Gwen in VA Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 We just returned from Parents' Weekend. It was so wonderful to see our son in his new home with friends looking happy and contented! He is working hard, he has made friends, and he seems to be really liking his new environment. The high point of the weekend -- each year the freshman are given a water-related engineering challenge. This year's challenge was to build a contraption that would allow them to walk on water out of a certain amount of foam, plywood, etc. The class is divided into teams of 4. All the teams designed and built something that floated, but two teams designed vaguely snow-shoe-like things that really did allow the team members to walk on water. As a mom, I always thought he walked on water, but now I have pictures to prove it! :D Talking to other parents, I learned that most kids there are trying out new activities, which is great! I loved exploring the classrooms and hearing the stories..... So far my son's experience looks picture-perfect in many ways. Has anyone else had the freshman parents' weekend yet, or are most colleges doing it in October? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 Sounds like a great time. Kept looking for the "like" button.:) My son's college is doing it in November - it is actually a family weekend. We are visiting our son this weekend, though. I thought my other kids would benefit from seeing their brother and it would sort of serve as a college visit for ds16:). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwen in VA Posted September 18, 2012 Author Share Posted September 18, 2012 Too bad that you won't get so see dd on parents' weekend! I'm already counting the weeks until Thanksgiving break! (If you're curious, it's 8.5 weeks for ds -- his break starts the Friday before Thanksgiving.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura in CA Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 How wonderful! I'm already looking forward to parents' weekend (next year; my oldest is currently a senior in high school). I must say, though, it's funny to hear about parents' weekend already, since the (many) schools around here that are on the quarter system haven't even started classes yet! And won't until at least next week. We're actually gearing up to take a kid to college this Friday :001_smile: It's a friend of my son's whose parents don't live in the U.S., so we have the honor of taking him to move into his dorm. Classes start Thursday the 27th! (of September :001_smile:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwen in VA Posted September 19, 2012 Author Share Posted September 19, 2012 Like your friend's son, my dd1 is at a university (in grad school) where the classes start Sept. 27. It is so funny that different colleges have such radically different schedules. The super-weird thing is that ds2's college, which started classes on 8/14, doesn't finish until mid-June -- January and February are the "winter work term." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Wow. I didn't realize there was such variation! I knew there was getting out because my sister's small lac got out at the end of April and my big uni got out in June. (Both had a winter term, mine so students could earn enough for another semester and hers so students could take a fun class or travel class.) We all started around the beginning of Sept., though. My older ones have their "work term" May and June. Or all summer, depending on which year you are. I was grateful they had some sort of summer break. They needed it and it helped us to keep them grounded in the family. Our family weekend is in Oct. I can't wait. We are trying to figure out how to combine the Sat. afternoon football game, which my father always enjoys, with getting a good camping spot at the NP. Family weekend was when I finally realized why one might possibly think football was interesting. It is very different live, when you can see the whole field all the time. TV makes it very confusing lol. Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenda in MA Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Family weekend was when I finally realized why one might possibly think football was interesting. It is very different live, when you can see the whole field all the time. TV makes it very confusing lol. Nan Nan, I hear you on this one! At my son's school, it was ice hockey that I came to really enjoy. Somehow being able to see the whole rink and enjoying the atmosphere of the crowd makes the whole experience a lot more fun than just watching it on TV. Brenda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 That's it. I'm going to insist that my NEXT kid goes to school in the states. I've never been to a parent's weekend, and my ds doesn't get off for Thanksgiving at all. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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