I'm wondering how everyone's school year is going? Here in the northern hemisphere we are well into the second half of the academic year.

So far, I am cautiously optimistic that the move out of the gifted program and into a project-based learning school was a good one. DD11's teachers seem to "get" her and be differentiating appropriately for her. I think she was surprised and dismayed by the difficulty of making a whole new set of friends, but now she is making friends and settling into the program. DS7 is doing well in 2nd grade, and finally has the veteran teacher we were expecting for this year (she's been out for over a year of cancer treatment, but is back to teaching now after a long-term sub who was on her first teaching assignment). She's only been back for a couple of weeks, so we don't know yet how the rest of the year will go (and I have never met her and wouldn't recognize her on the street).

DD11 is having the best year ever 3rd year at the OOD spec Ed school and they get it. Wilson intervention kicked in and she is now decoding above grade level, AT is working well and she is loving math intervention. 1-1 HS literature curriculum now includes an actual HS student. DD came up with the science projects the class spent the month working on and is still enjoying history enrichment, Migraines and anxiety seem to be in the past (hoping I don't jinx it by even typing that...). A girl started last week so DD is no longer the only girl in her class. And there seems to be another girl in the application process. It's been a long time coming but we are finally in a really good place. Now just hoping speech kicks in and we will have everything firing on all cylinders. Doing a happy dance ...

Now homeschooling twins who are a 180 from what they were last semester when they were in school for part of it. Doc actually said she couldn't believe they were the same kids. I am so grateful for all the encouragement. Our success is directly related to the support of this group!

DS6 is doing great in K. We've had some frustrations, but keeping it in perspective it's been a great year and we're finding our way. Math is a problem to solve for next year and we're working on a plan for single subject acceleration. Fingers crossed! And we're always afterschooling somewhat in math. Immersion has been GREAT and has kept school interesting.

So glad to hear good news! We are finally making headway toward everyone being on the same page for DS17. His anxiety has an official diagnosis from his psychologist, and we are considering an expressive language disorder, and, thanks to HowlerKarma, I am looking seriously at Socially Prescribed Perfectionism. That seems to strike a chord here. Now, to see how we can get DS to use all the accommodations already available to him, and the ones the school will add. Meanwhile, the GPA is tanking.

DS7 has warmed up to his new (gifted private) school and loves it! We've seen amazing improvement on his handwriting skills, his willingness to guess the spelling for unknown words, and even his math fluency (though it's still an area of relative weakness). His teachers really seem to understand his learning style (slower but deeper) and are good at giving him space to think about his responses. He often surprises both his classmates and his teachers with the associations he makes on a regular basis.

After having worked quite hard on arithmetic this year, he gets a break with the current unit now being geometry.
He's super excited!

The school started DS7 with individual learning plan the beginning of February. So far he's doing OK. He doesn't seem to be overly excited about the arrangement but we are working through that right now.

The biggest improvement this year is that he's made many friends in his first grade class. He had trouble interacting with kids in the K year so it was our main concern in the beginning of this school year. Apparently he had no issues making friends this year and both the teach and we are thrilled. If he could just stop being too chatty in class....

It's been a pretty good year for us -- lots of ups and downs and changes, but ultimately, both kids currently enjoy going to school, and both are getting some challenging differentiation with good, experienced teachers. Both have had rave reviews in conferences. DS's midyear grade-skip is going well, though he's expressed disdain for spiraling of math, repetition, even though he gets some extension. He just wants to move on. Making new friends has been a slow, but he still sees his old grade-friends. It may not be ideal, but it's going well. I'm a little concerned about DD next fall, since the GT program won't kick in for another year, and the school is resistant to the idea of SSA into another grade. I am contemplating dual-enrollment for homeschooling math. She has really grown confident in her abilities this year, though, and responds very well to her teacher.

ds15, back to p.s. for the first time in several years is doing very well academically...less well health-wise (just a string of minor sinus and other infections, but snowballing into quite a few missed days). Teachers are being very cool about it, however, and we are more than optimistic that things will keep going well.

Dd9 is doing ok too. She was finally 'fully' admitted into the gifted program classroom after some weird state of quasi-admittance that lasted way too long - while they gathered in-class samples of her work. All classes are going pretty well, but she turned up with some lingering vision/convergence issues which have been negatively affecting her work on the computer (as far as we and the dr can tell). So back to computer-based therapy. she has been sick this week with the flu-like "flu" that you can't get anti-viral meds for (arg!!)...so is really missing being in school after so many days of being bed-bound. Me too!! really missing her being in school, lol.

Now after the 2nd marking period so over halfway through DD's third academic year post single grade skip (sixth grade). Relative to her class peers, DD has done well, making the Principal's list both marking periods.

Hit some rocky patches but she is back to being OK with school at the moment. The slow pace of a tiny rural public middle school chafes her but the staff there are very supportive. The librarian there and my DD are especially close.

Although she could easily cope with the academics, we are glad that DD hasn't skipped more than 1 year. She interacts with seventh and eighth graders at the debating and newspaper clubs in addition to her Maths class and tells me that if she skipped she would not have any close friends - the older girls are civil with her but she can see that they would never be that close (the gulf between pre and post puberty being vast).

Also doing the Davidson Composition class where her average is a B which we are happy with because she is learning new skills and having to do it after B&M school. We have taken a break from AOPS to let her better adjust to middle school and be in the school play, it will resume in about a week and she is looking forward to it.

Have also reached out to other NJ DYS families and hosted a DIG and DW networked around and got DD connected with a local Maths circle. Another girl there and our DD really enjoy one another's company which is gratifying to see.

Beginning to worry about charting a course for DD's Maths as I want her to meet other kids at the high school but really not happy with the glacial pace of B&M school Maths...

DS just turned 17.. in 11th grade. And he's acting like a teenager and asking me to stay out of his business. He doesn't want my help. I've started in a new business venture so I'm crazy busy and so I've let it be. I'm not even checking his grades very often. Things are going OK. Grades not as high as I'd like but he's passing everything. He still doesn't turn in all the English homework which pulls that grade down. (ARGG!!) He loves AP Bio, he gets his best grades in Calculus.

We are starting the hunt for colleges. Going on a spring break trip to look at universities in a few weeks. He has a big meeting at school with his counselor tomorrow, parents not invited. To talk about college plans and classes for next year. AP Computer Science, English , Poly Sci/Econ , Band & Marching Band are all for sure. But he's dragging his feet on AP Physics. He doesn't see the point on taking Physics without Calculus. I understand but since he is still considering some type of Engineering in college I think it would be a mistake not to have taken any physics.

Can't believe he is almost a senior in H.S.

I hear him about the Physics without Calculus, but he needs to take Physics, especially if he is going into Engineering. Taking college Physics without any prior experience, and with a bunch of kids that have taken at least one Physics class, if not more...it will be rough. My HS senior took Physics 1 last year and Physics C this year (Mech and E&M). While she is not going into Engineering, he will be in college Physics with kids like her (and that will be a disadvantage). Also, our public HS requires all students to take Biology, Chemistry and Physics - all with lab - to graduate. Does your HS have any such requirement?

As for my kiddies, middle kid is a HS senior, so just awaiting the college decisions. Did well first semester, just enjoying things second semester. Is occupied with classes, her spring sport, her job and looking for a prom dress. Youngest, who is in 6th grade, is doing fine. Grades are good and in a variety of activities. Just participated in her first color guard competition - we should have videoed to show to her prom date six years from now.

Everyone here is doing hunky dory.
DD13 is finishing up 8th Grade and getting ready for high school. How did that happen. She has a 3.67 Cumulative GPA and loves French. She is having to work this year in math, high school level Algebra I. She loves English and just finished reading Romeo and Juliet. Science always just happens in the background and she always gets great grades. She could do without her government class. Going into high school means that she is considering boarding ballet conservatories. She has decided to stick around for at least 9th grade and do her research for 10th.

DD10 is finishing up elementary school. She was lable 2E a year ago and invited to the Gifted Program as well as starting in the special education program with an IEP. She met all her IEP goals with and is now only receiving help regarding organization with her time, stuff, and thoughts. She is hoping to attend her sister's school in the fall for 6th grade, but we were concerned about acceptance due to admissions test. She was all over the globe for IQ...99th - 9th percentile range. Well she shocked us all when she scored a few points higher on her entrance exam (OLSAT) with a 132 actually qualifying her to be considered for a scholarship! She is playing softball and swimming..