Maybe it makes a difference in calculating a "weighted" gpa (whatever exactly that means)? It can't hurt to have "AP" in the course title, but it sounds like a lot of hoops, and one would think that the bottom line would be the AP exam score, whatever one called the course or whatever texts one used to get to a score of 4 or 5. I guess if you're already doing all the research and planning necessary for AP level work in some subject, maybe there aren't that many more hoops to get your plan CB approved? And once you have an approved AP syllabus, you can re-use it for your other children, right? Or hand it off to a friend to use for their students?

What is the disadvantage to doing this? Assuming the student does AP level work and scores at least a 4 on the AP exam, does it really make that much of a difference to put on the transcript: "Biology with AP Exam, score: 5" vs "AP Biology with AP Exam, score: 5"?

I'll never do it myself because I love to plan but fail miserably on implementation/follow through, but.... just out of curiosity.... How do you go about planning an AP course for your student? What basic steps do you go through?

My kids (and I) liked The Mysterious Benedict Society audiobooks.

Just a data point that might be useful..... My daughter did LfC A-B in grades 4 & 5 and no Latin in 6th. This year she took Latin I with Lukeion which covers the first half of Wheelock's. This year has been almost a breeze for her. Those two years of LfC really did cover a lot of the material in Wheelock's, at least through chapter 12 or so. Bottom line, LfC will give your son a solid foundation. Finding something that is effective, that the child likes or at least doesn't dislike, and that actually gets done is 99% of the issue. You have a program that's working. I would stay the course! Your son has probably already established some routine for using LfC that works for him and gets the work done. He can use exactly the same routine for LfC B. Toss the activity book! None of my three children ever used them; they were just too tedious. Changing programs will mean some overlap and/or some gaps. It will mean having to come up with a new routine and all the time it takes to get up and running effectively with that routine. And, in the end, the new program may or may not work for you and your son. Having btdt more times than I want to count, if you have something that works... stay the course!

Debbie, Don't be discouraged to the point of avoiding all online classes! There's a vast difference between live online classes and asynchronous (not live) online classes. My boys will be taking two async classes next year because of scheduling difficulties and because we successfully used one of the providers (Derek Owens) last year, but normally we only do live online classes. Almost all of the live online classes we've done have kept my students focused and engaged. Are PA AP classes not live? yvonne

One library put up a "NO RESELLERS" sign at their library sale! Wish they would ALL do that.

Doesn't it make you want to go through his stacks or boxes ("Oops! I didn't realize all these boxes were yours! How are you ever going to read them all?!") and see if there was anything of interest? LOL My only consolation is that my favorite books at the library sales are the older ones and those don't have isbns!

The other thing I'm seeing here is libraries culling out the best books (ones that are $$ used or high demand, current books) to sell online themselves. One of the large, local libraries used to have some great used book sales until they started doing this. They opened their online sales room once, and I discovered that was where all the better books were. I'm sure I'm not the only one who stopped going to their sales because of this. Why bother wading through a bunch of junk if there aren't going to be any hidden gems anyhow? People like me are exactly the people who would be willing to buy those better books. The prices I saw when they opened the room that one time were completely fair and reasonable. I suggested that they open the room every time they have a sale, but they didn't want their volunteers going to the trouble of posting books online and then having the books sold in person. ??

Yay, 8! I love finding gems at the library sales. Too much, in fact! I had to stop going to library sales cold turkey a couple of years ago because I just can not resist buying the quality, older children's books that libraries are discarding by the truckloads now. :( Have to make room for those computers and dvd's! Need those shelves for Captain Underpants and Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Spongebob! And what do you all think about the people who descend on the library sales with cell phones in hand to buy books for online selling companies? They run the isbn through the company's db. If the company will buy it from them, they buy it. Makes me so irritable on the one hand bec. they inevitably leave a MESS of books upside down or strewn about because they're trying to get through more books than the 10 other folks doing what they're doing. They grab up stacks of the better books that someone else might actually want to buy to read/use instead of just sell. OTOH, I guess when I'm able to find a used book online and just click "buy" to get it, those are probably the people I'm buying from. Still don't like seeing them at library sales, though.

R&S Grammar 2-8 Horizons Math 1-6 Dolciani Pre-Algebra Singapore Math 1-6 was get it done for me but that was because I'd chunked out the entire level (text/workbook/IP/CWP) over the summer. Then, during the school year, all I had to do was look at my spreadsheet to see what the next day's chunk was and that's what we did. Super easy, once the summer's planning was done.

You mentioned that he missed a week of school due to illness. If he's dealing with a longer term illness or depression, that would be cause for a longer absence. Does the district have any contingencies for an extended medical absence? Some districts here will arrange for an "educational specialist" to come to the home and help the student keep up on school work. Maybe he could get an extension to allow him to hand in work/take the finals late. If he can get a medical excuse and could do the work from home, he could avoid the miserable situation in the classroom and get the time needed to get his final grades up and finish out the year without impacting his transcript.

PM'd you, fourisenough....

What wonderful news! It sounds like your whole family has a plan that you all can really look forward to for the fall! It even sounds like your mother may regret the damage she caused inadvertently. She may come around to supporting home schooling for her grandchildren! Wonderful all the way around!

The Potter's School has French 1-4/AP classes. They meet for an hour and a half once a week and you can also register for a 1.5 hour/week "conversation" supplement for some classes. Next year the French 2 class will meet for 1.5 hours, twice/week. The instructor, Mme S., has had many good reviews here. My 9th graders are taking Fr 4 and my 7th grader is taking Fr 1 with TPS this year. We've been happy with it. Maybe Wilson Hill will start a French department. If you (or anyone!) are at all interested, let WHA know that you're looking for French classes. We've been happy with TPS this year, but it would help with scheduling to have other, solid French classes available.

My boys did Windows to the World: An Introduction to Literary Analysis with a small co-op group in 8th grade and loved the whole experience. I think it was successful largely because there were others in the class. Lit analysis is one of those things that really requires interaction... with a parent, other students, teacher, etc. They also tried an online Center for Lit course, but it didn't work for us. If you want to cover two bases at the same time (literary analysis and writing,) you could look for a lit-based writing course. My 9th graders are taking Potter's School's English 3: Literature Survey, and it has gone very well. They have made significant strides not only in lit analysis but also in writing. Definitely money well-spent for us. Another source of solid academic, Christian online courses is Wilson Hill Academy. My rising 8th grader will be taking Cindy Lange's lit-based Expository Writing class. You might contact WHA about whether they're offering other lit-based writing classes in the fall. They are very responsive.

We're in California. My niece was in a similar situation. Her local school district had an arrangement for students who were out long term for medical reasons. They sent a teacher to the home to "supervise" the student's work. The student basically worked independently, at home, submitted assignments to the "supervising teacher," and was able to continue to accrue credits toward high school graduation. If your ultimate goal is returning to a brick and mortar, you might ask your school district if they have a similar arrangement for students out for medical reasons?

It is so hard for a child not to have a friend. :( It seems like this is the root issue for your son. He made friends before PS. He is bright and was curious and into learning about a range of things for learning's sake. He was kind. This all changed when he hit PS? The source of the problem seems kind of obvious. Like any normal kid, he yearns for a friend in this new environment. The school doesn't sound like a positive environment for making true friends. Everything he's doing that is so contrary to the child you knew (doing poorly in classes, "forgetting" to hand in homework as perhaps some of the more admired kids proudly do, etc.) is likely being done with the goal of making a friend and fitting in to this new environment. He can't see how wrong this new environment is because 1) he's a child, and, and worst of all, 2) someone he loves & trusts, grandma, is telling him this is "normal" and something all kids just have to do. Any pre-teen/teen just wants to be "normal." I'd go at it from the friend angle. I would pour my time and energy into helping him foster ONE good, true friendship. I'm an introvert. It took me years of thinking I had to find groups for my kids to get involved with, but really just one other friend makes all the difference. If there's any one other person with whom he shares some common interest, no matter how small, and with whom he has some interest in interacting, try to nurture that connection and see if it will kindle into a friendship. He just needs ONE to start with. Is there any other child, maybe from his pre-PS days, with whom he played or shared some interest? Is he starting catechism classes at church? Is there another boy in the class that he might be able to be friends with? Is there any other boy with whom there might be the slightest potential for a friendship? If you could provide an environment in which to nurture the relationship... take the two to a movie? Take the two to some activity they'd both like? Let him invite the other boy over to play some card/board/strategy game boys this age seem to like? ETA: I'd also take him out of PS. Or can you foresee something there changing that would improve his situation, academically or socially? If you take him out, you'll probably have issues with him responding to your authority, so if you can make use of a co-op, or a UMS, or tutor, or online class/teacher, it might help. I'd also limit interaction with grandma to only times you are present. She's not only undermined your authority as his parent, she's also cast you as a less than competent adult. ("Pretending to be a teacher"?!?) Do you have any friends or other family who could watch the kids that afternoon?

If your student followed/is following a Great Books or integrated humanities sequence (WTM, Omnibus, Great Books Tutorial/Escondido, Schola Tutorial, Alexandria Tutorial), how did you/how do you plan to handle that on the student's transcript? I imagine that, on the transcript itself, one would use the actual title of the course.... "Great Books x" ? And in the course description, one would list the texts used and the period studied? But .... it seems colleges look specifically for a year of "World History," "US History," and, sometimes "Government/Econ." Even Patrick Henry College, which seems like one of the most home school and classical education friendly colleges out there (which is the only reason I mention it specifically) requires: History: Minimum of two courses, which must include at least one comprehensive course in U. S. history and one comprehensive course in world history. Government: Minimum of one course. The course should cover material on local, state, and federal government. Does not having a specific "World History" or a "US History" class listed on the transcript have a negative impact? My oldest did Omni I and II online in 7th & 8th. When they hit high school, I had an incredibly stupid crisis of confidence, so they followed what the local b&m high schools do & didn't do any Great Books or history in 9th. Looking at 10th-12th, they could go the usual World Hist, US Hist, Gov/Econ route. Or they could pick back up with Great Books for 10th-12th. I went the usual route in high school, but I honestly don't think it did much, if anything, for me. Given the general feeling that Americans know little about history, I tend to think those courses don't do much for the majority of students. The advantage of a Great Books sequence is, I think, that the student reads and wrestles with the historical writings himself, rather than reading a textbook containing someone else's reading and understanding of history. It seems like the advantage of a Great Books sequence would be obvious. How does one not only cover the standard check boxes but also convey the advantage of a Great Books study on college applications, though? Thanks for any thoughts. I'd be especially interested to hear about how college applications went if your student did follow a Great Books approach (and how--on your own, through an online program, etc.) yvonne

Veritas Press offers Physics classes using Apologia's text. I don't have any first hand experience with their class, though we've taken other VP classes in the past, and I don't know anyone who's had that class. If you want Physics taught by someone w/ a Christian world view and you don't mind using a different text, there are several Christian online providers.... Wilson Hill, Memoria Press, Potter's School. Personally, we'll probably use Derek Owens this fall because I can't find any online time that fits with my sons' other courses. Also, one of my sons really liked DO's Physical Science course in middle school and has been hoping to continue with him for Physics. There are a lot of online providers for Algebra II. My sons will be taking it with Anne Stublen at Wilson Hill. She's had excellent reviews here. (Her class is full for the fall, but there's waitlist space, I believe. And, given WH's quality of instructors and instruction, I assume the other Alg. II instructor will be great, too.) My boys are taking Geometry at WH this year & it has gone very well.

You might want to search for TT posts. I know there are some here who have used it through pre-calc and been happy with it. I think there are even a couple students who used it and went on to STEM studies in college. Spoon-feedy can be good for someone who struggles with a subject. It helps to get that immediate feedback. My daughter is a humanities girl, not at all mathy. She's done really well this year with Dolciani's Pre-Algebra: An Accelerated Approach. It was super easy for me to teach. Each lesson is a good, one-day size bite, not too much, not too little. I didn't have to think about how to schedule it; it was just open and do the next lesson. Here's what we did.... I went over the main concept of the lesson with her. We worked the example problems together (before looking at how they were done in the text.) I had her do all the "Class Exercises" orally/on a whiteboard with me. Then she did the odd numbered problems. If it was a tough lesson, I'd have her tell me the answers as she got them so that we could immediately address any errors/misunderstandings. This was so key for her. When I was lazy and didn't do this, she'd end up with a whole lesson of wrong answers to redo & correct. Not only was this a terrible, avoidable burden, but she'd gotten some wrong idea or method engrained in her head that took forever to undo. My daughter's math skills have really been shored up this year, and she's actually thinking that she might be "good at" math. :) She'll never be a math person, but at least it isn't impossibly painful. She does still have trouble w/ negative numbers, so I'm having her do some of the specific sections of Math Mammoth that deal with those. I'll also have her work through some of the Keys to Algebra workbooks over the summer so that she'll be ready for Algebra I in the fall. She would never have done well with an independent, video- or computer-based instruction program like Thinkwell or Chalkdust. She likes to talk & interact. She's not really interested in math and lacks the internal interest and drive to push herself through watching a video and doing problems on her own. Wilson Hill offers an online class that meets live for three hours/week using the Dolciani Pre-Algebra text that might be a good alternative to a video-based program, but, as I mentioned, it's a pretty easy, direct text to teach, if you have the time.

What worked well for my boys as far as finding friends was finding a shared interest around which a group could coalesce. My boys got into playing various strategy & role-play card/board games with a few boys at the park. There are now 9-11 teen boys that get together once a week to play their games at the park while younger siblings are playing. Twice a month or so they also get together at someone's house (usually ours) to play/talk/eat. It's a great group of kids and I am so happy that my boys have them as friends. One tip.... I've found that being willing to host their get-togethers, (and especially to feed them!), has gone a very long way in fostering the relationships between the kids. I'm a complete introvert, but when I finally forced myself to host the kids, I discovered that teens are really easy, or at least these teens. Give them a space to play, have plenty of food & beverages available for them to help themselves, and they're happy. The house does not have to be perfectly clean; they don't notice. I don't have to be a great cook; they eat too fast to notice. I do not have to keep them entertained; they prefer to do their own thing. If your son likes certain games or certain activities, put out an invitation on your local home school boards and see if you get any responses. Really, if a young person has just one, good friend, isn't that enough? And it may build from there as others with similar interests appear and want to join in. (ETA: My daughter is just getting to the teen stage, so I don't know if the above works as well for girls. Any suggestions from those who've btdt with teen girls, would be tremendously appreciated!)

Potter's School has life science for Grades 7 & 8 using Science Shepherd. Wilson Hill Academy has life science using Prentice Hall Science Explorer Life Science. (Click on "Register" tab on left... "Sciences" on subject list.)

My worry is that I'm not sure mine would learn more at home than they would at the local school. If we try to do the same classes at home as my children would take at the school, they'd probably learn more at school or, worst case, break even. The school has some decent, veteran teachers who've been teaching their subjects a while. I tend to think one gets better and better at teaching a subject the more experience one has with it. (Until one burns out and teaching quality/effectiveness starts to move down the other side of the curve.) Our b&m teachers would be better at teaching the standard material than I would. My big internal conflict is more around the thought that maybe there's better material to study at this stage? Maybe a chronological, integrated hist/lit study would have more lasting benefit at the high school stage, and then there'd be a foundation/context for specific studies in college? And so I churn.

The OP has 5000+ posts. It isn't likely that she's a troll. Is it possible for a parent to regret having home schooled a child through high school? Is it possible for someone to regret having been home schooled through high school? Yes, it is. I have seen a few stories like that, even here. In fact, didn't SWB mention at some point that she thought perhaps one of her children would have benefited from a brick & mortar school? Why would it be beyond imagining that maybe home schooling high school does not always work out for the best for a given child? "Ruin" may be hyperbole, but when one is agonizing over the question of whether home schooling or b&m schooling is better, that may be the best word to describe their fears. I can assure you that I am not a troll. Some folks here know me in real life. But I, too, have been struggling mightily with exactly this question as I look toward 10th-12th grades for my oldest. I can completely understand the op's current angst. We have what everyone locally considers to be a "top high school." It is even known by name in Asia. Realtors actively advertise in Asia, and people buy/rent in this district just to be able to attend that school. The school is a pressure cooker, and it has the grades and science & other awards to show for it. I love home schooling. I love the way my three children are so close because of the time they spend together, the books we've read together, and the places and things we've been able to share. I love the fact that they don't have to move lockstep through some arbitrarily set curriculum or sequence of classes. But my oldest are in 9th now and high school feels so much more high stakes. I'm overwhelmed with anxiety about whether I should be using that b&m high school. I know logically that part of the success of the students at the b&m is not the teachers or the texts that they're using. (The teachers I talked to at an open house were not particularly impressive, and the texts are only typical public high school texts.) Most of the students' success is due to the hard core academic focus/culture of the families at that school. They use tutoring centers, test prep centers, the local CC's to take summer classes before taking the honors/AP classes at the high school during the school year. They learn the mandated textbook material very well. I also know intellectually that I don't think what the local b&m offers is what truly makes an "educated" person. I can see the value of a Great Books sequence of study. I've read about amazing people who had a Great Books type of education. (Most recently C.S.Lewis.) I know I can find good Great Books courses online taught by people who are passionate about them and who are more knowledgeable than I am. But I just cannot fight off the question of whether my kids would be better off at the local b&m, following a known, proven(?) path? Am I "depriving" them of a better education by home schooling? Anyhow, I completely get the OP's use of the word "ruin" because I, too, feel like that when wondering if I'm making the best choices for my children. And sometimes it helps to be able to hear those success stories again.