judie, maire cate, geogirl & work, Thanks so much for your helpful replies. I know I sound kind of dufus-ish asking this kind of question--I can hear it said in a creaky old voice "so gosh, what kind of contraptions are the young folks using these days?" : ) We're thinking of the laptop as being used for note-taking, primarily, rather than research like the school computers would be. Geogirl, your point about most kids still using regular notebooks is exactly what I was looking for. I do wonder what will happen if she's got nothing but pen and notebook, though -- I'm sure DD isn't the only one of her age to be better at typing than handwriting! When I hear her type I think how strange it was that I worked my way through college because of my typing speed--10 years of piano study didn't go to waste after all LOL...but today that ability is completely taken for granted. She could have asked her friend (who's a sophomore) a couple of weeks ago at camp, but she got shy and didn't (I think she's got a complete fear of coming across as a clueless homeschooler). Maybe this will be a good time for her to overcome her embarrassment and let her friend be her 'big sister' in a way...or maybe I'll call the office and ask myself. work, that's really interesting about not shopping for supplies until after school had started--makes sense. So all these 'back to school' sales where we used to get all our supplies (10 notebooks for $1 - ahhh...one of my favorite weeks of the year : )) are really jumping the gun for public schoolers, I guess? I know they had lists for elementary school kids, but I didn't remember whether there were some for h.s. kids too. This has all been incredibly helpful. Thanks again!

I've found with girls, many of them are there for the social aspect in addition to their love of the sport. Unfortunately now, so many parents are pushing their kids to be a top athlete hoping for that scholarship to college. As mom of four kids who play sports, I've witnessed every different kind of parent and kid out there. My oldest (14 y/o girl) has always played sports but is not a gifted athlete. She's a decent player, but initially started playing as a social thing. She loved seeing her friends, as well as playing, but wasn't born with special talent and wasn't totally interested in working hard to develop her skills. She has played lacrosse and soccer since kindergarten, but always in a rec league. It wasn't until this past summer that it clicked that if she wanted to make the team, she'd have to work hard, and while she did (by the skin of her teeth, I'm sure), she's going to have to really work hard to develop her skills and her conditioning to continue to earn a spot on the team. However, the social aspect of being on the team has really been wonderful for her. It really helped her transition to high school, has really made her feel included in something, etc. She also realizes her limitations - she most likely will not make the lacrosse team in the spring. Lacrosse is HUGE here and if you haven't played club, most likely you won't be good enough for the team. She recognized this all on her own and said she still wants to tryout but if she doesn't make it, she wants to focus on soccer and would like to find a spring club soccer team. Unfortunately, she realized this all a little too late. We never pushed her when she was younger as we always saw her participation as mainly a social thing, but I think now she sees the benefits of being ON a h.s. team, and wishes she had worked harder when she was younger. She would never get a scholarship in any sport, and unfortunately, for many (not all) sports in h.s., even though many won't get scholarships b/c of the competition for them, the level of skill on those teams is still pretty high. Maybe someone mentioned this before, but does anyone remember when they used to have intramural sports? I think that is what the schools need. It would be perfect for someone like my dd, who recognizes that she is not a highly skilled player, but still wants to play, still wants to be part of a team, etc. It's too bad intramural sports seems to have fallen by the wayside, at least around here. My experience with my sons is sure to be different. They are both natural athletes and both have the drive and determination to want to go as far as they can. They both play club soccer, and one plays club lacrosse (other plays rec lacrosse and most likely at some point will switch to focusing on soccer and play that year round as he's not big/aggressive enough for lax). For my boys, we've had to seek out better teams for them b/c they got to a point where their skills were being hampered by playing with kids who were either out there b/c their parents made them, or they just didn't have the skill level, making it hard for the better players to continue to develop at their pace. However, by the same token, leaving their friends behind to play at a higher level isn't always what they want to do either. My older son plays basketball on his school team. It was embarrassing to watch his skill level compared to the majority of the team, some who had never played. The coach was making him play the entire game as he and one other kid scored nearly all the points for the team (which really bothered me b/c I HATED seeing the other kids being benched as this was rec and they should all be playing). We asked him if he wanted to play in a better league this year and he was adamantly against it...he said he wanted to stick with his friends. He loved playing with them and didn't care that they weren't a winning team. As his parent, I'd love to see him play more competitively but OTOH, it's not always about that....having fun and being with your friends is also something that needs to be considered (he's only 12). So I can see both sides of this issue. I do think there should be opportunities for any kid who wants to play sports to be able to, but I also understand the nature of JV/Varsity sports and that not all kids can or should make the team, no matter their skill level. Incidentally, someone mentioned track/cross country/swimming as a good place for kids who can't compete for the team sports. A good suggestion....my dd's friend who was cut from the soccer team, instead went out for cross country. There, they accept kids at all levels and let them develop at their own pace. Same with swimming. I'm actually trying to talk my dd into doing swimming this winter (she used to do summer swim team) but she's convinced it's all these fantastic swimmers and doesn't get that those kids aren't on the h.s. team...they all swim for our very competitive club team here. I know she would have fun...I know the coach...and it would be great way for her to keep in shape for spring sports. Interesting conversation and nice to hear people debate both sides without it getting heated!

Well, to many a clown and a pony would be cute but it might go over rather like the Hindenburg. No offense, but aren't you asking the wrong people? Seems to me the ones to ask are the recipients. My first thought is that if he's not hanging around with high school friends, there could well be a reason, and inviting them without his consent would be quite risky. Likely it won't be a surprise anyway if they're expecting parties and if it's always happened, they probably will expect it whether they want it or not. Perhaps he'd like the money for a party to go toward the car rather than an expensive party. I too am a bit confused since there's not a lot of 2002-2003 cars on the market for $500. Maybe he'd like a nice dinner out with his GF and have dessert at home with the family & friends afterward? Or maybe wants something quiet? I'd ask them point blank. What would you like for your birthday? Would you like a party? Small or large? What type of theme, if any? Who would you like invited? I'm just thinking that he might feel like he's being treated like a 10 year old rather than an adult. If you're giving money, and if he has a sense of humor, you could take a box and individually wrap some rolls of coins and bills of different denominations, maybe some gas cards or prepaid credit cards, pack them all into one big box and watch him unwrap his money a few dollars at a time. Again, depends on the person. I'd really suggest getting him involved.

As a 13 yr. old brand new freshman, my best friend and I, thinking we were cool, decided to skip our first chemistry lab of the year. We had to make up the lab during lunch. During the lab, my friend stood there, mouth agape, pointing at me. I said "what's wrong? Spit it out!" At this point, the chemistry teacher ran across the room and frantically started beating me on the head. I've never seen a teacher move so fast. It is then that I realized I had caught my hair on fire in the Bunsen burner! My coolness rapidly dissipated. I was mortified. This was not how I wanted my first week of high school to go. My eyebrows were singed and my hair burnt. It smelled. I think I had to have it cut. I had been putting a product in my hair to lighten it and I think it made it very flammable. My best friend SWORE not to tell anyone. The next day, I walk into school and the first thing I heard out of someone's mouth, nonchalantly, was "Hi Torch!" And that was my nick name for the next year, to occasionally resurface throughout high school. This same best friend and I were taking advanced placement English. We had to memorize a sonnet and repeat it in front of the class. My friend volunteered to go first. I was sitting in the back of the class. I thought it would be funny to hold a sign up while she recited her sonnet. It said "YOU HAVE SOMETHING HANGING OUT OF YOUR NOSE." She stopped dead in the middle of her sonnet and said "What are you doing?" All eyes turned to me holding that sign. I wanted to crawl under my desk. That one sure backfired! Then there was the time I passed a note to a friend that said I'M BORED. The teacher intercepted the note. "You're bored, huh?" He said and proceeded to pull my desk and chair with ME in it all around the room, out the door and into the hallway, around the hallway and then back into it's spot, while the whole class watched wide eyed. "Are you still bored?" He asked me. I couldnt even answer. And then there was the time in seventh grade as an 11 yr. old that i had to bake something for English class and read the recipe out loud. I wanted to make M and M cookies. My mother refused to help (she was not the best mother, to be honest.). I tried to make them myself. But I believe I mixed up baking soda and flour. The cookies finished and looked yummy, sprinkled with bright M and M's. But they tasted like soap. I was in tears all night and dreading school the next day. I got up in front of the class and read my recipe and passed the cookies out. The kids eagerly reached for the cookies. I really hoped that a miracle would happen. But no, it was pretty sad to see the whole class gagging and spitting out the cookies.