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pehp

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  1. These are great tips. He does already have a job (he’s a dining server at the local ritzy retirement home), and he’ll for sure continue that until he’s in college. (Sadly his coworkers are not his tribe, so no post-work hanging out there. I won’t get into it, but I think he’s showing exceedingly good judgment in that regard. 😳) I like the idea of DE classes that are distinct from his primary interests. I hadn’t really thought of that as a tactic for choosing, but I like it a lot.
  2. Thank you! He does a lot of French on his own already (he too is an autodidact, I insisted he start classes when he was 13, he placed into Honors French 2 with no prior formal learning!). He listens to podcasts (One Thing in a French Day has been a perennial favorite!) and the news in French almost daily. So he can definitely always do that and we can call it “a class” but I do think he’d prefer more formal learning in addition to it. He’s studying French literature this year and it has been so fun to see him fall in love with the books! Les Miserables would be a good one—he hasn’t read that yet and it’s such a classic story.
  3. I SO wish we had an Alliance Francaise here! We’ve been to a meeting at the nearest one, which was awesome for my son (& the others there couldn’t believe he hadn’t been to France), but it’s far away—too far for regular involvement. He would probably say he wants to live in Belgium. Ha! I should check to see if Roanoke College does DE. He doesn’t seem interested in it as a college choice, but for DE—if they offer it—it could be a really nice in-between. Thank you!
  4. My son is an "old" 10th grader this year (he's 16, will be 17 in June). We've got next year nicely mapped-out, but I'm starting to think about his 12th grade year. After this year, he will actually have enough credits so that I could "graduate" him--plus, the summer after 11th grade he'll be 18. However, we are not in a rush to matriculate at a college yet--he is still working on life skills (driving, self-management, coping mechanisms when stressed, etc). So I'm thinking of trying to do a lighter senior year after the heavy junior. We're in Virginia, FWIW. Near Roanoke College, and not too far (an hour-ish) from Va Tech and W&L. We're not sure what he will study in college, but he's interested in French, philosophy, theology, politics, linguistics, and other languages (he speaks French and Spanish and has done heavy dabbling in Mandarin, German, and others). What types of things would you do with a 19-year-old 12th grader? A few notes: *In 11th grade he will have maxed out the French that his online French provider provides. He'll take AP French next year, and we need to find *something* to do senior year that will keep him immersed in learning French, since he'll probably major/double major in it in college, and he loves it. Our community college doesn't offer French. I'm not sure what to do for French for this year between AP and college, but we do need something. *We could look into DE at the local community college. It is about half an hour away from us, and gets mixed reviews from most people I know. I don't know if online DE with a college/university would be a reasonable option or not. Frankly, I just haven't wandered down the DE path yet. We've loved the richness of The Great Conversation courses at WHA, and we decided to focus more on those than on trying out community college classes--which is what most homeschoolers his age around here do. *He tends to need external structure and he tends to flounder without it. He's a curious and interested kid, but as he has gotten into the teen years, he definitely needs more direction/guidance. At the same time, too much and he gets overwhelmed or resentful. So although some kids could just be told "do whatever you want for 12th grade and we'll make it look cool on the transcript," this would give him paralyzing anxiety. *He is lonely, and there's no way to sugarcoat it. He's an introvert, but even introverts have their limits. 😉 He takes an in-person Spanish class, participates in a weekly choir, takes Tai Chi with the elderly, attends Youth Group once a week, and is heavily involved in community theatre, so he has lots of social exposure and acquaintances (and we are super active in our community in general--small town life!), next year he'll be in a government class with some peers....but he doesn't really have friends at this point, and that has been a point of struggle. I don't know that we'll be able to easily rectify that, but it's just a point I thought I'd mention. He doesn't do sports and he's not into the things that most teenage boys in our area are into (sports, video games). I think he'll probably find his tribe at college--that's how it was for me. We are still brainstorming on this front, but pickings are kind of slim around here. More time with peers would be great. If it didn't seem completely wacky, I'd consider enrolling him in public school for 12th grade, but I doubt that's a possibility! *We could continue with Wilson Hill classes in 12th grade, but he'll have done 3 years of online schooling by that point and I think we're a bit tired of it (although we LOVE WHA, don't get me wrong--overwhelmingly positive experiences with them!). That may end up being the route we take, but I'm just trying to cast about for fresh ideas since he'll have all his credits and I can tell he's wanting Something Else. Brainstorming! That's all it is--but I would appreciate any thoughts. Thanks!
  5. My experience is that this remains true. My husband is an ME and there’s one female engineer at his location. She may be the first ever, actually. I write the affirmative action program for my manufacturing company (federal contractor requirements) & the stats for our locality show that the numbers of female engineers are still low, especially in the manufacturing industry.
  6. Not sure this is helpful to you, but my son took College French 3 with Madame S at The Potter’s School. They do award credit for it through Belhaven, I believe, if you go that route. We love Madame S!
  7. I love seeing all the creative things people plan! We’ve already signed up for classes, so I guess we are settled— Literature, History, Theology: The Great Conversation 5 through WHA-I like knocking several credits out with one class Algebra 2 (WHA) Biology (WHA) AP French through TPS conversational Spanish locally (it’s his 5th year of Spanish-very casual) possibly Mandarin tutoring (TBD) …& the most fun of all: I’m teaching a US Government course to my son and several friends once a week at our house! all that is quite enough, especially because he’s also heavily involved in theatre and music!
  8. Yeah it probably helps to have a cohort of new kids rather being the sole new kid. I am glad your son’s transition went so well! We are not in a super high-performing district (we are rural, test scores are fine but not standout, and no one seems to get worked up over them—I have been casually polling my friends with children in public schools here & teachers/admins we know). So I doubt that would be an issue at all, except to the extent that the actual test prep may not provide a clear vision of what most of the year actually looks like in reality! In other school districts in our state I’m sure the end of the year is a pressure cooker for everyone, but I’m glad we aren’t under that pressure here. In your case the late switch makes perfect sense. I don’t think I am finding that the benefits will outweigh the drawbacks for my daughter, especially the upheaval of established routines. I appreciate her enthusiasm, though!
  9. These are good points. I *think* she’d have only one HS credit in 8th, but I’ll need to double check that. So that is a “stake” of sorts. The principal and GC have been so wonderful and helpful since we began looking at the school back in January! We (parents) are leaning in the direction of August, for the sake of the logistics & ease of assimilation, but we are still thinking things through.
  10. This would be amazing. I wish, wish, wish we could! No partial enrollment permitted here, but it would be great.
  11. I understand that you do not know me at all. So I will let this unfriendly comment go. This hasn't been decided, we don't operate on whims, and we are not "I am the main character" people. I've been talking to the principal, guidance counselor, and other parents to get their insights. Obviously we wish to be aware of the negatives: that's why I posted here.
  12. Yes we’d talk to the school for sure. We have gotten great value from WHA and love the classes! School doesn’t automatically equal friends, but she has friends at the school already (as well as others through ballet), so in her case it is something of a built-in situation. *Making* friends would maybe happen; really she’s *joining* friends (girls she has know since toddlerhood!).
  13. I think I understand what you mean here, but want to clarify-that it would be hard on the teacher(s)?
  14. Thanks! I think she just wants to see what it’s like-an extended shadowing?!—so it may be ok (from the social/schedule perspective). Boot comes off next week so no problem there, happily!
  15. I am eager to hear opinions/thoughts on this situation. The backstory: my daughter has been homeschooled her entire life. She's 13 and is in 7th grade. She takes two online classes through WHA (we love them!) and does the other stuff with me, although I am getting less good at homeschooling the older I get (let's just say I'm tired plus I now work part-time from home ;)). She's also a classical ballet dancer who trains 13 hours a week during non-rehearsal weeks (which is really an 18-20 hour commitment when we include the commute and some related incidentals). She's VERY social, loves her friends, and is a quiet extrovert. As of a couple of months ago she expressed an interest in "trying public school." My vision was for 9th grade. She said she was talking about for this fall--for 8th grade. I talked to a good friend who has transitioned kids into public school from homeschool--very encouraging/helpful! We toured the local middle school (it's pretty small, we know lots of teachers/staff there already, she has friends who attend the school, the principal is a family friend, my mom taught there 20+ years ago, etc etc etc--small town life 🙂) and she seemed on the fence, but intrigued enough to consider it. We did ask if she could "shadow" a student for a day, but that was not an option. So we've basically been thinking in the direction of starting 8th grade there in August, and she has spent lots of time grilling her friends who go there on all aspects of What It Is Like. I've spent lots of time trying to wrap my mind around all the changes this would bring.....every time she's discussed it with me, she has been enthusiastic, and has even said "I wish it would start sooner so I can see if I like it." I will add that I have sensed, in the past few months, an underlying restlessness. She buckle-fractured her foot on MLK Jr day, so having to wear a boot probably hasn't helped. But I have sensed that she's spinning her wheels a little bit at home, and I have found it difficult to fill whatever this need is that is lacking (social time?). She has LOTS of social time with her ballet friends, but it's insufficient. I blame myself, as I've been more distracted than ever over the previous months (work), but she insists that it has nothing to do with me, or with my work--which I usually try to do during her WHA class time or ballet (but not always--today I was off and on the laptop all day to prep for a meeting tomorrow). Tonight she brought up a new idea: why not try it *now?* Why not start this spring, and get two months under her belt, so she knows whether or not she really likes it enough to commit to 8th grade? We discussed this for a little while. There is some logic to her thinking: it's a low-stakes year, in terms of grades/etc....she'd have a full 2ish months to "learn the ropes," and it would give her some guidance as to whether she wants to continue with public school in the fall or sign up for more WHA classes. The only area of possible academic concern, from what I can tell, is math, but I trust that she can get caught up, and my friends who have transitioned their kids have said that it is definitely possible (my daughter is extremely bright at math, the problem has been more me, and also the year we struggled to do anything when my husband was going through cancer treatments!). In every other subject I have no doubt that she will be just fine. Perhaps starting mid-year would actually help with that catchup process, if there needs to be one...? Thoughts on starting in public school with only a couple of months left? Yay or nay, and why? If you've done this--please chime in! I appreciate experience! Thank you!
  16. As a quick update, we have started this "early visit" process and it has been very helpful. I think that choosing schools that are very different (large public research u/state flagship/small private LAC in small town/big city) to visit has been excellent for helping us start to think through what would work well for us/him and what's "out there". (Not to mention it's just a lot of fun to check out the different cultures on college campuses.) My son is a sophomore this year and this has really helped him formulate his thoughts on colleges and start to catch a vision for what lies ahead. It has been 100% the right thing to do and a good investment of our time!
  17. Thanks, everyone! He decided to just go ahead with WHA Bio b/c he could not resist having Janelle Fleming for one more class (he had her for physics; we LOVE her). He also went ahead with WHA Algebra 2 (again, due to the teacher....) It'll be a full load next year, but he's not doing Greek due to scheduling conflicts, so I think it'll be fairly manageable. There is no doubt that she is a far better teacher of biology than I am!! 😉 The heavier junior year will complete all the credits I think he needs (and then some) and that way senior year can be 100% interest-led, so hopefully it'll all work out well.
  18. Thanks so much!! I was well on the way to just spreading it over two years with all this good advice but he’s wanting to take it next year with his favorite WHA science teacher (& it’s true, we love her)….so we may just do that. I’m just concerned that his workload will be huge for junior year. 3-4 languages plus all the “check the box” stuff like math and science and literature….I’m rather torn. He’s ambitious, which I appreciate, but also works slowly.
  19. We love the As You Like It with Helen Mirren—excellent! I had to find a super wholesome 😅version of Midsummer for a class—used the Rice Univ performance on YouTube. It’s set outdoors, sticks to the script, and is perfectly G-rated.
  20. Yeah-that is hard. And sometimes the more “unlikely” candidates are the best fit for the position. 💕 The saturation is a real issue. I absolutely lucked out in many ways, but I’d sort of discourage either of my kids from law school unless I knew they were going into it with completely open eyes as to the realities of post-school practice and the competition.
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