As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
The charter school I work for has decided as of today that they will not be offereing 6-8 grades next year. DD will be in 8th grade. I really do not want to send her back to public school. I don't like how the public schools are run here. (Although, as a side note, the principal that accused DD of making racist remarks "that caused her to be jumped" at school has now resigned as of two days ago.) DBF and I had started talking about homeschooling her a few days ago and it is something I have thought about in the past. But now, it seems that I may actually be in a position to stop talking aobut it and do something about it.
So I am wondering what homeschooling curriculum do you use? What kind of achievement testing, if any, do you use? I know I can get onto the state's education website and download the subject matter requirements for her grade level. (Basically those skills that are required for each grade level to learn, i.e. math requirements, English requirements, etc.) I also know tons of websites to go to for curriculum supplements. Plus, with me working in the schools, I know of other resources that most people outside the school system wouldn't normally think of.
Any information you can give me would be much appreciated. I haven't decided to homeschool yet, but I want to make as informed a decision as I can.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
I've often referred parents in other states who want to know more about cyberschooling to our grade level supervisor or parent liason so they can advise them of the options in their state. If you're interested, let me know, I'll pass on the contact info.
You might want to consider joining one of your state's homeschooling support lists online. You'll probably be overwhelmed with the info other hsing parents will offer. You'll meet traditional homechoolers, parents who organize co-ops, eclectic learners, unschoolers - you name it! And they'll be able to answer your questions, especially when it comes to state guidelines/laws/etc.
Also check and see if there's a curriculum fair in the planning near you, which would give you an opportunity to browse around at many different options.
Texas is a great state to homeschool in, regulation-wise. Lucky you! My #2 DD is in 8th grade this year and she loves Apologia science, Teaching Textbooks for math (all of my kids love TT), Abeka history and Abeka English/Language Arts. We use Rosetta Stone for foreign language, but honestly she has learned more from her My Spanish Coach game for Nintendo DS than she has from Rosetta Stone. My oldest DD has the Japanese version and is speaking and understanding sentences in Japanese.
I tried prepackaged curriculum with everything included but we found that we prefer to mix and match rather than going with all Abeka or all Sonlight, etc.
Your knowledge of other curriculum/outside of curriculum resources will serve you well. I homeschooled my 4 children and am now helping with homeschooling 5 of my 9 grandchildren. We started in 1984. We have used ABEKA as a Christian based curriculum but prefer Bob Jones since ABEKA aligned more with Public schools in 1989 and Bob Jones has kept higher standards. If you want a computer based program that you can oversee or have a teacher correct then Switched-on-schoolhouse by Alpha Omega is a great program and used by a few of our homeschool group's teenagers. Over the years though I have used the print version for dd with ADD and a bf'ss who was ADHD and worked very well. I have supplemented with KONOS, Weaver and especially Math-u-see for remedial and elementary levels. We have been very eclectic and it has worked well as each child has their own learning styles, interests, and future plans. Our ds when he was 14 went to work with an architect as that was his interest at the time and within 3 weeks he had mastered CAD programs and found some things out about it that the architect didn't know and then went on to teach other architects who wanted to learn (1988). We use a combination of computer and books, co-op and solo lessons. The oldest 3 dgd's are just finishing a co-op that included dissections and learning about the middle ages - today they went to Medieval Times for lunch as their ending to that segment.
Homeschooling is more a lifestyle than a method of school in another place than public system. There are learning and teaching opportunities all the time.
Go with your instincts they will serve you well in this endeavor.
It is wonderful when we can plan for vacations especially at Disney. We have the coming-of-age celebrations and can go during value seasons with no problem of "answering" to anyone and the learning opportunities abound -from reading to physics.
I don't home school, but a lot of my friends do. The ones I have found with kids who seem the most challenged, the best educated, and the most articulate do so working in conjunction with Texas University (I think) There are a lot of colleges who offer homeschool courses. My friend's DH is a professor (head of the Dept) at Indiana University - so they are very picky and choosy about what they teach their kids.
I'll double check with her tomorrow.
I don't home school, but a lot of my friends do. The ones I have found with kids who seem the most challenged, the best educated, and the most articulate do so working in conjunction with Texas University (I think) There are a lot of colleges who offer homeschool courses. My friend's DH is a professor (head of the Dept) at Indiana University - so they are very picky and choosy about what they teach their kids.
I'll double check with her tomorrow.
Thank you! I had forgotten about Texas Tech University's Distance education. They actually have their own school district, but all lessons are on the computer or sent through the mail. I had found it once before when I was looking into doing the distance education thing for myself to finish college.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Hybrid Mode
