Start-of-Semester Updates from Students Living at Home?

[Jenny in Florida]

I have no move-in story this year, but my back-home-again son went to his first day of class at the community college today. He seemed to have a really good day, and the two classes he's most enthused about are still coming up tomorrow and Saturday.

 

While doing a community theatre production this summer, he got super excited about puppetry, and he found out today that his college is offering a one-time-only workshop in the second half of this semester, which was a total surprise. So, he got himself registered for that this afternoon. And it turns out that the spring theatre production on campus is an original piece incorporating live music, dance and puppetry. So, through sheer, dumb lucky timing, he seems to have landed on that campus in the perfect academic year for him to be there.

 

He's looking at a busy semester. In addition to (now) 15 credit hours, he is in the early stages of rehearsals for Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios. Since it's his first year, he wasn't sure how many nights he would actually be scheduled to work, but he was told yesterday that he will likely be working for most or all of the events.  He's trying to keep working one or two days a week at his current part-time job, too. 

 

As always, he is ful of plans for projects and things he wants to do. I told him on the way home tonight that, pacifist though I am, if he tries to add one more thing to his calendar for the time between now and November 1st, I'll be forced to inflict some kind of violence upon his person.

 

But it's awfully nice to see him excited about all of it.

 

How are your local students doing? Have they started class yet?

[Starr]

Ds leaves for the summer for work, internships, and comes home for school because cats, guitars, cameras, computers, food, did I say cats?

[Granny_Weatherwax]

My DD is still living us and just started her Super Senior year! The only thing I helped with this year was buying her an agenda from Target. Although that's not 100% accurate since I did help with DGD's back-to-school stuff. We are super excited that the local school district allowed DGD to enter kindergarten a year early. She scored well on the entrance tests and they saw no reason to delay another year. This means - for the first time in 4 years - that DH and I don't have any childcare expenses and there's no extra running around to daycare providers, etc. We're looking forward to the free time and being able to get things done during school hours.

 

I'm hoping with DGD in school fulltime DD can focus on her final semester and get the grades she wants/needs to boost her GPA. 

--

Side note: I'm a little sad because I had hoped to homeschool DGD once DD had graduated and found full time employment. Alas, it looks like it's not to be for the time being.

[G5052]

Mine is doing great. He has two online, one hybrid, and two face-to-face, so his schedule is a little different this round.

 

He works two evenings from 6-10pm and Saturday afternoon.They're demanding in a good way and periodically have seminars where they talk about their business practices. So it's good work even beyond the $$$. He's learning something about how a small business runs. 

[elegantlion]

We started yesterday. There is no way we could have done this schedule if we had not moved closer to school. Ds has an 8am class, doesn't drive, so I'm there an hour early. He has night class on 3 nights, yes, still not driving. Two of those nights I'll stay on campus and do homework. Tonight's class runs for 3 hours, so I'll run home. 

 

It's so nice to be 8 minutes from school. This is his second year, so he's seeing familiar faces, people he went to Japan with, so that's nice. 

 

He's excited about his calculus class, found out the professor is doing a class on combinatorics  (spelling?) next semester as well as teaching calc 2. 

 

 

[Arch at Home]

My dual-enrolled students are in the middle of their second week. The younger, sophomore, who is taking English 90, is enjoying a very organized instructor after last semester's very disorganized history instructor. She is flourishing in this environment. We ran into our first computer code issue having bought an used book without a code on the recommendation of the instructor. The instructor is now trying to get my daughter a code to use. I am so glad that I am not having to figure this out.

 

My older is beginning her Senior year and final year at CC. After a panicked start, she is settling into the routine of school, work, college apps, and extra curricular. It is so good to see her working ahead so as to go to class prepared. Her summer program has her looking beyond the CC and towards a 4-year college and the intimacy and challenge which is found with living and learning with people of similar goals and interests. Luckily working her first job and the influx of another group of students into her program will somewhat keep her interested this year.

[The Girls' Mom]

My oldest (college sophomore) is in her 3rd semester.  She switched her major to English, with a poetry focus once she gets to the 4-year school.  She's loving her classes this semester. British Lit is with a professor I had last year that I knew she'd love interacting with.  Her Critical Thinking class is taught by a former coworker/friend of hers, which is weird and fun for her at the same time.  She's also still working our small town library.  I don't see her much, as she also has quite the social life.

 

My DE dd is taking Biology I and Pre-Cal with Trig at the same college.  Both of her classes are working out well. This is her first lab class in an actual lab, and she's very excited about that.  She is going to be a science major when she heads to a 4 year next year, and wanted a taste of an actual lab class before she left.  She is also working at a thrift store, and is a teacher's assistant for a forensic science class and a MARS project class at our co-op.  I also do not see her much..lol.

 

All my classes are online this semester :D, and I'm down to 10 hours a week for work.  So I may be able to get my home life back under control...at least momentarily.

[shanvan]

No classes yet.  Ds is on his 2nd day of orientation.  Yesterday was the honors college orientation and he had a great time.  He met some kids he likes and enjoyed the trip into the city and won a $15 gift card to the college convenience store.  

 

Today I had to drop him off at the train station very early (6:15am) so he could be at the general orientation at 7am.  At 8:15am I got a message that he was thoroughly disgusted with the college programming.  Apparently they had a DJ and loud music and lights!  Ugh!  At 8am?  I told him he probably isn't the only one annoyed by it.  He thought they were trying to appeal to the average college kid and didn't like their idea of what that meant.  He messaged me again, and once the motivational speaker got started things got better and he is enjoying the speakers.  He loves public speaking, so I am sure ehe is evaluating their speeches!  

 

We are still in the process of getting books and he starts next week! Eek!  And he has to double check one class that does not have textbooks listed.  He's had to straighten out some glitches with financial aid and scheduling, but it seems like it's going pretty well so far.  

[Kfamily]

Older daughter has started her first term as a freshman (she did a term last spring as dual-enrolled senior in high school) and really likes her teachers. She's my humanities girls, so we went with all humanities type classes to start off the year strong. :) She has English Comp 2, Intro. to Anthropology, World Civilization I and World Literature. She's doing well. She volunteers at our local library once a week for a couple of hours too. She is also not driving yet, so between her and her sister's many activities, I feel like a professional chauffeur. :p

 

 

Edited August 31, 2016 by Kfamily

[shanvan]

Older daughter has started her first term as a freshman (she did a term last spring as dual-enrolled senior in high school) and really likes her teachers. She's my humanities girls, so we went with all humanities type classes to start off the year strong. :) She has English Comp 2, Intro. to Anthropology, World Civilization I and World Literature. She's doing well. She volunteers at our local library once a week for a couple of hours too. She is also not driving yet, so between her and her sister's many activities, I feel like a professional chauffeur. :p

 

I feel the same way.  I am getting close to giving Ds an ultimatum about getting his license!

[MerryAtHope]

Oldest is back at the CC for his second year. He doesn't love his classes this semester (they fulfill gen-eds but are ones he wasn't particularly looking forward to), so that's harder. He's still deciding on a major, so things feel up in the air for him. He's thinking about psychology/criminology (he's interested in criminal profiling) right now. Today they're doing a big picnic/open house kind of thing where all the clubs have booths. He met the head of the chess club and is thinking of joining that--I think he'd really like that. I need to study up on chess, I can't beat him any more!

Edited August 31, 2016 by MerryAtHope

[Pegasus]

DD started her second official year at the CC (also dual enrolled at the same school) and will be ready to transfer to the state university in January.  She is enjoying showing her little sister around campus, who just started dual enrollment, but is a bit overwhelmed at juggling her job hours with coursework. It's an off-campus job and they are scheduling her for more hours than she wants to work. I've told her that I'll support her if she decides to put her employment on inactive status (so she can jump right back in during school breaks) or even quit.  She won't be able to work at this same location once she transfers anyway and the pay is so low it is for work experience more than money. I'm hoping next summer she will be able to find something more in line with her major.

 

She likes her instructors, loves one that she had last semester too, and is pleased that she only has to write one paper this semester since most of her classes are math/technical in nature.

 

The campus already hosted a student club day with booths to showcase all the activities that students could join.  The one DD enjoyed most last year is still looking for a new faculty sponsor so who knows if it will be active or not.  I told DD to ask her favorite instructor if he would be willing to act as the faculty sponsor, since it seems right up his alley, but since DD is not in a club leadership role, she is not comfortable even asking about his interest.

 

Biggest campus activities seem to currently be hanging out in hammocks and playing Pokemon Go.

 

 

[quark]

DS has 11 credit hours at the CC this semester and 2 year-long APs at home. And that doesn't include the math he does for research/ self study. The last two years, he has taken up to 14 credit hours/semester + self study pursuits at most. This time, it's about the equivalent of about 16-18 hours. I'm not sure how he is going to wing it. He is fairly independent and reliable and stays on schedule (works ahead when he can too) but I have kept tabs and issued a few reminders in the past. This is my practice semester for holding my tongue even more. Haven't had to remind him yet 3 weeks into the semester but it's only 3 down 14 to go. Yikes.

 

But it is very, very good practice for his upcoming freshman year (although he takes more than 10 credits each semester, we have not graduated him from our homeschool). I am very excited for him but am also kind of conflicted that he is growing older/ more mature/ capable so fast so soon.

 

He won't be driving for another 2+ years.  :mellow: 

[Colleen in NS]

My son started yesterday with Welcome Week.  It was our first day of the new routine of driving him back and forth to the bus terminal (how I wish it was within walking distance of our home).  Anyway, we are finding that the Welcome Week schedule is not very clear; at one point he found himself in the middle of a session for international students.  He told me he just tried to blend in, and that he got to enjoy a bowl of chili, some bread, and some salad.  Elsewhere, he did manage to check some things off his "to do" list (get a bus pass, get health insurance information, get his student ID) and get information on some other academic things we parents were told to encourage.

 

Then today he did the bus routine again (at some points frantically running to catch connections - I told him this would all smooth out as he figures out the various schedules) to attend a "Healthy Start in the Park" event.  It was described as being an afternoon of touring a local park, playing games there, frisbee, etc.  Instead he found himself following the group of students (yes, he went to the correct meeting place) to a football game.  He got bored halfway through, figured out how to find a phone to call and tell me when his bus would arrive, and got himself back to the bus terminal.  He also tried to sign up for a day trip tomorrow, but found out it was full.  So he's staying home tomorrow (and happy to do so for now).

 

Monday, though, should be different - he has his orientation for a 30-student science faculty mentorship group that he signed up for.  He will meet his peer mentor and the 29 other students in the group.  This group has three classes/labs together, so he will see them a lot over the semester.  I'm glad he'll finally get to meet all of them on Monday.  And then Tuesday is an orientation to the science faculty.  And classes start on Wednesday and then he'll be super busy!  I'm hoping he'll sign up for a club or society this week, too.

 

It has been...interesting...getting him ready over the past few weeks.  He is SO anxious to be fully independent that any time I make a suggestion about something or ask a question or just plain old tell him to get something done that he needs to get done, he gets grumpy with me.  I realized last week that he'd never used any type of time-planner, so I dragged him to Staples to show him examples and show him how to use them.   He finally agreed to buy one.  Then there was the slow process of getting him to start writing things in it.  And then the night before his first Welcome Week day, there was the whole process of asking him questions to get him thinking about what he'd need to take with him.  Oh. my. word.  And clothes shopping last week.  Clothes are purely utilitarian to him.  I whipped through the thrift stores as fast as possible, pulling out nice-looking quality t-shirts (short- and long-sleeve), pants/jeans, and sweatshirts/sweaters for him to try on and talking aloud about my choosing process so he'd have some clue about how to spot quality clothing at frugal prices.  I'm trying to do the "back off, he's 18" thing, but if I didn't do or say any of this stuff over the past two weeks, he'd be panicking late at night or early in the morning.  I'm willing to let him learn some things the hard way right now, but I also want him to have a positive first few weeks when his classes start by giving him half a chance at having most practical details prepared (like remembering to pack lunch and snacks, pens/pencils, paper, etc.).  I do think he'll do fine after all this crash-course preparing, but I am worn out!!!!!!

 

He is really looking forward to his classes:  physics plus lab, chemistry plus lab, computer science plus lab, math plus recitation (I don't know what that is), and English (not looking forward to this, but it's his only English requirement of the four years).  Some people have said this is a heavy duty course load, but I don't really know.  I do know he is looking forward to doing the sciences with professors and interested students!

 

Anyway, that's how it's going here - I canNOT believe that I am posting this nearly twelve years after having found these forums!  It's such a feeling of contentment.