If I were opposed to something, there is no way would I want to read a whole book espousing an opposing viewpoint. Who has the time? But maybe he'd be convinced by reading an article in a prominent newspaper or magazine. WSJ, NYT, Washington Post have all had articles in recent years about families homeschooling. (I chose those links randomly. You can search on "<publication name> homeschooling" for a bunch more. Or "<famous college name> homeschooling". Wired: Hacking Education MIT Homeschooling is the path to Harvard Stanford offers a high school program for homeschooled students Finally, I will add that it is very difficult to change deeply held beliefs with mere facts. Here is an article about how to change people's minds. HTH!

I like flash cards, and I use the IRL kinds made from 1.5"x2.5" index cards (half of a 3"x5"). I've only every used them for vocabulary and math facts, though my daughter will put science concepts on hers. (I don't know what triangle cards are.) I like to make up a little algorithm to determine mastery. On the first pass through, if I get the answer correct, the card goes into the "mastered" pile. If I get it wrong, it goes into "review" pile. Then I repeat with the "review" pile. Sometimes I will discard those first mastered cards that I got correct on the first pass through only. Sometimes I will only discard if I have mastered them on the first pass on 2 separate days. (This requires me to put a small mark on the those "mastered" cards, so I can recognize them later. (This works well for cumulative vocabulary tests.) There's nothing scientific about this particular approach, but it seems to work for us. There are other algorithms like this one on Wikipedia. Just google "flash card algorithms." Sometimes there will be a false-positive "mastered" card that gets forgotten some weeks later. I love flash cards. For the right sort of subject matter, it's like a little stack of knowledge.

I noticed in your list of standardized tests you didn't include any SAT subject tests. You may want to check the admission requirements of the colleges your dd might apply to and see if those are required or recommended by them, or perhaps just required of homeschooled applicants. If so, it's a good idea to take them immediately upon completion of the course. For example, if your dd finishes chemistry her sophomore year, then sign up for the SAT subject test in chemistry in May or June of that year.

I'll throw in Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. Yes, it isn't secular, but my lapsed Catholic-turned-atheist-craving-an-intellectual-atmosphere girl friend attended and thrived there. This was many many years ago, but she received aid that made the school's cost comparable to ISU. I'll also throw out another idea to consider. I will suggest that at any school of sufficient size, you are likely to find your tribe of like minded students. Even sports crazy universities with a party culture have future poets and philosophers attending, no?

Here's another recent thread on the topic.

If it helps, my dh likes to argue that summer vacation is an anachronism harkening back to the days when kids needed time off to bring in the harvest, lol.

When my kids were in elementary and middle we schooled year round. We only took breaks for family vacations and camps. We did not adhere to a typical school schedule. And it's wonderful. We don't have the summer to forget everything that was learned the previous year. We stay busy learning and having fun all year long. If I need to be spontaneous and take off a day for a field trip with friends, I can relax knowing that we always make up for lost days during the summer. Otherwise what are the kids supposed to do all summer? I personally hated summer because it was so boring and wished I could have schooled year round. Do it, and you'll never look back.

That's funny. At my high school, when the math teacher posted a problem and there was unanimous dismay because we didn't even know how to begin, it didn't matter if it was geometry or number theory or probability, our default go-to approach was: "Square both sides!" (It got to be an inside joke: You say square both sides when you really had no idea how to approach a problem.) And if you think that was bad, my dd is tutoring a kid taking AoPS online algebra this summer, and there was a homework problem that necessitated knowing the formula for the sum of cubes, and you were only given (a2 – ab + b2) where a = 1 and b=cube root of 3. Pretty crazy stuff.

My kids have been doing the brilliant.org Summer Challenge for fun. The problem you cite comes up often on MathCounts and AMCs. It helps to recognize the square of a binomial (a+b)2 = a2 + 2ab + b2 . Then you will recognize the a2 + b2 and the ab terms and be able to put it together.

I'll add Grinnell College in Iowa to your list. It's stereotypically filled with students who just didn't make the Ivy League. Also the guy you plays Dinesh on Silicon Valley graduated there and gave it's commencement address last month.

I love these stories. Keep them coming!

Another factor that affects the quality of your college experience is the quality of your student colleagues. Being on a first name basis with smart successful students who go on to start companies, invest in companies, and do other interesting things is priceless. If a bunch of smart students interested in CS decide for whatever reason (Zuckerberg?) they want to attend Harvard, then that may be one good reason to go to Harvard. Who needs good professors if you're going to drop out anyway? (jk)

I just heard about the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science in New York. He also recent wrote a book, If I Understood You, Would I have this Look on my Face?

This site has a number of excellent Math Circle materials with detailed instructions on pdf. I have reviewed Conway's Rational Tangles by Tom Davis and Set by Brian Conrey, and both are excellent.

Cialdini's Influence is a classic in it's field.

I made the mistake of anticipating what I would need a few years down the line. I ended up wasting a lot of money on stuff I ended up not using. Wait until you have a course or curriculum that specifies what you need, whether it is particular equipment or a kit.

What she said. My kids had pretty decent python skills before taking the class. Java mystifies me, so I was hands off, except for printing extra practice worksheets and quizzes from the teacher account every week. There is an answer key as well, so they can check their work.

I also personally enjoyed Bob Brier's Ancient Egypt course. Very entertaining. It is an older course, probably dating back to VHS days, but don't let the low production values deter you. I just finished the Mesopotamian history one, Between 2 Rivers, and in contrast, it is dry and boring at times. If you can communicate something in 5 words, Prof. Castor will use 25. Still, I persevered, and by the last DVD she seemed to be more comfortable in front of the camera and more conversational. Kind of funny that way. I'm in the middle of the Game Theory one, Games People Play, and it's very good so far.

Thank you for posting. You are performing a great service to others.

Another thumbs up for Edhesive. Two daughters, two edhesive AP CS A online courses, and two 5's.

Yikes, some of those people looked creepy.

You can also abbreviate Honors as Hon.

Just to be clear, when you "type on the line" do you change the font into something that looks like cursive?

For a little humor, there is a youtube video about UC stereotypes. Please be warned, it can be offensive...or fairly hilarious.

Yes, they did.