Oops, Taryn, yes - I meant K-12's Human Odyssey. I, too, have read Loewen's "Lies" and have a similar philosophy - use a basic text, and add to it with primary sources, research, readers. Will check out the other suggestions - thank you! (As for that $10 American Odyssey price . . . whoa. I'm envious! No such experience here!)

We actually use K-12's History Odyssey for 6th and 7th. We have been able to find those used. Since I am selecting texts for an entire group of parents, I am unwilling to select a text that will cost them in the neighborhood of $100. (They also need to buy math, science, and writing texts, and readers!) THAT is what holds me back from the K-12 text. I'm off to search, again, for a source for 15-20 copies of this text at half-price. If I am successful, then I can give serious consideration to this text. It may be a matter of monitoring prices all summer . . . :) Thank you for your input.

I have used Hakim's History of US before, but feel it is best used for 5th-7th grade. For 8th graders, her tone begins to sound like she is 'talking down' to them. I hate that, because she is the only engaging US History text I have found. :) Hoping someone in the WTM community has found something equally interesting in style and content, but for the older student. As soon as I can, I will write my own US History text :D Thank you for any ideas.

I'm waiting for each of these to arrive from my regional library, but anxious to decide - all three of these authors have been recommended to me but I haven't laid eyes on any of them. :) And I need to decide soon. Which would you recommend for a 6th grader, 7th grader, and 8th grader? I know a good book spans a wide age range, but I am choosing simpler readers for the 6th graders; and the 8th graders are quite a bit ahead of the others in reading ability. Is there one that is such a stand-out version you would recommend for all three levels? Or would you choose different authors for different levels? The Children's Homer, by Padraic Colum Black Ships Before Troy, and, The Wanderings of Odysseus, Rosemary Sutcliff Odyssey, Geraldine McCaughrean Appreciate feedback from those of you are who more well-read than I am :) Thank you, Leslie

Jen, have you selected text or resources for your high school Physics class?

Root Ann, You are an anomaly! At least, today. :) When my son attended engineering camp at UT-Arlington, I asked the Engineering Dept. recruiter if an engineering degree was REALLY a 4-year degree . . . and he said no. I asked if most of the students took 6 years and he said yes. Biomedical Engineering IS a 6-year degree, so I can only imagine what an egghead one would have to be to accomplish it in its expected time frame! heh. My son accelerated his pace and took Pre-Calc as a 10th grader. He struggled with a few concepts, but in talking to his math teacher, we think he can solidify those weak spots this summer so he can take Calc as a junior. After that, maybe AP Calc or Calc at the CC? Open to any recommendations :)

This was my concern - because of recent cheating issues (apparently) the ID requirements have stiffened and they may not accept 'homemade' IDs. My son attends a university-model school, so I made an ID for him with that school info, DOB, barcode along the bottom for an 'official' look . . . took that to DPS, and they accepted it along with his SSN and birth certificate. whew! They issued the temporary state ID, and that is what we will take to the test tomorrow. It IS as valid and official as the card they will send in the mail so I do not expect any problems. But I definitely would be wary of making a homemade ID - anyone can do it and they know it. I am blessed the TX DPS office didn't give his 'ID' a close examination :)

Sigh. I overlooked the requirement for a photo ID for the SAT Chemistry test my son is registered to take THIS Saturday. Several friends have recommended just making the kind of homemade "school ID" card that so many HSers use . . . I've never bothered to make one. He doesn't have a driver's license yet, I didn't bother to get an ID card from the DPS . . . and now I'm wishing I had, since we plan to take several SAT subject tests. I can get that done for future tests. But for this weekend . . . sigh. I'm computer-savvy enough to make a good-looking ID tomorrow, but is that really going to work? He is enrolled in a university-model school, so I can use all that info for a Student ID card. I'm not trying to deceive anyone - just would like him to take the Chem test while it's still fresh in his mind. :) Has anyone done this? TIA! Leslie

Yes, A&M takes some dual credit, and I should have clarified this, but I am not interested in dual credit at a CC; rather, I would like for the high school classes he is taking to translate into AP or CLEP credits. I have the list of CLEP credits accepted by A&M, for instance; but I only see THREE tests, for 9 credit hours, that fit the Mechanical Engineering degree plan - American Gov't, and the two US History. We plan to take those 2 CLEP exams this summer. I see a total of 18 'University Core' credits over his four years' of ME. The rest are ENGR or MATH courses that you wouldn't want to take elsewhere. So, perhaps it is our degree program that is most limiting. Also, our local CC is not in the TAP program with A&M (who knows why, they are a mess) so even if we wanted to do that, I don't know what A&M will accept. Austin CC must be considered a strong CC! That's great. My whole purpose in pursuing this is to do what someone mentioned in this thread - off-load some of the Humanities, or electives, so he can focus on the challenging math and science courses. I am not trying to eliminate THOSE; they are the ones he really needs at the 4-yr college! But I know they are difficult. I am assuming the freshman Engineering course is designed to separate the men from the boys, so to speak. I would love to lighten his freshman load from 17-18 credit hours to 14-15 so he has more time to work on ENGR 111 and MATH 151 and PHYS 151. We hope to spend two years on both Calc and Physics, in high school, so he is really ready for the college-level Calc. Probably take the regular courses then the AP versions. As someone mentioned, I have heard that there is NO way you can encounter Calc for the first time in college and be ready for it. :) Angie, we are looking at UTD as well, and will visit it next week. My impression of it is that it's for brainiacs and we won't quite make the cut. :) My ds is smart, a 90-percenter, but I think of UTD as being for the 96-percenters. heh. Thank you all . . . I have learned some, and, had some of my 'suspicions' about engineering confirmed. :)

Not sure what I'm missing here. I've read for years about students, both PS and HS, who graduate high school with oodles of college credits - sometimes as many as 30, meaning they enter college as sophomores. That saves money and time, and I'd like to save both, too! Some of them are taking dual credit at the local CC. Some are getting CLEP credits, or AP. My son just finished his sophomore year and I am just now sitting down to look at how he can jumpstart his college career. :) I looked at one of the colleges we are considering, Texas A&M. After poring over their website, it appears that he could earn (and they would accept) a grand total of NINE credit hours before entering. Hmm. I looked around at a few other colleges in the area, and it seems to be the same. They are not obligated to accept the CC hours and there are only a few CLEP or AP credits that fit his degree plan (Engineering). So, what am I missing? If your student earned a bunch of credits before ever entering college, can you tell me more about it? Does it depend upon your major? I should add, I'm not trying to 'cut corners' on the college experience; I advised my oldest to take EVERY college course and drink in the full four years of college experience, which he did. It was good for him. But for this son, his degree path (Engineering) is a tough one; I would like to clear the decks of ANYthing extraneous - Am History, English Comp - and let him focus on the math and science courses that will be so challenging. Okay, enlighten me! What am I not understanding? How can I lighten his college load? Thanks, Leslie

I will look into Human Odyssey, Pearson, and Barron's. And I'm SO glad that fellow WTMers know exactly what I mean by a spine text :)

I'm looking for the perfect text (spine) which, of course, does not exist, but I would love to know if there is something out there I haven't viewed. - for 7th gr., so SOTW is too young; - for Ancients through 1200 (we have a 3-yr history cycle); - a traditional text - not a guide, like History Odyssey, but rather a true spine resource. Mystery of History is too cluttered and 'chatty,' Human Odyssey (Spielvogel) is too dense; Kingfisher is too much of an outline, not enough of the interesting stories; etc., etc. I want a basic text and prefer a narrative style - I wish for a middle school version of SOTW! I don't want a text that intends to be comprehensive, ala public school texts. We truly use the text as a reference - spine - and the bulk of our History reading and learning is via good literature. For the older students, I have chosen BJU's World History 3rd ed. It is a good length and level of overview. A middle school version of this text would be ideal, if that helps anyone send me in the right direction! SOTW is too simple, BJU's History text is too advanced . . .something that falls in the middle is what I need. Thanks for any ideas you have! I know I can piece together various resources, but I would prefer to have one reference text for our year. Leslie

My ds is a sophomore, and although he is my baby and I homeschooled all 3, I have never prepared a transcript for a 4-year college. My oldest ended up finishing at a private high school for jr/sr years, and my middle child has significant learning challenges and thus did not attend 4-yr college. I prepared a transcript for her for the local community college that could have been scrawled on the back of a napkin - all they cared about was whether it was notarized. (!) Plus, things change . . . what was accepted 5+ years ago might not be now, or what was not acceptable at that time, may be common now. I need an update. SO: if you have submitted a 'homemade' transcript to a 4-year college with success, and would be willing to share it with us - minus personal info - would you post it here? Or, email them to me? (Not sure how well formatting will maintain on a cutnpaste to this forum) I will post links to them on my website or on googledocs for everyone to access. My MAIN concern is, how much uniqueness will a college embrace? How different can our homeschool transcripts be, from the PS norm? Can we have Old Testament Studies? Or Botany instead of Biology? US Politics as a Social Studies credit? I don't see this kind of variation on ISD websites. I have reviewed school districts for Texas, where we live, and see many of the same classes, over and over, for the social studies credits. This is where we will have most of his 'electives.' I want to give him credit for his Worldviews and Logic and similar classes, but do I need to translate these into the ones I see listed in the ISD course catalogs, like Psychology and Sociology? I want to hear from other parents what your experience has been - did you have to make your transcript look like PS to be acceptable? Or could you be unique? I do know we will need the usual "4 x 4" (English, Math, Science, Social Studies) and he will have that covered. The other information I have heard, over and over, is that THE key bit of info for TX schools is the SAT/ACT score; if that score is solid, they don't pay much attention to the transcript. I would like to hear from TX parents - has that been your experience? My DS will likely attend a TX state school. But I also need sample transcripts for fellow HS parents who I help with their planning, as some of them have aspirations beyond a TX state school. :) We need to learn from others' experiences. Thank you very much for your help, Leslie Kent em addy: lesliekent.mgaoffices@gmail.com P.S. Just noticed that my status is 'just visiting.' That amuses me because I have been with WTM boards since SWB first opened them! I just don't post any more. But I wanted to clarify that I didn't just stumble across these boards. I AM a long-time WTMer. :D

Last year, my high schoolers read Hakim vols 1-5 for our US History 1600-1850, BUT, they did find the tone patronizing. I love her narrative style and interesting bits and pieces of primary source material, etc. . . .but need to move away from her 'so this is how it is' tone as though she is talking to children . . . which she is. :) My 10th-12 gr. will read Johnson's History of the American People, but that will be too stiff for my group of 9th graders. Hakim would be okay as a supplement for them, but what would make a interesting and thorough spine for that group? Every traditional text I skim looks . . . boring. Lifeless. Looked at Digital History on line but it has typos, etc., that make me wonder about the source - and the source is not credited! hmm. They WILL read a lot of good lit this year. But we need a decent spine - reading level between Hakim and Johnson! Oh, and we are studying 1850 - present, Modern Era. Wide open to ideas. Thanks!