If I could go back and homeschool middle school, I would use Bill Bryson's 'A Short History of Nearly Everything'. It's very engaging and would be a great jumping off point for digging into many subjects.

It takes an incredible amount of discipline to finish and excel in an online class. I think they are a great profit center for colleges because people sign up and never finish them. My dd is taking an online Latin course with 9 adults and she is the only student who shows up every week. In fact, after 4 months she is one of 3 students who are even going to finish the course. The professor said he usually loses 20-30% of the class, but she's actually had several private tutoring sessions this year. I think it's too much to expect a child to have the discipline to do it on their own. Most adults don't have the discipline to do it. I wouldn't be too hard on a high school student who struggles with it. Oddly enough, dd can happily do her other schoolwork without me home, but she gets lonely if I'm not there during her Latin class. I have also found it a good opportunity to teach her about expected behavior for a conference call (how to jump in with a question, the right balance of seriousness and joking around, how to communicate more succinctly, etc). I also have to stay on top of her so that she will prepare; it is the last class she will get around to studying during the week if I don't stay on top of her. Maybe it's the ADD, but I have to help her organize her schedule and I have to check up on her throughout the week to see how she's doing. I wrote up what we consider an ideal weekly schedule with assignments that should be done each day. I didn't block out time spent on activities, but goals for each class (history reading finished on Saturday, English rough draft done on Wednesday, etc). This format has been the most useful we've used so far. She still manages each day and I encourage her to spend an hour at a time on each class rather than 3-5 hours on one subject. The chart makes it easy to see if she's on track, ahead of schedule or falling behind for the week.

My daughter didn't make it through The Diary of Anne Frank when she read it in 3rd or 4th grade. It was such a downer at the end and I needed to lift her spirits and get her away from it. I think if I approached the Holocaust with a teenager I would look for some lesson learning/uplifting lessons where possible. We went through the Holocaust museum in DC a couple years ago, and I know our spirits would be dragged too far down by an extended study like this. Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl I haven't read it myself, so I don't know the appropriateness for a teenager. But there are great lessons to be learned from him. Letters & Papers from Prison by Dietrich Bonhoeffer Another one I haven't read, but I heard J Rufus Fears discuss it in Books That Changed History, Books that Can Change Your Life. I love his take on duty. Bonhoeffer worked against his country out of duty and the judges who sentenced him did so out of duty. You might want to pick this lecture up from the library and listen to just the first couple of lectures. Schindler's List The lesson I took from this movie is how God can use somebody to bring about good. I love that he's such a flawed man before and after this part of his life - and yet God still used him for good. The movie is graphic enough for me to capture the horror of the time, but what sticks with me most is the old folks at the end putting stones on his grave.

What's the secret to going to school for free? How does anyone go to a $50k/year school without taking out a huge amount of loans? Do you have to qualify for both need-based and merit aid? I am wondering if dd should apply to less competitive schools to improve her chances at getting a scholarship... I guess I just don't know where to begin.

Thanks for the replies. It's good for us to go into this with our eyes wide open to the problems they have there. I sure wish it was easier to search for liberal arts and honors colleges. I'm really surprised to hear that they don't provide any credits if you don't graduate. That makes a huge difference! I read that they record your grades to be made available if you ask for them. I assumed that meant you at least would leave with a transcript. I guess there's no such thing as a dream school afterall.

We are scheduling a college visit at St John's College. This school is a dream. Now, I'm looking for the best way to make an extra $40-$50k/year working part-time so that I can afford to send dd there. Anyone got any ideas? If anyone can find a way it's the hive mind, right? Oh, to have a dream... At the very least she's going to sit in on some classes before Senior year so she can get a better vision of how she wants to finish up her high school years.

I would like to jump in and be a cheerleader for you! I was really afraid to take the plunge. I'm a single mom working full time. There were even some on this board who, ever so gently, reminded me that homeschooling is not for everyone. I ended up taking a friend with homeschool experience to lunch and she was very encouraging. Most people just do what everyone does. To pull my dd out of school was to take full responsibility for every part of her life. What if I fail? What if we can't do it and she ends up a year behind in high school because I tried to do something better than the norm and fail? It felt like an enormous burden. But that burden is the burden of freedom. No one else is responsible for providing for us; we are taking care of ourselves. By the end of the first year I had no patience for people who complained about the public schools. I kept thinking 'why do you expect the government to provide for your education/social life/schedule/etc'? I had to remind myself that their mentality was normal and how scary it was for me to step away from it. The first year was tough. It was really difficult. There were tears and frustrations for both of us. But we learned from the experience. We both matured and learned a lot. Our second year is going much better. This is the best year we've ever had - in every aspect of our lives. And she really is learning to take responsibility for every part of her life. The beautiful thing about homeschooling is when something isn't going the way you like, you change it. One thing that would have made the transition easier for me... We started homeschooling for 10th grade. I assumed the public school would not take any of her credits and that we were stepping off a cliff and there was no going back. I thought we couldn't go back to public school even if we wanted to. It turns out our public schools are fairly welcoming of accepting homeschool credits. I've since met families who homeschooled one year - or even a half year of high school and returned to the public schools. Had I known that at the time, then I might not have been so terrified. So the moral of the story... Yes, it's scary. I don't want to discount your fear. It's a big step. But it's worth it, and you can do it. And even though the first year won't go as well as you want it to, it will be worth it.

When I started college about 1/4 of the freshmen I knew were 17. Now we are living in a different state and I am always surprised at how old these kids are when they graduate from high school. And boy do these 18 and 19 year old high school seniors have a lot of confidence! If your son is doing high school level work already, can you plan to graduate him at 18 without 'holding him back' now? Make that 8th grade year highschool level work and add it to the transcript should you choose to graduate him early. The beauty of homeschooling is that you can just keep going... five years of English, Math, History, Science, etc. Then, if you decide he's ready to graduate at 17, he's got all the appropriate highschool credit hours. I believe a last minute change to send him out early would be easier than a last minute change to keep him home an extra year.

I can't believe we have Senior Year planned! At this point we are just crossing our fingers that we'll get her into all the right classes, but here is the plan: AP Statistics (PA Homeschoolers) Latin 201 @ the local university (with any luck she'll test into this class) Science w/ Lab @ local university (hoping for Astronomy) English/History - Great Books Study (TWTM style all year with a new book group; we will race through history with some extra emphasis on the ancients) Two Electives @ local university Graduation will be planned for June 2010. I'm still toying with various ideas for the graduation party/ceremony.

I found the BASIS school curriculum very inspirational. But I find myself conflicted on the best approach. My thoughts go back to the debate on what to do with a gifted child. Do you have them dig deeper into the material? Or do you have them skip grades? I always wanted my dd to have her AA degree when she graduated from high school. I think AP and dual enrollment approach education from that same mindset. But then I found TWTM and a Great Books type school and realized that there is a highschool education available to some that is an order of magnitude higher than what I had experienced. And I decided that if I could give my daughter the very best high school education she would end up better educated than most college educated people in this country. Now if dd did not require a college degree , then I would ignore the dual enrollment and AP options and just dig deeper into each subject. But reality for us means choosing from the best of the options available where we are today. She will end up graduating with neither an AA degree or a WTM education. But we are pursuing the best path available to us. She will be better educated then me, but not as well educated as I would have liked. Here is the link to my favorite public school. If I could have sent my daughter here I would have. You might find their curriculum interesting. If you lived in Arizona you would have to choose between BASIS, Great Hearts, and TWTM. http://www.greatheartsaz.org/

The standard answer I have head from college admissions is: Take the hardest courses available and get As. It's better to get a couple of Bs and take the hardest classes available. But getting a C sounds like it's a very bad thing. Too bad for us. DD is going to have at least one C on her transcript. And this mommy doesn't give all As. So I imagine her transcript will not look very impressive compared to some of the inflated grades from some public schools in our area.

It's not co-op gardening, but I am really enjoying Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture.

Ironically, the only time I have needed my high school diploma is to prove to the state of NC that I am a highschool graduate, and, therefore, I'm qualified to homeschool. I suppose I could have provided my college diploma, but I wanted to give them the minimum of what they required.

I would pick up a copy of the book "What High Schools Don't Tell You". It's full of ideas for summer programs that kids can start as early as 8th grade. Some of these are fairly expensive. But to be surrounded by like-minded kids and take an entire AP course in 4 weeks might be worth it to your son. The Junior Statesman program at Georgetown looks great! Costs a bunch. But they include some ideas for fundraising for the self-motivated student. Wish I could go back in time and do this myself. Less expensive alternatives: US House or Senate Page: One semester of Jr year living and working in DC and taking classes at 6am in the Library of Congress. And they get paid. This is competitive, and your son will want to start working on his resume. State Page Programs: Ours has week-long programs with the Governor's office and the Senate. Ours is easy to get into. And free. Debate: obviously, the best extra curricular. We've had trouble finding a program to participate in. Internships: Can you find a mentor and let him work in an office? Scout out opportunities in your local area.

I read an article in the WSJ last year that talked about inflation expected to continue. They mentioned that now is the time for Americans to stock up on peanut butter and batteries... because the prices are going to continue to rise. And that was before the government increased the money supply so dramatically. I don't think we need to go crazy with stockpiling, but my perspective has changed dramatically over the last year. How long have people relied on grocery stores to hold everything they needed? How much of an interuption in the supply chain do we need before the grocery shelves are empty? Around here, if a storm is coming you can't buy bread, milk, batteries or toilet paper. The shelves are empty. You don't have to be a prophet or anticipating doom and gloom to pick up on the preparedness talk that is all around us. Maybe I notice it more because I'm LDS, but I'm seeing a lot of interest in stocking up on basics. And not just from religious people.

My employer provides some college consulting as a benefit. They hold seminars for parents on planning for college. I'm involved enough in my daughter's education that I didn't learn anything new during their seminar. This year I was able to sign up for a free individual consultation. I went over my daughter's transcript and extra curriculars. I found it very helpful. He had enough experience in admissions offices that he was able to give me some perspective on some areas of weakness. I'm glad I had a chance to do this, but I don't think I would have paid for it. We added another college US History class as a result of this discussion. The consultant thought it was important that we cover US history for an entire year. He also thinks we needed to extend her Sr year English class across the entire year. Just like US History, I had planned to have her take a one semester course at the University/CC to fulfill this requirement. I thought that would be fine because our public schools are on block schedule. But he described how various people in the admissions office will be discussing her transcript and arguing for and against here. There's a chance someone could see these half-year courses as weaknesses. So we decided to do TWTM style history/english for Senior year. And DD is loving her modern American history course at the Univ this semester. I'm probably going to call them up for some help on the college search. Then again, it's a free resource for me.

Christy, You mentioned you are in NC and your daughter wants to be a nurse. Have you looked at the Wake County public schools early college program? They have a medical focus. It looks like they start kids working on their nursing requirements, and I believe they get an AA at the end of highschool. I thought their curriculum would be interesting to you. http://healthscienceec.wcpss.net/ Michelle

Thanks for the link. We've got lots of friends going through the public schools in NC and very few are taking AP Environmental Science, so that's why I was thrown off. We did cover Earth Science though through the NC public schools alread, and it sounds like that's what you were referencing. Whew! I was scared that I had missed something. DD is planning to take Astronomy her Sr year, and I didn't want to have to switch to Environmental Science. You did inspire me to call the UNC admission folks to get some additional information. So I thank you for your post. It's always good to understand how they weigh CC vs AP courses while I'm planning for senior year. Happy Planning!

Christy, This is the first time I've seen a mention of Environmental Science and Social Studies as a requirement for Carolina. I've been using BYU requirements as my standard, but now we're looking closely at UNC. Do you have a link or other information you can share? I spent time on the admissions site and saw specific math courses listed, but no science. Just trying to make sure I'm not missing something. Thanks!

Nan, thanks for posting your thoughts. It may seem like a jumble of ideas in your head right now, but a jumble of ideas in your head always seem clearer to me than many people's published ideas. I think it comes down to what your goals are. I do wish we had school choice in the public schools because we don't all want the same thing out of education. I have found some charter schools that have me drooling. But most of the parents I know would have no interest in sending their kids there. There are other schools that I've seen parents very enthusiastic about that I would never want for my child. I think we're crazy to think that one public school system can meet the needs of everyone. I don't think it's too far off that we will have more customized educational solutions for all kids in the country. And I think that homeschoolers are on the cutting edge of developing the various options that public school kids will get to choose from someday. One day there will be books written that will help parents identify their educational goals, their child's learning style, and choose from the many educational options that are best for them. But we are still the pioneers discovering and creating alternatives. It's up to each of us to determine where we are trying to go and fill in the steps and resources we need to get there. Please keep sharing your thoughts as you work your way through the journey. Eventually, we'll end up with a more clearly-defined map that others can use to get to their destinations.

Katia, Thanks for clarifying that you organize your transcript by subject. I interpreted your original post as a transcript organized more like this... 9th Grade - Foreign Language, Math, Science, etc 10th Grade- Foreign Language, Math, Science, etc 11th Grade- Foreign Language, Math, Science, etc 12th Grade- Foreign Language, Math, Science, etc And I thought that would be misleading if 9th grade included courses that were taken in different years. I think the way you have outlined your transcript is perfect for someone who wants to get started on highschool early. And it is true... We set the graduation requirements for our kids. I think there are a lot of people reading these posts who will be looking for guidance. I'm glad you cleared up my misunderstanding. Sounds like we are on the same page.

I was thinking about this last night, and I've got to say that I disagree with organizing the courses by year and labeling them 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade when that's not when the courses were taken. I think it gives a dishonest message to admissions counsellors on what your child did during those years. When your child applies to college they are competing for a seat against other students. I think people would interpret a list of courses under 9th grade as the courses the child took during a specific timeframe. If you include 5-6 years of work listed as though they were taken during a four year time period, then your child will look as though they've accomplished more during four years than other students whose transcripts are more clearly labeled. I know my daughter's grades have suffered when she had too many courses in a given semester. I would hate to have her compared to a child whose inaccurate transcript made it look like she took more courses at once and got better grades. Add to that the additional projects and extra curriculars taken with a five or six year high school schedule and admissions counsellor and scholarship committees would have an inaccuate picture of your child. I have heard of transcripts organized by subject, and I think if you don't want to highlight the fact that some courses were taken prior to 9th grade, then it would be better to simply not put a time period on the transcript. Or you could include the middle school courses as part of your high school graduation requirements and select a university that is fine with that. We have a lot of flexibility in offering a non-accredited education to our children. But I do think it's best to conform to standard definitions when communicating to colleges etc. And I believe that 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade mean something specific in traditional educational settings. I suppose you could define grade levels outside of the norms and include those definitions on the transcript and in a school overview.

I loved Charles Murray's book 'Real Education.' I felt like it was telling the story I had learned through hard knocks trying to make our way through the schooling years. One trend we are seeing is the dumbing down of college education in our country. This is bound to happen as we push more and more people to get a college degree before they are allowed to interview for jobs that do not require a college education. The other trend we have is our top high school students are often expected to get college credit through AP courses, etc. I always thought the benefit of a highschool level class was that you had one full year to absorb the material. In our area, the public schools use block scheduling. That means a kid who needs more time to absorb the material doesn't get it from a high school level course here. They will get some gaps, though, as public school teachers in the high school leave out the material they assume was covered enough in the elementary grades in order to squeeze the material into one semester. I had a hard time finding a benefit in the block schedule. As we push more and more college level material on high school students and dumb down what we consider college level material, there is more and more overlap in what is taught. Twelve years ago when my daughter was starting school, I was considered fairly radical by my friends for wanting dd to graduate with an AA when she finished high school. But now I think that's becoming a common concept. There are even public high schools organizing their curriculum around this goal. The real question is... Does an AA degree provide the best education available? I think clearly the answer is no. There are some fabulous public and private schools that provide a more robust, classical liberal education to their students. A homeschooler with unlimited resources has access to the very best education in the world - at least as good as the best prep schools. But if college is in your future you still have the credential hoops to jump through after you finish that high school education. We all have limited resources and different educational priorities. For us, the best fit includes a mix of AP and college level courses as a part of our homeschool curriculum. My dd will not graduate with her AA when she leaves high school. And she will not have a 4.0 gpa. However, she will have 26 college credit hours and the best education I can provide her with the resources I currently have available. We will fill the biggest gaps left from her many years bouncing around various public schools. And she will have the most robust education I can get for her while still teaching her to live a balanced life. Our goals include at least a four year college degree, so I look beyond the high school years in my planning. If we hadn't wasted so many years in public middle schools then I'm sure dd would have been prepared for something like the BASIS schools curriculum in high school. But middle school was a wasted three years for us. You can't relive the past. You just pick up where you are and make the best decisions for your current circumstances.

I also hate the argument that you should hold back your child for 'academic' reasons. I don't think you need to. If you've got a teen who has finished high school level foreign language in middle school, but you need additional foreign language to count for college admissions, then why not move on to college level foreign language for the highschool credit? Many college degrees require 3 semesters of a foreign language, you can get those out of the way while still in high school. There's no reason to slow down or stop. This is one area where moving forward doesn't prevent you from digging deeper into a subject.

Our public schools include high school level courses taken in middle school on the transcript. Grades are listed. However, they do not impact the GPA.