Thank you everyone! Angie, yes, that is exactly what I want to do! A dear friend told me that she wept as she packed up her home school materials after her last dc was finished because home schooling is such a personal time with our precious children. When we home school our children, we are choosing them. As they move into the adult world and independence, we hope they choose us by asking us to be part of their lives. We have about 8 weeks before dd is off to a retreat for college fiddling group, and then, even though she will be living at home the first year of college, she will be on campus five days per week, often for long hours due to rehearsals. She is travelling for fall break, so it will be Christmas before she can sit a spell.

Colleen, I haven't been on the boards in a while because of graduation and end-of-the-year music, but I read the post about your son, and I am so happy to hear the news about his scholarships and plans. Wonderful! Wonderful! 1togo

Adding an update. Dd will be going to University of Mobile for a Bachelor's of Music - Vocal Performance with a Concentration in Musical Theater. She was accepted into UM's fiddling group, Welsh Revival, which means traveling and performance during the school year, recording an album with the group, and then a mission trip to Romania next May. She also plans to take production classes and work on a 2nd degree in business marketing. She did get a start with dual enrollment last semester, but this looks like a 5-year plan plus summer school to me. We are excited for her and the opportunities that we did not have. P.S. Thank you to everyone for the support along the way. Dd has had to work hard for every.single.thing. There have been many hurdles, especially in the music world, and nothing has come easily.

Grades are between student and college in our neck of the woods. We're paying a big chunk of the bill, so we expect disclosure from dc.

Listed below are ways grades were compiled last semester for dd's college classes: Multiple choice tests on lecture materials - not memorize & dump, written to require reasoning, comprehension & evaluation Tests with several 1- 2 page essays using multiple resources Online posts to prof. prompts with responses to classmate posts Test prep check for bonus points Mid-length essays using multiple resources; i.e. assigned book + lecture material (From history prof - so good but lots of work.) Other writing assignments for bonus points. Movie analysis for psychology - (Also good.) Class discussions So many ways to assess. 1togo

J&J, I have had success with the Classifieds on WTM. I post each item or set separately, and I include Priority Mail in the price, so I don't need to find boxes. I haven't made a lot of money, and sometimes I've posted items for just cost of shipping, but I've kept what last dc wants and found homes for everything else. 1togo

We used TC for Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1 & 2, and Geometry. TC, combined with tutoring from Mr. Zimmerman, brought youngest dc out of math darkness. I worked through all of the lessons side-by-side with dc and love TC. Mr. Z is working on a Pre-Calculus course. If TC is working, I would stay the course.

Yes, we had a very difficult time fitting everything in. Youngest dc wanted to do 4 years of Latin but had to let Latin go for theater and voice during the senior year. There just weren't enough hours in the day to practice violin, voice, learn lines, and attend rehearsals/productions in addition to academics. Working out is important to us as well, so we began the day with that - walking or gym or personal trainer. Also, many upper-level high school courses took more than an hour per day. For various reasons, none of our children had a lot of down time during high school.

I did not work during our home school years (just graduated youngest dc) because all of our children needed me in some way - academic help, emotional support, accountability, social interaction. In addition, all of our children participated in performing arts and/or worked. We have a big age spread, so even though we had drivers, I usually had to take the olders to activities because I needed the car to drive the youngest. So, the reality of home schooling high school in our family was lots of driving and hard work. I've been on this board for a few years and read posts about high achieving, independent children with mixed emotions. On the one hand, I was always inspired by what other families are doing, but at the same time, it wasn't my world. We had high school students who needed help - severe learning disabilities to struggles in specific academic areas. Our successes came through plugging away. Each family is unique.

We are finished with home schooling. I am selling or giving away most of our curriculum, and I do not have to look for curriculum for the new year. I thought I would be thrilled, but here I am, sitting in my craft room; i.e. the former school room, and I feel like crying. Many of the courses went through the hands of all of our children. Memories are being put into Priority Mail boxes and sent away. Wah! 1togo

Thank you! Graduation day was wonderful. The day before, dd and I rearranged closets and transformed the school room into a craft room. She was as excited as I was to give that room a new purpose and name.

I haven't worked, and when I tried to teach a few home school classes, that didn't even work out. All of our children have needed me for various reasons -- severe learning disabilities to accountability. I also take care of an elderly parent. It has been difficult at times, but it was the best option for our family. We know home school moms who have worked from home, worked for a while, worked several jobs at the same time, run family businesses, or never worked at all outside of the home. Everyone has made their decisions based on what is best for their family. 1togo

Our youngest child, precious dd, graduated on Saturday, and honestly, I went through the entire day in a blur. I don't think I understood we had finally made it to the finish line, especially since we've experienced some major ups and downs during the years from kindergarten until now. However, the fact that we are finished with home schooling really hit me this morning when I realized I do not need to order curriculum and that I needed to unsubscribe from curriculum email notifications, but when dd saw me on WTM forum, she said, "You don't have to unsubscribe from WTM." I thought that was so funny. She knows where I go for education advice! 1togo (umm...Maybe it's time to change my forum name.)

Mr. Q is a LOT less wordy, but it still covers high school chem concepts. Also, the labs are kitchen labs that do a good job demonstrating the lesson concepts. You do not need any special equipment. Fwiw, we have a cabinet of chem equipment bought for ds to use with Apologia Chem. Most of it has never been used because he didn't like the labs. Dd is enjoying the course, and we both like the labs.. 1togo

Yes, I don't think you are doing writing the RC way, but if what you are doing works for your family, then I would carry on. However, think about the possibilities of a student writing a short piece; i.e. one page or so, every day for a month and then improving each of those pieces. At the end of the month, they will have written and improved 20 pieces. Multiply that by the number of months in the school year. Years ago, I talked with one of Dr. R's daughters, and she mentioned that not all of them liked to write or were good at it, but they all learned to write well by writing a lot and by correcting their writing. Fwiw, I do think students need to correct their work. I am working with our last child, a senior, and I have been requiring corrections for years. I am beginning to see the fruits of this approach, but it's been slow going. If the composition has many, many errors, work on one part of it or one concept at a time. Make suggestions. Teach through your suggestions, but I wouldn't just make a suggestion and then have no expectations for correction. Just my thoughts on all of this as I look back. 1togo

Actually, I want to amend myself. Now that I think about it, sitting with the student hasn't really been an answer for my children. It has produced writing that I like, but their best writing has come from giving them time to wrestle with their writing.

The requirement for RC writing was one page of writing. If the student could write a paper in one page, so be it. If the student wanted to write more, then he could. Since an RC day was simple, none of the subjects; i.e. reading, writing and math, were driven by time. Instead, they read, wrote one page, worked on corrections, learned vocabulary, and worked one math lesson. In other words, the student worked on the skills necessary for independent learning. Later, they self-studied for AP (Advanced Placement) tests using a variety of materials. Their success with this method is remarkable, and it is really simple. What you described; i.e. intro, etc., is a format. Dr. R did not teach formats. The student could write a story; he could write about something he learned in his reading; he could write about something going on in his life; he could write a persuasive piece. Also, Dr. R did not give prompts. I didn't really understand the process when we used RC, but I do now, and I can see how it turns out independent writers. FWIW, correcting writing is critical to developing a writer. The student writes; the parent makes written suggestions; the student corrects. The student does need to learn to wrestle a bit with their writing. Fwiw, I haven't had great success with verbal coaching. 1togo Adding this. As mothers and teachers, we are upset when our children produce awkward/bad/horrible/messy writing, but messy writing is part of growing as a writer. Our children may produce lots of mess before they produce anything good, and it's tempting to jump in and help them produce writing that we like. I've done this for years, and it's never worked.

With RC, students do not write a paper a day. They are required to write at least 1 page per day. They can write more if they want. The topic and format are the student's choice. The paper is put in the parent's inbox. The parent writes suggestions on the paper & the student corrects. So, writing for the day includes the one page & corrections on a piece of writing. This work is elementary to late middle school. By high RC students are working on APs.

With RC, students do not write a paper a day. They are required to write at least 1 page per day. They can write more if they want. The topic and format are the student's choice. The paper is put in the parent's inbox. The parent writes suggestions on the paper & the student corrects. So, writing for the day includes the one page & corrections on a piece of writing. This work is elementary to late middle school. By high RC students are working on APs.

We're using Mr. Q and like it a lot. I am not a science teacher, so I can't compare it with other chem courses, but it has been easy to teach, and dd enjoys it. We do chemistry three school days and the kitchen labs on Saturday. Mr. Q has been a good fit for us, and it isn't expensive. No special lab materials needed.

DOMA - This test is required from our home school cover until the student has a high enough ACT score. It is good and thorough. DOMA does a good job pinpointing weak areas. ALEKS - Dd tried ALEKS pre-calculus this year, so she did an assessment to determine which parts of the course she already knew. It did a fairly good job of that, but I wouldn't use it as an assessment tool for Algebra I.

CA, You are welcome. I also want to add this. It's a good idea to teach the 5-paragraph paper in junior high and use that format to write many, many short papers across the curriculum, Sit with your student and model/work though the process as long as necessary. Some students need lots of practice developing a thesis, writing intros and conclusions, paraphrasing, transitions, etc. etc. -- all the skills needed to write a paper with outside sources. Turning out a polished, 2-3 page, college-level paper in a week is a hustle when the student has exams in other classes and possibly other papers. 1togo

Make sure your high school student can write various 2-3 page papers using multiple sources (text, videos, and fiction/non-fiction) under a tight deadline; i.e. 1-2 weeks. The papers need to have proper citations within the paper and Works Cited/Bibliography. Practice using MLA and APA. That.is.all.

We're like most of the other posters. We've educated dc on the pros/cons of various career paths, but we are not discouraging dc from pursuing any degree. With that said, the back-up plan is a second major in a practical degree. Dc is working toward making this possible through Early Enrollment, summer school prior to freshman year, and CLEP. We will not take any loans, and dc will live at home and take only minimum loans. The overall plan includes summer jobs along with summer school. Adding this. My parents did not encourage me to pursue my dream in college. Even so, I ended up in NYC working in my dream field even though I didn't have training or experience. I would have done a lot better in the field if I had training.

Adding this. Dd has decided to attend University of Mobile. She has academic and music scholarships. She is taking Early Enrollment classes there, and it is a good fit for her.