Okay, I will think more on your reading suggestions. He had asked me if it was okay to start with The Maze Runner once we downloaded Libby and I said Yes! I was just thinking so much of the popular fiction is at a very low reading level, but it sounds like you are saying there is good stuff out there, so I will find it. He used to like to read all the Guinness World Record books, so maybe I can get him into some nonfiction. And magazines would be good as well. Thanks again! I think this may really help him in a way that is manageable. I will let you know how he progresses.

Thanks. Libby does connect with the library offerings through Overdrive. My plan was to pull out my old Sonlight catalogs to make suggestions, starting out easy and then increasing difficulty level. That lexile link will be another great resource for me.

His spelling is good (at 8th grade and he's entering 11th), but it is below grade level and when I went through the phonogram cards with him, he didn't know some of the very basic ones like "ck". That's kind of why I thought he might benefit from some work with multisyllable words. But maybe he doesn't need that? That is where he came out on the DORA assessment for spelling as well -- 8th grade. Do you think that's not a big enough gap to be concerned about or did I not mention he was entering 11th earlier?

I will definitely read through all of the resources you have sent me. This is all a goldmine to me! Thank you again! I feel your comments are helping me to move in the right direction for him.

Oh, thank you very much! He's always been very frustrated in school, wanting to do well, but never really being able to. He had a very noticeable processing problem when he was little. After I started listening to all the Barton videos, I was thinking he might be a candidate for that program, but now that I've done some screening and assessments, I don't think so. But, his reading is slow and he obviously doesn't know or understand many things you would expect a kid his age to know. I asked him what books he'd read this last year and he laughed because he hadn't read any. I got him set up with an audiobook app (Libby) earlier today thinking that might help him more than anything, as long as his listening comprehension is okay. I bought an old copy of the Rewards secondary program which focuses on syllables and I had been looking at the old SRA Spelling through Morphographs book. I will absolutely try to get him going with the immersion reading. That is something I had done with my son quite a while ago. That is a very exciting prospect and something I think he might actually enjoy doing and find manageable. Part of my problem is that I am just getting started after many years away from this and I don't have good assessment resources. There is no way he is getting any kind of testing. His mother is not going to make that happen at the school and she will not be able to pay for it. But! I feel you have reinforced much of what I have been thinking about what he needs. I was feeling like I should do a reading program with him to strengthen those skills, and might be cheating him by not doing so, but there is so little time left before he graduates, I don't want to waste time going in that direction if he doesn't need it. Thank you! What do you think of Rewards Reading or Spelling though Morphographs? Are you familiar with those programs?

I used Fastt Math with my kids and it was wonderful. I'm not seeing anything out there that is great. I'm surprised because there should be tons of stuff with all the technology used these days. It seems like there is less now than what was available 15 years ago. Am I missing something? This is for an 11th grader who doesn't know any of his facts. I took a look at Rocketmath and that may be okay for a younger child, but I am hoping there is something better out there for a teen. Also, there used to be these really memorable little math stories to help kids who struggled with learning math facts. I can't find them. Anyone know what I am talking about? TIA

Great to hear about LiPS being doable with the manual! I've been looking at Foundation in Sounds as well. Since I posted this, I have started to work with my nephew who is a rising 11th grader. I had planned to use Barton with him, but I am wondering if it is really appropriate for him. He tested in the 30th percentile of the PSAT reading portion last year, so he can definitely read. He passed the Barton student screening with flying colors. I gave him the Let's Go Learn DORA reading assessment and got an odd result -- 5th grade vocabulary level but 12th grade reading comprehension. I was listening while he was answering the comprehension questions and he did it very quickly, almost to the point that I thought he might be guessing. Next week, once school is over, he is going to take a practice SAT reading test for me, so I can get a better idea of where his comprehension level is. I also used the San Diego Assessment SWR uses to place students in their program. He placed in list W for SWR. I had him do a fluency reading from an old book I had -- 6 minute solutions. It only goes up to 8th grade, but he was reading about 100 wpm and told me he felt like he would really slow down if he had to keep going. I know that's slow, but he was very accurate and didn't make any mistakes when reading the passage. Today, I started going through the phonograms from SWR with him thinking I might just start at list T and work through it and then follow up with Rewards Secondary Reading and Six-Minute Solutions. I worked with him to get the Libby app on his phone so he could start listening to audiobooks and I was also going to have him use an old Vocabulary program I have from my homeschooling days. When I ran through the SWR phonogram cards with him, he surprised me with how many of the phonograms he did not know. This has me questioning if SWR is the right choice for him and whether I should go with Barton after all? A little more info about him -- he scored in the 6th percentile for math on his PSAT. I went through some of the addition and multiplication facts with him and he does not know them at all. And yet, he has just finished geometry with an A! I don't know if he can learn them or if he was just handed a calculator early on and never really needed to learn them. I just don't know if Barton is appropriate for him or not. I want to make the best use of his time. My son hated SWR and I'm sure my nephew will too. It is quite tedious. I don't know how Barton compares.

Thank you, again. And that is reasonable and something I can totally understand. I don't have young children anymore so I am no longer as emotionally impacted by these types of fears. But, I do remember when the H1N1 flu was being hyped up years ago and I took both my kids and got them the vaccine for that. I had never gotten them a flu vaccine before, but I was worried for them.

No. I just appreciate you being polite. I can't get into a big discussion here because I feel like there will be 20 people coming at me from the other side in a matter of minutes and it's just emotionally draining and not something I can manage. But, thank you very much for your nice reply. I really do appreciate that.

Okay. Thank you. Good night.

Did you read the article I linked? I'm not saying you have to believe that article, but did you look at it?

I really think it is pretty clear. Kids are safer from covid than they are from the flu. That's been known for a long time. I honestly don't have the emotional energy to try and dig up all of the information, but it's out there. And I get being scared for your kid. I haven't read through this whole thread, but it seems that whenever anyone does post any actual data, people just dismiss it. And obviously, you don't have to listen to me. You have no reason to. It just gets so frustrating to try to post any alternative views on these boards over the last number of years. I haven't been on here in ages because of that. I shouldn't have looked at this thread. It's just very upsetting to see so many people truly unaware of what their true risk is.

And clearly, you have plenty of company here. In the well-trained mind echo chamber.

I don't think you really care about the data. You just want what you want and if you can get the government to impose your will on others, so be it. As long as you feel safe, the rights of others be damned. Who is really the selfish one?

This just really isn't true. https://slate.com/human-interest/2021/03/children-and-covid-transmission-your-child-is-basically-a-vaccinated-adult.html

I used to be a regular on this board years ago, but now both my kids are off at college. My youngest left last fall. And I need something worthwhile to engage me! I have always been very enthusiastic about helping struggling readers. I worked with adults who couldn't read through a local literacy program when I was in college. I poured a lot of research and effort into helping my son. I'd like to start a tutoring business focusing on reading instruction for dyslexics and struggling readers. I used Spell to Read and Write with my son, and I might pick up another copy of that, but I've been reading about Barton and watching her videos and that seems to be the way to go. I am thinking about starting by ordering levels one and two of the program and then getting some practice in with a friend's dyslexic daughter. Are there any other materials I should consider investing in to start? I was considering buying LiPS from Lindamood Bell. Is it reasonable to think I can manage to use LiPS with the manual or do I need to attend one of their workshops? Any other materials I might want to consider? One concern I have about Barton is that it seems to pretty much be a one-woman show and Susan Barton may be nearing retirement age. Any thoughts or insight into that?

If you are looking at private schools, you not only need to look at schools that "meet full need" but that are also very generous with their definition of need. Franklin & Marshall, Holy Cross and University of Richmond were 3 that we pursued for my daughter based on our financial circumstances. All three put a much heavier emphasis on income vs. assets in their calculations of need. So, savings for retirement or a paid-off home are not deal-breakers if your income is on the lower end. I have found the individual school net price calculators to be pretty accurate for each of my kids. Without seeing the actual calculations you are talking about, it is hard to say what is going on there, but something doesn't sound right if the $12,000 is the specific school's EFC and balance due is that much higher. I would expect the school's calculation of the EFC to be pretty close to what they were asking you to pay if they "meet full need". The issue is usually that the school's idea of "meeting full need" is very different from the parents. Not that there is a huge discrepancy between the school's calculation of need and what they are then asking you to pay.

I just received an email about this today for a virtual fair for pre-college programs -- https://www.teenlife.com/summer-virtual-fair/

Thanks so much for that information! We didn't know that. I will pass your advice along to her.

I will also add that the program my ds was supposed to do in the Netherlands this summer got cancelled because it's impossible to make travel plans with Covid right now. My dd's school has recently decided not to offer any study abroad programs this summer either. We have been told that part of this has to do with how our state is handling restrictions, so it may be different elsewhere.

Too late for this summer, but my dd is going to apply for this next summer for Japanese. It is fully funded! -- I’m writing today to tell you about an exciting, full-funded summer opportunity: the Critical Language Scholarship. Based on your interest in Japanese, you could be a great candidate for the CLS program! Sponsored by the US State Department, the CLS offers intensive summer language institutes abroad in 15 critical and less-commonly taught languages, including Japanese. After eight weeks of these international language immersion programs, students return to campus with a full year’s worth of language skills. I encourage you to attend an info session hosted by the Office of Scholars and Fellowships on Thursday, October 15 at 4:30pm ET (register here). CLS is also hosting virtual info sessions for each of its individual language institutes throughout the months of October and November. Please visit https://clscholarship.org/events to register. The deadline to apply is November 17. Students must be U.S. citizens to apply (unfortunately, permanent residents are not eligible). More information can also be found on the CLS webpage: https://www.clscholarship.org/. You can begin an application today: https://clscholarship.org/apply The Office of Scholars & Fellowships is available to provide feedback on your application materials; we will also be hosting several application workshops in October and November. If you plan to apply and would like to access our resources, email us atfellowships@richmond.edu. We look forward to helping you on your CLS journey!

My dd attended UVA's Summer Enrichment program from middle school until she aged out of it and loved it. The program was not for college credit, but she got exposed to a variety of subjects that she found very interesting and really enjoyed the social aspect of the camp. The whole experience was very meaningful for her, so much so that she was planning on applying as a camp counselor this summer before another opportunity came to her attention. The only downside is that the dorms they use for this camp are not air conditioned, which can be rough when it's 95 degrees and extremely humid. She attended Concordia's language immersion program, which was not great for her because her allergies were horrific the whole time she was there. The summer before her senior year, she paid with her own money to attend Notre Dame's Scholars program. She did earn a college credit and she thoroughly enjoyed the experience. She made a close friend there that she is still in touch with. I don't think any of the college summer programs are helpful for admissions unless they are extremely selective programs, but the UVA and UND programs were worthwhile for my dd.

My dd applied ED to the school she is currently attending. We are not rich and my dd's school is $70,000 a year. We are paying about $10,000. We were able to apply ED because when we ran the NPC on her school's website, we knew we could afford the number it gave us. That is the key. If you can afford the NPC number from the school, you can apply ED. If the school was to offer you substantially less aid than the number on their NPC or something changed with your finances, you can turn down their offer. My dd had gotten some offers through EA prior to receiving her acceptance from the school she is at now. She could have withdrawn her ED application before they accepted her if she had decided she wanted to attend one of the EA schools she had received an acceptance from instead.

If you feel Worldometers is more accurate than the CDC, that's what you should use. But Worldometers is showing daily deaths which draw your eye to the daily highs and CDC is showing how the average death count is dropping. If you calculate the average death count for the week ending July 18, the last week the CDC has reported, the numbers are pretty close to the chart you posted. It just more clearly shows the trend.

And the other thing that keeps me from worrying is going to the CDC's website each week and watching the mortality rate fall off a cliff. Even as cases rise. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid_weekly/index.htm