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pgr

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Everything posted by pgr

  1. Yes, I've researched this one in similar ways that you've described and it doesn't seem to be worth it. Thank you for your input!
  2. Our freshman DD has been invited by her university to join the Alpha Lambda Delta Academic Honor Society. I searched the threads and found several older posts about other academic societies, but nothing recent about this particular one. Any thoughts? TIA!
  3. There's also a massive manhunt still underway, with a shooter that is an incredible marksman, a skilled outdoorsman, and by all accounts - a meticulous planner.
  4. I know. I'm waiting for my daughter and husband to come home safely at the end of the day. Stay safe ❤️ .
  5. Amen to this! It also would have helped if he hadn't been well trained, but that's obviously not not true in most other cases.
  6. Thank you for the info about flight tracker. It's not like I can "help"... it's so hard to listen to them and feel helpless. They were circling above us when we went to close up our coop last night and started back at 5AM. We're not even in the lockdown area. At the very least, it's reassuring to know there is a huge team out there, searching.
  7. It seems like this is the perfect storm of a person who is both very capable of killing and hiding, but also possibly actively psychotic. I kind of wish all of Maine would lock down. I'm not too happy about my kid going to class at UMaine Orono tomorrow, especially given the fact that the suspect is UMaine Orono alumnus. @MEmama how do I filter for helicopters on the flight tracker? Is that a paid upgrade only or am I missing something? Ugh. Even in this age of information-instantly-at-our-fingertips, the not knowing and the wait are just awful. Stay safe ❤️ .
  8. @MEmama thank you! Watching the live scene along with you all.
  9. So glad our Maine boardies are OK, and thankful my UMaine freshman's classes were cancelled today. Where can I find helicopter flight radar? We've been hearing helicopters most of the day (we're in the Bangor area) and it's truly unnerving. He could be anywhere by now.
  10. Some say the "deathbed" edition is the one to read, others maintain that nothing compares to the original. I do know that the sheer number of poems differs greatly. What does the Hive say? Bonus points if you happen to know of an illustrated version. TIA!
  11. That's a good point, Lori. Thank you for all the suggestions!
  12. It looks like we'll be spending a fair amount of time in the car this year, and I thought my boys and I could listen to some of the books they'd otherwise read for literature. For some reason, I'm having a hard time coming up with a list of books with themes/scenes that are both appropriate for both a 7th grader and a 10th grader, and that won't be tuned out in the first five minutes. We've listened to a LOT of middle grade fiction with all three (oldest is 18 and now in college), but also really enjoyed works such as The Importance of Being Earnest and, just recently, Pride and Prejudice. We've also gone through the SOTW series. I do have a grand plan high school book list, but I don't know if my 12 year old is ready for many of them - e.g. (off the top of my head) The Catcher in the Rye, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Fahrenheit 451, The Grapes of Wrath, 1984, The Great Gatsby, Things Fall Apart, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, The Hate U Give, etc. There are so many good books out there - both traditional classics and ones that really need to be read, but I am just really struggling to come up with a list for both kids. Any ideas would be much appreciated!
  13. @Alte Veste Academy how do your kids take these classes; I mean online vs homegrown? My DD did Human Geography at home using an AP text, but didn't take the exam. I'm considering what to do with my DS. ETA: Do you use the text by Friedland and Relyea?
  14. @Lori D. your two cents are always worth their weight in gold, be they recommendations for specific resources or more general suggestions! 😘
  15. @Lori D. I, too, am waiting with bated breath! 🙂
  16. That’s awesome, thanks. We should find a class like that here.
  17. All great points, thank you @ScoutTN! Has anyone bought their kid a personal alarm (like Birdie or similar)? We know one kid who is considering bringing pepper spray with her when she goes to college, but to me that feels like it could potentially cause more problems than actually help.
  18. Yeah... my DD asked for my input because her college advisor asked her if she thought a 13hr day was doable for her. Thankfully, she's naturally a pretty organized and efficient worker and learner.
  19. Helping kids stay safe on campus has come up in discussions on another group, and it got me thinking. Other than discussing situational awareness and general common sense, what are your thoughts - especially for those just starting college? How do you help prepare a kid that grew up in a very small, rural town and is now starting school in a major metropolis? Or a kid that will be one of the few commuters and walking solo to parking at night? Or a student from another country that hasn’t had any “active shooter” drills at school (nor discussions at home) and likely comes from a different social culture?
  20. Have your kids received their schedules? All my DD's classes start at 8AM (which is fine), but one day a week her classes will be 8AM - 9PM. Intense.
  21. This is pgr's daughter, a graduating senior, homeschooled for 12 years. Here's my take, in no particular order or arrangement, written in my mind to any and all high schoolers: --Use online classes, but don't overdo it. My personal maximum is 3 live classes and 1 semi-asynchronous one. For specific providers, I agree that WHA has been excellent, particularly for science (I was in the same class as JennaH for AP Bio, and can second her recommendation of Mrs. Chen!). I also had a very positive experience with Schole Academy (for Latin, especially with Mr. Kotynski) and Clover Valley Chemistry (for organic/biochemistry). My only caveats for these would be that WHA and SA are both very distinctly Christian; however, despite having some fairly significant ideological disagreements, I enjoyed my time at both schools. Clover Valley Chemistry was a great source for me, as I plan to major in STEM; however, it might be too much for a non-STEM kid. That said, the class I took was the most advanced one offered at CVC, so that may be a factor. --If possible, take Senior Thesis. I took the Rhetoric 2/Senior Thesis class at WHA with Mr. Choi, and can highly recommend it. I spent all year researching a topic, writing a paper on it, and then presenting a speech and defense to a panel. What I particularly enjoy with WHA's approach (that I don't believe SA or WTMA utilize) is that anyone in the school, or anyone you invite, can watch your defense. It was extremely rewarding to share my research and work with my acquaintances from different schools. Also, if you plan to pursue a master's degree or a PhD, you'll already have a very rough understanding of the thesis process. --AP classes are great - in moderation. I took only 3 AP classes over all 4 years, and honestly cannot understand how people who take upwards of 10 APs manage it. My impression seems to be that colleges might not care about AP/DE as much as they care about whether you've challenged yourself. --If you plan to apply to a college that requires a personal statement (and many don't), start writing it early, maybe the spring of your junior year. I started mine the summer before senior year and had a fairly decent draft done by the fall, but I was still scrambling to fine-tune it in time to submit my ED application. --Extracurriculars shouldn't be a grind. I went to an online Latin club, participated in an online newspaper, and danced my freshman year. After COVID hit, the additional "extracurricular" spots on the Common App were filled with things like helping with a small business, distributing political signs, and taking care of the family chickens. I felt woefully under-enrolled, yet received a scholarship that was granted "not only for academic achievement, but also for your involvement in extracurriculars and your community". Go figure. --Don't ditch the middle grade novels and/or picture books. My family and I listen mostly to middle grade novels (i.e. geared for the 8-12yo audience) in the car, and it's been a delight. Characters like Ramona Quimby can provide just the respite you need after finishing essays, AP reading assignments, experiments, and/or tests. --Try to find an interest/prospective major, but don't panic if you don't. In some colleges, you declare your major in your application; in others, you don't choose one until sophomore year. Either way, you can always change it. However, it might be practical to dig deeper into the area(s) that interest you. But don't forget the other subjects! Even if you don't plan on applying to a super-selective school, most colleges like to see that you have 4 years of math, 4 of English, etc. And even if you don't want to go to college at all, it's still good to have all your bases covered. --Talk about college, but don't stress out over it. Set your expectations well ahead of senior year: will you be applying to selective schools or not? Large or small? State or private? Any particular affiliations or geographical locations? How much are your parents willing or able to pay (and keep in mind that this is something that can change unexpectedly, as it did for my family)? Do you want to attend graduate/medical/law/etc. school? The traditional 4-year college path isn't for everyone, but you should at least discuss your plans and options early, openly, and often. --Challenge yourself, but don't feel obligated to stick with something that doesn't work. On the other hand, just because it's annoying doesn't mean you should immediately give it up. For some subjects, we switched textbooks mid-year when a source that had always worked was suddenly no longer making sense at the next level. Conversely, I ended up grinding through a different excruciatingly long and boring work of literature and/or memoir every spring, and there's a sense of triumph on the other side. --Not every "course" needs to be neat and tidy. I read literature, discussed it with my mom, and wrote essays. We divided those books into rough categories, and those were the English courses on the transcript. As long as you have the skills and knowledge that's listed, no one cares if you actually read 1984 the same year as Animal Farm or War and Peace. --Don't assume that summers have to be free from school; rather, use them to do the projects and lessons that you didn't have time for during the school year. Very often, my (at home) strictly scheduled math was de-emphasized so that I could have time for my online classes during the school year, and I used the summers to catch up. Also, one summer, I compiled an index; another summer, I wrote a 30-page paper on a topic I was extremely interested in. We took those two, combined them with my memoir-reading, and made an elective course out of it on the transcript. In the end, I probably learned more from this independent study than if I had taken a similar, structured course. --Don't assume that a "self-paced" course will have less of a time commitment. I took a semi-asynchronous course this year (you had to complete the chapter's work within a 2- or 3-week block, but there were no live classes), and ended up spending more time on it than on one of my live online classes. --Finally, celebrate homeschooled high school! In my area, high schools distribute yard signs to seniors; we're putting together one on Shutterfly, featuring our homeschool's logo. You did it! Even if you don't have prom, a formal graduation, etc., your achievement is no less than that of the public schoolers, and you will do great things wherever you go next. Anyway, I hope all of that makes some sense, and hopefully it's at least a bit helpful to those still fighting the good fight! 🤓
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