Thank you!! I am soaking all of this up and taking notes. This is so much nicer than all the online reading I was doing (you can find a million different "paths" and suggestions, but they all seem contradictory). We'll take the degrees with "pre-law" options off the table, then! Good to know!! Those degrees DID look boring!!! The current high school plan is for him to CLEP and AP as many things as he can fit in over the next four years as well as dual enrollment for the last two years of high school. Hopefully this will enable him to finish the bachelor's degree in a shorter period of time and save a lot of money in the meantime to store away towards a good law school. Very good to read that some schools offer scholarships for public interest lawyers when it's time for law school. We'll start keeping a list as we come across those options. Thank you Lawyer&Mom for the suggestion to investigate Cuny Law School in Queens. I've never heard of it before, so it's been added to the list! Love the idea of getting the bachelor's degree in "Plan B" and I'll have him investigate the LSAT soon to get a solid idea of what that test is all about, since it seems to be THE thing to focus on. And we'll add focused logic studies to his high school classes. Any suggestions? @Job121 - you mentioned your ds did an internship with the DA office. Was this while he was in high school? This kid has been toying with the idea of a music performance degree up to this point, so he seems to be determined to be broke no matter what. ;) So - starting now to help him envision "the path to take" that will not lead him to financial ruin before he's 25 years old. :)

Thank you! I love this forum! â¤ï¸ Saves me so much time wading through useless information online and gives us a clear direction in which to begin. I appreciate it so much!!! ðŸ‘

DS & I recently read Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy and we are both pretty convinced that we want to be like him when we grow up. 😊 The book was a catalyst for me and I've decided to go back to school this summer. I've always been a highly intelligent (I hide it well... lol) underachiever, and I feel it's finally time to put that behind me and begin anew. However, unsure if becoming an attorney is in my future since I am already past 40... so I may look for other ways I can contribute. However - for ds. He's going to be a freshman in high school. The goal is to aim high so he will have choices as far as university choice goes (and hopefully good scholarships so he'll only have debt for law school - especially since he wants to be a poor-man's attorney) But what types of high school classes or extracurriculars are good choices for a future attorney? Debate, I imagine? I'd have to find a co-op or something for that... For the bachelor's degree, I'm reading that anything pretty much works (specifically English, History, African American studies, etc...) but we are seeing lots of "Pre-Law" degrees. Is this a better bet for one reason or another? He's especially interested in a music degree with a pre-law option at this moment - but I'm not sure it's adequate.... will investigate this more, of course. Stupid questions, I know - but we are just at the beginning phase of investigation and the stupid questions are always the first ones! :) We don't personally know any attorneys, so... :) Thanks for any tips or btdt experiences with yourself or your own children! ðŸ‘

DD1 was insistent that she didn't want to take foreign language in college. Her school/her degree does not require it. She DID have to have 2 years of high-school-level foreign language. If she didn't meet that requirement, the uni would require it of her in college, IIRC. The uni DD2 is looking at does require college-level foreign language. Ideally, she'll have two years of hs foreign language and two semesters of community college foreign language before starting at this university -so we are hoping she will have a maximum of one year during her freshman year and will be done.

IMO, it totally depends upon circumstances. DD1 applied to something like 8-10 universities. We narrowed it down to those schools - all schools where she thought she could be happy - and after that point, we were "chasing the money." DD2 will quite possibly wind up only applying to one school (at this time, it's the only school she is is remotely interested in because it has a very specific program she is interested in) and I will pray heavily for talent-based scholarship - and she will work hard for that talent-based scholarship, lol (it is a pricey-for-around-here private university). And she will probably apply for outside scholarships AND have to have a part time job to offset costs. So. Totally different "right" scenarios for two totally different daughters. DS, I predict, will be applying to 8+ schools like sister#1. They are very similar.

Things are shaping up! For Sure: 1) Saxon Advanced Math with WTMA with the intent to take either the SAT II &/or CLEP for College Algebra at the end of the year 2) Spanish II (local co-op) 3) U.S. Government & Politics U.S. Government with the intent to CLEP or AP. DD is taking the AP this May, so her experience will help us decide which ds should do.... 4) Chemistry I (local co-op this year. Will take AP Chem next year and AP Physics jr year) Uncertain: 5) English I have no idea which direction we will go for English. For 8th, he'll have finished IEWs Teaching the Classics and Windows to the World. So, maybe Elegant Essay plus continued grammar review... dunno. 6/7) Electives 6 & 6.5) Up in the air again. 7) unknown. Most likely a continued Computer Science/Programming class to continue the ones he's already completed so it will show up on his transcript at least once. Might just do AP Comp Sci.

This made me laugh so much - because I have said - out loud - this exact same sentence! While AT Blue Springs! lololol!! Yeah - right now, my two at-home teens will sulk about pretty much *anything* that was not originally their idea. IF I give them choices and a timely heads-up, they are delightful kids - EVEN if it's something they don't want to do. Truly. They each put in hours and hours of time watching the other one at musical or sports events. But, omg. If I just decide for them, they really are brats about it. :001_rolleyes:

DD had a rocky middle/end of the first semester and was really (and unexpectedly) homesick. Those last few weeks before she came home were really rough for her (she switched roommates a week or two before the end of the first semester). This semester has been fantastic. She's made a lot of new friends and is much more confident in herself this semester. Her new roommate is perfect for her and they have a very relaxed relationship together. DD is over 24 hours away by car - so she is f.a.r. away. She isn't prone to in-general homesickness, so I wasn't expecting her first semester to be as rough as it turned out to be. It's a huge relief that semester 2 is going so much better.

Blue Tent! They offer an Honors 1 & an Honors 2 class. DD2 (10th) is taking the Honors 2 class this year and will be in AP Lang next year. Older dd took AP Lit a few years ago. I absolutely love these English classes. DD1 (who was on an engineering-major-track in school... very STEM-heavy) says that her English class was her all-time favorite high school class. English! http://teacherweb.com/USA/BlueTent/Thompson/apt27.aspx

Another pleased customer here!! We ordered dd's cap/gown/diploma from them last year and everything was great!!! I can't remember which cap/gown, though, as it was a group order pre-set up and I just put it "in the basket" - and moved along to the diploma wording... Dd's was black, and it really all looked fantastic and was excellent quality at a good price. ðŸ‘

Just signed dd up for her AP US Gov't test. We are very fortunate that a nearby high school offers a ton of AP exams and we just email the organizer for the link and sign up online! Super easy! We just decided to have dd take this exam for sure (she was contemplating taking the CLEP later instead) - so we have a little intense studying to plan out for her over the next couple of months.

I could've written your post, OP! 😂 Oh dear. DS isn't argumentative or rebellious in the slightest - he often looks genuinely surprised when I ask why such-and-such isn't done already! It's like it's the first time he's heard it (even when it's the 4th!) He forgets things at home, leaves things in odd places, ... ... Like elegant lion said - it's like toddlerhood all over again!! 😂 I know other boys who've grown into young men before my eyes and they went through this exact 2-3 year long phase. They're all quite respectable young men now, so I have hope for ds that he won't be this absent-minded forever. 🙄😄

This was my dd. Those essays were absolute torture for her. I couldn't understand it, but she'd have preferred to walk through fire, I think. It was so bad that, after writing many, many essays, she just stopped. She refused to write even one more for a couple honors college applications and that "just one more" university I wanted her to apply to (*just* to see if she'd get in! Now I'll never know!!! waahhhh! lol)

I absolutely posted when the first acceptances started to come in! Added a picture of the letter and everything! My Facebook friends list is purposefully tiny - and those who know me know *how* stressed I was about the entire application process. So it wasn't seen as braggy - but rather as the huge sigh of relief that it was. Everyone else already knows that dd was really smart and would qualify for good scholarships and would get into the schools she was applying to - it was ME who was nervous and uncertain about it. lol I only posted that one picture and then posted once more when dd had made her choice. ðŸ‘

Thank you for the ideas! I feel much more stable about it now. Hadn't thought about using the math-specific-test-prep books in addition to the regular test-prep books! 'doh! That should do the trick nicely!

As I sat down to make a preliminary list for ds for 9th grade, I realized I'm unsure how to tackle his math over the next four years. He is currently partway through Saxon Algebra II with plans to have it finished over summer. He will take Saxon's Advanced Math next year for 9th grade. Then he will take AP CalculuS in 10th grade. So- when he takes the PSAT in 11th, he will be far removed from any Algebra/Geometry study (I am assuming that he will take AP Statistics or Calc II at the CC that year?) Is there a good curriculum he should do during 10th and 11th to review Algebra and Geometry on a regular basis? I considered having him do random questions from an Algebra or Geometry textbook every day, but that seems inefficient (I am *SO* NOT a math person and would probably select the least important problems for him to do!) 🤔 I only - just yesterday - realized that he's considerably ahead of where dd#1 was in math. It sort of snuck up on me. It is amazing how not curriculum hopping and learning to just "do the next thing" has worked for us! lol

For Sure: 1) Saxon Advanced Math with WTMA 2) Spanish II (local co-op. I am currently heavily praying that their schedule coordinates with ours next year. Their co-op meets on our busiest day of the week, so we only have a tiny window of time available...) 3) English AP English Language @ Blue Tent Uncertain: 4) Science Most likely Chemistry through a local co-op. Perhaps Physics (same co-op). This will likely depend on scheduling... 5/5.5) History most likely US History at the CC? 6/7) Electives I have no idea. It looks like we have the "basics" covered at home/co-ops. So if she takes US History at the CC, we will want to do at least one other dual-enrollment class. No idea what, though! We need to make time to pull up the majors she's currently interested in and see what classes she can take that would go towards those degrees for sure. She's planning a couple CLEP credits, but we sure haven't worked out which those will be. We've gotta get on that. . . Pretty much 100% of her classes will be outsourced next year, which will be a beeeeautiful thing. She is 100% independent and on top of things when she isn't answering to me. :thumbup1:

Didn't read the rest of the replies, so sorry if any of this repeats or contradicts someone directly. :) My youngest was the fattest, rolliest baby I'd seen. lol Until he turned 3. He was always active and was an early walker, so it certainly wasn't from a lack of activity! lol Once he hit three, he started to slim down a lot naturally. Now, he's a skinny, scrawny teenager who eats like a horse. One of my daughters was a stocky/rectangle baby and the other was tall and thin. Now, the stocky baby is dainty as can be and the thin baby is sturdy and strong. lol Other babies in my kids' circles of growing up haven't "matched up" with their pre-4-year-old baby-fat ratios either. Lots of delightfully fat babies turning into thin kids/teens and vice versa. So, I don't put too much stock in worrying about it when they're that young. With that said, starting good eating habits at a young age is always a great idea. We don't restrict food in our house, but we have always pushed a balanced, well-rounded eating "way of life." DS (who eats "All The Food" right now) doesn't get a third buttery roll when he hasn't eaten a banana or apple recently. Or doesn't get a "snack" of a slice of pizza if he hasn't eaten some nuts/fruit/vegetable/whatever he has been avoiding first. It's a great determination of whether the kids are "bored eating" or "crave-eating" or genuinely hungry. If ds is truly hungry, he will heartily eat that broccoli/carrots first and then wait 10-15 minutes to decide if he is still hungry enough for the pizza (he usually is, lol, but at least I got some veggies in him first - and he's satisfied after 1 slice of pizza vs wanting another!). We are on the go a lot, though, and my kids are grazers. I make big meals that go right into the fridge and then we all just sort of pull various items from the fridge and heat up what we want as we come and go. Their spouses will not thank me for those eating habits, I am sure. :rofl:

Here's what we have so far! :hurray: For Sure: 1) Saxon Advanced Math with WTMA 2) Spanish II (local co-op. I am currently heavily praying that their schedule coordinates with ours next year. Their co-op meets on our busiest day of the week, so ds only has a tiny window of time available...) 3) History Susan Wise Bauer's The History of the Ancient World along with the question/answer pdf/book, along with written assignments. He is finishing US/State History this year for 8th, so getting back to the Ancients should be interesting for him. My oldest used the HofAW and really enjoyed it, but we didn't have the questions for each chapter that are available now, and I need something like that with this ds. Uncertain: 4) Science Clover Creek or Derek Owens Physics. This is what I WANT him to do. BUT, he should take AP Physics and would be ready for it by 10th grade. He did Biology in 8th grade and an Intro to Chemistry in 7th grade. So - no Intro to Physics or Physical Science class recently, so I'm thinking it's time to tackle Physics. But... it seems redundant to have Physics and AP Physics. Ugh. Hmmm. Sooooo - maybe Chemistry would be the smarter choice instead? There are two local options to outsource Chemistry and then maybe he would take AP Chemistry after that. Hmmm. Plans are for AP Chem, AP Bio, and AP Physics for 10, 11, 12 (in whatever order...) 5) English I have no idea which direction we will go for English. For 8th, he'll have finished IEWs Teaching the Classics and Windows to the World. So, maybe Elegant Essay plus continued grammar review. Hmmmm... I was going to outsource and do Blue Tent's Honors English 2, but am trying to reign in the budget for next year as much as possible. He doesn't need outside motivation (unlike his elder sister), so it seems frivolous to outsource 9th grade English when I don't have to. 6/7) Electives 6 & 6.5) Music Theory/Music History. Or maybe Music History/Art History instead and save Music Theory for AP senior year... Maybe a half-credit each and not too intense? Yes, think I'm leaning toward the latter now that I've typed that out. lol 7) unknown. Most likely a continued Computer Science/Programming class to continue the ones he's already completed so it will show up on his transcript at least once.

I'm scanning threads and realized - with some shock - that this thread applies to us again this year! 😳 It's my last freshman and I'd better start cementing plans! Now - off to read what everyone else is doing ðŸ‘

Blue Tent opens for registration on March 1st and looks like they are offering AP Biology next year!! Two of my kids have taken their English classes and I love, love them!! I think we are going to sign up for Blue Tent Anatomy and AP English Language next year. Perhaps Honors English 1 or 2 for ds as well. And we will be signing up for WTMA Saxon Advanced Math for dd and ds. That should be it ðŸ‘

Happy to hear that everyone is doing so well! Your son's recital was fantastic! What a treat to listen!!! ðŸ‘

Ditto Tap's post. I won't reschedule anything for last minute drop-ins. If we had to reschedule piano lessons, classes, - even down time, etc? We would be "paying for" that last-minute visit for weeks of our-of-sync scheduling. Not even close to worth it. If they really wanna see me, they can call ahead. In that case, I would do everything I can do to make room in the schedule for a visit - happily!!! But a last-minute phone call wouldn't even register on my radar as important enough to warrant all the juggling.

I have both a rice cooker and an instant pot and I love, love, love my rice cooker. Cannot imagine life without it.

Mine starts back on Monday. If I let her get on the plane and fly away from me, that is. 😢 (I will, of course... but I'm sad. Not telling HER that because she's starting to get melancholy as it gets closer... so I'm saying it here so I can keep a big, encouraging smile on my face over the next couple of days!)