JCPenney's Arizona brand carries jeans for skinny, tall boys. My DS had a 26" waist for a long time, even when his inseam was 30-32". They also have khaki shorts with a 26" waist. It gets much easier when their waist grows a bit. DS is a runner, so he burns so many calories that he's just now, at 16, filled out to a 28 or 29" waist. I second the suggestion to look for "slim" jeans with a 28" waist, as many of those will fit, but he will need to try several pairs on to find the right fit. (And 28" jeans or pants are also very hard to find in stores.) As for belts, we found some belts online (Amazon?) in a boy's size, rather than men's, that worked. ETA: This was the belt that we found to fit DS.

Definitely fly and use the Metro. We spent a week in DC last year and didn't need a car until we left to drive to Annapolis and Gettysburg. We stayed at the Embassy Suites in Alexandria, which was right across the street from the King Street metro station, but we chose the hotel because we wanted a suite, so you may find something closer for just the two of you. If you choose a hotel or Airbnb close to a Metro, you won't need an Uber or taxi. The White House tour was nice, but you really don't get to see a whole lot and security takes a LONG time. The demonstration (which turned into a fight) outside the White House, by some protesters over a visit by the Ambassador to Turkey was more educational to my teens than the tour itself. The Supreme Court lecture was very interesting, given by a docent since the court was not in session when we were there. The tour of the Capitol building was good, but security took a LONG time to get into the house or senate galleries, and almost nothing happened while we were there. Arlington is incredible. Definitely stay to watch the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The bolded above was exactly my experience. I went back to the same university to finish a degree for which I needed only ONE class when I stopped. Because of the length of time elapsed, the degree requirements had changed and I had to work under a new catalog, which meant I needed about 8 classes instead of just the one. They did honor all of the credits and courses that I had completed many years earlier (at that university), but all of my prerequisites had expired. So to take an upper level course, I had to re-take the prerequisites again in some cases, because the prerequisites were only valid for a certain number of years.

Thanks. My DS was supposed to take the ACT today as well, but woke up with fever and chills so we rescheduled for the July test. We will probably do some of the prep you linked.

Thank you all for the responses. You all are, as usual, a wealth of information and wisdom!

I'm looking for some advice on guiding teens through the process of choosing a college major and potential career, especially if the career that interests them seems to be different from their giftings and aptitude, without being too specific with details of the situation I'm a part of. If your older teen had a strong interest in pursuing a career that you didn't see being a good fit for them, how would you handle it? This is a good career path with decent job opportunities, but you as their parent just didn't see the aptitude for this particular career. Do you encourage them to follow their interests? Try to encourage them in another direction that seems to fit their giftedness? Will they eventually figure this out on their own (possibly after failing to complete their first chosen path)? As an example, I'm thinking along the lines of someone who wants to major in journalism but hates to write, or to become a teacher but is extremely introverted and doesn't like being around people all day long, or to major in engineering but struggles in math. You as the parent just can't really picture the chosen path being a good fit for this kid. I'm struggling with knowing how much to give advice, how much to encourage them to follow their dreams, how much to back off, and how to allow them to own their decisions.

Another vote for Analytical Grammar. My kids each did it over 2 years, but it could be done in 1 year for an older student or 3 years for a younger middle schooler.

My kids have done classes at a co-op and live online classes. (Sorry I didn't see your response until now).

When my kids were younger, I prepped everything for the week on Sunday afternoons. I have used Homeschool Planet for several years now, and spend a big chunk of time during the summer inputting assignments for work that can be scheduled in advance. That cut down significantly on the Sunday afternoon work, since I only have to input work that is assigned by outside teachers or for some other reason couldn’t be scheduled in advance. Once they get to high school, they are responsible for printing their assignment sheets at the beginning of each week and inputting assignments from outside teachers. My rising 11th grader will be completely responsible for all of his assignments this year. One thing I love about Homeschool Planet is the ability to push assignments out in case of illness or adjustments. What I input over the summer can be moved with a few clicks. And a class from prior years can be copied for a new student later without redoing all of the assignments.

Mr. D. Math offers full-year math courses over the summer. We've used his program for Pre-Algebra through Algebra 2, and love him, although we haven't done the full-year-in-a-summer option.

My kids have taken a handful of classes through FLVS, but not language arts. I recommend you join the FLVS Homeschooling Parents (FLEX) Facebook group, because there are a ton of parents there who could share their experiences with specific classes.

We got the LOF books up through Pre-Algebra and my kids loved them. My math-loving kid still remembers things specific to LOF, while my non-math-loving kid felt "meh" about them, although she enjoyed reading them. You can find a plentiful supply of used copies at homeschoolclassifieds.com, and can re-sell them there too.

Another vote for Mr. D. Math. My kids have taken Pre-Algebra through Algebra 2 with him and have done his summer readiness programs and SAT bootcamp, but not the full-blown course over the summer. We love Mr. D. and his program.

She is adorable.....and now I want a kitten!

I have the same swim shorts, or something very similar, from Lands End with the built-in panty and love them. The shorts with a rashguard type shirt are all I ever wear anymore at the beach, partially because my DH has had a melanoma diagnosis, partially because we live in Florida where we're exposed to LOTS of sunshine, and partially because it means a whole lot less sunscreen to apply. I wear a sports bra underneath the rashguard shirt. No way could I get away with nothing. A bikini top could also work - that is what my DD does sometimes.

I say get her!

I have posted about Mr. D. before as well, but we love his courses. DS has taken Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2, and DD has taken Pre-Algebra and Algebra 1, and will take Geometry with him starting in the fall. The only reason why DS won't be taking Pre-Calculus with him is that he wants to accelerate his math progression via dual enrollment, so he will be taking College Algebra at our local state college in the fall, followed by Pre-Calc/Trig in the spring, so he can get through 2 semesters of college Calculus the following year.

The only hesitation that I'd have is that some colleges translate a grade of "Pass" to a C when they calculate GPA. Some colleges, on the other hand, will recalculate a student's GPA based only on core classes.....so I would base your decision on how potential colleges or universities will handle that class.

I lost an aunt last year to cancer caused by the HPV virus. My kids have gotten the vaccine.

My kids did AG in 2 years. I scheduled Season 1 the first year, 3 days per week, then one page in the review/reinforcement book per week for the rest of the year. Our second year, I scheduled Seasons 2 and 3, 3 days per week, with no review/reinforcement. If you schedule 5 days per week, a 9th grader could easily do all 3 seasons in a year. I agree that Season 2 is the most difficult and will require the most time each day.

My DS’s first AP class was Environmental Science at PAH. It has been rigorous enough for him to take it seriously, but not all-consuming.

This is my DS’s 1st AP test on Thursday - APES. I think he is well prepared.

I can’t exactly recommend it (yet), but Kathryn Walker at PAH was also highly recommended. DS will be taking AP Lang with her in the fall. This time next year I hope to be able to give a glowing recommendation.

My DS is taking APES with Molly Olsson this year. This is his first AP course and he has struggled some with time management, but it has been a great experience overall. Ms. Olsson gives great feedback and usually has assignments graded within a day of submission, and she issues progress reports with updated grades after each unit. Most of the material has been interesting to DS, although there have been one or two units that he didn't enjoy as much as others. He has told me that the felt the class was tough (compared to other science courses he's taken previously) but there wasn't a lot of busy work, and he loved Ms. Olsson.

My kids have used Mr. D. math (live co-op class) for pre-Algebra through Algebra 2 (so we haven't done pre-Calclulus). One of my kids wants to pursue a STEM major, while the other does not. I feel that it's rigorous enough for a STEM student, but you will need to log in with your parent account to make sure the work is being done, since you'll be using the at-your-own-pace option. With the live classes, the teacher usually assigns 3 lessons per week, plus the class session, so I would say 3-4 lessons per week is a good pace. Have you looked at the sample lessons online? They are a good representation of the rest of the course. What I love about Mr. D. is that they have live teachers available for help sessions twice a week, regardless of whether you are using the curriculum at a co-op, through a live online class, or at your own pace.