By the time my DDs reached high school, I do create a syllabus for each course. It includes all the reading/assignments needed to be completed to earn credit for the course and a recommended schedule/pace to complete it in a semester or year, whichever is appropriate. I no longer work daily with them; it's on them to execute the course plan. Only exception is math for which daily work is checked. So, for folks who don't use a syllabus, are you still working day-to-day with your students for every subject?

I'm sorry to hear that so many people have had similar problems but appreciate the tips on how the situation has been handled. I may try to carry an air horn or pop up umbrella. I understand completely about resorting to wasp spray so no flames from me. I feel especially bad for children and adults who are scared of dogs and have to deal with irresponsible dog owners. That's just awful. I'm not perfect, either, which I realize and try to give most people the benefit of the doubt. My youngest is 16 and I still clearly remember one day when she was barely toddling and I had her at a park. I was distracted for just a couple seconds (honest!) only to look up and see that she had toddled away and was standing directly in front of a HUGE dog with her arms stretched up as high as she could reach, holding on to the dogs face and peering up at him. ACK! We are very fortunate that the dog was calm and didn't react. This is the same kid that still sports a scar on her face when she didn't take a relative's cat seriously that it wanted to be left alone. *sigh* A little fear would not be a bad thing.

Thanks, everyone. I'm pretty fortunate that most of my neighbors are responsible dog owners. There are a couple that frequently have their dogs out unleashed but have only to say a word to their dog and the dog freezes and returns to them. Most others have fences and/or walk their dogs leashed. It only takes one unmanaged loose dog, of course, to turn a pleasant walk into a painful incident. DH is currently insisting on walking with me when I take the dog out. I'm not sure about the stick idea if I was alone. Is there something like mace for dogs that would deter them without causing permanent damage?

DD has rented from Amazon a few times. Smooth process and much cheaper than buying/renting from her school bookstore. She does put a jacket cover on the texts and treats them gently. We aren't sure how much "wear and tear" is acceptable upon return so she's extra careful with those books. The email reminder at the end of the semester is VERY helpful because it can be easy to forget which texts were rented!

for your loose dog to approach my leashed dog, even if you insist that it is ok because your dog is friendly or "just wants to play." If your dog won't obey your commands, then it should never be loose, ever. I'm currently nursing several abrasions, a badly bruised hip, and a bite wound because of someone's loose dog "wanting to play" with my dog.

This repeats a bit of what previous posters had stated but here's the advantages I see for attending CC first. DD19 finished her freshman year at our local CC, after having dual enrolled there for a couple of years, and has one more semester at the CC before transferring to a state U: 1. Smaller classes than a state U. I don't think she's had a single class with more than 30 students. It is common for large state U's to have hundreds of students in a single lecture hall for freshman/sophomore level courses. 2. Because of the above, it is much easier for students at CC to get to know and interact with their instructors. It is also less intimidating for a more introverted student to speak up and participate in class discussions in a small classroom than a large lecture hall. 3. The vast majority of instructors at the CC are there because they want to teach. At a state U, there are also professors who would rather be doing research as well as grad students who are only teaching for the graduate stipend. 4. The mix of students can be very different at a CC. The entering freshman class at a state U is largely young single students aged 17 to 19. At the CC, DD is in courses with students well into their 20's and 30's, working part-time or full-time, married and/or with children. Yes, there are still students who are only there because they don't know what else to do with their time/life, but in general, I think the larger diversity of life-stages and experiences is very positive. 5. By the time DD transfers to the state U, she will be in junior level classes. These courses will be smaller than the freshman/sophomore classes and will have more mature and dedicated students (those who aren't won't make it that far). 6. Cost. This can not be over emphasized. Yes, if a student is able to swing large merit scholarships at a state U, it may be advantageous financially to go straight to the university. It is true that there are fewer scholarships for transfer students. However, the cost savings of tuition and room/board for the first two years at a cc would be hard to beat. Good luck to you and your students as you navigate the transition to college. CC was so clearly the right choice for DD that we didn't have to struggle with the decision. She was simply not ready on an emotional level to leave home yet. Besides that, the Tennessee Promise (free tuition at the CC) was started just in time for her to take advantage of it. She has made huge strides just in the last year that I'm confident she will continue to thrive once she transfers.

The topic of ice came up in another thread so I was curious how common the different methods are today. The poll should allow multiple choices but my intent is for how you USUALLY get your ice. So, if you buy ice a couple times a year for large gatherings, don't include that one. Thanks!

Always trying to add more vegetables and veggie variety to my diet. Can you recommend a tomato variety for me that hopefully has at least decent availability in the market? Flavor - I avoid all tomatoes during the winter months, even picking them off a deli sandwich because the flavor is just not there. More flesh and less of the juicy pulpy center. This may be weird, but I find myself trying to scrape this part away before I eat the tomato. Goes well with fresh mozzerella, basil, salt and olive oil. Caprese salad is currently my favorite way to eat tomatoes. Oh, bonus points for anyone who can suggest a tomato plant that I may not be able to kill. The heat and insects typically kill any one that I try. Thanks!

Except that far from harming you, the tiny dose of bacteria received daily actually improves your immune system. We leave our toilet lids up and our toothbrushes out.

DH said the exact same thing, about buying brother a nice dinner. Yep, going grocery shopping tomorrow: paper towels, butter, nuts. Thanks everyone! Love the t-shirt idea. I could make it even more subtle: Live casually.

She's gone! My brother showed up right on schedule and picked up house guest. *whew* The house seems so empty and peaceful. DD and I have been scurrying around all day to get her ready for her trip to the writing workshop so the timing was perfect. My sincere thanks to everyone here. This thread really did help me cope. Instead of getting upset at anything house guest did, I instead though, wow, now I have something else to post on the thread. :laugh:

I think the tests from that book give you a good ballpark idea of the students score. For both of my DDs who used it, their actual ACT composite score was a couple points lower and the individual test scores were probably plus or minus 3 points. From our experience and random internet chatter, the science score is the biggest wildcard. Those scores seem to swing the widest just depending on the exam content.

Wow, it varies so much from school to school. The student really needs to visit the website of each potential school to research transfer requirements. DD will be transferring spring 2017 and spring transfers are even more complex. For one potential school, she had to apply by early December 2015 in order to be eligible for scholarships. For a second potential school, the application doesn't even open for her until August 2016, so a full 8 months later! The first school has already accepted her and offered a scholarship. We won't know until well into the fall semester if the second school accepts her into her competitive major.

We are honest with our vet that cost is a concern. She always lays out our various options and is fully supportive of whatever we decide. She always asks how much we are paying to get our meds online (usually through Drs. Foster & Smith because I've used them for many years and trust their quality). If she can, she'll then match the cost. Sometimes, our online cost is less than what she pays! In those cases, she hands over a written prescription. Because she's been so good to us in this way, if her regular prices are anywhere close to what we'd pay online, we go ahead and buy from her. My sister became so annoyed when her vet would no longer prescribe heartworm meds without testing the animal TWICE a year, she found a way to order the meds without a prescription from Australia. I have no idea if this is legal or not. Most flea and tick meds don't require a prescription. I'd look for OTC meds or at least generic prescription drugs for the arthritis. Heartworm meds, unfortunately, are going to be expensive regardless but are really necessary in many parts of the nation/world.

I researched this career field pretty thoroughly a few years ago because I believe one of my DDs would be very happy as a librarian. I knew the pay was relatively low and that didn't discourage me because DD is very content with very little. However, I found a message forum of librarians and hung out there for a while. I was stunned by the number of people with their MLS degree, years of relevant experience, and unemployed. So, DD has volunteered at our local library since reaching their minimum required age of 14 yo and has interviewed for a few library page positions but is making other plans for a career.

Good news! One of my brothers has offered to drive house guest home this weekend. This helps me SO much because I'm also trying to get my youngest DD ready to leave on Sunday to a week-long writers workshop. DH has been a champ but his patience started wearing thin today. Saturday can not come too soon.

I've had one graduate from HLA and, to be honest, I don't think I've ever seen her transcript. We requested it for various things but always had it mailed directly. Now you have me curious. I agree with emailing them and asking for a sample transcript.

I definitely have a mental countdown clock running. That's helping me cope a lot, as is this thread. There won't be a next time. I had butter knives on the table. I guess using her hands was just more in line with her "casual" lifestyle. Efficiency? I dunno, really. Yes, I told her this morning that Saturday would be the best day for me to drive her home. She seemed fine with that. I suspect the board members who are pointing out that she is probably uncomfortable and out of her element being in my home are correct. Now you really need to share what parts of the thread apply to your barbarism. I had never even considered that some folks might have laundry baskets for clean clothes only. So I may be a barbarian as well. However, I do use a knife with butter. :laugh: Tempting, trust me. Actually, just having decided to take her home a week early has made everything she does more tolerable. I'm almost just waiting for her to do something else that I can post about. Today was very tame. I only had to request that she not feed the pork roast we prepared for dinner to my dog.

Oh, one more anecdote. In consideration of the comfort of our house guest, we adjusted our normal air conditioning thermostat setting from 79F to 75F. Despite this, house guest is carrying a large fan and extension cord with her from room to room to blow directly on her wherever she is.

For your amusement: Me: Once you've had your fingers all over the butter, do not place it back on the communal butter dish. Just leave it on your plate. House guest: I live more casually than that. Me (in thought only): Clearly. House guest casting eyes in all directions. Me: What do you need? House guest: A napkin. Me (in thought only): Those that live so casually do not need napkins. They merely lick the buttery residue from their fingers. I fetched her one (singular) of the coveted paper towels from their hiding place.

Would you mind sharing what college you are looking at doing dual enrollment through? I had a bit of trouble following your post as you are using different terminology than I am used to. Your use of the word "papers" for example, I THINK is equivalent to what I would call "courses." Just for clarification: 1. Dual enrollment courses can only be taken while your student is in high school. Any courses taken after high school would be as a college student. So, dual enrollment can not be taken during a "gap year" after high school. 2. Unless a student is actually gifted, I can't imagine a 7th grader being successful in a true college level course. If the college has 7th graders routinely as dual enrollment students, I would look very carefully at the quality of their program. That's a red flag to me. My DD started taking dual enrollment courses at a local community college in 10th grade. She took 1 course the first semester, 2 courses each semester the next year, and 3 courses each semester her senior year. For some of these, we paid the full cost and for some, the state and the college provided some scholarships. This varies greatly from state to state and college to college. In the end, it isn't going to save us any money but is allowing DD to take fewer courses per semester now that she is an official college student.

Wow! Thanks, everyone. These suggestions will give DD a good place to start her search and develop a strategy. She wouldn't give a second thought even if she was the only one on the campus of 28,000 students with a rolling backpack. She's not a trend follower, to put it lightly. However, I appreciate the reminder that a rolling bag is going to be even heavier if she has to pick it up for stairs. The campus is hilly and has a lot of stairs. Checking to see if there are lockers is a great idea. She prefers to study from real books as opposed to e-books. I'll remind her to check the campus library as well to see if they make the textbooks available in the reference area. It may be possible to do studying there if she doesn't need the text in class.

Have you tried looking on the college website for the syllabi? That's going to tell you a lot more than a brief course description. I would guess that the honors physics probably has more project based labs that take more time than just standard labs.

I love Disney and have been to WDW several times as an adult. However, in your case, I would say that I doubt it would be much fun unless one of the other adults is a big Disney fan that knows how to dodge the crowds and hit just the attractions that you would enjoy.