Here is one from the L.A. Times that I want to try if I ever get space in a community garden. No room at home. The Times' seem more nourishing. . http://www.latimes.com/style/la-hm-nodig12-2008jun12-story.html.

I suggest you start with a review of great references on this board: Starting High School, Outsourcing, Online Class, Tutors, Dual Enroll., AP, PSAT, SAT/ACT, SAT II, CLEP, GED -- links to past threads here!Started by Lori D., Aug 21 2012 08:31 A

You are fortunate. I wish I did. But, have lost contact with everybody with several extended absences from L.A.,

I graduated from a large Los Angeles high school 30+ years ago. My class had 1200 students. I left L.A for extended periods for college, work, and professional school. Still, in that period, I have only crossed path with one class mate. You don't stumble into people in Los Angeles. It is just too big.

I just flew United to drop the new 7th grader off at CTY summer residential. I flew back alone on Spirit. The 7th grader will fly back on Southwest alone. Spirit was $100 cheaper than anything else for a simple seat, but you have to pay for CARRY ON, checked luggage, snack,, assigned seats, and all drinks. Some of these fees double if you don't purchase ahead of flight. unaccompanied minor fee on Spirit $150, on Southwest $50. Spirit served the purpose for me on this trip as I was traveling back light and alone. But, I don't see how it would have been practical for a family on say a week long trip with luggage.

We stayed in Flagstaff last year on our visit to the Grand Canyon. Lowell Observatory is great. For meals, Black Bark, an extremely fun, steak dinner cabaret theater show at at a great price. Or, the Cottage for a fancy dinner at a fraction of Los Angeles prices.

The 7th grader must supply his own books. The school recommends or has set up arrangements with Follett Books. Many colleges use this company as well. However, we do not buy or rent from them.. As Lanny as thoroughly explained, use the ISBN to buy the books on Amazon. Our used books purchases on Amazon are a fraction of the cost of Follett.

After you see a few of these incidences, you will understand. These are not working dogs--these are the fu-fu dogs. The owners don't even pet or hug the dogs-- the dogs are decorations. The owners are talking on the phone the whole time, and usually quite loudly. There are some men I see doing this. But, mostly snooty looking ( in a fake pretentious way), 40ish women. In my day, they would have been cat lovers. I'll take the heat for the stereotyping.

20 years ago, I sold my college car, a restored 69 MGB, so I could park in the garage. Have not parked in the garage a single day since-- still no room

i am not referring to the carrier pets. I've seen those forever. These were simply pampered pets on leashes.. They two dog owners weren't flying alone, and looking distressed. The owners were with human companions and looked rather smug in their ability to take their dog with them. I see this in the grocery daily.

I've been following. Based on the the Murderous Math recommendations, I just ordered the Fiendish Angletron for the new 7th grader just starting the trig part of alg 2. It must be popular. A little pricey even used.

I am greatly bothered by this new dog trend. The dogs are everywhere. last flight I was on had two. Just have to claim emotional need, and have a doctor sign off. http://emotionalsupportanimals.org/2010/10/07/how-do-i-get-my-dog-certified-as-an-emotional-support-dog/

Probably should begin with checking your state or district options. California, for example, has a free program. If Stanford is out of reach, take a look at Davidson on-line. It might be cheaper and is geared toward advanced students as well.

In California, only non-profits get the permits for the fireworks stands. The $5-10,000 proceeds are a big part of the band, church, cheer, football team, scout troop budget. But what makes it a blow off law for me is how arbitrary the laws are imposed. In a 10 minute drive from my home, I can travel through 6 cities. Half/half on whether there are restrictions. Makes no sense when sales are encouraged for charities/non-profits.

Got a ways to before it is an issue with the 7th grader. I imagine I will handle it the same way I did when I was the young adult. I never wanted or expected to have regular friends or dates sleep over. But, I did use the couch a lot after the folks were asleep, and then took the friend home well before morning. Then, with long term relationships--as in living together-- I would have expected them to sleep over. However, I was financially independent immediately after college so when we did visit either's parents, we always stayed in hotels. I have not spent the night at the folks as an adult. edited to say, i mean after college.

our problem is not keeping the cans and bottle, but rather recycling them. Only after the backyard has 6 or 8 full large thrash bags, and looks so disgusting, do we finally head to the center.

Well yes, and no. The issue came up last week when I was dropping the 12 y.o. off for his summer program. The summer program conveniently happened to be in city where I had a business meeting. I left for the meeting before he woke. I called him to go downstairs for the hotel's free breakfast. Told him to keep talking to me on the cell phone until he reached the restaurant, and then to call me before he returned to room. I made sure he arrived safely both ways. NO, I would not otherwise allow him to roam a hotel alone. So simple to snatch a child into a stairwell or room.

I was also 13 when I stayed alone overnight. The folks were driving from Los Angeles to Virginia in a '65 Mustang. If I had gone it would have been folks upfront with infant sister (way before car seat rules), and 3 of us in the back. I balked because I did not really like the step enough to be that close for so long, and had no interest in meeting step's family. The folks were actually excited for me to stay home after they thought it through. More room in the car. They were gone around 2 weeks. They gave me money for food and called regularly. I had a blast. The neighbors all knew I was home alone, but no one did anything special for me. So, my answer is yes. With cell phones, face time, internet nowadays, it should be a cinch.

Wow! I'm impressed by your review. I can tell you understand this math. I don't and have maxed out on my ability to assist the new 7th grader, other than to pay for classes and tutors. His math circle is also run by a very selective university. Grad math students run the classes. There are roughly 5 groups of 6 students in each class. Each group has an undergrad math major as table leader. The classes are 2 hours. Only a problem or two are assigned for hw. Parents are never allowed inside. I sometimes listen outside, but the math is Greek to me. But, the kids love it. It is quite boisterous--a lot of friendly table rivalry. The wait list for the middle school level is several years. The kids who are at this level don't leave. BTW another book you might enjoy is Geometry in Problem, Alexander Shen, translated by , and available at the American Math Society site. My son's circle just completed a geometry class using this book. It is all about proofs.

We use the free Global Ivy tests as our final practice exam. Have not paid for their services though

If you have the option, do the 1/2 day program. You'll save $. Most of the day care activities are done in the afternoon. The reasoning being that kids who still need child care are probably not ready for 8 hours dedicated to anything. Even baby CTY residential programs only have 6 hours of instructions per day--no hw, the rest is fun stuff.

It is the privilege of being in demand. When we were exploring private middle schools, the " IT" school had a very minimal open house. The other schools in the area provided refreshments, tours, demonstrations, and classroom visits.

I wouldn't iniate the trip, but ,if the 7th grader brings it up, we would do it. We regularly day trip such distance for favorite meals, stopping at the beach along the way.

My 7th grader started the math track in preschool. In 2nd grade, he took a 4th grade math class with EPGY. Did very well in the class, but got jammed at the final exam that was word problem heavy. He could do the math required in the word problem, but the lacked the comprehension/vocabulary to understand what the question was asking. He would have bombed in a real classroom. Since then, have kept all advanced math independent of school. Going at his own pace, has served us well. For example, took 1 1/2 years for alg 1, something that would not have been possible at school without repercussions. Another thing to consider with early acceleration, especially with a couple of grade levels, is that you can jam your child in h.s. If your child finishes calculus bc in 10th, you will have committed him/her to college math major courses whether they have the passion or skill for it. All selective colleges require 4 years of math in h.s. . So even though the 7th grader will be starting D.O. pre-calc in the fall, he will be going to pre-alg at school. I'm waiting h.s. for proper placement.

We used this: Grammar Cop (Funnybone Books, Grades 3-5) Paperback – January 1, 2004. A fun little workbook. Photocopy the pages to make many sets. A page a day. Maybe 10 minutes. We would go through the book a couple of times in a row, several times a year.