Guatemalans eat their main Christmas meal on Christmas Eve like people in so may other Spanish speaking countries, so you may want to make it a little special, perhaps by serving tamales? Then I would do a traditional American Christmas meal on Christmas Day itself.

Thank you, ladies, for your replies. I understand the reasoning. I was hoping there would be other ways of proving that the car could be released to her. By the time my husband reached his destination and sent the notarized authorization, overnight fees applied. @Bambam What are the advantages of the car title being solely in the child’s name?

My 23 year old got her car towed in Las Vegas today. When she went to retrieve it, they refused because the title is on her father’s name. They are asking for a notarized letter with his authorization for my daughter. Unfortunately he just left on a business trip. He will not be able to do any for a few hours. Trying to avoid overnight fees on top of the current fees. I called them and offered to email the scan of title of the vehicle as well as my husband’s drivers license. They said that was no good! Can they actually do that? Does anyone know?

I have the Horrible Histories Dumb Ways to Die segments in my head right now!

One other thing to think about is the requirements of the overseas program. Will he actually have the time to do everything that needs to be done? I have read that some programs discourage contact with home so that the student can fully immerse himself in the host language and culture. I would find out if that’s the case and how that would work with SA application plans etc. Good luck!

My older daughter took the Spanish with Listening, but I am afraid she doesn’t remember details, it was 8 years ago!

I think tutoring fees are, among other factors such as subject, level, and tutor experience, very much influenced by geographical location. I would ask around what the local rate is. You can also check local prices at Wyzant.com or other tutoring businesses.

I felt similarly at times when my oldest would leave for college, even though she was only 90 miles down the road. I am enjoying her now again that she is back home, working, and saving for grad school. Trying not to dwell on the fact that she may leave again in a year or two. I have both my girls at home right now, and that is lovely. The fact that this is your youngest probably compounds your feelings. I get emotional sometimes thinking about the day my youngest will leave who knows how far when she graduates high school in 2022.

I know that you are being funny, but the sad truth is there are still places like this in rural India and Nepal, and it is absolutely terrible.

My high schooler needs it for a school assignment. She knows how to use iMovie but we have no current access to Macs. Please hit me up with your recommendations!

My high schooler needs it for a school assignment. She knows how to use iMovie but we have no current access to Macs. Please hit me up with your recommendations!

I think it depends on the rigor and time commitment required. I have a child that is in marching band and also takes piano lessons with an annual exam. I have to say that for her, the school band requires a lot more work. Five 70 minute class periods weekly all school year with graded assessments, with mandatory home practice. Outside school hours, during Marching band season she has a weekly 3 hour rehearsal, a one hour or longer sectional, a 30 minute weekly private lesson, plus football games, parades, and tournaments, which are huge time suckers. Concert band season is less time consuming, other than class and home practice, they have a couple of concerts and competitions outside school hours. Kids like her who are in the top band group also have a weekly 3 hour orchestra rehearsal. Piano consists of a weekly 45 minute private piano class and home practice, several recitals, and an annual external exam. Band earns her school credit, but only for her in class time. No extra credit for rehearsal, competitions, private lessons, etc. That I guess is the extracurricular part of band. Piano is strictly an extracurricular. She can include the exams taken as well as the honors earned at those exams.

Usually at the end of the school year. That’s when you can make schedule change requests. She will try to accommodate but that depends on the slot being already available or someone switching or needing another change. ETA That’s when she will let you know if the schedule change is initiated by her. If you have requested changes, sometimes she is not able to get back to you until a couple of weeks before the school year because she is still trying to fit all the other changes and pieces of the puzzle.

My oldest attended public high school, took 8 APs with the corresponding exams with a mix of 3, 4 and 5 scores. She attended a UC campus where she got some credit for several of them. Spanish Language where she got a 5 only counted only as an elective; she still had to take the placement exam and test out, which she did. Her AP Bio got her out of the Bio General Ed requirement. APEL and AP Lit, I seem to remember, all they did was to place her in an English class for Seniors. She was in the College of Social Science so I don’t think any of the four APs she had in that area were worth much of anything, possibly some elective credits. The value of taking APs, other than for college admissions, was that she was academically well prepared for real college work. My youngest is taking AP Bio And APEC this coming year. She may take DE the following year for US History. A marching band friend took DE US History this year and she said it was not very hard. Both AP and DE are weighed the same with 1 extra point for C, B and A on a 5 point scale.

You may want to consider what is considered normal in your area, and what math the other students will be bringing to college. In my area, to be competitive, you need a minimum of Pre-Calc, but because schools run on trimesters and quarters, many will have AP Stats and/or AP Calc AB/ BC. The top STEM students will have one year beyond AP Calc BC, and some AP Computer Science.

September or October 1999. We had just relocated from the U.K., my husband had frequent work related travel, I hardly knew anyone or the place yet, and I noticed i couldn’t see regular pay phones. I bought one with very few minutes for emergencies only.

Wow, really? So you guys predominantly drive automatics in Australia? I always assumed it would be the opposite like in the U.K!

After a year or so after moving to Southern California, I started wearing my winter coat as soon as we dip below the high 50s. Those days are the only times I get to wear it, and it feels just right with one layer underneath. Of course, I do bundle up more if I am going to just be sitting watching an outdoor sports event for example.

Here too, but that’s usually because Chemistry has math pre requisites that the majority of students do not have as freshmen. Advanced math students take Chemistry first, then they go straight into AP Biology.

Wow, so sorry this is the worst case scenario! I was hoping it was “just” your family contribution and not the actual cost. I feel for you and your family. Those expected COA raises are outrageous!

ETA: I checked cost of attendance for the year 2019-2020 at the University of Rochester. It quotes $75,186. It’s a lot, but that is the most you will have to pay, even if your expected family contribution shows that you could pay up to $85,000 if it cost that much. https://enrollment.rochester.edu/financial-aid/tuition-expenses/

Are the $82,000 and $85,000 figures the total cost of attendance of th college or your family expected contribution as estimated by FAFSA? I don’t know of any schools that cost that much, to be honest. I thought they cost up to $70,000 approximately. Check to make sure it’s not your expected contribution. If it is, it just means that you will not receive financial aid. You will have to pay the total cost of attendance out of pocket. You need to figure out what the total cost of attendance is. Often COA estimates include not only tuition plus fees, dorm, and meals, but also transportation, health insurance, cost of books etc.

Driving. I have kids who get anxious behind the wheel. And my husband has a lot of virtues but patience is not one of them, so it’s down to me.

I am 55. Physically I feel good. I have no health issues to speak of other than minor things that don’t interfere with normal life. I do keep active and still exercise, although I have noticed I don’t have the same endurance as before. What I should do to better in this area is sleep more. I tend to go to bed late even when I have to be up early, but the sleep I get is good quality. For me, it was my early 40s when I noticed the biggest physical changes. My eyesight went to pot pretty quickly and I had to start wearing progressive lenses. I also had some other minor issues which have now been resolved, so I am pretty stoked. I began graying a couple of years back. I agree with those who complain about the white hairs growing wild. I don’t object to white hairs per se, but do they have to stand out like weed so much 😆? Mentally, my memory has never been great, but I don’t feel it has declined, it just stayed the same, so for me it’s great because I feel other people my age finally caught up 🤣 . I am also enjoying the opportunity of debating current events and politics thanks to Twitter and I feel my arguments are sound. I am still the same caring person as before but I definitely feel a lot more carefree to give my opinion and live my life regardless of what others think, so that is freeing. I do miss some very important people in my life who have already left, especially my sister who was only 15 months older than me and who passed away last year. Socially I am still an open person though and I have met a whole new group of lovely people recently, so I don’t feel too old to make friends. I hope to keep going strong for a while.

I would definitely check your state requirements and also any target colleges. Here, you need a certain number of credits in a single area, so for example, two semesters of art meet the requirement for fine and performance arts, but not one semester of art and one of music.