We have been working through this for several years also. DD has excelled with NLE and NGE, but we are still working through ways to prepare "mentally" for longer tests. I know we'll get there; it's just a different route from siblings to the same destination. :)

AMAZING!!!!! Congratulations to both of you!!!!

The Great Courses Understanding the Human Body is a great addition to text.

I think it really depends on what your daughter is looking for in a teacher. Reviewing each of the course pages can be helpful. Some of the teachers require heavy forum involvement and project completion, while others don't. it just depends on what your daughter wants.

We used Foerster for Algebra I and Algebra II. I highly recommend it.

My son will begin APs next year as an 8th grader, either three or four. Like others have stated, I believe the level of academic course work is a function of the individual student. I have three children, all of whom are significantly advanced and all of whom have totally different academic paths keyed to their unique needs. My son in particular must be continually challenged or he stagnates. Early in seventh grade, he blew through the SAT I across all three subtests. His confidence and comfort level with testing coupled with high ability across his studies makes early AP course work and testing an easy choice for us. This is not the case with his twin sister, who struggles with test anxiety. She would founder in that situation, not because she lacks ability but because she has not yet developed sufficient confidence in her ability. Her personal development and well being (as with her siblings) trump academics.

I haven't used DO for Calc AB but will be as soon as DS finishes Precalc with him. I highly recommend these classes for anyone who wants self-paced. After researching other compacted options and finding them cost prohibitive, I decided to try this for Precalc. It is going very well, and Mr. Owens is a pleasure to work with. He is very responsive about breaks, and he doesn't mind students compacting their studies--he does ask for a minimum of three months' payment.

Not mjbucks, but I think students often take AP Chem prior to AP Physics (calc based) because they haven't had Calc yet and Chem doesn't require that level of math.

I am starting to put it together. She'll use Tindall for a spine in conjunction with The Great Courses videos on American History. I still have to piece together primary sources, essays and rhetorical analysis assignments. So it's definitely rough right now.

Sure. In my oldest daughter's case, she loves the pre-modern world, classical languages, philosophy and linguistics so we spend a lot of time on those areas including extensive Great Books study. She will spend a summer compacting American History because she has zero interest in it. She went through it all in middle school with DBQ's, primary source writing etc. and simply is not interested in spreading her HS studies over an entire year. So she decided to compact it this summer and take the SAT II in American History to validate her work. In terms of Govt and Econ, she plans to self-study for the AP exams in the spring of her senior year. My children sometimes prefer compacting courses in lieu of taking both simultaneously for a year. So my oldest DD did that with Physics (4 months) and then spent the rest of her academic year in 9th doing Chem. This academic year she didn't compact her AP courses except for AP Language which she just began working on with me. I have largely let her make the call with scheduling her work.

We are focusing our studies on areas of interest and compacting the required instruction in areas oldest DD (as well as other two children down the road) is not particularly interested in. As long as the requisite work is completed, it will be transcripted however it needs to be. Compacting courses works well for us. :)

In terms of taking all the classes prior to APs, some students double up sciences freshman or sophomore year, either taking full year to complete course work or compacting it. Others take HS science courses during middle school. And some go straight to AP course work. It really depends on the course and the student. It's important to figure out (insofar as possible) what is involved in each course, how much content overlap exists between Honors level and AP level, what your student's background in the subject is, and how much time on average is required - ideally by students like yours because time investment can vary widely.

I would only do this if there was no way a school of their choice was feasible.

I completely agree with the blind leading the blind comment. It's so different when you get to college level and beyond, particularly when you find your group rather than groups being assigned. I do think a lot of insight and understanding can be gleaned from discussion and puzzling through things together, but I was thinking of university level and beyond. ETA: I now have yet another book on hold at the library based on your recommendation! I love your recs! :)

Some of my fondest memories are from law school study group. Somehow we found each other, and it was such a fabulous group of quirky people. :) I hope my kids get to experience this too.

You can call the College Board and get results over the phone. I did that recently with my 12 year old son. The paper results will come several weeks from now, if I recall correctly.

DH used it to become conversant (enough) in Japanese for business purposes. He used other materials for reading and writing.

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Like others have said, DE is not an option for us. Honestly, it would be our first choice for many of the reasons already stated, but it isn't feasible right now. Self-study for APs avoids a lot of hassle and busy-work. At the same time, we have to outsource a couple things, if for no other reason than recommendation letters for programs. DD has been in programs that require them, and DS recently applied to a program as 7th grader that wanted letters from two teachers. Thankfully, I had two. Fencing coach and people from church weren't enough. Anyway, having an outsider who can speak to your student's abilities may be necessary at some point. We just try to find the best most cost-effective way to educate our children well and keep doors open for them.

Funny, I noticed that too.

DC are considering Modern Hebrew or Arabic. I completely agree with letting her choose. When they get to higher levels that require more of them, it's so difficult to be motivated when they have zero interest. ETA: I think many colleges would like to see a student have a language that they at least stayed with through level 3 or some translation work. I cannot speak to colleges as a whole in terms of classical languages versus modern spoken ones, but the significant practical value of classical languages like Latin and Greek should not be overlooked too quickly by potential science majors. In terms of adding other languages while continuing on with Latin or whatever other language, once you get to your third language of study, it becomes much much easier (according to friend of family who is fluent in 20 languages).

Thanks! I appreciate hearing about how kids like it. I like the book they use, but I really wanted a student's perspective. Sounds great!

FYI, I stumbled across this. It looks like it might be helpful to compare schools and their requirements. http://www.compassprep.com/subject-test-requirements-and-recommendations/ ETA: Just noticed note at bottom that more requirements may apply re. homeschoolers.

You can transcript high school level work done prior to high school. I just keep records of materials used, any testing done, etc..

Thanks for the suggestions!