story of art by Gombich is also good. and less expensive.

Whether or not your student's 8th grade classes go on her high school transcript depends on - YOU. and to a smaller degree, your state laws. The real question is "who will see this transcript and what will they think of it?" Is she aiming for an Ivy - I wouldn't put it on there. Is she aiming for a private LAC, doubt I would include it. Local CC college - yes, you could, though in our state, CC don't look at transcripts for taking students. Our local institution of higher learning - University of WAshington - only looks at classes from the four high school years. So even if a student had Algebra II or French IV in 8th grade, it could not be on the transcript. Listing trig would imply successful completion of Algebra II and passing the SAT subject test in French would be sufficient for them. A homeschool transcript is a little bit like a resume - you can tweak it a bit depending on who is seeing it.

in general, or are you thinking of a specific time frame. the 'plus' side to Sonlight is they do add in some 'just for fun' books. Other programs tend to not do this. My daughter wants to do Modern History and as I compared lists between Sonlight 300 and BF "US and World history from Civil War to Vietnam" I tended slightly more to the BF list. I don't think SL has a solid spine at this level and appreciate using some Hakim and Marrin books for the historical narrative. just my .02

why don't i make it more difficult by suggesting "The Scarlet Letter" (written in 1850) and "Bartleby, the Scrivener" written near the end of the 19th century. If they have read Pride and Prejudice many times why not another Jane Austen The other choices are all excellent; except I can't speak to Silas Marner as I have not read it. I would chose Scarlet Letter over Last of the Mohicans, I think there are more interesting themes in it. So hard to whittle down and refine!!

thanks Kareni for the thread links. I knew it had been discussed before but i never seem to be successful when I search the board. One of my colleagues at work shyly admitted that he had written an outline of the history of sci fi and would be happy to share it with us. I sse that the hard part will be paring down the list, not trying to beef it up.

Okay, my oldest two have only applied to three colleges (Air force Academy, University of Washington and Cornish College of the Arts) but were accepted at all three. I only used credits, not units. I think Carnegie units are bogus, even at public schools. 1 Carnegie unit =50 minutes. 50 minutes x 180 school days = 9000 min. Divide by 60 and you get 150 hours. But I know of NO high school class which meets 180 times for 50 minutes. There are early dismissal days, late arrival days, assemblies and field trips that eat up some of those Carnegie units. And the class still earns those Carnegie units if the kids are watching a movie, working on material from other classes, texting on cell phones or not doing anything while teacher grades papers. (and yes, all that stuff happens in our local high school). And a class is considered complete at the 180 Carnegie units - homework is not considered into the calculation. So, generally I think Carnegie units are bogus. Just tell the counselor that your home school teaches to mastery and uses credits. I didn't put dates on my transcripts either, just grouped classes by subject matter. Is there another admissions person you could work with?

Thanks for the super list - very helpful. She has already ready "hitchhiker". I would like to add William Gibson in there for cyperpunk sci-fi. And I want to do some story/film comparisons Do Androids dream of electric sheep/Bladerunner and there is at least one star trek episode based on a short story hopefully i will come up with more of these as i research the college syllabi I found. I will probably skip Brave New World - my older dd loved it, but I don't know if A. will really 'get' it yet. Would like to do some Ursula LeGuin and Sylvia Engdahl. I know I will have to pare down the reading, but there is just so much GREAT stuff.

DD (15) will be 10th grade next year and wants to do Modern History. Yes, it is out of order, but she REALLY wants to do this. She is a good reader, but doesn't enjoy the 'classics' as much as her older sister did. I will be using Marrin books and some other non-fiction as her history texts. I will probably assign about 6 'great books' (from TWTM) And I would like to do about 12 science fiction books for a seperate lit class. What would your recommendations be? Thanks!

The second Mrs. Giaconda - Konigsberg I, Juan de Pareja - ? (forgot) Famous Men of the Middle Ages Famous Men of the Renaissance the whole Louise Vernon Reformation series: The Man Who Laid the Egg Night Preacher etc. etc. Fine Print - Joanne Burch - about Gutenberg Midwife's Apprentice - Cushman Catherine, called Birdy - Cushman Ramsey Scallop - (sl book) Bedouin's Gazelle (sl book) Single Shard - Park Kite Fighters - Park these are set in Korea in the 1200's, if you want a 'world' perspective look at Greenleaf.com also. many interesting titles. and i would definitely include Cathedral and Castle by Macauley as well.

she will also need to practice fingerspelling. while it is not a large part of signing, it is an essential part. went to a high school graduation (with Deaf concentration) and interpreters finger spelled EVERY SINGLE NAME. All proper names need to be spelled. in the car I would fingerspell every sign we went by. In the days we had a Deaf exchange student (from Finland) there were Silent Games night at the Local Deaf and HH Society. Occasionally these game nights were open to hearing (but signing) individuals. Very fun

i can't remember how many signs lynne learned in her cc asl class - a lot. she had to read several books - train go sorry, deaf like me are two that pop to mind right away. she had to spend time IN deaf culture. i would say KEY is finding an excellent tutor - Deaf and/or interpreter with whom she can sign frequently. We loved the Bravo family series as an intro ASL course.

i read, in a how to parent teens book, that all they 'deserve' is a place to sleep, clothes to cover the body and adequate nutrition. this guy recommended taking away priviliges to the point of 1)only one set of clothes at a time, 2) mattress on the floor and 3) taking the door off so you could always monitor. I have never implemented those measures, though there were a few times i probably should have. I think it is SO TOUGH to parent non-motivated or underachieving or misbehaving teens. it requires incredible toughness on the part of parent to really take away privileges and/or release them to fail. sorry no real help but :grouphug: and all the moral support in whatever course you decide is right for YOU and your teen.

the idea of doing the same thing every day - getting up, packing a lunch, tied to the public school schedule is, honestly, a huge factor in me homeschooling. plus we get to read a lot of books and hang out together. i have three kids out of the house and i would never give up these homeschooling high school years of spending time with my teens. that said they usually do end up in a dual enrollment program at the cc at some point.

i haven't read the medieval book, but have the ancient world volume. she is very readable and let's her attitude/bias show. However, the ancient one is LONG and I only wanted a spine as were reading primary texts. If you are only reading a history book and saving your reading for literature, it is probably doable. But you know your dc and how much reading they can handle without being overwhelmed. blessings,

Those books are HUGE. I had my high school history/lit class read about 200 pages a week from the great books and maybe, in the course of a year, 200 pages of Western Civ (which included LOTS of maps, pictures, summaries, end of chapter questions, etc.) If you are going to add in a 700 page spine, you are going to have to cut out that many pages of great books. For me, in the end, it was not worth it. But I am more 'great books' oriented, rather than 'SWB classical"

I am not sure why you have your "struggling" 9th grader in Campbell's Biology. This is a college freshman text, often used in high school AP classes. I would dump Campbell's and maybe substitute a high school Bioloby text. (Campbell's is probably above and beyond what he would get in a CC Biology course, around here anyway). And if he has progressed through half of the Campbell's I would say he is done with Biology. Do a health class next year to cover Human Body stuff. Have you been doing Rod and Staff grammar all along. Again, this is not what I would use with kid who 'struggles'. I would struggle with that text as well. and talk about a lot of work and tedious (Just my opinion, but i know how MY 9th grader reacted! - and she is 'bright' (not really advanced but she doesn't struggle with much) I am not sure what you are referring to when you say SWB has two 'high school' books. If you mean her history of the world for adults I would again NOT recommend them. The ancients one is over 700 pages long, and though written in an engaging style it is comprehensive to the point of being overwhelming for a high school text. I would rather use Western Civ, or even Spielvogel's high school text and some good books from the time period. And if you are looking for a program or structured curriculum - they do not provide that. Is he a strong reader. Maybe 8 'great books' covering both history and literature from whatever period you want to cover. Then have him write an essay on each book. Most high school kids in America are NOT reading eight books a year and producing 8 pieces of finished writing (based on my experiences with public high schools in this area over the last 20 years) I would not do a history course AND a geography course unless you do something very hands-on (perhaps Mapping the world by heart or the geography coloring book) Traditional Logic I is easy to do in a year, but I would not count it as a full credit. Now that I am half-way through TLII I wish i had crammed TL I into about 12 weeks and used the rest of the year to slowly go through TLII. It is much more time consuming (it is somewhat more difficult than TLI but the homework takes a lot longer as your are just dealing with lots and lots of syllogisms each week) Speaking straight from the heart your 10th grade program seems unbalanced to me - especially for a student whom you describe as struggling. i. TL I and grammar (together about 1 credit of work) 2. Algebra 3. Science and/or Health - appropriate high school class 4. History - use an appropriate high school textbook 5. literature/writing - read books, write about them (or a lightning lit course) 6. elective - maybe something the student really enjoys - music, art, sport. or language or geography could go here make it doable - and a little easier on you and him. Blessings,

I would like to do a History of the Church with my 10th grade daughter this upcoming year. I think SL 8 is a little light. What I am looking for is your recommendations for 1) a spine, 2) books that are important in church history (i.e. Confessions, the nice abridgment of the ICR by Lane and Osborne) and 3) your favorite 'don't-miss' great works of literature from 400 - 1800 AD. I realize there is some overlap between 2 and 3. I have great trust in the hive mind!

My two older ones held off on foreign languages until they were dual-enrolled - and three quarters of CC classes = 3 years of high school. But this next one would like to start French. I have some minimal French skills so I could at least re-learn aloing with her. What is the goal for high school foreign language - conversational competency? reading and writing the language? in college we leaned more towards reading and writing than speaking. can she really make progress without daily intereaction in the language?

Alex has always liked 'looking nice'. Once he started doing Youth and Government - with its strict dress code - he was in seventh heaven. he often wore button down shirts with his jeans because he liked the look. and uniforms are one of his favorite parts of the Academy - especially the inexpensive and on-site tailoring. but cadets are geeky that way - they have shirt garters to keep their shirts attached to their socks so they are always tucked in.

I understand her Medieval book only goes to about 1100 - will you cover the rest of the medieval time frame with something else?

ooh, something I know something about - my son is a doolie (freshman, 4dig) at the Air force Academy. and please, feel free, to PM me if you have more questions. Academy admittance is based on several things - a nomination from your MOC (Member of congress - either a representative or a senator). Get the applications from all possible - 2 senators and 1 representative. Alex only had one nomination and got in, but i have heard that increased number of nominations = increased liklihood of offer of appointment. - grades. just like any other competetive college they do want to see good grades. and for homeschoolers they like to see outside verification. alex homeschooled three years of high school and then did 2 years of a dual enrollment program. that made him a little older than most appointees, but i think that extra age stands them in good stead when going through the rigors/trauma of BCT and the 4dig year. -athletics. WA is a state where it is easy to do as much or as little with the public schools as you would like. Alex participated in the swim team for four years (jr. captain and sr. captain), and cross country for two or three (also jr. captain and sr. captain). He had six varsity letters. And of course, you have to pass the DoDMeRB and the CFA (Candidate Fitness Aptitude test). You will also learn to talk in acronyms. -leadership. For Alex this was Eagle Scout, Senior Patrol Leader, Speaker of the House in Youth & Government and team captainships in sports. Pick one or two things she likes and stay with them. Scouts and CAP and JROTC are all very popular with those given appointments. But 4H and other programs also work. She has to want to go because she wants to serve, and be ready to die for the country. I don't want to sound extreme, but that is what we are asking these kids to commit to. To be a pilot from the Academy is a 15 year committment - 4 years at the Academy, 1-2 years in pilot school (flying a Cessna does not prepare you for flying a F-22) 8 years of active duty and 2 years of reserves. If Alex is successful in his career path, it means I sent him off at 19 and he is not totally free until he is 35. Getting a pilot slot - if you are in the top half of the class (not JUST GPA, but also your PEA (phys ed grade average) and MPA (military performance average)) AND you want to be a pilot, you will probably get a pilot slot. As you work through UPT (Undergraduate Pilot Training) your abilities and desires determine what type of aircraft you will be flying. The letter that came with Alex's OA (offer of appointement) stated that a USAFA education is valued at $400,000. It's a great deal financially, but it is not free (they are paying with their 15 year committment, among other things). It is exactly right for Alex, not that I am not on tenterhooks everytime grades come out, but for now, he is successful.

Congratulations to you both!!

Very nice! happened to Lynne once in her 3rd quarter ASL class. they got there and there was a note for Lynne to please lead the class. these are the kinds of things that don't get formal recognition but really mean a lot - he has the respect of the prof and his peers.

do you know what kind of grade she got? the quality of work turned in may not be the quality of work expected. The IB program is highly regarded and I have a friend who had 1 daughter go through the IB at her high school Alison's work was always of the highest quality (but then she made straight A's through college AND med school, recently testing in 99.75 percentile on some important medical test) so maybe she is not the best indicator of typical work.

I went to a seminar given by an admissions officer at the University of Washington. He also stressed that colleges are very traditional kinds of places - especially admissions. They don't want to see - Multicultural studies through Renaissance Muisc. They do want to see - World History: 1400-1650, American Lit. They want to compare apple to apples in other words because those are the kinds of classes other applicants are listing. He also mentioned they like to see progression - he is happy to see English I, English II, English III, English IV.