Wow, it seems I have a vague memory of your 1st or second graduating. Progress is sure nice! Way to hang in there year after year!

Cabertmom, Nice idea! This is something I would never have considered, but maybe worth a look! And <3 the signature quote; she's my patron.

Please do pm. I'd like to hear your thoughts, and I'd love to read through that thread if you find it. I, too, have been somewhat surprised by the replies here. All very much appreciated. And not just because I got some validation, either.

Now *that* is what I was hoping to hear! Kill two birds with one stone; that's efficiency! :)

It isn't that she doesn't want to study these things, or that she's opposed to doing the work. It just doesn't seem to fit with her career (and thus educational) goals. I mean, she wouldn't get a 4 yr degree if she really wants to dental assisting. I think she does do these things with a good spirit, and she is open to any career ideas at this point. It's *me* who is having a hard time thinking that tech college is good enough, if it is what would best serve her needs. Does that make any sense? She's not oagainst to going to a university, but it just doesn't seem to make sense at this point given her interests...and lack of interests. But I understand your point, and thank you.

What?!? Oh the horror! : P Ds will not be pleased. My older dyslexic ds studied Latin and came through ok, but this younger has not done Latin and because of a nasty little college experience with Latin as a language (not accepted!!) I am thinking of a modern language for this one. I would like to outsource it; maybe I'd be pleasantly surprised by the result. He hasn't had any testing, etc., so he would not really be eligible for accommodations. He's sort of a phonetic speller. He gets all the rules and phonetics mixed up and ends up with "whith" and "thinck". Thinking of this in a foreign language makes me cringe, both for reading and spelling.

See, I knew I'd be encouraged! Thank you. She very much needs life skills. She's "ADD" in her thinking and organizational skills. Personal finance is already planned for next year. But certainly self-support would be the goal. This is a website we've used a lot, but if you read dental hygiene forums there seems to be a lot of job dissatisfaction, and even a lot of dispute over the number of jobs available, despite it being a "growth" field. But you're right, I want to encourage her more in that direction for salary alone. Right now her main interest is being in an orthodontic office, which is assisting. She's certainly open, though, and we have plans for job shadowing, etc., so she can be informed about the decision and the realities of either job. This is part of the angst of my decision making right now. But you're right, keeping doors open is wise. Without going into all the details, I'll just say I agree, and yet I'm not sure the best way to play it. Her 11th grade year will be the same, but her senior year is when her options will be split into two tracks--tech or state U. There are pros and cons for each, and my brain needs to step away and try to see the bigger picture of why one might be better than another for her.

No, different child! But thank you for kindly pointing out that advantage.

Yes, this is the type of program she would go into and she would have similar pre-reqs. For her senior year, she has the option of going to a state U or the tech college, so I feel like I have to make the choice of which "track" she'd be taking. One track would be geared right to the tech program and might not have a lot of transfer value, while the other would be more typical college "general ed". The U of M has a really neat program in conjunction with the Mayo Clinic (not for dental asst, but some other traditional "tech" careers). They spend two years completing the pre-reqs and then apply to the program they want (radiology, sonography, etc). Then spend the next two years in a clinical setting. It is very appealing to me, because it seems to combine the best of both worlds--academics and technical, applied learning--and you come out with a B.S. But even this is $$ if you consider you could train for these professions in two years elsewhere, and for much less per credit during those two years! Their grads probably have great prestige, and maybe better job offers, but in the end she's not concerned about getting "the best" job.

I have two ds in college and the next in line is a 10th grade dd. She's a B student, but herself admits that she's not a career type. Her real wish is to marry and stay home raising a family--it's really how she's wired. She's a homebody without big ambitions. (Note: we are a conservative Christian family, but she has not been raised with an Amish-like mindset.) She has an interest in dentistry...but dental school is out of the question. It's beyond her educational goals or motivation by far. Dental hygiene...maybe. But right now she's most interested in dental assisting...which is essentially a one year program. She likes what they do, and thinks it's what she would enjoy. She could get to work right away and make a little money (they don't get paid much), and so support herself until she finds Mr. Right. I keep wondering if I should just accept this and plan accordingly, gearing her high school towards classes at the tech school...or if I should really push and encourage her to do more, dream bigger, push herself towards loftier goals (educationally speaking, that is.) There is probably much good in this plan for her. I am becoming more and more disenchanted with colleges, for many reasons (expense, political indoctrination, quality of education). So it's hard to justify having her get a four year degree just because I'm too snooty and have the stupid mindset that less education somehow equals less intelligent. {terrible thinking, I know; trying to be honest with self, here} I've never questioned that all my children would have college degrees...4-year degrees. And now I'm struggling with letting go of that standard for reasons that don't really have much to do with education. I value motherhood. I'm a stay at home mom. But I have a 4-yr degree (said with pride). We met with a couple of young women who are dental assistants--both smart, pretty, very capable, leaders in the community. They don't have four-year degrees, and both love their work. They aren't "dummies" who "couldn't make it" in "real college". But that is the horrible stigma that I have about technical colleges. It's the worst kind of intellectual snobbery. I'm not sure what I'm looking for from any of you, other than encouragement that people can and do live wonderful, happy, fulfilling and purposeful lives without a bachelor's degree {all of which I know is true, of course}. Maybe some of you have similar stories of similar internal struggles? It's one of those bends in the road I didn't anticipate and it has thrown me for a loop.

I'm wondering how any of you with dyslexic dc have handled foreign language? I really like the look of La Clase Divertida, but spelling usually counts for teachers of language, and ds can't spell the basics in English so I foresee a problem there. Suggestions or btdt?

Then there is U Nebr/Lincoln, who admitted our son with two homeschool Latin credits...and then told him at the beginning of the semester that his language credits didn't count. He had the option to take a proficiency exam (his last Latin was finished as a 10th grader, so two years stale) or he had to take two credits of foreign language there. The reason they gave: he had no "spoken component" to his language. I argued that we had at least as much spoken component as any public school Latin class, but for naught. But Latin as a language is never excluded in any of their materials. Nor is there any mention of a "spoken component." The guy tried saying, "Lots of majors require four years of a foreign language. Maybe his does, too." (Nope.) Then: "Having that extra language exposure could be a real benefit." (Cash in my pocket is a real benefit, too, thank you.) Just thinking about this makes me want to call and argue it all again!

ahh, I see. I thought you were suggesting enrollment! Thanks for clarifying.

Thanks to all for welcoming me back into the fold and happily suggesting ideas. As far as outsourcing, am I tout of whack, or what? Everything I look at seems so expensive (Oak Meadow: $900/course?!?). That's one reason I struggle with this concept, I guess, because I'm un-willing/able to fork over so much money. It may be a totally unrealistic expectation. One thing no one has addressed on which I would love to have some insight: motivation, accountability. How do you come up with these things for yourselves, your kids? I don't think school has to be all love and fun, but I suppose the definition of burnout is everyone hating what they're doing and resisting doing it, me included. I'm not "The Joyful Homeschooler" and I want to reclaim that. And I want my kids to walk away from high school feeling proud of what they've done, rather than hateful. Then again, maybe that's asking too much for some kids. I have a great transcript form, and have no problem making one, but I do struggle with the idea of grading. Maybe I should worry less. I worry if I've graded enough, if the grades are "authentic", if what I called "good" really equaled a high-school level course. All that. I thought maybe some of you don't use a transcript, and instead went a different route. TTC courses: From what I've read these are used as supplements, rather than stand alone. Correct? All your responses are very much appreciated. I don't have support around here, so you guys are my lifeline on this stuff! Thank you.

So I've been mostly awol on the board since 2010, but now I've come crawling back asking for mercy and seriously in need of some hive wisdom. :crying: Summary: oldest ds was a dream student. He worked independently. Life was a joy. He graduates from college in June. 2nd ds was a slug. I enrolled him with Seton so we'd both be accountable. I dragged/pushed/pulled him to graduation. Now he's in college. Yippee--not my problem! 3rd dd--very add/disorganized (umm, like me?). Also in Seton for the last 3 yrs. Many tears shed by us both. 4th ds--rising 8th grader. High school looming large. I'm freaking out. youngers all over the place creating distractions and inhibiting learning I cannot do Seton any more. Can't. Do. It. I don't even know how we'll make it to the end of this year with one student. The sad thing is, I began Seton to help me be accountable, and to help keep the kids accountable. But I feel like I am now paralyzed. Like, "Oh no, how will I come up with courses and grades for a transcript on my own?" Even though I've done this before, it's all very freshly scary to me. How do you all do it? Do you grade everything? Do you make up all your own courses? Do you make transcripts or portfolios? Do you have successful college kids to prove it? :tongue_smilie: I'm an easily overwhelmed person. {should consider changing my screen name to "ovrwlmd"} and so maybe I just need you all to talk me down and say it's ok and that many people have successfully homeschooled their children to college without an umbrella school to hold them by the hand. Thank you in advance for hard batman smacks. I need some!

Just coming back to this thread, and I wanted to add that our family is a farm/ranch family as well. It's a very complex financial set-up, involving several LLC's...ugh, I get a chill just thinking of that PROFILE Farm Supplement again. But the point I wanted to make is this: ds's financial aid initially came back to us as nothing (pretty much). We were shocked. We appealed. I spoke to the fin. aid counselor assigned to us so many times. My dh spoke with her. Finally, in desperation, we were somehow (?) able to speak to the director of fin. aid at the school. He talked with my husband at great length, and still kept coming back to the same line..."but we just cannot do anything for you." My dh was pulling his hair out and in a random fit of pleading he began babbling about how he was looking out his window at the cornfield....and the fin. aid director said, "WAIT. What did you just say?" Uhhh, "I'm looking at the cornfield." F.A.: "Do you mean to say you LIVE on the FARM?" Dh: "Uh...yes. I am a farmer. I live on the farm." The F.A. said, "You will receive an email from me shortly reflecting this information." Literally, within five minutes we got an email and ds had a full scholarship. FULL. It was the craziest thing in the world. Keep in mind that this was after *clearly* answering the question on the PROFILE, FAFSA, Supplement...everywhere they asked "DO YOU LIVE ON THE FARM?" we always answered a resounding "YES!!" We'll never know how they missed that info, how we spoke to them soooo many times without results and then...Boom! Long story short, be persistent if you think you should be qualifying for money! Explain, explain, explain!

I'm just logging on for the first time in forever and looking around the old stompin' grounds I saw this. I've done the PROFILE for the last four years, including the nightmarish business/farm supplement in triplicate, because we have a complicated setup here. This year am dancing with JOY that I've only got the FAFSA! I feel your pain. Best wishes to you!

This is a thing that lets you see the relative sizes of things, from the observable universe itself (10 x 27), down to the tiniest planck measurement (10 x -35). If you click each item, there is a brief description available. If you've ever watched Powers of Ten, it's the same concept. We had lots of fun scrolling through it. http://htwins.net/scale2/

There is an essay by Alexis de Tocqueville called Memoir on Pauperism that makes worthwhile reading. Very short and available online in full. http://www.civitas.org.uk/pdf/Tocqueville_rr2.pdf

Ok, these last couple of posts make me feel a little better but I still am very interested to hear what the dentist has to say about this. We'll be calling right away in the morning and hopefully he can get in sooner rather than later. As far as the way they look, and whether a dentist might realize my concern over what could be normal wear, well I'm going to link a photo of some similar looking teeth. The rear molars are the similar ones; the front ones in the photo are much worse. http://www.nature.com/bdj/journal/v186/n10/fig_tab/4800150a_F7.html. Now, I don't know much about teeth, but this is not what I'd expect in the range of normal wear. And I don't think it's just translucent enamel, either. They are flattened and weird looking, just like in the photo. But I do appreciate your encouraging, calming words. I will sure hope for the best, but I don't think this looks good. Dany, had to smile about you not believing the story at first. It's quite odd I actually looked in his mouth when he complained. More typical would have been a polite nod and an "Oh, hmm!" I did have a little fun with ds, though. I said, "You know what this means don't you? All you can eat from now on is oatmeal. With no sugar." His eyes got big and he said, "Really?" It was a sick mommy joke.

Today ds (11) complained of a pain in his tooth (upper molar). I jokingly asked for the flashlight, so I could "find the cavity!" Well, I didn't find a cavity. What I found was that his tooth looked like the entire horizontal surface was worn away. The cusps are gone, the surface is flat and I can see yellow spots--inner tooth material. I couldn't believe it. I mean, I thought I must be mistaken in what I was seeing. So I looked more. It turns out he has at least TEN teeth that are like this. I have no idea how many of these are permanent and how many are baby teeth. I have been trying to read about what on earth could cause this. Acid from juice or pop? Well he drinks some pop, but maybe one or two a week wouldn't do this. Overbrushing? Hmmm--not likely. Grinding? I've never noticed him doing this. I just don't get it at all. I did read about a genetic disorder called amelogenesis imperfecta...but wouldn't it have shown up before age 11? It's been maybe 1.5 years since his last checkup. I don't even see how this could have happened in that time period. Does anybody have any clues for me? I'm really in shock. And now I'm wondering how they can fix this. Cap all of his teeth? Oh my oh my oh my. Help!

Well that's the thing: it isn't a "diet". Adding the oil just seems to cause this feeling of satiety, so you end up eating less. It's not like I want to live on coconut oil-soaked Twinkies, but I do like the idea of eating a varied (ie, non-restricted) diet and still getting some benefit. :001_smile: Chocolate is one of the four food groups, isn't it?

Oh absolutely! I don't mind getting a call or email. But if all I get is your generic note, which only involved you (or even your mom) putting a stamp and address on the envelope, then I think that's pretty lame. It isn't the handwritten note that's important to me, I guess, as much as some kind of *personal* acknowledgment. I guess it's about the attitude of the recipient.

We've gotten several grad thank you's that consist of a photo of the lovely grad with a printed "Thanks!" (or more elaborate sentiment) across the photo. If we're lucky, the photo is autographed. We've even gotten a couple of these after weddings--just a printed card, possibly with signature. It annoys me to get a Christmas card that isn't signed, much less a thank you. I think these are totally impersonal, lazy and rude--and this is from one whose dysgraphic/dyslexic ds will graduate next year. Handwriting and spelling are terrible for him, but he WILL hand write a thank you to everyone--and it won't just say "thank you" either. Am I just being old fashioned here? Please tell me that isn't the case!

I used it toward that end last year with great skepticism. However, it did work that way for me. In my case it promoted a feeling of satiation. I generally graze around even when not specially hungry, but when using this stuff I just didn't feel like eating as much. Weird, I know, and I'm not one to jump on every bandwagon. But it did work. Now I'm trying it again post-baby. :tongue_smilie: If only it has the same effect!