I just signed up my oldest for the CLEP US 1 test at a local college. I was OK with the $80 test fee, but was blindsided by the additional $70 test center fee. Is this normal? Michelle

Redwall series. My oldest, who loves to read, ate these up when he was quite young. My 15yo, his younger brother, was never a reader but just decided to start reading this series. I see him with a book all the time now. Love it!

I just wanted to say this thread has really encouraged me. Lately I have been seriously doubting my homeschooling abilities for my two highschoolers.

Thanks Kiana. This will help a lot in figuring out what I will require and what we will just skim through. .

Thanks JanetC for helping me think this through.

I am deciding on an Economics class for next year. I know I want video based w/ min. teacher involvement. Thinkwell's sale ends today so I am trying to decide if it is worth the $ for Thinkwell if the free ones by Navarro (?) are fairly similar in content. DS prefers the Thinkwell class but my homeschool budget is stretched. Also, I have no experience with Cousera and would not be happy if they dropped the course next year. Has anyone compared these two classes?

I have the 3rd edition of this and it is thick. Are there any topics considered somewhat optional when using this text at a high school level? I was looking for schedules for it online and noticed most college classes skip many parts of it. How have you all scheduled this? Ds has 1 year to get through it. Also, would a different more homeschool friendly curriculum like Saxon be better at this level instead? He did Lial's Alg. 2 OK, but all the homework was very tedious. Thanks, Michelle

I also have a Shark (Rotator - blue). I bought it for just under $200 at Sam's and it came with a free steam mop which I sold on Craigslist for $25 new. I have had it for a little over a year and it is still works great. I like that I can wash the filters and dust/dirt/lego collector so it doesn't get as nasty as my old bagged vacuum did. I would rather spend less on a vacuum and be able to purchase one again sooner than spend $500-$600 and feel it will take years before being justified. Our old house has a lot of carpet and we get infested with these ladybug-like beetles every year so our vacuums seem to get gross quickly.

BIG bump.

I am trying to plan my oldest's math for next year. He is successfully using Lial's Intermediate Algebra this year, but I am getting to the point that it is harder for me to just jump in and help him. I would love to have him try an online class like Derek Owens, but it is not in the budget. So, I am trying to put together a plan using Lial's Precalculus. I own the hardcover 3rd edition text and student solutions. Before I go through it to make a schedule, I am hoping to get some feedback on how self-educating at this level has worked out for those who have BTDT. I would also love to see how others have scheduled it. Thanks all

I live in NY and have used the CAT test and the IOWA test. I have administered both myself. I switched to the IOWA test because it is more in depth than the CAT. I do believe you have to have a Bachelors degree in order to administer the IOWA. Last year I ordered from Seton Testing and was happy with the service and cost. I have also ordered test through Triangle. I have never used the Stanford test. I live in a rural part of NY. I think the entire school enrollment from K-12 is only about 300, and the office workers know me personally. I don't know if the regulations would be interpreted differently in NYC which probably has a homeschool coordinator. Michelle

My dad has been friends with "Ozzy Ozbourne" since grade school.

Thanks for the responses. Is the graphical approach texts much different from the others? I'm not sure what that is.

So I have been searching the boards to find out what the next step is after Lial's Intermediate Algebra 9/E which my DS will be finishing in January. I am looking at the used Precalculus books and am wondering if one edition would be recommended over another. Some of the newer ones actually had worse ratings at Amazon than the 3rd edition I've seen recommended here. Also, is the softcover book still ideal or is there no real difference between soft and hard cover at this point? Any PreCalc recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

We are using Math Without Borders. DS just finished chapter 2 today. I am happy with the book and program. It's just not as open and go as I would like for this ds. I am sure some students could do quite well with it independently. I also have a hard time giving grades in courses without scheduled quizzes / tests.

No, I didn't. I would have liked to try it but my school budget is too low. I did call them, and they do offer just chapter tests which would also be nice. I also like that their schedule picks and chooses what to do and schedules it. My current plan is to slowly go through it all.

I ordered the Spectrum chemistry from them and had two issues. The first was that my lab kit was missing some pieces and then the text started to come apart. In both instances, the company "made it right" promptly and without hassle.

My 9th grader is just starting this geometry course using the updated Math Without Borders. It is going OK, but I feel it may be a bit "loose"for me. I do better with schedules and tests. I am wondering if anyone is using the Kolbe schedule, tests and worksheets, do they add much to the program? Thanks Michelle

I'm very sorry.

Thank you all for the excellent advice. I have decided to treat it as a practice test. We went over most of it today (he has a horrible headache). After we go over all of it, I will walk him through the studying process. Then I will give him a new final which, unfortunately, I get to put together. I do grade using partial credit. This is my smart but lazy, with writing, boy. He did AOPS pre-algebra before this. With Algebra, I wanted a strong focus on setting up his work properly and labeling variables. It has been an uphill battle. I already own the new Math Without Borders Geometry and plan to do that next. Fortunately the book does have built in Algebra reviews.

My 2nd ds is in 9th grade this year and has been working through the Foerster Algebra since the summer before his 8th grade year. I bought the publisher's tests and have been giving him tests and quizzes since the beginning. For the most part he has scored in the 80's and 90's with a few 70's. Well, I decided to give him the final to make it more like high school and he got a 50%. Some of the mistakes were carelessness and simple mistakes, like sign errors. He did put a question mark for some problems like graphing a quadratic equation which it hasn't been that long since we covered it. In part, it hasn't been easy because we have been trying to wrap up Algebra this summer and his grandpa died in early August which really got us off track. On the hand, he knew a final was coming and really didn't take much initiative to study for it. (I am still waiting for maturity to kick in) I don't know how to proceed from here. My oldest didn't take the final so I am wondering if it is fair to kill younger ds's grade with it. Also, do I continue with Algebra or move forward to geometry with Algebra review. Suggestions anyone?

I would love to know this too. Have you seen that Dave Ramsey is discounted at Homeschool buyers co-op till the 28th? I have been trying to decide if I should purchase. I would love to do a more hands on, laid back approach, but, with 3 other kids to teach, it will not happen.

Hi. I am looking at the NYS high school requirements and I don't see art listed. I only see a 1/2 credit required in 7/8th grade. I would list it as an elective, but I am only on my first journey through reporting high school so I hope someone else chimes in.

I have all boys and they loved Anne of Green Gables.

Purple. A mom at little league gave it to me after they finished doing nails on the bleachers during the game. It's a fun crowd.