That's the book that a couple of my children have used and found helpful. The other really good book for preparing for both the SAT and the PSAT is the Rocket Review Revolution: The Ultimate Guide to the New SAT and the PSAT. It helps especially with test-taking strategies.

I agree. In the AP US History forum, some teachers speak highly of Zinn, but most also agree that students need to read other points of view, too. The standard textbook isn't really a balance to Zinn's views; textbooks usually present mainstream thought. Instead, I would want to present students with a more radical rightist approach to balance Zinn's leftist take on history. I think it's valuable for students to read both. To use Zinn alone in a history course would be a mistake IMHO.

...this year, this list is a help to me. It's a lot of stuff, but I love being able to look at such a comprehensive list to decide what things will be available to a student with no car and what will be best to send with my son. I'm sending three off to college this year, and I'm glad that the oldest two are off a week before my freshman boards the plane. We haven't started checking off his list yet. I have never gone with my dc to help them settle into their college dorm, so I try to anticipate their needs in advance for their freshman year. I'm really going to miss them all this year. I think sending my children off to college is the toughest part of homeschooling. They've been such an ever-present part of our family's life that each absence is a vacuum apparent every hour, especially that first semester. It's such a bittersweet time.

...Geography course. We integrate geography with our study of history. I like instead to spend two years on Western Civilization during 9th and 10th grade. The first year we delve into ancient history through medieval civilization, and the second year we cover the Renaissance and Reformation through modern history. There is so much information to cover in 20th century history that I hate to cram it into a couple of months at the end of a year. Moving into American history in 11th grade means that the history of the world when the American story began is fresh in the student's mind, allowing them world-wide context as we begin a study of the U.S. The U.S. history then provides context for U.S. Government and Political Theory in the 12th grade. I've used this progression with all my children, and it has seemed to work very well. This allows them to take the AP European History exam in 10th grade, the AP US History exam in 11th grade, and the AP US Government exam in 12th.

...over the telephone. The parent called again today, and "pushed" a little harder when she was told that the test was not yet graded, knowing that the graders are no longer gathered and that score distributions have already been released. They relented and said that the test was graded but just not "released." Oh, how I hope that the test wasn't lost. This student worked harder than I have ever seen a student work to prepare for an AP test, and the AP US History test is one of the toughest ones because of the volume of information that is covered. I can't imagine her tackling the test again next year. It's very frustrating.

...toward algebra. I have run into situations with children who were ready for algebra at age 10, but who just could not quite master it until they had a couple of years to mature. The hazard is that when the child encounters difficulties because they just do not have the conceptual maturity to progress at a reasonable pace, they can begin to think that they are just "not good at math." This can be a shame, especially with students who are very bright and capable in mathematics, but just not quite mature enough for algebra. I would also be concerned that moving through math so quickly could contribute to a kind of lopsided intellectual development. Instead I wish I had spent more time on the history of mathematics and lots more on different applications of elementary concepts. I think books like Key to Algebra can serve as a good bridge to algebra, and used alongside or after a really strong pre-algebra program, they can help to prepare the student for a more challenging algebra course, while giving them time to mature. Based on my own experience, I would not push on into algebra with a 10yo unless you are truly raising a young Einstein. I think it is much wiser to wait until age 12 or so. In the meantime, I would look for a curriculum that encourages the student to apply elementary math and pre-algebra concepts in as many different ways as possible, exercising the child's mastery of mathematical thinking. I have wished that I had used Harold Jacobs' book, Mathematics: A Human Endeavor instead of moving a younger child directly into Algebra. I've always wanted to use that book, but never took time to do it.

received a note saying her score was "delayed." When her parent called the College Board, they had no more information for her. She has called twice with no helpful answers from the College Board who simply say that the test is still being graded. But, to my knowledge, the professionals who grade the exam have long since returned from the grading sessions. Does anyone know why this could be? She is a bright student who works very hard, and I suspect she did very well. This is frustrating both to her and her parents, and I don't know what to tell her might be happening.

Dear Friends, A fellow frequenter of the WTM boards wrote to suggest that I clarify my relationship with Scholars Online since I have sung the praises of some of the classes in this post and because my name is listed on the SO website as a person who has volunteered to answer questions to help parents determine whether or not SO classes will meet their needs. I hate to post about myself, but I do want to clarify any question about conflict of interest so as to avoid the appearance of impropriety. I am grateful to this person for suggesting clarification. I am not now nor have I ever been employed by Scholars Online. My relationship with SO is that of a grateful parent who is willing to answer questions in light of my experience with the Scholars Online classes. My heart's desire is to support families who are giving their children a classical education at home. One of the ways I have done that has been to post on the WTM boards. Another way has been to moderate the ClassEd e-mail loop. Another has been to edit Classical Writing - Aesop. Another has been to answer questions about SO classes. Another has been to tutor classes through Classicalco-op. I am blessed not to want nor need compensation for any of these services, and I have done each of them because of a lifelong commitment to classical home education. I have been teaching my children at home for over twenty years, and I have aspired to a classical education for all but the first few of those years. With five children who have studied with different SO teachers for the last ten years, I am familiar with many of the SO classes. Now that I have only one child still in my home school, I have extra time in my 'near retirement' to serve other parents as they attempt to discern the best choices for their own children's education. In that spirit, I volunteered to answer questions that parents might have about SO classes. I am under no obligation whatsoever save the obligation to speak my conscience. I care very much about the success of individual home-schooled students, and I empathize with parents who are trying to decide how best to meet the needs of the children they love so much. I do not think that one size fits all when it comes to online tutorials, but I can only speak from my own experience. While I have had experience with less than satisfactory online tutorials for my children, I do not speak of the negative experiences, knowing well that the same courses that I found not to meet my children's needs may be a perfect fit for someone else. Besides, it's a lot more fun to talk about something I can be enthusiastic about! I do have one disclosure to make which is not related to this thread: After graduating Summa Cum Laude with a degree in Classical Philology, my daughter began teaching Latin with Scholars Online. She had been tutoring Latin for several years and was delighted to be teaching through the online school that ignited her love of classical languages. While I think she is a devoted and talented teacher who loves and inspires her students, I have avoided recommending her classes, partly because I didn't want to be guilty of impropriety, but also because she is not the only SO Latin teacher about whom I could say that! While I feel awkward about veering from the topic of high school and self-education in this post, I hope this post clears up any question that may have arisen about my motivation for posting about the SO classes.

Clare, All of my children have taken Scholars Online classes throughout their high school years, and some beginning even earlier. I credit SO with taking my children to a place academically that I could never have done on my own, enabling them to earn excellent academic scholarships to college as well as to enter college very well prepared for the academic challenges they would face. One of the colleges my children have attended actually recruits SO students because they have found them so well prepared for their university studies. I remember trying to decide how to provide the best high school education possible for my oldest in that summer before she was in 8th grade. I am so glad that I decided to enroll her in classes with Scholars Online. It's one of the best academic decisions I ever made. Over the years my children have taken all of the classes in the literature sequence, AP chemistry, AP physics, the history sequence, Latin I-IV, and Greek. Every class has been a blessing. As for the specific courses you asked about: Writing - My children have never studied with Mrs. Byington only because writing is my own passion, and I love to teach them to write. I have heard really good things about her classes from friends though. Precalculus - I also am a math lover, so I have no experience with the SO math classes. My idea has always been to decide what few things I can teach well at the high school level, and then to look for help with all the rest. I have heard that the classes are small with much personal attention for each student. English (British) Literature and American Literature - These are some of Dr. Bruce McMenomy's superb literature classes. Dr. McM is an excellent scholar and classicist as well as a fabulous teacher who uses Socratic questioning as one of the primary methods of instruction in his classes. His outstanding use of the English language is an education in itself, and all of my children would count his literature classes among their favorite courses in their high school years. Even though I love literature and have taught literature courses before, I still enroll my children in these literature classes every year. They are too good to be missed. I would not recommend taking the American Lit class without a background in English Literature, however. The English Lit class lays a foundation that helps the student to understand the American writers. It also provides early practice in what Dr. McM calls "close reading" as opposed to broad reading. English Literature is a better entry level high school literature course, although I always prefer that my children have the advantage of a broad reading of the Great Books in Dr. McM's Western Literature to Dante course before studying English Literature. In the latter course, Dr. McM brings the focus down to closer reading and analysis of the literature, and the broad background equips them with literary background to do that. Still, if I had a student with only a couple of years left in high school, English Literature is a great place to start, followed by American Literature. American Literature requires more interaction with literary criticism than English Literature. It really is a good PRE AP English (Literature) kind of class. All of these classes have been excellent for helping my children develop the ability to understand, analyze, and appreciate literature. They have also given them an incredibly firm foundation upon which to build their university literature studies. Science: My background is in the sciences, so science is one of the subjects that I often decide I can teach my children myself. However, one of my children wanted more challenge in chemistry and physics than I could give him, so he took Dr. Christe McMenomy's AP Chemistry and AP Physics courses. Using college level textbooks, Dr. Christe gave him an understanding of those subjects that I could never have done. She is a brilliant scientist with a background in science history which she weaves into the presentation of technical science. I love the fact that she is able to bring the humanities (history of science) into the course without sacrificing the depth of study of the theoretical and technical aspects of the subject. The courses were challenging, but Dr. Christe worked hard to be sure that every student in the class understood the topics they covered. If you have any more specific questions about the SO courses, I would be happy to try to answer them for you. Scholars Online has been such a blessing to my own children that I can be pretty effusive in their praise!

...was exactly the same as Tina's. What a great question! I would love to have a book full of examples from great speeches and from great literature that illustrate the effects of different grammatical structures. I haven't found this all in one place, but I do refer to single chapters in about half a dozen out-of-print rhetoric books on my shelf when I teach writing. For example, there are good chapters in these books: English Composition and Rhetoric by Bain © 1866 Handbook of Rhetorical Analysis by Genung © 1898 The Essentials of Composition and Rhetoric by Espenshade (I have the revised edition) © 1904/1913 The section of each book that actually addresses your question is small, so none of these quite do what you are looking for. I also use Sentences and Thinking as a way to lay a foundation for understanding these examples, but it doesn't exactly address your question with examples of the effects of grammatical structures. Whenever I encounter a particularly good example in my reading, I also try to jot notes to myself . I wish I had been more organized about keeping all those notes in one place over the years! I can imagine analyzing the rich examples in Greg Roper's The Writing Workshop to help students understand the particular force of grammatical structures, but that is not exactly the focus of the book. I'm not sure that there is a book out there that has what you are looking for in a condensed orderly format. Not much help and wishing with you that such a resource existed...

It seems that messengers have replaced the backpack for toting computers and books to class on many college campuses. There are lots of great messenger bags available. Many of the bags come with special sleeves to protect laptop computers. My college students like the ones with lots of organizing pockets to allow easy access to everything from a pen or calculator to a cell phone or a water bottle. Each of them chose a bag according to their tastes: a black tactical gear bag from L.A. Police Gear, a custom decorative design from Timbuk2 Bags, a black Euro bag from eBags, an Ogio bag with superb organization space, etc. The possibilities are almost endless. I'll include a few links, but I'm sure you'll find others. http://www.timbuk2.com/tb2/products/home http://www.ebags.com/messenger_bags/department/index.cfm?sub_site_id=21 http://www.zappos.com/n/es/d/722579534/page/1.html - Ogio bags http://www.ogio.com/products.php?search=messenger http://www.zappos.com/n/es/d/722679614/page/1.html - Sherpani bag http://reloadbags.com/bags/messmini.php - custom messenger bags hth

Quality is excellent, and there usually are quite a few different styles/colors from which to choose. You can sometimes find XL comforters on sale in the summer, too.

It's the best algebra book that I have ever seen, and I've looked at quite a few of them in comparison to Foerster's. I've used the Foerster books with all of my children. The explanations are clear and easy to understand. The concepts are presented in an orderly and logical way, a way that helps the student to learn to think mathematically. Another of its strengths is in the wide variety of application and word problems. Some of them are not "tidy;" some of them do not come out even. Some of them require considerable depth of understanding of a newly-learned concept in order to use it to solve the problem. It is not an easy textbook, but with slow and methodical study, I think most students can manage it. I think it's really important NOT to rush through the book. My kids have taken anywhere from a year to a year and a half to finish each text. If I had a student who struggled, I would take even longer. There are plenty of extra problems to allow extra practice in sections the student finds difficult. Algebra II and Trigonometry is a much more difficult text, and I suspect that many parents would need help to teach it. By the time a student has finished both textbooks plus a geometry course, there are not many topics left before a student is ready for calculus. The Math Without Borders videos seem like a fabulous idea for parents who need a bit of help teaching math. I'm glad someone decided to make them.

...with no problem. My dc prefer not to take classes exclusively by video, so I've never considered using the DVDs. I haven't used the current Earth and Space science, but rather the older edition Earth Science text as well as the BJU Biology text. Both cover a lot of material in depth, and I thought both were excellent. Neither was too difficult to teach; they just required me to read the material in advance. I do have a science background, but it's been a long time since I was in college! Science can be intimidating for the non-science parent, and that's probably why the DVDs provide extra confidence. That, and they can be done independently, which can be really important for the parent of many children.

It looks to be excellent! We will be working through Pilgrim's Progress this year, too, and this looks like it could enhance our reading.

...though I'm not surprised at your son's top notch score, Kathleen. ;) I haven't called yet because my ds lost his AP number and I keep remembering after East Coast office hours. Now it will be Monday before I can call, and it wouldn't surprise me if the grades arrive within a week of then. So, we might just wait for the hard copy.

Hi, Kathleen, Here's the info about AP grades by phone for this year: Grades By Phone Starting July 1, AP Grades by Phone for the current year's exams will be available for students in the United States, U.S. territories, and Canada for a fee of $8 per call. This service will be offered 24 hours a day by TouchTone phone and will remain available year-round. The toll-free number is (888) 308-0013. Students outside the United States, U.S. territories, and Canada should call (609) 771-7366. You may also send your AP grades by phone for a fee of $15 per college, beginning July 4. These automated services are payable by credit card only.

...ds to know in order to better shape his fall course schedule. We had a difficult year with a death in the family, and his AP US History studies didn't get the attention they should have. Gwen, did you mean that you had the scores on *June* 26 or 27 last year? I've never called before, but I just might have to do it this year.

Dear Mommy Thrice, SO much depends on the child, the college he ends up attending, his life plans and goals, his maturity, etc. I have had four children graduate from high school so far. Two of them had fall birthdays (one in early September), and both of them graduated at age 18, almost 19, which was perfect for them. However, I also have one child who graduated from high school when he was barely 17yo, and who will not be 18yo until almost the end of his freshman year in college. He is on the fast-track to adulthood, and that was perfect for him, too. One thing that you might consider is to adopt the later graduation date for now. That will allow you to put off the decision until you and your son both know when he is ready to go away to college. You can always decide to let your son graduate a year early if he is ready to attend college at 17. If he accumulates enough credits to graduate at age 17 instead of 18, it won't matter that some of the credits were earned in "8th grade". It's not as simple to add a fifth year of high school without raising college admissions folks' eyebrows. While community college during his last year at home is a possibility, you will want to be careful about accumulating enough credits to achieve sophomore status, which can compromise freshman scholarship offers at many colleges. I don't think that I would let this "grade level" decision change the academic work that he is doing. You can list high school credits completed before 9th grade on a transcript, which could be important if you and your son decide that he is ready to graduate when he is 17. hth

She took up the harp after studying piano for years, and it was relatively easy to transfer her knowledge of music from piano to harp. The lever harp is a lot more transportable than the pedal harp. Its repertoire is limited, but it still makes lovely music. The Sylvia Woods Harp Center is a great resource for information and sheet music for all types of harps. We also like Song of the Sea for folk harps and other traditional instruments. Both of these places will help you choose the harp that best meets your needs. Having a harpist in the house is such a blessing. From the first day, the music is beautiful!

AP Latin courses taught by Dr. Bruce McMenomy. He is a classicist with a mastery of several languages and a great instructor, too. My kids all love studying under him. SO offers Latin IV-AP Latin Vergil, Latin V-AP Latin Literature, plus Medieval Latin. After this coming school year, there will no longer be an AP Latin Literature exam, but the fact that they offer Medieval Latin even though there is no AP course makes me think that they will continue to offer more advanced Latin language courses beyond AP Vergil. http://scholarsonline.org/Info/latin.php hth

...of having many, many free online resources to help the study studying independently. There are quizzes, audio files, Quia games, and so much more. http://wheelockslatin.com/ is a good place to start, but there are lots of other websites to help. Some of them are listed here: http://wheelockslatin.com/wheelockslinks.htm While there are lots of ways to learn Latin, our family prefers Wheelock's for several reasons: 1. From early in the book, Wheelock's uses "real Latin" passages for translation rather than passages written easy-reader style. This makes a difference in how a student learns to grapple with the difficulties of translating from a real language. This makes it easier to transition into reading whole Latin works without any adjustment. 2. The vocabulary in Wheelock's is extensive, which it has to be in order to prepare the student to translate these "real Latin" passages. This also improves the student's English vocabulary. 3. The line-upon-line part-to-whole grammar instruction has the benefit of not only teaching the Latin language, but also of training the mind to think in a structured manner and helping the student to use his or her own language with greater skill. Improvements in a student's writing in English are inevitable. 4. Wheelock's includes passages from a wide variety of authors and a wide variety of styles of Latin writing. This exposure to all sorts of Latin passages improves the student's understanding of the language itself while also preparing him or her to read with less difficulty whatever Latin text he or she decides to study next. You eliminate the adjustment to a new author. 5. Wheelock's is a thorough grammar and translation course that is the "gold standard" of most college Latin programs. If a student has completed Wheelock's, he or she will be on par with the college Latin student who has finished introductory Latin and ready to tackle the next course in the college's program without undue difficulty. Wheelock's moves fast, but by setting a slower pace and using all the online helps, diligent students as young as 12yo can manage it. My children have all used Wheelock's. Two of them began at age 12yo. One finished AP Vergil in 10th grade, and my youngest, a 7th/8th grader, is finishing Chapter 22 now. It's not easy, but it is SO worth the hard work it takes to do it. There are lots of other ways to learn Latin, and some of our family's reasons for choosing this curriculum might not match your family's needs or goals, but especially for self-study, all the free online resources and might tip the balance in favor of Wheelock's. hth

Here is the link to the official College Board website that includes the state homeschool code for the AP exam: http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/080252_APCoordMan08_071021-WR.pdf hth

...Mother Tongue Book II is that the sentences are not so "canned" as you find in modern grammar curricula. Word order is sometimes reversed; poetic language is used, etc. I think it would make a great supplement to another curriculum because you could select some of the wonderfully complex sentences to dissect in order to be sure that a child is not just relying on word order or familiar patterns to determine grammatical function in a sentence. One of the things that I have found to be beneficial for my students is to try to unravel poetry grammatically. It is a wonderful challenge, and besides helping the students solidify grammatical concepts, I think it also helps them to understand poetry with less difficulty. I will be curious to see what you decide to use for grammar. I wish there were a modern resource with such richness of language as some of these old books have.

...I use an out-of-print turn-of-the-century book that provides a wonderfully thorough introduction to grammar: Mother Tongue Book II by Kittredge and Arnold. I usually begin teaching it to my children in the fifth grade, and we finish the book in two years. After completing Mother Tongue, the only grammar reinforcement my children need is Latin studies. I love teaching from this book even though I have to make changes to reflect modern punctuation standards and update words or usage here or there. Its exercises include sentences rich with vocabulary and vibrant, precise language. Recently I discovered that Google has put a scan of the book online: http://books.google.com/books?id=-JgAAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22The+Mother+Tongue%22+Arnold Kittredge was a remarkable scholar and educator, and I admire his work.