I'm glad you've found the courage to take a stand. I appreciate your posting this as it prompted me to look up NPD and made me realize it described my mother-in-law to a T. It just explains so many things about her behavior that have puzzled me over the years such as zero interaction or interest in her grandchildren except when she can show them off. And the guilting - my husband finally drew the line on that a year ago at age 55 after many years as the dutiful son. Suffered the cold shoulder for a few months but he feels so much better now that our lives don't have to revolve around her choices anymore.

Is money a factor? Do you need substantial need based aid or are you looking for merit scholarships? That would help to narrow it down. Good friend's daughter is at Cal Poly SLO and really enjoying it. Finds the students and professors very friendly and warm. Very affordable state school and highly regarded for many fields. Admissions very numbers oriented (gpa/sat). In S. California, University of Redlands for smaller LAC, For midsize colleges strong in business or arts, take a look at Loyola Marymount or Chapman. In N. California, Santa Clara University is a good midsize school.

If your dd plans on continuing Latin after 7th grade, I would suggest waiting until 8th or 9th grade to ensure the best score possible. If not, I think it would be best to take it while her skills are still fresh. I wouldn't make any assumptions about what a high school's policy will be, they vary widely. I would contact a counselor or look at the academic planning guide online if available to determine the actual policy.

CLRC is offering a course called How to Win an Argument - Research, Writing & Critical Analysis. It guides the student towards writing a historical research paper. I was wondering if anyone has tried this course. My ds has done a lot of essay writing but would like to have someone teach him how to do a research paper. I've found this course through CLRC and also the Advanced Reseach Wrting through Lukeion. The Lukeion course looks good but it's only in the Spring. Also open to any other alternatives suggestions.

Take a look at ASU's Astronomy course on edX. The lectures are very good and it is only 8 weeks long. They offer it every few months on edX. If you wish, you can also obtain college credit from ASU by completing the course and paying $600. If you potentially want to get credit,you do have to enroll up front and pay a small fee but you can choose whether or not to pay for the course and get a grade until the end. Also take a look at Pacworks' Conceptual Physics course. Very readable series of booklets by science writer John Hudson Tiner - reads more like a good general interest nonfiction book than a textbook. The course takes a narrative approach to Physics weaving in the history of physics and historical details on scientists with essential physics concepts. No advanced math required.

We're currently doing Greeks, I think you could certainly get a solid foundation in the classics just cutting down the reading by half and listening to the lectures for the other readings. My suggestions for the Greeks are listed below. I haven't gotten to the Romans yet so can't really offer opinions on that course. If you have the flexibility, instead of trying to condense Greeks and Romans into one year, I might consider this approach: 1st year - condense Greeks (all units) + Romans (Aeneid) + Romans (Histories) 2nd year - condense Romans (Early Christianity) + Romans (Nicene Christianity) + Medieval (all units) I think this approach is slightly preferable since the Roman works are generally more foundational than the Medieval ones and also the later Roman works make a nice thematic transition to the Medieval ones. You might also take a look at WTM's - Literature of the Ancient World and Literature of the Med. World & Renaissance to see what they consider the most important works. Suggestions for condensing Greeks: Greeks (Epics) - Both Iliad and Odyssey - if you're really pressed for time select one but ideally do both. Greeks (History) - Choose Herodotus or Thucydides Greeks (Drama/Lyric) - Choose Aeschylus' Oresteia or Sophocles' Theban trilogy, watch video of Medea, Aristophanes, Sappho, Pindar and Hesiod (the last 3 are short selections) Greeks (Philosophy) - Selections (i.e several chapters from each work or just one of the complete works) from the writings of Plato and Aristotle.

Some other options to look into: Paideia Institute - Living Latin in Rome courses and classicl tours List of summer Classics programs

Grinell's Peer College Listing

Homeschool Connections Online has a writing program that might be more affordable or IEW offers classes at $250 per semester.

Perhaps one of these memoirs - Angela's Ashes or October Sky.

Perhaps Boys in the Boat. While not a typical "American Dream" book focusing on the socioeconomic rise of it's protagonists, it is an inspirational non-fiction book that focuses on the dream of Olympic success but could also provide some commentary on the American dream as seen through the struggles and successes of the athletes.

This thread on a similar topic may be helpful.

I have mixed feelings about the AP courses. As homeschoolers, I am encouraging my sons to take at least some APs as it provides a good academic benchmark for comparison with B&M students. It also gives them experience in reading college level textbooks and in taking the equivalent of a high stakes final. Where I live, it is cheaper and more convenient than taking dual enrollment courses and I hope eventually may result in some tuition savings. However, I would not want the APs to crowd out the opportunity to have them pursue deeper or more esoteric academic interests while in high school. On the other hand, in B&M high schools, I think the growing AP program is a symptom of a schizophrenic academic culture where college level courses are pushed down to high school while growing numbers of students graduate without basic high school level skills and require remediation. I think the problems originate in elementary and middle school, when schools are reluctant to differentiate classes in an effort to embrace inclusion and equity. While this seems to be a noble virtue, I don't think it benefits most students. The academic content is often watered down so that the differences between students appear less obvious yet large disparities remain and cannot be overcome. Academically able students are not challenged to their potential and academically challenged students often flounder but are pushed ahead nonetheless. Once students hit high school, with college readiness as an end goal for all, there must be an academic reckoning. It's no longer enough to have a solid, well rounded high school education. Academically able students flock to the AP courses to find courses that will finally challenge them and boost their chances(gpa) in an increasingly competitive college admissions world. Other less able students are also pushed to take these classes in hopes that by taking a college level class they will somehow achieve college level skills despite not having foundational high school skills. As a result, students get high grades in AP courses and yet fail the AP exams in large numbers (30% to 60%) but there doesn't seem to be much concern for this discrepancy. As long as AP enrollment increases, high schools get kudos regardless of actual exam results. That being said, I do think an AP course can be equivalent to a college course in many cases if you judge it simply by content covered. Is it the same experience as a college course? Generally no, college courses move more rapidly and require more independence (less scaffolding by teachers).

I posted this on your other thread but also think it fits here - CLE Algebra. Very incremental,student friendly, and inexpensive ($30). I have used this course with my oldest ds. It is very solid and would provide a good base for moving on to any standard Algebra 2 course. Not as word problem heavy as Foersters perhaps but definitely covers the bases for the major types of Algebra word problems. Also covers basic probability and statistics concepts. Take a look at the higher level light unit samples for example, Unit 9 or Unit 7 to get a better feel for the program. The first light unit is quite easy but the difficulty level ramps in the later light units. Some of the appealing features of this course are: Written to the student directly with clear instruction incremental introduction of new concepts Daily mixed review of previous concepts for better retention Clearly delineated manageable daily lessons User friendly worktexts containing work for 3 weeks Scheduled quizzes every 5th lesson and a unit test every 3 weeks Solutions manual

The Marshall Jevons books weave economic concepts into a fictional mystery format.

CLE's Algebra I program has 10 worktexts and is a very solid Algebra course. They provide enough workspace for the majority of the problems but not all. Unfortunately, they do not have an Algebra II course available at this time.

This thread AP Course Audit - Need Help with Process may be helpful if you haven't seen it already. Also, wanted to add one of the benefits to AP audit approval is access to additional secure practice tests that are not available in their store or online. ETA - Here's another thread that may be helpful as well with step by step instruction on submitting the syllabus.

I just submitted one of the sample syllabi for approval. I think if you are using the same textbook, that would be the easiest approach given the upcoming deadline.

I think transitioning after CLE 6 is too early for most students. A solid math student should be able to transition well to any Algebra after CLE 7. For a less confident student, I would do as previously suggested and try to compress 7 and 8 to get more practice. You can also omit the final light unit 810 in CLE 800 since it's all practical consumer math (checking acct etc.).

Pacworks is another good option. They have an array of worktexts that all use the same methodology. Daily review of the readings in a worksheet format combined with periodic quizzes/tests.The history and science ones are particularly well done and provide more of an engaging narrative approach to the subject. They also offer an online version of their courses and audio supplements.

Maybe something like Europe in the Modern World would work. This is a relatively new textbook. Here's some other free lecture resources on European history: European Civilization 1648-1945 - Yale open lectures by John Merriman. He has written a corresponding book A History of Modern Europe. European Civilization from Ren. to the Present - Berkeley lectures by Thomas Laquer.

Thanks for all the replies. I have solicited input from the kids and tried to incorporate kid friendly activities in our past trips but I would say the engagement level was not high. I guess it's mostly a personality thing. My husband traveled a fair amount growing up and as an adult but does not have fond memories and is very sensitive to not forcing our kids to travel. I've talked to the kids some more and I think I will try a new approach. I am just going to take the older two on a cruise from our local home port. That way no tedious car or plane rides. My youngest who is the most unwilling to travel will stay home with Dad. If this doesn't work, I'll have to take some solo trips to satisfy my urge to travel.

Here are some other options you might consider. I think these might be more efficient and cheaper than roundtrip to Milan. JFK-Zurich and Nice-JFK. - What about flying into JFK - Zurich and Nice - JFK nonstop. This would be the least amount of backtracking to your destinations while still taking nonstop flights. Currently, about $818 Roundtrip leaving on 6/15 returning 6/30. Zurich puts you in the heart of Switzerland and then you could take a train to Milan and then Cinque Terre and then onwards to Provence and Nice by train. Boston to Paris RT- If you have any interest in Paris, also consider flying round-trip from Boston - around $632 leaving Bos on 6/15 returning 6/30 for ex.). From Paris, you could take a train to just about anywhere in Switzerland (4 hrs to Bern or 3 hrs to Geneva), then proceed from there to Cinque Terre (via Milan), then onto Nice or Provence. From Provence, you can take a high speed train back to Paris in 4 hrs. Alternatively, if for a little more money, you could fly to Paris and then fly out of Nice nonstop for $900-$1000. JFK-Munich, Paris to Newark - Depending on where you want to go in Switzerland, another possibility would be to fly into Munich and out of Paris. ($1000). Take train from Munich to Switzerland, then to Milan, then Provence and finally Paris. Helpful Planning Websites: Seat61 has extensive information on train connections within Europe. Here is information from Paris to other parts of Europe. Rome2rio is a great site for planning your itinerary in terms of transportation and time. You can plug in a beginning destination, and then add as many stopovers as you want and it will show you the different methods of transportation, time and even train schedules. Flightmapper can be helpful in finding non-stop or direct flights between cities. Select your destination country first and then closest airport and it will show you all flights originating from there so you can work backward (here's an ex for Nice, France - you can see their are only 2 direct or nonstop flights to US). Or you can see all direct flights from your closest airport (ex. Boston). One caveat, Flightmapper includes direct flights (with 1 or 2 stops but no plane changes) as well as nonstop flights. Some of the flights are also seasonal but I find it a good starting point when looking for nonstops. And finally, a couple of tips for Google flights: Try multiple airports - If you are close to several airports then you can put in airport codes for more than one airport in the destination or arrival city. For example, in your case you could type "BDL, BOS, NYC" this would capture Hartford, Logan, JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark. The flight results will then show the lowest priced airfares from any of those airports. Same thing for arrival city, you can put in CDG, ZUR and see whats the cheapest. If timing is flexible, look for best fares - To find the best times to fly rate wise, after doing a flight search, click on the calendar icon by your departure date and you will have three alternatives to see the fares over different time periods. If you're really flexible, I find the bar chart is easiest to narrow down good dates. For minimizing overall travel time once abroad, try using the Multi-city tab for open jaw flights (flight begins and ends in diff cities - not RT). The rates are almost always better than doing one-way fares for each leg although not as good as RT flights.

I've always loved traveling both as a kid and as an adult. Now that my dh has retired, I was hoping we would be able to do some traveling in the US and abroad. We have been on a few family trips (Hawaii, Grand Canyon, San Francisco) which I would say were moderately successful - no one raved about them but they seemed to enjoy it for the most part. However, my dh and kids (ds 10, 13, and 15) just don't seem enthusiastic about going anywhere else. I have proposed Europe, the Caribbean, Australia, Alaska, etc. Same response, not really that interested. I'm not sure if this is typical of kids their ages or just their personalities. I don't want to push them to do something they don't care for, esp. when it's expensive, but I wonder if they will eventually regret missing these opportunities. Just wondering if anyone else has struggled with a similar situation or can offer perspective on other kids' reactions to travelling.

I think it's worth trying at least one AP. While in some ways it seems like high stakes testing, remember the student can retake the exam, can have their score deleted, or simply not report it to the college.