Three weeks down, one to go

Originally, my daughter had 3 weeks in a row of performances.  There was 1 competition, then two scholarship weekends.  Well my daughter has tacked another competition on the end.  The logic behind that is that she has performed the same Shakespeare piece 3 weeks in a row... why not go ahead and perform it at the Georgia Shakespeare Festival, where it is most likely to be appreciated?

In the meanwhile, we are waiting to hear from the two colleges about the theater scholarship awards.  We also need to focus and get back into full homeschooling mode.  I feel like we are falling behind.

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College visits make all the difference

This weekend daughter is visiting and auditioning at a local college.  Actually, she auditioned yesterday  for the theater program which is a  pretty exciting looking collaboration between two colleges and a community theater which has proven to graduate working actors.

Thank you to all who remembered her in their prayers.  She feels pretty good about her audition, even though it was imperfect.  The imperfections probably did more to show her personality than anything else, so she is OK with that.  I guess we will get the results soon letting us know what (if any) scholarships she will be rewarded.  (She has already been accepted with a decent merit scholarship. )

Just a funny aside... she made a huge freudian slip in her interview. They asked if she had any dance experience, and she replied that she's taken a menage of dance classes.  She meant melange.  The

Very happy with son's college choice. Great textbook policy.

I meant to write about this a few weeks ago when my son returned for second semester. I had spent the latter half of the holiday break going over his classes and ordering books. I went to the bookstore, got the list of books and their corresponding code and searching the web for these books.

At first accounting, the books cost over $500 and that did not include art supplies. His biology book set alone cost $200 and English was $120 and psychology was over $100. I was pretty annoyed because finances were spare at the moment and I didn't know how I was doing to fund this semesters' books.

I tackled the most expensive first finding the individual books of the set online for very little. I was able to purchase the lab book and online study guide access code for about $49, and we asked around and got a friend to lone him the textbook.

Next, we realized that he already owned the books for one of his art classes as they were the same books from the previous semester. (We were told to expect this within a students major- that one book would be used for a series of classes. We picked up a few of the cheaper books on his list from Amazon, leaving him to buy English and psychology from the school's bookstore. He called me after going to buy his books informing me that he already had the books for English 102 as they were also used for English 101! I see a wonderful pattern emerging. Then he rented the psychology book, leaving him plenty of money to buy the art supplies.

So while the book estimate for the school is $500 a semester, we may have spent $600 for the whole year. That makes me very happy.

All that, and he likes it too. He said there's only one class this semester where he hasn't at least been introduced to the material, and that's psychology. So, I'm expecting great things.

I don't know that any other college does this with textbooks, so if anyone knows of colleges that do, please leave a comment. I'd love to compile a list.

We're healed! The Flu has flown

Well, not so much, actually.  We have officially been sick long enough to be completely over the flu, but secondary infections are a trip!

Regardless, I am claiming health in this situation.  Sorry, I've always wanted to say that.  Like when you're at church and someone asks how you are, and if you have the guts to actually tell the truth, they like to declare it all-better in the name of the Lord?  I'm usually thinking... no, no, my ankle still feels sprained.  Nevertheless, I am sick of being sick, and so we are healed.

Back to homeschooling.  I need to look through my daughter's stuff to see where we left off... it's been so long since she's picked up a pencil.  But she's been memorizing monologues every waking moment because....

Next on the agenda... three weekends in a row of competitions

1. CITA (Christians in the Theater Arts High School Festival).  The homeschool group/school competes in this.
2.  College choice #2 theater scholarship competition.
3. College choice # 1 theater scholarship competition.

(and wouldn't you know it... each competition has different criteria, so she has to memorize different monologues and songs for each)

College choice 3&4 are both having events next weekend, but she decided CITA was more important.  I'm going to be acting like a certified health nut this week so she can do her best, and I can get her where she needs to be for the next 2 weeks.


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Higher Education for Homeschooled Girls?

My head is spinning. My confusion began with a blog post about What To Do with Unmarried Daughters, which led to a post that looks like it could have been written in the 1940's at best.  It made me mad... really, really mad to come to the full realization that there are people who still raise their daughters differently than their sons.  I knew they existed... I homeschool.  I've met them.  But, I've always thought these were isolated cases.  I never realized how strongly some people felt that education for a girl was pointless.

I feel like if we, homeschoolers raise girls with the single-minded purpose of homeschooling their own, and load their homeschool lessons sewing, cooking, cleaning, and maintaining a house, we are treating

Looking forward to the New Year(s)

I am excited about the new year.  I am always genuinely enthusiastic about  New Year's when the preceding year has been especially dreadful.  Ok, it wasn't all that bad, just financially tight and a bit depressing on a personal and national basis. Between the Election, and mass shootings, I feel affected and drained.

So anyway, whenever I have felt this way before, and greeted the new year with open arms, the next year has been fabulous and so I am claiming a fabulous New Year.

Here's my problem though.

I can't envision a whole year ahead of me.

I can only see the next six months because my life will be changing so much halfway through the year. Because my girl is graduating and I have no more children at home, I feel like halfway though the year I will be making a brand new start.  So year 2013.1 I will be working hard to make sure my girl finishes her high school program, successfully and happily.  Then year 2013.2, I will work to make sure she transitions into college well, and that I transition well into empty nester status.  Wooo-hooo.

Sorry, I can't say empty nester without squealing.  It's not that I want them to go... and my husband certainly does not want them to go, but life is about change and growth, and I have been in this holding pattern for a while.  I am ready to change and grow.

Happy New Year.

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Mid year update

It's December and in spite of my best efforts to keep the school year going through winter break, by daughter had gone on strike and so we are done for the first half of the year.  I can thank my son who is home for winter break helped her make that decision.

So this is where we are as of right now:

College boy.  I've taken to calling him great-big Neanderthal Man.  He has changed.  He seems to be creating distance between himself and his dad.  This makes his dad sad.  I think it's his way of expressing his manhood, but it is still hard for his dad. His relationship with me is fine.  I think he's nicer to me actually.  I can question him about school and such, but when dad chimes in, he shuts down.   Anyway, he did good enough to keep his scholarships.  I am glad with that for first semester.  His dad wants more...  Maybe that's the problem. ... Or maybe his dad should stop "touching him

Homeschool hostile college?

I'm not naming names since my daughter's application is still in processing, but I think we are dealing with a homeschool hostile college.

We know what homeschool friendly looks like because of my son's experiences where he was immediately accepted to several colleges, with only one giving push-back.   My daughter has also heard back from 2 colleges as I keep mentioning;)

She has withdrawn one application, and is letting one more go through for giggles and grins.  But this

Daughter finally excited about college

While she has gone through all the motions of applying to colleges with great results, she has yet to show any real passion about going to college. She only wants to go...  one might say, to get away from parental micromanagement.  (Trying to not take it personally.)

In an effort to help her find a college that would put a smile on her face, I started talking about colleges in NY.  That makes her really happy, but once again, since she is so young, it has been agreed that NY isn't going to happen right away.  Then came the magical words.  Grad School.

Is looking forward to the empty nest so wrong?

I have been raising kids for 18 years.  I have been homeschooling for 10.  It is almost over because my youngest is finishing early with college acceptance letters in hand.  Time for the happy-dance, right?  Wrong.

People, other homeschoolers, and also some family members are trying to get me to reconsider LETTING my child go to college at 17 (summer birthday).  Apparently they don't know her like they think they do.  Just like myself, no one LETS her do anything.  She bulldozes through life, leaving accomplishments and her wake and woe to anyone who tries to stop her.  I certainly know better.  So

On educating girls

October 11 was International Day of the Girl.  I am sorry it got past me.   I had never heard of it before.        In Oct 11, CNN profiled the International girl day movement and featured what girls think about education and their future.

The article made me think of the Muslim girl, who the Taliban put a hit on, and how much more important education seems to be to people who can't get it compared to those of use who seem to take it for granted.  Then I started thinking about the education of girls... more specifically, homeschool girls.

A blogger friend recently commented on a blog about me not seeming like "one of those

College visit recap

So I took my daughter, a 16 year old, homeschooled senior, to Wesleyan College, a school she'd been looking at for a few years, this past weekend.... Actually, it was Sunday and Monday.

Three of the four schools she has applied to have been women's colleges (and I think I'll discuss that later), and each college has a different draw for her.  The ideal school would be a smash-up of the three.  The thing she likes the most about this school is it's personality.  I.e. the way the people just... are.  The kind of people it attracts.  The women of Wesleyan College from an outsiders perspective seem to be, fierce and independent, with a wicked sense of humor, and tons of love and guidance.  My daughter fits into this demographic well.  If we would take this college, and sit it in the geographical location one of the others, and the theater reputation of the third, they would have her deposit and this conversation would be over.  Based on the draw of the other two colleges, her excitement for this school had sank to the bottom of her list to the point that she began to sulk about the visit, but once she

Remember when travel was fun?

I spent two hours today trying to find an inexpensive but quality hotel for Sunday night so I could take my daughter on her preview weekend and theater audition for one of her college choices.  It was exhausting.  The college is in a bit of a rural area and it was difficult to find a local hotel.  Then the ones I found had sketchy reviews, and that made me nervous.  I finally found one recommended by the college and payed a little more than I wanted in hopes that I could avoid spiders and bedbugs.

Do you remember when travel was secure?  You'd call a travel agent, or go through the phonebook and call a few hotels for quotes, then  you would book your trip on nothing more than a verbal handshake. I don't remember every having a bad experience, I think it was because the travel agent knew you were coming back to visit them if anything bad happened on your trip.

Do you remember when travel was affordable? Even 15 years ago, in the early days of internet travel websites, I could book flights to Las Vegas or LA for a decent price, and still have money left over for your rental car and hotel.  Now, I can barely afford the gas to drive two hours and have one overnight

So how is my homeschooled son doing in college?

My son is home for a long weekend.  The school is calling it fall break.  Now that we can finally see each other face to face, I got to pull some information out of him regarding how he is doing in college.

His answer...  It's Ok, but hard.

The amount of reading is astronomical, but he's keeping up with it. (He hasn't discovered that most kids don't do the reading.)

He had a couple of really bad exams, but he's caught on to what the teachers want, so his tests scores are much better.

He is getting A's in English, and doing well in Kinesiology (phys ed/health)

I reminded him that he is on scholarship and has to meet a minimum GPA.  He gave me panicked look

Don't toss those homeschool papers just yet.

One of the coolest things about homeschool blogs and email groups and homeschool groups is that you get to learn from the mistakes of others.  So here's what I learned this week.

When you homeschool, you need to hold on to your homeschoolers paperwork i.e. homeschool portfolio with samples of your children's work.  Test results and every piece of paper that was required from every school for admission.  If you have space, just hold onto all four years of homeschool documentation until they have their college diploma in hand.  In addition, hold on to all correspondence from the colleges they are admitted to, especially  any

When one door closes.....

Last month, my son was finishing high school, graduating, and enjoying a series of lasts.  

Today, I made his first college tuition payment, and had his final transcript notarized  to give to the college.  


I guess that saying, "when one door closes, another opens" is very true.



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Count down to graduation (video)

Video Summary:

Sharing my excitement about our upcoming graduation ceremonies this weekend.
The college admissions process was actually pretty easy, and my best tip is to apply early.
We've come a long way from the depressed child we pulled out of public school over 8 years ago.

We are very happy to be graduating our first homeschooler... one more to go- next year!



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First day of College- What's in store for your homeschooled child

As my son prepares to enter college, I can't help but wonder what his experience will be like after homeschooling for so many years.  I am hoping this guest post from Jemima Lopez at Zen College Life will be helpful.


Research shows that not only do homeschooled children typically receive higher ACT test scores than their non-homeschooled peers— which incidentally makes them more desirable to college admission officers—but they also typically excel more than their peers once in college as well: homeschooled students earn more college credits at a faster rate, have higher G.P.A.s, and have an overall higher graduation and retention rate than those who graduated from a traditional high school, according to the Journal of College Admission. That said, succeeding academically should not be a concern. But adapting to the whole college atmosphere can be somewhat intimidating for some homeschooled children, especially those who have

Bombarded with College Recruiting (homeschool friendly)

It is April.  My son graduates in 4 weeks and we are getting bombarded with college emails and postcards...NOW.

I would have loved these back in September, when we were visiting schools and making decisions.  But these correspondences at this late date are a little unfortunate.  I do realize that there are some kids who have not made their first choice colleges, or who STILL have not applied at all and need to get on it now, but I feel like colleges that send recruitment material this late in the game are missing out.

So.. I guess if your homeschooled kid is still looking, I have a list of schools to consider.  The solicitations we get are mostly from schools with strong Graphic Design and Art programs and/or strong Christian

College is not the end goal of homeschooling

But it sure feels good when your kid gets accepted.

We will be touring a college this weekend to help make "the choice".  I feel like homeschooling has officially worked.  My son has acceptance letters and scholarship offers so that means we did a great job homeschooling... right?

Well, we did a good job academically, but getting into college does not mean we homeschooled well.

Homeschooling is about a lot more than education.  In my son's case, I was hoping to raise a well