She's not a NMF; that would certainly help open some doors. I've heard that about Penn State. It's dh alma mater and her top choice (particularly the marching band), but she'll need to seek other sources for scholarships. I like Berry too! We are planning a visit soon. I think once she talks to some students and tours the campus, she's gonna love it. Thank you for the imput. :001_smile:

So far dd has been accepted to: Georgia Gwinnett College (attending as a dual enrolled student since Jr. Year and will become an advanced freshman) Oglethorpe U Roanoke College (so far offered 1/2 tuition, and invited back for Scholars Weekend) Drexel U Penn State Berry College Georgia Southern Waiting to hear from: Hampton U I'd appreciate any info about these colleges. She's visited a few, but not all. We'd like to hear about experiences, alumni or anything else someone may know about these schools. Thanks, Ava

Kim in SouthGA we are waiting for a decision from Berry also. It seems our local HS is taking it's time getting her transcripts sent (from before break!!!). Ava

Please pm or email me. Thanks, Ava

DD is currently taking College Algebra after having taken Algebra 2 in high school last year. She says it's not much more than Algebra 2; it starts off basic, but moves quickly. Ava

Beautiful Feet Geography is a wonderful basic US History curriculum using beautiful map work and the Holling C. Holling books. We are really enjoying this right now. Not sure how much mapping their actual US History curriculum incorporates, though. We've also used Sonlight, which focuses on history through lit, but includes instructions for following a map as you read through the books. Trail Guide to US Geography uses The Captain's Dog in the last weeks of the study. Winter Promise is much like Sonlight, except the map work we experienced was much more deliberate, they're in the 'Make Your Own History Pages'; we liked it better. It also includes lots of projects and movies as well as Adventure Reading, which are fewer books than Sonlight, but more developmentaly appropriate. Geogrpahy Matters has a lot of geogrpahy curriculum you can check out. These are among our favorite for lit and geography. Ava

My dd enjoyed Black Ships Before Troy and The Wandering of Odysseus, but if you get them, you'll want the ones illustrated by Alan Lee. The illustrations are really engaging and add so much to the story. They are long books, as mentioned above, but they kept dd's attention, which is huge. I've seen Black Ships as strictly a chapter book with little to no illustrations, if that helps. Rosemary Sutcliffe was a talented writer, to say the least. Ava

Yep, my number went up by one.

My number seems to reflect the number I had on my itrader page for sales. Is this how it works?

Do you have a schedule or anything written out as to which DWN books and lessons you used? I have all the books, but I'm not sure how to incorporate them the way you describe. Ava

This is going to be good. I'm a little nervous though. What do you do with 2 junk drawers (only counting the ones in the kitchen) and 5 cutlery drawers!!:confused: Ava

I thought the very same thing! I think that's why we like them so much. This movie is the same way, and we enjoy watching it a lot. Could it be the whole foreign martial arts vibe? Ava

I remember when I was in high school we also watched ShoGun, Platoon, and Amadeus.

duplicate post

I don't know about our middle school, but when dd16 inquired at the high school she was told they were allowed and that they were surprised more kids don't use them. It has proven difficult for dd to carry all those books, so a rolling book bag was essential. But they never seemed to last. Of course, we also didn't invest much in them. Now we know better. It's definitely worth the price to pay for a good one. She has ultimately ended up with a rolling briefcase that has room for her laptop, the only downside is she can't put it on her back to carry it. It holds more, however, and I don't really want her carrying all that weight anyway. I do have a gf that's a chiropractor and she went with me to 'try some on'. She says the waist strap is important for stability. Ava

No age was specified, here's some of what we used: Last of the Mohicans The Patriot Amistad Glory Ben Hur To Kill a Mockingbird We Were Soldiers Once Gone with the Wind Schindler's List The Boy in the Striped Pajamas The Scarlet Pimpernel Das Boot Spartacus Hotel Ruwanda Clash & Wrath of the Titans King Author Braveheart Robin Hood All Quiet on the Western Front The Pianist Apollo 13 Any book that had a movie tie-in, usually of the same name.

We are actually reading that right now!! It is really good, we are enjoying it a lot. That being said, the prologue is a bit descriptive/graphic. It surprised me with the somberness and sadness of the situation. The reading level is very appropriate for this age, though. We are only half way through, so don't know about anything else that's like the prologue. The book is very funny and reminds me of Caddie Woodlawn in it's mischievous writing style. Ava

I just found this really neat notebooking pack for Africa! Very detailed and perfect for my geography loving kid. Just thought I'd share. Ava

My dh is very insistent about showing the work. I was very insistent about copying down the correct problem. So between us, dd, now 16, does both with good consistency. She loves math and finds it much easier to go over her work and find her own mistakes if she's written down each step. Now she's taking College Algebra at the local LAC, this level of math does require one to write out each step. Before she learned some shortcuts, some of her problems were a page long. It seemed like we spent the entirety of 5th grade reminding her to simplify, but now it's not a big deal. Definitely start these habits early. Another thought, and maybe you already do this, but instead of you having to figure out what problem they are doing, or which step they messed up on, make it their problem. The first child would need to take her work and go through and renumber everything for me so that I could then correct it. More work for her, instead of for you. (Been down this road). If answer were wrong and no work is shown, then child needs to go and redo the problem showing each step to try to figure out where they went wrong. Perhaps sitting with this student while they work it out on paper may also be a consideration, depending on time availability. (Traveled this road pretty frequently as well.) Sometimes dd would get answers right, especially word problems, intuitively, then just write down the answer. This is where you have to know your child. I was sometimes content to have her verbally explain the mental math that went into solving the problem, as that seemed more important than the standard write-it-out that was expected. Of course, sometimes her logic/reasoning was flawed, then I required her to write it out. HTH, Ava

DD started playing trumpet at age 9. We had just begun homeschooling and found a private tutor that we've stuck with ever since. Dh even directed her homeschool marching band in middle school. This is now her 7th year and she is going strong. Maturity has made a huge difference in her enjoyment, commitment, and skill progress. We're at the level where practice trumps talent, unless one is seriously gifted. It definitely takes maturity to understand the commitment on the students part and on your part as well. Ava

It took me a while, but I finally remember the book Sarah Bishop. That's a Scott O'Dell book, if I'm remembering correctly. While his books are good, they always seemed a bit of a stretch for this age. In fact, I thought I remember seeing this in a high school core, possibly Sonlight? I agree that there are so many good books out there for US History that she can probably skip a few with no issues. Ava

The Fritz book is The Cabin Faced West. Mocassin Trail Phoebe the Spy The Year of Ms. Agnes Anything by Kenneth Thomasma By The Great Horn Spoon Freedom Train These were some of my dd's favorites for US History. I remember Johnny Tremain being a 'dense' book, meaning the language and rhythm were difficult to read, as it was published in 1943. However, it was well worth the effort. The imagery in the book is really wonderful. We did that and Carry on Mr. B as read-alouds. Carry on Mr. B may not be great for sensitive types. It seems someone died, without preamble, in almost every chapter, though nothing graphic, just very matter-of-fact. We did, however, enjoy the book. Ava

Journey to the Center of the Earth The Count of Monte Cristo The Phantom of the Opera Tarzan Maybe not 'classic', but The Princess Bride

We were all completely enthralled as he made that jump. My dd16 said it was the coolest thing ever. The landing was so perfect; he made it look so easy. Wow! Thanks for sharing the link!!!

We decided to do an online public school, for 8th grade, to get her used to doing things the 'public school' way; this included local state testing and disciplining oneself to get homework done and turned in on time, among other things. My dd has played the trumpet for 7 years, so the band program at the local high school was an important part of our decision. We talked to the band director extensively, and allowed her to attend practices 'after school' with the high schoolers. She then began 9th grade the following year, and is now finishing up 10th grade there as well. The band is the only thing she really likes about high school. If we had an option to send her to a performing arts school, we would have. She's had some amazing teachers, and some 'interesting' teachers that required some extra diligence on our part to make it a decent fit. Here's her take on your question: I'm 16 now, and from my experience I've found that some things to really consider are whether of not you want to expose your daughter to worldly views. Nothing will really be censored in high school. Other than that high school is fun as long as you be yourself. If she is completely herself then she shouldn't have any social problems like bullying. The main thing I've learned socially from my experience in high school is that you have to be confident with yourself and not be afraid to be wrong. If someone tries to pick on you, blow that person off as if they are not worthy of your emotional response. All of the drama in high school comes from an individual's lack of confidence and self-esteem. If she is comfortable with herself then she shouldn't have any issues. Warning to her though: she might be surprised at some of the things people do there. People become obnoxious in surprising ways in high school, but just ignore them and you should be fine. I wanted to add that the local math and sciences charter school is about 45 mins away, and the kids that attend from our area got together and hired a minibus and driver for the school year. I think they pick up and drop off at the local library. There are about 3 minibuses that I've seen. Also, though it is possible as a homeschooler, we've found that access to dual enrollment and things of that nature are a bit more accessible. My dd plans to be dual enrolled next year, while attending our local tech school for biotechnology. She would technically still attend the local high school, but really, she'd only be there for band after school. The prospect of being out of the local high school and moving on to new opportunities is exciting for her. She has gotten frustrated with the school when teachers don't appear to be setting the students up for success, at the same time, she has learned to do some self-advocating, as well as how to utilize the tutoring and extra help available. While we'll be praying for a successful Jr. and Sr. year in new settings, we are also glad that she had the opportunity to learn and grow in some unexpected, but good ways. She's cemented her convictions about so many things because of her experiences there. Hth, Ava