It hasn't changed here. Smoking is still allowed in bars. In most communities in my area it is allowed in restaurants too, but not the nearest city.

No security guards. Usually well stocked, although advertised specials do run out between deliveries which do not happen every day. I believe our store gets 3 deliveries/week, so if you go on the day of a delivery, you are golden. By the time the next truck comes in, it will be pretty scant, but never what the OP describes. Our Aldi is new, it just opened last summer. Before the nearest one was over 30 min away and I rarely went. I used to match Aldi prices at Wal-Mart (supercenter) instead of buying at Aldi's but I have found that there are quite a few produce items that are higher quality at Aldi. I love their berries and Walmarts are awful. Walmart has better bananas though. I go both places most weeks because I can't get everything I need at Aldi's but I do find them worth the visit. They are between Wal-mart and my house.

A vet if I had an idea. I was just as clueless about what I wanted to do when I grew up then as I am now.

I'm an iSFJ, but my S/N and my T/J are both virtually indistinguishable and I never know test to test which I'll get. When I was young I was a solid INFJ, but gradually shifted to a stronger S. I have always been a J, but that is now coming out as even - J won by a single point this time. I think my INFP ds has influenced me :). Dd and dd are both ISTJs.

Lori, I love that you are still giving to the homeschooling community. Love it. :001_tt1:

Yep, dd faced this at the CC too. We paid over $400 for her books this semester. All of them had to be bought new and had to include access codes. We emailed every teacher before buying to make sure it had to be that edition and had to have the access code - yep. No discounts. Ds's university has been quite the opposite. In his freshman year he hasn't needed a single access code and this semester he spent less than $100 on books. Being held hostage for access codes is a rapidly spreading phenomenon, but I'm glad there are still exceptions.

Can I just say, Good for you OP, for taking it seriously. I have now met a few homeschoolers whose families didn't take documentation seriously and who have had a hard time with employers/higher ed because of it. While MOST of the time, these things aren't really issues, only fears, carefully examining the possibilities and making sure you have done your best to keep all the options open for your ds is a good thing. :)

I've been struggling with this as well. With my first graduate we had a party, so we sent party invitation/announcements. However, dd does not want a party. I've been struggling with the "is it tacky to send an announcement without a party invitation?" question. I do have some family that would appreciate receiving the formal announcement, but the number is small and I just can't decide if it is worth it. I don't want to be seen as trolling for gifts but my MIL/FIL stand on tradition and may be hurt if they don't get an announcement and there are a few cousins (my cousins) who live far away, but who love my kids and would like getting a picture announcement. I'm still debating, but if I do it, I will do something like Kinsa described on the back of a picture card.

It really isn't that big of a deal. My state requires it. It is never turned in unless you are charged with educational neglect. I did do it and I found it took a minute or two a day. It was easy and then I had that documentation and reasonably accurate numbers to judge our hours spent on each class. There were some classes, that I found we were spending inordinate amounts of time on and scaled back the following year. There were other classes I decided to only count as .5 credit or not give credit for at all because they really didn't spend the time I expected. In our state, there is no testing, there is no counting day, there is very, very little required of homeschoolers. We track hours. It is ok, really.

I have quite a few friends who are missionaries and in this situation. Some have gone with international schools the last year or two of high school. Others have just continued homeschooling and have graduated them from their homeschool and sent them to college in the US. Both paths work and each has its own advantages.

Have you read Smart but Scattered Teens?

This has been a really positive thing for my ds as well. He has had multiple professors that he now considers "buds". He can ask them questions or make requests. He requested an interview with one to use in another class and had a great time with it. He really thinks of the guy as a friend and mentor and is in the process of making him his advisor. Ds is ASD and relationships don't come easily. The professors at his college have been fantastic and he is growing through these interactions. Very cool.

I did misunderstand originally, but see now how that explanation doesn't hold. And of course, I do understand the need for confidentiality. I would ask the referring mom to not reference rates because my current rate for new students is higher than her rate. No further explanation should be needed. She will probably just be happy she is getting a lower rate. If talking to a newly referred family and they expected a lower rate, I would just say my current rate for new students is "___". I would only offer explanation if asked, and then a very simple explanation of different kids - different issues - different rates.

Same as everyone else. Nothing for a watch. I might pay a bit more attention to the weather - check the current storm track before heading out and about, things like that. But activity isn't curtailed for a watch. For a warning, we turn on the TV and watch the track of the storm closely. Even warnings are typically issued for an area far larger than is actually in danger. We only head to the basement if something is headed for US, not the county we live in.

Ok, so using the fish thing... I am an old earth Christian and while I've never seen one, I think a Darwin fish sounds great! I don't think of it as mocking Christians. For me (and for most Christians I know, I'd never hear of YE till I came here) science and Christianity are not at odds. Using the symbols brings both pieces of truth together. On a similar note, for me BLM I get. It took me awhile, but I get it. Black lives matter too. Black lives matter and are often treated as if they don't. OTOH, I have friends and family in law enforcement. Some may think Blue lives have always mattered, but the truth is in todays culture, Blue lives are being discounted as racist and evil. All law enforcement is catching the blame for what a few have done. Wanting to come back and say Blue lives matter too doesn't have to discount BLM, it can meld. Both are important. Both are failing to get the recognition they need in today's culture. Just as I can blend the fish and darwin, I can blend black and blue. I don't discount one by embracing the other. However, I stay out of all of the above because I think they all bring division, not empathy.

I don't see this as a lie. You are changing your rate for new clients with that condition because your expertise has changed. So, I would ask the family to please not share their rate because you will not be able to give it to new students. They should understand that and you can say just enough that it remains true.

I see all over this thread that there is no reason for students to take remedial math in college. I really disagree with this. Just because someone got a lousy high school education is no reason they shouldn't be able to attend college. Now, maybe these classes should only be available at CC's but different colleges have different ideas about what constitutes remedial math. At some schools anything below Calc is remedial. At other, anything below college algebra is remedial. We have a friend (ds's childhood friend) who was/is a foster kid. He changed placements about 6 times during high school and never attended the same school two years in a row. For 3 years he took (and passed) algebra 1, but he never remained at the school long enough to take an EOC exam, so the next school would put him back in algebra 1. He graduated from high school with 3 credits of Algebra 1 :svengo:. Really. It happened. The kid wants to be a computer engineer and actually has the aptitude. He is now in CC and of course had to start with remedial math. It will take him 2 years just to get to Calc 1, but with a math course every semester he can get through a 4 year degree in roughly 4 years. I am thankful for his sake that the terrible education he received in high school can be overcome. Is it sad that our public schools can turn out completely uneducated adults. Very. That is one of the reasons many of us homeschool right? I am still glad these remedial courses are an option. There are many people who are well served by them, for many different reasons.

Are you ok with strongly Christian? If so, BJU lines up really, really well with DIVE course. Not everyone can take BJU though.

My only comment is don't use the online textbook for DIVE. The readings are very difficult to understand and I have yet to see anyone here who tried it who didn't hate it. We Used PH Physical Science Concepts in Action and liked it, but the second semester doesn't align well and his syllabus is way off.

I posted in the decision thread, but we are without a decision. Dd was all set until she looked at what her class sizes will be in the fall (which is nothing like the average class sizes for the University). So then she decided to re-look at her #2 choice. She had put an ap in back in Dec. but never sent ACT scores and transcript. We did those things in late March and went for a visit in early April. She LOVED it. She really wants to go to choice B now. Unfortunately, they still don't have her ACT scores, and won't evaluate her transfer credit until she is accepted. We have contacted the ACT board and it seems the college receives scores every 2 weeks, but for some reason hers weren't included in the batch sent 12 days after we requested them :glare: . So the scores were sent this week (on CD by mail) and should finally be there and be entered any day now. In the mean time, they said they'd accept Compass scores and those were mailed 2 weeks ago, but they still can't find them either :svengo:. It is a good thing we don't judge schools based solely on admissions. So, we are hoping next week will be the week she finally gets officially accepted (her ACT scores give her guaranteed acceptance) and we can proceed with checking on transfer credits and make sure she wouldn't lose a semester to the choice. She will lose a scholarship, but the new school is an inexpensive state school, out state, but they give us in-state tuition, so it works for us. This is me right now. :toetap05: :toetap05: :toetap05:

Have you checked that with the college? Some do count transfer credit grades. Ds's University includes his transfer credits in his college GPA. I don't think dd's does. Too bad since her DE GPA was higher than his.

I have found this thread very enlightening. I tip 20% and round up. I often round up to the nearest $5 mark. However, I rarely order more than $15-20 worth of pizza. I have never tipped a pizza deliver person $10, since that is 50+% tip, I don't think it likely I ever will. Even if I think about it as 20 mins pay, then that would be $30/hour. I don't think that is a reasonable pay rate at all for an unskilled worker. I live in a low cost of living area. Here a college degree and experience in your field won't even get $30/hour. I think part of the difference in tipping may be due to local COL and also family size/quantity of pizza ordered.

I just quoted a little, but really, I loved this post Nan! Thank you for sharing. Having kids that are out of the box thinkers really does challenge any kind of institutional education. It has been better in college than it was when my kids were in ps when they were little, but it is still a challenge. I laughed so hard at your descriptions. It is so good to know we aren't the only ones with bright, creative, different kids that challenge norms and are challenged to stay within them enough to make some things work.

Your request makes absolute sense and disability services will be able to help at many colleges. Most typical freshman housing will not work for him. Most will have at least 2 if not 4 sharing a bathroom. However, there are always options. Ds's college has a lot of 4 BR/4 BA apartments. These are normally for sophomores and above, but allowing him to live there could be an accommodation. The bathrooms are attached to each bedroom and would be ideal for him. Ds's dorm has suites with 4, 1 person bedrooms, sharing 2 bathrooms. The dorm fills and I'm sure they wouldn't be wiling to leave a bedroom open, but I don't know if they could create an arrangement where he gets one of the bathrooms to himself. The key is to have a letter of medical necessity, talk to disability services and start early! You don't want to be set on a college just to find out they can't accommodate. I'm sure some can't, but many will be able to. Best wishes to you and your ds in your search.

Congratulations to the new graduates!