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8filltheheart

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Everything posted by 8filltheheart

  1. Yes, she does. That perspective in the 1st bk is that of 11 yo boys. She is really more like an insatiable sponge that always wants to learn and understand more vs waiting to be told or left guessing or in ignorance.
  2. Right. She also illustrates the ability to see the big picture or offer perspectives outside of everyone else's.
  3. Far too literal. (Her parents weren't wizards, but she had the gift!) I think the spin is more along the lines of not having to know or be an expert yourself. I dont know French, but my dd taught herself to fluency. I cant do math beyond alg2 at this pt in my life, but I have really strong math kids (one who graduated high school with a math minor). I know absolutely nothing about music but my 8th grade dd is heading to All State for both choir and orchestra. The pt is to not think about education like a school does or with limits.
  4. Yes. Hermione is the perfect example of an internally motivated student who if asked what she wants to learn would have answers to share. Providing her the resources to accomplish her goals would allow her to thrive and learn without an artificial boundary. Her mentality is my goal for my kids. Most of my kids have been that way in at least some areas even if not all. Some have been there in everything.
  5. I could come with an angle. Can you imagine what Hermione would have studied/read if she could have studied whatever she wanted? Your options are limited by your imagination, a library card/internet search/book store/budget. I have a kid who spent a yr on black holes and time warps.
  6. Can you elaborate? We were told by our financial advisor that Roths, even for kids, were limited by income. One of our teenagers inherited a small monthly stipend from an aunt and Roth was not an option for her bc she doesn't make that amt in income.
  7. NSTA's winner booklist (goes all way back to 1996 Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K–12 | NSTA 2 that are older and not updated but have great lists: An old poster who is now deceased created a great booklist on Library Thing: nmoira's books | LibraryThing Charlotte Mason Tripod charlottemason.tripod.com I would also recommend Great Courses. The guides that come with the courses often have excellent book suggestions.
  8. Are you supposed to talk products or ideas? I personally believe that homeschoolers today are surrounded by marketing overload. You could expand your focus and only briefly mention a few places for finding materials and then spend the majority of your talk on the benefits of homeschooling gifted kids specifically bc of flexibility in content, inputs/outputs, and developing interests. I 2nd the foreign language suggestion. And as I'm learning with my youngest, you should definitely incorporate your own love into your talk, music. (Homeschooling is a huge bonus for those 2 paths.) You could talk about finding passions and how to find resources in the broader context to help them explore ideas/interests/talents.
  9. I include a fine arts cr on my kids' transcripts. Is it necessary? Depends on the school, but it is necessary for them to meet my requirements. A fine arts cr is just a single (small) step toward a balanced education. Some of my kids have only had art or music history. Others have had a combo. I'm not quite sure how I'll handle my youngest who is both a singer and a musician. At this pt she only has performance/training type background, but I will require her to take music history bc if she majors in music, she will be required to take music history.
  10. RIght. I have used actual classes with actual teachers in the past. I didn't lose MY day or the day working with my other kids. The child involved didn't stay ALL day and lose an entire school day. (Band and a biology class taught by an AP bio teacher are 2 that my kids have done in the past.) I am not willing to lose an entire school day for social reasons. If the discussion is only around under 4th grade kids, then no biggie. But older kids, no. Routine and establishing a firm mental commitment with the kids that school is the priority during the school year is absolute. I have a nothing before 1 or 2 rule in general. They can get up early and finish before 1 if it is something they are committed to participating in. If schoolwork isn't finished, we don't go. I'm very hardnosed about it and have only allowed a few exceptions (and those exceptions have been things I have weighed with as much value as they have.) But, equally, my kids have all ended up being self-motivated to do their work bc know that if they want to socialize then schoolwork has to be completed. It is the non-negotiable priority. We have moved a lot over the yrs. Working on making a social network for the kids has always been a responsibility I have taken seriously. We have always managed to make great friends. It may not have been immediate, but it has always been doable. And it hasn't required sacrificing a school day to do it. Afternoon social opportunities have been pretty plentiful.
  11. When you say you have run NPCs, I am curious how deep the calculators' questions probe bc NPC's are only as good as their actual questions. The 18% you contribute to retirement funds will be added back into gross income when at schools that use the Profile (IOW, yrly contributions are not deducted from your "useable" income.) IOW, your $20K estimate might be on the low side of what you would actually see at private schools (especially at schools that don't exclude home property value in their formula.)
  12. I would not leave any 9th grade classes off the transcript. I personally include all high school work completed before 9th on there in a <9 section. My current 8th grader will have 6 courses listed that way. In terms of repeating, if depends on the student. I have 2 kids who did not repeat and did not need to. They never missed a beat. My current college sr who is a STEM major repeated her cal sequence but was more than happy to test out of chemistry. Repeating cal gave her an easy transition to college bc it was simple review and she is a highly anxious person. It benefited her. Her brothers would have been fuming at stagnating and wasting time.
  13. Yes, my ds is one for whom meds don't really solve any problems, some even make him highly unstable. It all has to be mental training. And he has to be all-in in committing himself to goal outcomes or it will not happen. Habit training is hard work. They have to want these steps toward independent adulthood.
  14. Lol....not suggesting that friends and games are a waste of time! Just inappropriate use of time in the middle of school. Browsing the internet doesnt necessarily seem as obviously inappropriate.
  15. This is why I would connect distraction and internet surfing with physical time. It helps them connect that surfing on the internet consumes and wastes as much time, if not more,than if they were off doing something else completely. Wasting time on the internet is not less innocuous than wasting time watching TV, hanging out with friends, playing a game, etc. It is actually more so because it doesn't seem real.
  16. Noise cancelling headphones with Spotify playing wordless sound tracks.
  17. There is no real incentive for him to change his behavior. You nag, big deal. If he does it continuously, you'll just nag him again. For some kids, that is enough to help them change behavior. It obviously isn't for him. I would give actual consequences. I would warn him, "You need to stay on task. If you start watching youtube (or whatever time waster) again, X is the consequence." For my kids, it might be cleaning the bathroom, running laps around the house, taking out the trash.....something physical that reminds them that they are wasting time when they internet surf.
  18. What happens when you see him watching videos instead of doing school work? Is it just nagging to get him to do his work? I don't play nag. I am hammer. It is just no. Period.
  19. Where is he doing his work? Where are you while he is working? I don't let my kids do their work in their bedrooms. They work at the kitchen table. I am either sitting at the table or working in the kitchen or walking in and out. I grade their work as it is done. I check in with them all of the time. Youtube would be a no-go here. Consequences for wasting school time exist in our home and always have. It just isn't allowed. Spotify is allowed. Playlists are not created during school hrs. Typically, only soundtracks like LoTR are allowed during school hrs. FWIW, instilling good habits matters right now. In 3 yrs he is going to be an independent adult. I would definitely work on "self" training now.
  20. Academically that doesn't seem like too much for an avg 10th grader, especially with this added descriptor: Theater is a huge time consumer, but I agree with @kokotg that it is also a huge source of socialization, positive reinforcement, and ego boosting for kids. I personally limit my kids activities without qualm bc they have plenty of social outlets. If life doesn't feel balanced, then putting life back in balance is a huge priority for our family. Wants don't outweigh needs and I see that as my role as parent---making sure they are learning to manage all of the balls necessary as they transition toward adulthood. If you don't want him to participate in the next production, then that is your call to make. BUT, I would make sure that the extra time gained is used purposefully. It sounds like he needs EF training. (He doesn't sound like he is thriving with the procrastination mentality, so I don't think it sounds like a positive thing in his life.) I would work with him on learning how to plan daily schedules which include thinking forward to deadlines and breaking the deadlines into manageable daily steps. IOW, don't just take away the production. Replace the production with skills training and helping him feel successful and less stressed. Then, when he gets involved in the next production, help him factor in the new time constraints and create daily schedules that are realistic and meet all goals.
  21. Your post was excellent. You shouldn't have deleted it!
  22. Another fwiw, I don't even think about high school when my kids are in 7th grade. I'm not even thinking about it this yr with my youngest (of 8 homeschooled kids) who is an 8th grader, and she is currently taking a full high school academic load (geometry, biology, Russian, US history, English, plus violin). What happens yr to yr happens from yr to yr. We'll figure out next yr at the end of this one. 🙂
  23. Exactly. Those 2 just did what they did. It wasn't anything pushed, asked for, or presented as ideas for them to pursue. It was just who they were and naturally inclined to want. 5 of my other kids were not that way (hence, unfortunately, not competitive for full ride scholarships.) My youngest seems to be similar to the other 2 except her passion is for music (which also unfortunately seems unlikely to yield scholarships). The simple answer is to set your sights on affordable options with automatic scholarships. And those schools.....SAT scores at this pt still matter for scholarships. I would recommend researching how college applications and scholarships work. Typically, if you graduate your child and they take even 1 college class post-high school graduation then they are no longer eligible for freshman scholarships. I think your "stubborn self" might unwittingly sabotage his application process. A Dec graduation will not be viewed as advantageous bc schools are used to dealing with the norm which is a traditional school yr. They aren't going to see early graduation as anything other than that and wonder why he wasn't doing something productive academically spring semester.
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