Thanks very much to all who replied. I appreciate the help! Blessings, Julie

Hi, I was wondering how many credits to put on my daughter's high school transcript for the dual credit classes she's taking? For example, if she takes College Algebra for 3.0 credits (college credits) do I put 3.0 high school credits on her transcript or do I count that as one high school math credit? I will be attaching a transcript from the college that shows how many college credits she's actually accrued, but I wasn't sure how to note it on the transcript. Thanks for your help! BLessings, Julie

Wow- thanks SO much for responding everybody! I have also enjoyed looking at travel books from the library. One day dad and I had a four hour wait in a doctor's appointment and I was SUPER glad I brought all the travel books to happily peruse! Thanks, again!!!! Julie

My brother lives in SLC, so that's why we would fly there and drive the rest of the way (and my brother might join us). Thanks for the suggestions - we were thinking late June might be best, weather-wise. Blessings, Julie

Hi, My daughter intended to do physics with lab credit, however, health issues have made it hard to get labs completed. Now that she's better, we were trying to figure out how many experiments/lab hours/lab reports must be completed in order to call the class "Physics with lab?" I have checked our state graduation requirements and the information is not included and have searched the web. Before I start calling local high school teachers, does anyone here know the answer? I'm looking for the minimum amount required - I know we could go back and do all the experiments listed in the book, but am trying to streamline as much as possible in our difficult year. Thanks so much!!!!!!! Julie

Hi, My 83 year old dad moved in with us this summer. He's in good health, but does have Rheumatoid Arthritis. When our family was discussing summer vacation "dreams," he mentioned that he'd love to visit Yellowstone/Mt. Rushmore again. We are happy to make this happen for him, but have never had Yellowstone on our vacation "radar" before. I checked out travel books from the library and realized that it might be too late to reserve a nice place to stay, but will start investigating that. SO...if you have been to Yellowstone and can recommend a place to stay, a plan for enjoying the park, a route that worked well, or how to travel with an elderly parent, I'd LOVE to hear your thoughts. We considered flying to Salt Lake City, renting a van, and driving to Yellowstone to cut down on total driving time. He can do about 8 hours in the car comfortably with frequent breaks. I know this has little to do with homeschooling, except that I'll likely turn it into an educational experience.... Thanks! Julie

when I had the same question (but was buying for a teen). This is from a person who plays and teaches guitar. I asked him specifically about buying used, which is why he included evaluation information. Hope this helps - it helped us! BLessings, Julie You are probably aware of some of the major online retailers. Musician's Friend has a huge selection. I've never bought anything from them, but their reputation seems to be okay. American Musical has been good the few times I've bought from them. The downside of these places when buying a guitar is that the instrument likely has had no setup work (intonation, string height...) done on it since leaving the factory. If you're comfortable doing that work yourself, or have a local guitar tech, that isn't a problem. One execption is Sweetwater. They are a huge online retailer, but claim to setup every guitar before shipping. I've never bought from them, but they have a good reputation on the guitar forums. There are a couple of other online dealer worth mentioning, both of which I have dealt with. Elderly Instruments (elderly.com); and Dave's Guitar (davesguitar.com). Another option is Carvin (carvin.com). They've been selling instruments direct for decades. I've never bought from them, but from what I've seen their quality is very good. In case anyone in your family is handy with wood finishing and the use of hand tools, they also sell guitars in kit form. (I've been considering putting together one of their kits for years.) Also, if building a guitar from parts is within the scope of your purchase, you might try Warmoth (warmoth.com). I have a couple of instruments made from their parts and the quality is very good. I've never bought anything off Craig's List, but I have a coworker who has bought several high-end acoustics that way and has been happy with the experience. I would think buying from an individual is probably safer when you're confident in your knowledge of the instrument you want and how to evaluate it. Regarding the evalation, there are several things I look for in an instrument. Is the neck straight? A slight curve ('relief') is normal, but any dramatic curving or twisting is trouble. Are the frets in good shape? Look for dents, flat spots, or frets not seated properly into the fretboard. Fretwork is expensive. Does all the hardware work? Move the tuners up and down. Look for any loose or missing pieces in the bridge. Look for rust in the metal parts. Do the electronics work? Try all switch positions and turn each of the knobs. Sometimes noise in the electonics can be an easy fix. Sometimes not. Any cracks in the body or neck? Cracks in the body near the joint of a bolt-on neck aren't necessarily trouble, as long as they are small (around half an inch is normal). Cracks near the headstock can be a costly repair.

Appreciate the thoughts. Blessings, Julie

I bought My Father's World American History for my two HS age DD's. They really like the materials, but they hoped to also do a few other things this year including Critical Thinking Press' You Be the Judge (a study of the Bill of Rights) and The Art of Argument. Additionally, we planned to read the Constitution aloud and discuss it and watch the American Heritage DVD series. MFW is already complete and gives a 1/2 credit for history and 1/2 credit for government. What do you think....would adding these things in make the government class a full credit? The Art of Argument is really a logic curriculum, however, we wanted to use it to judge political advertising as we gear up for the election. Or, should we just do these extra things and consider them good for us and not mess with credits? What would you do? Thanks in advance for giving me opinions. Blessings, Julie

Topics covered in this fully-comprehensive Algebra 1 course include adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing with powers and roots, scientific notation, solving linear equations and inequalities in one variable, rate, work and mixture word problems, simplifying and factoring polynomials, rational expressions, adding, subtracting, solving quadratic equations by factoring, completing the square, and using the quadratic formula, graphing linear equations, slope, graphing higher-degree equations, solving systems of two linear equations in two variables graphically and algebraically, solving inequalities in one variable, graphing two-variable inequalities, functions, absolute value equations, mean, median, mode, range, stem and leaf plots, box and whisker plots, histograms, probability including tree diagrams, and using a graphing calculator. Perhaps it will come in handy for someone else. Blessings, Julie

Hi, Does anyone have a course description for Teaching Textbooks Algebra 1 they would be willing to share, please? Thanks, Juile

thank you all and I welcome more "been there done that advice." I will be printing this thread off and using it for encouragement! Blessings, Julie

Hi, This board has been so helpful to me over the years as I've navigated all the nuances of homeschooling. I have been thrust into a new world overnight and thought I'd see if anyone else has successfully navigated this. My mom died suddenly and unexpectedly nearly two weeks ago. In those two weeks I've cared for my 82 year old dad, facilitated family members coming together (some who haven't communicated for over 35 years), planned a funeral, planned a huge estate sale for summer, packed, and brought my dad to MO from KS for a long visit to explore his options for living with or near us. I believe it's best that he lives with us. He has slight confusion/forgetfulness, has never cooked, didn't do anything with the finances, and has rheumatoid arthritis that limits his activities to some degree. My family is supportive of him living with us. We've contacted contractors about remodeling our home to make a private space for him. Fortunately, my girls are old enough to be quite independent in their school and my 16 year old got her driver's license two weeks before all this happened. I thought my summer would be more about college planning but my priorities have changed. Does anyone else balance these unique demands and, if so, how?????? I'm trying really hard to stay balanced and keep people as priority over stuff. I'd appreciate your thoughts and advice. Blessings, Julie

She is a high school student teaching much younger students and continuing with her own advanced classes. Here's a bit of the history just to clear up any confusion. She took French from a Master's prepared private instructor for five years. That instructor just retired. The students she has now have had three instructors in two years - quite a chaotic introduction to French, but they all wanted to continue together. The retired instructor suggested that my daughter take on this particular group of students to help them get a more solid French 1 and lent all her materials to us. I just thought it might help to clarify what she's doing, however, in reading the posts, it appears that the best advice from the hive is to present it as extra-curricular. She'll likely take the French AP exam and she's done well every year in the National French Exam (does not provide any credit - just looks good on transcript). OK...just making sure y'all knew why I was pondering the original question. Thanks very much, Julie

which is why I pondered it openly on the forum today. Thanks, Cathy for your experience. My daughter's career goals are to teach French so I wondered how best to record this on her records. She spends a great deal of time on this (not just preparing to teach the class and grading, but meeting with French speakers and teachers, researching teaching methods, etc.) Like I said, it's her passion. And Creekland, I appreciate your thoughts about it being more "noticeable" as an extra-curricular. She's my first high schooler, so I'm on the learning curve for how to construct the transcript and portfolio. Thanks for your thoughts, Ester Maria. Just wanted to make sure you knew I wasn't trying to sneak anything on a transcript - just trying to navigate a new learning curve. If I was being sneaky, I wouldn't have posted here! :lol: Blessings and thanks for your thougthts, Julie

Hi, My daughter is teaching a French 1 class to three students and getting paid for the class. She is working so hard on this - meeting with her former French teacher for help in writing tests, grading strategies, lesson planning, etc. She spends a significant amount of time (more than I'd like, actually) on this, but it's her passion and she's very happy. I know that I could include this on her portfolio as employment, however, is it possible to turn this into an elective. She's teaching the class under my direction (we talk a lot about teaching strategies specific to her students). I thought about buying her the Teaching Company DVD's on The Art of Teaching: http://www.thegreatcourses.com/tgc/courses/course_detail.aspx?cid=2044 I looked at our high school's catalogue of courses and didn't see anything comparable. What do you think - is this elective-worthy? Thanks, Julie

http://cdis.missouri.edu/french-I-first The Center for Independent Studies (CDIS) is an on-line high school at MU. I have heard good things about the program, but nothing specifically about the French classes. Hope that helps! :001_smile: Blessings, Julie

are rather indistinct (had several hours of educational testing done and still no definitive "answers"). Certainly she excels in concrete subject areas and struggles in abstract ones. I am a very structured person so I don't think it's lack of structure. We just haven't found something for language arts that fits her unique learning style. I got some good advice on the board and will likely call the MCT rep tomorrow. I really appreciate the people on this board! Thanks so much. Blessings, Julie

very concrete, helpful advice. Every other subject (aside from LA) is working fine, but that one is giving us fits! Thanks so much for the help. Blessings, Julie

Hi, I'm considering using this for my 13 year old. We've tried Shurley English and Analytical Grammar and neither are working for her particular learning challenges. I'm intrigued by MCT. I like how the system links together. I'm a tad confused about what level to start her at. I know Cathy Duffy recommended starting at the beginning no matter what grade one is in, but my DD will balk if the content is too child-like. Oh, it's so hard to buy curriculum sight-unseen!! I have spent the last several hours perusing this website as well as MCT's. Also, do I need to purchase the teacher's manuals with each book? I would really appreciate some help. I highlighted my questions to make it easier to respond. :001_smile: Thanks!!! Julie

Hi, I'm considering using this for my 13 year old. We've tried Shurley English and Analytical Grammar and neither are working for her particular learning challenges. I'm intrigued by MCT. I like how the system links together. I'm a tad confused about what level to start her at. I know Cathy Duffy recommended starting at the beginning no matter what grade one is in, but my DD will balk if the content is too child-like. Oh, it's so hard to buy curriculum sight-unseen!! I have spent the last several hours perusing this website as well as MCT's. Also, do I need to purchase the teacher's manuals with each book? I would really appreciate some help. I highlighted my questions to make it easier to respond. :001_smile: Thanks!!! Julie

as well. My 13 yo DD struggles with handwriting as well. Julie

testimonials! And glad to know that a college girl can and will do the diet on her own! So encouraging! Thanks for sharing! Julie

for sharing. I might send out more specific questions once we get started (still waiting for the book!) Blessings, Julie

nourishing gourmet looks helpful! I also own the cookbook, Nourishing Traditions and am ready to start fermenting foods. If anyone sees this follow-up question, I'd appreciate thoughts.... if you follow a rigorous diet like this, how do you get the cooking done with school and outside activities? Should we consider dropping all outside commitments and lowering school expectations during our transition/learning time on this new diet? Thanks, Julie