I research early, buy everything by March, and start pacing it out. By May, I should have a good idea of what needs to be done when. I write out the entire year *in pencil* by early summer. I print off everything I need by June. As we go through the year, I check things off when they're accomplished. Our school year technically starts August 1st, but we've already done a slow start. I have things checked off through August 4th. I wouldn't say it's time-saving, though, since it seems to take forever. :lol: It is helpful during the school year because I'm not having to plan throughout the year. I try to do the same for Cub Scouts & Girl Scouts. Going into this year, the only thing that I'll really have to plan during the year will be my co-op class. I've only planned the first 4 weeks so far. I'm switching to a different class, so I want to see how things go before getting too far into planning. When I'm researching, I keep a memo document on my phone. I also write things down in the back of my planner.

Yes! The company also makes Stack the Countries and Presidents vs Aliens. My kiddos them!

It's really not surprising that Foundations materials could be utilized for Challenge-level students. Foundations was designed for preparing students for Challenge. Some of the English Grammar (definitions & word lists) and Latin memorization (declensions & conjugations) are helpful for older students. If the student is new to CC or just needed review, it would make sense that Foundations material would be beneficial. In all fairness, it was suggested that there's no way to determine if CC students do well and that it was possible they did worse. I posted scores. The legitimacy of the comparison was questioned because it wasn't comparing CC homeschoolers to non-CC homeschoolers. I posted that comparison. The legitimacy of that comparison was questioned because it was suggested that income levels made a difference. (Hence my comment that you quoted.) I posted that comparison. I was right. When nothing else could be questioned, the idea became "the scores aren't legit so the comparison is invalid." It didn't appear to be an attempt to find legit comparisons. It appeared to be attempt after attempt to explain away results that contradicted preconceived notions. Maybe that's not what it was, but it certainly is the way it appeared.

My 5 yr old just cooks next to me. He helps when he can, and I explain what I do. My 10 yr old cooks with simple recipes from my 4 ingredient cookbook, and she can cook things from a box.

When we first started homeschooling, I bought all the MiF books for 1A/1B. Based off my experience, Reteach is just a gentler version of the regular workbook. The Extra Practice book is additional practice. Enrichment is slightly more challenging. Reteach, Extra Practice, and Enrichment all have the answers in the back. If you Google "math in focus placement test," you should see pdfs for each level. Here's the test for 3a: http://www.hmhco.com/~/media/sites/home/education/global/pdf/resources/mathematics/math-in-focus/math_in_focus_3a_placement_test.pdf

That's absolutely insane! I'm so sorry that happened to you. Our campus is completely different, as is one of the campuses in the next town over. There are good and bad campuses, and there is at least one around here that I would not recommend. I think experiences and reviews vary so much because the quality of campuses and directors vary so much. This is definitely one of those tones when your mileage may vary.

The median income in my city is just under $40,000. Over half of our community comes from a neighboring town with a median income of just under $47,000. At least two families fall in that range. One of them actually has 3 children enrolled in CC. I can think of 4 families who would be considered upper-class. The rest would fall solidly in middle-class. Can you successfully home school your child without going through CC? Absolutely! Why would anyone suggest otherwise? No one is suggesting that CC is the best and only way to successfully homeschool. I've actually said over and over that it's not. Honestly, I think some of the defensiveness of anti-CC'ers comes from the idea that CC families are wealthy and that they think CC is better than non-CC. That's just not the case. Well, that's why I assumed they were. ;)

The scores are from CC's catalog. I don't know where they originated from, although I would assume it is self-reported. I don't have time to look into it at the moment. No, tutors don't pay $100 to apply to be a tutor. Tutors dont pay anything to be a tutor.

I respectfully disagree, but that's okay! :)

Most families in our community are far from privileged. Sure, a handful are, but that's certainly not the norm. I get the distinct feeling that whatever I post will be questioned unless those results indicate that CC students perform at or below average, but I'll play, anyway. ;) Previously, we've been looking at 2014 SAT results. I had a difficult time finding results from 2014 that were separated by income, but I did find an article analyzing the 2013 test results. Now, I know that there can be some issues with comparing separate years. However, this article from the Washington Post indicates that the results between 2013 & 2014 were stagnant. 2013 Scores according to this article are Reading: 496 Writing: 488 Math: 514 Those scores are all within 1 point of their 2014 scores. So, the statistics I posted earlier: The scores I posted earlier (CC vs top state vs natl avg): SAT Reading 630 vs 612 vs 497 SAT Writing 577 vs 587 vs 487 SAT Math 569 vs 620 vs 513 More directly compared, the average CC Homeschooler Score vs Average Homeschooler Score: SAT Reading 630 vs 567 SAT Writing 577 vs 535 SAT Math 569 vs 521 MSNBC published this article in March 2014 comparing family incomes and SAT scores. The Washington Post also posted a similar article. Let's continue under the assumption that CC families are privileged and look at SAT scores of students with a household income of approximately $180,000 - 200,000. It's important to note that neither article gives an exact score. We'll have to estimate the scores based on the graph. MSNBC shows that students in families with a combined income of $180,000-200,000 scored (approximately): Reading: 545 Writing: 540 Math: 565 Exact CC Scores vs. Approximate $180,000-200,000 income: Reading: 630 vs 545 Writing: 577 vs 540 Math: 569 vs 565 The average student enrolled in CC out-performed the average student with a combined household income of $180,000 - 200,000. Granted, the math scores are close. I don't have statistics regarding CC family incomes, and I don't know what you call "privileged." In my experience, the majority of families in our community make far less than $180,000. Granted, I don't know what their exact incomes are, but I do know their professions. Sidenote: I know that the numbers you asked for were regarding high-income homeschoolers. If that data exists, I have no clue where to find it. However, I can't imagine that there would be a glaring difference between the $180,000 - 200,000 income bracket test scores of public, private, & homeschooled students. If someone else was to find it, I would love to see the comparison. Based on the comparisons I've already seen, I have a pretty good idea how that would turn out. I do want to emphasize that I'm not trying to imply that CC is the best program out there for everyone. I mentioned earlier that I don't think it's the best option for everyone. I'm not even sure that CC in high school will be the best option for us. My point is that CC students are successful, they score well, and they are easily able to gain college admission. I think if one compared similarly solid programs with CC, one would find that the scores were similar.

I will preface this by saying that I'm not completely sure what year CC's average scores were from. Since they were listed in the 2016 catalog, I'd assume they were from around 2014 or 2015. The information I found from nheri.org is from 2014. Given that the national scores mentioned from both sources are identical, I'd say that it's safe to assume that they are from the same year. I did a quick search for homeschool SAT scores. One of the first websites I found stated: "The SAT 2014 test scores of college-bound homeschool students were higher than the national average of all college-bound seniors that same year. Some 13,549 homeschool seniors had the following mean scores: 567 in critical reading, 521 in mathematics, and 535 in writing (College Board, 2014a). The mean SAT scores for all college-bound seniors in 2014 were 497 in critical reading, 513 in mathematics, and 487 in writing (College Board, 2014b)." https://www.nheri.org/research/nheri-news/homeschool-sat-scores-for-2014-higher-than-national-average.html The scores I posted earlier (CC vs top state vs natl avg): SAT Reading 630 vs 612 vs 497 SAT Writing 577 vs 587 vs 487 SAT Math 569 vs 620 vs 513 More directly compared, the average CC Homeschooler Score vs Average Homeschooler Score: SAT Reading 630 vs 567 SAT Writing 577 vs 535 SAT Math 569 vs 521 According to this, the average CC homeschooler scored higher than the average homeschooler on every section.

I agree that this is a valid point. I forgot that our state requires everyone to take the ACT. Regardless, CC students on average still perform well on standardized tests and generally have no problem entering college. The point of the original post with the scores and college entrance percentages was to counter the suggestion that the CC students' success on standardized tests and their ability to enter college is undetermined. It's not. They still do relatively well on standardized tests, and they don't have trouble gaining college admittance.

I know of one or two doctors in our area who have sent their children to foreign countries for med school. The only reason was that they weren't accepted into any of the med schools in the US. If the only schools they can gain admittance to are foreign schools, it makes me question their quality. Here are the stats that I previously posted: ACT Reading 26.3 vs 24.5 vs 21.3 ACT Science 23.8 vs 23.6 vs 20.8 ACT Math 22.9 vs 24.6 vs 20.9 ACT English 26.8 vs 24.2 vs 20.3 SAT Reading 630 vs 612 vs 497 SAT Writing 577 vs 587 vs 487 SAT Math 569 vs 620 vs 513 For reference, scores are listed CC student scores first, top state average second, & national average last. They out-performed the national average every time. They out-performed the top state 4 out of 7 times. The only glaring difference is math. Considering the fact that Saxon is what is recommended, I feel it's safe to assume that most use Saxon. If Saxon is the issue, that can be easily remedied since students are not required to use it. We plan to begin AoPS next year. I think it's highly inaccurate to suggest that CC students might actually be performing below average given that all evidence suggests something completely different. You don't have to like CC. You may even think that it's a crappy all-in-one program. When CC students out-perform the top state over 50% of the time, it's a fallacy to continue to suggest that their performance is average and probably even below-average.

We have one in our dining room/school room. We watch science videos, educational stuff on YouTube & Netflix, brainpop videos, etc. I hook my computer up so they can see it on a larger screen.

Thanks. I knew it was slightly different, but we don't have 3 & 4 on our campus, yet.

That's a good point. I do think that it is still relevant in that students were capable of handling DE. Honestly, we use CC as more of a supplement than anything. Essentials is our grammar & writing program, though. We're still in Foundations, and I just don't feel that it's enough. Maybe I would if we just spent the rest of the time reading books and digging deeper, but we don't. I prefer something a bit more rigorous than that. Besides, Foundations would only give us 24 out of 36 weeks. We'd have to do something else. Most parents at our community struggle with what to add. With the exception of a few families who tend to lean more towards unschoolers, I think everyone at our community supplements.

They are home school who have graduated high school. They are also graduates of a program (CC), just as kids who gave completed the DARE program are DARE graduates. By definition, "graduate" just means that coursework or a program has been completed. While the term generally refers to someone who has received a degree or diploma, that is not always the case. I don't know of any CC graduate in this area who lists themselves as a CC graduate on a transcript. He or she is a graduate of his or her own homeschool, which is considered a private school in this state. CC has nothing to do with issuing a diploma, nor should it be listed on a diploma or transcript. The fact that they've graduated from the program should mean nothing to colleges. My point is that students who do complete the coursework recommended by CC have traditionally performed well on standardized tests and have been accepted into college without issue.

Sorry. Yes, that was a typo. That's what I get for trying to type up long posts on my phone. 🙄

I'm not saying (and no one really should be saying) that CC is the best program out there for everyone. It is a rigorous program. Students have excelled on AP tests and standardized tests. They have been accepted into prestigious universities. That doesn't mean CC is the most rigorous program out there. I'm sure some are more difficult. I'm sure some are more simplistic. Labeling one program good doesn't automatically label another program bad. I'm not sure we'll do CC in high school. There are tons of good options out there. Who knows what will be right for us then?

Right. A pp had questioned how successful the program actually is. The test scores aren't supposed to indicate that CC is the best option. It's to show that CC students are able to perform successfully on the ACT and SAT and are well-prepared for college. I'm not sure why it's difficult to reconcile the two. The word "graduate" just means that they've completed the program. It's no different than the police department's D.A.R.E. program holding "graduations" for 5th graders completing that program. It's not a graded program; it's just enrichment. Yet, there's still a graduation, and students are called D.A.R.E. graduates.

CC grads are actually pretty successful. Here are some numbers from CC's 2016 catalog: Test Scores (Challenge vs Top State Average vs National Average): ACT Reading 26.3 vs 24.5 vs 21.3 ACT Science 23.8 vs 23.6 vs 20.8 ACT Math 22.9 vs 24.6 vs 20.9 ACT English 26.8 vs 24.2 vs 20.3 SAT Reading 630 vs 612 vs 497 SAT Writing 577 vs 587 vs 487 SAT Math 569 vs 620 vs 513 93% of CC grade were accepted by all of the schools to which they applied (avg # of applications = 3.2). The most common acceptance rate was 100%. I would argue that CC is ultimately not a box-type program, although I will concede that there are some aspects that point to it being just that. The program does become more like an all-in-one as it progresses. At the elementary level, as it is designed, families must add in their own math and language arts programs. Even so, most families do additional science which oftentimes does not align with CC-specific material. We include our own social studies program to fulfill state requirements. Essentials can be added for grades 4-6. That covers grammar & writing, but you're still on your own for reading. I'll concede that some literature choices may be made to align with the current history topic, but it's not necessary. At Challenge level, it really is more all-in-one, but you have the option of adding or omitting whatever you want. Don't like Saxon? Do something else. Don't approve of the box being read (we had a family who didn't approve of The Magician's Nephew)? Dont assign it for your child. Our community, from foundations up, continually reminds parents that tutors are NOT the teachers. Parents are, and as such, they are free to add, omit, or change whatever they want. I believe that Challenge 3 & 4 allows families to pick, choose, and pay for only the subjects they want to take. At least that's my understanding from our Challenge A director. We're no where near Challenge 3 level, yet. So, yeah, I guess it has a psuedo-appearance of a box program, but ultimately it's not. It's also not right for everyone, and not all communities are created equally.

We've only used ARTistic Pursuits, but we like it.

IEW's Phonetic Zoo is independent if you purchase the level CDs. That's $99, though. A computer option would be using spellingcity.com. Most of it is free, although there is a premium portion. You can use pre-made spelling lists from other users, or you can enter in your own. K12reader.com has grade-level spelling lists. A free workbook option would be McGraw-Hill Treasures. It's available as a free pdf. I'm not overly excited about the testing aspect of it since it's just multiple choice, but it's free and can be done independently. We switched to literature studies last year (4th grade) for reading, using Great Works Illustrated. Theoretically, you could copy the worksheets from the book and have her fill them out as she reads. Bookadventure.com is free for reading comprehension quizzes over whatever book she reads. Readtheory.org is good for improving reading comprehension and determining lexile ranges.

Our Foundations & Essentials Director marches to the beat of her own drum, so maybe that's why I haven't experienced some of the negative things others have outlined. Tutors don't have to enroll all of their kids. No one does. The only rule is that a CC-aged child (4 & up) has to be enrolled if he/she is on campus. It prevents younger sibling from sitting in older sibling's class for free. Foundations, a language arts program of your own choosing, and a math program of your own choosing is designed to be all you need. Families who use it that way dig deeper into the memory work during the week. We use it as more of a supplement. My oldest is in Essentials, so that's really been the only CC item that we've hit hard. I'm not sure that we'll do CC at the high school level. I like the looks of the program up through Challenge B (8th grade), but I'm not sure after that. Honestly, the big draw about Challenge B is Mock Trial. I think their protocol for Challenge IV (CC's "prom" - formal dinner & trip to a musical, opera, etc) is a good opportunity, and I like the idea of having a "graduating class." Those certainly don't seem like reasons to continue through Challenge IV. Good stuff, sure, but not a justification. I just signed my oldest up for a fine arts co-op, so that might fill the "graduating class" aspect. At Challenge III & IV, I've been told that you have the option to only pay for the sections you want to take. I'm no where near that point, though, so I have no real experience. We only split campuses around here because there is a demand for it. Most all of the ones in my surrounding area are closed with wait lists. I can definitely see pros & cons to it. We like it, but I haven't "drank the kool-aid," so to speak. My youngest has learned *tons* from it. It's been more "eh" for my oldest. It certainly isn't an accredited option, and no one at my community thinks that. Not all communities are created equally, though. There's one about 30 minutes from us that has a reputation for being absolutely terrible. I could see misinformation running rampant in that community.

This. And in all honesty, it's not like she lives alone. There's someone who *can* do it or at least someone to do it half the time.