Out of the many American history textbooks of various levels I've used as a homeschooler, public high schooler, and college student, my favorite was Paul Johnson's A History of the American People. I read it in my American Civilization I and II classes at UD. However, I do not know if there is a *curriculum* that goes along with it.

Mine is a bit of a different perspective -- I'm not a parent, but a now-grown child. I was homeschooled up until 10th grade, and went to public high school from 10th-12th grade. For me, the school environment was much better academically than homeschooling would have been. I had really amazing teachers, and was able to take AP classes, which got me some college credit before I started college. I also had experience with a structured school environment before college, which some homeschoolers can miss otherwise. And I was able to participate in some extra-curriculars which I had not had the opportunity to do as a homeschooler. A nice side effect was also that college admissions was much easier as a public schooler -- no need for curriculum lists. I think in general it is much easier for schools to do science than it is to do it at home, simply by the nature of the beast. To a slightly lesser degree, English is also better at a school. Of course all of these factors vary from homeschool to homeschool as well! In my case it would have been very difficult for us to do science well at home. There were downsides to my high school experience, but most of them stemmed from being in a very large (3000+ kids) public high school with troublemakers in it. I don't think your son would have those problems in a private school. Some problems he might have: school takes up WAY more time. Homework is demanding. The schoolwork is demanding (though this is good preparation for college, from my experience). Most of his free time will disappear. Independent study is very difficult to do when you are at school 8 hours a day (but college has the time for it..go figure). Hope this helps!

My mom had this problem with me....So when I was 12 or so I got to read whatever I wanted, without her approval. I'm sure I read some things I shouldn't have, but most of what I read was still okay -- or at least I think so. Then again, I was the child, so I could be wrong about that! Picture books are nearly always okay, or the objectionable content is minor. There are also exceptions to this, but much fewer than for other categories. If the book is non-fiction, check the index. If the book is fiction and your kids are reading chapter books and above, check the book description. From what I recall of my childhood reading, books in the children's section are usually okay. Books in the teens section are the ones which tend to, or even usually have, more adult content. Usually it's pretty easy to tell simply by reading the book description whether there's a chance of that. Teen historical fiction is safer than teen contemporary fiction. If your kids read really well and want to read adult books, classics are usually fine. If there is adult content it will be dealt with circumspectly and without much detail. Other adult books, check the book description. Beware more contemporary fantasy books written for adults! They can have romantic scenes in them which are not appropriate for children. Not all do, however. Nearly all Christian fiction for adults which I've seen has adult situations but not adult *content*. Do you have time to pre-read some books, but not all? If you have young teens who want to check out the teens section of the library, or even if your kids are younger, maybe you could pre-read the ones that look questionable and take a chance on the ones that look safe. I have yet to find a book-review site anything like what is available for movies, sadly. That would be a pretty amazing thing.

I use iWork instead of Office for Mac for all of my college work. The word processor is called Pages. You can export .pages files as .doc files, and no one I've emailed them to has had problems opening the .doc files. The only problem I've had is that the documents tend to shorten themselves -- the text is all there, but it somehow takes up less room on the page. I have yet to figure out why. I think there must be some difference in the margins. I avoid the problem by exporting the files as .pdf or by printing the papers out myself. For people who don't have to worry about paper length as determined by page count, there isn't a problem at all. iWork is also significantly cheaper than Office for Mac, if I remember correctly. iWork has also been improved (I have the '08 version). Hope that helps!

I didn't get a laptop till I was in college...and when I did I got the cheapest Mac I could get directly from Apple. I was able to get an education discount and a free iPod. I think it was about $1000 but it may have been less - I don't remember what it was. It hasn't had any problems at all after a year. You would have to check Apple's website to see everything included with the laptop, but I get the feeling it probably has more included than similar PCs. I had two roommates and another friend with Dell laptops. One had hard drive and computer screen issues, and ended up without her computer for three weeks (which is a very, very bad thing at college!). The other two had some minor but pesky problems which could not get fixed. They all bought their computers around the same time I did. I grew up on Macs. People who grew up on PCs think Macs are difficult. I think PCs are difficult, so I think it's a matter of preference and what you're used to.

Life Is Beautiful, which is one of the best films I've ever seen anything by Hayao Miyazaki, especially Howl's Moving Castle Nirgendwo in Afrika (Nowhere in Africa) Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others - which is a somewhat inaccurate translation of the title) Comedian Harmonists

The Harry Potter books are definitely not twaddle! They're certainly better written than Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew, and the plot is much, much better than any Nancy Drew plot. I've read all seven, as have at least two of my siblings and my dad. Many of my other siblings have either read or listened to several of the books. None of us have shown any interest in practicing witchcraft, though the books have probably encouraged some of us to read more fantasy. LotR is definitely better quality than Harry Potter - but, then again, LotR is waaaay up there on the quality scale. I actually like the Harry Potter books a bit better than the Narnia books, story-wise - up to the last Narnia book, that is. The Last Battle beats any Harry Potter books any day!

All of my three formal dresses have come from thrift stores. The most expensive was $15 at Ross. :D You may have to do a little searching..but it's so worth it.

I started out reading KJV, but it isn't the easiest to understand version around. I then went to NIV, but switched to NLT after someone gave me a pocket NLT and I realized I preferred it. I now use an NLT Life Application Study Bible as my primary Bible. For college classes, I have to use an RSV-CE. I may look into getting an ESV at some point, so I have a more literal translation on hand.

I turned 18 six days before my high school graduation and went to college in the fall. Maturity-wise, I was just fine. I had at least two classmates who both turned 18 somewhere during the school year, and they were fine as well. That being said, even at my college there is some of the objectionable behavior mentioned by Anna. I look at it and go "I am not putting myself in that kind of situation, ever." Other people my age obviously do not have that "skill." A teenager may be ready academically for college, but not be ready to cope responsibly with dorm life. It's a very individual thing.

I am still a teenager, and I have never heard anyone say that. I'm in TX, if that makes a difference.

Timothy and Aaron are two of my favourite boys' names from the Bible. Other ones, off the top of my head: Joshua, Jacob, Caleb, Thaddaeus, Paul.

I went from homeschool to public high school when I was in 10th grade. It was extremely beneficial for me - I was able to take foreign language, be in choir, and other things I would not have been able to do at home. I graduated in the top 3% of my class, so no problems academically - I think I did so well because of the 11 years of homeschooling I got beforehand. The high school environment was very stressful at times - it was an extremely large school - but the academics made it worth it for me. Also, I did not have access to the kind of homeschool social network you described, so being at school gave me an opportunity to make friends and be around people my own age instead of people much younger or older. I'm now a college student, and despite 3 years at public high school, I was unprepared for the "scene." It was present but extremely avoidable in my high school, and I avoided it. Finding so many people who wanted to party in college was a shock, especially considering where I go. I'm currently still attending church because of friends I met in high school, as well.

I have had serious conversations with other freshmen, but they're not usually that intellectual. They have been, but that's not really a usual thing. However, I have one friend who's a senior and knows some grad students. I've had numerous intellectual conversations with the friend and several with some of the grad students. One of the grad students is more than willing to help explain things like philosophy (Plato's Republic) and Milton, which is a huge blessing as they're not always the most comprehensive of books....

Most scholarships are for high school seniors to apply to. National Merit scholarships are given based on PSAT test scores from junior year. There are a few scholarships for juniors out there, but most of the time it's seniors. Some colleges have earlier deadlines for people who want to apply for scholarships; others have separate scholarship and admission application processes. Find out what this college's deadlines are and work with them. It was fall semester of my senior year when I really started worrying about college applications and admissions. You can do it spring of senior year as well, but I think it's better to start earlier. You're more likely to get better financial aid and scholarships that way as well, I think.

If my loan amounts stay the same as they are now, I'll graduate with about 26K in loans for four years. However, I actually have more loan money than I need right now, so I'm hoping to be able to start paying off loans when I'm still in college / take out fewer loans and hopefully end up with less than that total. Considering how much my college costs per year, I think it's worth it, though I still don't like the loans at all.

From my experience in a Texas public high school: I never took a regular English class. However, I was told by friends that they read the books aloud in class. One friend who ended up in regular told me she could sleep through it and still get an A. Pre-AP/Honors classes did not do that, as far as I know (I only took pre-AP when it was the highest level offered). There's more writing and more discussion of the book. I'm not sure how this compares to AP in junior and senior year. AP classes are in preparation for the AP tests. Since the AP test is supposed to get you out of the first year of college English, the class is supposed to be equivalent to college English. Mine definitely were. I do not think it would be possible to put a homeschooling class as AP on a transcript. However, you can take the test without taking an AP class, and any AP test scores can and should be reported to any colleges your children apply to!

I got a job at the age of sixteen without a driver's license. However, I did have a school ID. I don't remember if I had a state ID at the time or not. Getting a state photo ID would probably be a good idea in general, as it can be substituted for a driver's license any time you just need proof of age and identity (e.g. flying, buying certain medicines, etc.).

My parents can't pay for college, so it's all on me. I am taking out more loans than I would like, but compared to the amount of debt people tend to get into in college it will hopefully be a very small amount. Also, I have excess loans right now which I will hopefully be able to pay back before I graduate! I would pay them back now but I'm hoping to go to Europe at some point. Most of my college is paid for by grants and an academic scholarship, which I am extremely grateful for. Several people have mentioned that when you pay for your own education, you own it. I'm finding that to be very true. The fact that it's ALL on me makes me think a lot more about what I'm doing and why. And since I'm paying for it, I'm taking as much advantage of my education as I can!!

No, I'm not Catholic, nor am I planning on becoming Catholic. :) There are a LOT of Catholics on campus -- I think the figure is 75%. No one has directly tried to convert me. I've had discussions about religion with some of my friends, but it was in the context of something that came up or something I was curious about, not them finding out I was non-Catholic and grilling me on my beliefs! There may be some people there like that, but I haven't met any. :) I love UD. It is really uplifting to me to know so many people my age who actually PRACTICE their faith. The academics are challenging, but I am learning so much and enjoying it. The academics DEFINITELY outweigh dealing with Catholic doctrine. Catholic doctrine is not by any means present in all the courses. Out of the classes I've had so far, the only one in which Catholic doctrine has been present was Understanding the Bible -- which is one of two required theology courses. I happen to find learning about Catholic doctrine interesting, so I don't mind those two courses. I think the other one, Western Theological Traditions, doesn't limit itself to Catholic doctrine. I haven't taken it yet, though. I think classes at a state university would be much easier.... Example: At a normal state university, you have a year of required English. At UD, two years are required. In the first class, you read The Iliad, The Odyssey, The Aeneid, Beowulf, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. In the second class, you read The Divine Comedy and Paradise Lost. I do not think any state university would do that or come anywhere close in the first English class taken by freshmen!! This kind of thing applies across the board. Just looking at the Core shows that. Usually I enjoy the challenge, but sometimes (like during mid-term or finals week) I wish I went to an easier college! UD is a small school, so I know most of the people in my class. The Core Curriculum means I get to learn a lot of things I wouldn't otherwise learn, which can be a good and a bad thing. So far it's been a good thing. :) My professors know who I am. Aside from the beginning biology and chemistry classes for people planning to major in a science, I think all of the classes are small enough for the professors to know everyone in the class. From what I've heard, you don't get things like that at a state university usually. If I had gone to a state university, it would probably have been UNT. UNT has about 36,000 students (as opposed to UD's 2000 or so). It is also jokingly referred to as "[my public high school] grade 13" because so many people go there. I'm one of two people from my high school at UD. The other one is a senior this year. There's really no comparison between the two. UD is a much, much better place for *me* to be. :)

As a college student, I think this article is interesting. First of all, I find some of the comments made about students worrying about drinking too much on spring break or thinking they should cut back on partying a bit iffy. If you think you're going to drink too much on spring break, maybe you should make sure you don't! In fact, maybe you shouldn't be drinking at all; it's probably illegal! If you are spending all your time partying instead of studying and then you get stressed out about tests, that's your fault. You are making the choices and you can live with them. I do understand stress about courses, especially during times like midterm or finals week. Those are the only times I have truly been stressed in college, actually, along with the night before my first test with a professor. The rest of the time I've been able to deal with the work with a minimal amount of stress, because I will be able to get it all done if I use my time wisely. Time management and self-control are very important in college. I'm not sure exactly how common these things are among college students, though.

I'm actually the student, so perhaps there will be a bit of a different perspective here.. I decided not to apply to state colleges (where I could have gotten full scholarships) because I did not want to go to a big school. I graduated from a very large public high school and did not want to deal with that any more! I finished applying to University of Dallas, Trinity University, and Hendrix College. I was accepted to all three and received scholarships from all three. I was also accepted to Mount Holyoke College, but I never finished the application -- I did all of it but one part and was not expecting to hear anything from them! I visited Hendrix, UD, and Trinity. I didn't feel comfortable at Hendrix, and they were not able to give me financial aid for everything because I was an out of state student. I loved Trinity, but my original financial aid package included a loan for my parents, which was simply unacceptable. That was later altered, but by that point I was pretty sure I wanted to go to UD. I decided on UD for several reasons. UD gave me the overall best financial aid package. I wanted a more religious environment. I don't know how the "typical college scene" is at Trinity, but at UD it is easily avoidable and is probably better than at other schools. UD is close to home, which was important and has since turned out to be even more important. I'm really glad I'm able to come home, go to church, and see my family and my boyfriend on a semi-regular basis. It also gives me a chance to get away from dorm life, which I think helps me not get as annoyed at my three roommates as they sometimes get at each other! (We chose to room together.) My parents really left the decision to me. I think this was because 1) it's my life and I have to live it, and 2) I am the one taking out the loans and otherwise dealing with what isn't covered by scholarships or grants. I really love UD, but sometimes wish I'd gone with the full scholarship at the state university. It would be easier and I wouldn't be going into debt! I know that I'm being challenged much more and overall having a better experience here than I would there, though, so it's worth it.

When I was applying to colleges and looking at websites, it looked like a lot of colleges wanted course descriptions from homeschoolers, curricula used, etc. So you probably want to keep track of all that. I know some of the high school curricula (Apologia, Saxon) have some grading built in, so you could probably use that. My TX public school course grades came half from tests and half from everything else, except for AP classes where 75% of the grade came from tests.