We were in the same boat last fall, and chose AP Environmental Science through PA Homeschoolers. Ds really enjoyed the class, and there was very little math - nothing he couldn't handle.

Thanks so much!

"Good" as in good food. :thumbup: The place doesn't have to be fancy or expensive.

Can anyone recommend a few good restaurants in Charlottesville? We are going to be spending a few nights there soon and would like to try the local flavor. I'm hoping our resident foodie, who has a son living in Charlottesville, will chime in. (Susan Wise Bauer - this means you!) We are also going to be staying in Virginia Beach and Chincoteague, and would appreciate restaurant recommendations for those locales as well - especially seafood. Thanks!

Veritas Press Scholars Online Spanish. http://resource2.veritaspress.com/Resources/Scholars_Online/Scholars_Online_Main.html

Does anyone have any experience with Ed Thurber's Spanish 2 class at Veritas Press? I wanted to get a feel for what the assignments and exams are like, to see if the class would be a good fit for my son. Thanks!

The only reason my friend and I drove 8 hours to the HEAV convention in the first place was to hear you speak. And then the Deans started the Cincinnati convention, and you came to us, so we didn't go back. :-) It is very disappointing to hear that there isn't a place for sessions on educational attainment at a homeschool convention. When did seeking academic excellence become a bad thing? And why do they feel that precludes character development?

I personally like to attend a convention every year to hear the speakers and shop the vendor hall. Getting my batteries recharged at a convention every year is one of the reasons I am still homeschooling after 11 years. I have been to the HEAV convention twice. Your used curriculum sale is awesome. That alone makes it worthwhile to attend. Now that we have the Midwest Homeschool convention in Cincinnati, I don't drive to HEAV anymore. (I live in Ohio.) Last year the Duggars spoke at our convention. To say it was a zoo is an understatement. Because there were no assigned seats, people lined up hours ahead of time That line snaked through several levels of the convention center, making it difficult to navigate the already crowded hallways. I had never seen a line that long in my life. I was sitting in a session with the lovely Susan Wise Bauer, who was attempting to give her talk, but kept being interrupted by announcements over the loud speaker that said things like "no sitting in line" and "you will not be allowed to save seats". (Susan, thank you once again for being willing to come back to Cincinnati next year. Between the Duggars and the kid with the purple balloon, I thought we'd lost you forever.) My friends and I had tickets to see the Duggars, but after we saw the mad house that was unfolding, we decided to leave and grab dinner at a nice quiet restaurant instead. So, to the OP, I personally recommend attending a convention as often as you can swing it, but you might want to rethink HEAV this year - or at least go in knowing that it may be extra crowded due to the Duggars and plan accordingly. Hopefully HEAV will manage their appearance better than the Midwest convention did.

Yes, they are two different talks. I own them both on cd. One is about getting ready for college, and one is about getting ready for high school. It looks like they only have the Getting Ready for High School talk available for sale on their web site: http://peacehillpress.com/audio-products/audio-lectures.html My cds were purchased at the Midwest Homeschool Convention.

Very excited to learn that Susan Wise Bauer will be back here in 2014! Thank you Susan! This year's convention isn't the same without you!

My confirmation says "present this email or a photo ID", so you don't need a ticket.

Elizabeth, you are brilliant! Why didn't I think of this?

There aren't any sessions at the Hyatt this year, according to the current schedule. And yes, you do not need to ride an elevator to access the meeting rooms at the Millennium.

Certain times of day you will wait in a line for the elevators at the Millennium, in my experience. Think rush hour traffic. When everything shuts down for the night, and everyone goes to their hotel at the same time, there will be a line. Here is my tip for that - take the skywalk back so you are getting on the elevator on the second floor instead of the first, and then take the elevator DOWN to go up. Get on a DOWN elevator, which will be empty, ride it to the first floor so you will already be on it ahead of the line of people on the first floor, and then ride it up to your room. If you stand on the skywalk level and wait for an UP elevator, it will take forever because everyone on the first floor will fill the elevator before it gets to you. The wait for an elevator never deterred me from staying at the Millennium. The only reason I switched to the Hyatt last year was because I was bringing my ds with me, and his buddies were staying at the Hyatt, and we wanted to all stay at the same hotel so it would be easier for them to run around together.

I want to say a HUGE thank you to all the moms who have been there, done that, and took the time to share your experiences with me. It is so encouraging to know that other parents have made similar choices for their children and not regretted it. And I appreciate all the helpful suggestions for ways to approach this with our son. It is so important to us that our son not view this as a failing on his part, but as an opportunity to be better prepared for all that college has to offer. When my husband and I make a final decision, I'll come back and let you know what we decided. Best wishes to all of you and your children.

It sounds like you made a great decision for your son. I'd love to know how this works out for him. Maybe we can all come back to this thread a year from now and post updates our personal situations.

I like the idea of making this season of life all that ds wants it to be. I think that approach would appeal to him as well. This is good to know. Thank you for sharing. I had assumed that once a grade level was recorded with an organization like the College Board, it would be set in stone.

Thank you Michelle. It's encouraging to hear that your son was fine with the idea of repeating 9th grade. So far my gut instinct has been that this child needs another year at home. The social temptations at college are a big concern for us as well with regards to this particular child.

Yes, we definitely want our ds to be on board with this decision. We don't want him to feel like we are forcing the situation on him.

I am so glad this thread has helped you. Best of luck to you and your son. :-)

I just came across your post. I have stayed at the Millennium and the Hyatt and was happy with both. They are the hotels that are closest to the convention center. The Millennium has the convenience of an indoor skywalk connecting it to the convention center, which is handy in bad weather The Hyatt has an outdoor skywalk connection. The Hilton is several blocks away, but still walkable. It is a lovely, historic art deco hotel.

Thank you Lori D. I appreciate your words of wisdom. I especially like the idea of calling the next three years "middle school part 1, 2, and 3". My older ds is a 10th grader, so I am familiar with the PSAT and National Merit Scholarships. That is a reason that we are considering adding the extra year in middle school versus trying to add a year in high school.

I'm sorry you had such a negative experience. I think being held back can be a difficult thing if you attend school. However, we intend to homeschool all the way through high school.

This is exactly where we now find ourselves. Thank you for the words of encouragement.

Thanks Elizabeth! Sometimes it's hard to trust your gut when there is a lot at stake. Thankfully I have all you wise women to "talk" things through with me. On another note - I want to pick your brain about the Cornerstone Co-op. I'll PM you.