I am teaching myself economics (macro and micro) before writing syllabi for each AP class. After that, I get to refresh all my US government before writing the syllabus for that AP class.

Iceland Great Britain Germany (heritage) Lithuania (heritage) Norway Greece Turkey Jordan Iran Egypt Morocco Kenya Tanzania Madagascar South Africa India Nepal Japan specifc parts of China (have visited other areas) Australia New Zealand random islands Galapagos Islands Machu Picchu the Amazon Antarctica

I have been to all 50 US states :D Bits and pieces of Canada And China (Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai, plus lots of rural areas) :yippee:

I would hate you if you hadn't/haven't been so helpful to us ;) My descriptions are almost done (working on the ones for this coming year). That transcript though... I don't even want to think about the other stuff until next month.

Awesome :)

And this is why I always recommend people check with the particular university first. Where exactly are the printing stations? How many are there? Older dd has to print a lot. This past year she could choose between a station in her (small, older) dorm, one just across the green from her dorm, one in the buiding where she had most her classes, and one in the student center housing the office for her main extracurricular activity (she often studied in the office).

Foam rolling, stretching, and using a theracane on the spots in my back/shoulder blades I just turned 50 and I lift heavy three times a week. I am in the best shape of my life after 18 months of regular training. My knees make noise but don't hurt. I get sore after trying for new personal records or trying a new exercise, or after unaccustomed exercise like a 10 mile hike. Soreness only lasts a day, though, so I stretch/roll and make sure I continue moving on the sore days!

Good gravy, the value of the pound :eek:

I am refreshing my browser every 10-15, watching the results shift back and forth. I wish dd were home----she'd watch and discuss with me but alas, she's 1000 miles away.

I took Raptor Dad's comment to mean the absolute end of financial aid by the best-endowed schools like Harvard. We are solidly into the upper middle class yet Harvard's Net Price Calculator says we have "need" :rolleyes:

Julia Denne's classes are highly recommended https://bytheonionsea.com

:grouphug: Thinking of you this morning :grouphug:

No trunk (unless it will be used as a "coffee table" in a very spacious room!); nesting suitcases or collapsible duffels would be better, 2 sets of towels, one set of sheets Check the website for number and location of printing stations. Some schools outlaw irons. One of mine used a laundry bag; one uses a basket.

Be prepared---a very, very long trip report follows... Ole Miss visit report We visited right before the start of their summer session so campus was a bit dead, with the exception of the Boys State contingent. D is interested in the Ole Miss programs in International Studies, Arabic, and Security Studies (a minor only). I will not address any other programs or majors. The town Oxford is a cute college town----courthouse square, restaurants/bars, shops, tree-lined streets of gorgeous houses----with an attached campus of 2500 acres, all surrounded by houses, apartments, more restaurants, big box stores, and businesses. But Oxford itself is pretty darn rural. We live in a university town smack in the middle of east coast suburban sprawl. D has grown up with a campus within walking distance. She shops on Main Street, grabs lunch out with friends, and studies for hours at a time at one of the many coffee houses, all the time surrounded by She felt very comfortable with Oxford. In fact, she expressed misgivings that it would be too comfortable since it was so much like home: same number of undergrads at 18,000; same size campus (not counting Ag College at home); similar sized downtown. The campus Ole Miss has an attractive campus full of mature trees and green spaces. The buildings' ages range from the Civil War era, through the unfortunate architecture of the 1960s-1970s, to current construction. There is a lot of brick! I was surprised by how hilly it is in areas. There are a number of fraternity and sorority houses arranged on their own streets. About 1/3 of women pledge a sorority. D has no interest in Greek life at all. Zero. Dorms for freshmen include the traditional bathroom-down-the-hall type with small rooms and new dorms with private bathrooms for each pair of students. Those dorm rooms are the largest and nicest I have ever seen (we have not visited Bama), almost like a hotel arrangement with the bathroom inside the room door, sink and vanity area outside the bathroom, and two large closets directly opposite (doorless---students hang curtains). There is plenty of space for the beds, desks, and dressers. I can easily imagine comfortable seating added. The rooms come with large refrigerators, the type with a separate freezer compartment. Older students can live in two residential colleges. Each consists of a four hallways of the larger private-bathroom rooms (plus lounges etc) arranged in a square surrounding an open courtyard. There are also apartment-style dorms. Dining is a special consideration for D due to food allergies and intolerances. Our first appointment was with the head of dining for the dining hall open during summer session (there are two other all-you-care-to-eat locations). She walked us through the lines/stations, explaining to D what she could eat safely and what could be prepared separately for her, and shared that she manages dining during the academic year for a student with the same combination of needs as D. She also showed D her office and told her to stop in at any time to talk with her or her assistant. D left feeling much relieved. In addition to the three "swipe" dining halls, there are numerous grab and go locations, two Starbucks, an Einstein Bagels in one of the engineering buildings, and a food court in the Student Union (ChickFilA, Qdoba, Subway, etc). Academics of interest D had arranged a meeting with the Croft Institute of International Studies. Joining us was a representative from Modern Languages who works with the Chinese Flagship Program. He was able to answer D's questions about the Arabic Program, which is not-quite a Language Flagship Program, because the director of Arabic was busy welcoming incoming students to the program that morning. All classrooms and offices are housed in the Croft building. It's from the Civil War era, kind of creaky, but freshly painted with modern touches. D thought it felt and smelled like some UDel campus buildings from the same era. There's a large covered porch where only Croft students are allowed to hang out. D says there is free coffee and tea available during the day in the kitchen (priorities!). There is one large classroom on the first floor and many small, conference-sized rooms on the other floors. Both the Arabic and Chinese programs begin the summer before freshman year with two intensive (very intensive) summer sessions. Students are in class for four hours each day, and spend the rest of the day in study groups, mandatory no-English office hours, and doing homework. Students with prior language knowledge may test of one or both sessions. Students have dropped out of both programs already. There are currently 7 incoming Arabic students (freshmen and transfers) and 4 students joining them for the second session next month (who applied after taking non-intensive Arabic last year). In order to major in IS at Ole Miss, a student must be admitted into the Croft Institute. About 70 students are accepted into each cohort. Students typically choose their regional concentration with associated foreign language before beginning freshman year (East Asia with Chinese, Japanese, or Korean; Europe with French, German, Italian, Russian, Portuguese, or Spanish; Latin America with Portuguese or Spanish; Middle East with Arabic). A thematic concentration mist be selected by the end of sophomore year (Global Economics and Politics; Global Health; International Governance and Politics; and Social and Cultural Identity). A 3.0 is required to continue in Croft past sophomore year. The Croft Institute has adapted the College of Liberal Arts gen ed requirements to fit the IS major---the foreign language, history (6 cr), and social science (6 cr) courses are automatically part of the major. Remaining gen ed requirements are writing (6 cr), literature (6 cr), other humanities (3 cr), fine arts (3 cr), and natural sciences (9-11 cr). The IS major requires 44 specific credits, including research methods and a senior thesis with defense. Study abroad for a minimum of one semester is required. Summer language acquisition is encouraged but does not count toward study abroad. Note: summer language study is required for the Chinese and Arabic programs. Today D met a rising junior double major in Croft and Arabic plus a double minor. She told D that she usually takes 18 credits a semester and does winter and summer sessions "for fun" (definitely my dd's kind). Croft and Arabic (or Chinese, by extension) merge very well and it is "easy" to do many programs as long as "you manage your time well." This young woman just scored at advanced low/advanced mid levels in her ACTFL, before her real study abroad period. I can see how the Superior rating is achieved by students in the Arabic and Chinese programs. The scholarships --automatic merit based on ACT/SAT scores and GPA (33/1440 and 3.0+ equivalent to free is/oos tuition!) --competitive $8K annual scholarships from Croft and from Honors --scholarships for summer study from Arabic and Chinese programs --NMF scholarships covering the cost of tuition and room ++ --oodles of other stackable scholarships, both automatic and competitive $1-$10K annual amounts, including $8K from the Center for Maufacturing Excellence --Stamps Foundation full ride + Ole Miss is now at the top of my liberal Yankee daughter's college list, pushing out American and George Washington. We still have to visit Oklahoma (Arabic Flagship) and Ohio State.

We'll be putting dd on a plane early from San Jose back to her summer study, then dh and I will spend the day with The Boy :party:

Congrats (on so many levels!) to snowbeltmom and ds :party:

Youngest is the outlier. She gets antsy after 2 weeks of nothing academic :lol: The older two definitely needed full breaks from regulated academics! Ds messed around on his laptop (he now earns $$$ in Silicon Valley). Older dd would write and read and write and read (English/French major).

If you're talking about a particular course instead of the overall high school career, you first need to make sure you are working with high school level materials. Is the textbook one commonly used in high schools? Are the novels on lists of high school classes? What's covered in the science---is it bio, chem, physics? If not (astronomy, geology, environmental science), are the books and labs meant for high school aged students? Math---algebra, geometry, what? (Sorry, need to rescue food cookinig!)

We skipped thermo. Dd is not heading into a STEM field. We also skipped all the orgo chapters. Dd had done a very solid algebra-based physics the year prior.

I brag about things like older dd's internship this summer (super competitive) and when The Boy got The Job. I have never posted anything about Dean's List, despite the older two being on it every single semester. I don't tag the kids in those posts. The Boy is on facebook under an alias because of work. Darn tootin' I'm going to brag about dd's acceptances and scholarships! (No number specifics, though) All the high schools do so---why shouldn't I?

I may need to go stock up on chocolate for this process. Or wine. Or tequila :lol: I appreciate all the sharing you all do every day.

Dh built me an enclosed raised bed garden last year to protect the veggies from visiting deer and groundhogs. This year I have Spinach Lettuces Onions Garlic (almost ready to pull; I plant in the fall) Carrots 3 types of tomatoes Jalapenos Sweet peppers, that cute small size (large ones are hard to get to red/orange/yellow here before cold) Cucumbers for pickling 2 types of summer squash Green beans I started asparagus this spring :) I also have Rhubarb 9 blueberry bushes Blackberries Raspberries (late frost this year so nothing for early summer)

:grouphug: I will be holding you and your family in my thoughts. :grouphug:

My dd participates in Youth in Government and in Model UN (also through the Y---she doesn't have to be a member). They have been valuable extracurriculars :)

There's a darn good chance I'll be doing the same thing, Sebastian. Care to share the textbooks?