This next week and a half promises to be a lot of fun. And busy.
My New Jersey brother, the one who suffered an annus horribilis with a divorce, year-long overseas estrangement from his girls, job loss, and a fire that gutted his condo awhile back, is getting remarried. I had originally planned to drive up and catch up with some friends along the way, but found airfares and a car rental comparable to the expense of driving, and it gives us a few extra days to visit. I can't wait to see my growing-up-so-fast nieces and meet my new sister-in-law and her beautiful daughters.
Before the wedding, being celebrated in Pennsylvania, we'll be popping up to Boston to visit a few cousins, and the girls and I will take a day trip into New York City with my brother to visit his office, which, because of the work he does, is always very cool, get a bite to eat (I hear Zabar's calling), and take in a performance of Phantom. After the wedding, but before my brother and his new wife fly off to a very romantic Parisian honeymoon and their happily-ever-after, there will be a visit from the Easter Bunny and an egg hunt.
See some pictures of the happy family here at Angela Purcell's Photography Blog.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
The Wait Is Over
We got our call this morning, Grice is in! Four of the five homeschoolers, including her best friend and her best friend's cousin who also happens to be a good friend, were accepted as well. The other buddy is on the wait list though we don't yet know where on the list of 39 she is.
Information and confirmation packages are being sent out today and then meetings between the parents, students, and principal will be scheduled. A get-together is being planned to welcome students and parents sometime in May.
Huzzah!
Information and confirmation packages are being sent out today and then meetings between the parents, students, and principal will be scheduled. A get-together is being planned to welcome students and parents sometime in May.
Huzzah!
Monday, March 16, 2009
Change
Rolling along, in a routine, and then WHAM!, something new.
Sarabelle, who has been attending the local high school and doing well with her mostly honors classes, but hates it, begged last night to return to a homeschooling program. She acknowledged this would not be the easy way out -- that would be staying in school -- and realizes she will have to work harder at home, but prefers that option now. Most of it has to do with the fact that her best friends here homeschool and she enjoys participating in the P.E. group and 4-H Cooking Club with them and misses the freedom of being able to jump in the car and go off on a field trip or just a quick trip over to the island at a moment's notice.
She has nearly all the credits Florida requires for graduation already except for American History and Government credits, so she is beginning Volume 2 of the Great Ideas Program The Development of Political Theory and Government with all its associated readings and going through Hakim's A History of US series.
I want her to tune up her writing skills and would like to have her begin either Horner's Rhetoric in the Classical Tradition or D'Angelo's Composition in the Classical Tradition. She will also benefit from an SAT prep.
Some other books on her To Read If You Can list are:
How to Read a Book
In Defense of Elitism
Amusing Ourselves to Death
As this makes plans for attending my New Jersey brother's spring wedding so much easier I am happy to comply, but it necessitates a study of my own in crafting transcripts for college.
Now to send off another letter to the county school superintendent announcing our intention (now that we are on their radar), officially withdraw her from school, and return her books...
Sarabelle, who has been attending the local high school and doing well with her mostly honors classes, but hates it, begged last night to return to a homeschooling program. She acknowledged this would not be the easy way out -- that would be staying in school -- and realizes she will have to work harder at home, but prefers that option now. Most of it has to do with the fact that her best friends here homeschool and she enjoys participating in the P.E. group and 4-H Cooking Club with them and misses the freedom of being able to jump in the car and go off on a field trip or just a quick trip over to the island at a moment's notice.
She has nearly all the credits Florida requires for graduation already except for American History and Government credits, so she is beginning Volume 2 of the Great Ideas Program The Development of Political Theory and Government with all its associated readings and going through Hakim's A History of US series.
I want her to tune up her writing skills and would like to have her begin either Horner's Rhetoric in the Classical Tradition or D'Angelo's Composition in the Classical Tradition. She will also benefit from an SAT prep.
Some other books on her To Read If You Can list are:
How to Read a Book
In Defense of Elitism
Amusing Ourselves to Death
As this makes plans for attending my New Jersey brother's spring wedding so much easier I am happy to comply, but it necessitates a study of my own in crafting transcripts for college.
Now to send off another letter to the county school superintendent announcing our intention (now that we are on their radar), officially withdraw her from school, and return her books...
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Charter
Grice is applying for admission to a new collegiate charter high school opening here in the fall. It's on our local state college campus and operated by our county school board. Because it is a county public school there is no tuition and books and travel are free. Upon graduating, students will have earned a full associates degree in addition to the usual high school diploma. They are accepting only 100 ninth grade students. All applying, and that includes two of her best homeschool buddies, should be enrolled unless applications exceed 100, in which case students will be chosen in a lottery. A week ago this past Friday, before the college closed for its spring break, her friend's package was accepted and marked #47. We will be turning her package in first thing tomorrow morning before the March 20 deadline and waiting for the announcement on April 1.
So these past couple weeks have been busy with doctor visits, shots, digging up records, and taking tests. Grice was especially unnerved by the college placement exam she was required to take and the timed essay she had to write. I tried to allay her fears by reminding her the test was meant for those who have already completed high school level work and used only as an indicator of where students are academically rather than as a qualifier for admission, and pointed out to her that an essay is merely a short piece of writing on a particular subject, in this case on your reasons for wanting to attend, and again, was not being judged for entrance but used as a sample of student's writing for the file. Learning plans will be created and customized for each student so that by the end of tenth grade all students should be on track to begin and complete the college coursework in eleventh and twelfth. She did well, 91% Reading Comprehension; 88% Sentence Structure; and 31% Math. She was horrified by the math score until I reminded her this was a test designed to be taken after completing high school and she therefore is nearly one-third of the way toward being ready to begin college level math work in two years and ready now for college level English only having graduated eighth grade. She was skeptical until her friend reported nearly identical scores. With the test out of the way she is now rather low-key about the whole thing. She's excited to go, but only if her friends get in. Otherwise, she's happy to continue homeschooling.
My big concern is that four years of staying in one location is a big commitment...
So these past couple weeks have been busy with doctor visits, shots, digging up records, and taking tests. Grice was especially unnerved by the college placement exam she was required to take and the timed essay she had to write. I tried to allay her fears by reminding her the test was meant for those who have already completed high school level work and used only as an indicator of where students are academically rather than as a qualifier for admission, and pointed out to her that an essay is merely a short piece of writing on a particular subject, in this case on your reasons for wanting to attend, and again, was not being judged for entrance but used as a sample of student's writing for the file. Learning plans will be created and customized for each student so that by the end of tenth grade all students should be on track to begin and complete the college coursework in eleventh and twelfth. She did well, 91% Reading Comprehension; 88% Sentence Structure; and 31% Math. She was horrified by the math score until I reminded her this was a test designed to be taken after completing high school and she therefore is nearly one-third of the way toward being ready to begin college level math work in two years and ready now for college level English only having graduated eighth grade. She was skeptical until her friend reported nearly identical scores. With the test out of the way she is now rather low-key about the whole thing. She's excited to go, but only if her friends get in. Otherwise, she's happy to continue homeschooling.
My big concern is that four years of staying in one location is a big commitment...
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