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romeacademy

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Posts posted by romeacademy

  1. I'd love to hear some suggestions on colleges for dd to check out. She has no clear idea what she wants to do, but knows she does not want to pursue STEM-type majors or business. She loves theater, sewing, arty things, English Lit. The one thing she does seem to be focused on is a minor or double major in Spanish. Her current search parameters are:

     

    Smallish in size (1000-5000 students)

    Solid liberal arts core curriculum - preferably a required 1-2 year core.

    Preferably located in Upper Midwest. She isn't crazy about only being able to get home via plane at Christmas.

    Conservative worldview (Catholic a plus, but not an absolute)

    Spanish available, at least as a minor

     

    Hillsdale currently tops her list, but it's not exactly easy to get into (about a 62% acceptance rate).

     

    I'd really appreciate hearing other suggestions. I'd like to do some visits this spring if we can, at least to give her a basis for comparison. We may just visit some local schools, even if she thinks she won't go there, just for that reason.

  2. I had originally planned that all my kids would do Spanish, for several reasons. (Generally practical, fairly easy to find live teachers, it's the one I know, at least a little). However, we're going to end up with at least Spanish and German.

     

    I don't know that I have a really good answer, but I do think that if the student is really interested, they're going to learn more and be more willing to put the hard work in. Doesn't necessarily make the driving any better though. :)

     

    As far as practical aspects, I have been told that German can be very practical for kids interested in techy, engineering type fields. At least older ds hopes that's the case.

  3. A district in the nearby metro area just handed out ipads to the entire freshman class. The kids will keep them until graduation. Each new class will be given ipads as well.

     

    Too soon to know how it's going to turn out, but it was an interesting contrast to this article that I saw on another loop last week. It's an article from the NY Times that talks about how the spending on technology in classrooms hasn't been backed up by improved scores.

  4. That's all well and good, but what about college admissions? My alma mater now has an incoming freshman class with an average 4.3 GPA (on a 4 point scale). You don't even get considered if you're not taking and excelling in honors and AP classes.

     

    So I'm just wondering what happens if your child's school doesn't offer AP classes? DD attends a small, classically oriented school that currently doesn't designate any classes as AP. Their intent is for most classes to be taught at that level so kids would be prepared to take AP exams. DD does not test well, so we haven't decided whether or not she'll attempt any of the AP exams.

     

    Just curious how colleges might view that. Doesn't sound like graduates are having trouble getting accepted, but I don't know how many have applied at some of the super selective schools.

  5. I have had my Kenmore front loader for about 5.5 years. I also do 2-3 loads a day.

     

    It does take longer to wash a load, which I have kind of gotten used to. At first, it seemed like it took less time to dry, so the oveall time balanced out. Now the dryer seems to run longer (I suspect the humidity sensor thing is going bad).

     

    Also, the machine seems to chew up my clothes. In the last few years it has put holes in or torn (usually the sleeves of) several T-shirts, a soccer jersey, 2 pair of hi-tech long underwear, and countless dish towels. It seems to happen to lighter weight articles, and last time I noticed that the machine was pretty full. So for now I am doing laundry the way mama taught me - separate heavy items from light items. Also I am underloading the machine and lowering the spin speed. Of course that means more loads and even more time in the dryer.

     

    I am secretly hoping it dies soon so I can justify replacing it. When it does I will replace it with a top-loader. Added advantage, I can try felting!

  6. I've been lurking (again) for ages now, but since dd 17 is finishing her jr year and college stuff is looming, I'm back with lots of questions.

     

    I'm considering purchasing the Kaplan SAT Online Test prep. Homeschool Buyers Co-op has it for $49.95 until tomorrow. I'm wondering if anyone has used it and what your experience was.

     

    I've done some searching online and it seems that all of the paid test prep courses get mixed reviews (along the lines of questioning whether or not they really increase scores as much as advertised). -

     

    DD's PSAT scores were Critical Reading 51, Math 49, Writing Skills 51. Not too bad, I guess, but probably not good enough to get her where she wants to go. I'm hopeful that the on-line course will help her structure her study time, since right now she keeps putting it off to concentrate on homework and work.

     

    Thanks!

  7. Let's just have wine!

     

    :iagree:I spent all last week running around like a crazy person cleaning the house for dds's First Communion. Now you could hardly tell.

     

    On top of that it's May, I want to be DONE, I've just realized how little dd absorbed of Biology, and am generally feeling that we didn't accomplish what we should have this year. Yeah, wine sounds like just the ticket.

  8. We're in the midst of baseball/softball/soccer season and several nights a week don't end up eating at the same time. I'm looking for ideas for dinners that are easy to put together and that "keep" well for a couple of hours or warm up well. Tacos are my usual standby, but less than a month into the season everyone's already a little tired of them (OK, I'm tired of them). I just feel stuck in a rut and need some new ideas.

     

    Thanks for your help! :001_smile:

  9. How about Talbots, Lands End, LL Bean, or Eddie Bauer? All except Talbots are mostly casual, but do offer dressier items as well. The first three have plus sized petites as well. Don't know what style and items you're looking for, but hope that helps!

     

    Ditto these, although I've think Eddie Bauer's quality has been deteriorating over the past couple of years. Fabrics are thinner and pill and shrink more than they used to. Also check Anne Taylor. I know they have tall, but not sure about plus.

     

    I've just found a wonderful consignment store in my area that carries mostly higher end brands. If you can find one, it's a great way to stock up on better quality clothes without breaking the bank. I found a gorgeous Talbots silk dress for only $25. Yeah me!

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