I don't have time to read all the posts, but I just want to say that I've always done both -- I lined up history and literature, but then I also had a list of classics for each child. They always had a book from the lit list going as well as what they were reading for history. If it got overwhelming, I used one or the other as a read-aloud book. My kids all love to read, so the extra lit assignment wasn't overwhelming -- if anything, it was like a break from school!

I don't have time to read all of the comments so it's possible someone said this, but homeschooling is a hook! My oldest three were accepted to top-tier schools (Harvard, Princeton, Yale, MIT), and none of them had any incredible extracurriculars -- they were just normal, well-rounded kids. They did have lots of 5's on APs (8-12), near perfect SAT and subject test scores, recommendations from CC professors, and national awards. But, as many people pointed out, LOTS of kids have all of that. One thing that made my kids stand out from the crowd is that they were homeschooled. An admissions officer at Harvard told my daughter after she was a student there that they actually have a quota for homeschoolers. At that time (2007), they took 13 a year.

Yes, it's recorded. On a CASSETTE (!) My kids had to be shown how to work that ancient piece of equipment!

The "conversation" is between the student and a recorded voice on a CD, so it's the same for everyone. The student has some written information that prompts him whether to respond positively or negatively, etc.

We got ideas from the AP Central site -- sample syllabi, teacher forums, etc. There's a lot of useless info there, but once in awhile you come upon a great idea so it's worth wading through. In some cases, one thing just led to another. For example, a reading mentioned AIDS and our kids asked what that was -- that's how you realize what they don't know :)! We also realized that on some of the presentation topics, the cultural comparisons were a lot easier if they used a developing country rather than France because the differences are more obvious and easier for them to talk about. The differences between France and the US can be more subtle. We wanted to be sure they had plenty of ideas to draw on in the couple of minutes they'd have to prepare their presentation. Have you seen the Pearson test prep materials? They are the main thing we used outside of what's available at AP Central. http://www.pearsonschool.com/index.cfm?locator=PSZy9j We are doing German this year and biology, which is also new. I wish we could wait, but they only have so many years in high school!

Thank you! We just started very young with videos (Tin Tin, etc.), songs, tutors for conversation, etc. They don't actually ask political questions on the test, but the readings and listening activities may be about politics. We just had our kids watch the news on the internet, read newspaper articles, etc. That was the hardest thing about the changes. The old test asked you to know basic French, but the vocabulary you need to understand a newspaper article is much more advanced. My kids both said the readings and listenings were much easier than what they had practiced, though, so maybe we were too worried about that! Also, in the practice materials, there were readers with different accents, but since my kids have had tutors from Cameroon and Quebec they were okay with that. I'm not sure if that was the case on the test, but they said the quality of one audio was very bad -- lots of static on the CD. We told them since everyone hears the same thing, it doesn't matter. You do have to bring cultural info into the presentation part. You have a topic on one of the themes and you have to relate it to your life and to life in a French-speaking country. We just practiced a lot, and they had a list of ideas to bring up -- movies they've seen, books they've read, facts about school, pop songs, etc. We especially made sure they were up on the francophone countries -- they had a tutor from Cameroon, we talked and read articles about AIDS in Africa and the earthquake in Haiti, we listened to African French pop (e.g., Senegal Fast food), their current tutor makes sure they are up on Canadian hockey,etc. They also practiced doing presentations on all of the themes. If you're in Geneva, you might have to make sure your kids are up to date with US culture!

My two youngest kids took the French test this year. It was hard because there aren't a lot of prep materials available (and no released exams, obviously). In some ways it's easier than the old test (no grammar and the email assignment is very straight forward -- you learn the formulas for openings and closings and it's easy), but the readings and listening excerpts are harder. We figure everyone's in the same boat, though, and I think ours were well-prepared. My youngest dd (8th grade) was tickled that the high school girl who was next to her in the exam said she sounded like a native French speaker on the conversation part.

My sons took AP French in 8th grade. The scores stayed on the list along with all his other scores. We didn't need to do anything special to retrieve the eighth grade score. I think the "four year" rule is for people who take time off and then decide to go to college. My son didn't end up getting credit because he is at a school (Harvard!) that doesn't give any credit for APs.

I've read that on the SAT, since you only have twenty-five minutes, it's better to have one or two well-developed examples than three underdeveloped ones. If you look at the sample essays online (in the book owners' section of the college board site) that have gotten high scores, you'll see that they rarely have three examples. Also, it's also not necessary to use examples from history and literature. My 7th grade daughter got a ten on the essay by writing one very long (and completely fictional!) personal example. If you are organized, show critical thinking, develop your ideas, and use correct grammar and mature vocabulary and sentence structure, you'll score well regardless of what kind of examples you use.

We always have our kids take the SAT in 7th and 8th grade because it is practice with the test that is off the record. Our local school puts all of the middle school kids in a room together, so they usually are taking it with kids they know. It's always been a good experience for us.

You can find all the old free response questions online at: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/index.html I'd have him do one a day. You can also order released exams from the College Board, but it might be too late for that this year.

My son was well prepared for the test and got a five, but I think he could have done just as well without the class. Mrs. Califf was VERY slow about grading, often unclear about directions, and slow to respond to emails. A lot of the assignments seemed like busy work. I have been very happy with most PA Homeschoolers classes, but this is not one I'd recommend. It is an easy class and an easy exam, though, so your 9th grader probably wouldn't have any trouble with it. I just didn't think the class was worth the money.

At our school, if they say 7:45, that is the time they open the doors. So if you get there earlier, you'll just be sitting in your car or standing in line waiting for the doors to open. I try to get there at 7:45 on the nose.

One funny thing -- when my daughter had to read No Country for Old Men for AP English lit in 11th grade, I warned her it was really violent. When she was finished it, she said, "Mom, that wasn't half as bad as the Iliad!"

Mine read it around 7th grade, but I used an audio book and had them follow along. That helped a lot!

I'd definitely do the C. My kids didn't have any trouble doing both sections in one year. You do have to pay for two tests though.

If you have fours or fives on eight tests, you receive a "National AP Scholar" award. If your child has that before applying to college (i.e., by the end of junior year) he or she will stand out!

I'm too busy teaching my kids (and/or shuttling them all over creation LOL!)

My oldest three have been accepted at Ivy Leagues (Harvard, Yale, Princeton) and NONE of them was consistently motivated throughout high school. They finally got motivated in their senior year when they visited colleges and these schools stood out for what they are -- amazing. They were able to get in because my husband and I were motivated. We gave them an education that wouldn't close any doors and expected them to do well and they rose to it.

My son was accepted to Yale and they gave excellent financial aid, the best we've been offered anywhere. Harvard, Yale, and Princeton do not take the value of your house into account. This is good for us because our house is paid off and we live in an area where values are fairly high, but it's not like the money's sitting there -- we need a place to live! My kids applied to lots of schools and the best aid (aside from full merit scholarships) came from Harvard, Yale and Princeton. We currently have one at Harvard and one at Princeton and the total we pay (for both of them!) is about $24 k a year. It would be hard to beat that at a state school!

The courses offered on military bases are UMUC (University of Maryland University College). My husband taught for them in Germany. In his experience, they are more like CC classes than university level classes. I'd ask around carefully to see if their graduates have had success getting into medical school.

I had 8th grader take APs and I didn't pay anything extra to have those scores included. The score report includes all of the scores automatically. I think the thing about archived scores is for people sending them out four years after they took their last test.

Can you do something modern? Peace Like a River by Leif Enger is uplifting! I've seen it on AP Lit reading lists.

French is new this year and two of ours are supposed to take it. We're nervous about not having released exams. We'd rather wait, but by the time exams are released and the kinks are out it will be too late.