We have 5 girls and 2 boys, so far. If questions or concerns are keeping you away, please ask! Maura

Thanks for the encouragement, Amy! Maura

I'll be sending you more details as soon as I get a chance to write it up, and check with my partner in crime. Anyone else? Peace, Maura

Would your teens be interested in participating on an online writing community to discuss the books and share their papers? I'm am setting up a Wikispaces wiki, with Janice Campbell's permission, for this purpose. My son (13) and my friend's daughters (13 and 15), would love to have some cyber-company on this literary adventure. Our goal is to encourage writing for an audience, increase our students' commitment to the assignments, practice thoughtful and constructive analysis and criticism, and enhance the fun factor. Every participating family would need to have a copy of the book, available here: http://www.everyday-education.com/literature/index.shtml If you aren't familiar with wikis, you can read about them and see some examples here: http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php/Wiki_in_a_K-12_classroom Many college classes have online components, and some professors use wikis for class communication, projects and participation. Many public school classrooms also make use of wikis. So, it can be advantageous for homeschooled students to have some experience in this area. We've chosen Wikispaces because it allows for completely private, no-charge, ad-free wikis for educational purposes. (It's not quite as flashy as some other providers, but there won't be any offensive ads surrounding the pages, either). If you and your student(s) are interested, please PM me, and I will give you further details. Maura in NY

We do Jacob's Elementary Algebra/Jacob's Geometry/Foerster's Algebra II & Trig/Foerster's Precalculus. Like others have mentioned, geometry was my least favorite math subject, because of the proofs. I love Jacob's because it DOES include proofs, but in a very gentle, non-frustration producing way. The logic of inductive/deductive reasoning is addressed. Rarely does the student have to do a full proof from scratch -- Either you are given the statements and have to provide the reasons, or vice versa. Or you are given the first few statements & reasons, and have to provide the last one or two. None of the proofs that the student has to do are long. Some longer proofs are worked out in the text in order to show how theories/corollaries/axioms are related/derived, etc. (a bit semantically impaired, here -- I told ya I don't like this stuff - I'm an Algebra girl.) Addressing the issue of Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II -- I think the SAT/ACT question is just part of the issue. Yes, the student will need to understand the rules of special triangles, etc. for the PSAT, and won't need any of the Algebra II information. But also, most Algebra II programs assume that you have some basic geometry knowledge. That you know about the Pythagorean theorem and are ready to apply it to the distance formula. That you know about 30/60/90 and 45/45/90 triangles, and other properties of triangles. That you have circumference, area and volume under your belt, etc. One more reason -- Algebra II blends right into trig/precalc. They have a great deal of overlap, in my experience. I know that one argument for going from Algebra I to Algebra II is so that you don't lose your algebra knowledge. This is another reason that I love Jacob's -- There is an algebra review section at the end of each chapter, covering concepts in a logical, incremental fashion. JMHO, Maura

moderated?

I'd completely forgotten that I have the Teaching Company econ lectures in audio-only format. Those together with the other things we have ought to do the trick. Thanks, ladies! Maura

There is a form on the CollegeBoard site (not sure about the ACT) that we could have afixed a photo to and had the school district stamp with their seal verifying his identity. It's pretty ridiculous, because they don't know him from Adam. Instead, we got a NYS non-driver ID, and it has been helpful to him not only for all testing situations, but other times as well. It looks just like a license. Maura

I'm looking for non-textbook ideas for covering 1/2 year of Economics for a bright 12th grader with a heavy schedule already. WTM board gleanings so far: Thomas Sowell's Basic Economics -- probably denser we want, but I have it already. Whatever Happened to Penny Candy w/Study Guide? Kahn Academy Videos (Current Economics, Banking & Money, Venture Capital, etc) The Ascent of Money - PBS Videos For those of you who've done Econ, what have you used? Thanks, Maura

This British site has printable and online resources, well organized to pick and choose the topics you want to cover. I'm not sure exactly how their school system lines up with ours, grade-wise. There are answer keys and other teacher resources available. If I recall correctly, I had to email requesting a password in order to access them. Look at the "Secondary/Key Stage 3" resources -- http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mep/default.htm Philip Exeter Academy's Math 1 Program has a novel way of working up to Algebra. http://www.exeter.edu/academics/84_9408.aspx (no answer guide, that I can find, though!) The thing about pre-algebra is that it is a catchall for solidifying the basics and throwing in a few things like simple probability and statistics. Every program looks a little different, and to a large extent, it's mostly about waiting for the necessary maturity to tackle algebra itself! JMHO. Maura

...for high school. Just curious...here in NY it's not an option, and I wish it were. Maura

We are in NY, where standardized test are required, at a minimum, 5th, 7th, and 9th through 12th. Before 4th, and alternate years from 4th through 8th, we have other options for annual assessment. My family has chosen to use standardized tests for every year, so that the kids are used to them. We started with the PASS (untimed, written specifically for homeschoolers), and then switched to the CAT/5 -- the long version. This test includes science & social studies sections -- but they are not curriculum-specific. By that I mean, they are really more about science and social studies skills: Can your child read a graph, a chart, a map. By middle school, the questions are slightly more specific (know about 3 branches of federal gov't, for example). NY has it's own state exams, but we are not required to have our kids take them. Maura

I think you mean Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. There is a decent Tolkien translation (yes, he did more than just write Lord of the Rings! He was a medieval language scholar). Maura

DS (junior) got a great score, so the pressure is off a bit for this Saturday's SAT. And the best part was dh congratulating me, along with ds. Sometimes it seems he doesn't see this as my "life's work," so it was nice to get that acknowledgment of my role.

The accuracy of your measurement is one place more than the markings on your device, and that determines the number of sig fig. Maura

My kids are fortunate to take some extracurricular type classes through a local organization (subtitled a "homeschool enrichment center" - it's fantastic and very unusual in NY). The director has two sons in college, so I will follow her advice and feel free to deviate from what I did for the state as I compile the transcripts. Of course, I will always be honest about what they've done! It's more a question of putting together electives or calling something honors because of work he did in addition to the material we submitted on our state paperwork. Thanks for your input. Peace, Maura

Brenda, I like this idea. Do schools that accept the Common Application generally REQUIRE the Common Application? Or do they think they are doing you a favor, but don't mind if submit something else? Thanks again, everyone, for all the great advice and ideas. Peace, Maura

Oh, I didn't mean I'd use the term "living books", just that I would list the actual books on a separate page, since they won't fit in the tiny blank. But thanks for the term "trade books" -- I'll tuck that in my back pocket just in case! Thanks! Maura

For fellow New Yorkers, or those of you in any other state that requires paperwork -- Are we compelled to match our transcript to the stuff we've submitted to the state? For example, while we've done a few Shakespeare plays as part of English courses throughout high school, ds has also done Lightening Lit Shakespeare Tragedies, watched some of the Teaching Company lectures (Word & The Action), taken part in a Shakespeare acting workshop, etc. I'd like to lump it together for a 1/2 credit elective on Shakespeare - but it won't appear anywhere on my state paperwork. Another year he did Hewitt's Speeches program, and I'd like to put that together with the public speaking he's done, the Toastmasters class he's taken, etc., and call it a 1/2 credit of Speech & Communications -- also not on the state paperwork. So what do you think? Do I have to match ds's transcript to his IHIPs and quarterly reports? TIA, Maura

Thanks for everyone's advice. This is helpful stuff. Especially Debbie's info directly from the Tier 1 school. I guess I'll just keep my descriptions short, and only provide them on request. I like the idea of separate school/leisure reading lists. What about the Common Application Supplement -- where they give you an itty bitty line to list "textbook" -- for courses where you used a living books methodology? (I'm thinking "see attached"?) Maura in NY

I have several questions that I keep mulling over as I gather my paperwork for my hs junior, and figured it was time to pick the brains of the wise women of this forum. I'm in NY, so I do have grades for my son, since we have to assign grades on our quarterly reports. But I'd rather do an ungraded transcript. We don't really grade many assignments; it just doesn't fit with the way learning takes place around here. Because we homeschool to mastery, all the grades end up being As. He has the standardized test scores to support the As (likely NMSF), but I really have no idea how his work compares to "A" students in public school. He will have both ACT & SAT scores, along with 3 SAT IIs. He is taking one CC class now, which looks promising for an A, and is likely to take at least one more over the summer. So my first question is to those whose children have submitted ungraded transcripts -- how has that been received by the colleges? My second question concerns course descriptions. Are there any resources you can suggest for writing these - content, format, anything! And, this one is picayune and silly, but every one I've seen has been in the future tense, like the public school course description guides. It seems out of place for this purpose, since I'm writing about courses that are completed. So, how did you do yours -- future or past tense? Thanks in advance for any advice! Maura

The National History Day project site looks very interesting -- Thanks for sharing this! Maura

My son had fun with the novel project, and it turned out great, if I do say so. Just to be clear, though, I didn't make up that project. I found it on "Outa Ray's Head" here (http://home.cogeco.ca/~rayser3/lessons3.htm). This site has a compilation of great lesson ideas, with some description. Peace, Maura

Good ideas - Thanks! Maura

Just so you know - The text single volume of Western Civilization (subtitled "Comprehensive Volume" - a college text) is at least 90% identical to Human Odyssey. But in Human Odyssey has larger text, more pictures, and and supplementary resources available at the high school level (a mapping workbook and a study guide). Maura