The Laurel Springs classes are asynchronous and at your own pace. There is a Learning Management System that shows all the student's courses, assignments, and grades. If you look at the course catalog you will see that many courses have a choice of textbook or online. We've done a mix of both. The textbook is included in the price, lab materials are extra. If it is an online course that uses an e-text I will try to find a used copy of the same textbook on Amazon just to reduce screen time and make review easier. Some of the online classes are totally online, no textbook at all. My daughter does her work on paper if it is math or science and then takes a photo of each page with her phone and uploads that to the LMS. This took some getting used to but now it's automatic for her. Quizzes and tests are online, some multiple choice and some short answer. Papers are turned in via Turnitin to check for plagiarism. My daughter found most of the classes interesting and challenging. Some teachers gave more detailed feedback than others, but all have been quick and helpful as needed. The teachers don't provide video lessons but they will meet the student in an "i-classroom" or Skype. The student must request this extra help but the teachers are always happy to do it. They teach to mastery, so a student must earn at least a 70% on every assignment before the final exam will open. When a grade is below 70% a little redo arrow appears next to the grade and the student does the assignment again. If it is a quiz, it won't be exactly the same. Most of the time the instructions are clear. Occasionally there is a link that won't work, but an email to the teacher will result in an alternative link or explanation. I do not think they can redo a final exam. If you contact them they will let you see samples. For instance we were comparing AP Biology from different providers and we did a Skype with one of the teachers and she walked us through the course on line so we could see what it was like. I would say it is a very good education and is meeting our needs while overseas. But it is a lot of independent work, quite different than going to classes everyday and doing homework at night. Definitely full days for a full load of honors and AP classes. I'm not sure how the student athletes or professional actors manage it, but maybe they aren't taking the most difficult course load.

I have one child graduating from Laurel Springs this year. It is a great school, but requires a lot of self discipline on the student's part to keep up. The honors and AP classes take a lot of time to complete. The teachers are good and very responsive. They also have a gifted program. ETA: As far as late work, there is no penalty for late work. The due dates are just pacing suggestions. When passed the due date, the dates turn red but no points are deducted. So a student could work ahead in one class while getting behind in another. There is a lot of flexibility. The only problem is if you don't finish by the enrollment deadline you have to buy an extension of one or two months.

I have a lot of sentimental ornaments collected during our travels, but my favorite decoration is the candle arch I got in Germany. It has a beautiful nativity scene and the candles are little light bulbs. It takes two seconds to put out and plug in and really brightens up the room.

I've just discovered this myself. I updated my summer wardrobe to include some skirts and dresses, mostly with blues, whites, and tans. I ended up with stripes and solids on top. Everything went together somewhat at least. My shorts were still on the frumpy side so I'll have to work on that next summer after I lose more weight. Now I'm working on fall/winter. I like the styles at Esprit and I'm looking forward to checking out Talbot's. I'm sticking with blue and adding grey and some black and white. I bought a couple nice white, fitted blouses. Also looking for more quality pieces that will last. Some of the 19.99 stuff I got last winter look pretty ratty already. I found a brand of shoes I like that look good with casual dresses, jeans, and pants so that helps a lot. I get back pain with heels so that kept me away from dresses for a long time, but now I feel good with tights and ankle boots. I'll be glad when I have a wardrobe that looks good and is easy to manage.

I'm doing physics with middle school aged kids at co-op this year. My dh built some ramps and I bought marbles, toy cars, stop watches, and measuring tapes. We had a lot of fun learning about Newton's Laws of Motion. Last year we did an Arduino robot kit from Parallax. That wasn't cheap, but I feel like it was a good value for all the learning we got from it.

I'm thinking about a good blender for smoothies. I would like to make her a quilt to take to school, but I'm not sure if I'll have time. Also my body doesn't do well with too much sitting anymore. I'm also thinking of a personal cookbook with her favorite recipes like our traditional birthday cake. She already has nice hard-side luggage but I'm wondering if there will be space for that in her room. I think bedding is a good idea, too.

A lot will depend on how far she has to walk from her dorm to class. I went to university in Illinois and had about a 30 minute walk from my dorm to the engineering campus because my dorm was on the south end and engineering was on the north end of a rather large campus. When there wasn't snow I could ride my bike. So maybe not a long coat. I guess I was thinking about long underwear or ski pants for when the opportunity comes up to do outdoor activities in the snow. She might be pretty excited to get out there and enjoy it. Football games are cold to watch also. You could see if there are any youtube videos of her campus in the winter months to see what people are wearing. Seems like just about everything is on youtube.

We have an old house with the same problem. I've tried every natural solution and every product at the supermarket. I think the next step is to go to the home improvement store with a photo and ask them to recommend professional products. When we moved out of our last rental there was a stain on the old tub that I could not remove, but we hired cleaners for the move out inspection and they got the tub sparkling clean. I asked what they used and she told me you don't want to know. There was a language barrier so I actually never found out but I suspect it was some sort of mild acid or other professional product. I recently bought a Karcher steam cleaner and it helps some. It's certainly less elbow grease and I know the surfaces are clean even though some stains remain. Good luck! I feel your pain.

Looks like she will want to be prepared for at least three months of very cold, snowy weather. You probably don't have many shops near you with winter clothing so you might want to look at something like Land's End or LL Bean. Basically layers. Jeans are usually warm enough if you wear some kind of silk long underwear with them. Warm sweaters, scarf, mittens, hat, and boots for rain and snow. Thick socks! Outdoor winter activities might require some kind of ski pants, waterproof gloves, etc. Warm PJs and slippers.

We used the same photo for two years with no problem.

In my daughter's online classes, the final has to be proctored by a non-family member. The proctor receives a password to unlock the exam in the student's presence. Then they have to send in a form stating that the exam was properly taken. Also if the student opens another window or tab on their computer during the exam, the exam will shut down and the student will receive a failing grade. We've obviously not tested this part, but we do use proctors. Sometimes the exam questions seem really random so I've often wondered what would happen if a student did well all year without cheating, but then did poorly on a final exam because the test wasn't what was expected or wasn't fair for whatever reason. Would the teacher suspect cheating on the normal work and quizzes? Fortunately this scenario hasn't happened to us but there have been test questions we've felt came out of nowhere. I think they are randomly generated from some sort of question bank to prevent cheating by passing on old tests. You are not allowed to keep a copy of any final exam for this reason. When I think back to my time in public high school decades ago, I remember being able to easily predict what the teacher would ask on the exams based on how they taught the course. Of course the teachers made their own tests back then and I never had any AP exams to worry about. My school didn't have AP classes.

We did Physical Science a long time ago so I can't remember. You could do DIVE Earth Science instead of Physical Science. I think ICP is intended to be an improvement over Physical Science. You could email Dr. Shormann for advice. I remember the Physical Science course as being a little dull and really only a basic introduction to physics and chemistry. There was a lot on the earth's atmosphere and weather, the solar system. Or you could to ICP in 8th if your daughter has the math background for it. I think there are samples online, too.

You don't need a CD anymore. It is all online. You can use the online textbook, but if you prefer there are included syllabi for Bob Jones and Apologia as well. There are quarterly exams and solutions. Dr. Shormann is very responsive via email if you have detailed questions. I do think it is acceptable for high school credit. I think Biology will be much more understandable with the ICP first.

We did it in middle school and it was a great course. We couldn't cover it all. But I wouldn't think it would be enough to go straight to AP Biology. We did Oak Meadow Biology in 9th before AP Biology in 11th. AP Biology is intense! My daughter is doing well in the class, but it was definitely a step up. We'll see what happens in May!

Just a suggestion, you might want to look at DIVE Integrated Chemistry and Physics for 9th grade before Biology. If you like the format you wouldn't even need to buy the Apologia books for Biology because you could continue with DIVE Science. The DIVE courses are Biblically-based as well. You can use the Apologia Biology textbook along with the DIVE biology course or the included e-text. We used DIVE Chemistry with the Bob Jones textbook and liked it.

This is a good point. In addition to transcripts, they want to see a CV and motivation letter stating why you think an international experience is right for you. Previous international experience is helpful but not required as long as you are enthusiastic about living abroad and being part of the community. At least for the selective programs that have limited enrollments.

This seems to vary, but everyone I know that has graduated a homeschooler and wanted to go on to a European school has done so. One had to get a homeschool transcript notarized. Another had to apply to a US university to show that it was possible (equivalent, in a way) , others have had cover school accredited transcripts. We are applying this year with a online school diploma, SAT scores, and AP scores. So I will know more by the end of the year. Belgium has an equivalency department that looks at transcripts to make a decision if they are acceptable or not. Some schools have entrance exams for math, French or Dutch. There seems to be as many combinations as there are schools and students.

Many of the research universities in the Netherlands have small, honors colleges called University Colleges where students earn a bachelors degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences. They are taught completely in English and have small class sizes. Many use a teaching method called Problem Based Learning, which are small tutorial groups. They are selective but the minimum requirements for Americans are a high school diploma plus 4 AP exams with a score of 3 or better. Some have higher requirements like scores of 4 or higher and require AP Calculus. The enrollment is about half Dutch students and half international. These are three year programs with the possibility of going on for a one or two year masters degree. They follow a residential model where students live together in student housing for at least the first year. There is a lot of contact hours with professors. Tuition for EU residents is about 2000 euros per year, but for non-EU it runs between 7000 and 9000 depending on the school. They look like really nice programs for anyone interested in an international experience in English.

Most people have a small refrigerator in the kitchen and a larger one in the garage or basement. We keep our drinks in the garage or on the stairs going down to the basement. The milk is UHT so only goes in the fridge after opening and is only one liter. There is a huge selection of sauces in the shops, even flavored ketchups, but the bottles and jars are much smaller usually. Buying in bulk is not usual. For instance, my local shop sells hamburger meat in 0.125 kg packs. So if I want to make hamburgers for my family I usually have to buy 6 to 8 packs. There are more bulk options at the larger hypermarkets or at the butcher you can order whatever you want. I often see people at the shop after work buying what appears to be exactly what they will eat that night. I usually am the odd person with the full cart in line with the others with only a handheld basket. Even so it seems like I'm shopping every two or three days for fresh bread, fruit, and vegetables at least.

I found using a straw helps with drinking so much of the stuff if you don't like the taste. It's funny how different everyone's preps are. I had to change my diet for several days and then drink several liters of something starting late afternoon the day before but no other pills or enemas. It worked really well. I was awake during the procedure and could see the inside of my colon. For me the worst part was the low fiber diet for a few days before. It was like jello, white bread, and broth. Yuck! And only clear drinks, nothing red or dark purple.

I buy my shoes online now. I know my size in a few major brands like Ecco, Naturalizer, Geox, and Pikolinos. Much easier than walking around to all the shoe stores trying to find what I like.

I feel the same frustration. We have a queen size duvet from Ikea and a cotton duvet cover for it that I wash, but it is a pain to get the duvet back in evenly. My cover doesn't have any ties but I've tried safety pins. I feel like the duvet on it's own is lighter and more breathable. I use it without the cover occasionally when the cover is still being washed and it feels a lot better on its own. But it is just white and I have a dog that comes up on the bed sometimes, hence the need for a cover. I can't see cramming the whole duvet into the washing machine very often. I've been considering doing what my Norwegian friend does. She has two twin size duvets with covers side-by-side on her bed. She and her husband never have to fight over the blankets. And they are easier to wash since they are smaller. With my hot flashes at night now all these little things seem more important than they used to seem.

We like it because of the constant review and all the practice problems. My daughter catches on to things quickly, but forgets quickly too. This program doesn't allow her to forget. I like the full answer key because it saves me a lot of time and I know math. On a few occasions I've had to pull some material out of a traditional textbook to pull ideas together for her if the concept has been too strung out over too many lessons. For example, it was helpful to look at a chapter on trigonometry and the unit circle in a traditional textbook for both of us to review. I knew how to get answers, but needed refreshers on the "whys" myself. It does seem to work. We use DIVE streaming videos with Advanced Math right now.

I have some LL Bean slippers that are really warm and fuzzy, but they don't have much support so I only wear them for relaxing at night in the winter. Most of the year I like to wear Birkenstock sandals with socks. The combo is warm, supportive, and non-slip. If I have a lot of work to do in the house and don't want to wear sandals, then I will wear running shoes or Skechers that I don't wear outside (at least not very much).

I binged watched the whole thing with my husband this fall and we both loved it. I was sorry when it was over, but now we are enjoying Call the Midwife.