My son used Sonlight British Literature course, which is not an official AP course, but they say that it should prepare a student well to take the English Lit and Comp test. I also had my son work through (starting in about March) the Barron's AP English Lit and Comp book, as well as the Mcgraw Hill 5 Steps to a 5 English Lit book. He practiced the questions and writing prompts in those two books and made a 4 on the test. For a future engineering student, we were pleased with that, especially since I was planning to have him do the Sonlight British lit whether he took the AP test or not. Kirsten

Does anyone have any experience with the high school Latin I with Dave Spotts at the Potters School? I couldn't get the "extra information" link to work so I couldn't even find out what text he uses. Would this course be too rigorous for a moderatley motivated 14 year old boy? thanks for any feedback! Kirsten

My husband and son just left this morning to head to Auburn, AL. I have been moping about sniffing and feeling sorry for myself that there was no room for me and no one to stay with my youngers. That is why I came to look at the college threads, so that my misery could have company! To make him feel special, I cooked all his most favorite foods this week, including desserts... I also hid some dark chocolate in his snack bag so that he will find it later. I am going to wait a few days, and then send him a "miss you" card. Snif. I feeling fairly unmotivated today... Kirsten

Hi, I live in Warrensburg, MO, so am familiar with University of Central Missouri a little bit! My oldest son (who, by the way, just left this morning with his dad to drive to Auburn for checkin day tomorrow, sniff, sniff) took some classes at UCM this past year (his senior year) and felt that the classes were challenging but enjoyable, and he liked all four of his instructors. He took Calculus I, Cal. 2, Economics, and Statistics. His instructors were personable (he especially liked his Calc. I professor) and well organized, and communicated their expectations well. His classes were all a reasonable size. Overall, a great experience for him! I can't speak about dorm life, because he just drove to his classes and then came home, but the campus is nice, and the buildings are arranged in a large square, for the most part, so they are easy to get to. The music department is particularly well recongnized, and my boys have all taken piano lesons there from a graduate music major and she was awesome! Unfortunately, she graduated and moved back to KC. My oldest also took classical guitar lessons for the last 3 years from an adjunct music professor and we were very impressed with him. he would often stay a few minutes and talk physics, astronomy, and politics with my son (who loved having someone to talk to about his interests). So, don't know if I have helped you much, but if you have questions, I will try and answer them. Now, I shall go back to my sniffing... Kirsten

No, I haven't used the continuation course...it is expensive and I was thinking I could go with something a little cheaper. The Homeschool Coop buyers group online has the Bravewriter on a group buy through tonight, so I was trying to decide if I should try that. Anyway, I guess you never know what is going to click with your kids until you give it a try. Thanks for the response! Kirsten

I am trying to decide what to use for my writing reluctant 14 year old DS (9th grade this year). We have finished all of IEW level B, and have done some of level C, and I am trying to decide whether to continue with the C and add in Elegant Essay (which I haven't purchased yet) or try the Bravewriter (not purchased either). Without having them side by side to compare, I just am not sure. I really want to help my son get his writing up to speed in the next couple of years. I know you ladies can't decide for me, but any advice would be appreciated! thanks! Kirsten

Anyone have a CBD coupon code for free shipping or anything like that...just thought I would ask before I click "submit order". Thanks! Kirsten

Momsinthegarden mentioned taping information to the form....when we received the NM packet last September there was a new option to fill the forms out online. It was the first year the option was available. The paper form was still an option, but I think they are trying to move to a completely online process. The schools that sent my DS scholarship offers (totally unsolicited by us) were not on our radar screen either, but the schools he was looking at in MO (Missouri S&T and U of Missouri) do not offer ANY extra scholarship money for NM finalists. So, he chose to take the money and go out of state! Kirsten

My son (senior this past year) did the Notgrass Government and really liked it. He spent between 15 and 45 minutes per day (per lesson), depending on the questions and if there was extra reading from the "We Hold These Truths" book. I really liked that it is laid out it such an easy, workable format. It required no planning on my part; he just followed the lessons day by day, answered the questions, took the quizzes and tests. There were many days that my son would say, "Hey Mom, do you know what I read in my governmnent book today?" :001_smile: I would recommend it! Kirsten

You may already know this, but if your son makes semi-finalist, one of the things he HAS to do to make finalist is take the SAT. Here in the midwest where I live, the ACT is king, so most kids take that. Only the ones looking at east coast or west coast schools take the SAT. In fact, the only place reasonable close to us offering the SAT was a private Luthran school in another town. His scores on the SAT need to be comparable to his PSAT scores. So, if he hasn't taken it yet, then by the time you get notified in September, that leaves very little time to take it. My son took it in October, and I believe the last date your allowed to take it is in December. Fortunately, my son scored really high, so he just took it that one time and we were good! If you think he has a good shot of making semi-finalist, then you might want to have him take the SAT as soon as possible. Kirsten

It is never really explained why a student moves from semi-finalist to finalist, but they obviously have a system for determining that! The qualifying score can vary from year to year and state to state, based on the number of high scoring tests that year. But like Muttichen said, he probably has a good chance of being a finalist if you submit all the paperwork on time and do a thorough job of it. My son is a NMF, and we had his classical guitar teacher, who is an adjunct professor at the University in our town, do his recommendation. I filled out all the rest of the paperwork. The school that you list as your top choice can be changed up until April. In fact, you can change it as many times as you want. It is important to realize that the award from NM is not very much, unless you or your husband work for a company that is a NM sponsor. Then your son would receive whatever amount that company sponsors for. The real money comes from the universities that offer scholarships to NM finalists. My son was offered full or near full tuition from University of Oklahoma, U of Alabama, U of Central Florida (who really caters to NM sholars), and Auburn University. BUT, not all schools will do that, only the ones that want those NM students. My son chose Auburn, so he will be attending there in the fall with only his books and food to pay for. My husband said the other day that he was on their website and they have since changed their NM offer to less than full tuition and board, perhaps because (he thinks) they had twice as many NM students apply as they had the year before. My advice would be to google a list (someone on these boards had the list just recently) of the schools offering good NM scholarships and pick a few that your son might be interested in and plan a campus visit. If he makes finalist, the sooner you know what school he wants the better. Remember, not all schools offer these great scholarships. My son had a near perfect ACT as well, but it was his NM status that brought the best scholarship offers. Good luck, and I hope he makes it! Kirsten

I will pray most fervently. :grouphug:

Hi, Just wondering if any other WTMers have a son or daughter attending Auburn University in the fall. My son will be a mechanical engineering student, staying in "The Hill" dorms. He's my first, so I'm already getting anxious about him leaving home. :( ~Kirsten

Is this course free? I looked at it, but am not sure if you can just start using it and do the quizzes and all? thanks! Kirsten

My son used the Chalk Dust ACT-SAT Math Review DVD's, which helped him review. As far as the timing, he just took multiple practice tests to get a sense of how long he could spend per problem. Sixty questions in sixty minutes is, technically, one question per minute, but some don't take a minute and some take longer. Every test has similar types of problems, so doing multiple practice tests should help her get a sense of the timing. Good luck to her! Kirsten

Hi, I am considering the DIVE for science for the first time. According to the DIVE website schedule for using Apologia, it looks like many of the modules are covered in a week...we have been using Apologia and typically take two weeks per module. If you have used DIVE with the Apologia biology, is one module per week doable? Seems like a lot of reading to get done in a week... Thanks for any insight! Kirsten

Hi, There is no history or science on the SAT. There is only reading, English, and math. For the ACT, there is reading, math, English and science. I guess nobody really cares what your child knows about history! However, if your child plans to take any SAT subject tests (some colleges require them from homeschoolers) then your child would need to prepare for that. ~Kirsten

So kind of you to share! I sent you a PM. Thanks! Kirsten

You might consider looking into Nanci Bell's book Visualizing and Verbalizing for Language Comprehension and Thinking It is about helping people (kids and adults) who read perfectly well, but cannot recall or remember information from stories. She talks about the inablility of some people to form pictures or images in their head as they read. Most people create a "movie" in their head as they read, but some people have to be taught to do this, because it does not come naturally to them. I am using this with my 14 year old son and have seem improvement already. He doesn't enjoy reading because he doesn't get "into" the story, or indentify with the characters. Without the ability to visualize in his head what is happening in the story, it is just a bunch of words strung together. You might ask your son if the words form images and pictures in his mind when he reads. If not, you might need to work on that skill, not on regular comprehension skills. Just a thought to add to all the other great advice you've already been given! Kirsten

Just wondering what you ladies do about literature assignments when your child is writing a research paper (15-20 pages)? Is that all you have them do for their daily "lit/English" assignment, or do you have them continue to read other literature (besides what they are reading for their paper)? I cut out my son's regular literature reading assignments because with the research paper and all his other work, he was falling behind on his lit assignments. Am I being too easy on him? Should I expect that he can do both at the same time? BTW, he is a senior this year and taking Calc 2 and Statistics at our local university, which take up a lot of his time... I appreciate your opinions! Kirsten

Thank you for sharing your experiences and comments! I appreciate hearing what others think...hopefully it will help me make a decision! I will check out Writeguide as well. Thanks again! Kirsten

Has anyone used the Home2teach online writing classes? Just trying to research online writing classes and was wondering about these. If you have used something else you liked, I would love to hear! I am looking for something to help my reluctant, struggling 8th grader writer (soon to be reluctant, struggling 9th grade writer) :001_smile: Thanks! Kirsten

Thanks to all of you...your suggestions have helped A LOT! Thanks, FloridaLisa and Kareni, for the links. They are great! Kirsten

Would you have your student read all the Federalist Papers, or are there some sections that could be omitted? We are running a little behind where I hoped to be at this point in Lit. and am trying to trim if possible! Thanks for any suggestions! Kirsten