<p>Monday countdown (late) - 4 days until S is home on break</p>
<p>Tuesday’s countdown - 3 days until S is home on break (Thursday)</p>
<p>As of this evening the exams are going very well. He did hear back and did not get the internship he was hoping for (ABC News Nightline Washington Bureau). He is submitting the rest of his internship applications this week between studying and his remaining final exams.</p>
<p>Safe travels to all those heading home for the holidays. :)</p>
<p>Son '14 is hobbling around. Turned an ankle last Thursday at indoor track and field practice. It swelled enough to prompt an Xray Friday morning. No major damage, but he did miss one of his state tests (made that up Monday). Christmas Break cannot come fast enough, he said. He spent hours doing homework last night and is up early this morning to do more. We’ll see his older brother Saturday night for the first time since early August. He’ll be with us only a couple of weeks before heading to the BCS championship in Miami (Roll Tide!).</p>
<p>Did find out that PSAT results go out Wednesday. Here’s hoping for big improvement.</p>
<p>blueiguana – no need to apologize – thanks for the birthday wishes. </p>
<p>beadymom – I sound so callous and self-centered posting right after you about my son’s birthday. Sometimes I post without thinking (or without coffee, which is worse). S is actually quite serious about donating everything – organs, skin, tissue – if he was badly hurt. I know this fine young man’s organs will give life to many people, young and old. His poor family.</p>
<p>Hi All</p>
<p>Well K1 arrived home from college. Yay</p>
<p>K2 should be getting the PSAT scores either today or tom…they go to the school guidance office… So will be glad to see what K2 is working with…</p>
<p>Pretty weather here.</p>
<p>Crazy busy. My car is in the shop. Just what I need–pre-holiday stuff to do and no vehicle. ugg.</p>
<p>Blue…Like you I enjoy everyone’s little ones. We have avoided all of the gory details of recent events. I don’t think the media is being particularly sensitive…and the sensationalism is bad. also, no one mentions his mother died. All they mention is the school’s victims. </p>
<p>Have a great holiday. Merry Christmas and hugs all around</p>
<p>Fogfog,</p>
<p>Good to hear your K1 is home for a break now. I know he doesn’t get many with his sport. Enjoy the time having all your chicks in the nest. :)</p>
<p>
I also noticed this too and was struck by a comment caught almost in passing by one of the parents of the child victims who recognized the surviving family members of the shooter, how his heart went out to them at their time of loss and he didn’t blame them…they were grieving as well. That is the definition of grace in my book.</p>
<p>Happy Birthday wishes!!! Can’t wait until D turns 17 though that’s a long time from now. </p>
<p>It was heartbreaking to hear the news and descriptions of the little kids. I am also one of the adults who can not stop playing with little kids unless they are shy. I decided to not turn on the news channels either on TV or radio for a few days. It is just too much for me. </p>
<p>DD14 got the PSAT scores. Though the numbers are ok, I am happy that her CR is in the 99percentile. Good thing, she realized she needs to practice. She did some of the questions that she missed and realized she could have got them right if only she was more attentive to the “adjectives” carefully in the math questions. Her Dec SAT results will come in two days, that will help. I think taking the SAT helped her “read” the questions correctly.</p>
<p>Classof2015- please, no apologies needed. It’s nice to think of something besides the tragedies. I hope your son had a happy birthday! </p>
<p>My ds had a birthday last week as well. He had some friends over for a cookout. He has been a hermit lately, so it was nice to see that he still has friends! Haha! I think it’s more that they have started partying and he doesn’t want to get involved. Smart boy! </p>
<p>His last day was Friday and I think he’s already bored! His grades were good. He finally figured out what the APUSH teacher wanted and brought that grade up to a B. I was concerned at the beginning of the year when his first four tests were below 70%!! His math & science grades were much, much better! </p>
<p>How exciting for those of you with older kids to have them home for the holidays!</p>
<p>Yesterday’s post #2422 was supposed to be posted on the College Class of 2015 thread. Sorry for any confusion. It was posted late in the evening and I think that many of the names that are on both threads tripped me up. :)</p>
<p>In any event, S-11/15 gets home from college on Thursday afternoon and D-14 has to go to school for a half day on Friday. :(</p>
<p>Me again. Got a progress report from school (they should be called “lack of progress” reports). Maybe I’m overreacting, but I’m wondering if S will be ready for college. He has not really hunkered down and worked as hard as I thought he would in this important year. First quarter grades were not great. If he was my first, I’d think “no problem – as long as he gets in somewhere, I’ll pay.” Now I think: “I am not paying for him to play around and get Cs and Ds” (which is what I think he would get, faced with all the challenges of college). He has a learning disability, and he’s not taking any APs, but neither is he turning in essays before they’re due to get feedback, or doing his HW ahead of time so he can ask questions about it before it’s due. I think he should be using the school’s resources more – they’re there to help kids like him. </p>
<p>It may be too soon to go down this path, but I’m thinking he may benefit from a year or two at our local community college. Has anyone done deferred admission? Where he goes through the whole cycle of the application process senior year, but he asks to be admitted as a sophomore (providing he accumulates enough credits at a community college). </p>
<p>I feel like he needs 1 more year of maturing, emotionally and academically, before I leave him on his own at college.</p>
<p>^ I know some kids who did it at my old community; they grew up a bit and ended up doing really well.</p>
<p>I guess some people mature at different ages and also the definition varies. In some ways, I think my generation is more mature than the previous ones and at the same time, we’re less mature in different ways. I think electronics has a lot to do with this.</p>
<p>Also, I am most sorry for that young man, Creekland. Life is so precious. </p>
<p>The Newtown shootings were very hard on me, too. I have a hard time understanding the why and how behind senseless acts of violence. Genocide, this murder of 26 beautiful people, Syria etc. So many stories, so many lives unforgivably altered. It’s so scary on so many levels.</p>
<p>Community college is a good alternative for kids who need additional year(s) to mature and improve grades. I went to a community college for 2 years because it was affordable and I had to stay close to home to help with my family’s very small and struggling business. I was able to transfer all my credits to the in-state university and graduated in total of four years with an engineering degree.</p>
<p>Not all kids are ready for college at the same time. Surely a gap year or cc is preferable to a bad experience at a four year college.</p>
<p>Class of 2015 - have you discussed this with him in an open, “you have options” sort of way? Sometimes kids actually prefer knowing they have options and it helps them relieve some underlying stress they may have about their future. Some will buckle down to do well and prepare for a 4 year school, others will be relieved to know they aren’t expected just to “follow the path” that they may not feel is right for them. In general, thinking they have to follow “the path” rather than being able to choose “a” path can be the issue. Choices are always good even when they later apply if going to 4 year schools - those with choices tend to like it better than those who only applied to one place. For ED students, knowing they got to choose where to apply ED counts.</p>
<p>But at this point, he might simply need to know he has choices - and if he wants a certain choice then he might have to do certain things to get there. </p>
<p>ps We’ve had this conversation with youngest and he has opted to buckle down a little, but he knows he is the one who will be choosing. Grades are improving, but he still forgot a recent assignment. I think some of that is the growing brain. It certainly isn’t uncommon at our school.</p>
<p>PSAT scores came back. Son was happy that they were better than a year ago. He may be seeing the value in studying just a bit to bring up his SAT/ACT. He has plans to take the SAT in March. His ankle is healing nicely, so he should be ready to run in an invitational in early January. </p>
<p>As for college chatter, we had that talk about being more serious about school. Truthfully, I really do not know what more he can do right now. The kid is living on five or so hours of sleep a night, because of the workload that three APs bring. He’s doing all right in the classes, but needless to say, he welcomes Christmas break — just because he gets to sleep.</p>
<p>Thanks all for the concern and support.</p>
<p>Creekland – I have tried a variety of approaches – praising him for the few good grades and saying things like “I know you can get the grade in Spanish up if you see the teacher a little more” to less upbeat as in “every C closes a door.” At this point, I don’t think he listens anymore. I think he thinks he’ll get in somewhere no matter what his grades are and I’ll pay for a 4 year away-at-college experience.</p>
<p>I asked his GC if we could meet (me, S, GC). I want to do what you suggest with the GC’s feedback. Maybe if he hears it from someone other than his mom, he’ll listen. And maybe the GC will have ideas I haven’t thought of. Like maybe he should repeat 11th grade at another school.</p>
<p>Her PSAT scores came back 2 points lower than last year. 185 vs 187.</p>
<p>I’m completely and totally confused on that one. Especially since she said it was WAY easier than last year. I give up.</p>
<p>On a similar note - I just looked up her SAT results from the 1st - 2060. (Which makes the PSAT score even weirder - but whatever.) I promised her I wouldn’t look until she saw them - but since she has to work directly after school and won’t be home til 7pm, there was NO WAY that was happening. ;)</p>
<p>I received DD’s PSAT scores last Thursday at parent/teacher conferences. I was very pleased to see that they had gone up 23 points, including 14 points in math, putting her over 70, which was where I had hoped and expected her to be. She also increased 40 points in CR to a much more respectable number, although her % versus other juniors went down a bit. It just confirmed what I already knew - that she needs to really work on the CR and writing sections (and brush up on math to try to get that a bit higher). Now we just need to figure out how to find time in her busy schedule for her to work with a private tutor. Luckily one of her best friend’s mom’s is an SAT tutor for CR and writing so we’re going to start there!</p>
<p>Funny thing is with the teacher conferences I found out her grade in Honors English is the highest in the class! That has NEVER happened before and we both find it amusing as English is definitely her weakest subject - she’s a math and science kid! But I will give her credit for working really hard in that class and it really shows this term!</p>
<p>DS 11/15 came home last Friday and it’s nice to have him home, even if we’re now juggling 3 cars with 4 drivers and I’m playing chauffeur once again! Since DD’s school is out of town it’s easier and saves so much gas to not have to do two round trips a day and let her continue to drive. DD had her Christmas concert tonight and then a last day of school tomorrow but says they’re not doing too much in school this week!</p>
<p>DS keeps checking his grades online and being pleasantly surprised at how well he did last semester 
It seems that most grades will be a bit above what he expected so that’s very nice! </p>
<p>Hoping everyone has a nice holiday break and that the kids can get some rest and relaxation in! I know mine is looking forward to getting more sleep - and seeing the Les Mis movie when it comes out!!</p>
<p>momreads – I worry about the long-term effects of this sleep deprivation that our kids are enduring. I think that, like so many other kids, my S intentionally overloaded himself to test his limits, and he is finding just where they are. He dropped his sport, tennis, but took 5 AP’s, a dual credit class, and two regular classes because he wanted to try to come as close as possible to mimicking the conditions of a school he is very interested in – Harvey Mudd, which has a notorious extremely heavy workload. He is doing okay but he is just about working himself to death, to the point that he isn’t quite as excited about Mudd as he used to be.</p>
<p>I’m dancing and humming today, after many many ‘handkerchief days’ for those poor kids and families in Newtown. S got home in time for Dinner last night. He opened his Hannuka gifts and said ‘A model of an engine, It’s just what I wanted!’ </p>
<p>Those are magic moments indeed!</p>
<p>Then after dinner we (husband, son and I) did some college planning - I finally got out my ‘art project’ and he looked at the school descriptions I had placed in the plastic page protectors in the 3 ring binder. He when through and subtracted about a third of them (perfect!) and it made a nice, tangible pile on the paper to go in the recycling bin. It felt satisfying. Then we added one school from an ‘unfavorable geographic distance’ to the folder, that our son is interested in. Then we listened for a while to what S is trying set up for himself in college. </p>
<p>So I’m happy with the result of my experiment (the 3 ring binder, not the child) and excited to have gotten so much completed on the first day.</p>
<p>Smiles,
Robin</p>
<p>Robin aka ParentSparkle, it’s nice to hear how your son and husband were able to use your 3-ring binder ‘art project’. Your orgainzation paid off and I am sure your son was impressed and felt the love!</p>