Board abbreviations, courtesy of theswap.com, expanded by SWB for this site:
100EL: "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons," reading instruction book
ACE: "Accelerated Christian Education"
ACT: "American College Test," standardized test for entrance to some colleges and universities
ADD: "attention-deficit disorder"
ADHD: "attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder" (this term, ADHD, is now preferred)
AFT: "American Federation of Teachers," a large association of schoolteachers (NOT the same as the larger NEA), functioning as a labor union in states that permit collective bargaining
AO: "Alpha Omega," a Christian curriculum publisher
AOL: "America On Line," an online service
ASL: "American Sign Language"
B4FIAR: "Before Five In a Row," preschool literature-based curriculum
bashing: "assaulting (or attacking) the sender, not the opinion expressed in the note"
BBS: "bulletin board system," precursors to online forums
BFIAR: "Beyond Five-in-a-Row," upper elementary literature-based curriclum, ages 8-12
BIL: "Brother-in-law"
BJ, BJU, BJUP: "Bob Jones University Press," a Christian curriculum publisher
BF: "Beautiful Feet," a Christian curriculum publisher
CBD: "Christian Book Distributors," mail-order book retailer in Pennsylvania
CGC: "Considering God's Creation," a Christian science curriculum
CIS: "Compuserve Information Service," Compuserve online service
CLP: "Christian Liberty Press," a Christian curriculum publisher
CM: "Charlotte Mason," 19th-century British educator; her theories
CS: "Christian school"
dd: "dear or darling daughter"
detox: "detoxification," the process of purging the poor attitudes and habits of public/private school; the adjustment process for a student coming out of a classroom into a home education setting
dh: "dear or darling husband" (also "d___ husband"), "dearest heart"
ds: "dear or darling son"
EFTTC: "English for the Thoughtful Child,"elementary grammar text
energizing: "adding a reply so a posted note won't be removed from the board so soon," in Swap terms, "bringing to the top"
ETC: "Explode the Code," series of phonics workbooks
FAR: "Far Above Rubies," Christian high school unit study curriculum for girls
FAQ: "Frequently Asked Questions"
flame: "post a disparaging message or series of messages"
FIAR: "Five In A Row," lower elementary grades literature-based curriculum, ages 4-8
FIIR: "For Instruction In Righteousness," a Doorpost product
FIL: "father-in-law"
GCB: "Great Christian Books," mail-order/retail bookstore in Maryland
HBJ: "Harcourt, Brace & Javonovich," secular curriculum publisher
HEM: "Home Education Magazine"
HM: "Houghton Mifflin," a secular curriculum publisher
HMSC: "home school" or "home schooling"
HMSCer: "home schooler"
HOP: "Hooked on Phonics," a commercial reading instruction curriculum
HS, HSing, HSer: "homeschool, homeschooling, homeschooler"
HSLDA: "Home School Legal Defense Association"
IEP: "Individualized Education Plan," mandated for students in some categories by federal law, intended for all students under some planned implementations of outcome-based education
IRA: "International Reading Association," an organization of persons involved in reading instruction in schools
ITBS: "Iowa Test of Basic Skills," a standardized achievement test given to schoolchildren, much like the Stanford Achievement Test
KAH: "Training our Daughters to be Keepers At Home," same as TOD
KOTF: "Keepers of the Faith"
LA: "Learning Adventures"
LD: "learning disabled"
LDS: "Latter Day Saints (Mormon)" in religious contexts
LGTW: "Learning Grammar Through Writing," the grammar supplement to LLATL
LLATL, LLAL: "Learning Language Arts Through Literature," language arts curriculum using exerpts from literature as the foundation for all aspects of language
LMS: "Listen My Son," a Christian unit study curriculum for high school boys
LOL: "Lifestyle of Learning," a free monthly newsletter discussing the topics in WWOL
LOL: "laugh out loud," or "lots of love"
lurker: "someone who reads notes and replies but doesn't post" (This is perfectly acceptable behavior, despite the connotation of the word "lurker," but we welcome you to participate if you want to!) lurking through: "just looking for information" or "just passing by on the bulletin board or forum"
MCP: "Modern Curriculum Press," a secular curriculum publisher
MIL: "mother-in-law"
MkMM: "Making Math Meaningful," a commercial mathematics curriculum, not to be confused with the one below with the almost identical name
MMdM: "Math Made Meaningful," a commercial mathematics curriculum, not be confused with the one above with the almost identical name
MUS: "Math-U-See," a commercial mathematics curriculum
NAEP: "National Assessment of Education Progress," a testing program in reading, writing, math, and science conducted by ETS for the federal government
NCTE: "National Council of Teachers of English," a professional association that has established guidelines for English curricula
NCTM: "National Council of Teachers of Mathematics," a professional association that has established guidelines for math curricula
NEA: "National Education Association," founded in the 19th Century, now the largest association of schoolteachers, functioning as a labor union in states that permit collective bargaining
newbie "newcomer, either to homeschooling or to a particular discussion board or forum, or both"
NL: "Newsletter"
NT, nt: "No Text," the subject line contains the entire message
OBE: "outcome-based education," a program of purported school reform (variously described as principally a management reform or principally a curriculum reform) already mandated in several states, in experimental implementation in various places
PP: "Prairie Primer," unit-study curriculum based on the Little House series of books
PS: "public school"
PW: "password"
Q&A: "question and answer"
R&S: "Rod & Staff," a Christian curriculum publisher
SAHD: "stay-at-home dad"
SAHM: "stay-at-home mom"
SAT: (1) "Scholastic Aptitude Test," a test used for college entrance published by Educational Testing Service, or (2) "Stanford Achievement Test," an achievement test used in primary and secondary grades to evaluate student progress Saxon: "Saxon Publishers," a secular math, science, and phonics curriculum publisher
SIL: "sister-in-law"
SIN/P: "single parent"
SSRW: "Sing Spell Read & Write," phonics and reading program
SV: "Steck-Vaughn," a secular curriculum publisher
Swappie: "a regular poster or lurker at the Homeschoolers Curriculum Swap forums"
SWB: Susan Wise Bauer, co-author of TWTM
TH: "Teaching Home," a home schooling magazine
thread: "series of replies attached to a note, a topic on a forum"
The Swap: "The Homeschoolers Curriculum Swap support forums and/or curriculum classified ads"
TOD: "Training Our Daughters to Be Keepers at Home," a Christian curriculum with a home economics emphasis
TOG: "Tapestry of Grace"
TPTB: "the powers that be"
TTFN: "ta-ta for now"
TTYL: "talk to you later"
TUAC: "Train Up A Child," both a book and a listserv, although one has nothing to do with the other
TWEM: "The Well-Educated Mind" (also WEM)
TWTM: "The Well-Trained Mind" (also WTM)
US: "Unit Studies"
w/: "with"
w/o: "without"
WEM: "Well-Educated Mind" (also TWEM)
WTM: "Well-Trained Mind" (also TWTM)
WWOL: "Wisdom's Way of Learning," a book by Marilyn Howshall
[13]yob, [13]yos: "13-year-old boy/son"
[11]yog, [11]yod: "11-year-old girl/daughter"
YRS: "year-round schooling"