Letter of intent to pull kids out of public school and printable report cards

So, for those of you who have been following along you will know that we were not planning to leave until May. However, things tend to change unexpectedly.

Pulling my kiddos out of school in the middle of the year is hard. This was one of my biggest challenges to be honest. We really can't wait for summer vacation however, because the Rocky Mountains do not have the double growing season that we are so accustomed to in South Louisiana. There are several reasons for our move at this time, but we really want to take advantage of the lovely weather so that we can prepare for our first winter.

Every state has different laws and some states require 10 days written notice prior to withdrawal. Check your state laws on homeschooling. This is very difficult because most school administrators may think they know the laws, but really have no clue about the homeschool laws. Every situation is different.

I maybe enrolling my kiddos in public school when we get settled in. Each kid has their own choice. It is their right. The public school system in Colorado is much better than Louisiana and does NOT use common core! YEY! That makes my heart feel super happy! (Okay can you tell I have a kindergartener?)

After much deliberation from my kiddos they all decided to finish off this year at the new school.  I had written a withdrawal letter for homeschool before, but I have never had to transfer them before. This was new territory. After much research I have created a sample transfer request letter.

You can download a sample transfer intent I created here.

Now that covers the youngest two kiddos. However, my oldest is homeschooled now. So, that means I need to make sure that he has a proper report card. Wow! I found an amazing resource for this!

So now that all that is done I have one less thing to worry about!

Top Tents to Start Your Homestead

So the story goes....

We have 5 acres that we are ready to build on! By the way we have 98 days left until our move date! Yey! The days are closing in and we are getting super excited! Everyone keeps asking us, "Where will you stay while you build your house?" Well, here is our answer...

We are planning to stay in a military tent while the weather is nice. We stayed in a regular six man camping tent during our last visit. However, with the kids and the extended use we know that is not going to be enough for our needs. So we ordered a GI tent to use during the nice weather. If our house is not liveable by the time the weather gets cold we plan to rent a house for the winter. (Or something along the lines. We have several back-up plans if you were wondering.) These reviews are based on our research and opinions. Our needs were taken into account, which include but are not limited to; durability, water resistant, stovepipe flap, ventilation, size, and price.

Without further adieu I give you our top tents for camping out on your homestead during building...
 



Guide Gear 10x10' Teepee Tent

This one is great for use as a separate kiddo room or if you only have 2 adults. Anymore than that and you may get a little cramped for long-term use. So, although it isn't an actual GI tent, this one seems like a good option if you plan to get your building done within 3 months. It is waterproof and has lots of ventilation. It features a 6'6" center height, sleeps 6 people and only weighs 14 lbs., 13 ozs.

Guide Gear 10x10' Teepee Tent     
Military-Army Temper Tent 20' X 48'

This is a great base camp tent! This GI tent can be used year-round and can fit many people. This tent has many amazing features such as aluminum walls and the option to extend the length. The center height is a whooping 12'3"! This tent is pretty pricey, but totally worth it if you plan to live in it for longer than three months or if you have a dozen people. The downside is the weight. This tent weights in at 200lbs! One man cannot carry that alone unless he is super strong. I really love the stovepipe shield and the large screened panels. It is also fire, water and mildew resistant so that is a bonus.

Military-Army Temper Tent 20' X 48'      GP Tent 4 Sided 16′X16′ Military Tent

Another nice GI tent. This tent has 4 side walls each 6′ high. Center height is 10.5!. Tent comes complete with canvas roll for mallet, rope and tent stakes. There is no info on weight or how many it sleeps, but it seems to be a little smaller than the GP Small, so probably sleeps 6 or so. Nice tent for glamping down the road if that is your style, too.

GP Tent 4 Sided 16′X16′ Military Tent      GP Medium Tent 16′ X 32′ Vynil

This tent is a beast! Since it is GI you know you are getting high quality mildew, water and fire resistant. This is the tent for long term in extreme conditions. The down side is that there are no windows. I do like the ventilation and the stovepipe flap though. Did anyone say Alaska?

GP Medium Tent 16′ X 32′ Vynil      10 Man Arctic Tent 17'6 X 17'6

This was my favorite tent since we first began our search over a year ago. I fell in love with this one! Keep in mind the ten man sleeping is super tight. After researching it more I found that it sleeps 6 comfortably to live in. I love the snow cloth. This could also be used with sand to keep the sand storms from blowing the tent as well. Not only is the tent fire, water and mildew resistant it also has an extra fire-resistant liner too. This thing has tons of features and for the price it is almost a no brainier. Why aren't we getting this one? Read on...

10 Man Arctic Tent 17'6 X 17'6

Guide Gear 18x18' Teepee Tent

Although this is NOT a GI tent I am planning to purchase this one in the next few days. Why? It makes a great storage, changing room, kiddo space, or guest room. For the price it makes an excellent supplementary tent. I would NOT use this as my primary tent! This tent has a generous 9'9" center height, sleeps 10-12 people and weighs 21 lbs. 4 ozs. The steel poles are nice, but I would rather aluminum. I don't see anything about a stovepipe flap, but there is plenty of ventilation. It has a floor which is always nice. At this weight I could see Josh and the boys using it for backcountry hunting trips in the future. So, this one is on my buy asap list!

Guide Gear 18x18' Teepee Tent

Finally our #1 pick....

GP Small Tent 17'6" X 17'6" Vynil

This has been Josh's favorite tent since he first laid eyes upon it. The size is just right for us and it is very durable. The center height is 10′ 6″ and it has 198 sqft of floor space! This is also a GI tent so it has the same amazing duck material which is fire, water and mildew resistant. It features 2 7' doors which is pretty neat. This one does not come with the floor, much like all of the GI tents, so that is a separate purchase. We have already purchased this tent and are anxiously awaiting it's arrival!

GP Small Tent 17'6" X 17'6" Vynil      You can find more similar tents here...
 
Which of these tents do you find your best fit?

Do you have any other tents you would like to recommend?

(VIDEOS) A first glimpse at our homestead

So, I have been promising videos forever. Sorry to be such a slacker on this, but we have been busy bees around here.

Here is a little video I made about our week long adventure. It was amazing. We camped out on our land for seven days. We would have stayed longer, but it is a 24 hour drive. Originally we wanted to bring the kiddos for our first look at the land, but we were blessed with a real vacation. My in-laws were kind enough to care for them for the entire time we were gone. We finally got the honeymoon we always deserved.

Thank you to everyone that helped us. And for all the friends we met we hope to see you again soon.
  

So without further ado I give you a first glimpse at our 5 acre homestead...

May you live wild and free,
Candice

World Nomads Film Competition 2014

So, I might be a little slow out the gate on this one. Okay very slow...



Anyway we met some amazing women on our trip to Colorado in 2014. They were in the middle of an amazing journey across the US. They really inspired us. Here is their story.



Be on the lookout because I will be featuring them again in our upcoming video that is also a little behind.



Well what can you expect we are getting ready for a 1200 mile move! Oh by the way we only have 111 days left!











Here you can view the entire blog post.