We have orientation coming up in 2 weeks but let me tell ya, my tears didn't wait for that event. Tears flow regularly here and for seemingly no reason at all, other being alone. DS has already asked me to promise that I won't cry when I drop him off at the dorms. Yea, right. :lol: I'm glad to know I am not alone in this endeavor either. I'm excited for DS and where he will be. I'm lucky that he will only be 20 miles away. The venom that was freely flowing from the boy has been replaced with hugs :confused: and that has been a nice change too. Change is never easy, is it? Carole

Karen, This is what many folks in my area believe also so it isn't just true for your location. IMO, it is a myth. I wish there was a Myth Buster segment on this, just like on the TV show. It would be busted. I'm giving a talk this Friday night on this topic for a group of local moms who do not wish to use an umbrella or satellite school. Can be done --- just read my signature line. Carole ps -- yes, there are folks who need an umbrella or satellite school, or love being associated with one. I'm glad they are there for those folks and that we have the option of joining one or not. My choice is to go alone---with the help of this board and a few yahoo groups.

That's what I was thinking too. Where can you find them? I know I could put lunch bag size bags in there, but what is needed is just what you say, smallish bags.

:lol:

That isn't quite what I was thinking of doing. Plus, they are calling for thunderstorms for our area for Sunday. And I know there will be guests in the house who WILL go into the bathroom to use the facility. Can't keep them all outside for the length of the party but I will keep that in mind if years and years from now the boys decide to have a backyard wedding.....

We are having a graduation party at our home this Sunday, large gathering....very large gathering :) Since we have a septic system, with a pump (!!), I really do not want t*mp0ns or other non-tp items going into the toilet. At homes with septic systems I've seen 'cute' little signs asking guests not to flush such items. But I can't remember what they said. Saying: 'We have a septic system so please place only TP in the toilet' just seems so dull to me. Or, 'We have a septic system and need you to use the trash can for female items' seems to ???? Help please! I would like to post a little sign in the bathroom, something cute, something witty so my guests know to use the trash can. Thanks! Carole

Any homeschooler can take their proposed course syllabus through the College Board audit process. Once successfully through the audit, the course can then be designated as an AP course on your transcript. Carole

My DS used MIT Open Courseware this past year to supplement two classes he was taking. I did list the MIT OCW within his course description document as a supplemental resource. He was taking Physics and preparing for the AP Physics C exam independently. He watched lecture after lecture..... He was also taking AP Calc BC from PA HS'ers and watched classroom lecture after classroom lecture...........he loved the lectures and spent much of the winter complaining about how he wanted to go to college NOW. How he wanted to be around professors like the ones in the lectures so he could converse with them. On the one hand it was a positive experience of helping him understand the material and seeing what he might experience in the fall. But on the other hand he really wanted to be in that classroom and not at home with mom........ Carole

R&S grammar makes a huge jump from grade 6 to 7 so I'd suggest going with R&S 6. Also, I purchased all my R&S materials used and turned around and sold them for about the same amount of money. I did use the teacher book and student book. While there are writing assignments in R&S and many folks use this as their only writing program I used IEW instead for writing. As to whether or not this is teacher intensive is really dependent upon the child. My oldest in 6th grade would read the lesson on his own, do the exercises, check his work with little to no interaction with me :) My youngest needed me to read the assignment to him, work through the oral exercises with him to make sure that he had the concepts down and then he could do the exercises on his own. Carole

:iagree:

((((MeganP)))) Carole

I think it depends upon your major and the school you apply to. DS was accepted into 9 colleges this past year with generous merit scholarships from each and every one. He had two years of Spanish and one year of Latin listed on his transcript. He is heading into engineering and at one school (in fact, the one he is headed to) engineering majors do not have a foreign language requirement while Art & Science majors need 4 years of one foreign language. The student must also either pass the university's foreign language test or take 4 semesters of a FL.

Great Smoky Mountains, TN side! We camped at Cosby Campground ---- this campground is a bit further away from Gatlinburg and the hussel-and-bussel of that area. Lots and lots of great hiking in the Smokies. I suggest picking up a trail guide book such as a Falcon Guide (our favorite) to help guide you to trails that are just right for your family. Carole

CONGRATS!!!! :party::party::party:

Sharon I am in a similar position (to my delight). I have 2 boys and my oldest will be off to college in the fall. It turns out that one of the best colleges in the nation in his major is right here in our backyard too. Even with this attraction he really wanted to travel far from home to attend college. As we were talking about the + + and - - of going far away DS brought up that if he goes to the local college he will be able to invite his little brother to college for weekend visits and see him often! He too expressed how sad it would be to miss out on his brother's high school years since "he is my best friend." :) :) Carole

Cheaper option and my favorite, but still a wonderful math textbook: Mary Dolciani Algebra 2 with Trig. While teacher solution books are difficult to find and usually expensive the textbook can be found for a few dollars and has the answers to the odd numbered problems in the back of the book. Carole

Add in the Columbus Zoo (Jack Hanna was its zoo keeper just prior to him becoming famous), and the Park of Roses off of High Street, walk around Ohio State University's campus. If you are there in August take in the Ohio State Fair. I could go on and on. And regardless of whether it is on Man & Food I would go to Schmidt's for their buffet, dark house beer and 1/2 pound cream puffs for desert. WAIT---they were on Man and Food!! We were in Columbus this weekend for a wedding and went there to eat on Friday night. GO!!! (and let us know how your trip is) Carole, Ohio State U graduate Buckeye at heart

DS received news that he won a Diamond State Scholarship from DE-DOE. This scholarship has up to 50 recipients in Delaware and I'm thrilled that DS is one of them. This one, combined with two others means he now has more than 100% of his tuition paid for at University of DE. :) No problem since there's still the health fee, activity fee, room & board, and books to pay for. Carole

If you stick with IEW's SWC material then it is secular, at least I haven't found any Christian references yet. If you branch into some of their other materials then you might run across non-secular material. Carole

I suspect that my DS will be doing as your son is doing quite soon too. While in college I worked as many hours as I could during school breaks, never taking a holiday or vacation with the family. I also begged for overtime and often found myself working 80 hr weeks over Christmas break. After sophomore year when I finally landed a job with GM in manufacturing as one of their 'engineers in training' I took all the overtime they offered. This often meant working weekends and 12 hr days, Sundays were off. I worked from the day after I finished with finals until the day before school started. It was just the way things were since I needed the money to pay for school. Carole

In Delaware homeschoolers are on their own. We aren't permitted to participate in any school activities / classes / sports / arts..... The State requires all kids under 18 to take Driver's Ed through the public school. It's free for public school kids but private and hs'ers pay about $400 for the course. My PS refuses to let a hs kid into their classes.

Jane you have a great memory. The first year DS was at a school that had the kids take their AP exam in the library. Should be quiet right? NO! Kids were coming in and out of the library, asking questions, getting books --- and the kids were squeezed 6 to a conference table. Way too tight. DS took his PSAT at a school located in the woods. Should be nice and quiet I thought. NO! The construction workers had their table saws and air compression units set-up right outside their windows. Last year's AP exam setting was wonderful and quiet so we returned to that school. The sec't said the alarm has been going off often (geez, then wouldn't they know it was a false alarm and let these kids continue? I know, most likely that would be breaking some fire code regulation.) Hopefully they will have it repaired before next weeks exams. He also said the room was noisy compared to last year's. Here's to quiet, peaceful test-taking settings for everyone! Carole

I also use the one from Staples --- love it.

Wouldn't a grand gathering be nice....... huge ice cream social........ Just returned from picking my ds up from the PS and his AP Calc BC exam. Four kids took the AB exam and only DS taking the BC exam. There was a fire alarm that went off in the middle of the free response questions! :eek: They were out of the classroom for over 30 minutes. When they returned instead of the 12 minutes they were supposed to have they were given 10 minutes. No, he didn't correct the proctor on the time --- :glare: it is what it is. Carole

Last night on my way home from a Used HS Book Sale I bought a gallon of ice cream. DS thanked me. He was busy doing Physics C practice tests as a way to RELAX. :lol: He had a HUGE bowl while he worked through problems. He said doing the Physics problems were a nice way to practice his calculus too. Right now he is in taking his AP Calc BC exam. I'll be surprised if anyone is taking the test with him. This particular PS has few kids who take the AP exams, nice and quiet and friendly to hs'ers. Next week he has the Physics C exams and the two Econ exams. Yesterday my Statistics students took their test and I am sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for the black-out time to be lifted so we can discuss the exam. Where can I sign up for that Freaking-Out exam you all are talking about? Soon this stage will be completed. Best wishes to all. May everyones child perform up to the abilities. Carole