That's great! Congrats to you both!

Our local library, which is tiny & abysmal, expanded their YA bookshelves a few years ago. I do see a shrinkage coming eventually but it hasn't hit yet. We live in the middle of the country so we're about 5-10 years behind the coasts in trends.

@BusyMom5 A SI of 214 should get her commended, but Commended level won't be known until Spring of 2020. As a homeschooler, you'll receive a letter in April-ish that won't use the word "commended", but basically lets you know your kid's SI is Commended level or higher. The curve this year was harsh on the main administrative date. She should be proud of her score.

This. At least our old, saggy couch was comfy. Ugh. Sofa regret. Only have 17 more years of this uncomfortable one... I have a special vacuum that scrubs/washes linoleum & tile floors. I thought I would love it. I hate it. It lives in the closet. It is unwieldy, loud, and a pain to get ready to go. I'm too guilty about buying it to donate it. So it sits in the closet making me feel bad that I don't haul it out to scrub the kitchen floor more often.

If anyone else wants one data point, feel free to PM. @katilac's DD has lived in the Honors community longer so maybe she can pipe in, too. My DD just finished her first semester. The Honors community (her suitemates & other kids in her classes & dorm) has been one of the very best things out of a slew of good things about college. Of course, not everyone finds their crew right away -- as evidenced by previous & current threads of "how's your Freshman doing?" The Honors College housing at UAH provides a smaller 'pot' to help find other students with similar interests & abilities. It is no guarantee of friends, of course. All the freshmen in the Honors dorm take two of the same classes (several different sections) no matter what AP/dual credits they come in with which provides two common discussion topics right off. One other common discussion topic, I'm told, is what you wrote for your honors essay (favorite word).

@chiguirre I recommend reading Art's blog post about the percentile issue. There are two percentiles given -- one is made up & means nothing. The other is based on three previous year's scores & is less meaningless but basically no help at all. @mlktwins I'll try a stab at it, but might not be able to reply until tonight so take any better offers you have. If no one else helps, shoot me a PM this afternoon.

Big River Academy has "Write Shop" but they recommend 6th grade & up. Excelsior Online Classes have Young Learner English B using Rod & Staff's 4th grade materials. It looks like they don't grade homework.

PM'd you.

Love the impatient/inpatient pun. Glad things are looking better! Hope you get to go home soon.

Neber heard of the bike or the ad until this post. I didn't really see anything out of the ordinary about it. Most ads are cheesy or weird, aren't they? I'm over 40 & could not empathize with the gin ad at all. Perhaps because I've never been friends with people who drink? When my friends have a tough time, it has unfortunately been a death in the family & we gather to pray & hug at their home. A bar? Encouraging our friend to get sloshed? Not my reality. But, I'm not offended--just not a fan. Note: We have no TV access so the only ads I see on a regular basis are the ones on YouTube that I can't block & the ones on Duolingo if I want to earn more XP.

My dd#1 took Chem at the local state college (a 4 yr, not a CC) because one semester was more enticing than spending a year in AP Chem, time-wise. She enjoyed her non-honors online Chem course through Excelsior a couple years prior and excelled in the Chem course at the college senior year. Her major only requires one semester of Chem & the college Chem class transferred to cover it, so she didn't have to take it at her current college. (Many of her friends are in it now & they complain about it.) It was the right decision for her even if it hadn't transferred. There is no way she would have enjoyed ChemAdvantage's non-live, arduous, time-consuming class. Live classes were definitely her thing. Plus, her college class was much, much less time-consuming homework-wise even though it sucked up a lot of in person time for class & lab. Know they student & check on ratemyprofessor to see how the local class/prof are.

@freesia I think they normally don't list the Saturday testing info. ... Perhaps also relating to this change? (My DD couldn't keep her booklet from a Wednesday administering but was allowed to retrieve it from the school once scores were released.)

So much of this is true for my ds#1 & ds#2 except none of us has completely given up. The boys mostly don't do it unless DH or I am there, so they aren't nearly as far along as one would expect at mid-year. There are some activities they do completely on their own, but I would say many (not half, but plenty) are more adult-involved than I thought they would be. I do science with them twice per week but they should be doing it two other times on their own per their schedule. I haven't decided what that means for next year.

I'm a big Oxford comma person but wouldn't dwell on the omission. They included all the names & that is more important. The time to catch such a thing is the proof copy of the inscription that was likely approved by whoever paid for the stone. At least, that is how it is done here.

Compared to the ACT, the SAT is leisurely. For kids who are not fast computers or readers, I recommend the SAT. My dd#1 took both, scored comparably, & always ended up with more time on the SAT, especially on the math sections. The Science & Math sections of the ACT require rigid time management, judgment of when to guess & skip, and an ability to skim effectively. Slow readers (& those which fatigue easily) are at a huge disadvantage on the ACT due to all the reading in the English & Reading tests. On a side note, I am always amused at how we can stray from the original topic on these threads. ;)