My dd suffers from a chronic illness, and part of her treatment (along with meds, etc.) is to get at least 6-10g salt per day - 6,000-10,000mg - and drink 100-120 oz. That is a LOT of salt! When she was diagnosed over a year ago, we began increasing salty foods (bacon at breakfast, pretzels for snacks, etc.) and we made half of her fluid intake electrolyte drinks (Powerade, Propel, etc.), but we still weren't coming anywhere neat that number. She tried salt pills, but they upset her stomach. Last month someone suggested that she measure out 3tsp of salt in the morning (approx. 6000mg) and put it in a baggie or cup and try to empty it by the end of the day. This is really helping! We thought we were doing well before, but now we actually know how much she is getting. The first few days were rough, and she was really balking at my suggestion to put it in her drinks, etc., but she is getting better at it now. I even watched her salt her banana the other day (yuck!). It's not something she would choose to do, but she'll do anything to feel better.

Dd1 finishes this afternoon and will be riding the train home tonight! :party: Dd2 was the only person who showed up for her (local college) class last night--kind of annoying, but she got a 90-minute private lesson. :001_smile:

Ugh, I hope other schools don't follow suit! Dd (also a junior) took the SAT in May and has no interest in re-testing. So far, VA Tech is the only school I can find that will require the new SAT for current juniors. Here's the definitive blurb from Yale: For freshman applicants to the Yale Classes of 2021 and 2022, we will accept either the current SAT or the redesigned SAT and will require the essay portion on the redesigned SAT. Applicants to the Yale Class of 2023 or later will be required to submit the redesigned SAT with essay.

:grouphug: , Faith. I am so sorry to hear of your parents' accident. You have been through so much this year. Thinking of you and hoping that your parents recover quickly. :grouphug: And congrats on your ds's successes! Wonderful news - wishing him lots more. :001_smile:

I'm loving reading the updates. So glad to hear that everyone is settling in well! Dd1 is doing well but is working insane hours. Art school is crazy! On her longest days she has 8 hours of class, and on top of the number of hours spent in class, the assignments are overwhelming. For example she has a 1-credit class that routinely requires 40 illustrations to be completed every 2-3 days (and these are huge illustrations.) Dd has bandaids on several fingers. :unsure: She is doing well, but I think she is starting to wonder if she really wants this kind of life for herself long term. She loves, loves, loves her Honors College, though! She has already made lots of friends, she signed up for the Honors Council, she ran for office and WON (!), and she has been to four additional sponsored lectures/discussion panels. I am so proud of her. I think that given the pressure she's under, it would be really easy to sit in her single room and work herself to death, but I'm so glad she's making room for college life too.

It's still considered a 4.0 scale even with the weighted values. For instance, a student with all AP classes and straight A's (impossible, I know) would have an official gpa of 5.0 on a 4.0 scale.

Sorry to chime in late here, but dd2 took DO's AP Calculus class in 9th and scored a 5 on the AP. After finishing the class that April, she used the eIMACS test-prep materials leading up to the May exam. Like Gr8lander's dd, our dd found Derek's class very doable and not too time-consuming, but she has done just as well in her university level classes thus far (Calc 1, 2, 3, and Linear Alg.) We were very happy and will definitely have our other dd's take his class in the future!

:grouphug: Poor thing! I'm so sorry. I am thinking of her and wishing her a full and speedy recovery and understanding profs!

That's a lot of partying! I don't blame him. We just dropped dd1 off yesterday for her freshman year. I did so well and managed to say goodbye without crying. And then I got home, cried myself to sleep, and woke up with a migraine. I couldn't be more excited for her....but it still hurts. Luckily our 3yo isn't missing a beat, so I don't have much time for wallowing in self-pity!

Thank you, Lisa. That's so kind of you. Know that I am thinking of yours too! :grouphug: :grouphug:

:grouphug: I'm so sorry you and your dd are going through this. Please know that I am thinking of you! Our dd (also a rising junior) was diagnosed with a chronic illness this year, and I know the pain of watching your child suffer physically and emotionally (the frustration of "life interrupted.") The teen years are such a tough time to be ill--just when so many possibilities seem to be opening up! I'm glad that they've pinpointed a cause for your dd, and I hope that her doctors come up with an aggressive treatment plan so she can feel some relief soon. It sounds like you have some good ideas to lessen her load while healing. That has been very helpful to us this year. Mostly, I just wanted you to know that you're not alone. :grouphug: This isn't the plan that my dd and I had originally envisioned, but we are learning that it can still be good. :001_smile:

So glad to hear it! :hurray: Have been thinking of you and your dd today. :grouphug:

I'm thinking of you and your dd, Luckymama, and praying you get reassuring news soon. :grouphug:

Thinking of you, Scoutermom. I hope it was a lovely celebration for your son. Congrats and :grouphug: .

I love this idea!

I agree about doing fewer things at a time. That has been really helpful here. Also, video-based courses are a life-saver. As a practical example, dd planned her own Asian Literature & History course this year based on a college text and Teaching Co. lectures. She wasn't able to fit in everything she wanted to (sometimes she was too sick to even read), but it was still a great course. We wrapped that up at Christmas and moved on. This semester we watched Asian films (I found a syllabus for "Asian History through Film" at MIT). These were perfect for the many days that she spent in bed or on the sofa. I'm envisioning something similar for Linguistics for next year, but I haven't had time to plan it out yet.... Foreign language is her favorite, so that continues year-round: Japanese and Russian. But last semester, she didn't do math or science. She's taking math now (summer course), while she doesn't have to do anything else. This kind of arrangement is definitely not what we had planned out in the high school "master plan", but I'm learning that it can still be good. :001_smile: I was going to mention Derek Owens for Calculus, like Lisa. Dd did that and really liked it, and I am sure it would be great prep for the CLEP. It's super flexible.

8, I’ve been thinking about you and your daughter since I read this. I am so sorry to hear of her illness. :grouphug: Our daughter became very sick last August and was diagnosed with a chronic illness in January. She is still very sick, but I think we are starting to come to terms with what this means for our family. I think your daughter and mine are the same age and share similar interests—in fact, I probably could have written your post if you just switch out Japanese for French. (I bet I even bought the same Teaching Co. linguistics courses for next year!) I just wanted you to know that you’re not alone. I’m having trouble planning too. I think for me planning is a way of trying to make sense out of all this uncertainty. It makes me feel better, but truth be told, so far this journey is requiring more flexibility than foresight! I wanted to encourage you—she might surprise you with what she is able to accomplish once her symptoms are under better control. Despite being ill, our daughter has been able to take dual enrollment classes this past year. She isn’t taking as many classes as we had originally planned, but she is doing well. She’s currently taking a summer school class in order to spread things out a little--she really can't do more than one or two at once. I was worried that it would be too much, and we told her that she could drop if she needs to, but so far the experience has been good. She really looks forward to getting out of the house and feeling “normal†for a little while, and her success gives her hope for what she might be able to do in the future. (Hope for the future is a very, very good thing for a chronically ill teen!) We’ve been able to structure her days in order to make these things possible, and I am so thankful for that flexibility. Basically we are trying to keep as many doors open for her as possible with close to zero stress (lofty goal, hah!). Another thing we’re looking into is online dual enrollment offerings for the fall. So far, I’ve found several online classes that might be more doable for her (being physically present is sometimes a challenge.) I was just looking at the list yesterday, and they are offering online English Comp, DiffEQ, and even online basic Biology for example. These are tempting! Oh, one thought on math: our local uni offers credit for Pre-Cal based on the COMPASS score—might yours? That would be one way to earn some credit without paying for the CLEP. Additionally, your dd would already have the testing done in case she is interested in doing Calculus there later. Please know that I am thinking of you both and praying that she feels better soon! This diagnosis is a lot to take in. Don't feel like you have to have everything figured out right away. :grouphug:

Hooray!!! :hurray: That's fabulous news!

:grouphug: My dd2 has had a horrific year of sickness, too. She got sick in August of last year and was finally diagnosed in January with a chronic illness. It has been so hard on her, and so hard for those of us who love and care for her. It has really made me rethink almost everything about school and what is truly important. I'm so thankful that we've been able to cut down to the bare minimum when necessary and just concentrate on her health. I'm hoping that those of you with sick kids in school can find solutions that will allow you to do that too. I will also add that it has been surreal dealing with her disappointment at the same time that our oldest dd has been getting college acceptances, so I can only imagine how your son is dealing with everything hitting at once. Here's hoping for healthy days ahead for all our hive teens and rest for weary moms!

:grouphug: I am so sorry you and your daughter are going through this. Please know that I am thinking of you both and hoping she finds relief soon.

:grouphug: Poor thing. I'm so sorry. Thinking of you both and wishing him healthy days ahead!

That pickle has come a long way, let me tell you! I graduated from the high school program (piano performance) a loooong time ago, and back then it was just your garden variety mascot. :tongue_smilie:

Just wanted to wish him a full and speedy recovery. I am thinking of both him and you--hope you get some reassuring news from the schools soon!

Just adding my best wishes to everyone anxiously awaiting news today! :grouphug:

Hi Carolyn! Dd2 took DO's AP Calculus AB class last year and thought it was excellent. She wrote to thank him when she scored a 5 on the AP in May. :001_smile: He is a very good teacher and is always quick to answer questions. I am definitely planning to use his courses in the future for my other two girls. Two thumbs up here!