I was going to recommend Apples. My ds likes the fact that one rule is focused on for five days and there is consistent review. It may not be as thorough as AAS, but it also is geared toward secondary students so it isn't demeaning to him. I see him gaining proficiency and confidence.

Jensen's Format Writing??

I have had struggles with this issue also. What I do is divide the time between subjects because I do not feel comfortable with counting the full time for each subject. For example, if my ds is writing and essay on a history topic in English about an issue we're studying in history and he spends 3 hours on it, I would give him credit for 90 minutes of time in each subject area (English and History).

I have Spectrum Chemistry bookmarked to use. :)

Everyone's offering good advice. I would add to begin record keeping now so you're used to it and there's one less new thing to deal with next year.

We did the first two unit studies as they were written. However, I have every intention to do more on the Beowulf unit. To me it depends on interest and what else is going on in the school environment...

Look at IEW Student Writing Intensive high school level.

JudoMom & EKS: Why Sequential Spelling for adults? My 15 yo ds is a terrible speller & is dyslexic. His reading skills are finally "normal", but his speeling still is way behind. Will this help him and why? Thanks for the feedback?

We've never done a class with them, but I was considering it until the experience I had this summer. I had planned on my daughter participating in a writing camp they offeres. I had trouble located information in his website which in my opinion was not very user-friendly (atleast for the camps anyway). He answered my first question politely, but I didn't appreciate the tone of his later e-mail. I had planned on signing up for classes through them and sending my daugther to camp. I figured that if he couldn't take the time to answer politely, what would happened when my daugther had an issue or a need at their camp! Now, I just delete his e-mails.

Thank you because I'm using Key to Algebra with my ds (15) and he loves it. Last year I had him work through all the earlier Key to books (Decimals, Percents & Fractions) and when he tested he went up 6 grade levels in math applications (from far behind to 12th grade level) and is now above his age level all around in math. I couldn't be more pleased! What I think happened is that he prefers to learn all about one topic at a time and master it before moving on. However, I'm concerned about what math program to use next. Any thoughts?

I believe my ds will end up w/2 credits of US History. I'm either going to label them US History Pt. I & II or I may give him a credit for US History then a 1/2 a credit for "The American Revolution" and another 1/2 credit for "The Civil War" since he's so interested in these 2 wars and is spending A LOT of time studying them. (Side note: we're going to do an entire year of "20th Centure World History" using Sonlight next year so teh World Wars will be covered in depth then)

Have you considered the "Key to..." books or Kinetic Books?

My dc are/have been involved in: -martial arts classes -theater/acting -teen book club -chess/strategy games club -church youth group

My dd is using it and just loves it. I can honestly say that I'm impressed and it's worth the $. My dd begged for it or I wouldn't have spent the $ on it, but now I'm very glad I did. The DVDs are full of great information and they're entertaining. I bought the program in May and my dd spent the summer working on it for fun. I find that she takes her time and really thinks each concept through so I have other literature/reading and writing work for her to do in "school". I don't think this is typical for every student, but it's her style in writing.

I haven't read through all the responses so forgive me if I'm repeating what everyone else has said, but I TOTALLY agree! I could not do a regularly scheduled activity in the morning. Theorectically, we could come home & start other work after the activity, but I know it just would not happen. We need our mornings and early afternoons to do "school".