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New Hampshire is different than any place I've ever lived.

When does school year start? Last year, they started right after Labor Day, the first Monday in September.

When does school year finish? With the four or five snow days we've had, estimated last day is June 21st. Freaking late, in my opinion. As in Iowa but contrary to my childhood in Kentucky, schools here do not have air conditioning.

What are the school hours? My children, in first and third grade, go to school from 8:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. They also attend before-school care at the elementary itself, since I have to be at work before that time. It's run separately from the school and is fee-based.

What holidays do you have? My children have Columbus Day (October), Thanksgiving and the day after (November), about a week right around Christmas/New Year's in December, Civil Rights Day (January), a week at the end of February, a week at the end of April, and Memorial Day. They also have teacher workshop days every six weeks or so, and they were out two days in November for parent-teacher conferences.

What grades are in your Elementary schools? (is that what ya call junior?) Elementary schools here run 1-5. Middle school is 6-8, and high school is 9-12. My town, though, does not have a public high school. Instead, it and a few smaller, surrounding towns pay tax money to a private academy here in town that is held in high regard. Kinda cool, really.

Do all US states have the same above things? As Lil said, nope. Schools in Iowa were much more similar to what I grew up in Kentucky with, but still had some differences.

How old are children when they start school? Do you have Kindergarten or Preschool? My town is one of 20 left in the nation, I've been told, without mandatory kindergarten. If a child attends kindergarten here (and, btw, the other 19 are apparently all in New Hampshire as well), his or her parents pay tuition that rivals in-state college tuition to go. There are some public programs for kindergarten and pre-K here, but the slots are limited and are based either on financial need or on a special-needs basis. Even then, kindergarten is half-day.

Fortunately, my children were out of kindergarten before we moved here. My son and daughter both attended public kindergarten in Iowa on a full-day basis. In addition, my daughter attended two years of public preschool in one of the districts in which we lived in Iowa.