Isn't it so exhausting looking for shoes? I am sorry you also have shoe issues.... Unfortunately we can't go to high end shoe stores either because she is 11.5 or 12 size, and they never have them in stock! It's like, a super frustrating thing.

So the back of my dd's foot has "no heel" it comes straight down from her leg, and doesn't sort of come out at an angle like most people's heels. If you look at her foot, the heel is also smaller in width. This presents a challenge with shoes! They slip right off the back. We've tried EVERY kind of sticker, insert, padded thing, etc. Her solution is in summer to wear sandals with adjustable heel straps and then switch straight to boots. The only problem is as cool as she thinks her boots are, they aren't actually for every occasion, and also certainly not for exercise. Currently she is taking her daily 40 minute walk in her boots... So I thought on this vast board with so many people maybe there's someone else who has no heel 🙂 (My dh has not much of a heel and he wears the skinny style Nike sneakers but hers is more pronounced (or less pronounced!) )

So far we like the Brave Writer idea, and Personal Finance! It would be great if she could code, as there are many digital arts degrees that include coding, but she tried it and definitely hates it/doesn't have the knack for it. I think I finished the last 30% of her coding project her dad forced upon her in hope that all his progeny would be coders assigned to her and that says a lot because I stink at it. 🙂 Thanks, these are all food for thought!

DD11th grade currently taking: Algebra 2 (TT and tutor), US Government and Civics, Honors British Lit, ASL 3, and Chemistry at co-op Advanced Art Studio w/ private teacher The Us Gov is only one semester... She is applying to 4 schools as Graphic Design major ....her GPA and SAT are most important, for her top school, her portfolio important for the other one. ...so keeping a good GPA while maintaining a workload that will PREPARE her for college at a big school like Penn State is the goal... Outside accountability would be good, if it's an online self paced class. Should I have her take another art related course, or maybe Economics? (She would really hate that)...not sure what else there is... ??

My son had pretty high stats, 20 concurrent college classes including very high levels of math, had worked paid job for two silicon valley startups, and also he had consistent year round and summer jobs....but not a lot of consistent leadership...he really wanted some pretty elite elites, and he didn't get in. PennState Engineering has a low acceptance rate (about 15%) and he got in, and is extremely happy there!!! Already feeling like he's at the top of the class, getting straight A's, enjoying clubs and activities and got into a special living option for Engineers. He is truly happy and learning and has enough opportunities to be challenged. Though this first semester is easy, it will get hard very soon. 🙂 Honestly, it's ok. Have her apply to some reach, some target and a safety and see how it all goes. Keep having those conversations about how things happen for a reason and that she can always bloom where planted. Don't forget to consider, as mentioned above, the big schools, as well as the small privates that are second tier almost-elite, because they might give her a ton of merit money! What you want is a happy healthy student and person, not to go bankrupt or stress out too much.

nm

Absolutely agree. That's why I said to vary the playing field. ...you are correct and I did not intentionally omit non-elite smaller schools.

Well she does have some very advanced classes she TEACHES herpetology she has the cool blog and FB page or whatever (never did check it out cause I'm kinda afraid of snakes but I think that's something very cool and unique.) Are you sure you want her to go to college as a 15 year old? Perhaps you don't need to apply right now, but give her an extra year. She may be able to recover from her injuries and resume her sport (was it cheerleading can't remember) or consider related sports such as dance teams...(assuming it was cheerleading) but some sports that are more hard on joints often have related sports which are not. ... Even if you did want her to apply right now, she already has some pretty neat accomplishments, some very advanced classes, she's super unique with the reptile thing...and assuming her SAT scores are good, she's got a lot going for her. It looks like she's attending a conference in NZ for her reptile thing- that's super unique. I wouldn't stress it at all. Also remember there are a lot of big schools, with big names that count GPA, then SAT's then look at rounding out the population a bit. If you're applying to the smaller elites you'd have a hard chance of getting in no matter what. So be sure to include some of the bigger top 30's on your list (Penn State UC Chapel Hill, Ohio State, Michigan as well as some schools slightly less selective but smaller...) Just vary the playing field and it'll be fine. 🙂

Maybe you should try the practice Khan test before even worrying about it. She may surprise you! 🙂

She did have her PhD but I would not have cared Id she had not. It was her track record and who she was that made me willing to sacrifice.

Honestly the experience and proven track record is worth more than the degree. Like daijobu, we paid 75/hr my sons 8th grade year for AOPS Algebra 1, because he needed a break from Saxon and to see math in a new a different way. She had tutored many kids, sent all her kids to UCLA or Berkeley, her daughter went to China for mathcounts and she coached a successful mathcounts team for over ten years .plus she was happy, cheerful, kind, sweet and humble and never made me feel stupid for not knowing math. She was the best of the best of the best and she made all the difference! That one year with her made my son love math. 💖💖

High COL here as well- grad student or teacher with teaching or tutoring experience with enthusiasm and proven track record - who is going to really build a relationship with your student and take very occasional emails in between - about 60-70/hr Grad student with No experience teaching - about 45 College Sophomore with plenty experience and recommendations - 45 A friend of ours is tutoring my daughter for 20.00 for 45 minutes - huge discount, and I don’t know why we got that lucky except she knew she’s not doing a lot of actual teaching more like just accountability so she can do it when her brain is already tired. But still, I feel bad! Her going rate is 50/hour which around here is already a bargain.

Agreed, I remember when we were first married (and young and stupid) my husband thought I should learn how to program. After all I am intelligent! I was able to understand the book, memorize things, and even read other people's programs and make detailed hand drawn five page flowcharts that were all correct. BUT I COULD NOT actually write my own program (aside from the obvious hello world)....seriously, there is something not there in my brain. NOT Everyone can be a programmer! We later took detailed IQ tests and found out that every part of my IQ is gifted range or way above gifted, EXCEPT logic and creativity which were marginally above average. 🙂 You gotta be creative and make logical leaps. There are already kids literally crying in class at PennState due to Calc 1 and the first CS class....I hate to say it but most of them will not make it into the 46% that get to stay in the engineering program. And that's ok. Luckily they have about 160 other majors to choose from 🙂

Same with my son.....we heard horror stories about Math 140 at PennState, so my son started there instead of 141...(he could have actually started the classes AFTER 141 even but we were so afraid he'd get a bad GPA and not be able to stay in engineering)... SO he's literally trying not to fall asleep and fighting the urge to play on his phone during class. He's three weeks ahead in homework ... BUT it's better for them to have classes which are too easy while they adjust, than classes which are too hard!! And, hitting it right on the nose is practically impossible so... they'll just be bored for one or two semesters and hopefully have good GPA!

I used this calculator - https://gpacalculator.net/high-school-gpa-calculator/ "Regular classes will be given points according to the standard scale (A = 4, B = 3, C = 2). For Honors, grades will be increased by half a point. Grades for College / Advanced Placements / IB courses will be increased by a whole point." This is very standard

This iS SO AWESOME!! I really wonder if the suite-style living arragements help with socializing and not being isolated, since there's a living room sort of right in the middle. My son is in a special living option that hosts events, parties, academic stuff and requires participation but everyone is still very isolated...strolling down a hallway with doors closed makes it really hard to meet people, even if you do reach out constantly via group chat. I know my son is feeling a little lonely here and there and it will take time to really connect, and make friends...I AM SO HAPPY for your daughter! (But it's a Note to Self for my up and coming daughter not to spurn the idea of the suite style dorms)

We ended up dropping the co-op math and doing Teaching Textbooks. It turns out after also quietly talking to some of the other parents that they are teaching thier kids the math every single night, and the class is only for them to get public school credit (a CA thing that doesn't affect us as private homeschoolers)...so basically the class is almost completely pointless for them and they felt it would be impossible for anyone that couldn't teach their kid the math every night. SO I feel justified at least. She tested out of the first two chapters, and is doubling up from now until the end of September, with the ultimate goal of finishing TT Alg 2 before her March SAT. Also then between March and May she will start TT pre-Calc or use Khan academy test prep to increase her score if we think she needs it. We also decided for her to focus on art instead of piano and think about doing a real Art Portfolio, so to that end we have secured one of her old art teachers and they'll start in October. It seems strange to decide that already weeks into the school year but the fact is she plans to do nothing with music, and something art=related will be her career one way or another. Plus she loves art! So....just feels weird to make changes even in JUnior year but it's hard finding co-op classes for certain subjects that really work, and it's also hard fine tuning what your kids need for college and their future!

Most of us (the vast majority) don't have local AP classes as an option, so that factors in. The vast majority of homeschoolers taking AP are doing them online. But even in person, I'm glad to know how you feel. We do have one private Christian homeschool academy that offers a LOT of AP classes. It's not close enough to me, to have been an option for either of my kids, but I am friends with people who will be considering it in the years to come. ....I probably would still encourage them toward DE unless it was being in the Christian academic environment that they'd be looking for.

This is what I mean about DE being a much more valuable personal and interpersonal learning experience. THough you will have 50% of DE classes being rather too "easy" and not super engaging, the other 50% really grow your kid as a person- and they have at least the chance of interacting with a prof or adjunct who really enjoys the material, as well as other students- adults and teens both- who are interesting and engaging people. AP is a total information dump, test-factory situation. That, in and of itself, is a learning experience, of course. But I really encourage people, now that we have done so much of both, to do DE if they're on the fence.

How old is he? I find that kids reach 18 and they want to get the heck outta their parents life. My son is a GREAT kid, we had only one big issue with him, one time at age 15, that lasted a few hours and was over. Seriously, we all got along great, and when mom reminded/nagged/gave too much advice he always let it roll off his back but never truly ignored it- best friends with his dad, gets along with sister, had two good local friends and summer jobs, independence (his own car) ...and YET there are very few happy copacetic obladi-oblada situations that I know of, even with good kids, that stay home full time for college. In fact all of my IRL friends that have kids living at home full time over the age of 18 are having DAILY fights, constant problems. Really truly frustrating and exhausting for both parents and kids. They're tired of your advice, and they want to figure things out for themselves. They need a change and they often don't realize it till it's too late. It happened with both my nephews, with my son, with me and all my 5 siblings growing up, in one way or another, and almost invariably they don't realize they are ready to go until they are and by then it would have been too late to apply. Your ds sounds like he's happy and he is willing to save money and that's great. He also sounds like a centered, content young man. BUT I would still MAKE him apply to three universities that he has a good chance of going to and that you can afford. This way, if he suddenly wakes up by the end of this year and goes geez i'm a grown man and I wish I wasn't stuck here, he will have options!! 🙂

Mine- she is a junior this year but won't take them at all. 1. That level of stress doesn't seem necessary 2. If she wanted to make her transcript look better she would DE 3. She is going for Graphic Design and her focus should be on her art, and her portfolio as much as academics 4. AP doesn't usually give you college credit, or save you money nowadays and DE is a more enriching experience as far as social, interactive, learning how college works (adds, drops, withdrawals, office hours) so I think personally I will definitely encourage my IRL friends to lean towards DE not AP.

Now that she's back to four year, I don't see that it will be a big deal unless you/she had really slacked on her education because of cc plans. As far as living away at a cc, that was my dd's plan for a while because of her horse and the expense associated with it, plus this cc had a very strong equine training and management program. I was very worried about it because her horse trainer told me stories. The dorms have no RA's and no real rules, and there was a ton of date rape culture, the dorms were very small and men and women share the same floor, and it just seemed like kind of a place that "good for nothing" young men would end up. I later found out that they were especially signed up for and recruiting the released inmates from a local jail. ONly violent offenders were not allowed to live on campus, but all other offenders were- these are 18-20 year olds who already have a history of drug use, theft, car theft, gang issues, and more. .... In my memory, including people in my family, affluent families send their kids to a private junior college not a CC that happens to have dorms. The cc that has dorms is kind of a whole 'nother shindig - that seems to be for Rural families where during the winter especially, getting to the CC would be a long enough or very difficult drive but can't afford a four year for three times the money or Young adult Students who want to try getting somewhere/a fresh start start but whose families don't WANT them at home and/or not ready to shell out $ for four year. (case in point released inmates)

LOL, that's very funny about Omma... I feel like it can't hurt, so I make and save syllabi, course descriptions, and some samples or tests and table of contents/name of textbook where applicable. It's not that much paper! All of high school fits in one 3inch, 3 ring binder. So, why not?

that may not be true depending on the college, one example happens to be St Joe's of Philadelphia. They require course samples, course outlines, and names of textbooks for courses for homeschoolers. It can't hurt to save more info so that you can furnish it if your children happen to apply to colleges which require such things.

You know, I never thought of it that way. IN high school AP physics we were allowed a card, but mine was super haphazard. I barely got a B 🙂 Maybe if I had considered it a bit more I would have had a better grade ! LOL Should she get one card for the whole year or one card each unit...sorry to be asking so many questions!