My ds just finished Singapore 6B before break. He is also working through CLE 6. He isn't what I would consider a strong math student (hence the two programs -- one spiral and one mastery). He tends to forget what he learns unless he sees it over and over and over . . .I usually go to Russian Math 6 after Singapore, but he specifically asked for a workbook style -- he loved that Singapore had lots of white space and fewer problems.. I was thinking we could do some pre-algebra or algebra light before hitting algebra (he's in 6th grade), and I would like it to be a mastery type program since CLE takes care of the spiral part. I have used Dolciani Algebra for my other 3 students. So far, I have come up with Keys to Algebra and TT Algebra. From looking at the samples, it looks like TT Algebra workbook could be written in -- is that true? And am I right in thinking I could just buy the TT workbook without the CDs and teach him the lessons? Are there any other strong pre-algebra or light algebra programs that I should consider? Thanks in advance. Martha

Each college handles this a little bit differently -- the local college near me requires a student to be 16 and have a SAT or ACT scores greater than some threshold to be eligible to enroll. The technical college near me is MUCH looser with its requirements. You should be eligible for ACCEL funds as an independent homeschooler, which is a rule that just changed last year, I think. Have you checked the college website? Many colleges specifically address ACCEL students on their website, and www.gacollege411.org has an application to fill out. I'm thinking you might know all that already, though . . .And, as an ACCEL student, you are only eliglbe to take certain core classes. I hope this helps some. Martha

How does this work? We use an umbrella school, so I just assumed that it would be like a regular school code, etc. I'm afraid if I say my dd is homeschooled, they will want SAT II's, which I didn't have my dd take . . .I feel like I'm stuck between two worlds for reporting purposes. Martha

Some people have heard already whether they made Semifinalist status or not. If you go to collegeconfidential.com, many people have reported their qualifying scores and you can get a good idea of whether your child's score qualifies in many of the states. I'll see if I can link the discussion . . .http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/1427971-class-2014-nmsf-qualifying-scores-72.html Hope that link works and it is helpful. My dd missed the cut-off by 1 point :( Martha

I don't have the definitive answer here, but I will add my two cents anyway . . . Must she have completed Geometry by 9th grade? Back in the dark ages, we weren't allowed to start algebra until 9th grade (and I loved math and was good at it). So, I took Algebra I my freshman year and then I took both Geometry and Algebra II concurrently my sophomore year. Would something like that work? Also, are you sure you need pre-algebra? My ds does CLE math and I think it is pretty thorough, covering most of the pre-algebra type topics (he just finished 5th grade). I don't know if that helps, but I don't think you should be panicking!

I don't know if you've already ready these for school, but books I've enjoyed reading aloud to my older kids include The Scarlet Pimpernel, A Tale of Two Cities (after we got started; it was a little confusing at first) and other books by Charles Dickens, books by Agatha Christie, The Mutiny on the Bounty (Nordoff and Hall), Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, Bud, Not Buddy, All Quiet on the Western Front. Look into the Sonlight catalog for some other ideas.

The instructors chose the mediums to be used. They feel that color becomes another parameter that the students would have to master and don't believe most (all?) students are ready for that. Having said that, for the concentration pieces, a couple of the students did incorporate some color into their pieces. You are correct, though, that the limiting of colors is not required for AP Drawing.

My dd, who is a junior this year, is desperately working to finish the drawings as the deadline draws near to send it all in! She has spent a ton of time on this class, but I think it has been a great experience. We have very few options for art instruction in the area in which we live, so this class has been especially good for providing helpful feedback on her work. Among other things, she has learned how to do ink washing and how to set up a composition. She is building a good portfolio, which I don't think she could have done on her own, and I think the class has given her a small taste of what an art major in college will look like. The class is not for the faint of heart -- I think 3 of the original 11 students dropped out. Everything in the class is done in black/white acrylics, brown/black/blue ink, black sharpie, graphite, and charcoal (i.e., no color!). If you have any specific questions, let me know! Martha

Is this for a child who is planning to major in art? My dd plans to major in art and I've looked at different schools -- most will tell you how to submit a portfolio online or on a disk. Personally, I wouldn't submit a piece of art work to a college because the college would probably not send it back, and there is always the possibility that the artwork could get damaged. Martha

We just read a book that we got from the library called The Dark Game: True Spy Stories by Paul B. Janeczko. The book tells about the progression of spying starting with the rudimentary spying during the American Revolution to the spy satellites of today, highlighting certain spies during each era. My dc (ages 11 and 13) enjoyed the book.

I don't remember American School asking about my student at all -- I just said I wanted to sign my ds up. After I paid the money, they sent the books and my ds started the classes. We paid up front so that we could request more than 2 courses at a time. They did provide transcripts. I think the first one was free, and then they started charging $3 or something reasonable like that. I felt I needed to add classes to make the college prep. education complete -- more science, math, etc. I made my own transcript that showed both my classes and the AS classes (arranged by subject) that I sent to colleges. Martha

My dd is using K-12 for 7th grade through GCA. There are on-line assessments for science and math every lesson and then unit tests -- I have not noticed questions on the tests that were not covered in the material. Okay, I just asked my dd, and she says sometimes she sees questions in reading and history tests that she doesn't think are covered (I don't monitory those as closely), but not in science and math. Hope that helps. Martha

I enrolled my dd in an umbrella school in 9th grade for the soul purpose of being able to dual enroll. I hadn't heard of the changes in policy that allow non-accredited homeschoolers to join! She is taking one dual enrollment class this semester (she's a junior), so I did learn that her classes won't count against HOPE. I'm really surprised at the changes, considering how they reduced benefits for many students. I haven't decided about the attendance issue. My dd just got her learner's permit for driving this summer, so I'll have to have some kind of proof about attendance to get her license next year... Martha

And my dh had to pay 50 cents via credit card to verify that he was allowing her to have one? I think he said the 50 cents then goes to charity. If I had known, I would have just waited another six months before allowing her to have one. Martha

"I HATE ANTS," usually during the summer or after a heavy rain. We also have trouble with ants literally coming out of the woodwork. What seems to work best for us is to put baby powder (must have talc) at the spot we see them entering the room (we are ant detectives at times, following a trail to its source...). The ants don't like crossing the talc and will eventually go away and won't return from that same spot for quite a while, even after we've vacuumed it up, which is an added plus! Hope you find a solution. In the meantime, I'll commiserate with you.:grouphug: Martha

If you go to Dr. Mercola's website and do a search for emotional freedom technique, you'll probably get some more information. http://search.mercola.com/search/Pages/results.aspx?k=eft Martha

If you're talking about the Geometry by Jurgensen et. al. and the Structure and Method Book 2 for the Algebra 2, I've used these for two of my children so far and highly recommend them. Martha

If you have one of the Scott Foresman books still in your possession, could you tell me what kinds of review questions are asked at the end of the units? Could you give me an example? Could I just use these as test questions? Are the answers in the TE? Did the TE give good essay topics? Could you give me an example of that, too? I'll go look at the Alpha Omega Lifepaks as well. Thanks again.

Are there any American Literature courses, besides BJU and Abeka, that have tests included? I am using an umbrella school to get an accredited diploma and I am required to have tests -- I can write my own tests, but I really prefer not to. What about the Scott Foresman text I've heard people say is good -- can you get tests for the literature books through the publisher? I can upload papers as tests, but I don't know how to grade the papers objectively because I usually help a lot with the writing process...and she has to take at least one test in front of a proctor and I prefer she not have to write an essay for the proctor... I have used BJU in the past, but I really don't like their writing assignments and I'm pretty lame about coming up with a good writing topic on my own. I would really like something laid out for me... Help? Martha

Yes, if the equation had read that the absolute value was less than +3, you would get the conjunction -3 < r + 2 < 3 and you would have solved for r: -5 < r < 1 The answer they got for the second problem (- infinite, 2] is wrong. Martha

I don't have the Lial's textbook, but are those absolute value signs? On the second problem, the absolute value will always be positive, so there are no values for "r" that will satisfy that equation. For the first problem, only the value of "a" for which 5a + 1 = 0 will work (a = -1/5). Usually, you will get either a conjunction (if the absolute value is less than a given value) or a disjunction (if the absolute value is greater than a given value). In case those were not absolute value signs, but parenthesis instead? a < or = -1/5 and r < -5 Hope that helps... Martha

I'm not sure I can answer your question, but I had American School send my ds's transcript to the address given on the GA411 site, and the board gave him the HOPE scholarship. I doubt that American School used the GA codes... Martha

There are two "umbrella" schools in the Macon area. One is Hopewell Academy and the other is Wynfield Christian Academy. I'm not sure exactly how the Hopewell school works, but I'm sure it is similar to WCA. For WCA, I choose my own curriculum (they do have to approve it, but I haven't had any problems). I have to upload tests to their site and keep track of grades in "TeachersEase." Also, my dd is required to take a final in front of a proctor for each class at the end of the year (or at semester for a semester long class). There are a few other little requirements so they can keep their accreditation (we had to do a fire drill, my dd has to do a couple things with her GA411 account, and I have to read/listen to some parent tutor information and write a short summary to prove I did so). This costs about $275 per year. They keep attendance and transcripts for me and issue report cards. Oh, and at the end of each semester, I have to upload a writing sample and a reading list and submit any awards, etc. Anyway, sometimes it seems like a pain, but this gives me an accredited diploma and allows my dd to dual enroll and to be eligible for HOPE. I would think that there would be something similar in your neck of the woods! Martha

My dd did Algebra I in 7th grade, so she is math capable, albeit not math confident. Because she didn't feel confident, I had her do Life of Fred Algebra alongside her Geometry the following year. Life of Fred doesn't seem to be very time consuming -- especially if you've already had a year of Algebra under your belt. Martha

My dd seems to be suffering from acid reflux, too. I think hers has an anxiety cause. Anyway, in my research, this is what I've heard: the acid reflux is often caused by not enough acid, rather than too much acid. I've heard a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar with some honey (to help get it down) in a glass of water is good, but my dd couldn't get it down. Almonds, chewed thoroughly, after each meal seem to help some. My dd's issues are probably different, and I suspect she might have a candida overgrowth, so I've been giving her some probiotics (she has been having gas problems, too), and I might look into HCl/betaine or enzymes. Probably not much help, by I can commiserate with you and your poor son! Martha