I called that number twice and got the same story both times. The school where Sushi took the test just got back with me. They don't have any information about access codes for us.

I had an experience similar to Terri's. I called the PSAT line, waited about 30 minutes, was transferred 3 times, and was finally told that there was no way to get access code information over the phone. I was told that I should contact the administrator at the school where Sushi took the test even though he is not a student there.

I think we will try to get the access code in the morning, too.

Thank you so much for this post. I cannot wait to share it with my son. Sushi studied Mandarin with a lovely woman from China for three years, and she said many of the same things the exchange student said. I have always felt sorry for her. She teaches at an exclusive, competitive private school here, but the kids still seem lazy. I always think it must frustrate her to see kids all day that have so much handed to them yet they don't make the effort to take advantage of it all.

Great score report! My son took the test at his old school. The students at the school got their scores today, but Sushi didn't get anything in the mail. He is already getting texts from his friends wanting to know his scores.

I would hold them for sure, but I don't like to be dishonest with the kids, so I would tell Sushi that I was holding the scores until after the ACT. Still no scores here yet, either. I'm very anxious to see how it went. Sushi surprised us so much on the ACT that I'm afraid I have my hopes set a little too high on this one.

:bigear: I'm actually entering into the Ancient world with a 9 and 7 year old and would love to hear what you thought of HO for that time period. Do you think it would be fine at level one for both of my girls?

I absolutely agree! Maybe you could do some geography with her between now and September? I pulled my kids out of school around this time last year. Peanut was not a strong reader, and I wanted to do history with the big girls together. So we took the year to do Trail Guide to World Geography. Now they both have an overall understanding of how the world looks today and Peanut is reading well enough to get more out of history.

The girls had me paint their faces for Rudolph last night. Clearly I need more instruction on making reindeer faces. lol link

My girls like the Cooking Mama games. There is a newer version for the Wii that looks really fun.

I would think it would be too hard for a 5 year old, but that would depend on his gaming level.

Almost the same story with the same toys, but in Mississippi heat and humidity. I am pretty sure Rody was purchased for Bacon when she was 2, so it is going on 8 years and is on its third child. Wonderful product!

The Harumika dolls have been a big hit here. The great thing is you can use any scrap of fabric with them and not just the ones they sell. I can also second the recommendation of the Klutz My Style Studio. Peanut got that set last year at age 5 and could make some cute designs. We have had one Project Runway set (the dog fashion set) and thought it was nice, too.

Santa brings one gift to each child and hides it. He leaves different clues for each kid.

I've ordered for Modcloth for myself and have been really happy with the quality. One thing about the site- if you want something, get it when you see it! And thanks for the link to JenClothing. They have some really cute things! Two other places that may help are Ruche (http://www.shopruche.com/index.php) and Shabby Apple (http://www.shabbyapple.com/). Not everything at Ruche is modest, but there is something somewhat sweeter about their overall look than most modern stores. Also, Anthropologie can carry some more modest looks. I actually want the Peggy Sue dress for myself for a holiday party, but, sadly, my long torso prevents me from wearing most of their dresses.

:bigear: We are about to start ancient history and Bacon can use some books to read.

I completely agree with Kuovonne's quote. Peanut is using Growing with Grammar now. We tried FLL and it just wasn't for her. After two years with GWG, she will be more than ready.

That's how Bacon got started last year. We gave her lessons as her Christmas present and she loved it!

You are welcome! I tried very hard to be fair to both schools. Honestly, for many people Ole Miss is a natural choice over State. It's all about what kind of crowd you like. I sometime wish Ole Miss was more his thing. They have a wonderful honors college and an impressive Mandarin specialization program funded through the federal government. I'm pretty sure that if you enter the program you get scholarship money and paid travel overseas. The best part is you can major in any subject.

I am so thrilled to hear you had a great experience at State. While I did not go to college there, I did attend The Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, a public residential high school in nearby Columbus. We often traveled to Starkville for internships and research opportunities. It is a wonderful school for engineering as well as food science, architecture, horticulture, and animal medicine. The campus and town are just as you describe- clean, friendly, and laid-back. We are encouraging Sushi to consider State if he continues his interest in engineering. To answer the question about comparisons to Ole Miss, the two schools have completely opposite personalities. Ole Miss is located in Oxford, one of the most perfect small towns I know. The town square is quaint, the campus is perfect, and the town is filled with great shops and restaurants. The overall personality is more formal and preppy. You should go to the Grove before a football game at least once before you choose Ole Miss to see that it is either your kind of place or not. There is really nothing else like the lavish, well-dressed take on tailgating that the students and alums prepare. Image is much more important at Ole Miss than at State.

Thanks for letting me know about quizlet. I'll go check it out. We started out making them the old fashioned way, but Bacon and I are not the neatest people. We keep losing the cards. ;)

We are really enjoying using the flashcards at http://www.flashcardmachine.com. I love that you can make your own cards or search to see what other people have already made. Bacon has already found sets that have helped her with Latina Christiana. I'm wondering if any other MCT fans are using Flashcard Machine. We haven't been able to find any card sets for the program. So far we have made sets for Caesar's English 1, Lessons 1 to 5. If anyone else is making cards, could you post here so we can share sets?

Sushi is a sophomore and we plan to make at least 3 campus visits this year. We would wait until next year, but he has decided to apply to a residential school for 11th and 12th grades, so I want to squeeze in travel as much as we can before he leaves. We are working visits around family trips. For example, we plan to visit friends near Houston in January for a birthday so it only makes sense to take a tour of Rice while we are in town. Just last month we went camping in Arkansas and took time to visit Hendrix College.

Ditto a thousand times over. Your child will earn maps using the link above.

I am one month away from finishing Trail Guides with my 1st and 4th graders and can't say enough good things about it. It is so well scaffolded that I could use it again in three years and they would get a completely different experience. We supplement with library books on topics of interest and spend a lot of time using Sheppard Software's free online mapping games.