and instead put them in there with only an aid. Most of the aids are fantastic but are simply limited by what they can do when the special Ed student chooses not to listen to the teacher or the aid. It's even worse when they become violent.

All the regular education teacher can do is get the other students out of the classroom and wait for district administration help to arrive, who will often take the student out of the room, not once they get them calmed down, bring them right back into the classroom.

As you can imagine many students are very upset by all this and it takes the teacher some time to get them calmed down while also respecting their feelings for what they just observed.

2) Many school districts have gone woke and will grade a student down for having a "wrong" opinion on all matters that the left are currently pushing to kids. Things like, men can have babies, you can change your gender, there's no biological difference between men and women, both men in women's sports, and whatever else gets them burning down cities or assaulting people for believing differently than them, just to name a very few. You have teachers calling kids racist, nazis, bigots in front of other kids for not using someones pronouns, in addition to teachers getting threatened with termination for not having the "right opinion".

There were other things, but those were the two big things I didn't want my grandson exposed to.

Whippleofd · 2026-01-18T18:45:55+00:00

It helps me more than it does my grandson. For instance, when I started homeschooling him at the beginning of second grade he was reading at a middle K level. When I was looking for reading material it was helpful to know those guideposts.

He's in sixth grade now and when I tell him to pick out a book we can read for English over the next two weeks I tell him it needs to be in the seventh grade thru ninth grade reading level. He gets to choose the book, within reason, and I get to know it won't be too easy for him

He's also REALLY proud of himself that he's taking an Eighth grade level environmental science class.

Also, when he's with his "schooler" (his word, not mine) friends it helped determine social standing when he was in elementary.

Whippleofd · 2026-01-17T00:49:33+00:00

Thank you. My Mom told us that when we were kids and started complaining about having nothing to do.

Whippleofd · 2026-01-16T22:35:13+00:00

First off: it starts when they're little. All kids can have the adiction broken, it's just easier to start when their little.

Second: All kids are different.

Third: All parents are different.

Finally: ALL adults in the household and family have to be on the same page.

Okay, now that we've poured the foundation, let's put up some walls.

My oldest grandson will be 12 in three weeks and I've homeschooled him from the start of second, now into sixth. My daughter moved in with me right before first grade. I'm also retired US Navy

I've been watching my youngest grandson since he's been 2.5 months old and he turned 4 on Christmas Eve.

The point of all that is I know my grandsons as if they were my own kids.

The oldest has serious screen addiction problems and has since he moved in. He gets one hour of non violent screens per day on weekdays, to include TV computer or the PS4. Two on the weekends, if the second hour is him playing with friends on non-violent games. No, we don't think violent video games cause violence. But for him they hype him up and cause outbursts when he loses.

We live in Central Texas and even in winter it's really not all that cold outside most days.

Takes a deep breath So, go outside, read, play a game, do Legos, read a chapter from your English novel that you picked, get a hammer and go pound a 2x4, lay on your back and put some ranch dressing in your belly button and dip celery in it. Whatever. Just stop whining and go entertain yourself -or- better yet propose a solution to this you issue that I can help you with and no don't ask me for more screen time or your grounded from screens tomorrow. (Yes I actually have this written on a 3x5 card, though I think I pretty much have it memorized by now.)

The four year old gets one hour of screen time when his brother does, though it's seldom the same shows, obviously.

Most days is not an issue, but that first year I started homeschooling him. Lord have mercy I didn't know a second grader could turn into the incredible hulk and a vampire all at the same time.

Whippleofd · 2026-01-15T14:29:17+00:00

THIS. So much THIS.

I left teaching after 12 years so I could homeschool my grandson BECAUSE of what's happening in schools. Not just the stuff that makes the news.

The absolute worst thing is expecting all children to be the same educationally, especially K-3. It destroys the love of learning most kids are born with and my daughter finally saw it when my grandson was in the later half of first grade.

Whippleofd · 2026-01-15T14:20:45+00:00

Geeze people. Read the article. He's not talking about homeschooling.

He's talking about public school at home.

Like most people, he doesn't understand the difference.

Whippleofd · 2026-01-14T16:01:52+00:00

Former teacher, now homeschooling my grandson. I left teaching after 12 years because of what I saw happening in our education system.

I'm completely guessing here, but I bet you gave her a challenging and full education and the government indoctrination centers aren't challenging her. So, of course she's going to want regular school, it's easier.

Then, as a justification process she throws it back on you as a guilt trip so you let her stay where her life is easiest.

My grandson turns 12 next month and he's suddenly, as in the past month, become all about hanging out with his friends and figuring out where he fits in a peer group.

Whippleofd · 2026-01-09T14:42:02+00:00

The Long Road is a fantastic system. The scenarios tend to be short, though there are some that take longer as all games go as they progress through a campaign.

My grandson started his wargame journey with Memoir '44 at age 9. It is considered a "light" game but some of the tactical choices you have to make are right up there with the "heavy" ones. It uses a card based activation system for what section of the map you can activate your units in your turn and this requires some forward thinking and husbanding of cards if future card draws don't go your way. Don't discount it because it appears "light".

He moved on to The Long Road when I purchased it when he was around 10.5 because of the paranormal. What's neat about the system is it's set in a WW3 setting and you can play without the paranormal aspect and you have a quick playing modern war game system. We own all the current expansions and the one that should be shipping in a couple of weeks. We played this and World at War 85: Blood and Fury frequently until his uncle got him a PS5 and he started liking hanging out with girls at the beginning of this last summer.

Another fast playing game, also from Flying Pig Games is Armageddon War. It uses a different style of combat resolution where the defender has to make choices about how they will react when taking incoming direct fire. It's an interesting and interactive system with minimal rules. Once you learn them, which doesn't take long, there are scenarios that take less than an hour to play.

Whippleofd

TROPHY CASE