Hmmm. . .interesting question. It varies by subject but I guess #4 is closest to how we do it. Pegasus Edited after poll was added: Mostly independent use of textbook by student. No testing but do use chapter questions/problems/worksheets.

When I finished my undergraduate degree and began graduate school, an assistantship fell into my lap. It paid my tuition and a small stipend; enough for me to live frugally and not take out any loans. I didn't give it much thought and assumed that most people in graduate school had a similar situation. Now, of course, I know that some people take out large loans to cover their graduate studies. I'd love for my DDs to seriously consider getting at least a masters degree as soon as they finish their undergraduate studies. IMHO, it's much easier to achieve right away as opposed to when a person is working full-time and/or juggling family responsibilities. Is there any information out there on which majors are likely to have graduate assistantships available and which ones are not? Thanks, Pegasus

Thanks, everyone. I wanted to provide an update because after talking this over with a friend, she had a lead on a pair of female leopard geckos that need a new home! They would come with all the gear so that would save DD some serious allowance money. DD is very excited. I appreciate all the information and experiences. Pegasus

I agree, #5. It's more important to keep you and DH together, if at all possible. Maybe you and DH would be able to give DD a bit more financial help if he landed a good job in the north. Pegasus

One of our dogs prefers me to all others. I can't figure out why. DD14 feeds him in the morning, DH feeds him at night, DD11 brushes him. We all walk him. I work full time and they are home all day. Yet, he wants ME to play with him and wants to sit pressed up to ME on the sofa and rests his head on MY lap when I'm at the table. Why? :confused: The only thing I can think of is when we first found him, a scared skinny stray covered head to toe in ticks, I was the one who first befriended him and I was the one who went over him and picked off all the ticks. However, that was YEARS ago. Reckon he remembers? :001_huh: Pegasus

DH and I watched this recently and liked it so much we watched it again with DD14 and DD11. I was worried that the slaughterhouse scenes would be difficult to watch but they were not. What an amazing woman! Pegasus

Your links don't work for me. We have the dark blue one and it is hardcover (ISBN 0970111207). You'll want to be careful when you order because there is also a student workbook and, I think, a teachers manual. We only use the textbook. Pegasus

Stop thinking of it as a problem and just let them have their music. Music can be very portable so they won't be tied to home! DD11 still needs a nightlight. The only snag I've run into is when we are camping. I've found that those light-up bracelets put out just enough light to comfort her and last long enough for her to fall asleep. Pegasus

DD11 has been lobbying for a leopard gecko off and on for over a year now. She's researched the care of this pet, the set-up and maintenance costs, etc. It's often a subject of her assigned essays. We currently have dogs (2), cats (2), and fish (numerous in 2 tanks). I have no strong feelings against adding a leopard gecko but thought I'd check here for any real life experiences. I mainly wonder if they are boring pets. Since they are nocturnal, do they just hide away all day and come out to be active once the family is in bed? I've already warned DD that they aren't pets that should be handled much so she won't expect to be able to take it from it's tank and play with it. Thanks, Pegasus

:iagree: Definitely at least look at EPS Writing Skills. This is the series that got us "over the hump" when DD was struggling with writing. It is very step-by step. DD still doesn't love writing but she can do it and better yet, do it independently. We used Jump In after EPS and that worked pretty well. It would have been a bomb if we tried it before as DD wasn't ready for the more open ended assignments. Good Luck! Pegasus

How funny! How did that happen? Scrolling back, it looks like I resurected an old thread but I thought I was only reading the first couple of pages of threads. Weird. So sorry if it was me! Pegasus Oh! I just realized what I did!! I was reading a recent thread and clicked on one of the "similar threads" offered at the bottom of the screen and responded without even looking at the dates. Please let me stay on the board. I'll promise to be more careful.

Ain't that the truth! I'd rather pill a dozen dogs than a single cat. My DH can usually get a pill down a cat but he is sometimes bloody afterwards. Pegasus Edited to add: HE is the one bloody, not the cat. Didn't want anyone thinking that he hurt the cat!

The only sure-fire solution is to toss the sweater and buy a new one. :glare: Pegasus

Oh no! I'm so sorry this happened. Please consider some of the suggestions the other posters have made as an alternative to having the dog killed. I currently have a dog that has not yet bitten but I think he could/would. He is a street rescue when he was several months old. He was obviously mistreated/abused before we got him. After over 5 years, he is still terrified of men, especially if they are wearing a ballcap. His natural tendency is to back away and bark but if he felt threatened or cornered, I'm sure he would bite. We keep him inside full-time, take him out only on a leash, and crate him when company comes over. So far, this has worked for us. Pegasus

Yes, the sender/receiver know who they each are but they are also "alone" and "safe" during the texting conversation. I don't think that I am explaining it well. Pegasus

It's much like our attraction to this message board. It has a sense of anonymity so they can be freer with what they say. It gives a person immediate satisfaction to send and receive messages in rapid succession. It feeds their need for social connection without requiring the social skills needed for face to face (or even verbal over the phone) conversations. It can be addictive and not totally healthy, IMHO. Pegasus

You've gotten some great recommendations so far, however, I'm not sure how much of a financial constraint you are under. Some of the recommendations are not inexpensive. Lial's is a good solid choice. Keep in mind that you can take the pretest at the beginning of the text and then focus on the areas where you have problems. There is no need to grind through the whole book if you have a good grasp of some of the concepts and skills. An added plus is that Lial's can be picked up very inexpensively if you buy an older edition (just look for new or like new as some students write in them). Campbell and Reece do have a high school level biology book which would be a good choice. I wouldn't jump into the college level Biology text (also known as Daddy Campbell). For chemistry, you should look at Conceptual Chemistry by John Suchoki. My DD is essentially self-teaching with this one. Again, you can pick up an older edition pretty cheaply and it has free lecture videos and printable worksheets online. There is also a Conceptual Physics by a different author that is pretty popular. I'm less familiar with it but both of these conceptual classes go easy on the math and focus on the concepts. For writing, you could use Format Writing by Jensen. It is no-nonsense and solid although some find it dry and uninspiring. Another inexpensive choice would be Wordsmith Craftsman. Your writing can definitely improve on your own just by writing, writing, writing, but it would help if you could find someone to read your papers and offer encouragement and criticism. If you have access to a good library, you could probably find enough resources there for social science. I don't have any specific recommendations. Pegasus

Two thoughts: 1. It's ok and sometimes necessary to have quiet time. Put littles down for a nap and send olders to their rooms to read or play quietly. 2. I've found it helpful to sometimes stop what I am doing and really focus on the child and what she is saying: look her in the eye, ask leading questions or reaffirm what she is saying. A few minutes of this often satisfies her. . . .when it would take much longer if she was trying to chatter at me while I continued my other activity. Pegasus

Conceptual Chemistry 3rd edition - 0805382216 Conceptual Chemistry 4th edition - 0136054536 It is likely that you will find much cheaper prices on the 3rd edition, which is what we are using. Be aware, however, that the textbook was reorganized extensively for the 4th edition. Most of the material is the same but it is shuffled around. The "extras" on the website that are freely available, the videos and worksheets, are organized for the 4th edition. It takes some careful planning to try to re-align everything to the 3rd edition. Pegasus

We are using it too. I bought a used textbook off Amazon. DD reads the text, watches the lectures online, completes the worksheets printed off from online, and does experiments with the Thames and Kosmos C3000 chem kit. DD is science oriented so we are using this to prepare her to take chemistry through dual enrollment. Pegasus

Sounds like sometimes your connection is slow. We haven't had this happen with Netflix but does sometimes happen with other internet video watching. Sometimes it helps to pause the movie for a while and let the downloading get ahead of where you are watching. Pegasus

Review the current TSA guidelines for getting through security. These seem to change frequently and not knowing them can cause a real slow down to get through. Make sure any liquids or gels are in containers less than 3 oz and that they all fit into a single quart-size ziplock bag (per passenger). You'll have to pull this out at security, as well as take off shoes, coats, etc. It's not bad for a single business traveler but can be a real pain for a family. Be sure to let the airline rep at check-in know if you have any special needs during flight and if you need to load the plane early to get settled in before they start the cattle call. Repeat this information to the gate agent. It's not fun to sit in the plane longer than necessary but you really want to get on early so you can to stow your stuff carefully and safely. Those bins fill up fast. It goes without saying, I guess, to bring along plenty of distractions for the children. If you allow hand-held video devices, this is a perfect time to use them, although warn the children ahead of time that they will have to be turned off for take-off and landing. Take snacks and buy water once you get past security. They don't feed you on planes anymore and even drink service can take a long time. Flying is dehydrating so make sure everyone is drinking lots. Have a super fun great time! Pegasus

I've always had a microwave and only got a toaster oven several months ago. You definitely want a microwave. We use the microwave at least 10 times for every time we use the toaster oven. For re-heating, a microwave wins over a toaster oven handily. The healthiness depends on what you put IN the microwave or toaster oven, not the device itself. . .unless you are using a microwave with a broken door and standing right in front of it for hours while it's cooking on high. So, I don't suggest that. Pegasus

I'd hit the public library and evaluate their personal finance books and just have my DC read it and discuss. You could even use a Dave Ramsey or Larry Burkett book if those are the money gurus you like. You could also throw in some periodical publications for current financial news/advice, like Money magazine, Forbes, etc. Some of my favorite books include "The Wealthy Barber" and "Your Money or Your Life." I've read a LOT of personal finance books and these two are the ones that really changed they way I look at personal finance. I think "The Wealthy Barber" is especially good for young people just entering the world on their own as it is written in story form and covers what many consider a dry subject in an interesting and humorous manner. It's the only financial book I've been able to get DH to read! Pegasus Edited to add: If your son is college bound and you need to keep expenses down, I also recommend adding "Debt Free U" to his reading list! Edited again to add that "The Wealthy Barber" is the book that we've had to buy over and over again because we tend to loan it out and then people don't want to give it back!

I think this is a fairly common practice. We plan to do the same thing with some science and pre-calculus: do a course at home and then repeat at the CC. You could do a couple things: 1. Take off the Spanish credits from your transcript and let the CC courses stand for his foreign language credits. My DD will be working with Rosetta Stone Spanish up until she starts taking Spanish at the cc but I'm just not including it on her transcript for credit. 2. Call the CC courses something slightly different, like College Spanish I and II or Duel enrolled Spanish I and II. I'll do this for chemistry and biology: our home courses will be Conceptual Chemistry and Conceptual Biology and then the CC courses will be General Chemistry (duel enrolled) and General Biology (duel enrolled). I'm sure there are also other ways to handle this. I'll be tuning in to find out! Pegasus