*please do not respond with credit cards are evil or refer me to Dave Ramsey. I believe credit cards can be useful and convenient. I have no issues with overspending on them and I pay the credit cards off in full each month and have for years.* Now that is out of the way- how do you maximize rewards if you use a credit card with that intent? We don't travel much at all. We are pretty simple in our spending habits and I really think I would just use the cash back feature as a credit back on our account. We have been doing that for awhile without intention; we just use the credit card for specific things and when we have some rewards cash built up I use it as a credit on our account. I recently got a new card with a higher rewards cashback percentage. Obviously it isn't enough in rewards to justify buying anything we wouldn't normally buy, but if I intentionally used this card for all the groceries/gas/school expenses/dance studio tuition/cell phone/utilites, etc. it would add up by the end of a year and those are all things we are buying anyway, I think I have figured out which of our bills we can pay by cc. My mortgage and my car payment can't be paid that way but so far it seems like all our other bills and insurance can be. I guess i'm just asking if anyone else does this and if they have found any other tips to maximize rewards. Do you spend them periodically or let them build up over a year or more? How often do you pay your cc bill? I suspect I will pay on it biweekly when dh gets paid. I'm not used to having a high balance on it and I think it might make me twitchy and initially I will probably pay it off every time dh gets paid. I guess another upside would be putting alot of these bills on autopay. I have only done that for a few things over time because I just like to physically move the money out of my checking account. I don't like a bunch of automatic drafts just i case something happens and dh gets paid late or there is an error and it can be a pain getting those automatic drafts stopped. But if I could put them set to autopay on the cc, that would be more convenient. Any other tips or tricks for maximizing rewards? Have you found a great rewards card?

We are still a way out from having anyone in our household eligible. But I am confused. I have read where doctors have said that by April supply is going to be exceeding demand. That suggests that anyone who wants one should be able to get one in the next two months. I live in an area that is anti-vax even pre Covid and people here have not taken the virus seriously. Yet we still can’t get it to all the 70+ crowd that wants it and we haven’t started with teachers who is the next phase. I can’t get my brain around how things are so slow now yet in two months there is going to be an excess. I want to be wrong but I just can’t see it.

Not specific to WTMA history but the few times we have tried delayed classes my kids just did not enjoy them. Mine really needed the live component to feel engaged. We really made only very limited use of asynchronous classes because my kids felt so strongly about it. Are you on a waitlist for Mr Caro's class? Hopefully you could get in off the waitlist. My ds who is a senior this year took several classes with Mr. Caro in middle and high school and Mr. Caro is his favorite teacher ever.

I just call what my dc for literature and comp as one English credit. I know it is more than what other people do for English but whatever. I don't worry excessively about exact definitions of time spent for credits. My dc end up with more credits than they need anyway. Once they do de for English in 11th/12th grades I follow the standard system of one 3 cr hour college class = 1 high school credit. But if they take Comp 1 and Comp 2 in 11th grade it is 2 credits and less work than the 1 credit I awarded in 9th and 10th. Oh well. They have plenty of credits and I'm not going to make myself crazy trying to split hairs to make a square peg fit a round hole in regards to credits all being equal. They just aren't. I could be flexible (and I think I have been) when they took a co-op class that was focused on a specific topic in addition to the full comp and lit classes I had them in at home. I think one ds had a half credit elective in dystopian literature and one had a half credit for a research paper class. I felt comfortable giving an additional elective credit for those but I would also be comfortable leaving them off if it made the transcript too cluttered. Either way would have been okay. All credits just aren't going to be equal. The half credit PE and health classes I give my dc credit for are not equal in rigor to the half credit of economics or government. It's okay. But honestly, if you want to do the two credits, that is okay too.

Oh this looks interesting

It’s been a long time since I’ve been in this market. Dh and I and our young adults have been on an unlimited plan with iPhones for years. But back when they were tweens the Tracfone was often recommended for an emergency phone that wouldn’t get a lot of use. Is Tracfone still a thing that works that way? Is there some other economical option for a tween to carry when away from home for the day? Dd will be 13 in the spring and I’m really not keen on a lot of texting with friends and I don’t want all the smartphone capabilities. I’m sure she will grow into that but I’d rather not start out with all of that right now. She is not anywhere close to social media ready and honestly a lot of girls she is “friends” with can be a little mean so I’m going to put off the regular phone use as long as possible. But she does need something. A situation came up today and she really would have benefited from being able to call me. So it is time. Is there such thing as an Apple Watch that doesn’t need to be connected to a phone? Something she could use in an emergency and the fact that she wouldn’t misplace it because it is on her wrist would be a bonus. I am so not into tech. What is out there to serve as a limited use economical phone for a couple years until she needs something more?

Self paced like Thinkwell or Derek Owens where you really set your own schedule or are you thinking of something asynchronous as in no live set meeting times but an actual instructor with set due dates and beginning/end of the course? What exactly are you looking for? Maybe if you mentioned what subjects you are looking for you might get some ideas rolling.

I always answer that with something like “well what are you looking at?” and that seems to prompt them to at least tell me what week or month they are trying to get me in and then I can work from there. Sometimes they ask me my schedule and then I respond and they come back with something like “we only do consults right after lunch” or “we are scheduling six months out” or something else weirdly specific that renders their initial question to me useless. I do hate the dance and I do put off making appointments longer than I should. Always wish I could schedule online and see my options.

I have only felt I could give negative feedback via private message and even that has made me uncomfortable. We have taken so many online classes over the years and I only have one teacher I would complain about so I think I am very much not picky. But the one who was so bad is one who gets good reviews at MPOA. I have occasionally private messaged someone who asks about it. I am not at all afraid of any kind of retribution from the MPOA folks but as much as I said “never again” for this teacher I just didn’t want to risk that somehow my younger child would end up in a class with this teacher (like if there was a last minute switch or my child was in the diploma program and the class was unavoidable or some other circumstance). The MPOA administrators and some teachers post on their forums which can be great and helpful but it makes it a place you aren’t going to get negative feedback especially because they are just so very nice and helpful. People discuss teachers some on the MPOA families FB page but that is not anonymous. I like MPOA and only had one bad class out of close to 20 but it is really hard to get honest feedback about a teacher there.

I wouldn’t overthink it, that is for sure. I have done a variety of things for that fluff. Sometimes it has been a co-op class because they want to be there for social reasons. Sometimes it has been “here- read this” or “hey come watch theses videos with me.” Time is limited in high school and I’m not going to let any of that take away from the things I think are more important (and that list is pretty long.) We learn those things anyway in everyday life. Health is important but filling out a health workbook is not. My current senior has been my one kid not to play a sport. He has PE on his transcript this semester. I’m sure he had mowed the yard and raked leaves enough in the past four years for a half credit of PE. I’m a rule follower to a fault but I have no worries about this. It isn’t “unfair”. He isn’t going to beat someone out for a scholarship because he has a half PE credit. Colleges do not care. I have enough things to hassle my teens about without making them log hours they are shooting baskets in the driveway. I worry about a lot of things but these fluff requirements are not on the list. We manage them in a variety of ways but I’m not willing to give them much time or effort unless we are particularly interested.

I am local to a medium size private university. Admission is very nearly open admission with very low admissions requirements and remedial courses offered on campus. There are good students there too, for sure, but the student body is on average, pretty average 🙂 They have some wonderful teachers there, an involved student body, lots of sports and activities. Students go there and have a full college experience, get an education, and go on to careers and graduate and professional schools. Most of our town is run by grads of this university (including doctors and lawyers, etc). Honestly, aren’t there like 5000 colleges in the US? Most of the students at those colleges are pretty average (and a big chunk of them would have to be below average too). We have several colleges in our state that do not require impressive high school records to be admitted yet students go on and do extremely well in their lives.

I am thinking of using this for my dd who will be in 8th grade next year. She has not had much formal science and will probably do standard biology/chemistry/physics or another bio in high school. So she will be headed toward a standard science progression-nothing super advanced. I feel like a physical science course in 8th grade while not fully necessary, will be helpful for her in preparation for high school sciences but it doesn’t have to be anything super rigorous or exciting. She will be in Algebra 1 and she is a strong student overall. The main draw for DO is the flexibility because I’m not sure how some of the rest of her studies are going to come together. If you have used this course recently can you give any indication of how you paced it to be done in a regular school year? Would a couple focused work sessions a week (of say 1-2 hours each) be adequate for a strong 8th grader or is it something that needs to be worked on almost every day? I realize we could take all summer to finish if we have to but that really is not how we like to do school and the intent would be to finish it in the traditional nine month school year. I am sure this has been discussed here but I didn’t come up with much on searching.

Ugh. My dh has been home since early last March. He has always worked long hours and it was not unusual for him to leave in the morning while I was still in bed and get home long past dinnertime. Now he is here all the time. It is so dramatic a change. He is here for every single meal. Every day. (after being used to him being home maybe four dinners a week...now it is 3 meals a day, 7 days a week. I don't cook for him all those times but he is here, rifling around my kitchen, messing with my ingredients and pantry organization). He was scheduled to start phasing back in June 2021. But now they say they are restructuring and for them to plan to return to the office a few times a year. Our 25th wedding anniversary is coming up. We have spent more time together the last year than probably for a decade combined. It has been...an adjustment. My oldest two dc are out of the house. #3 will be off to college in the fall. My last child is supposed to be going to a cottage school all day two days a week next year. After 23 years of full time homeschooling and kids at home I was supposed to have the house to myself a couple times a week. For the first time in 23 years. But now...I will not be alone. Ever again. (I know that is supposed to be fun to have alone time with dh... and I'm sure it will have it's moments. Lol. But I really was looking forward to being ALONE.) I saw a small office space advertised for about $200/mo. Hmmm

We have abandoned applications in the past because they just weren't homeschool friendly and the chance of winning or amount at stake deemed it not a worthwhile way to spend our time and aggravation. But good for you for jumping the hoops. It really might make a difference for your dd and those who come after.

I remember vaguely being at some wedding that was “adults only” and there were a couple kids. Maybe a niece and nephew or someone very close to the bride. Like the matron of honor’s children, maybe. I remember my mom saying I thought it was “no kids” and rolling her eyes whispering to another woman. But you know, it was just one of those things. If the day is the bride’s day and she can invite whoever she wants that includes some children and not others. Feelings are hurt regardless and really anyone with common sense should be able to see that the children of the maid of honor is different than children of a more distant friend or acquaintance. The 16 yo first cousin is different than the four year old child of a co-worker or whatever. People just need to have some common sense and extend some grace. I’m with you, @Quill

Yeah that is annoying. And of course they have a right to invite whoever they want but they also have a right to look at the individual situation and bend or break whatever the cut off is depending on the situation.

In the years I was shopping for a household of six I would get to the checkout and always let people with a couple items go ahead of me. I was never in that big of a hurry. But then I started shopping at Aldi and they don't have an express line. So I'd be standing there with an overflowing cart and people with a loaf of bread and a carton of eggs behind me. I got to where I would let two people go and then tell the next person "I'm sorry but I do have to checkout sometime." I hated that. People would get annoyed when they would see my big cart but I would be there all day letting people go ahead. And the checkout at Aldi always moved so fast it shouldn't have been a big deal. But I hated that whole interaction everytime and now I only do curbside. People with big families do eventually have to check out! LOL

Ugh. That is so frustrating. I don't know but I tend to be a bit skeptical anyone is actually calling these references to discuss the candidates. Maybe if it is a huge prestigious scholarship? So I might use one professor from de and the art teacher you mentioned. That is really annoying. My ds had a big scholarship I thought he had a chance at that required an academic recommender (and only one allowed). He had impressive leadership recommenders (and it was supposedly a leadership scholarship) but only a de professor for academics. I felt like we were trying to decide if it was best to disregard the instructions and use the awesome leadership recommendation or follow the rules and use the professor who he had only known for a semester. We are rule followers so we did that. He didn't get the scholarship. So there is that. It is hard when students are filling out these things and following the instructions puts them in a box but you have no way of knowing how rigid or flexible that box is behind the scenes. Grr. I would probably jump through the hoop of adding a watermark just to check the box. But Grr. My oldest was applying for a large outside scholarship and one question was how many AP classes the student had taken. There was no question about de or IB that is usually lumped in there. Just AP. He had 2 official AP classes from PA Homeschoolers and like 10 de classes from a four year school. He put 12 as the number of AP classes. He then was supposed to list them and he listed them and they were clearly college de classes, not AP. It wasn't following the instructions but just listing the number of AP classes didn't tell the story or ask the question I felt like they were trying to ask. He did win that scholarship. So, mostly just commiseration but also a vote that if you really can't make the questions make sense for your student I am comfortable with bending the answers a bit. I would certainly have no qualms about answering the school activity question by discussing her hobbies.

@mom2scoutsI think what you see with kids changing studios is common and not just to dance but to other kid activities/sports/etc. Friendships change both with kids and moms and people want fresh starts, personality conflicts with teachers or other students, people think they will have a better chance for solos, better parts, etc. somewhere else. Sometimes by that age some students will think that the teachers play favorites and they will never get their chance as long as they are in the same studio with the "favorites", another situation is a real or perceived better value financially, etc. My oldest son was a baseball player and players constantly changed teams trying to upgrade their place in the pecking order or get on a team that won more games. Or one that travelled more or travelled less or to get with the perceived best coach. Grass can sure look greener on the other side when you are so invested and trying to do the best by your kid. It isn't just dance. My 12 yo dd, who is not as serious of a dancer as others on this thread, switched studios this past year after five years. It was hard but the right move. She was having girl drama in her classes, teachers were not giving many corrections, and the studio was so big she was just kind of getting lost. Plus, recitals were a big sold out auditorium and were a ton of drama and expensive and a real pain. She switched to a tiny one room studio in an old office building that gets about 50 people in attendance at recital. She gets much more personal attention and performance time and has only 2 -4 other students in her classes and it is much cheaper. Whenever I talk to people from the old, big, busy studio they are perplexed why we changed to this rinky dink little one room studio but it is much better for us. One girl also followed her over and it is a better fit for her too. But it isn't just dance. People get dissatisfied with one particular thing and it makes them start looking around and thinking of trying something else. And the grass often does look greener elsewhere. Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't!

I was in a crowded Walmart one day and just slowly working my way through the aisles with my cart. A very tough looking woman in front of me said to her two companions. “This woman is trying to shove her cart up my ass and I’m going to knock her out.” So, yeah, fun times at Walmart.

Returning families get to register a little early at WTMA, usually, so I think you are in pretty good shape to get a second year if you know you plan on continuing and register when it opens. I have become a big consumer of online classes and my advice is to do your research and planning and be ready to register when it opens. Some fill very quickly. Most providers seem to try to add classes to meet demand but the most highly recommended teachers do tend to fill quickly. If you are particular about teachers and scheduling I wouldn’t advise putting it off.

My soon to be 8th grade dd is the baby of the family. Two older sibs out of college and the other one will be off to college in the fall. So, while she has always been somewhat on her own, she really will be the only child left at home. We are planning for her to attend a classical cottage school two days a week that teaches everything except math. So I am not planning anything except choosing an outsourced math class. She would like to take French so we will add that if we find a class that will work with the schedule. I’ve given over more and more of her schooling every year to outsourced classes which she has really enjoyed and done well with. So it don’t feel much like I am homeschooling. I’m really hoping this cottage school works out for her and she can do that for high school. I know I can provide academics for her at home but we feel very isolated and I can’t see getting her through high school without some social outlet. We’ve been trying but we aren’t a good fit in the homeschool community, our church is very small, and she just doesn’t click with the few kids she does know.

This is my stupid table. 53A9FC92-B20B-491F-99CB-C69A7E078938.webp

I do them ASAP. It is just the way I am wired! I get annoyed waiting for all the documents to come in. I am always anxious to see what/if we get anything back and nervous we will have to pay. So I like to get the numbers crunched. With the big kids launching and changes in the tax laws etc I worry we will be caught owing and that makes me anxious to get it done. However, if dh did the taxes he would be in no hurry ever and scrambling before the deadline. I realized this year that he is 46 years old and has never filed taxes himself. His mom did it and then we got married an I did it. He really wouldn’t even know where to start at this point.

I was reading the course description for Algebra 1 from Blue Tent and I noticed it said cameras had to be on for the live class. That surprised me as our experience with WTMA and MPOA did not involve regular use of cameras. It has been many years since we have had a class from AIM Academy and I don’t remember the details but a friend who had taken classes from AIM recently signed up for a class with MPOA and was really surprised/upset the students weren’t on camera. So maybe look into AIM Academy?