Jean, I would like to encourage you to keep at it. My two oldest have specifically thanked me for teaching them to spar intellectually. Specifically. It's so much easier to shine in college-level class discussions when you know how to support an argument rather than just air your ungrounded opinion. Peace, Janice

Hi Cindy, Try this one. Lots of classic short stories. http://www.amazon.com/Fifty-Great-Short-Stories-Milton/dp/0553277456/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354451200&sr=1-9&keywords=short+story+collections The Walch guide is decent if you think you might want some guidance. http://www.amazon.com/Teaching-2250-Great-Short-Stories/dp/0825122910/ref=pd_sim_b_5 Peace, Janice Enjoy your little people Enjoy your journey

Sometimes homeschooling high school feels like this. If you KNOW the subject, you think you're all set. Right? Not always. Sometimes you need experience in teaching the subject. I came across this link somewhere on these boards; can't find it now. But lots of time is spent feeling like this. I almost wet my pants watching this. I showed it to my dh last night; he too almost busted a gut. LOOK at their faces. Do they look like they are enjoying all of the "pros" listed above? I agree with Lori; I do. Those are good reasons for hsing high school. Great reasons. But a lot of days are like this. A lot! Oh. My. Goodness. I just didn't know. I just didn't know. If I had understood how MANY of these days I was going to have, I wouldn't have felt like such a dunce when it kept happening over and over and over..... *giggle* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdxEAt91D7k

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Tailoring the education to match the child: OK. Chiming in here. Yes. This. This part is a HUGE reason to homeschool. The biggie one for me. The ability to turn on a dime to tailor the education to match the child is priceless. A huge advantage when you are building skills. For example, my youngest has never loved reading. And he reads slowly. But he is an insightful reader, so he does catch a lot. Sometimes we work on speed: I choose high interest titles that he can buzz through to encourage him to practice gliding through content. To balance that I choose deeper titles that are more satisfying when read slowly. Balance. Building skills without just focusing on his shortfalls. (Let's face it: sometimes you just need to be able to read quickly.) Another example: algebra II. His sloppy work was really starting to impede his productivity. For the last month, we have been moving more slowly through the content, but I have been focusing on neatness. Diligently. And he's improved. Drastically. A very, very important thing handled! Hsing allows you to build skills at the child's pace. Priceless. However, there is a downside. Content. It is just more efficient to dump in content if you're an expert in the subject. Really. It's a LOT less work if you're wildly proficient with the content. And let's face it, there is still a ton of content to cover at the high school level. A TON. This is where the heavy lifting takes place. So that's the big trade off. If you are diligent and reasonably wise, you can use the advantages of hsing to build solid, solid skills in your kids. (Wise: the ability to see when your precious little person is below-average at something. We all think our kids are great. Sometimes it's an eye-opener to discover that our great kid isn't so great. Let's be reasonable. At least 50% of all kids are below the 50th percentile. I think that's an arena where a lot of homeschoolers miss the mark. There is a big, wide world out there. Most of our kids are eventually going to have to compete in that world - a world where Christian forbearance doesn't play a prominent role. Learning to see our kids' skill sets clearly is a tough one. Probably the biggest hurdle.) But even if you are wise and use your time to effectively develop your child's skill set, that content issue is still at your heels. Driving you. Pushing. Generating self-doubt. Anxiety. You silence it. You make progress. But it's just not efficient to teach every single subject every single year for the first time. Sure kids are resilient. They learn. But a master teacher is a master teacher. It's just a fact. You can do well if you work hard. You can. But once you see a master teacher at work, you never forget it. It does knock you for a loop. Tough to recover from. You recover. You do. But you don't forget it. And it can temper your zeal. Just being honest. Diligence and hard work isn't a cure all. It's a tool. A good tool. But it's not everything. Lori generated the following list. I agree with her; these are good reasons to hs high school. I have a TON of respect for her, so it's easy to agree. But many of these could be flipped on their head depending on the day. - enjoy relationship and time with your student Relationship? Yes. And no. Depending on the day. Time? Honestly sometimes I truly think less time spent together would be better for us both. - time and ability to do big projects It depends. Most of our big projects have been done during summer break. There was no time during the year to do big projects. (We used outside classes, so we ended up tied to the school calendar.) If my kids had been in school, we still could have done the projects during summer break. So it was a wash. - flexibility of scheduling This isn't what I thought it would be in high school. I felt more restricted with this than I thought I would from all of the discussion/hype leading up to it. I think this is something that deserves more discussion from homeschoolers. Reality missed the mark; I was expecting something different. Having said that - youngest son is pursuing music with a passion so his schedule is goofy! But we still have to do the work, so today we are doing a ton of "school" (It's a Saturday.) So yes, we are flexible with the schedule. But it stinks. We are in session on a Saturday. Flexible? Yes! But that's not necessarily a "Yippie" positive. :-) - ability to follow/develop a passion Yes. This. True. But this isn't an either/or proposition. My youngest has a passion that doesn't fit into any of the traditional subject areas: math, science, english, history, or foreign language. So it's in ADDITION to all of that junk. Period. It's extra. So yes, he can follow his passion, but it doesn't replace all of those high school subjects. We still do those. - tailor academics to specific student needs Yes. True. But you still have to plow through a ton of content. It takes longer to tailor a suit than it does to just wear it off the hanger. So tailoring is extra. Is that a plus? Yes. But it requires resources. - incredible discussions Yes. And no. Depends on the day. Honestly? You get a handful of amazing discussions that hold you over through the heap of "Ahhhhh....... I don't know. Ummmmmmmm......." I remember (clutch after) the good times, but the bulk of the time was/is spent wondering, "Why do I bother?" - freedom to move at own pace Sometimes this isn't the blessing I thought it would be. - ability to be involved in extracurriculars and/or volunteering Kids in the system do a bunch of volunteering. It's required by most districts. (My kids were shocked to find that there were kids in choir who didn't want to be there. Shocked.) Extracurriculars? I suspect it's easier for kids in the system to get involved in things without their parents. I have had to nudge my kids toward experiences. My parents never nudged me toward anything. I think my kids would have had a wider range of choices if they had been in the system. There's a lot going on at our public school. A ton! - potentially better academics Or not. Honestly? We use nearly all secular materials. Live and learn. - ability to sample a wide variety of class types (on-line/distance learning, DVD lectures/video tutorials, co-op, individual local class, etc Yes. This is a huge advantage. But you have to work for it. It doesn't land in your lap like a flyer from the guidance department. - potential dual enrollment (gain simultaneous high school and college credit) Yes. But the kids at our local public can do this too. For free. We have to pay full price out of pocket. A three-credit course runs just under $500 at the CC. A four-credit science course with lab runs over $850. So who has the advantage here? - no time-wasting assignments -- everything counts A solid advantage. Solid! Except when they are confronted with time-wasting assignments from outside classes. Oh. My. Goodness. The WHINING!!!!!!! - avoid peer pressure and all the NEGATIVES of "socialization" solely with one's "peers" Yes. Solid. But they all have to learn to navigate this eventually. So it's not something you can avoid; you just delay. - encourages student how to be an independent learner Not always. Sometimes they just learn how to cheat. Sometimes they just get hopelessly bored and/or frustrated. Or sometimes they just get lazy. That whole "independent learner" idea needs a major revamp in the homeschool world as far as I'm concerned. That was the second biggest myth that left me feeling flat and ripped off. (The biggest myth was that homeschooling inspires a "love of learning". Nope. People do that, not systems.) No one here became an independent learner because of homeschooling. IMO they all became independent in spite of homeschooling. Just being honest. I think that expectation is toxic! You get that because you work for it, not because you homeschool. There are plenty of independent kids in the public school. Plenty. - no wasting time of "teaching to the test" (so much of classroom time is based on prep for state educational quality tests) Not for state tests anyway. But we did spend a ton of time prepping for the SAT/ACT rounds. The stakes are high for homeschoolers. Way high. It is what it is. So this is a myth too: homeschoolers have to teach to certain tests. First, colleges want to see those scores. Then they want to see a bright and engaging student. In my experience, you don't get an interview without the scores. So we end up wasting oodles of time teaching to the test too. So - Lori is right. Those are all good reasons to homeschool high school. Great reasons. But approach them with reasonable expectations. Homeschoolers don't derive benefits in those areas. People do. Homeschooling is a tool that you can use to have a great relationship/life with your teens. And it's a great tool to use to provide a great education - for college and for life! But it's a tool. Some folks wield it with great precision. Others forget they have it at their disposal. (Or maybe they think that it works without being used.) I don't know. Most of us waver between precision and hacking. ..... and then sighing heavily at the gash marks .... and then coming on the boards here and saying, "You can't really notice this, can you?" as we point to the bloody gouges in our self-esteem that everyone is trying HARD not to stare at because they are so, so obvious. *giggle* Peace, Janice Enjoy your little people Enjoy your journey ETA: Oh - to answer your question: on a positive note - I am SO glad ds gets to do this (See link below). He spends about four hours a day at the keyboard - two at the pipe organ and two at the piano. The organ is primarily available during the day, so this would be tough to do if he were tied to a 8-3 school day. So, yes, we have plenty to be grateful for when it comes to homeschooling. I'm glad that it's an available, well-supported option. But you do have to work hard to tailor an education to a child. It's worth it. But there is a cost. http://westside.org/325264.ihtml Scroll down to find the 11/11/12 service. The lad plays the postlude which occurs around 1 hour and 8 minutes in. (You can drag along the bottom to the end of the service.)

If you have to ask for a list, you're not one of us. Not yet. ;) ETA: I received a beautiful PM from a fellow board member. She wrote such a kind and thoughtful note. So I need to come on here and edit my response. I wrote this as a joke to Swimmer/Lisa. (I know, I know. No jokes on message boards. They don't work. Neither do self-deprecating comments.) In this joke, "us" refers in a negative sense to the hoards of us who have become obsessed with TC lectures. Some of "us" routinely shop from the sale catalog when we have oodles of courses on our shelves that are still in shrink wrap. It's not right. We're not right. You could claim that we're nuts. Obsessed. In this kind, generous email, this dear board member indicated that I have left the impression that if you don't have a ton of TC courses, then you are not a member of the educated elite on this board. Oh, dang. So once again, I've botched it. When I say not "one of us", I am referring to the ranks of folks who are obsessed to the point of ridiculous with the Teaching Company. Those of us who have gone off the deep end, won't share the list of courses that we own. We'll tell you which are the best and point you toward our favorites, but we would never share our complete list. If we did, you would stop listening to us. Obsessed people are not to be followed. They're unbalanced. (That was a joke too. *grin!*) Actually, in real life, I don't think I have met one educated person (post bachelor's degree) who has heard of the Teaching Company. Peace, Janice P.S. Don't ask me how many are still in shrink wrap. I won't tell. :-) Quote MultiQuote Quote MultiQuote Edit

Questions: Do your kids pursue their own interests now? What do they do with the freedom that homeschooling has given them up to this point? When you think about life after high school, what does that look like? Are you comfortable with something other than college? What do the kids in your circle do after high school? Do children of friends and family members attend college? If so, what kind? (Community college, state uni, private schools, or ivy league?) Do you feel pressure to do the same? Now matter what you want your days to look like, your four-year goal and your method of approaching that goal are going to dictate what your days are going to look like. Homeschooling doesn't create the freedom to do things differently. People do. If you are comfortable doing things differently in high school and your kids are up for the challenge, they can become pretty interesting people. If, however, you want the safety that the system provides, then you might just be reinventing the wheel. There are plenty of homeschoolers who are spending a ton of time and energy trying to mimic what they could get down the street for free. If you think you might just end up imitating what the system is doing anyway, you might pour your energy into helping them become interesting people within the system. Think about homeschooling high school as an opportunity. An opportunity with a cost. What do you plan to do with the opportunity? Are you OK with the costs? Peace, Janice P.S. Not trying to be rude here - but I don't WANT to convince you of anything. If you're not eager to do it, I wouldn't even attempt hsing high school. It's a ton of work.

Try telling my dh this. :-) He's looking for a wormhole. :-) (I'll admit that I wouldn't mind locating one either.)

With three different kids? or three different times? Was it a short-term or long-term fix? (time-frame?) Details? (email me if you don't want to share too much on-line?) I'm concerned about what this will do to the idea of "team" around here. I know, I know, I said I want pragmatic solutions not ideology. But I'm still anxious about this....... I have always postured myself as being there to assist my kids in their struggles. "We all work together to get what everyone wants." This system seems withdrawn to me in a "taker" kind of way. Can you help me get over that? I really do need a working solution, not a "feel good" solution. :-)

Patty Joanna, OK. Now we haven't tried this. But I've considered it. I was wondering if anyone had tried this. We've tried the usual things: If you do A, you'll get B. If you don't do A, I'll take away B. But I haven't tried: If you do A, you get $; if you don't do A, I get $. (The kid picks his/her own B. And so do I.) So, does it work? Janice

Thanks for the advice. Really. I know you meant well, so PLEASE no offense.:001_smile: But IMO, it's not good advice for older kids. I'm talking about the transition to adulthood here. Older teens, not younger. :001_smile: My kids were/are fine when I check everything every day. But that's a recipe for disaster for college and adulthood. I need advice about what works for the transition. (And I have modeled good behavior here. That's not the problem.) Punishment or rewards? Once again, not trying to offend the gal who offered this idea (I love ya, Regentrude! You know I do!!!) Just being honest about what I'm working with here. :001_smile: Writing down the time you work? Not going to solve any problems here. Anyone can write times on a piece of paper especially when the alternative is returning to the desk for the evening because you forgot to write down the start/stop time. My kids would consider that an unjust punishment, so they would have no guilt in writing down any 'ole time on the paper. Then of course the next step is writing down the time when you haven't actually done the work. There are more steps after that one, but I'll stop. As far as the carrot/stick idea. What other carrots/sticks work? Screen time? Really? I don't mean to be cruel, but have ya'll visited colleges/dorms recently? Higher education is FLOODED with kids who haven't mastered their own appetites when it comes to screen time. Older teens. Controlling their screen time does not help them learn to manage their screen time. Controlling their schedule does not help them learn to manage their schedule. I need transitional tools. PLEASE! Advice about TRANSITIONS!!!!! Punishments/Rewards for older teens who are fine when they are controlled but way less-than-fine when they are not being mother-marionetted? Thanks, Janice Thanks to all for the advice so far. Specifically: Clarkacademy - I commend you for your due-diligence. But I'm talking about kids with driver's licenses and adult-level responsibilities. If I force people to sit on their beds instead of go to work or their college classes? Ummmm.... not the right tool for the right job. But I do think you and I were probably on the same page. For example, when they were little, kids who didn't finish their chores and arrive on time for breakfast received a salad for breakfast - with no dressing! :001_smile: (Everyone hated salad and had to muscle it down.) My kids do their own laundry once they turn eight. My kids are no strangers to tough. But even then, this transition is not easy. Karin - I have no idea if anyone here has special needs. Probably. Most likely. Honestly? I've never had any of them tested although I've certainly had my suspicions. They certainly act like they have an organic problem. (Hugs to you and yours. Keep the comments coming!) Cynthia, I'm exhausted by the encouraging, prodding, and nagging. It's messing up my personality. Laura & Cynthia - I suspect you're right about the competition. I just want insurance. Tools to compete in place: schedule and a to-do list. Work time is work time. Play time is play time. Simple, neat tracks for success. And one more thing, just so ya'll understand what I'm working with. No one here defies me openly. "Where is your schedule? Where is your to-do list for today?" is NEVER met with "I didn't do it, and I'm not going to." ;) Instead it's the hanging of the head and "I don't have it." "Why?" "Because I didn't do it." Then they go do it. But if I hadn't said anything, it wouldn't have happened. Dd is told to generate a weekly plan every Friday for the following work-week. If I ask about it on Friday, it happens on Friday. If I ask about it on the next Tuesday, it happens on the next Tuesday. Once she has the plan, she is generally very capable as far as getting the work done. I'm SO tired of this discussion though. Do you suppose it's some sort of odd DESIRE for accountability? Everyone, keep the advice coming. TELL ME WHAT WORKS!!!!

How do you motivate your teens to keep a schedule and a to-do list. On a daily basis? Slavishly. I have no more interest in startie-stoppie mediocrity. I need this to be a done-deal. Punishments or rewards? Oh - and forget ideology. I don't care about what should work. I care about what does work. What has worked for you? And what kind of kid did it work for? Because I have three that are motivated very differently. But they all have one thing in common. They agree that they are the most successful, they have the most self-esteem, and they are the most content when they make a schedule and a to-do list and then just work it. They also agree that they are unsuccessful and embarrassed when they don't. But then they don't do it on their own. Unless I insist on it and check to see that it's happening, it happens for a while - but then it stops happening. They go back to holding stuff in their heads and hoping for the best. (Which invariably leads to me screaming and ranting on about some lunatic ideology about responsibility and blah, blah, blah. Insanity!) So forget ideology about punishments and rewards. I don't care about which system comes from the good parents and which system comes from the bad parents. I don't think it's possible to reason my way to a good solution. This goes beyond reason; and I'm out of time/patience to fiddle around with this. (This is driving me nuts, and I've had it!) What works? (And if you are blessed to have kids who do what you say every time to the best of their ability because they want to please you, my hat is off to you. But your advice about how to strengthen the moral fiber of my children is going to fall on deaf ears. I'm done trying to strengthen moral fiber. Really - no hard feelings, but peddle that somewhere else. I want to find out what works with kids who lack a strong sense of duty. Moderate sense? Yes. Strong? Nope.) Punishments or rewards? Cash? Ruin their social life? Lay it on me! Peace, Janice

I hear you, Sue. Yes, I think we are doing the same thing. I am trying to help him improve where he can. I just get frustrated when I give my kids the impression that inefficiency is somehow connected to a moral failure. Rather than an attribute of a process, efficiency becomes one of the moral aspects of a process. Efficient = good. Inefficient = bad. If you are lazy, chances are that you are inefficient. Inverse? If you are inefficient, chances are that you are lazy. Umm... an inverse is never guaranteed to be true. And in this case, I have found that this one is only true sometimes. Sigh. That's the thing I struggle with. Peace, Janice

I read Joan's post. Efficiency is one of the things I struggle with. I like it. I get charged up when I find ways to do things better and faster. Gosh I feel so validated. But there is something missing. Nuance is lost. Shaved off in favor of something else. And yes, I must admit that very often those nuances can be the difference between ho-hum and something great. Which begs the question, "Has efficiency caused a decrease in productivity?" Dog starts chasing its tail. The paralysis of analysis. Ds - perfect example. Among other things, this boy reads slowly. (Drives me bonkers! Over the top bonkers! I can actually feel my skin crawl when we are arguing about this!) "You've only read eight pages in the past twenty minutes. HURRY UP! You HAVE to hurry up!" Inside the mothering discussion starts swirling, "Is pushing him the right thing to do? (Not really) But yes, it is. (Oh, come on. So he reads slowly. Who cares?) I do. He has to learn to focus and read faster. It's going to trip him up in the long run. He needs to work at it. (Maybe, but you shouldn't make him feel bad. He's not being naughty. Just slow.) But, slow is a problem. Isn't it my job to help him to improve on things he should improve on? And maybe he is being naughty. (No he's not.) Shut up! I told him to focus. And he's not listening to me. So that's wrong. Right? (Silence.) Both of me feel wrong." Can you see me circling through this ridiculous argument with myself. Yuck! Hate this! After all, no one wins here. Ever! Honestly? His mind wanders. Terribly. He's bored. And so he stares at the page while his mind ping-pongs around to 8 zillion different places. "Oh. The page. Where was I? What?" Read. Read. Read. Oops....gone again! I asked him once, "What's your favorite thing about playing the pipe organ?" His answer, "I'm focused. My mind doesn't wander. It feels so good to be entirely focused." So is the boy efficient? No. Not really. At least not generally. But he does some things well. There is a mechanical blanket that I feel when I'm efficient. It makes me feel valuable. I don't think this boy is burdened by that same blanket. ================= The lad is playing this piece for the postlude in church on Sunday. Here are the notes his teacher included in the bulletin: Dieterich Buxtehude! In 1705, Johann Sebasan Bach walked 250 miles to sit at the feet of this master of the North German organ school, for many years musician at the famed Marienkirche in Lubeck. (Staying three months, Bach was in a bit of trouble when he returned home!) In 1703, Handel also made the trip. He was most likely being considered as a replacement for the retiring Buxtehude but, in the end, was not interested in the part of the job description that included marriage to Buxtehude’s supposedly less than attractive daughter! A great composer of vocal and organ music, Buxtehude’s Abendmusik concerts were legendary and his contribuon to the genre of organ music continues to be felt. The prelude this morning is a passacaglia, a set of variations occurring over a recurring pedal theme. The postlude, Praeludia, is one of the great examples of a musical form for which the composer was especially famous. It consists of various free sections interspersed with fugal sections which use a variety of colors of the organ. David Higgs once described the final fugue as the “Ha Ha Fugue” …listen closely to the pedal line. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txFdGds5av4&feature=youtu.be Peace, Janice Enjoy your little people Enjoy your journey

We are using: They Say/I Say http://books.wwnorton.com/books/detail.aspx?ID=23564 and Patterns for College Writing - covers more than just narrative. :001_smile: http://bedfordstmartins.com/Catalog/product/patternsforcollegewriting-twelfthedition-kirszner The argument book by the same author is good too. I can also recommend the "Best Essay" series. The Best American Essays of the Century http://www.amazon.com/Best-American-Essays-Century-Series/dp/B002ECETWW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1352486698&sr=8-1&keywords=best+essays I like the variety in the annual books as well. Using them feels like a trip to an art gallery where the paintings are current and are actually for sale. What does an essay look like when it's inspired rather than assigned? What techniques do writers really use? What is the effect? Plenty to learn. Note - some topics could easily offend plenty of folks. Peace, Janice

While I agree with many of the suggestions, you can gather most of the stats about the school before you visit. The College Board site is a good starting point. (Take the time to use the financial planning tools. The financial aid presentation will mean more if you know more about your family's situation.) http://www.collegeboard.org This site also offers some interesting stats for each school: http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges See the links below for more info about specific schools. ======================== Every school boasts about professor accessibility. Office hours abound. But what is the environment like? Do kids visit the profs? Do the profs engage personally with the undergrads? The other thing I am interested in is graduation rates. Very often there are more kids than seats in required courses. Check out 4-year graduation rates of various colleges here. (These extended-stay college experiences are due to a host of factors - not just course accessibility. I just want to make sure that my kid is going to be able to graduate on time if she/he is diligent.) http://www.collegeresults.org/search_group.aspx or here http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/ Most folks are surprised to discover that most schools rate themselves using a “6-years for a Bachelor’s degree†benchmark. Parents are encouraged to think about college in terms of a four-year commitment/payment problem. For most kids that is not the norm. Most schools offer a “student panel†as part of the open house program. This panel is selected because these kids are the best and the brightest students. The most engaged. After the kids discuss what it’s like to attend Uni ABC (these all start to sound the same after a while), they usually ask if there are questions. I use this opportunity to gather info to address these two questions (student/teacher interaction and scheduling). This is what I ask the panelists: I have three questions and I would prefer that each of you would answer each question. 1. How many times did you personally meet with a professor during his/her office hours last semester? 2. How many papers did you write last semester? Were your papers graded by a TA or by the professor? On average, how many personalized comments did you receive on each of your papers? (This question helps you get a feel for the kind of personalized feedback your kid is going to get in his coursework.) 3. Try to think back to Freshman year. When it came time to register for your spring courses on your own, out of the five classes you ended up with, how many were your first choice for course, professor, and section? The great thing about these three questions? You can tell how much the panel has been prepped. :001_smile: I have been at schools where these questions cause the students to CLAM UP and grow visibly nervous. They start looking nervously at each other. You can tell they are thinking, "Oh no! What are we supposed to say? This isn't going to look good." Or they look at the admissions officer with a glance that says, "Help! We don't know what to say." And I have been at sessions where the students take these questions in stride. They are eager to talk about the good (and maybe willing to admit the not-so-good) stories of their experiences. The students' reaction to the questions is very telling. The answers to the questions reveal a lot as well. =============================== Things to do (re-visit) after the tour on your own: Tour the library in the afternoon. Visit all of the floors. What is it like? Is the library full or empty? Is it noisy or quiet? Are kids studying – peek at their screens? Does the library have study rooms available for groups of students? If so, are kids using those rooms? Visit the student center next. Are there more kids in the student center than the library? Are they connecting with each other or are they each sitting alone, connecting with their electronic devices? Visit the dining hall while students are present. How social/collegial is the environment? Find the tutoring center. How many kids are there? What is the environment like? ================= Just a starting point..... Dig! College can be one of the most expensive/important decisions your family can make. Don't be overly impressed by the shiny exterior/interior of the car. Open the hood. Under there - where it tends to be a bit greasy - under there lies the thing that makes the car GO! Crawl under the car with a flashlight if you can. The suspension, the frame, the brakes - that's what support/control forward motion. The kickin' stereo is nice, but we're not in the market for a stereo. We need a CAR! ;) Peace, Janice Enjoy your little people Enjoy your journey

Toward the middle of this page, you'll find tons of info under the heading "Scope and Sequence"; it includes credits and course descriptions. Substitute numbers 2-4 for the links for the other year plans. http://www.tapestryofgrace.com/year1/ Peace, Janice Enjoy your little people Enjoy your journey

Rod & Staff (I purchased over the phone directly from the company. This was years ago, so I don't know how folks are buying this series now.) Downloadable schedule/lesson plans here: http://corefoundations.wordpress.com/scheds-english-and-history/ WWS - Writing with Skill Start both of your kids at level one. Great writing program. Unmatched IMO. http://www.welltrainedmind.com/store/language-arts/writing/writing-middle-grades.html Peace, Janice

I think I've found this on Amazon. (In case anyone is interested.) We have always been able to check You Tube when we need help with the calculator. Although I must admit I have been looking for a good calculator resource for quite a while. I've order the DVD's from Amazon. Hope they are the right ones. ;) If Jann recommends them, I'm sure the content will be great. Peace, Janice Amazon.com: The Texas Instruments TI-83/TI-84 Calculator Tutor: Jason Gibson: Movies & TV http://www.amazon.com/Texas-Instruments-TI-83-TI-84-Calculator/dp/B003ED8R6O/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t

News from New Jersey: TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie today signed an executive order to postpone Halloween until Monday because of unsafe conditions throughout New Jersey in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. “In too many communities in our state, the damage and losses from this storm are still being sorted out, and dangerous conditions abound even as our emergency management and response officials continue their work," Christie said in a statement. The governor has said for a few days he would probably issue the order, even joking that he might reschedule it for Election Day. Christie said Tuesday he hoped local officials would abide by it to prevent any injuries from downed trees, utility poles, power lines and flooding. Is this the role of government? Should government make these kinds of decisions? What does this decision by the governor even mean? Should be a lively discussion at our house as we get first dibs at the candy bowl..... Peace, Janice

You can encourage them in this direction. This is one area where I think dual-enrollment at the CC can really help. Dd is required by me to make periodic visits to her profs. Even when she thinks she is fine. Required. By me. No discussion. Required. :001_smile: Before class begins each semester, she contacts each prof via email to introduce herself and set up a time when she can come by and pick up the syllabus so she can prepare for the first class. Before the first paper is due in an English or history class: she is required by me to finish it early. Then she must take it to office hours to get feedback on how she can make it better. Now she does this for nearly every paper on her own. She enjoys the discussion. We know that they learn by writing the papers; she gets a better education when she discusses her papers with the profs. She hardly ever turns in a paper on time; nearly every time she submits her final draft early. Before the first lab report is due in a science class: Same thing. Done early. Go to office hours. Is this what you are looking for? How can I make it better? What am I missing here? After the first few homework assignment are completed in the math class: Same thing. Attend office hours. Can you scan my homework? I'm getting the right answers, but I want to make sure that I'm doing the problems correctly as far as showing enough work and showing it correctly. Before the first math test? These are the problems I got wrong on the homework. I think I understand what I did wrong. Can you give me some similar problems, so I can be sure? Our CC has over 15,000 students. Every single one of my dd's teachers know her name. My dd knows that class attendance is mandatory. Attendance at office hours is just one more requirement for her. If kids can't see why it matters, I would just find a way to push their buttons to help them see. ;) Find ways to get them in the loop. College graduation rates are not that great for the "average" student. We need to help our kids understand that above average is really their only option. I know that our family can't afford an "average" experience. ;) Peace, Janice P.S. Eventually they learn to see the advantages of cultivating a relationship with their profs. That's when I'm done. Woo-hoo!

She needs to be proficient in Math. :001_smile: That's the language of STEM majors. ;) Seriously, if she's proficient in French, you are going to breeze through high school French. Most STEM programs couldn't care less if your kid has studied a foreign language. Some of the top-schools want to see a well-rounded kid who has studied a foreign language; if you want to cover your bases and make sure that she has the transcript/courses to get into one of those top programs you can wait until high school to breeze through several credits of high school French (Don't bother doing it early; they only want to see high school accomplishments on the transcript. She could study and take an AP French test in ninth grade and call it done.) Let her focus on STEM subjects. Take a Coursera course. Study robotics or electronics or computer programming. Let her pick something that looks interesting. Kids become different people when they are allowed to follow their interests. Unless she enjoys languages, I wouldn't make her learn a third language. There are so many other wonderful things a STEM student can accomplish. Peace, Janice

Encourage your engineers to start working like engineers; encourage them to document their work. https://engineering.purdue.edu/ece477/Homework/CommonRefs/Tutorials/Other/Project%20Notebook%20Guidelines.pdf http://www.engineering.uiowa.edu/ess/future-students/k-12/first-tech-challenge/coaches/engineering-notebook http://www.williamson-labs.com/notebook.htm http://www.bookfactory.com/engineering-notebooks/engineering-notebooks.html http://www.snco.com/student.htm Tons of info out there. Do an advanced search on "Engineering Notebook" and ".edu"; plenty to get you started. :001_smile: Peace, Janice

Hi Nan, It does feel like quite an accomplishment, doesn't it? You deserve a trophy. When I hear non-hsing parents complain about college application stuff, I just bite my lip. Hard. And nod. Without saying anything. You deserve a trophy. Peace, Janice :party::party::cheers2:

I stumbled across this title last week. It doesn't really fit your criteria. It's a biography. And it's not that short. But it might check your "gives a sense of the era" box. :001_smile: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0767929713/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_4?ie=UTF8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER It's on my pre-read list (ds is doing American History next year), so I have no idea if it's appropriate. Just thought I would pass it along. Peace, Janice