Oh I just thought of another thing. He always sends his work to my mom. She majored in journalism in school, and she loves to edit. He sends his writing to her, or they read it together online, and she edits it for him. She also gives him verbal feedback. This has been going on for years, and it has helped him greatly with grammar and with learning to take criticism. I highly recommend a trusted editor for every young writer.

Thanks Farrar for linking my blog. :) In addition to the info in my blog posts I would also add that I give my son a good deal of time for his writing. I try to keep his school work hours down to 2 or 3 hours a day. That may seem like very little time, especially at this age, but it is very important to him to have his writing time. He has had this passion for so long that I do not think it is a phase that he will outgrow, so I want to make sure he has free time to write. He is already writing full length books, and he hopes to have a published book in a couple of years. For him to meet this goal he needs time, and I try to respect that. I also don't control his writing time or what he works on. It is his time, and he is very self-motivated. I try to stay out of his way in this area as much as possible. He enjoyed the Brave Writer class he took. He felt it was a good match for his abilities, and he liked reading the feedback from the instructor. He also started a blog to publish his fanfiction stories. He doesn't post often yet, but he does like having a place to share his stories. One other thing that he does is write authors. He has written a few, and he usually gets a response. This always inspires him! ETA - My son just turned 12 and is a rising 7th grader. I am not concerned yet with high school credits or being prepared for high school, and this does influence the way I schedule his day. This child will probably have a very alternative high school journey which is why I am very laid back in this area. Most likely he will start community college at 16 or so and then transfer to a 4 year. It is for this reason that I don't worry about credits and individual subjects. :)

My son enjoyed The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place. He liked the story and the narrator.

My son enjoyed The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place. He liked the story and the narrator.

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My son has an murmur too. We didn't know until we went to the cardiologist to rule out Marfan. Apparently a murmur is fairly common to have. And stretch marks? I had no idea stretch marks were so common in teens until I started to talk to other parents. It seems that many kids get them when they go through a growth spurt.

My son has scoliosis and a host of other issues. When he was first diagnosed there was concern that he might have Marfan because of other symptoms that he had including being thin and tall and having stretch marks. We saw all the specialists, and I will say it was quite a scary time. The visits to the opthamologist and cardiologist were especially nerve wracking. I did hear from many other parents at the same time who were going through the same thing. It seems when a boy has scoliosis and exhibits any other sign the doctors like to rule out a connective tissue disorder. Most likely it is nothing, but it is good to rule it out. :grouphug:

Congratulations!! :party:

My mom is 70, and I think she looks very pretty. Her hair is white and a little longer than shoulder length. She dresses nicely, stylish but not young looking. She is aging gracefully, and I appreciate having her as a role model.

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My son took the STB in 7th grade. I knew he would test high on this test as his skills are in this area. Still we did go over the practice problems on the CTY site ahead of time. He was very glad he reviewed them as he knew what to expect on the test. He wasn't nervous on the day of the test because he felt well prepared. Good luck!

Thanks for posting this question. I was just thinking about the same thing the other day. My son is almost 16, and he has a long medical history. I realize that he needs to know all of it not only for filling out forms, but also so he can advocate for himself. I am going to write down his whole history for him so he can read over it from time to time. Hopefully it will all sink in. Also I should probably start having him fill out his own forms when we are at the doctors. This is something I have not done in the past, but I think it would probably be helpful to him if he started now.

UCLA Extension has an online writer's program. It is a little more expensive, but I have heard wonderful things about their classes and programs.

My kids and I loved this show. We just finished watching it last night. Also with Tunnel Bear we watched Back In Time for Dinner which was actually quite educational. And on iTV we have enjoyed watching Arthur and George. Martin Clunes stars in it and plays Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

If you have Acorn TV you could watch A Place to Call Home. It is a drama that takes place in the fifties in Australia. Another great show I am watching on Acorn is The Brokenwood Mysteries which is a new mystery show from New Zealand.

I love the cakes!

My name would be Caroline today. I like that name actually.

I think it is fair. If he was living somewhere else he would have to start paying for these things. It makes sense that he begins contributing for the expenses at home if he is of college age.

Mental health obviously comes first, but I am not convinced that her mental health would be protected best at home. Sometimes for kids with depression and anxiety having a routine and interesting classes can help. The smaller school might just be the best option if she gets in. If it is down to the bigger school and homeschooling I think that would be a harder decision to make. I might keep her home in that position and work hard at finding her classes that she is interested in. If she is interested in digital media there are some great courses out there for that. I would probably let her explore them for a year along with her other academics and then enroll her in college classes at 16.

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My daughter has a Polaroid camera that she loves and uses often. She enjoys it more than her digital camera.

I agree. I found my first gray hair at 16, and by the time I was in my late twenties I was 50% gray. I was definitely not ready to go gray at that point. I am 40 now and probably 80% gray. I color at home every three months or so. I can't be bothered to do more than that, so my roots often show. Maybe when I'm 45 or 50 I'll stop coloring, but for now it makes me happy.

The school where my daughter was suppose to take the European History AP today was closed due to an unexpected snow storm. She was very disappointed. She is scheduled to take it on the 20th instead.

My son felt very good about the Computer Science exam. He finished twenty minutes early which he was happy about. He thought for sure he would run out of time.

My twins are at the chemistry one right now. They had a great time yesterday and couldn't wait to go back today.