You said you'd been involved in three accidents. When I first read this, I thought you'd been involved in three collisions. Some may find that a little misleading. It was a near-accident, a near-catastrophe, but it wasn't because of your defensive driving. For that reason and to be very accurate, I'd change the word. If you are perceived to be exaggerating in any way, it could cause someone to doubt the rest of the letter. I've seen shocking driving habits around a high school, too. I'm glad to hear you're doing something about it.

I'm not suggesting anything is going on there. However, I have been attending church all my life, and it is my experience that most youth pastors are quite young. Is yours? If so, he may not have the wisdom and experience to give good, solid counsel for your ds--even if he is well intentioned. I've noticed that often people the least qualified to give advise, are often eager to give lots of it. So, first, I'd make sure the relationship is appropriate. Even so, I'd seriously reduce the amount of time the youth pastor spends with your ds. At the very least, it's not appropriate that he spends more time with your ds than all the other kids. In our experience, adults that were trying to be helpful in my teen dd life, did not, in fact, do us any favors. I found out later that these Christian leaders gave advise contradicting the advise she was receiving at home. I'm all for other like-minded adults having an influence in my child's life. However, some of the adults in my child's life weren't like-minded with our family. I suspect this youth pastor is not like-minded with your family either.

I sent you a pm.

Around age five, every few months he would wake up nauseous. Then, he would throw up every 30 minutes until noon. Then, he would fall asleep and wake up feeling better. Finally, the pediatrician sent us to a pediatric neurologist. He said it was a classic case of abdominal migraines. He said it was likely that a headache would accompany this as he grew older. The neurologist recommended that we keep track of these migraines to try and determine the trigger. Since ds would only get them in the morning, the doctor suspected it was from low blood sugar. Sure enough, when we make sure he's had enough protein throughout the day, particularly in his last meal of the day, this has dramatically reduced his migraines. When he has an "off" day food-wise (lots of junk food or little protein) he can get a migraine. Now, at age ten, he is able to tell us when they are coming on. They are now accompanied by dizziness and a headache. We were also advised to avoid all caffeine. However, once the migraine starts, caffeine can actually help. (The doctor explained all this to me, but I can't remember the details.) At any rate, once he feels a migraine coming on, he takes Advil with a soda containing caffeine. The best thing for a migraine, though, is sleep. This is very difficult, though, when someone is that nauseous. First, I would recommend that your child be formally diagnosed by a doctor. If he does have these migraines, you should chart them to determine the triggers--diet, stress, certain visual stimulation (flashing lights), etc. Also, our doctor told us that often boys grow out of this.

While I have my views on the politicians, if find myself struggling to understand the other side's point of view. Most my friends in my small circle hold views similar to mine, so I'm not able to see the other side's point of view from them. That is why it is so interesting for me to come here and read viewpoints that differ from my own. Of course, it's always appropriate to share with wisdom and discretion. Oftentimes these discussions get heated and out of hand. However, passions run high as these are areas most of us feel strongly about. As a long time lurker on these boards and a recent poster, I find these discussions allow me to see the other side. I don't change my opinion necessarily, but it causes me to realize that others have convictions just as firm as mine.

Do you have a hepa filter? Do you have another air purifying system? My dh has severe fall allergies that start in early September and last through the first good freeze. In our area of the country, this is usually towards the end of November. It's been recommended that we purchase a hepa filter for our bedroom. Has anyone used this and felt allergy symptoms improve? Thanks.

I suppose I came off a bit too strongly when I suggested that you must take an outside SAT prep course. There are many students who are able to do a self study program and do very well. In addition, there are a lucky few who score very well without preparation of any kind. I guess if you take a practice test and have an average score, it is more economical to try it on your own. However, for many students, a good test preparation program can increase a score 200, 300 points or more. This may not be possible on their own. While I can't say anything for certain, I doubt that my dd would've achieved her score working through an SAT program on her own. Also, my post referred only to receiving academic scholarships. I'm not talking about using good test scores and grades with regard to admission into a top tier school. I agree that these alone will not be enough to gain admission to those schools as they will be up against applicants with similar scores and grades. There are many who have scores much higher than dd. However, I'm sharing our experiences to show that even with her scores, she was able to receive a good chunk of money for her efforts. Congrats to all of your kids who had those great scores.

I only included the reading and math score because that's what all the colleges wanted, except Hillsdale. Her total score was 1960 when you include the writing section. Currently, she is a college freshman.

I've been reading the posts on PSAT and SAT scores in relation to college scholarships. I'd like to share some thoughts and share our experience. First, my dd received an academic scholarship that pays almost all of her tuition. We do not qualify for any need based aid. She earned this by having a good SAT score (1360) and a good gpa (3.9). She was accepted into every college she applied. Every college offered her academic scholarships from $5500 to $10000. All of these scholarships were renewable if she made a good gpa--usually around 3.3. She applied to a state school and three private schools. Again, all these were based solely on SAT scores and grades. She was home schooled from kindergarten and up. Not a single school blinked at that or questioned her transcript created with Excel. Here are ways I've learned to get a relatively inexpensive college education. Number 1: Jack up the SAT score. Don't waste time studying for this yourself. Remember this: the SAT and PSAT tests are tricky tests. They are trying to trick you. If you don't understand that, you won't do well. Many people don't understand this and refer to themselves or their children as poor test takers. If you can crack their system, take lots of practice SAT tests, your score will go up. Taking lots of SAT tests also reduced tet anxiety. However, this takes time and a good SAT preparation program. My dd went to a great local SAT prep center. She made a very average score on her first, baseline practice test at the center. Then she started taking their classes. Her score went up 100-200 points in the first week. It climbed slowly, but surely after that. Number 2: If you find a good SAT prep center, don't balk at the price. Our $1200 investment will quadruple itself before her first year of college is completed . If she earns a 3.3 gpa, her tuition will be paid for four years. Really, it may be the best financial investments we've ever made. Just make sure it is a good school that produces good results. Number 3: Preparation for SAT and PSAT should start, at least, the summer before their junior year. Number 3: Make sure your kids know that they have to earn good grades on all their high school courses. If they do, they could translate into huge financial gain. Of course, they need to be prepared far before high school for this. They need to be well prepared academically so they can succeed. It is difficult to convey these long term benefits to kids, but try, try, try. Make sure they know about the financial rewards waiting if they keep their grades up. Number 4: Certain colleges do not offer academic scholarships. Some offer very limited academic scholarships. If you do not qualify for need based aid, academic scholarships are the only way to shrink the college bill. Ivy league schools, Wheaton and others do not offer academic scholarships because almost all their students deserve them. Those schools primarily offer need based aid. If you don't qualify for this, you're paying the whole bill. While I would've loved to see my dd at one of those schools, I simply couldn't justify the price. She couldn't either. If you want to make the college experience affordable, don't apply to schools that don't offer academic scholarships. They may be great schools, but you or your child will be saddled with debt when they graduate. College can be expensive, but it doesn't have to be. There are great schools out there who will throw thousands of dollars at your child with a good gpa and a good SAT score. Just thought I'd share.

My youngest child is a dream to home school. She concentrates. She does her work quickly and accurately. For instance, I'll start out the day with two calculadder drills--one addition or subtraction and one multiplication. Then, independently, she does one page of grammar (1/2 through Abeka 4th grade), one lesson in 3rd grade Spelling Workout, Horizons math lesson (3rd grade), short vocabulary lesson, edits one paragraph (Daily Paragraph Editing), one reading comprehension lesson. Also, each day she'll either do a couple pages in her logic book (Building Thinking Skills 2), or memorize a poem, or do a geography lesson--depending on the day. She often completes all this in about an hour. Seriously. Then, we sit down together and go over her mistakes in her work. She has a very high degree of accuracy, so this takes hardly any time. Then, I sometimes do a list in Spelling Power with her and then do a little dictation from Farmer Boy. In the afternoon, we do history or science and with my 10 year old ds. So, she spends less than two hours doing school. She loves to read and spends much of her free time reading. She also practices piano for 20-30 minutes a day. This is her first year to take piano lessons. She has a couple extracurricular activities, too. Am I doing enough? That isn't a lot of school for a third grader, but should her reward for doing her work quickly, efficiently, accurately be more work? I've noticed she gets a little stressed when I pile on too much. For instance, I think if I suggested that she do two math sheets instead of one, that she would balk. She isn't creative or artsy. She'd never spend time creating art projects. No interest there. She just really likes to read. Lest you think I've created this great little student, let me assure you that I have two older dss that are...quite the opposite. While I wish I could take credit for her, that would also mean I'd have to take responsibility for their slack attitudes. :) So, I just chalk it up to different personalities. Would you add more to her schedule since she has a short school day?