We read it when ds was 9, so I was probably more sensitive about content than someone whose child read it at an older age. The most memorable example is a discussion of Carl Linnaeus' sexual obsession. There were other comments that made me cringe but were often in said a dry, understated, perhaps sarcastic manner that ds didn't pick up on. The Carl Linnaeus passage was the most explicit and longest passage of that nature that I recall. The majority of the book is scientific and historical content, occasionally with some political and editorial overtones. It truly is a fantastic book-- just be forewarned about the section on Carl Linnaeus. Honestly, I wish there were more book like this--wonderful integration of geography, culture, history, and different branches of science.

One thing I would shy away from is programs that over-simplify concepts, thereby making their descriptions inaccurate. It sounds like you're set with a curriculum plan. Theodore Gary's Elements and The Disappearing Spoon (which does contain some mature content) are amazing preparation for a student who wants to study chemistry. We did The Disappearing Spoon as a read aloud and ds looked up relevant information in Elements. They dovetail nicely with complementary (not overlapping) information.

We started the course! We're taking it very slowly, and I'm adding in lots of extras (because it's an area of high interest for both ds and myself). We just finished lesson 4 of 22. It takes about a week to complete a lesson if we do it every day. There are readings from multiple sources, videos, and audio lectures. The outside used most often so far is this one: http://www.amazon.com/Holman-QuickSource-Understanding-Creation-Quicksource/dp/0805494863. I've found that book to be surprisingly objective--giving the strong arguments and weaknesses of various perspectives. It's providing us with a framework for evaluating different viewpoints that is incredibly helpful, and I am hearing points and counter-points that I have never heard before despite trying to expose myself to this information. The course itself is not objective, but it's fair enough to present plainly what critics say are the weaknesses of their own viewpoint. My impression thus far is that it covers YE and OE in far greater detail than some of the other perspectives, but we're still *very* early in the course. (Quick example: It presented criticism and unresolved problems with Theistic Evolution, but very little time was spent on it. Although I don't ascribe to that viewpoint myself, I knew that there were well-thought-out answers to some of those criticisms. So we went to Biologos' website to see some of their videos.) One thing I've seen as I skim ahead is that it often directs the student to the actual materials from other viewpoints--e.g., going to the Answers in Genesis website to read an article. I *love* that. One thing I have trouble tolerating is how frequently a resource misrepresents another viewpoint to make it seem less valid (e.g., only giving the weakest arguments and then smashing them or oversimplifying another viewpoint making it inaccurate). IMO, that's not educational. It's pure propaganda. ANYWAY, I think the course is very worthwhile for us. Part of the reason for including my editorial comments are above is to show my own biases and perspective about hearing views different from my own. I think the course would work well for someone who want validation of OE Creationism. I think it would work well for someone who wants to gain a framework for numerous perspectives. I think it would work well for someone who believes in YE and wants to hear and understand the criticisms against YE. I don't think it's for everyone--definitely not for someone who only wants to hear the strengths of their own viewpoint. Time spent on this course has been some of our best educational time this year (or any previous year!). LOTS of rich material for discussions with your child--both specific topics and also finding out how they evaluate one argument over another, identify biases, think critical and form conclusions. Priceless for us. Highly recommend for a kid who is interested in pursuing the study of science or who is interested in tackling some big questions. HTH! Feel free to ask questions if you have them. We still haven't completed the bulk of the course, so my review could change over time too. These are my first impressions.

What a neat idea! What were your favorite resources to use for this class?

I will do that! Thank you!

We're already involved in the only local math circle for kids. The leader said that she doesn't plan to administer the exam. Perhaps that will change in future years since it's a fairly new program. I would expect that other participants in the math circle are likely to be interested in the AMC. Thanks for mentioning it!

Oh, this is good news indeed! If all that is needed for approval is to send the tests to another party and have a non-relative proctor, then that can very easily be accomplished through our hybrid program. (Since it's not an accredited school, I didn't know if it would meet their requirements or not.) I'm so encouraged!! I'll contact the school and see if it is something they are willing to provide.

Classical education seems to naturally emphasize history and language. I love the classical approach but have very science-math-oriented children, so I use the trivium but don't use a lot of classical curricula. Instead, we place a greater emphasis on science and math. With different kids, I would make different homeschooling choices. That's the beauty of it--being able to follow their natural interests and abilities.

Has this been within the past year or two? My understanding is that they changed the language on the registration form recently which makes it more difficult for homeschoolers. It now reads "Please keep in mind that this is a school-based competition; learning centers, parents, or students cannot register. We reserve the right to decline registration." It also requires a 6-digit school identification code. It will be very encouraging to me if you have done this through the library since those changes! Several homeschoolers in our city have called long lists of schools and not received permission for their children to take the test at the school, so I'm trying to figure out what other options we have.

I can't find any local schools willing to let ds1 sit to take the AMC8. AMC changed their policy regarding homeschooling venues in the past year or two, making it more difficult. I've heard through the grapevine that some homeschooling groups have been able to get approval to proctor the exam. Has anyone been through this process? I thought about trying to get my ds2's homeschool hybrid program to offer it to homeschoolers, but I don't know what kind of hoops we would be required to jump through. If you know more about this process, I would love to hear about it!

Yogurt, hard boiled eggs (also deviled or egg salad), slices of corned beef, chicken salad, sausage that has been sliced and cooked earlier, any fruits and veggies.

Varies here too. Cheapest is $50 max per family with some volunteer requirements (that can easily be accomplished while kids are in class). That co-op meets for 2 hours/week. Drop-off programs are pricier--about $150-200 per semester per child for 1 hour of class/week. (Both of the above examples are within 2 miles of my house, so the same geographic area.) Specialty programs can cost more. For example, a group of homeschooling parents have pooled to pay a Ph.D. chemist with 20 yrs teaching experiencing to teach chemistry to our kids. It's a drop-off program. $300/semester for 1.5 hours/week. I live in a big homeschooling hub, so there are a bazillion options with varying price tags and pros/cons. Families are willing to drive longer and pay more if the co-op is just the perfect fit for their family. If you are meeting a need, there is incentive. "If you build it, they will come," so to speak.

The "What Your ____ Needs to Know" books have this--at least in the early years. I haven't looked at beyond first grade. But either the K or 1st grade book (or both) has a lot of famous quotes--A bird in hand is worth 2 in the bush, Don't count your chickens before they hatch, etc, etc. Might be a starting point, depending on age.

I just skimmed through the responses and may have missed a comment about these, but Athena Academy and G3 both have online classes that are geared toward gifted students.

As part of an application process, ds1 will need to take a standardized test. We've done the ITBS and Stanford before, and I didn't find the information terribly helpful. Since he needs to take a test, I would prefer to use one that provides really good information, particularly for advanced learners. Several of the tests listed on the application as options are unfamiliar to me. Which would you choose? -Educational Report Bureau (ERB) -Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) -Stanford Achievement Test -Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS) -TerraNova -Independent School Entrance Exam (ISEE) -EXPLORE -STAR -something else? (It has to be nationally normed.) One potentially complicating factor is scheduling because we can't do a Saturday administration. I've shied away from EXPLORE in the past because a non-Saturday test would have required travel and an overnight stay. But I may consider the inconvenience if the information from the test is a lot better than what we can get from a locally proctored test.

We don't do them as "pockets." Projects are kept in a 3-ring history binder. Some will slide into page protectors. Others are glued to pages that are 3-hole punched and put in the binder. It's easier to make and store this way.

Our school district doesn't provide gifted services until 3rd grade, and then it is minimal. However, the Gifted Coordinator became aware of ds when we requested a whole grade acceleration. After seeing the test results that were part of that process, she suggested a second whole grade acceleration, offered subject acceleration as needed, and left the door open if we ever felt there were issues that needed resolved. He only attended 1 year in p.s. (because his asynchrony was just really extreme and we felt they would be better met out of a grade-age system). The teacher he had was less comfortable with a younger child in her class, so that did affect our experience. I think the school was willing to work with us, which was going very much "above and beyond" their requirements.

I think that it is sometimes a case of "when you have a hammer, every problem looks like a nail." I'm sure some are more perceptive than others. Of the 4 we worked with, 2 were advocating for medical evals *way* before the other two.

We went through 18 months of feeding therapy with 4 therapists before they finally ordered an upper endoscopy. Lo and behold, there was a medical issue that was easily resolved after being diagnosed. Soooo frustrating after the amount of time, money, and energy that went into feeding therapy appointments (70+ appointments, food logs, and at home work (3 hrs/day!). Just another perspective since I'm hearing a lot of advice for feeding therapy. A 15 minute procedure to rule out a medical issue would have saved me enormous time and frustration---and helped ds to not be in pain during the 18 months he was receiving therapy.

My younger child is a strong visual learner, and I am anticipating that he will have trouble with AAS because of all the memorization of rules. Is there a strong spelling program that is similar but involves visual recognition of spelling patterns rather than memorization of rules? Sequential Spelling was recommended to me, and I'm curious what other programs I should consider.

If you have experience doing de-sensitization shots to improve environmental allergies, I would love to hear about your experience---both the treatment itself and the effectiveness (whether positive or negative). Thanks!

In addition to RightStart, you might want to check out Family Math and Education Unboxed.

Oh, this is brilliant if it's really possible to buy from Canada. Our cost savings would literally pay for a vacation there. Might have to look into what kind of hoops are required to order online from a Canadian pharmacy. Has anyone ever done that?

I think something needs to change with so many people having high deductible plans. Ds's twin pack cost almost $800 for one (and he needed 2 since he does a homeschool hybrid program and needs one to remain on site there). If we didn't have insurance, it would have been almost nothing through the various programs available. Because we have insurance, we didn't qualify for those programs. Yet because we have a high deductible plan, we paid 100% of the cost. Some families have multiple children who need epi-pens, and it worries me that some won't update their Rx because they just can't do it financially. I suspect we'll see a price structure change soon.

The ITBS test report that I received gave percentile, # attempted, # correct, and % correct. If you look at that section on your test report, you may get some clues. If she didn't attempt all the problems, then she probably ran out of time. Last year, ds got 50% correct on spelling, but there were only 4 questions in that section. He is a great speller and performed much better this year. Few problems can really skew scores at times. This year, my son ranked 86th percentile on a section where he attempted all problems, got them all correct, and received a 100% score. It just meant that lots of other kids got that section 100% correct as well. Just thought I'd share some things that can affect scores.