Scalpicin helps me with itching.

We took dd during her junior year. I dropped her off w/her portfolio and came back 2 hours later because I wanted her to talk to the school folks herself, then I went to a few booths with her too. It was helpful, finding out some schools didn't have the major she wanted or specialized in other things, getting some encouragement on her work, opening up some possibilities. In the end, she applied to only one art school, but did get a portfolio-based scholarship. We did find out that if she had taken art courses elsewhere (like at a community college) they would want to evaluate each class via its own portfolio and syllabus to decide if it was enough for them to give credit for it. Some schools would grant credit for general ed taken elsewhere but not art classes. YMMV. The list of schools attending and sponsoring Nat. Portfolio Day is a great college "shopping list."

Oldest dd's science class @ art school was......environmental science in the preserve that adjoins the college in Laguna Canyon...observe the species and do a presentation on one of them, its habitat, how to preserve/protect habitat & species while keeping preserve accessible for hikers. So it pulled a lot of visual art into the science class, along with some social policy issues. Sooooooo much better for her than a straight science class would've been. English involved lots of watching drama and analysing visual impact, whys and hows of set design, photo angles, etc. -- as well as some pretty solid classic plays. History classes included art and how it expressed that period in history. Having a good portfolio means more to an art school than getting good grades. But even art schools have their own special points of view. We talked w/one school in OR that had a very hands-on arts and crafts focus, another that was primarily animation, some offer industrial design. DD's school assigned her 60 drawings/week in her life drawing class but her teacher was always saying, "Oh, at Pasadena (apparently the gold standard art school in CA) it's over 100 a week....and that's just one class." Pasadena tuition was twice that of LCAD.

My dd went to an art school (lcad) specifically because she didn't want to spend too much time on gen. Ed. She wanted to get to the ART asap. Her school had majors in grAphic design, illustration, animation, game design as well as studio art. I suggest touring at least a college with an art dept. AND a couple of art colleges. Go to national portfolio day with her work and talk to as many school reps as you can. Ask them about majors. Very enlightening.

Absolutely true. They have both math and writing tutoring centers and have referrals to other students willing to help in specific areas.

Many community colleges offer a class or free interest/aptitude testing. My son took the CHSPE (high school diploma equivalent test in CA) at 16 and went to community college because....he didn't want to homeschool anymore. It was a great thing for him. He took several classes to see if he was interested, took all his college general education requirements, and graduated after 4 years with an AA and a certificate in marketing as well as a good sense of what he wanted to major in. He was able to transfer no problem to a 4-year state school. In our state community colleges are deliberately set up to feed into the state college/university system, so no stigma. They also offer a number of vocational paths (radiology, nursing, engineering technology, agricultural, culinary, you name it) so there's lots of interesting possibilities. And you don't even have to have a high school diploma to attend. I'd suggest.....go in and take the CC placement tests in english and math now, see how you do and decide how much more you want to study. Sometimes a bit more study can really pay off by saving you a semester or two of remedial classes, especially in math.

My dd had a close friend from her tiny art school killed in a traffic accident right outside of the school, while she was in class. I know the school had people to talk w/the students, she visited her friend in hospital (unconscious), the school named a memorial garden after her. We talked on the phone a lot, prayed together, and lots of prayer on dd's behalf.. But still my dd experienced a spiritual crisis, anger at God, anger at other people (especially the driver of the car) and it took a couple of years for her to process it. I hope your son is able to talk with people who will help him work through this.

I think they have jr. high and high school levels. One version is a lot skinnier. Just FYI.

My sister teaches on Whidbey Island -- their outdoor ed was cancelled due to expected high winds and rain. So I guess they're paying attention!

Things to consider: Competitions -- county fairs (often lots of the same kind of project; your kid can do art on the fair theme or something else to stand out), local art schools that offer juried shows for youth. Our nearest art college did these and dd could have volunteered or competed in jr high/high school but we didn't find out about it in time. Local art galleries sometimes hang "emerging/youth artists" or have one yearly youth fair. Seniors classes -- my oldest's senior year her "art" consisted of oil painting @ the community senior center -- a trained instructor who shared with each artist @ his/her level and some great interaction with people who shared her passion and loved letting her in on what the 60's were like. She got to participate in the end-of-year exhibition, too. Life drawing classes @ a local art school -- the one nearest us has Saturday classes for high schoolers, some nudes. Or you could pursue life drawing at parks, dog parks, zoos, etc. This was a real weakness in dd's portfolio, quickly remedied by her first year @ art school. Trying different media -- if your dd really likes one particular media, this is great -- but a portfolio is supposed to include lots of different things -- something 3D (via photos), ink, fashion, colored pencil, watercolor, acrylics, prints, etc. Museum visits -- we gave dd credit for a museum visit and a written review of an artist or piece of art each semester in high school. We lucked into a Renoir exhibit one year and had a marvelous time with the guided tour. She got to interview the gal who taught the kids' art classes at another museum, find out how she got the job and what she did/didn't like about it. Summer programs -- These can be pricey and it's hard to judge the level. My youngest did a couple 1/2 day weeklong sessions at a local state U and one of them she was clearly better than most of the kids and the other was not as art oriented and more story-telling (write your own graphic novel), but both were stimulating. My oldest did a 1-week session at the Art Institute in our local area, which helped her learn more about animation and decide she didn't want to do it (all computer, all day). Finally, I will tell you that my oldest majored in studio art and, while she loves it and is making progress getting her work out there, she really wishes she had taken more digital art and graphic design classes. OTOH, she can teach herself a lot of that and make a living at it while working on actually showing and selling what she loves most.

Timers....they can help moms remember to check as well as kids remember there is a deadline to meet or give them hope that the end is coming to a particular subject. Losing something as a consequence....yes, but some kids find rewards more motivating. Would a reward for being done with x, y, or z when the timer goes off be more motivating? What about 15 min. of playtime after every subject? I found it helpful to schedule essentials in the morning and the things I was willing to be more relaxed about after lunch. For you, maybe essentials need to be during little people's nap times when you can sit with him. Just a few suggestions.

Brushes, especially high end? I know paper would be heavy; is there a store near where she lives to which you can send a gift card? (We did that for my oldest when she was in art college. She had a favorite store and we always got her some credit there.) Access to online video classes?

I agree with other posters....I've heard people skip thru the review sections of Saxon by just doing chapter tests until they reach a % of mistakes that indicates lack of understanding, then start working from that point. We're in a similar situation, as dd has done MUS Alg. 1 and we are doing Foerster now mostly for the extra practice and word problems. So we do *all* the word problems but the odds on the rest of the exercises. We're up to ch. 3 and ch. 1-2 were pretty easy.

My 24yo is living on her own, working f/time, paying her way, still driving and fixing the old car we got her, paying off her student loans while saving for a better vehicle, and still on our health and car insurance. We look forward eagerly to the day when she takes over her own insurance....car insurance should be this year. The health insurance is a really big cost, and her employer doesn't cover it. Hopefully by the time she ages off our policy she'll have a better job and be ready to take on her own bills 100%. So, no, not unusual, especially when employers are looking for experience or multiple internships before hiring full time. DD could get gig work/contract stuff, but full-time with benefits is a lot harder to find....and her current position is certainly not her dream job, but it pays the bills. Hang in there and *keep* looking!

My ds tried to transfer for spring semester and was denied because the school he wanted to transfer to was full-up for the year. He took an extra semester @ CC, earned a certificate while doing it, and reapplied for fall semester w/o problem. Scholarships and financial aid were not applicable for us so I can't answer that, except that a 3.75 gpa at CC did not turn into any merit aid at state U he transferred to....but I am not sure how aggressively he pursued it as he was sure he could pay his way by that point, with a little help from Grandma's legacy. We've found that the first (in our family of 4 kids) was the only one who qualified for aid. She got more the years her brother was @ CC (a Pell grant in addition to continuing the amount of the original CalGrant). The youngest will hit college when we are almost @ retirement, which means dh will be @ peak earning capacity. Hope she's interested in a local school!!!

BTDT with my mom. At first she knew she was hallucinating and would tell me about the "people who weren't real." It was always much much worse if she had a UTI. And near the end just swallowing was difficult for her, so she would get dehydrated & didn't want to drink and that also made it worse. For us, she went from assisted living to a family care setting, where she lived in a family's home and had 24x7 care. Those people were angels! They were with her, along with my sister, when she died and were so gracious and kind to my mom with all her medical issues. God bless them.

My daughter does this kind of care for elderly and disabled clients, both in-home housekeeping/assistance and taking them out to errands, church, exercise classes, etc. If Creekland's dad set up someone to come 3-4 hours a couple times a week, he could get his errands done and get some respite himself while still having his wife cared for and in company. It's a good first step towards accepting that care is needed and the agency can recommend when/as further care is needed. Often local senior centers have someone on staff or on referral with a social work background who can help family with assessments and recommend community resources. That was our first source of help when my mom was declining.

We started slow the 2nd week in August, added 2 subjects a week and just got up to full load last week. It was going really well, but next week is shot to pieces with labor day, Heirloom Expo, co-op activities all kicking in. Hoping we can just keep moving forward next week and then make a steady routine once the distractions are done. Friday we went on a field trip to a coast guard station, got to go on 2 ships, learned a lot. Fun, but totally off-book.

Bees are expensive....hive and setup over $300 and lots of daily care. But oh, how much the kids learn. Our county speech medal-winner was a bee boy and he had a wonderful presentation. Cats might be the place to start, and I second the 1 project the first year idea. You can get very science-y with even small animal projects (we had rabbits in our suburban back yard.) The first year, a lot of it is finding your way through a green fog, figuring out how 4H works, how your county and club work, what to keep track of and how, what you need to prepare in advance for (like practicing your presentation locally first, fair entry dates, local competitions, etc.). My son, who hated having to do presentations in 4H -- I MADE him -- recycled almost every presentation he'd ever done as part of his lower division speech class. He medaled at state his final year, talking about wind power. Leadership opportunities are there for younger kids and expand greatly as they grow up in the program. I think 4H does leadership development well, at least the structure is there and then if your club leader sees your kids as willing, they'll put them (and you) to work. But not all the first year, of course. My older kids were junior and senior project co-leaders, planned 4H camp activities, bought supplies and led workshops. My oldest is now a project leader with the group where she started her first project @ 9yo. 4H can eat your life, too, though, so don't be afraid to start slow and consider the commitment levels.

Well, I have 2 college students still living at home.....they are messy and seldom present to clean up after themselves. I love them; I'm glad they have jobs and like school and have friends, but I find myself wishing they were somewhere stuck with their *own* mess sometimes!! DS graduates this spring and plans to live @ home and pay rent for awhile....the money will be nice, but we are going to have some new RULES!! (Since they've been so effective so far. hahahaha)

Well, I'm convinced that my oldest dd's rank in 4-H (platinum star) helped her get a college scholarship. Her participation in a particular project led to a yearly contribution from the Arabian Horse Assn. local chapter. Those senior records of projects, citizenship, and service also turned right into a first resume. Yes record books are a lot of work, but if you do them after each project meeting, it's not nearly so overwhelming. It's really nice to look back and see those achievements. A good 4H project leader helps the younger kids do RB. As in, let's take out our form and write down what we did at today's meeting, and what would you like to put on your extra project page, and surely you're going to do a presentation or enter the fair for this project so let's figure out what you need to do to accomplish that......

It was our refrigerator two weeks ago....and it was my son who lent us the cash out of his squirreled away tips. I worry that he has that much cash stashed about his room, but it surely came in handy!

This is the county just north of us, where they also had the very devastating Valley fire (3rd largest in CA history) just last year. How very difficult and sad to lose all that. As a friend says (who's been thru such a loss) it's the club you don't want to belong to.

We started today -- my last kiddo @ homeschool, in 8th grade already!! We always do a slow start - add 2 subjects/week, building up to a full load. This helps us decide on a study plan, see how the lessons go, etc. Here's the plan (so far; I always choose too much) Math -- Foerster's Algebra 1 Bible -- Dynamic Life in Christ workbook Latin -- MP Third Form Latin (workbook, yea! more focus on memorization, needed but not exciting) Social Studies -- Uncle Sam and You (civics/government) to go along w/election, adding in a couple AHG badges English -- WWS 2, MP American Short Stories & Poetry, journalism class @ Co-op (obviously, we'll do some rotating of assignments) Science -- Physical Science w/Novare text with lectures and experiments @ co-op but reading @ home PE -- Daily walk, roller skating once/week, calisthenics @ home Outside -- AHG, youth group @ church

I seem to be keeping mine - 2 are going to college locally - but they both work and are seldom home. My oldest stayed in SoCal for college when we moved and she is independently adulting now, as she puts it. They sure are noisy when they're all together (we had family reunion this week), but we just put her on the plane and I am missing her already. My youngest was an unexpected bonus, and it's just she & I now @ home during the day....and she wants to work on her own. I definitely feel @ loose ends and I dislike even the idea of the day she moves on. Many sympathies to you.