You may get a better response on the gifted board. Of the books you've listed, the ones I wouldn't read with a child of 10/11 include: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn – Betty Smith The Jungle – Upton Sinclair The Importance of Being Earnest – Oscar Wilde The Waste Land – T. S. Eliot The Grapes of Wrath – Steinbeck A Separate Peace – John Knowles Animal Farm – George Orwell The Autobiography of Malcolm X – Alex Haley The books on the list that we have read at that age (and enjoyed): Around the World in 80 Days – Jules Verne Kim – Rudyard Kipling Journey to the Center of the Earth – Jules Verne Blue Willow – Doris Gates Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry – Mildred Taylor The Friendship – Mildred Taylor Bud, Not Buddy – Christopher Paul Curtis Starring Sally J Freedman as Herself – Judy Blume The Good Earth – Pearl Buck The Cat Who Went to Heaven – Elizabeth Coatsworth The Giver – Lois Lowry Books we've read (or attempted to read) and my children did not enjoy: The Moffats – Eleanor Estes - All three of my girls have disliked this book Out of the Dust – Karen Hesse - Two disliked this book, then I gave it away The others on the list we haven't read. :)

It appears that my dd will not be getting any scores from her June ACT test. The website says that they will not be providing any further information on why the test scores were canceled. Are we now simply out the scores and the test money? If it wasn't through any fault of her own, don't we at least get a free test next year? Can I expect any additional correspondence at this point? I'm glad this was only a practice test. But, my dd is quite upset that she spent the time and effort to no end. And now I will have to hire someone to do a portfolio review this month to turn into the county. Frustration all around! :(

Paper, Scissors, Stone sells them for about $3-$4 each. I'm not able to access the link button. But, I'll copy and paste the link. If the link works, just scroll down to the journals. http://www.waldorfsupplies.com/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/psstone/store/agora.cgi?product=Lesson_Books_and_Paper&xm=on

If I have to give a grade in a class taught at home, I use tests only and save them in a binder. I consider homework and quizzes to be study materials while exams are the graded end result of all previous study. But truly, you can do it any way that works for your family. I use tests only because that works well for us. For what it's worth, my eldest is dual-enrolled and most of her professors have included the quiz grades in the final grade.

I suggest a foreign language (2-4 years.) Otherwise, it looks fine.

We decided to go with dual enrollment and are pleased with that decision. The major pro is that dual enrollment in FL is free. :tongue_smilie: If that weren't the case, we may have gone a different route. A potential con is that college grades become part of the student's permanent record.

Thanks for the replies. It's good to know the books alone are the bulk of the program. I suppose she can try the books and see how far we get. I don't see myself as able to stay ahead of her by working in advance. I don't really have the time, let alone the ability. If the books alone aren't working we could always fall back to what we were doing.

For those that have used Art of Problem Solving math - do you think it is the books or the classes that really make AoPS so good? I was thinking it would be the classes (unless the parent is really good at math.) I'm not really sure I could help dd much with the books. I'm pretty good with math through Algebra II/Geometry but not anything higher and not anything along the lines of number theory. But I see the classes are going up another $40-$50 dollars this fall. I really don't see how we will be able to afford these classes in another two years when dd would begin. My 3rd dd loves math (complete opposite of her older sisters) and I want it to be fun/challenging for her. Right now she thinks Saxon, Singapore and LOF are all fun and often does all three. Should I even consider the AoPS books, or just let it go and stick with other programs that I can work through with her?

If I were going to choose a pre-package for high school I would go with Kolbe. I do use some of there curriculum with each child already. However, it is a Catholic provider so may not work in your circumstances.

I don't think I really understand either. The best way to get into college later in life would be with a GED as that is the legal equivalent of a high school degree. A homeschool diploma holds no value for a college and can't be used towards entrance later in life and it doesn't sound like you are trying to prepare a full high school transcript but rather test out of high school. I would have no qualms issuing a homeschool diploma to a student that passed the GED exam as it shows through testing (which is what it sounds like you are trying to do) that the required high school subjects have been completed. CLEP exams test college level knowledge, not high school level. I would think that studying for and passing the GED and following that up with a diploma from your homeschool would be the best scenario for your student. And honestly if that doesn't satisfy the bet, I would question its sincerity in the first place.

Why not take the GED?

At our local university, interdisciplinary degrees require a double major (or maybe two minors instead.) It makes sense considering the degree title. Film studies (and a few other degrees) are only offered as interdisciplinary degrees.

This year - July 1st. Only 13 more days of summer. :willy_nilly: :willy_nilly:

I would not call a high school level science - Earth Science. That is a very common middle/junior high school required science class. I would call it Geology or a semester of Geology and a semester of Astronomy.

I have a 10th grader and an 8th grade doing US History I and American Literature together this fall. We have a ridiculous amount of reading along with more lectures and videos than we could ever get through. We will be having group discussions weekly, on Saturdays. For writing, I am requiring 30 formal pages from each. They can do 30 one-page papers, one 30-page paper or anything in-between, but the writing has to be done to my satisfaction. I am encouraging them to take good written notes as well, as their final grades will be based on their CLEP scores.

Here's a link to the For Sea Institute marine science book list. The curriculum is interesting too.

I'm likely asking another dumb question here - what is an IP course?

4th grade this fall: Saxon 65 / Singapore 4 A/B 4th grade science text (Scott Forsman) Latina Christiana I / Latina Angelica Galore Park Jr. English 3 / Pentime 4 / Sequential Spelling 1 (2nd half) / MCT Practice Island (2nd half) Kolbe Elementary Literature Core Knowledge (Pearson) American History 3 / Memoria Press States & Capitals Memoria Press: Book of Ancients (Mills) / Greek Myths / Christian Studies I Beautiful Feet/IEW Geography (Holling Hollings books) Skoldo French 2 Memoria Press Greek Alphabet art classes gymnastics 7th grade (just finished) Chalkdust Basic Math / Saxon 76 / LOF Fractions / Key to Fractions Galore Park SYRWTL Science 2 / TOPS science guides Galore Park SYRWTL English 3 / The Creative Writer 1 Galore Park SYRWTL History 3 / Teaching Company lectures (We ended up dropping Spanish to spend more time on math, but will pick it up again in 8th.) guitar classes / performances acting classes / performances swimming

Thanks for all of the suggestions! I think because we have two large colleges in town, most of the charitable organizations set their age requirement at 18. That way they only get the college students and don't have to worry about managing the high school kids. Those that do accept younger students seem to have (maybe unwritten?) agreements with different local high schools. I don't know if the high schools require the volunteer hours for graduation, but they are required for the state merit scholarships which a majority of the local college-bound students plan to utilize.

Maintaining a website would be another great idea. She does enjoy computer work, especially websites/blogs or anything that requires work with digital photography. That would fit in nicely with her (at present) future plans as well! She is currently sitting the SAT, but I will offer this as another option to look into when she gets home.

Could he take the ACT next weekend? You would have to pay a little more for late registration. You could pick up a state ID in a couple of hours at the DMV. I believe you can also pay a small fee to defer his test until next fall. So sorry!

Thanks for the list, Lori! We hadn't thought of Habitat for Humanity. She just checked it out and now it is on her list of possibilities. She needs to be 16 so she won't be able to do it this summer, but will likely look into it for the spring and/or next summer. Unfortunately, she doesn't want any people-centered volunteer work (nursing homes, Big Sisters, etc.) Her loves are books, poetry and photography and she couldn't find anything in those areas. And nope, she won't read aloud anywhere. :rolleyes: She does love her neighborhood and enjoys helping the neighbors, but the volunteer hours she needs must be documented by an agency (for state scholarship money.) Honestly, from a mother's point of view, Habitat for Humanity would be a good fit for her. She works best and enjoys herself when she is among peers and accomplishing some task. And Habitat for Humanity is looking for young women to expand their local all-woman building team. Apparently that appeals to her - less intimidating I suppose. A good possibility! Yay!

She may have to, but she really lacked the time last school year and fears this school year will be the same. Maybe if she finds something really close to home so the travel time doesn't eat up an entire afternoon.

We need some new ideas on places to volunteer. I think because volunteer hours are required around here, most places seem to be inundated with volunteers. My dd wanted to get most of her hours in over the summer, as she has more time, but it seems that everyone has the same idea. And being a college town there are also thousands of college students willing to volunteer/intern over the summer or else in need of summer jobs. We need some more creative suggestions. She's already tried the libraries, schools, shelters, YMCA, and summer camps. Churches/religious activities cannot be used to earn hours.

I don't have the books in front of me, but Core Knowledge spends three years working through the material in SOTW 1, so you could just spread 12 or so chapters over each year, or do them as a read aloud over the summers as a review.