My dd has struggled with math since the beginning of time. This past year in 9th grade, she began Algebra 1 using Teaching Textbooks, but it quickly went over her head. Midway through the year, it just wasn't working. We had already tried a few other texts, and finally settled on working through the Keys to Algebra books. She has come to the end of Book 4 and it's now well into the summer. She works so very slowly, and the abstract concepts are just so difficult for her. As a right brain thinker, it's been torture to say the least. So now I'm looking at going back to TT Algebra 1 again from the beginning and just slugging through. I don't think we should pick up in the middle of the book, but hopefully she could start now and work quickly through the early parts. The goal would be to get well into Geometry by the end of next summer, or maybe even finish by then, so she could do Algebra 2 in 11th grade. I would ask if this is OK, but really, I believe we are doing the best we can, so I think whether it's OK or not is irrelevant. My main question is how to assign her credit for the work she's done this year. She definitely put in the time and effort, she hasn't failed anything, she just didn't complete anything. She has made progress, it just isn't at the typical pace. I can't give her Algebra credit, but I need to give her credit for something. For anyone else who has been in this situation, what would you suggest?

Thanks - I had looked at Thinkwell, and if we had a whole year I'd probably consider it. The other think is paying for a subscription that can't be reused for my other 2 makes it a pricier choice. I didn't realize there was a 'co-op' type option. Great idea. Thanks!

OK, good. I think I'll combine them for reasons given here. And I do have John Stossel's DVDs already - didn't even think about pulling them out. Thanks!

I am very last minute here. My senior dd is finishing up her last semester. I have Economics on her transcript, and had a plan to do the books from Bluestocking Press: Penny Candy/Economics: A Free Market Reader/The Money Mystery/The Clipper Ship Strategy....along with their respective study guides. I would have her do maybe 2 projects and a paper and call it done. But then I saw the Teaching Company Economics course is at 70% off... I've heard good things about it and I think she would enjoy the lectures. Would it be a good compliment the Bluestocking books? Other ideas I have for her to read along with the DVDs: Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell Economics for Dummies and The Idiots Guide to Economics Atlas Shrugged I don't feel like I have to use the Bluestocking books just because I have them. She already started reading them, but it's not too late to change. My main concern is to not bog her down. She has a heavy schedule right now and although I think this course will be interesting to her, I want to keep it pretty basic and just want to fulfill a minimal requirement. Her future is pre-med then medical or PA school if that helps at all. Thanks in advance for the help!

It sounds like you have my son there! He's almost 14, 8th grade and working through KB Algebra 1. Bright guy - but tends to be on the lazy side, moving very quickly through his work just to get done... In the same way as your son, mine also does very well on all the lesson work, consistently in the 90's. But when it comes to quizzes and tests, he does poorly. I finally realized what's going on. When he does the daily lesson work, he is given 3 tries (or is it 2?). If he gets it wrong, he has another shot. But the quizzes and tests don't give you any more chances. So by getting used to careless errors and then just fixing them as he went along every day, he wasn't prepared to check and re-check his answers before submitting when he was doing the test. I haven't figured out the solution yet, except to stress the importance of careful work. Adding in some motivations are probably the key here as well. In other words, a little kick in the butt.

Rosetta Stone just didn't work around here. We started using Visual Link this year and I am very pleased with it. My senior dd who is determined to become fluent is taking Spanish 2 in a classroom. I have given her the Level 3 to challenge her more and give her an additional credit in Spanish this year and she is happy with it. She feels like she wasted her time with Rosetta, but feels like she is making good progress with Visual Link. One thing she does is to listen to the CDs as she drives around.

My senior hasn't had a schedule since 9th grade. She's completely independent, only an occasional reminder here and there. My 8th and 9th graders still need a daily schedule. My goal is to have them independent by 11th grade. We'll see how that goes. They don't have the inner drive that older sister has...at least not yet.

Today was Homeschool Visitation day at Campbell University here in NC. We were asked to please weight the grades on the transcript. Regular 4.0, Honors 5.0 and Dual Enrollment 6.0. Since this is what they want, I will be happy to comply. The school system here weights the same, and show both weighted and unweighted GPA on their transcripts. In the past week I've called Duke University, UNC and NC State. All 3 told me to send both. So that's my plan.

I don't think you can go wrong by giving them the practice in taking the test. Just make sure that your son isn't discouraged by what he doesn't know, that he knows this is just practice for when it does count. My dd took the PSAT only one time, last fall in 11th grade. She scored 212, missing the threshold by just one point! How I wish I had given her opportunity to take it several years ahead of time. I have no doubt she would have scored comfortably - Her results didn't reflect what she is capable of considering her scores in the ACT and SAT. For my next 2, I will definitely give them practice ahead of time.

My dd used TT Algebra 1, 2, Geometry and Pre-Calculus. She worked completely independently, mostly from the text with occasional use of the cds when she would get stuck. She's a senior this year and enrolled in a cc Pre-Calc course. The first day she realized it would be repetitive, so she went and took the Compass test which easily placed her into Calculus. That's just our experience, but considering her only math instruction was from TT, I would have to disagree with anyone who would say it isn't thorough enough. That said, since you do say the other programs worked well, I wouldn't change just because of the good you hear about TT - the old "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" saying comes to mind.

OK, I'll probably do it like this then: 9th: Honors Biology 10th: Honors Chemistry 11th: Advanced Biology (AP Exam Prep) 1 12th: Honors Physics (AP Exam Prep) 2 (Or 12th: AP Physics if it is approved as an AP course...) 1 AP Exam Score: 5 2 AP Exam Score: 5 (hopefully :)) The classes were all taken at our Homeschool School Academic Resource Center, and taught by paid instructors. They title the classes "Honors" - except for the Physics class which is titled "Physics (AP Physics)". I'll have to ask the instructor about that Physics title, to see if it's CB approved. He gives additional instruction and study work as an option beyond the Apologia text. If it isn't, I should still be able to call it Honors, right? I would think that AP prep is certainly Honors worthy.

Ok, that is very helpful. Thanks!

Maybe I've been misinformed then. This is the class description of the Apologia A&P class she took: "This course plus the regular biology course gives a student an AP Biology equivalent." and from Apologia's website: "it gives the student the equivalent of a university biology course. In other words, these two courses together cover the entire "advanced placement" (AP) curriculum." Either I misunderstood (highly likely :001_huh:) or possibly the courses have received approval? How do I find out if the course has been approved by the College Board? If I'm wrong, then I think the quotes above should be changed to clarify that merely covering the content does not equate to calling the class AP. Now I'm wondering about her Apologia Physics class, which the teacher has included this in his description: "Note: This class also has the optional opportunity of special instruction and additional study work for students who desire to take the AP Physics Exam B or C."

My dd took Apologia Biology in 9th grade and then the Anatomy & Physiology in 11th grade. Taking the A&P is supposed to bump the Biology to AP. She did take the AP test in May this year and got a 5. Good deal. But this is my question: How do I list these courses on her transcript? Like this? 9th Grade: AP Biology 11th Grade: Anatomy & Physiology or: 9th Grade: Biology 11th Grade: AP Advanced Biology Or what? It doesn't seem right to list the Biology she took in 9th grade as AP, since the content wasn't completed until the 11th grade course. I can't figure out how to assign the proper credit to each course. I've searched the forums and can't see any discussion that addresses my question. Thanks in advance for your help!

I think it is very common to do American History in 9th grade.

I don't use TOG, but as a Sonlight user, I feel your pain. The only way I can afford to use Sonlight is to buy used and sell used. If I buy my core this year at a used price of 325.00 I can probably sell it again next year for 300-325. My cost would be less than 50.00 in the end after shipping is accounted for. I would love to keep all the books and have a library of wonderful literature, but it just isn't something I can do. How easy is it to find a complete package for TOG?

I was eagerly anticipating the Mystery of History Vol 3 Illuminations program that was soon to be released. We've already done MOH 1 and 2 and now that my 2 youngers are 8th and 9th grade, I was happy to see that there would be a high school program to beef it up. If you don't know what Illuminations is, it's from Bright Idea's Press, their latest offering to go along with MOH. In a unique tweakable pdf format, It schedules 6 1/2 credits for HS, leaving only Science, Math and Language to work out on your own. 6 1/2 credits are scheduled in History, Bible, English, Literature, Humanities, Life 101 & Government/Economics. I just got the book lists yesterday, and unfortunately I'm having 2nd thoughts. My 9th grade dd is a slow and reluctant reader. She is also the most difficult to engage in anything academic, being the free spirit that she is. I have to be very careful not to overwhelm her. That said, she is going into high school and we need to have a solid course of study. So here are the literature books (they all include high school study guides) - I bolded the ones I'm concerned about: Bible DK Eyewitness Russia DK Eyewitness Africa Mosque by David Macaulay Praise of Folly by Erasmus The King's Fifth by Scott O'Dell A Man for All seasons by Robert Bolt The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope Queen's Own Fool by Jane Yolen Much Ado About Nothing by Shakespeare don Quixote by Cervantes unabridged version Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford Duncan's War by Douglas bond Robinson Crusoe unabridged Pilgrim's Progress revised by Barry Horner I should add that my son is 8th grade, but reads much more eagerly. He would be more than capable of reading anything she would be assigned. His problem would be more the boredom factor if the content is too deep. he hasn't reached that level of thoughtfulness. He could read Robinson Crusoe no problem, but Don Quixote??? My other option is to do the Grade 3-8 level, but every one of those books are older elementary level and the study guides are what you would expect for that kind of book. I don't want to leave out the challenging things, but I also don't want to overwhelm her by throwing her into the deep waters. If I don't go with Illuminations, which would be a disappointment, I would go with Sonlight 7, ditching MOH for SOTW. So what do you literature minded moms think?

What has he taken up to this point?

Brigid, the dd I am speaking of is Megan's younger sister. You will have Megan in your AP English class this fall. This board is where I found the information about your class when I was so discouraged about Learn & Earn (dual enrollment) legislative changes in NC. I didn't know what to do about her senior year English. I popped over here and voila! The first post that morning directed me to you. Nice to see you here!

Thank you all! I can't tell you how much it's helped to read your responses. I am again at peace with the coming year :)

Am I making a mistake by putting my 9th grade dd in a Physical Science class through our co-op? When I registered her, I was aware that many high school students begin with Biology, having taken Physical Science in 8th. When the registration system kicked her out because of her age (soon to be 15- she's an older 9th grader). The co-op director made an exception and placed her in the class, but it made me start doubting my choices for her. A bit about her: Last year she took General Science. It was her first outside class and a good learning experience. Her talents as great as they are, are not in the academics. She made a low B. I could have jumped her into Biology, but did not think that would work well, and thought it not unreasonable to do Physical Science followed by Biology, then Chemistry with an additional year for an alternative science, probably not advanced, but who knows? Right now her interests are mainly social and school is a necessary evil. She does as little as possible and in my opinion does not work at the level she is capable of. She does love science though, and maybe she something inside of her will kick her into a higher gear. Maybe she will prove me wrong that she doesn't have a science career in her future. She wants to work in wildlife rehabilitation. Which could require a science degree, or not, depending on what she wants to do. The more I look around, the more I see Physical Science looked down on as a high school course. I would rather she do well in Physical Science than become totally overwhelmed in Biology though. She needs to see that she can do well in school. So far her opinion of herself is that she isn't "cut out for it". She's sandwiched between an academically gifted brother and sister, and has decided her talents lie elsewhere - which they do... But if she loves animals and one day wants to do more, am I doing her a disservice by not pushing her forward? She will be turning 15 in a class of 12-14 yo students. Last year it was the same, in General Science she was in a class of 6th and 7th graders and she noticed. I just explained that it was a middle school course, and she was upper middle school. This year I'm sure it will come up again.

Was total time then 18 hours plus 12 shows? Maybe 42 hours if the shows were 2 hours each...which might translate to 1/3 of a credit. Would it be more appropriate to list is as an extracurricular?

I agree with hanging it in dh's office....considering a church member painted it. If your dh has an office at church, other members can appreciate it. The artist would likely be thrilled at having his work displayed there.

Hopefully it was just a prank because I can't imagine anyone thinking that would be a way to attract business. It would definitely have me calling whoever owned that business and explaining the offensiveness of a sign with a message like that.

I'm trying to figure out where to go from here...my plans have been messed up and I am just at a loss. Hopefully someone here can offer some help! Here is what she's done so far: 9th grade - Rosetta Stone level 1 using all supplemental materials. 10th grade - local home school class labeled as High School Spanish 1 11th grade - Elementary Spanish at local community college. 100% final grade. After getting a slow start, something revved up her gears mid-way into the home school class in 10th grade. Since then she has desperately wanted to fit as much Spanish into her transcript as possible. After taking the community college course in the fall of 11th grade, she had planned to do Spanish 2 in the spring semester, but it was not available. So then her plan was to take Spanish 2 and Spanish 3 this year through the Learn & Earn (Dual Enrollment) program in NC. That way she could have at least 4 credits to show. (We don't know what to call her first year of Spanish, since it looks like she repeated Spanish 1 in 10th grade. In hindsight, it would have been better to take Spanish 2 in 10th grade... Unfortunately the NC Legislators threw a monkey wrench into the plan by cutting all humanities from the program. Now we are limited to just math, science and technology courses. (Just happened in the past few weeks, community colleges are scrambling around trying to figure out what to do since many students were already registered). So here is my question. After taking Spanish 1 at college level, where does she go from there if further college courses aren't available? We really can't pay the tuition costs at other non-state programs (such as what she could take at Liberty, or another college that might have a high school program) I initially thought that taking High School Spanish 2 would be too easy for her after college level 1, but High School Spanish 3 would probably be too much of a jump. So am I wrong? Should she just go back to HS Spanish 2??