I would ask the instructor of the Latin class he's currently in. She'll know best how well her students do on the AP after the particular class your son is in. I just did this for my boys. They're in Latin 3/Readings at Lukeion. They're planning on taking the Latin SAT2 subject exam at the end of this year. If they continue with Lukeion, they'll take Latin IV/AP next year and then take the Latin AP exam.

The year I had a friend's 6th grader studying with us, I had him start in R&S 6. He'd been in public schools and didn't even know the parts of speech. He was bright, though, and caught on very quickly. I would start with R&S 6.

These were some of our favorites last year in 8th grade: Sound of Thunder, Ray Bradbury Ransom of Red Chief, O. Henry Tell Tale Heart & Cask of Amontillado, Edgar Allen Poe Most Dangerous Game, Richard Connell The Necklace, Guy de Maupassant

The exam doesn't seem like a specifically "literary analysis" type of exam. It appears to be wide open to writing about anything in print---book or digital, literature or non-fiction. Several of the sample questions could be answered with either a non-fiction work or a literary work. If I were in your spot and were worried about the exam, I would do very targeted literature study as part of your English studies and very targeted non-fiction study as part of your history studies. Quality of texts over quantity; depth over breadth. Pick a couple of works of literature that are fairly broad in their applications/themes and that each use a variety of literary elements to focus on over the next two years. (Personally, for one of these, I'd pick ONE Shakespeare play and study it inside & out, come at it from every angle. One play would cover a lot of bases. I'd bet there would be at least two or three questions on that type of exam that a student could answer with any one of Shakespeare's plays! If your son doesn't like Shakespeare, check out the list of books that come up most frequently on the AP Lit exams and see if there are one or two works that appeal to him.) Use some of the AP essay prompts to practice writing on the selected works. For non-fiction, your son is already reading and writing(?) about his history interests. He's clearly intellectually curious. He will undoubtedly come across at least one quality text/article that makes an impact on him. Or, hopefully, two from different angles that he could compare/contrast in response to one of the exam questions. It sounds like the concern may be your son's writing ability more than his ability to analyze a text. There's really no cure for that other than writing, writing, and writing. And, as pp have pointed out, writing across the curriculum will help him write soundly in any situation, including this English exam.

Oh, no! We were looking for Omni/GC 3 (or 6) with writing. We can't do another year of ancients or medieval. Sigh. Maybe by the time my daughter hits high school... I do hope others will be able to take advantage of the writing component with Omni/GC 4 & 5. I haven't been able to find that opportunity anywhere else online (for the early modern/modern period.) Integrating writing into a Great Books study, (serious writing not just some lightweight "project" sort of essay/composition each semester) would greatly enrich the student's experience and understanding of the works they're reading. It would also leverage writing instruction so that the student would not have to take a completely separate writing course, unrelated to the subjects and works they are reading.

Hey, Derek! I have got to register today. We need the same class for my two 14 yo boys, & I have a feeling that's going to be a popular class. Still not sure about whether we'll go the home school or the b&m route next year. That Great Books/Conversations class w/ Writing Lab option makes it much, much harder to opt for b&m, though! :)

Wilson Hill Academy has posted their 2015-16 course listing here. Registration info here. Registration for current families opens today, Feb 2. General registration opens Feb. 9. The most exciting thing for me is the Writing Lab option to supplement/complement whatever Great Conversations (WHA's Great Books/Omnibus courses) a student takes! The one thing I think has been missing from Omni/Great Conversations/some Great Books courses is writing. Discussion is key in a Great Books study, but there is no better way for a student to truly digest, synthesize, and then articulate his thoughts than if he writes about what he's read. I'm hoping the Writing Lab component will fill this gap! We're also looking at continuing with their high school math sequence which uses the Dolciani PreAlgebra, Dolciani Algebra I, Jurgensen/Brown Geometry, and Dolciani Algebra II. (I'm not affiliated with WHA in any way other than being very happy with the classes my students are taking there!) (cross-posted to high school board)

Wilson Hill Academy has posted their 2015-16 course listing here. Registration info here. Registration for current families opens today, Feb 2. General registration opens Feb. 9. The most exciting thing for me is the Writing Lab option to supplement/complement whatever Great Conversations (WHA's Great Books/Omnibus courses) a student takes! The one thing I think has been missing from Omni/Great Conversations/some Great Books courses is writing. Discussion is key in a Great Books study, but there is no better way for a student to truly digest, synthesize, and then articulate his thoughts than if he writes about what he's read. I'm hoping the Writing Lab component will fill this gap! We're also looking at continuing with their high school math sequence which uses the Dolciani PreAlgebra, Dolciani Algebra I, Jurgensen/Brown Geometry, and Dolciani Algebra II. (I'm not affiliated with WHA in any way other than being very happy with the classes my students are taking there!)

The Jurgensen and Jacobs texts are very different. It's worth taking a look at both before deciding. When I did, I knew right away that we'd prefer Jurgensen. My boys used DO for Alg 1 and it worked out wonderfully for all of us. If I'd liked the Jacobs text, we'd have had no reservations at all about continuing with DO for geometry. Good luck!

nm (I better wait till I've btdt before making any suggestions regarding claiming high school credit early!)

You might be interested in the Biology classes at Wilson Hill? WHA is a Christian organization, but they're using the Miller Levine macaw text this year. (We're Christian, but, personally, I prefer that my kids use a non-secular science text because I think insisting on using a Christian text sends a sort of conflicting message about science and Christianity... as if one cannot be a Christian and a serious scientist.) I believe WHA is considering adding a pre-AP Bio class for 2015-16. Here's the academic background of the instructor, Marie Owens, from their website: "She attended the Medical University of South Carolina (in Charleston), earning a PhD in microbiology and immunology. (As you might guess, little things are important to her.) She was awarded an American Society of Microbiology fellowship to conduct post-doctoral research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, GA." My boys just started the Bio class, coming in mid-year, so we can't speak from much experience. So far, though, we're very happy with it! Wish we'd used it from the beginning, even though it meets at 6:30 am, our time. Their website is rather difficult to navigate, and they don't have any class info up right now, so you can't really see what sorts of classes they did this year. However, if you email them, I'm sure Mrs. Owens will get in touch with you and be happy to talk about her Bio class and WHA's plans for next year. She was very helpful and gracious with her time when I was trying to figure out if it would be possible to transfer my boys in mid-year. ETA: WHA has an open house coming up on the 29th, 8-9pm EST.

Kathy, Thank you so much for the gentle reassurance and telling about your own young peoples' paths and for taking the time to spell out specific suggestions! I ordered all three books. LOL (Had to order the Fiske's when I saw the title of the first chapter.... "The Search Begins (or What to Do When You Haven't Got a Clue." LOL ) I was so overwhelmed with the whole thing, I didn't know where to start, so I appreciate the book suggestions. I have a starting point! I think once I start seriously focusing on this whole college thing, I'll at least have a semi-intelligent idea of what my questions are and what I need to find out next. I can't believe college admissions is so different today than it was when I was applying. yvonne

Thank you so much, Kathy, especially for the advice to go ahead and take the SAT 2 at the end of this year/Lukeion Latin 3. I was waffling on that question, too.... whether Latin 3 was enough prep for the SAT 2. The difficulty with asking colleges is that my boys really don't have any idea where they might want to go to college. They're more average than many here, though they're very diligent about their academic work. They wouldn't be looking at Ivies/top tier. I'm not sure where to even start looking for colleges other than making sure they're eligible for the UC's, hopefully only as a back-up. I have the Colleges That Change Lives book. There are a lot of college ratings lists out there, but which ones are reliable? And then, what do you do if the student isn't sure what he wants to major in? I guess that's another thread, though.....

I know it probably varies depending on the college, but, in general, does a student have to submit all SAT 2 scores when he applies to college? If a student takes an SAT 2 subject test and doesn't like his score, can he retake it and only send the highest score? If he doesn't retake it, can he simply not send the score at all? If he has to send both scores, do colleges generally average the two? Take the best score? ? My oldest are completing 9th grade this year and I'm in a quandary about whether to continue home schooling or use the local public high school for 10th through 12th. If they move to the brick & mortar, they won't be able to continue Latin. So it might make sense for them to take the Latin SAT 2 at the end of this year to have some outside documentation of the work they've done. (They're currently in Latin 3 with Lukeion and doing well.) However, if we finally decide during the summer to home school 10th-12th, they'll continue with Lukeion's Latin 4/AP in 10th and they'd take the Latin SAT 2 (and Latin AP) after that. But then they'd have two Latin SAT 2 scores, and, hopefully, the second one would be better than the first. We're in the same spot with French. If they go to public school next year, they'd want to take the French SAT 2 this year and, if they scored well enough to satisfy the UC foreign language requirement, they would drop French. However, if we finally decide to home school high school, they will take another year of French and then take the French 2 SAT and AP after that. Thanks! yvonne

True. DO's been teaching these classes for years, both online and live, so he's really honed his material. But, regarding Thinkwell.... there isn't a live component at all, is there? I hear good things about it, so I know it works well for some, and I'm always tempted to go over and check it out. I had thought about it for Bio. But it looks like there's no live person at all, and, if that's the case, it's not something I'd want to try.

Yep, as I said, it's asynchronous, not live, but there is a live, supportive, accessible person available. It's a great option for students who need to be able to work on a subject at their own pace and on their own schedule during the week, but who also want a real person as needed. My sons were taking Omni II, Latin II, & French 3 among other classes last year, and it helped them to be able to do Algebra on their own schedule. They could spend less time on Algebra during the weeks when the Omni II reading was really heavy and more time when the reading and other coursework were lighter. Even less online-like are the Thinkwell dvd's, I think? Those don't have any live interaction with anyone, do they?

AimeeM, Here's an idea... Why don't you ask WHA if your daughter could sit in on one of Joanna Hensley's Latin classes?!?! That would probably be the fastest, most effective way of finding out if that would be a good fit. You've already got the Latin Alive text, right? Your dd would be able to follow along even if she's not up to the level of the class. I don't know if WHA can let you do that, but it's worth asking! yvonne

Hey Derek, We're looking at the same classes! My boys loved algebra 1 with DO, but they do like the live WHA geometry class. WHA uses the Dolciani text for Alg 2, and I've heard the WHA Alg 2 instructor is excellent, so we'll stick with WHA for Alg 2. My son who took Physical Science with DO in 8th really wants to take Physics with him, so we'll probably go with DO for Physics next year..... unless we opt for the brick & mortar public school for the rest of high school. Sorry, op, for the tangent.... yvonne

Seconding the recommendation for WHA for Geometry! My two 9th graders are taking the class this year and it's going very well! We're all very happy with it. The distinction previous posters are making between live online classes and video/computer-based instruction is really important. They're not at all alike! My sons found it deadly dull doing computer-based instruction where they're stuck in front of a computer reading/watching one recorded lesson after another, inputting computer-graded answers. (I would think that the fact that the questions have to be clear cut so the computer can grade them would limit the type of questions to pretty tedious ones.) There is no live interaction with the instructor. There are no other live students. There's a world of difference between those video/computer-based "classes" and live online classes where the student is one of several who meet with a live instructor, real time, and answer questions via mic or text chat, bounce ideas around, etc. In a live online class, discussion is possible. Live online classes have been out for a while now, and many of the teachers who've used it have become really good at optimizing use of the technology. There's no sitting around and zoning out when the teacher asks a question and every student is expected to text chat his answer (to the teacher only or to the whole class.) It keeps the class moving and the students on task. If your dd has only done video/computer-based courses, she might want to give a live online class a try. ETA: That said, my sons did use Derek Owens for Algebra I which is asynchronous (not live) and that worked out well for them. I think DO worked because there IS a live person at the other end who is very responsive to any questions and supportive. We went with WHA because I wanted my boys to use the Jurgensen Geometry text.

Their schedule of classes (days/times) and the details which would include grade/age level, pre-requisites, etc. haven't been posted, yet. I talked to someone there last week, and they're working on the 2015-16 plans.

Not only does Wilson Hill use Latin Alive, but they also have one of the very best Latin instructors around--Joanna Hensley! She is one of those born teachers that a student looks back on and remembers as being one of his/her favorites. She is especially wonderful with the junior high/high school ages; she truly enjoys interacting and engaging with them. She was a Classics major herself, so she knows what she's doing. Joanna headed up the Latin program at Veritas Press online until this year when she moved to WHA. She has a lot of experience teaching online, which I've discovered is definitely something to consider when looking at the options for online classes & instructors. WHA's online Latin class sounds perfect for what you're looking for... It's live. It meets twice a week for an hour and a half each time (vs Lukeion's once a week for an hour.) Joanna does several additional, optional live meetings to help students who want to prep for the NLE. It probably is not nearly as intense as Lukeion's classes, so your dd will have a little more breathing room than she would have with Lukeion. Latin Alive might be more accessible/engaging than Wheelock's. (ETA: After taking VP's Latin in a Week class with Joanna, I really, really wanted my children to take Latin with her, but by the time my oldest were in Latin 1 at VP, she was only teaching the upper levels. Then, when they hit Latin 2 and were all signed up for her class, that section was cancelled! On the up side, my oldest did have her for Omni II and she was fantastic!)

Not only does Wilson Hill use Latin Alive, but they also have one of the very best Latin instructors around--Joanna Hensley! She is one of those born teachers that a student looks back on and remembers as being one of his/her favorites. She is especially wonderful with the junior high/high school ages; she truly enjoys interacting and engaging with them. She was a Classics major herself, so she knows what she's doing. WHA's online Latin class sounds perfect for what you're looking for.... It's live. It meets twice a week for an hour and a half (vs Lukeion's once a week for an hour.) It probably is not nearly as intense as Lukeion's classes, so your dd will have a little more breathing room than she would have with Lukeion.

Veritas Press offers some Dual Enrollment courses associated with Cairn College. I don't know anything about it personally, but there's fairly detailed info on their site. You could also call for more info, specific to your case. Their reps are extremely helpful.

Thank you, Annie! Just ordered a big bag from Penzey's! Can't wait to get them and try my grandmother's recipes! yvonne

6pack, I know you said you make apricot filling, but do you happen to know where to get poppy seed for these sorts of recipes? My grandmother (also Eastern European roots!) made these every Christmas, so I have fond memories of them. I'd like to try making them, but I can't seem to find poppy seed in larger quantities than the little spice jars in our stores. It was years ago that my grandmother made them. Maybe stores don't carry poppy seed anymore? Thanks! yvonne