My 13yo is extremely cranky. She doesn't like anything, thinks everything is stupid, and has a generally lousy attitude. I think some of it may be the horrible weather we are having. SHe definitely does have vitamin d deficiency which we are working to improve with large doses of it (supervised by a physician). She has other issues as well and I am not sure this isn't a physical problem. She used to be taller than average until she developed osteoporosis and now she is 47 percentile. She also is at 73 percentile for weight. SHe has had growth hormones checked and she was okay for that. I am wondering about things like SAD, possible thyroid issues, or just normal hormonal teen. Her older brother and sister weren't anywhere this bad. Yes they were a bit more cranky but this girl takes the cake. Any advice?

We are taking our 25th anniversary trip to the Northern Rockies which includes parts of BC and Alberta as well as MT and WY with a tiny bit of ID in the US. A few places that we have called about reservations have said something about a holiday weekend on AUg.1. SInce we don't have a holiday then, what holiday are you all having?

I had very little problem. In most areas, I acclimatize rather quickly. It doesn't mean that I like the new area automatically, but I am able to not think much about the old area too much. This winter was not great. I would think sometimes how much I would rather be in Florida but these were quick thoughts and not all encompassing. It actually is one of the great advantages of being ADHD. We don't tend to get homesick.

My kids do some grammar review in 9th grade and then do ACT or SAT prep later which includes grammar.

I have a junior too who is 2011 class. So she is getting a lot of college mail. Today was a light day for homeschooling since we were getting ready for the speech and debate tournament that starts tomorrow. So the youngest (2014) picked up one of her sister;s college mailings and is looking through it. I see her pursuing the major list. I ask her what is she doing and she says she is thinking she should get a good idea of what major she will have before starting high school because she wants to do high school right. The university she was looking at did have engineering so we discussed some types of engineering. THen I went online and found her the website of WOmen in Engineering thinking they might have some information for her. They did and she saw a link to what high school subjects she should take. IT reassured her that I had already told her that most of the classes were requirements. But it is funny to me that both of my girls were very interested in making sure they were doing the right subjects in high school and my oldest, a son, was completely uninterested and trusting me to do what was right.

AS my board name says, I am a transient but currently living in the VA suburbs of DC. I wish I was in Florida again for the weather.

No, because they are divers and swimmers. They wear body hugging rash guards when they swim outside in the day or with diving, anytime since it helps protect their skin.

I chose other because my mom died when I was 23.

I get so many cavities it isn't funny. I have Sjogren's Syndrome which means that my immune system attacks the endocrine glands- the moisture producing glands like saliva and tears. That leads to dry mouth and dry eyes among many other problems. I didn't have cavities as a child. I got maybe 2 in my teen years. Then in my adult years, so many. IT took a while to figure out that I had Sjogren's and it wasn't a dentist who suggested it. He just thought I was a lousy toothbrushed.

I would caution saying that he is goth just because he wears black. My dd likes black clothing though she does wear other colors. For a while, it was more black and less other. She was never goth and dislikes it. SHe just likes dramatic colors including red, black and white.

My youngest is the most stubborn kid ever. SHe is also my one with the most medical issues including that she is on her third orthodontics program. I agree with others in the discussion, bribery, and alternatives. Actually, I ended up having to bribe for good behavior at shots for all the kids when they were little (and the olders not so little ((up to about age 10)) ). My routine I developed was shot then matchbox car or hot rod car of their choice. Easy and cheap bribe and they liked it. My youngest actually had no issues with shots or other medical procedures until she had a horrible experience at the VA hospital when she was five. Then we had issues. But pastry after shot or shake or something like that is still the norm for her with her allergy shots and her blood work. I don't think it is necessarily a bad thing because it is how adults tend to do it too. Get through a bad day at work, have a beer or have some chocolate.

I currently have Chalkdust Algebra 2 and LOF ALgebra 2. They look to cover the same material and not matrices. As I remember, I never had matrices in high school and I went through pre-calculus. I used to have Foerster's and in my estimation, the book covered parts of Alg 2 and parts of pre-calc.

My 2014 is my youngest. Her preparation will be very different from her older brother and sister in many ways but the same in many ways. She is our mathy/science/engineering kid and the others aren't. The reason it will still be the same in a number of ways was that the olders while not mathy/science kids, were quite competent in those areas. Next year I will have a senior and a freshman and they will do two classes together- physics and world history. I expect this one to do AP Physics or college physics again in 12 grade or earlier.

THe PSAT is given in October. GO on the Collegeboard website and they will give you specifics about which calculators are okay. I think everyone brings a calculator. ALso check out the ACT site since they are more strict about the calculators if you end up needing a new one.

No, never. I worked in movie theater, telemarketing, mail room, library, and law enforcement. My dh who also has never been hit has worked in a 7-11 type store, library, research lab, opinion research center, bookstore, and the military.

It took my dd too long. Those are very big books and they are not light reading. She is doing the second half this year and will be taking the AP US History test.

I have two teens. My older has no restrictions. SHe has a computer in her room that she has to share with her sister to some extent. She has a cellphone but doesn't use it almost ever. She isn't into social networking very much though she does keep up with a few friends from earlier posts by that route. She is my most driven kid and my hardest working kid and I see no reason to limit her since she doesn't have an obsession. She is either working on her evidence briefs, writing her novel, managing her emails which are full of college stuff, or watching a movie or tv show online. Now her younger sister is a different matter. She wants to play games and spends quite a bit of time with personal emails. I have to take the laptop away and keep it at night so she doesn't stay up. She also has a cellphone but doesn't use it either.

Our church does a mission trip to Inner City Newark, NJ every two years. Our mission trips for teens are completely work related. Last year my dd who was 15 went. It was a very good experience. It helped formulate in her mind what she wants to do with her life (become a prosecutor to help promote justice for victims). Their work included painting a very large outdoor wall, assisting teachers at a school, making a meal for the Wednesday night service for everyone who was coming, and taking care of children in a afterschool program. I think high school years is a completely appropriate time to go outside the usual in mission work but I agree with Joanne and want the focus of the work to be actual work and not evangelization by speech.

Thank you for the prayers. Both of my girls got into the test at the new location. It turned out that even though it is further from my house than the original location, on Sat mornings, it is a lot easier to get there. I think if none of the very close 3 high schools to us are having the test, this is the one they will go too. It also is the high school that probably serves the wealthiest area of our county and that means more safety for them too.

My girls will hopefully being doing their ACT this morning. We have been postponed twice and now they are on standby.

My son applied to six or seven, I think. He hadn't visited any since we were living overseas and it was too expensive especially when he didn't care that much. He didn't visit after he was accepted either. He based his decision between two on the basis of financial aid. I am not sure how many my upcoming junior will do but unless she does ED, it will be more than 2 or 3 for sure. Actually even if she does ED, she will probably do 3 or 4 since at least two on her probable list are rolling admissions.

Yes, I hate making airplane reservations that aren't straightforward. It did take me 5 hours to get it all figured out but I did a better job than airline reservation people that I tried to use at about the midpoint thinking spending $100 to save lots more money wouldn't be so bad. However, he couldn't get it done. Why was it so difficult? Well we didn't care what airports we used, we could go on a few days, and one of the tickets would be bought using redeemed flight miles. So I am saving even more money if I consider our first plan which was to fly to Calgary. Now we will fly to Jackson Hole, Wy and go on an opposite loop around the Northern Rockies. We will still visit Calgary, just not fly from there. That saved us 600 dollars. Then taking three flights each way versus two saved us an additional 300 dollars and kept us from arriving at 1 am and leaving at 6 am. Now we have normal hours for flying and cheaper airplane tickets.

Well both the ACT and SAT also have college searches for people who took their test. It is a box you check or not check. I don't remember if the automatic setting is mail or no mail. Some things you have to opt out of.

My two girls had two previous ACT dates cancelled because of weather. While many schools decided to hold the test this Saturday, the center they were registered with decided to hold it Feb, 27th when they have a speech and debate tournament that our club is hosting. SO they have to go early Saturday and go standby. I am requesting prayers that they both get to test this Saturday. Otherwise they have to reschedule for April and that may be too late for the summer programs they are trying to get into.

Okay I will admit it, dd did not do well on the PSAT. She particularly did not do well on the math section. So why in the world is she getting college mail from tech and engineering schools? She marked undecided for her major. But even if she had marked engineering, a below average math score should not be particularly attractive to an engineering school. We aren't worried since it just turns out that dd is particularly not well suited to the SAT and particularly well suited to the ACT. Her practice math scores on the ACT have been much better and her composite tremendously better. But it still begs the question- why would any engineering school be interested in a child not asking about it and having a 47% score in math?