Ds15 was homeschooled years ago but has been in private school for a few years. Given the current circumstances, we may not enroll him in the fall. I'm starting to explore option for a Plan B. Math and science are often hard to find a good fit because he is radically accelerated in both. He completed Multivariable Calculus and Linear Algebra this year. Any thoughts about math options for next year? He's been taking advanced high school science classes for several years but has not had chemistry, and we've talked about possibly AP Chemistry for next year. I do not have the ability to lead him in math or science, but he is autodidactic (though he prefers direct instruction). What options do you recommend for him? We're not interested in dual enrollment if there are any other options. If you have honors level high school options that you love for other subjects, I'm open to hearing those as well. He's very talented academically, but writing is his weakness (probably average to above average). He also struggles with organizational skills and time management.

Yay! It worked! Thank you so much!

Hi, Everyone! Life has taken some unexpected turns, and I've been away from this board for about 3 years. I'm ready to return. Can someone tell me how to edit my signature? I don't see the option in editing my profile. Thanks! Looking forward to seeing you around the boards!

I did their help desk through chat--very professional and courteous. They said that it is "escalating to a Level 2," and they scheduled an appointment for help over the phone this weekend. *Really* hoping that my messages can be recovered and confidence restored. I've had this email address for a long time, and it will be quite a process to change my primary email--but I will, if necessary. It does seem odd that this isn't a system-wide problem. Not sure whether to be hopeful about that or not.

Anyone else? A few days ago, I received an email entitled "Welcome to the New Outlook Experience". At the same moment, 3 weeks worth of inbox messages were deleted (and not in my delete folder). Today I realize that I'm not receiving all the emails that are being sent to me, and the sender is not getting bounce-backs. Surely, I'm not the only one! Is there a solution? I'm in the midst of some projects that are really important and *need* reliable email (not to mention the message that I didn't delete!). Is there a solution? Is Hotmail completely unreliable?

All your responses have been very helpful. It looks like I may be kid-free for 2 days/week next year, and I was looking for a way to bring in a little extra income while still having flexibility with my schedule. I do live in an urban area, and I believe there would be opportunities. However, I'm doubtful whether it would be worth the time and effort. I may sign up and explore further, but now I'm leaning toward doing market surveys/focus groups. There are a lot of market research companies here, and it seems like it might be a better pay-off for time spent. Maybe I'll try both options to see which is better for me. It really does help to hear about BTDT experiences! Thank you!

If so, I would be interested in hearing about your experience and advice. I'm trying to decide whether it would be worthwhile to pick up some small mystery shopping jobs here and there. TIA!

Ds1 had classic symptoms as an infant/toddler and was unable to even swallow baby food until 2.5 y.o. Drs were dismissive. Fast forward 4 years, and he had a scope to rule out celiac. They found 41 eos per hpf and lots of esophageal inflammation. Because he had absolutely no symptoms, we chose to not complete the diagnostic process. I've read quite a bit, but ds hasn't had significant problems since he was young. Not sure whether this is helpful at all. When ds was at his worst, typical skin prick allergy testing came back negative. I believe they do a skin patch for patients with EoE, so it would be good to find a clinic that specializes in EoE. Is your dh connected with a medical team who understands EoE?

Every child is different, and some are very ready for CC before age 7 (including my older child). Others (including my younger child) will never be "ready" for it--just not a good match at any age for some. We did 3 years of Foundations with the only purchased material being audio CDs, and it was all we needed. I agree that CC is something that works extremely well for some families and not for others. I have noticed that those who love it view CC as a tool that they can use in whichever way fits their family best. I have seen many families try make their family fit the CC mold, and they get frustrated. Even so, it is a very structured program with a specific educational approach that will not fit every family--or every child within a given family (my own family is a prime example of this). If you can observe this year, that might really help with decision-making. The "feel" can vary quite a bit from one campus to another. HTH!

Ds has a certain # of minutes that he reads history each day, and he does something binder/lapbook/notebooking related each week that we add to his 3-ring history binder. He reads more about topics that interest him and less about ones that don't interest him as much. We read the commentary aloud together. I find that it has the advantages of DIY without all the work. The only thing that takes up my time is ordering library books, and I tend to order large batches every couple of months. By setting aside a certain amount of time and planning to just "do the next thing," it goes very smoothly for us. HTH!

There weren't very many labs, but I think he is/did update the course so that might have changed. Ds thoroughly enjoyed the course! You can always supplement with additional labs, but I wouldn't consider it a particularly hands-on class.

We use the TB, WB, IP and CWP. In our 6 years with Singapore, I've only used the HIG for about a 3-month stretch when we set all books aside and worked through activities listed in the HIG to get through a sticky concept. I tend to have the HIG on hand in case we need it though. We go through the TB lesson together, then they do the WB. At the end of a unit in the WB, they do those topics in CWP and IP. I prefer CWP if you only want one book that goes deeper into the concepts. HTH!

The audio CDs (or mp3s) are must-have's. Since you are tutoring, you will probably want the foundation guide also. You can spend money on already-prepared materials or spend time creating materials. We haven't done CC for a couple of years. If they still have the online community, I *highly* recommend it. It used to be $6/month. I would sign up for a month before the schoolyear and download a bunch of PDFs and MP3s. Typically, I would do another month later in the year. Many of the PDFs there had all the material in various formats that could be printed out later. There are some CC blogs that have free printables as well. Might be a good place to start, then you can buy materials to fill in needs that you still have. But I would make sure to have the audio and the Foundations Guide.

Bumping. Anyone have experience with the instructor, Amanda Yskamp? Or a suggestion for a different online writing class that would introduce multi-paragraph academic writing for a student who can write a solid paragraph?

He could get an almost-ready-to fly or a ready-to-fly model rocket and take it to a launch at your local chapter of the National Association of Rocketry. That way you don't have to purchase the launch pad and deal with all the safety regulations. The folks there will be very knowledgeable and typically love to see kids enjoying rocketry. Our local chapter launches at least once/week in the summer (assuming the weather cooperates).

Thank you! I had settled on that and then started second-guessing. (I wonder if I was reading about one of the Human Odyssey books or something? So many similar names that I might have gotten confused.) I feel much more confident now.

Thank you both! Happypamama, the thread was an old one that I found when doing a search earlier this week. I just did a quick search, and of course, I don't see it now.

Another vote for Education Unboxed! It's wonderful, interactive play-based learning.

I'm leaning toward using Pandia Press' History Odyssey level 2 (Early Modern) with my high-ability 7th grader next year. (My plan is to replace one of the spines with the K12 Human Odyssey book.) After almost finalizing this decision in my mind, I happened across a thread where several people mentioned using H.O. level 2 with early-mid elementary students. Is History Odyssey level 2 adequate for a very capable jr. high student? Honest opinions please!

Found Wordwise as a possible writing solution for ds. Has anyone used the individual instruction or group classes there? I'd love to hear reviews! http://wordwise-instruction.weebly.com/

I had been leaning toward History Odyssey but knew that there were other options I hadn't considered yet. So glad you mentioned this. I wasn't aware of it, and it's looks great!

I'm considering switching to a textbook-based history next year which would be very different for us. I'd like to find a jr. high or high school level textbook that covers world history from approximately 1400-present. I'm open to both secular and Christian resources. Suggestions?

My older son has never enjoyed writing. His mechanics are great, and he has learned to write a very solid, well-written paragraph. I would like to find an online writing class that will take him to the next level of a multi-paragraph essay and that does *not* emphasize/require creative writing. I prefer something that does not spend a great deal of time on grammar and spelling which he doesn't need and with feedback that is really helpful instead of just teeny word changes. He has zero interest in creative writing and needs to work on academic writing because that is affecting his other course placements. He has a very logical mind, and the subjectivity of word choice stresses him. We want to avoid IEW-based programs, as they have been disastrous for him in the past. He will be 11 at the beginning of the academic year, which is not allowing us to enroll some places. What do you recommend for a kid like this? TIA!

I can't comment on the others, but we've done all of McHenry's science programs. They are similar in approach *except* botany. We followed The Elements with Carbon Chemistry and then worked our way through the others. McHenry's programs would work well during the summer because they are short and fun. The botany program has a simpler lesson followed by a more advanced lesson for each chapter. So a more advanced student would do the whole thing, while a younger child would just do the first level of each chapter. This would make it easier to combine different ages. Botany also has a lapbook (which is optional but included in the price) and videos. It seems like there were fewer games and hands-on experiments. It just overall had a different approach to the teaching than all the others. Ds still adored it. He loved all of her science programs.

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