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housemouse

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Posts posted by housemouse

  1. Ds  will be taking DE math through local cc and we nee to decide which math to pick College algebra or Pre-Calc. He has taken completed algebra 1 and geometry at home with a solid B (because de did not put more time into studying as he should have). And finished Derek Owen Honors Algebra 2 with a solid B -again because did not spend as much time studying as he should have but still made 89 for the year. So, which of the two DE classes do we pick? Would it look strange to have Algebra 1, Algebra 2 and College Algebra listed on transcript?

    Thank you

     

  2. My current 4S iPhone (that is almost 5 years old and in its originally purchased rubber otter case) has been sat on, stepped on, spilled on, dropped from 3-4 feet height on driveways, concrete floor, tile and wood floors and is still alive, not a scratch on it. Just getting a bit too slow. I need to get a smartphone that can handle that kind of real life usage- one for me and one for ds 16 who will be starting college classes this fall- neither one of us is super careful in handling the phones with out most care. That is why looking for a "life proof" phone. And preference is for small screen phone.

    Thank you very much.

     

    • Like 1
  3. Just seeing what is the general consensus on this. Ds (16) applied for summer apprenticeship last Monday  ( for which he received acknowledgement of receipt) and sent in an inquiry Monday this week for an update (for which he did not get any acknowledgement of receipt or any update). Question is when would you consider a "no answers" as "the answer"? As you can see we are all new at this teen job thing as no one in this house had to job hunt for at least 20 years if not more so we are out of tune with the current norms. Would it be ok for ds to pop into the business office either end of this week on even on Monday to see if he can maybe catch whoever is in charge, chat and see if he even has a chance or would that be overdoing? Ds really wants to try this over the summer. 

    Thank you so very much.

     

  4. Two questions this afternoon for all the moms who been there

    1. Ds had tutor this year for his Japanese he met either weekly or byweekly depending on everyone's schedule. Meetings were done through Skype or Facetime, not in person. Do I give teacher an end of the year gift, a gesture of appreciation. If so, what do we do/give? We do not live in the same city- I think it is about an hour drive between us.

    2. Ds (10th grade) applying for apprenticeship with local electric company for the summer. It would be a full time 40 hours a week job with a good portion of it outside in the southern sun and humidity. My question is, am I allowed to go in and ask "mom" questions when he goes in to turn in paperwork and interview. "mom" questions meaning things ds might not think about like particular shoes he may need, or how extreme heat is handled by the company (how they handle heat stroke possibility outside and all that), maybe other safety questions due to the job itself. Things like that that usually do not come on the priority list for many teens.  Or would it be seen as a bad thing if mom shows up to the interview and starts asking questions.

    Thank you for any advise.

     

  5. Ds need to write a definition essay for his English class. Basically choose a word or a phrase that is abstract enough that it would have multiple meaning either by definition or to different people. Abstract enough that 3-5 page essay can be written explaining logical and conceptual meaning of the word or the phrase with definitions, history, all the different meanings and applications. Beauty, love, friendship, home are on the banned list of words.

    Thank you so very much.

  6. I read about it in the forums- checked it out on their site but totally forgot to bookmark it or even write down the name and right now I am drawing a complete blank on  the name

    Its not Brave Writer.

    It is online, each class is quarterly- 8 weeks- each class specialized on one thing- general intro to essay, persuasive essays, expository essays, research papers, etc.

    They also have a complete English Program for each year from high school to I think all the way down to elementary school. I am just looking for the writing component.

    Any idea what class that may be?

    Thank you so very much 

  7. Ds finished their Biology and I am having hard time printing all the work he did during the year. Apparently the site is not set up. I was able to print off the grades and syllabus but not the actual test, quizzes, homework and any other projects and extra credit he did. The teacher also stated that they have no way of printing all of the work either. Does anyone happen to have a solution for this lack of printing ability? Or, how do I have some kind of record/paper trail that he actually did work other than the grades?

    Thank you so very much.

  8. I don't mean to sound flip, but my response to that would be, "Ok."

     

    He didn't practice. He got a lower score.

     

    How does he feel about that?

     

    Does it matter if it doesn't bother him?

     

    My son is an elite-level hockey player, so I understand the idea of doing the best that you can. But at 15, his primary interest with regards to hockey is having fun with his friends. Maybe your son just wants to have fun and not feel pressured. My son loves hockey, but other interests and priorities are cropping up, too, including "I'd rather just sit on my butt and watch Youtube than do drills in the basement." I think that's normal at this age.

     

    I'm not trying to pick on you. It has been hard for me to watch my son (seem) to lose his motivation for all-hockey-all-the-time, but I have to remember that it is his life and as long as I don't see him going down some dangerous spiral that could indicate something like depression or substance abuse (and I see no evidence of that), it's ok for him to not be as motivated right now, or for his interests to change. Being a teenager is tiring. I think it's normal to need more downtime and less pressure.

     

    Actually, he was not really bothered that his scores were not stellar. He actually was talking about doing it again next year.

     

    I guess it is all part of them growing up and figuring it all out. It probably bugs me more than him since I know he can do so much better and be so much more if he just applied himself. I'll just have to accept it to a certain degree and write it off as the teen thing. He's my oldest and first in all things of a child growing up, so it is just another step for me on the parenting ladder.

  9. With archery could it be his vision or has he lost interest in it?

     

    Sometimes when it's too easy you wonder why you put in the extra work. They like to skate by, especially at that age.

     

    Does he need to slow down and take a break? Is this something new or is it a pattern?

    I have never considered his vision as a possible issue. We had him checked last fall and all was fine then. Thank you for suggesting it. I know he still has not lost interest in archery. In fact, he went to a state tournament earlier this month and had fun there. His scores, on the other hand reflected the fact that he did not put in extra practice.

     

    As far as school work being too easy or boring, I don't be and issue. He always shares different titbits of something new he learns, and either dh or myself have interesting discussions on those topics. I do agree that sometimes kids at this age like to try to skate by and hope they get lucky.  All this if more of the last six months development. So I guess its new.

     

  10. If your son is in high school, it's really time for him to take ownership of his activities. If he is not practicing in archery, you are not obligated to continue to pay for it, but I wouldn't nag him about it. Having parents who nag about activities that are supposed to be fun kills the joy. Ask me how I know ...

     

    As far as the biology grades ... I just started back to school after nearly 3 decades years of not being a student. One of the first things I did was give myself permission to get Bs. When I was in high school, my parents were so strict about my grades that my mother once grounded me for three months for getting a B+ one quarter in English (freshman year, highest-level English class offered). My parents made me neurotic about my grades. I suggest letting your son own his own grades. If he can get As and Bs without studying, let him get As and Bs without studying. 

     

    As a now wise and experienced adult, I can look back on my high school experience and see that I was entirely too anxious about it. It really is ok for a kid not to have a 4.0. I think we as a society err too far in the direction of "everything we do has to be done really well, and it's even better if it's done perfectly." Sometimes it's ok to just do ok.

    Ds has no issues with getting to the official club practices for archery, its that extra that he should try to do at home that he does not want to do. And he does enjoy it. In fact we just did a state indoor tournament and he definitely had fun there but his final score reflected that lack of additional practice.

     

    As far as grades, when I said straight A student, I did not mean perfect 4.0 student. I know for a fact that he can not be one- he is just not wired that way. I know that his English and history will likely to always be a B grade because that is not something he has interest in and does it as something that is part of the requirement to graduate. In our state anything 90 and above is considered A. I would be happy with 92, 93 or above- he just does not seem to care- or at least it seems that way.

     

  11. Over the last few months I have noticed a pattern in ds I am not liking very much. He got this "I don't care to do well if its hard for me to do" attitude if I can call it that.

     

    He's done archery for few years and this year he has moved from cub to cadet based on his age which means he has to shoot longer distances and smaller targets. Well, it requires more practice to get better at hitting the target and getting good scores. Since it does not come as easily as shorter distances, he is not wanting to practice, sometimes not even bothering to pick up the bow. He's giving up on it because it is harder to attain same scores on new distances even though he really is enjoying archery.

     

    In his biology class he will submit all assignments by due dates without me asking or checking. Will get 100 in all the homework, article reviews, labs and extra credit but he wont review and study for quizzes and tests and will have 80s and low 90s. When asked why wont he study- he'll just say he just doesn't and he can raise his grades from extra credit. One time dh made him study he made high 90s on his test and even with that he still wont study on his own. Same goes for math. And he likes science and math comes pretty easy to him but as soon as it requires any extra effort on his part to get it done or more time spent to review/study for the test, he just doesn't, goes in winging it and had his overall I don't really care attitude sometimes as if to say, yeah, I know I have to study I really don't want to waste my time studying and if I get a bad grade, oh well.

     

    How do I change this attitude and giving up in a hurry because it requires work and time on his part? I know he can make straight A if he wanted too because the material is not something he does not understand, he just does not seem to care.

     

    Thank you so very much.

     

     

  12. Ideas:

    1. Econ and Gov't are usually just 0.5 credit courses, not 1.0 credit courses.

    2. Do the Intro to Organic Chemistry or the AP Chemistry as the required Chemistry, rather than Honors Chemistry

    3. Logic is usually just 0.5-1.0 credit course and materials -- spread the material out over three years as a once a week "Friday fun" subject

    4. PE can be accumulated over weekends and the summer as natural physical activities, sports, dance, martial arts, what-have-you

    5. Let the Natural Disasters, Astronomy, Exoplanets, etc. be fun self-exploration topics over the summers; accrue hours and at the end of several summers, award partial credit/full credit (whatever was earned).

    6. For Fine Arts, if DS isn't into Art, Music, or Drama, consider doing something closer to his interest -- perhaps a Computer Digital Arts course (Photoshop, Illustrator, or animation software); or Photography or Filmmaking. Or, a Film Appreciation course. Or, a "Survey of Fine Arts", with four 9-week units of different topics.

    7. Dual enrollment in 11th or 12th grade of Science and Math courses, as 1 semester college course = 1 YEAR high school credit. So in 12th grade, one semester could be Calculus, and the other semester Physics, or other Science or Engineering course, which yields 2 credits for the year, but only takes up 1 "time slot" in your schedule.

     

     

    I am assuming your required credits only require 0.5 credit each of PE and Health?? If that is the case, here's a possible scheduling breakdown:

     

    9th grade

    1.0 credit = English I

    1.0 credit = Math: Geometry

    1.0 credit = Science: Honors Biology

    1.0 credit = Soc. Studies: American History

    1.0 credit = For. Lang: Japanese I

    1.0 credit = Religious Studies: Bible, NT

    0.25 credit = Elective: PE -- track 30-45 hours from whatever normal physical activities he's done this year

    6.25 credits = total

     

    summer

    [or, if not done much physical activity in 9th grade, track 30-45 hours over summer = 0.25 credit = PE]

    - 0.25-0.5 credit (OR, just enjoy as a leisurely personal pursuit) = Natural Disasters or Astronomy, etc.

    0.25-0.75 credit possible

     

    10th grade

    1.0 credit = English 2

    1.0 credit = Math: Algebra 2

    1.0 credit = Science: Honors Chemistry

    1.0 credit = Soc. Studies: World History

    1.0 credit = For. Lang: Japanese 2

    1.0 credit = Elective: Engineering: CAD

    0.25 credit = Logic

    0.25 credit = Elective: PE -- track 30-45 hours from whatever physical activities he normally does

    6.50 credits = total

     

    summer

    - 0.25 credit = PE (as you do & track physical activities)

    - 0.25-0.5 credit (OR, just enjoy as a leisurely personal pursuit) = Natural Disasters or Astronomy, etc.

    0.25-0.75 credit possible

     

    11th grade

    1.0 credit = English 3

    1.0 credit = Math: Pre-Calculus

    1.0 credit = Science: AP Chemistry or Intro to Organic Chemistry

    0.5 credit = Soc. Studies: Government

    1.0 credit = For. Lang: Japanese 3

    1.0 credit = Elective: Engineering: Solid Works

    0.25 credit = Elective: Health

    0.25 credit = Logic

    6.0 credits = total

     

    summer

    - 0.25 credit = PE (as you do & track physical activities) -- OR -- 0.25 credit in Logic

    - 0.25-0.5 credit (OR, just enjoy as a leisurely personal pursuit) = Natural Disasters or Astronomy, etc.

    0.25-0.75 credit possible

     

    12th grade

    1.0 credit = English 4

    1.0 credit = Math: Calculus, or, Statistics

    1.0 credit = Science: Physics

    0.5 credit = Soc. Studies: Economics

    1.0 credit = For. Lang: Japanese 4

    1.0 credit = Fine Arts

    0.25 credit = Health

    0.25 credit = Logic

    6.0 credits = total

     

    TOTALS:

    4.0 credits = English

    4.0 credits = Math

    4.0-5.0 credits = Science (includes summer self-study of Science)

    3.0-4.0 credits = Soc. Studies (includes accrued credit of Logic)

    4.0 credits = For. Lang: Japanese 4

    3.0 credits = Electives: Engineering

    2.0 credits = Electives (1.0 = Bible, 0.5 each = PE and Health)

    1.0 credit = Fine Arts

    24-26 credits = total

     

    Thank you!! It does not look so impossible this way.

     

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