I offered to prove my homeschooling status, because I understand that they don't want answer keys to get out there, but they just kept reiterating that selling to homeschoolers was not part of their marketing plan and that they refuse to sell to us. Since they otherwise accept credit card payments, it doesn't seem to be a payment processing issue.

8FillTheHeart, Did you find the solutions manual necessary, or do the online homework and problem sets grade themselves? I'm glad to hear that your ds loved it, because it looked as if my dc would, too. I do want to figure out how to make this work! Thanks!

I just looked at their site and didn't find the solution guide. I did find the online homework, text, and their scheduling guide for it. Could you post a link for me? Thanks!

Good point, Maize & Um. We are treated as private schools, but not registered as such. I don't know much about purchase orders -- wouldn't they have to have some kind of credit agreement with the private school in order to accept a P.O. At any rate, the idea that we should be discriminated against, and that my immediate payment is less acceptable than someone else's purchase order simply because my children's school is different, still rankles.

Someone want to explain why curriculum companies are allowed to discriminate against homeschoolers? We would like to purchase text/web access and a solution guide from a curriculum company for our two high school students to use next year. However, the company refuses to sell the solution guides to homeschoolers. I can understand that they don't want ps students to be able to order them for cheating purposes, so I called them and talked to both the customer service representative and her supervisor, offering work-arounds such as proving our homeschool status to them or having the solution guide shipped to my husband's workplace (a university), but was told that this is their policy and that they don't want to cater to homeschoolers as part of their marketing plan. (Though they are actively marketing math books/access to homeschoolers. ) Can anything be done about this sort of discrimination? (The website for what we were wishing to purchase is https://webstore.kineticbooks.com/index.php/cPath/31_33 )

My son, a soph who used TT Algebra, Geometry, and Alg II, also scored extremely well on the PSAT math section. Apparently, it covers what it needed for PSAT, SAT, and ACT! (That said, we've now moved on to The Teaching Company for Pre-Calc., in preparation for AP Calculus next year.)

Because replies aren't working well? (Fifth try, now.)

When mine were younger, they enjoyed Julius Caesar and some of the other histories. For studying/reading a play aloud with students, I prefer the Cambridge School Shakespeare versions, which include a fair number of explanatory and vocabulary helps.

Algebra Tiles weren't a thrill to my dc. They'd learned what they needed to know from Hands-On Equations (which they loved) years before. We also used Common Sense Math Blocks (don't know if those are even still available) to do a little modeling.

We used Singapore's elementary levels, and then one of mine moved into TT and one into LOF. With Singapore, at least as it was a few years ago, the teacher needed to have a good grasp of math theory and practice, so if you don't, I'd suggest moving to something else. My non-math loving child is doing very well with TT, though we only have one year left (Pre-Calc) before we run out of the series and will have to find something else for Calculus. He appreciates the instruction and the fact that there's a full explanation for any problem he misses.

I taught both of mine (now in high school and avid readers) with Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, followed up with the Rod & Staff phonics cards (which teach pretty much every possible combination). Very inexpensive and worked well for us.

To me, it sounds exhausting! AP courses really take a lot of work (at least if a score of 4 or 5 is the goal), so unless your daughter already knows the subjects well, or is PG (Profoundly Gifted), she may not have time to breathe. If she really wants to do two AP courses, I'd agree with the others that one religion course would probably be enough. If, however, she really desires to and has the ability to fill every moment with education, then go for it. You and she know best!

We did a full year and really enjoyed it! Along with the state history text as a spine, we added in science (a lot on rivers, waterways, and agriculture) and literature (children's lit from our state, or covering the time periods we were discussing). Fun! I miss the elementary years. :sad:

Exactly! When I was teaching junior high, there was one year that they needed a teacher for an extra section of literature and assigned it to me (I normally taught science and math). The other lit classes read Romeo and Juliet Together (and Alive!) at Last by Avi, while mine read the Shakespeare play. My students had a blast acting things out in class, interpreting the meanings, etc., and their parents ( and I'd wound up with two dc of school board members) were highly complimentary. Of course, I was never asked to teach a section of lit again as the two older English teachers were deeply offended by my gall in actually requiring literature students to read literature. I was blessed in that my administrators were always highly supportive of my efforts to improve my students' minds, but, looking around me, I was certain that public school teachers were, in general, not people I wanted to entrust my children's futures to.

You could also wait until you feel that they're performing at at least 3rd grade level and then get the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) with Cogat from BJU testing. The Cogat is a cognitive abilities test -- I can't remember whether it gives an I.Q. or gives something that can be converted (It's been a few years since I used it), but by having my daughter take that test a bit early, I was given a good idea of what her ability level really was.

Mine have been like that many times, but I haven't let the fact that they are gifted children mean that they can get away with having poor behavior and people skills. I remember reading books about "strong-willed" children and thinking, "But I have two of them!!!" It took a lot of work, mostly when they were under ten, but it's paid off in amazingly well-behaved, responsible, respectful teenagers who work well with both adults and children. I know sometimes things look impossible, but from the other side, I can tell you that the work of having and enforcing rules, using logical consequences, and spending time listening and discussing pays off.

I've never seen or heard a preference for either gender in my extended family or among my friends -- We're just thrilled to have babies! If gender matters, it's only that if a couple already has a boy, they often want a girl next time, or vice-versa.

:iagree: 2 One question would be why she doesn't want you to cut your hair. In some traditions and belief systems, short hair is a sign of rebellion against God, and therefore also one's parents. If long hair as a covering is something your parents believe in, I'd certainly advise you to keep yours long as long as you are under their care, even if you don't share their belief. Otherwise, I'd suggest discussing it rationally with your mom, explaining why you want to cut it, but also expressing willingness to abide by her decision while you're under her care. I'm a mom of two teens whom I can trust completely, being certain they'd never do something behind my back that I objected to. We talk things out and come to decisions together. Because they haven't broken trust, I can allow them to do many things that I wouldn't if they were untrustworthy, disobedient, or sneaky. While this is not a fight I'd be willing to go all the way for, either, the honesty of my children and our open relationship are.

What I'm finding useful are mainly apps for the dc. I've been using appshopper.com to find apps I'm interested in, then looking them up on iTunes. So far, we have a first aid app that the dc are using right now to practice their skills, several U.S. History and other social studies apps (I like the Study By App U.S. History particularly well), biology flashcards, and a couple of SAT/ACT prep apps. What we're liking most, though is the Merriam Webster and a Spanish-English Dictionary for fast look-ups, our Bible app, and reading books on iBook, where we can double-click any word for an instant definition. Since I have an iPod Touch, I'm still doing my planning and gradekeeping on my laptop, so I don't know what might be available for that on a larger format -- iPad.

I'm trying to make another curriculum decision, as the chemistry course we'd chosen (textbook based) doesn't seem to be sparking much interest around here. I'm considering Thinkwell, but am unsure because in standard, quality, chemistry courses, there's a lot of quantitative homework doing such things as balancing equations. All the sample material seemed to be qualitative, but that was only the first two chapters. What does Thinkwell have/do to give students practice in this sort of thing? Does it do the job adequately? How was your experience with Thinkwell?

I'm not judging her -- we each make our own decisions. (And, btw, the cost of living in my area is significantly *higher* than in hers.) And since she is the main income earner in her family right now, due to our messed-up economy, I think it's a good thing that they decided, long ago, that she'd keep her career. I'm also very glad that she lives in an area where there are good educational opportunities for her children!

I'm not sure. I homeschool and live in a small town with no gifted program. My sister, whose children are near the same age and probably equally gifted, live in a city and are in special all-gifted classes. In comparison: Sister's children have more friends. Mine are content with a few. Sister's children have more peer pressure and conform to their peers more. Mine laugh at attempts at peer pressure. Sister's children have more arts/music opportunities. My children wish they could be in a band, choir, or play. Sister's children have more academic competition opportunities. Mine don't care much about competition. Sister's children get awards for sister to brag about. My children rarely do. Sister's children prefer their peers to their siblings. My children are best friends and hang out with the same outside friends. Sister's children are a year or two ahead of those in regular classes. My children are even farther ahead academically, I think in all subjects. Sister's children are in school all day, then have homework to do in the evening. My children have more time to pursue their own interests and special opportunities -- and they do. Sister's children have to put up with occasional poor teachers and bad curricula. My children can help choose curricula and change in mid-stream when needed. Sister can work full time and increase her family's wealth. I stay home full time and increase our family's relationships. That's the breakdown, and what's right for a particular family and child depends on their individual needs. If your daughter really wants to participate in competitive extracurricular activities, or feels the need to constantly be with peers, she'd probably prefer the gifted school. If she likes time and opportunity to pursue her own passions, home is probably better.

The good news is that there are lots of books and DVDs out there to help you! Some that my dc used to prep are The Real ACT Prep Guide, Cracking the ACT with DVD, and The Standard Deviants SAT Prep. So far, they've only taken the ACT, but I know that it included some trig and calculus questions, where the SAT isn't supposed to, so you may prefer the SAT if math is difficult for you.

You can get study guides and section quizzes to go along with various ps high school textbooks, and you can use the section quizzes as worksheets, rather than quizzes.

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons Everything we've done since has been possible due to what my dc learned using that book. Other best purchases have been -- Teaching Textbooks -- for high school level math for the non-mathy Life of Fred series -- for high school level math for the math lover SOTW & the SOTW activity guides. The dc particularly loved SOTW1! Rod & Staff Phonics Cards Singapore Math (the elementary ones) Various Audio Memory products (Geography Songs, in particular) Veritas Press History Songs & Cards for Explorers to 1815 and 1815 to Present Usborne First Book of Nature -- and other Usborne and DK titles -- Great in the elementary years! The Miller Family series -- great for character development; Our 24 Family Ways -- the same IEW's Student Writing Intensive and Essay Intensive