Yep. I am an old time lurker as well (lurked on the old boards and continued here.) I am not shy, in fact loquacious (love that word, too!) IRL, but not so much on forums. There have been some immensely helpful threads over the years and I appreciate everyone who is willing to share in this way. Generally, I don't have anything to say that others have not said or will not say. I do get that relationships are formed by active interaction so I do not mind being on the outside. Because I have been here a long time but no one knows me, it is harder to jump actively into conversations; it is like interrupting a discussion among friends. It is much easier to be a fly on the wall :) It has only been recently that I've read that this is a negative. Long ago with more active and "colorful" trolls, no one ever assumed a newbie was up to no good just by virtue of having low post count. Perhaps the proliferation of cyber-friendships via blogs, FB, twitter, and forums has made these connections more important than they used to be. So, though I cannot say that I will post more often nor share my blog (updates on my mother's cancer battle would not interest anyone here), after all these years, here is my intro: Mom to 2 dc; homeschooling for 14 years; graduated one last year; starting HS again with the second. Classical education is my preference and the list of curriculum, materials and resources I use would fill pages and pages.

We have had conversations about this with ds who is a freshman at the same big state school I attended 30 years ago. The survey he filled out for roommate selection was short with only two defining categories smoking/non smoking and up late/not up late. As someone mentioned, though, defining late night and also enforcing it with college students is tough. Ds was paired with a very studious international student and placed in one of the quietest dorms on campus. His roommate and suite mates are all upperclassmen who are serious about doing well. Though they do not party, they are up late studying almost every night and some nights when one is helping another, it can be noisy. Slamming doors, bouncing balls, prank alarm bells at 2:00 am are all part of the deal. Ds needs to be up at 5 for workouts and prefers to go to bed by 10:00; it was a problem for him to manage that at the beginning. He has considered an off campus apartment also but there are pitfalls to that. My college friend and I talked with him about those problems because we both thought we could not handle dorm life and jumped ship. We wished we had taken the time to adjust before deciding on such a move at a young age. Responsibilities and hassles that come with that were more distracting to us than the noise. What we have suggested to ds: wear ear plugs at night, a vibrating and loud (sorry late night noisy roomies) alarm helps at AM wake up. He does not have problems with the light, but we also suggested blinders if it is a problem. During the day? Find a quiet study spot on campus or at the library so the dorm activity does not affect him.

:hurray:I love this idea, thank you! I hope you don't mind if I copy. I have a different book in mind for ds but the idea is fabulous.

:grouphug: Tina, I bought Omnibus I from you last summer; we had a wonderful year with it and whenever I see your name on the board, I feel like I "know" you. This news made me sad...fought back tears since it hits close to home. I've watched my mom struggle for 8 months and have nothing useful to share, but just prayed for your family. May God keep you in His perfect peace. ~~S

I sell on homeschooling boards and on Amazon but always drop the price a little more when I sell privately. Amazon charges a commission for sales through their site so even if I drop my price a bit more, I net the same amount. It turns out I give another homeschooler the price break rather than paying it to Amazon. Even so, I do find Amazon very straightforward and things sell quickly there. It seems homeschoolers prefer that venue these days.

I used to be in insurance so I can try to help a little here; though I do not know about hurricane insurance because I live in earthquake country, it might be similar. The lower deductible percentage was adjusted so that you could keep the same or similar dollar amount. More coverage for a bigger house would make the deductible higher at 5% than the new 2%. The theoretical example: a house insured for 100,000 would carry a 5,000 deductible but upgrading to 200,000 of coverage would make it $10,000, thus a lower deductible brings it closer to what you had. Deductibles are, essentially, self insurance, i.e. the amount you expect you can pay in the event of a loss. If you have or can save up to that amount and/or you are willing to take the risk that you will not need it --then, opt for the higher deductible. On the other hand, if you think such a catastrophe would cause huge problems (unable to rebuild, etc.) then go with what gives you the safety net. It is common for insurance agents to define what they sell as "peace of mind" ---there is no tangible benefit until you suffer a loss, which may or may not happen. You buy as much or as little as you need to not have to worry about it. HTH ETA: I sound redundant --was typing while others were posting. I also agree; talk to your agent.

I use Avancemos which is pretty much the same as Realidades --may be even the same publisher now. Materials are pretty inexpensive to find used online and it does have an online textbook option with audio/visual component which is what I like for daily practice. I bought a license for my students to cover me for a few years but I know some parents have also purchased the same material in DVD format if they prefer the child not go online. I am a purist so I would not buy one and make copies since these publishers hold strict copyright, but I don't necessarily frown on others who do. I am always very afraid of being caught --it is not worth the lack of peace for me :) Textbooks and workbooks do have mistakes -- I know what they are now but did not bother to look for them the first year. I have a forum for kids to post during the week and I handled confusing questions and corrections in that way. I am a native speaker and do not use teacher materials or answer keys since it is faster for me to teach and grade from my head; I imagine there are errors in those as well. When I searched for the curriculum I would use, I reviewed (owned) pretty much every curriculum targeted to homeschoolers (including Rosetta) but disliked them all for varying reasons. BJU and Abeka are good enough in content but I thought too boring for daily self study. Avancemos is multi-media so it has worked to maintain excitement for what can be a very tough subject to learn when meeting with the teacher once a week. Not advocating Avancemos as the best out there; just agreeing with others who have suggested moving out of the homeschooling box for class instruction. HTH

What has she used to teach before? It is probably best for her to go with what she knows since she may already have lesson plans, etc. I have been teaching for about 6 years now with a similar set up -- 1 meeting per week and 4 days assignments at home. I use a secular curriculum adapted to my needs. Just about any curriculum (including the one I use) will receive good and bad reviews. Some teachers hate the program I use and it is not perfect for me either; however, a great teacher like you seem to have should be able to find something she can make work. Sounds like a great plan is in the works :)

:lol: Love it! As a toddler, Dd used to strip to her undies when she was mad. Dh always said that would be a handy conflict resolution tactic when she gets married. She stopped eventually but maybe I'll remind her of it at her wedding. Dancing on tables....that could work too.:smilielol5:

:lol: :iagree: DS used to do this in his compositions and DH dubbed him the "comma-kaze." I agree that curriculum authors who do not care to edit out excessive and distracting errors are committing sales "suicide". I don't claim to be perfect in that area but just don't like the distraction.

It is a matter of trust and she is not setting herself up to be trusted. Facebook is an interesting arena and your DD probably knows you enough to know that what you will see you may not like. You will probably need to decide many things either in advance or as you go regarding what your standards are and how they will be honored in your home. True she can sneak and hide all sorts of activity as a previous poster pointed out, but the difference is how much will you allow. Fearing that kids will sneak around if you do not allow behavior you disapprove of seems odd to me, but I know people parent that way. You just need to know what your limits are and to what extent you can have peace about "giving in." My dd was allowed facebook at 15 with the stipulation that I'd have the password. I set up an account for myself two months ahead of her so that I could understand the ins and outs of what could be done for safety, etc. By the time she set up her account, I could help point out how to set up her profile to be secure and help her understand why it was necessary to guard her information and know how to do it. Her friends were not like my friends :) Goodness, what teens will post in public! Although some of what I pointed out and discussed with her initially was met with deep sighs, it was good training for her to understand that she could not/ should not imitate what others do on facebook. She had friend requests from creepy predator types, people she does not know but are friends of friends, which sometimes creeped her out. We talked about the issue of "friendship" on a public forum and saw first hand (together) the pitfalls. Slowly I pulled away, yet she often volunteers information. As she became conscious of the fact that people know people who know people, she realized on her own that it was not wise to have too much out there for public consumption. I think my guidance helped and she'd probably tell you that now after two years. If she'd have been unwilling to walk the road with me, there would have been no facebook while in my home and on my computers. That's a hill I'd die on as well; it is a dangerous place for young kids who think they know it all. P.S. Fricken is a veiled form of the "f" word and is considered a curse word in our home. That and more is all over facebook, so it is something you might get used to seeing.

Mine, too. :) Do you think your Ds will attend UCLA or is he headed elsewhere?

That is a good thing. Yes, let your claim representative know if they don't already have it figured out. It usually means your deductible on the property damage will be waived right away without waiting for the "other party" to reimburse since it is the same company. That means a quicker car repair with no out of pocket, which is nice. There will still be two representative handling the claim so your rep will only be able to handle the property damage for you. The "other guy's" rep will handle your bodily injury and rental car expenses, if needed. Since it is a multiple vehicle accident, it may take a little longer for all parties to get everything straightened out but you are at an advantage being with the same company. Hope it goes quick and easy for you :001_smile:

The assignments were graded at home and we posted the score online by the due date. I did the grading and the posting at my home because I wanted to be involved in the process. I was sick at the time and this helped me feel like I was still "doing" something in my homeschool. :) I know other moms let the students grade and post, though. There were quizzes, tests, a midterm, and a final exam which the students were required to turn in for teacher grading. VP suggested a scribe pen so that kids could easily transfer the written work onto the computer but most people did not buy one. We do have one, but it was easier for ds to just write on regular paper and then scan in the document for submission. Part of the class time was spent reviewing the homework and, since the teacher could see the posted scores, she knew when the class was "not getting" something. She would take questions from students and together they'd work the problems out. If no one asked a question, she might randomly select a student to post their solution for a certain homework problem as an example. In addition to the class time help, students could stay online after class for more help or they could arrange with her another time to meet in the classroom for assistance. I do not know if that was teacher specific, but she seemed to be very available. There was a running grade book that was available so parents could see how the students were doing even if they choose not to grade the homework. The graded assignments were always re-posted by the teacher with a grade and corrections. Ds is an extrovert and it was the online interaction with the teacher and other students that made the class enjoyable, I think. I was pleased with his progress and his grades so it was a good experience overall.

Hi, I see you are in CA so maybe I can help. I started my career as a Claims Manager for a major insurance company here but quit when I had kids. The laws have not changed since so here is my take: A rear end accident is always the fault of the vehicle doing the rear ending, regardless of why the cars in front had to stop. The obstruction on the road, especially a large mattress, is not of consequence. As long as you were able to come to a complete stop without hitting anyone, you are not at fault for the accident. In CA, all drivers must carry liability insurance to cover property damage and bodily injury --it is required by law. The owner of the car that hit you is liable for ALL of your damages. If he has insurance, as he should, his insurance will cover 100% of all of your damages (property and injury) plus what Californians term "pain and suffering." There is no need for you to hire an attorney, though there are many who would be happy to assist you (they take 1/3 of the settlement plus their expenses.) Since this is a clear liability case, I would just contact the at fault driver's insurance and see how they handle the matter before committing to giving up that much money to an attorney. The attorneys tend to delay things also and usually the cases are handled by office assistants. This is a clear case that requires no expertise. If the driver has no insurance, you might have Uninsured Motorists coverage. That coverage on your own policy will act as if it were the at fault party (up to the limits of your coverage) and pay for your medical expenses and "pain and suffering." BTW, If the other party is not insured, an attorney will not take your case at all. They only take cases on which they can recover easily. :( ETA: The reason the officer would list this as "no fault" is because they assume that the mattress was at fault. In claims handling, however, one knows that the obstruction is irrelevant because the driver's responsibility to maintain a safe distance, a safe speed, and be attentive ALWAYS prevails. We used to laugh at the number of reports that said: A tree came out of nowhere and hit me! Hmmm...not likely. A large object is visible and should have been avoided. In any event, your accident was secondary ....you were hit while stopped.

I cannot help much by way of a more recent review but DS took Geometry at Veritas Press three years ago. It was a great experience for him, he thrived, and enjoyed it. At the time, he was in an "I do not like Math" phase (though he is very good at it) but he enjoyed the teacher and the class enough that his attitude did not matter in the long run. The teacher he had was pursuing an advanced degree in Math and I think she has left VP now. Anyway, everything else worked out great for us. I liked the two meetings per week and the schedule went at a reasonable pace. The required parent involvement was just enough to keep me abreast of the progress but not overwhelming to where I thought I could be doing it all. Not current info, but hope it helps.

I had DS write a resume which included academic and extracurricular activities, honors, awards, etc. He gave these to the teachers who fit the requirement as academic instructors but who did not really know him outside of the limited class interaction. All teachers he asked were willing to write the letter and I think were happy to have the resume of details about DS to bolster their impression and opinion of him. I think the academic letters of reference are really looking for confirmation that the student can perform at the college level. Even though an online teacher does not know much beyond the work he/she sees and grades, I think they can put in a letter facts that support academic effort, like: honor society involvement, academic awards earned, etc. It is also helpful to the teacher to see the extracurricular activities since they can tell that the student is well rounded and possibly comment on that. It was a good exercise for DS, too. HTH

Thank you all for responding, it helped to think through the issues. Tigersgrow: Yikes! I didn't think of that but it is certainly possible. Regentrude: Your perspective was good to hear as DD thought about it; she was somewhat nervous about the teacher's response since the student is very well liked and DD is new to the group. It turns out, that two others in the class recognized DD's "noticing" in class and talked with her about it. They know this student does this and has done it for awhile but they refused to go with DD to corroborate her story. DD decided to go alone anyway. The teacher made it as easy as possible and said she'd handle it and DD would be anonymous. Not sure that's possible since the others know she noticed, even though they do not know she spoke to the teacher. Lionfamily: I liked you idea about the anonymous note but read it after she'd talked with the teacher. :( Oh well...we'll see what happens from here. DD made the decision on her own after all and decided "right is right." The teacher did not say, but DD guesses she will just be on the look-out during the next class. Ester Maria: It would be nice to have an oral exam to shed light on things, and I certainly considered your perspective especially since telling puts DD in sort of social peril. Glad she made the decision on her own. My protective instinct had nothing to do with it. Thanks again!

I had just read the threat on cheating (great advice and I too can commiserate with one point or another.) Same day, my DD asks for help with this scenario: She is taking an outside class with other students. There are timed precis (summary or abridgment) to write weekly following literature reading and discussion. No notes are allowed and the assignment is closed book. The teacher does not offer extra credit for any other assignments, but awards extra points on these timed summaries for exceptional work. The star student has a 100% in the class on this basis, even though he/she seems to score less than well on other assignments. Recently, DD sat behind said pupil and noticed that the student had a typed paper on his/her lap and was copying from it during the precis writing time. So, DD asks: should I tell the teacher? She claims my suggestion to use the biblical model and go to him/her first will not work because this is a well liked person who will be defensive and start a "mini war." Besides, DD has no proof now that the test time is over. What would you advise your child to do? DD's own score is good and seems that is all that should matter. Still, something rubs DD wrong about seeing the dishonesty; she says she feels like an accomplice by not telling but does not want to be a "rat" either.

I do not know where you are in So Cal...it is a big place :) Regardless of your location, if you can get there, Congressman Ed Royce's Academy Nights are invaluable. They are held every year and are open to anyone interested in learning more. You may start attending way before you are ready to apply; his staff person is amazingly knowledgeable. Even if you do not live in his district, his office (via the staff member) will help students individually plan, prepare, and apply when the time comes. We attended a few of these way back when but ended up deciding for ROTC instead. I do know of at least 4 homeschoolers who went through this office for help and all did not live in the district. Two are at West Point and two at the Air Force Academy. Here is the link (I hope it works) for information on the next Academy Night in March. http://royce.house.gov/ConstituentServices/academies.htm

Hi all, I hesitate to revive this thread because I don't have much concrete information to add --I came searching for info, actually. :) Ds applied to UCLA in November, largely on a whim. We were not even aware then that admissions by examination was possible. Though we live in SoCal and I am a UCLA alum, it was not on our radar for possible schools. We always took as law that UC's do not like homeschoolers and figured it was their loss. Ds, however, received an AROTC scholarship he can use there and that's where the ROTC interview was held. He decided, "why not?" sometime in mid November and threw himself into the application which he submitted with only 2 days to spare. He was homeschooled K-11 and did not complete any a-g approved courses in that time frame. The only one that counts is a Community College Biology class he took for the sake of the lab. He is currently in a Christian school because a serious illness in our family prevents me from homeschooling him at this level; and his military aspirations mean he cannot take too many CC classes. Though the Christian school is a-g approved, and he is taking a full load of academic classes (including 3 AP) it is not near enough to meet the a-g requirements for UC. So....we applied with a grin. Told them he was homeschooled for 11 years and figured that he'd fall into the "special circumstances" category. The boy can write well which is a plus. His essays highlighted his extracurricular and "out of the box" experiences all of which were possible because of homeschooling. He even took the required SAT IIs after the deadline (with their approval.) We were surprised when he was asked to submit a "supplemental application" ---which included 2 more essays and a brief questionnaire including first semester final grades. In addition, he has received several emails encouraging him to begin scholarship and financial aid apps. Today he received a letter from the UC president explaining that his application will be considered by other UC campuses. Evidently they are encouraging "readers" to take a "holistic" view of applicants and consider them for any UC program that might fit in addition to the one to which they applied. The letter said my son should expect to hear from some of the other schools regarding their offerings. This is more attention than we expected and it does not mean he will be accepted to UCLA. I just find it immensely interesting and came here to see if others had walked this road before. It is funny that I don't actually want him to go there (and it is not his first choice) but my curiosity is certainly piqued. BTW he is a motivated student who writes well and has a variety of interests, sports, extracurricular and community service activities. He does not test well on standardized tests, however, so his SAT score (while quite respectable) is not up there with the stars. We'll see:tongue_smilie: ---and if any of you are interested, I'll keep you posted.

Stephanie :) Nope, didn't feel "disagreed with" and even if you did disagree, no big deal. There are many ways to do this teaching stuff and that's the beauty of American freedom and homeschooling--we can do it our way! My compliments to you are meant very sincerely. You've done a great job and I am seriously going to check out your blog to see if there is something I can glean. I just wanted to set other folks' mind at ease. Teaching Spanish does not have to be so mysterious or difficult. I love to see excitement about it, though.:thumbup:

Looks good, Stephanie! Yes, variety is the spice of life and if you have enough interest, time, and energy it is certainly great to supplement abundantly like you have done here. For someone interested in the core subject as college prep, Breaking the Barrier is a solid start and meets the High School requirement well enough. I teach with an abundance of resources ---a little bit of this and a little bit of that---like you have listed here but don't think it is crucial for everyone to do it that way. All I am saying is that Breaking the Barrier, in my opinion, is a fabulous option to RS both in price and in quality. Having said that, your advice and list of resources is great. Awful nice of you to share all of your research and plans, too. I'll have to check out your blog! :thumbup: ¡Suerte!

I've used BJU which is very good in content but just a bit boring for the student. Someone on this board speaks highly of SOS Spanish which is also computer based and the content looks good also. I just have never reviewed it myself. Breaking the Spanish Barrier is excellent and the best price out there. I know some use it as a supplement but is a good stand alone program. I will use it this year with my Spanish III class this year. The other option is to find a good grammar program (Espanol Esencial is inexpensive and thorough) and use it alongside a vocabulary building program. The problem with isolating grammar like that, is that grammar does become tedious and boring plus your vocabulary does not always mesh well so practicing is difficult. I have taught homeschool High School classes for 4 years using secular curriculum typically used in public schools like Avancemos and Realidades but those books are not designed for self-study so I would not necessarily suggest that to everyone. From what I see (I've been looking at this one for a year,) Breaking the Spanish Barrier is the best I can recommend.

I am a native Spanish speaker and Spanish teacher who previewed Rosetta Stone --all of it --just a few years back. I do not like to beat it up or fault anyone who finds it useful but do like to point out important details since most people who buy it have to take the publisher's word for how well it works. Rosetta Stone is fine as a "check the box; we're done" curriculum but it is an expensive one at that. There is no way it will ever bring anyone to the point that they can speak Spanish or communicate with Hispanics on any level. Spanish, like other Romance languages, differs from English in syntax (sentence structure and grammatical rules.) It is not possible to form sentences in Spanish without understanding the different tenses, verb endings, moods, etc. Rosetta Stone advertises their dislike of memory work so it HAS to avoid teaching these elements :) RS focuses on the present progressive (they show a picture and tell what a person is doing in the picture.) Ironically, this is a tense that is not as commonly used in Spanish as it is in English. Learning a language intuitively as RS promises takes some time and requires that ALL aspects of the language be presented consistently, accurately, and incessantly. RS cannot deliver that but it promises the results anyway. Anyone trying to learn a second language in school only, must learn the rules and grammar of that language if they hope to succeed. English speakers still study English in school to become adept at the language they learned intuitively. When adding a second language that differs greatly from the speech pattern already set, something has to happen cognitively as well. It is possible and not as tedious or painful as RS would have people believe! RS is very good at introducing and drilling vocabulary. That is a BIG component of fluency but it is only part of the equation. If you can afford to use the program just for vocabulary and supplement it well, then it is fine. I do not suggest it because I find it over priced and have issues with a company that promises way more than it can deliver to customers who do not all have the ability to discern its shortcomings. To the OP: If you PM me, I'll send you the outline of what I cover in Spanish 1. Blessings!