My 15yo son was just diagnosed w/ Asperger's a few days ago, so this is all very new to me. I had never even heard of AS until 2-3 years ago. My son has always been a quirky kid and socially awkward, but I just thought it was his unique personality. I didn't know it was *called* something. Things got much more pronounced in high school -- 9th grade was really rough for us. These factors seemed to be noticeably worse this year: *Inability to make friends. (He has not made a new friend since elementary school. He's got 2 friends who he occasionally sees but not even on a weekly basis & never talks to them on the phone or via email or Facebook.) He even joined marching band at the local high school (and loves it) but did not make any friends. *Great difficulty w/ executive functioning (time management, planning, prioritizing, working efficiently, staying on task). *Lack of common sense. *Often appears to be "in a fog" where he just isn't paying attention to what you're saying or what he's doing. (We kept telling him he needs to "be present" more.) *Over-sensitivity to certain noises (his brother's whistling would send him in a tailspin). LOTS of fights over this issue. *Spending way too much time in his room by himself. DS did 9 hours of testing over the summer to finally get the AS diagnosis. (We have not told him the diagnosis yet.) We are just beginning the journey of where to go from here. Our two main areas of concern are social skills & executive functioning, so I guess that's where we'll begin.

We used both books but just did them separately. Each has a workbook/teacher manual that you can follow. While they cover the same basics (how to write a thesis statement, how to include supporting details, how to write a conclusion, etc.), they take different approaches. I basically had my 9th grader read thru LAoW, and then we discussed some things & he practiced writing other things. For EE, we followed the schedule/teacher manual and read & discussed the chapter/concept together. Then DS did the written assignments (& I often did, too) and we shared our work & discussed some more.

:iagree: I purchased the complete set of maps for all time periods and really love the product. I bought the downloadable version that you can just print from your computer. It includes mapping assignments for elementary-high school, which works great for me because I've got a middle schooler and a high schooler. Here is a link to the website: www.KnowledgeQuestMaps.com .

Thanks, klmama. I guess I just haven't seen enough transcripts to know if there's an acceptable (or expected) standard for listing grades.

Thanks for all the suggestions! Our homeschooling is not always one neat little package, so classes don't always fit nicely into the traditional school schedule. I was just curious how to address this on a transcript. I did not want to appear dishonest saying that a course was completed in 9th grade if it was actually completed in part of 9th and part of 10th. However, I didn't know how to address the issue. I appreciate the various ideas. I might end up going with a "by subject" transcript rather than chronologically.

How do you list courses that might stretch over several non-traditional school months (such as April-Sept.)? For most of our coursework, we do the traditional Aug.-May schedule. But some things (like electives) might stretch out over several non-traditional school year months. For example, my 9th grader took an SAT prep co-op course in the spring for 12 weeks. Now in the summer, he's taking a different 3-week SAT prep course. And when he's done, I might also use College Prep Genius as a third approach, perhaps in the fall. By the time he's done, he'll easily have enough hours for .5 credit SAT Prep course. But, since I was planning to use a chronological format for his transcript, I'm not sure how to record this, since the various prep classes stretch between the spring of his 9th grade year, the summer after 9th grade and the fall of 10th grade. :confused: Suggestions? Insights?

Any recommendations on what most colleges would prefer to see on a transcript -- only semester grades? only final grades? both semester grades AND final grades? My 9th grader had earned lower grades (mid to high B's) in a couple of courses in the first semester, but earned better grades (low to mid A's) in the same courses in the second semester. Overall, his FINAL grade for these courses would be a very high B (about an 88.something), but if I just put "B" on his transcript as the final grade, admissions officers won't see that he actually improved from the 1st semester to the 2nd semester. Interestingly, his unofficial transcript from FLVS only lists the semester grades, not a final grade. I would think using only semester grades would be an advantageous approach, as it would boost a student's GPA. Suggestions? Insights?

Thanks for posting this link! I'm starting to put my 9th grader's transcript together this summer, so this is helpful to see a format recommended by a college.

DS plans to pursue a more creative career, such as illustration, animation, graphic design, creative writing, journalism, etc. He's never shown much interest in math/science careers. I was hoping to have him simply complete math requirements before heading off to a four-year state college. He will still be doing pre-calculus, calculus and probably statistics in high school, so he won't be slacking off in math. I just wanted him to try to get college credit in a way that's not going to consume his schedule and make him hate math by the time he's done.

If you had a creative/language arts-oriented kid who's good enough at math to earn A's & B's in honors-level algebra I & II and geometry courses but won't be pursuing any type of math-related career, which would be the easiest route to earning college math credit -- CLEP, AP, or Dual Enrollment? My 9th grade DS doesn't like math, but can handle challenging courses. So, I'd like him to get college credit without overwhelming him. Any advice on which course/test would be a better fit for a bright, creative, non-mathy kid?

I purchased the downloadable CLEP study guide for Western Civilization I for $10 from the College Board website. I'm using Spielvogel (and will do the same for the CLEP West. Civ. II if all goes well w/ the first test). But if you're planning to take more than 1 CLEP, it's cheaper to just buy the comprehensive 2012 Official CLEP Study Guide. (I've since decided to have DS take more than 1 CLEP exam, so I bought the guide from Amazon for about $13.50.) There is a free 3-page download specifically for the Western Civ. I exam here: http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/clep/western_civilization_I_fact_sheet.pdf It includes a list of specific suggested texts, and the Spielvogel Western Civ. text is one of them. Here's additional info from the College Board: As for textbooks, a good place to start is the list of textbooks and other materials used in comparable college courses. Most textbooks used in college-level Western Civilization courses cover the topics outlined in the CLEP Official Study Guide, but the approaches to certain topics and the emphasis given to them may differ. Study one or more college textbooks (which can be found in most college bookstores) and check the table of contents against the knowledge and skills required for this test. For additional general CLEP info, visit: http://clep.collegeboard.org/study-resources http://clep.collegeboard.org/exam

I just started creating course descriptions for my rising 10th grader. Here are two of them: English 1 Honors: This course incorporated literature, grammar, vocabulary and composition. It was a companion to World History I Honors (Ancient-Medieval History), as it introduced the student to some of the Great Books of Ancient-Medieval literature and Western culture, as well as to the study of genres and literary forms, while placing the literature in historical context. From learning to annotate literature to writing essays, the student explored literary analysis techniques to better understand literature and authors’ intentions. Topics such as theme, irony, allusions, characterization, plot, conflict, point of view, imagery, tone, and more were discussed. The student also explored the essay model and practiced writing descriptive and persuasive essays. He learned to write strong thesis statements, develop various paragraph styles, and create diverse types of introductions and conclusions. Additional writing assignments included expository writing, a research paper, personal narratives and creative writing. World History I Honors: This course surveyed world history, with special emphasis on Western Civilization, from the beginnings of human civilization in the Near East to the Middle Ages. The student was introduced to the political, economic, social, and cultural foundations of Western Civilization and learned about leading figures, events and ideas and their enduring influence. The student used critical reasoning skills, including analysis and synthesis, as he evaluated and communicated on topics including migration, trade, war, technology and disease. The student used primary source documents, maps, graphs and artwork to better interpret various cultural perspectives and to aid his examination of history. The student read extensively, including a variety of relevant nonfiction and ancient classical literature (concurrently via English I Honors course) that corresponds to the time period under study. The student also viewed and discussed dozens of documentaries (by National Geographic, History Channel, PBS, & others) and historical films, including Guns, Germs and Steel, Egypt: Secrets of the Pharoahs, Hidden Treasures of the Ancients, The Ten Commandments, Ancient Inventions, Spartacus, What the Ancients Knew, Greeks: Crucible of Civilization, The True Story of Alexander the Great, Going Medieval, etc.

:iagree: I did the same with my 9th grader this year. It helped him become familiar w/ the test, the timing of each test section, the 3-hour duration, etc. We did no prep work for this 1st attempt and he still did pretty well. We will do prep work prior to his attempt as a sophomore and junior. Bonus - In Florida, we are able to use standardized test scores as a homeschooled student's annual evaluation. So, I just submit DS's PSAT results to our county and I'm done with reporting for the year. :D Easy peasy.

We've had a great experience w/ FLVS so far. DS15 took/is taking the following courses: Latin I & II, Biology Honors, Geometry Honors, Algebra II Honors, Driver's Safety & Education. His 1st course was Latin I, which he started in the spring/summer before 8th grade. All of his teachers have been helpful and responsive, giving him as much help as needed via email and phone. DS12 just started taking FLVS middle school advanced math & science courses for 6th grade, which he finished about 1.5 months early (we thought he'd be done at the end of May, and he was done by late March/early April). He was able to move on into 7th grade math a bit early and is working on it over the summer. He is also taking Business Keyboarding and Critical Thinking. He doesn't like the Critical Thinking course as much as the others because it requires the student to do more project-based assignments and he does not like projects. :glare: We had a small glitch w/ his 6th grade math course when they switched teachers on him mid-course, but everything ended up working out OK. However, he really loves math and I think he'd be challenged more by the AoPS curriculum, so I'm going to switch him from FLVS to AoPs for Pre-algebra (and beyond?), as long as he can study mostly independently. PROS: * FLVS is free for FL residents, and this is a huge plus for us. * Also, my weaknesses are math, science and foreign language, so I love to be able to outsource these, esp. at the high school level. * I like that the boys are accountable to someone else. * They can resubmit their assignments until they've mastered the concept. * They can work at their own pace (sometimes faster, sometimes slower as abilities and schedules permit). * They can work on the courses when and where they want (they have done some course work at night, on weekends and even on vacation; they've worked at their computer desk and they've worked on the sofa and the back porch w/ my laptop). * The high school science courses include labs (although mostly virtual), and this fulfills the graduation/college requirements of 2 sciences w/ labs. * They've got opportunities to work on collaboration projects with other FLVS students taking the course. * They can take honors and AP courses, so the opportunity for more challenging coursework is available. CONS: * I don't like them taking more than 2 FLVS courses at a time. We have a bit of overlap right now (where a course should have been finished but is not, and the boys started 2 new ones). That translates into too much screen time for my comfort. * Not lots of hands-on activities so far. (Some virtual labs and real-life activities, but not a lot.) Overall, I'm very pleased with our experience and will continue to use FLVS for math/science/foreign language courses and maybe a few half-credit electives as our schedule permits.

Someone on this board recently suggested "The Norton Reader" as a great resource to use when teaching students about essays, so I bought a cheap copy on Amazon. It looks like a great resource to allow students to read examples of great essays on various topics and even categories them by rhetorical modes (narration, persuasion, exposition, etc.). Has anyone used this resource as a supplement when teaching kids how to write essays? If so, how did you incorporate this book? Do you just read the essays and discuss the questions together at the end of each essay? Do you have your students outline the essays or at least find the thesis and supporting arguments?

:iagree: I'm using AG w/ my 7th & 10th grader. Younger DS will do the course in 3 years; older DS will do it in 2 years. You could compress the whole thing into 1 year for an older student and/or a student w/ a fairly decent foundation in grammar already. The program is easy, efficient and the material actually sticks with the kids. It does include diagramming, and I wouldn't skip it altogether, even if your kid doesn't like it. Perhaps just do half the diagramming exercises (there's usually 10 sentences to diagram for each lesson). Anyway, I highly recommend AG and have just bought their Teaching the Research Paper program because I love their style, efficiency & effectiveness.

We're going to be using the following: Concepts of Physical Fitness: Active Lifestyles for Wellness, 11th Edition, by Charles B. Corbin, Gregory J. Welk, Ruth Lindsey and William R. Corbin, McGraw-Hill, 2003. Here's the table of contents: Section I Lifestyles for Health, Fitness, and Wellness · Concept 1 Health, Wellness, Fitness, and Healthy Lifestyles: An Introduction · Concept 2 Using Self-Management Skills to Adhere to Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Section II An Introduction to Physical Activity · Concept 3 Preparing for Physical Activity · Concept 4 How Much Physical Activity is Enough? · Concept 5 Learning Self-Planning Skills for Lifetime Physical Activity Section III The Physical Activity Pyramid · Concept 6 The Health Benefits of Physical Activity · Concept 7 Lifestyle Physical Activity · Concept 8 Cardiovascular Fitness · Concept 9 Active Aerobics, Sports, and Recreational Activities · Concept 10 Flexibility · Concept 11 Muscle Fitness Section IV Physical Activity: Special Considerations · Concept 12 Safe Physical Activity and Exercise · Concept 13 Body Mechanics: Posture and Care of the Back and Neck · Concept 14 Performance Benefits of Physical Activity Section V Nutrition and Body Composition · Concept 15 Body Composition · Concept 16 Nutrition · Concept 17 Managing Diet and Activity for Healthy Body Fatness Section VI Stress Management · Concept 18 Stress and Health · Concept 19 Stress Management, Relaxation, and Time Management Section VII Making Informed Choices · Concept 20 Recognizing Quackery · Concept 21 Toward Healthy Active Living I haven't used the book yet, but plan to over the summer. It's a college level text, and it's available cheaply on Amazon (esp. the older versions). It also has some companion websites for some of the editions, but much of the info is generic enough to use no matter what edition you're using. Here are some websites that correlate: · http://gwelk.pageout.net/page.dyn/student/course/notes_frame?url_link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mhhe.com%2Fhper%2Fphysed%2Fclw%2Fstudent3%2Folc%2Fchapterindex01.htm&course_id=34094 (chapter by chapter resources: outline/summary, flashcards, quiz, questions, etc.) · College Syllabus: http://gwelk.pageout.net/page.dyn/student/course/object_list?session_id=28172&course_id=34094 · Web review of each chapter for students: http://www.mhhe.com/hper/physed/clw/student/ · http://www.mhhe.com/hper/physed/clw/student10/olc/ And here are some additional resources I might also use: Websites: Spark Teens!: www.sparkteens.com Boy Scouts (merit badge): http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Personal_Fitness (includes link to printable workbook, fitness tracking chart, body composition measurements, etc.) [*]Books: The Omnivore’s Dilemma (Young Readers Edition) by Michael Pollan In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan [*]Movies: The Great Courses: The Myths of Nutrition & Fitness Supersize Me (TWM lesson plan available here; inexpensive annual subscription required): https://teachwithmovies.com/members/best-health-hs.html ) Outbreak (TWM lesson plan on infectious disease also available) Food Inc. (Amazon Instant Video: $2.99 rental) Fast Food Nation (Amazon Instant Video: $2.99 rental) Hope this helps!

Oops! Obviously I'm not assessing YOUR kids, I'm assessing mine. Sorry. My proofing skills go downhill this late at night. :D

I'm using Art of Argument w/ DS12 & DS15 this year and we're almost finished. We've really enjoyed the program, but did not use the DVDs. I don't think they're needed, as the material is pretty easy to understand and the book gives some really good examples. I initially just bought the teacher's manual because we mostly discussed the informal fallacies. (Most chapters include a written worksheet, but we discussed most of the questions/definitions/examples on the worksheet. A few of them I just retyped myself for my kids to fill out.) The teacher's manual also includes chapter tests in the back that can be photocopied, which provides the "written" portion that I used to assess your kids' understanding. However, I happen to pick up a copy of the student book for $6 when we were half-way thru the teacher's manual, and I am finding it a bit useful to use for some of the written exercises that we previously either discussed.

This is not being dishonest if the class is a high school level class and requires the student (regardless of age/grade) to do high school level work. DS took Algebra 1 Honors in 7th grade, and Geometry Honors and Latin I in 8th grade. They are high school courses, using a high school curriculum, and therefore, DS earned high school credit. The same is true for high schoolers getting college credit for AP classes, dual enrollment, etc. If the students are using college texts, mastering college-level material and submitting college level work (regardless of age/grade), then they earn college credit. I see nothing dishonest about any of this. It's only dishonest if the parent/student is trying to claim higher-level credit for work that was really lower-level. It's all about integrity.

Thank you, Regentrude. I was wondering if I should do this just in case, while the info is still fresh in my mind. I guess it's better to play it safe and have the info just in case I need it. Plus, it does relieve the burden of admissions counselors needing to look up or verify the course details, regardless of the source of instruction.

Just curious -- do you only write course description for the homeschool courses you teach? Or, do you write them for ALL courses, including those taken at the local public school, through online schools (like FL Virtual School), etc.? I'm assuming just for the courses the parent teaches or the teen self-teaches, but I don't want to miss anything along the way.

:iagree: 9th grade was a tough year for us, too. Lots of adjustments on everyone's parts trying to fit everything in, meet deadlines, increase responsibility, etc. While I understand that college professors aren't going to cut students any slack, I also realize that my son is not yet a college student, so I'm not going to hold him to the same standards. He's S-L-O-W-L-Y developing all these time management/prioritizing skills, and I need to remember he is only in 9th grade. I think that's the beauty of homeschooling -- to be flexible. That doesn't mean I think it's OK to slack off on deadlines. And there have been PLENTY of times this year when DS has falled behind on work or had to do some schoolwork at night or on weekends because he made some poor choices on using his time wisely during the school day. However, if *I* know he's got a lot going on in a particular week, I have no problem divvying up the work to a more palatable level. If not, he'd crash and burn.

I've got the 3rd edition and bought both the student text & teacher's manual. While I found lots of helpful ideas in the teacher's manual, it felt somewhat disjointed to me. Kind of hard to match up what lesson/concept I'm supposed to be doing on what day with what is presented in the student book. I think it's worth having, but it's not as clear-cut as I think it could be. FYI - Most of the actual concepts you're supposed to teach are ONLY in the student book and are not reproduced in the teacher's manual, so I had to keep jumping back and forth between the two books to teach the concept & find the teaching ideas that go along with the concept. I read the teacher's manual ahead of time, but when it came time to actual teach the lesson concept, I still had to keep going back to refer to the teacher's manual. Plus, there are grading rubrics in the back of the STUDENT book, which I didn't find until half-way thru the book. Not sure why these aren't in the teacher's manual. So, good info overall in the teacher's book, but somewhat disorganized.

I'm also using Spielvogel over 2 years, covering Ancients-Medieval in 9th and Renaissance-Modern in 10th. I plan to call it World History I and II.