Our local high school, which is fairly homeschool friendly, in Massachusetts said they are not giving the PSAT this year due to state and local restrictions. She told me to keep watching the College Board website for a virtual option. This was from head of guidance department, I'm wondering if I should ask the superintendent about it bc I know other towns in my area are giving it. Has anyone else heard news about a virtual PSAT?

After reading this thread last week, I only included my self-made homeschool transcript and class description document on the common app and requested the community college to send their official transcript. My DD has been corresponding with the EA schools, and today, Providence College asked for her math transcripts (Derek Owens). She's sending the signed grade report now. Hopefully that will suffice. Glad she asked if there was any other information the admissions officer needed.

I loved the show! An amazing performance. I'd say the tickets at face value are worth the price. I bought tickets for my family last fall when a new block was released for American Express cardholders. It was one of those deals where you had to be ready to buy the tickets the minute they went on sale. All the Mez level tickets were sold out within 10 minutes. They were about $180 each. It was the best Christmas present ever last year--despite having to wait six months it!

April, If you don't mind could you explain how you got out-of state tuition waived? USC is on our list as well. Thank you, Kerry

I feel the same way. I've been teaching co-op classes for seven years now and some certainly require more hours than others, but they are all time consuming. One tip is to work on planning during the co-op day while your kids are in other classes. My co-op consists of four one-hour classes with a 30 minute lunch in the middle. I try to devote one of those hours to class planning. Also repeating a class a year or two later for younger kids is easier than teaching it the first time.

The state colleges and universities in my state (MA) require 4 years of high school math (minimum Alg II) and in bold print it states "including math in the final year of high school." I believe this requirement is fairly new. So you may want to encourage precalc to keep her options open.

In my parish, about twenty minutes.

I've used Singapore for all three of my kids up to and including, for my oldest, their integrated 7A-8B. We used the HIG with textbook and workbook, some years we added in Challenging Word Problems, but not consistently. Now my oldest is taking Derek Owen Geometry online and is doing very well. I credit Singapore with her strong background. I'm so glad I stayed with it all the way through. It is working very well for my family of three different learners.

My DD14 and I just saw the previews for this last night while watching Downton Abbey. We both think it looks worth watching. I checked the rating and it's listed as TV14, so it will likely be just the two of us for at least the first episode. I'm also hoping the violence won't be too strong since I'd like to have my 12 (almost 13 year old) DS watch too. But he is my more sensitive one.

Clothing stores that tend to have everything 40% off every month or so (LOFT, Justice) means to me any discount less than that is not really a sale. But if a brand (like Under Armour) that rarely goes on sale is listed at 20% off, I consider that on sale. In a department store like Macy's, I view 30% off as a starting sale price.

Khan Academy has some great self-paced courses. My 5th grader just completed a few of their coding classes.

My DD learned well using Singapore 7 & 8. She used Singapore 2-6 and it was a bit of a leap to 7. We moved slowly through some parts and sailed through others. When she became stuck on a topic, she watched some Khan Academy videos for a different explanation.

I recommend Junior Analytical Grammar. Last year was my first experience with both AG and JAG. My DD used AG in 8th and will continue/finish it this year in 9th. My son used JAG for 6th grade. It was on grade level, but much more gentle and clear, step-by-step. AG moves at a faster pace. He will now start the three year sequence of AG for grades 7,8,9. In my opinion, JAG would be better for your son's confidence.

I'm planning a class similar to this for co-op too! Listening for more great ideas... Here are topics I have so far: Logic Puzzles & Games -magic squares -logic links -sudoku -red herring -grid with x & o -tower of Hanoi -riddles -Red Herring (categories) & Scattergories -mazes -IQ solitaire (peg jumping) -mancala -tangrams -deductive reasoning puzzles

I agree with SevenDaisies. You'll be fine without the instructor guide. I believe there may have been one section that I needed to ask for support with b/c of singapore's unique method, other than that using the inexpensive answer key worked fine. My oldest used their new 7A, 7B, 8A, 8B which integrates Algebra and Geometry. She received a very solid education in Algebra. We skipped a few of the later Geometry chapters in 8, since she will do a full Geometry class this year in 9th grade. My son will start this same sequence with 7A in a few weeks. If the Singapore style works well for your children, their junior high level books are fantastic and challenging.