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Bridget
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Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: Michigan
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Posts: 2198
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| Posted: Sept 16 2010 at 7:45am | IP Logged
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Sarah, that is sad to hear. I am sure God has a plan, you never know who will move to your area or be inspired by your family's example and decide to homeschool.
Looking at options for relocating is probably what I would do. So much depends on your husband's job and extended family situations.
As Stacy mentioned, Michigan IS a great state to hs in, houses are cheap right now, and the natural resources are breathtaking. But the job market is grim. Though I do know men who have found jobs here. The areas I am familiar with in lower MI, Detroit (not the city itself but the metro area), Lansing and Ann Arbor areas, have an abundance of Catholic support and resources for homeschoolers. What God has done here is incredible and I am grateful for it every single day.
I will remember to pray for your family!
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God Bless,
Bridget, happily married to Kevin, mom to 8 on earth and a small army in heaven
Our Magnum Opus
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Lisbet
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Joined: Feb 07 2006
Location: Michigan
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Posts: 2706
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| Posted: Sept 16 2010 at 10:05am | IP Logged
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 Bridget! The very reasons we are considering moving up to the AA area! :) My dh now works from home, his company is located in Dallas TX. We have a lot of freedom with this right now. :)
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Lisa, wife to Tony,
Mama to:
Nick, 17
Abby, 15
Gabe, 13
Isaac, 11
Mary, 10
Sam, 9
Henry, 7
Molly, 6
Mark, 5
Greta, 3
Cecilia born 10.29.10
Josephine born 6.11.12
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sewcrazy
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Joined: Aug 17 2006
Location: Illinois
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Posts: 735
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| Posted: Sept 16 2010 at 10:41am | IP Logged
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I am in IL, a very very homeschool friendly state. I started a coop last year at my parish, and we have a waiting list of families. We know dozens of homeschool families. That said, I know of several families that put their kids in school the last 2 years. I have seen a lot of burnout among friends. Also, there has been a rise in moms needing to work to help support the household. So they are putting the kids in school as daycare while mom is at work.
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LeeAnn
Wife of David, mom to Ben, Dennis, Alex, Laura, Philip and our little souls in heaven we have yet to meet
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Mackfam
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Non Nobis
Joined: April 24 2006
Location: Alabama
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Posts: 14656
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| Posted: Sept 17 2010 at 9:59am | IP Logged
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The numbers of Catholic home educators in North Alabama are GROWING!!! We have a number of new families, and a lot of folks moving into the area because of the nature and economy of our city as well as the diverse natural resources that are so abundant here. Our homeschooling laws are not difficult to comply with. I manage membership and moderate our local homeschooling support group and we've definitely seen an increase in membership, especially over the last 2 years. There are a number of young families choosing home education here.
As far as high schoolers, it does seem that this year we have a number of them, and they're quite organized - truly a wonderful group of young people! There are several opportunities here for high schoolers - we have a high schooler organizing mission trips to central Alabama (very rural and quite poor areas) for other high schoolers, another organizing a works of mercy group, there is a high schooler that organizes Holy Hours for the high schoolers in the group, and we have high school religion/apologetics classes that are offered to all homeschool high schoolers of the area by a local and wonderful priest! We have seasonal dances for our high schoolers - square dances and swing dances (with the hope of a waltz soon)! These are so fun and the rules in place at our dances are natural and yet offer lovely and appropriate boundaries for our teens! We're truly blessed in our area right now, but I'm aware from speaking to other homeschooling moms in the area that this level of organization and the offerings available to our high schoolers has not always been available. It was fairly bleak for some high schoolers in terms of opportunities not too long ago. I suppose the increase in numbers as well as the willingness of our own high schoolers to organize purposeful and wonderful activities for themselves (with the support and guidance of parents) has had the most impact. We're very blessed.
We have a unique situation in North Alabama - this area's population and the local economy are fairly diverse (ranging from agricultural/agrarian/rural to engineering/rocket science/military technology and almost everything in between), offering a nice amount of culture and opportunities which attracts families from all over the country. Our cost of living is quite good around here, and thanks be to God, we've been spared the effects of the downturn in the economy for the most part. We like that we're so close to other bigger cities for opportunities - Nashville is just 2 hours away from us and is a nice drive. Like the population and economy in North Alabama, our natural resources are abundant and varied - we have mountains, caves, lakes, wildlife refuges, prairie, swamps, rivers, beaches, and just about everything in between. It's really an amazing state that I have fallen in love with...very slowly! 
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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Grace&Chaos
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Joined: June 07 2010
Location: California
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I couldn't say for sure what the numbers are in CA, but I have attended our CA Catholic Conference (Southern Part) and I have to admit it is very modest compared to other Conferences in the area. The biggest I believe is CHEA: Christian Home Educators Association.
We are part of a very small (about 12 families) group and while it didn't start out as just a Catholic group I am sure all the families are members of the Catholic faith. Before finding this group I was part of a group of about 200 registered families (non denominational). It was to big for us, I always felt like a stranger. We love our group now and my children have really created some nice bonds, the activities are just the right amount and we can celebrate holidays & saint/feast days with out feeling out of place  .
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Blessings,
Jenny
Mom to dds(00,03) and dss(05,06,08,09)
Grace in Loving Chaos
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Cay Gibson
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Location: Louisiana
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| Posted: Sept 17 2010 at 6:55pm | IP Logged
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Sometimes I have to pinch myself to believe how blessed we are down here in SW Louisiana. Our hs group has grown tremendously in the 13 yrs since I began hsing my oldest son. We had a small Catholic group at the time. There was a larger non-dem group but we didn't join them much.
We now have soccer, baseball, basketball teams (had the #s for football but no coach), we have a weekly Catholic co-op that follows a MODG core curriculum set-up and a bi-weekly non-denominational group that has lots of extra curricular, we have a Keepers group for girls and Conquest group for boys and a Marian Maidens group for Catholic girls. We have bowling every 2nd Friday and skating every 4th Friday. we have a Shakespearan drama club and dance class. We have an orchestra band. We have chess club. We have huge 4-H group.
What else...
We even have a yearbook staff and a yearbook that is wonderful. Had a yearbook signing party this year. That was a first.
We have Mom's Night Out every month...more than one actually between the Catholic moms and Protestant moms. You can take your pick of which night you can go out.
We have a lady who sets-up quarterly dances for the kids...a back-to-school dance in Sept., a winter wonderland dance in January, and a Prom in May.
We have a writer's group...Pretty Pens.
We are fixing to have an informal CM gathering in November.
And the Lafayette group is larger than ours!!
We are so blessed...I'm almost embarrassed to admit all that we have because we are so trememdously blessed. But since you asked... 
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Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
wife to Mark '86
mom to 5
Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks
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SeaStar
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| Posted: Sept 17 2010 at 7:49pm | IP Logged
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My local Catholic hs group is fairly small.... maybe 10-12 families, and of that not all of them are reliably "active"... mostly busy with other things, and the Catholic HS group is not a huge priority for them.
I have to admit it's a bit frustrating. It's hard to have things like a Little Flowers Club with only two little flowers signed up. I'm hoping our group will grow.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Catholic Homeschooling nationwide
