I'm having fun with the new RS german. I think it is much better than the version 2 that we used a few years back. But, I definitely need to work on some grammar workbook types of things to improve my retention and understanding. Thanks again!

Hi! I haven't been on the board in ages, but wanted to query the HIVE. I'm learning German with rosetta stone version 4 and would like to get a workbook type of thing to supplement. I'm a kinesthetic learned and need to do more writing to help myself retain the grammar constructions. Any recommendations for german workbooks? Thanks!

DS took a tablet laptop with him. He is in engineering school, but has not really used the tablet feature much. Some of his classes do not allow them to bring computers into the classroom, too many students playing with FB or online gaming I guess. BUT the piece of technology that has been a boon to him is his LiveScribe pen. That is the thing he really likes. He takes notes, it records the lecture and he can play back the audio selectively by touching the pen to the paper....He also can upload all the written notes and audio to his computer. I think the tablet will come in handy.....I really do. But it hasn't mattered thus far....he is about to enter soph. year.

I'd go for Henry V, Macbeth,Much Ado and Taming the Shrew....no I wasn't trying to rhyme...but it's rather appropriate. ;) And I would definitely through in the video of Kenneth Brannaugh on Henry V and E. Taylor's Shrew....and even if it adds number 5 I'd watch the old Hamlet with Jacobi in it.

If you live in an area where you can delay for a year, I'd go for it. Your daughter will have the opportunity to regain her health and particularly the ability to sustain concentration. The PSAT is not as long as the SAT or ACT, she is going to need to build her ability to sustain concentration. While the Merits are a worthy goal, the more important thing is doing exceptionally well on the ACT and or SAT. I think her birth date is irrelevant. There are many, many children who are a little older than their classmates for loads of reasons. Some families live abroad for a year, some families have illnesses to deal with, some children are held back for a year for whatever reason. I can't see that there is anything to be gained by pushing her ahead to accelerate, rather the opposite. If she is willing and doesn't feel badly about taking her time, I'd say she is trying to tell you she needs the time. One of my old mentors in homeschooling often reminded us moms that homeschooling is not a race, there is no prize for finishing first. And while you are obviously not trying to race ahead of the pack, I think the principle applies. Pushing ahead has many potential pitfalls, including setbacks to her health and well being. Taking your time seems solid to me. Lastly, it is so important that she begin her college years in good health. I think that by delaying you provide to time for her to be solidly on her feet in body, mind and soul. Full recovery takes much longer than the illness in many cases. Our son had a rocky start to his freshman year due to illness and it really took a toll on him. I don't think there is anything we could have done differently in his case, he became sick during his first term and just had to muddle through. But, I can tell you that he really struggled and it made it a rough start for him. May or may not be relevant to your own situation but I throw it out there anyway. I hope these ramblings make some sense and will be of some help to you.

We did math through Calc I at home for highschool. DS went off to college and took Calc I for his first course and it was a big confidence booster for him. He was not starting out from ground zero. College courses, even those at the CC move so much more quickly than high school and there is the added complication that much of what the students do is not graded by the prof...so they often must figure out if they really understood or not on their own. My son just completed his freshman year at Drexel and he has come through with flying colors, but he has also had some major set backs where he thought he was solid on material only to hit the test and have a brick wall fall on him. Students in college courses MUST make sure they get it...no one is going to help them know that they are ready for a test. THEY have to make sure they are prepared. Okay, off the soap box, I would go for the pre-calc course. Get into the big pool one step at a time.

Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow!..... AMEN!

Our ds is at Drexel, an honors college student with a +20,000 per year scholarship. His best in state public offer was about half that. However the state school was also half the cost. What won us over to this particular private was that it's a co-op school and so ds will be able to earn about $15,000 per year over a 3 year period to help cover the cost of the school. He will gain valuable experience and it will pay down the debt. So it was close to a wash as far as which was more expensive for us. The school of his dreams was Drexel...it had everything he wanted and everything the mattered for us as parents....done deal. Hope that is a little bit helpful.

I haven't even read all the entries....but WOW!!!! super major congrats to your son!!! you must be so happy for him!!!:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug: :party::party::party:

You are looking for a quasi professional service. She is young and inexperienced in the field but, none the less, far more qualified than your typical minimum wage earner. So, I'd go for somewhere near $10 an hour, with the understanding of your expectation of a planned program of instruction. I really think her work is worth more than this, but starting at $10 gives you a little room to be generous and offer an increase based on the quality of service. It is a win-win scenario......you will be a good guy for giving a good wage and (presumably) a raise, and she wins with a good rate of pay that will go up because of exemplary performance.

the idea of sort of proving yourself by doing well at a local community college or with a summer course has great merit. I think that if you are working with a son or daughter about whom you have concerns that they might not rise to the challenge, then I think it can be a really great idea to say "Show me that you are up to this. Show me that you are ready". I don't think there is anything wrong with requiring our young adults to display the maturity that they claim to have. Education is a huge investment for most of us. It is a major expense in so very many ways. I think we are doing the right thing when we require our kids to "merit" that investment. To him who much is given, much is expected.

I'm so glad to hear about his scholarship! How wonderful! Woot...let's do the happy dance! :party::party:

It is lovely to think that all of our children will be wonderfully self motivated to achieve what ever goal they have rather vaguely in mind. But I think that intermediate attainable goals can help them to develop the skills to reach the longer term goals of a great job in the field to which they aspire. I think that when we homeschool our kids and basically, for the most part, plan the program, orchestrate the course profile, and help our kids work through the plan to achieve the high school goals, we can't just completely turn them loose in college and expect them to know how to do it all, all on their own. In our case ds won a great scholarship to the school of his dreams, but he has to maintain a 3.0 to keep it. We can't even come close to paying his way without that scholarship....so he has a vested interest in keeping the grades up AND I have a vested interest in helping him learn to succeed on his own. Ds knows what is at stake and is working very hard to keep in the zone....he knows his education at that school hangs in the balance. The first quarter I was a bit of a helicopter mom. I hovered pretty close and checked in with him ALOT about deadlines, assignments, offered to help him learn to plan,etc. He has learned and, although I monitor, I'm much less involved now in the 3rd quarter. Therefore, what I would suggest to you is that your daughter needs to have a stake in this.....she needs some responsibility for making it happen. Could you possibly require that she be responsible for some portion of the cost? Are you paying for everything, or will she have some student loans? Our deal with our son was that we would pay half and he has to come up with the other half...which includes his scholarship. We told him to think of the scholarship as his job...they are paying you to keep up the grades. Perhaps it is a bit mercenary, but most folks respond well to monetary incentive. And that is the reality of the business world for most of us. I have an incentive to do well in my job because it will A) insure I keep my job B) offer the possibility of advancement C) offer me the potential of bonus D)help the company I work for to grow and therefore increase my job security. I think you need to find ways to make those kinds of things apply to her for her education. I think it is very important that we remain available to them and help them in the transition. afterall, the goal is to launch them as MATURE Christian adults. Maturity isn't a switch we can just flip on for them, it's a process. And, just as we were part of the high school process, I believe we are a part of the college and beyond launch process.

I'm sorry, I don't spend as much time on the boards as I used to. I just saw your note about the cinema interview tonight. I am so excited for your son...this is super neat! Sounds really encouraging and congrats on the solid GPA! I'll be praying for y'all! Best wishes! Sharon

It is pretty neat. I have to have an internet browser open to goggle all the terms I don't recognize...and I'm pretty tech/science savvy. I'll have to bone up on my research to keep a respectable pace.