Thanks for the recommendation. I will check this out!

Yes, this is true. I am trying to keep this in mind and prepare my ds the best we can, especially since he doesn't know what direction he wants to go in yet. Thanks!

There have been so many great replies to my question that it would take me a while to quote and respond to everyone. So, in the interest of time, I want to say a collective Thank You!!! :thumbup: You all have given me some great advice and I appreciate that. I have already resigned myself to the fact that the next 4 years is going to be a good amount of work on my part. I am not trying to avoid it, really. :) I see the point that was made about colleges being familiar with ps and that in some cases your ps could be a point against you. I am going to look at some more books on this topic. I have the Senior High Form-U-La (I think that is the title), but haven't looked at it for a while. I have also noticed that different books will give different advice depending on the approach the author took with their family. Anyway, thank you all for clarifying this for me. I really am looking forward to the next 4 years. Thanks to all who are paving the way! :)

I see what you are saying. I do have another question. You said that you are doing a pass/fail for classes taken at home. How will you give a gpa or won't you do this? I don't intend to do letter grades for my dc work in my own records, but have been told I should give one to put on transcripts. I understand the reasoning behind people telling me this, but am still not 100% convinced to do so. Thanks.

Thanks for the reply. :) I guess I find it funny (maybe a little sad even :confused:) how colleges just accept what ps students do because that is the norm, but have to question hs'ers. I will have to make sure I keep good records over the next 4 years. :) I really have only met 2 people who have hs'ed for high school (I would guess there are more than that in my area, but these are the only ones I have met) and they have both had their dc do the PSEO option and get a two year degree with that. I think colleges don't question courses when this route is taken, so I really don't know anyone with experience with hs'ing through high school on their own. Well, this is good to know. Thanks!

There have been a number of posts recently about what to put on transcripts and how to create course descriptions. I have enjoyed the posts because we are gearing up for the high school years and I want to be prepared. In the course of reading the posts, a question has come to my mind and it continues to bug me. So, for those who have gone through the college admission process, did the colleges your dc applied to really ask for course descriptions, reading lists, etc.? I am thinking back to when I applied to college and not once was I asked to provide course descriptions or lists of books I had read or anything else like that. Now, it may be because of the schools I applied to (no big name colleges were on my list). I am genuinely curious if colleges ask for these things and, if so, is it because your dc were hs'ed? I know in one thread someone said something about how would a college know what English 9 was, so it would be good to have a description of the course. I thought to myself that my high school called my class English 9 and the colleges didn't ask for clarification or descriptions. So, am I missing something? Have things changed with admission policies? Or is it homeschool related? I am just trying to figure out how detailed I need to be in keeping records over the next 4 years as this is my weak area and I want to be prepared. Thanks!

The tone of her blog didn't come across that way to me, but I have read her blog in the past and am used to reading her posts and style in which she writes. I have also followed the journey of her starting the magazine and what she has gone through to get the magazine going. I think that may make a difference. I know money is tight for many people (myself included), but really how many of us buy a *insert favorite drink here* from Starbucks or an ice cream from DQ or McD's or a nice card for someone or the weekly paper or whatever. To me, what she is saying is that if you can find $2.50 a month to put towards the cost of the magazine, is it really that much? I didn't take it as a jab at hs mom's budgeting abilities. I know I can piddle money away on little things (pack of gum, newspaper, bag of m&m's, etc.) and that if I made it a point to put that money (which I would be willing to bet is usually a few $ a month) towards something I want to support, it would be easy to do so. I really don't think this magazine is any more expensive than any other out there especially if you take into consideration what you are getting (I am not talking about hs magazines only). There are many magazines on the newsstands that cost $7 and are not as meaty. I guess I just find it funny when people make a big deal out of $7 for a magazine being so expensive, but then turn around and think nothing of paying $25-$30 for a hair cut or $5 for a specialty coffee drink or whatever. I am not saying you do this, this is a general statement and I know people irl who do do this. Heck, I have done this with certain things (like I won't pay $4.00+ for a fancy pair of underwear and think it is silly to do so, but I think nothing of paying $8-$9 for a yard of quality quilting fabric) and I often tell my dh how funny it is to me that I do this. I guess it comes down to what we feel is important and what we want to support. I have wanted a magazine like this for a long time. I am more than happy to change my spending in one area in order to have the money to pay for a magazine that I want to support. Anyway, I feel the magazine is worth the money. Everyone has to determine that for themselves though, so take what I say with a grain (or shaker if necessary) of salt. :)

Maybe it is a MN thing. Our GW is outrageous on their prices and the ladies that work there are sometimes very rude. One day I was in there and they had some type of baby bouncy seat marked at $50! A lady looked at it and told them you could buy the same one new for $35. The clerks told her she didn't know what she was talking about and then proceeded to loudly talk about "people who come into the store and expect everything to be pratically free". I haven't been in there since and this wasn't the first time I have seen things way over priced and the clerks rude to people who question the pricing. You all are lucky to have good GW! Enjoy them because it is fun when you find some great bargins. :)

I was on Accutane in my mid-twenties. I had to have my cholesterol checked before going on it and for my first couple appointments (my doc stopped checking it because it was so low to begin with that even when it went up it was still on the low end of the scale) because the med. will cause an increase in cholesterol. Now that GretaLynne mentioned it I seem to remember something about a liver test, also, before and after being on the med though I don't remember the reason for it. I would ask about that or research it to see if you can find more info. on the liver thing. I did experience dry lips and once I took the kids to a farm and was walking around in some hay looking at animals. The hay particles must have irritated my nose and cause it to start bleeding. It took close to an hour to get it to stop and I had never had a nose bleed before or since. My doc said it was from the accutane. I am glad I took it because nothing else worked before that and I had used everything that was available (even the light therapy thing). In the past couple years I have started getting small pimples, but not many and nothing like the cysts I used to get. I was told this could happen after a number of years and if it did I could come back and go on another round if I wanted. I don't think I will because I can keep things under control with otc products. If it was to get as bad as before I would consider it again, but what I have now is nothing like I had as a teen and into my twenties. Anyway, this is way longer than I meant for it to be. I would do a little research and ask questions, but I wouldn't rule it out as a possibility. Sometimes it is the only thing that will work (though it is not a miracle cure and won't work for everyone, but that is the case with anything).

Laura, I think I just answered my question. :) I went back and looked at your post and noticed the link to the curriculum you are using. I am assuming you are talking about the Galore Park religion program? I am going to Google and check it out. :)

Laura, what is the bible study you are doing? We fit in with what most everyone has posted already so I won't repeat (we have read many of the books that have been mentioned and they have been great for sparking discussion and to just enjoy). I don't shy away from learning/teaching about Christianity just like we do about other religions. It is not easy to find a bible study that doesn't try to teach/convert to Christianity or assumes you already are Christian, though. I would love to know what you are using. Thanks!

Thanks for this link. It is a beautifully put together newsletter. I am currently without religion :D, but have been reading a lot about Celtic spirituality lately. At one point in my life I identified with pagan beliefs. I still enjoy reading and learning about things from this perspective, but I don't currently practice pagan spirituality. Even so, there is some neat stuff in these newsletters and I know my dd (possibly my ds, too) will find some of it very interesting. Thanks!

I just went to Dr. Keller's web-site (Gravitas Publications) and found that they are going to post her talks from the different conferences she is speaking at! They should be available in the next few weeks. Now I don't have to purchase the one and can listen to the other ones mentioned that sound interesting, too. Just thought I would mention this.

Sorry about my quotes not working right. This just started happening and I am not sure what I am doing wrong. I know it makes the posts harder to read. Sorry about that.

I thought it was a good lecture, and she does admit her bias as being a chemist first (she ended up in molecular biologly). She is a very good speaker, and I don't say that lightly. She did have visual aids which helped, but you can see those on her website Gravitas Publications (I think that's the name, but can check tomorrow when I'm rested), but I don't know if it's the entire lecture. I thought her lecture today on Creation, Evolution and Intelligent Design (that may not be the exact title) was EXCELLENT. Of course, it helps that she has similar opinions to me, but she has a lot more knowledge on the subject. I didn't really answer your question. I definitely thought it was helpful because she speaks from the background of someone who took every science course she could in high school but still had holes in her knowledge she had to work hard to overcome in university. I ended up buying her Chemistry II course and probably wouldn't have without hearing her and meeting her. Thank you, this does help. I will check out her web-site. I wish I would have gone to her talk at our conference. She had another one titled Reclaiming Science for God, is this different than the ones you heard? I have to do a bit more research now. :)

I got them both after having kids. The first one I got is a sort of celtic knot star with purple flowers around my belly button. The second one is a moon/sun combination with my families zodiac symbols on my upper right arm. I wanted something that represented our family, but that would also look nice and not take up too much space. This worked out well and I love it. I have plans for a dragon on my upper left arm and I am sure I will get other ones besides that in the future.

It is snowing!!! :crying: We have about 4-6 inches of snow and it is supposed to continue into tomorrow possibly the next day. I sooo want to move!

Thank you, Jessica and no worries. I do see what you are saying and appreciate your advice. :)

Ok, normally I don't make a big deal over the wording someone uses, but I want to clarify something based on your choice of words. You said to "stop throwing activities at him". That is not what I do. He does know that if he has an interest in something that we will support it in any way we can. What I do is when the community education bulletin arrives in the mail I let him know so he can look through it and see if there is anything he would like to do. Or when someone sends me an email about a class or field trip or whatever, I pass that along and ask the kids if they would be interested. My ds is not one to say "Hey, are there any classes being offered on this?", but if I told him about an event or activity that I heard about he would be like "Oh, that sounds cool. I would like to do that.". Anyway, I just want to clarify that I am not pushing my ds to do anything or signing him up for stuff just to try and spark an interest. I just let him know what is going on in our area and he is free to choose if he wants to participate or not. I don't see this as "throwing activities at him". Jessica, I am not upset or anything and I assume you didn't mean anything by it, I just wanted to create a more accurate picture of our situation. :)

This may be my son, at least to this point in his life. :) Thanks for the book suggestions. I will look for them the next time we go to the library. My ds doesn't share interests with dh. Dh likes motorcycles, fishing, throwing darts and playing pool and ds has no interest in these things. They do both like to read and sometimes play video games together, so that is something they can maybe build on. This is good advice, thanks. This is what we have tried to do over the years, so I feel better knowing I at least presented the opportunities. I see a theme here with the advice. ;) I appreciate the advice that you all have given and when there is a general agreement like this, it helps to settle things in my mind. Thank you! Yes, there is always the extreme on either side, isn't there? I am one who likes to find a balance with things so it is a bit funny to me that I am questioning this. I really appreciate the responses and advice you all have given me. I will continue to offer my ds opportunities yet at the same time try to give him space to continue being who he is. Thanks!

I just purchased this at our state hs conference. My dd wanted to study Africa and is very excited about this. I haven't sat down and really dug into things yet, but have read bits and pieces here and there. I like what I have seen so far. The main book is beautiful. It is color pictures on pretty much every page. The layout is appealing and the random bits I have read have been very interesting. I have heard good things about this study, so I am hoping it lives up to what I have heard. So far I like the looks of it, but we won't be starting it for a while so I can't say anything as far as the application of it.

My ds is 13 (will be 14 in a month). He has some interests (legos, video games and reading), but no real passion for anything. He has no idea of what he might want to do for a career. My dh and I want to make sure he is prepared for college, but I am not sure he will go to college (at least right out of high school). I know it is early to determine that, but he is starting high school and so the thought of college is on my mind. We are not sticklers about our dc going to college so that is not the issue. My issue is that I would like to help him find his talent or passion for something. How do you do this? We have offered music lessons, sports activities, classes, etc. over the years. Some he has tried and others he has passed on, but nothing has sparked an interest that he has continued to pursue. What else can I do to help him find a passion? Or should I just step back and let him find it? Or are there people who just don't have a passion for something and just have random interests (some fleeting, some lasting)? Any thoughts? Thanks!!

I have a question that is a little off the topic of this thread. You mentioned using the World Lit 1. I was wondering what age/grade you used this for? I am considering it for my ds who will be in 9th grade. We were going to do Am. History for 9th, but we may hold off on that while we work through a non-western cultures study that we are adding an African focus to. I thought this would be a great lit. study to go along with our other work. I read on the web-site that it is for 11th-12th grade, but can be used with 9th or 10th if the student is ready. I am just curious if you feel that is accurate? Thanks!

That was a beautiful video. Thanks for sharing. :)