My seventh grader would like to study the enviromnent for science this year. Shes thinking along the lines of pollution, climate change.... She's not interested in experiments. We are looking for some good book suggestions and documentarires. She will keep a science journal. Thank you.

Janice VanCleave has lots of books: Biology For Every Kid Chemistry For Every Kid Engineering for Every Kid And Lots more!! Many of the projects could be done with simple materials that don't require that much effort to gather. The library may have many of the books. Some experiments paired with interesting books can be a good, easy mix.

My daughter took Kids Write Basic and I think it is a good place to start. She covered how to generate a topic, how to narrow and expand that topic and how to show the action instead of telling about it. I was sooo impressed with her final piece. I think it helped boost her confidence and help her see what she is capable of.

Janice Van Cleave Experiment Books Ellen McHenry's Basement Workshop

My daughter enjoyed Bravewriter. She is currently taking a class at Center for Lit. Although she is not doing the writing portion this year we are planning to add that for next year.

I have 2 children registered to take AP English Lit with Mrs. Inspector next year. They are both looking forward to it! That says a lot for my non-English loving engineering son. They took AP English Lang & Comp with Mrs. Inspector this year. They have not taken the AP test yet but I think one will easily get a 5 and the other will get a 4 or 5. They say it was a lot of work - but worth it and also fun.

16yo junior is dual enrolled at the local CC. He has done very well in Chemistry and requested a letter of recommendation for future college apps - and dual enrollment at the University next year. She has kindly agreed. My question is, how is this done? We don't have anyone to send the letter to yet. This is our first experience with this and I'm not sure what the process is. Thank you.

My 14yo daughter would like to make her writing blog public. She will not be sharing any personal information but beyond that I am unsure how to proceed. She is a great writer, hopes to be published someday and enjoys interacting with others about writing. Personally, I find blogs to be a wonderful resource for myself but I know very little about the pros/cons of her venturing into this territory. Advice appreciated! Thank you

I think my dd might be interested...but we're only just getting ready to begin AP Bio so not sure the timing would work out. We were planning to utilize virtual labs though we are not yet using the product you linked. Have you been happy with it? What timeline do you have in mind for the group work?

I'm so glad I stumbled on this thread tonight. I could write a very similar post regarding my almost 16yo. He has no interest in a driver license - only a pilot license. In his case, he's planning to study for an aeronautical engineering program and also have a private pilot license. We have found the Young Eagles program to be very helpful. I'm interested in all the ideas as we have been re-thinking what electives he will take the next 2 years. He has been very interested in aviation weather, as was mentioned earlier - any ideas on specifics for study?

My sophomore took the PSAT this October for the 2nd time. My eighth grader took it for the 2nd time as well. In January my sophomore began receiving many college recruiting emails. We're guessing it is simply because he is a sophomore. But also wondering if everyone who takes the test receives the emails or if different colleges have different score criteria for which they will send recruitment emails. Thanks!

DS has the core EV3 set. He has completed the main tutorials "Beyond Basics" videos in the Lobby along with accompanying projects. He is looking for other project ideas. He is looking for structured guidance/curriculum to learn robotics right now and not ready to go out on his own. Thanks for any ideas and suggestions!

We started the year using Spectrum Chemistry but that has proved too simple for ds so we added Thinkwell AP Chemistry. We are continuing with Spectrum as well. I'm wondering if I should also supplement the labs or if the Spectrum labs will be enough preparation if he chooses to take the AP test. Thanks!

What are your favorite sources for short videos to help cement the concepts in our science readings? We are studying chemistry using Noeo as a guide this year. 5th grader and K tagging along. Thanks!

My son did it independently (and he's not available to ask right now) but I think the exercises and the DVD were intertwined. I'm fairly certain he did not watch the entire section before doing the exercises. He stopped and started the DVD as he went through the workbook. He paced it to complete a chapter a week without too much trouble.

We have tried to log on many times today but each time get an error message that says the "verification system is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later." Has anyone else had this problem?

Thanks for the feedback! Very helpful to know we need both pieces of the curriculum.

Thanks, Lori, for your input. You seem to be the board expert and was hoping you might see my post:) However, I didn't ask my question very clearly. I plan to definitely use the teacher guide. I already purchased it, 2nd edition. But I'm wondering if the student book might not be necessary if we don't do the comprehension checks (as HUGE Tolkien fans I'm confident the kids are comprehending just fine) or the vocabulary. I'm not really sure what the student book contains. I actually purchased the student book already also but I'm wondering if it is just going to sit on the shelf unused and perhaps I should return it. Thanks!

We are planning to begin Literary Lessons Lord of the Rings and work our way through it slowly as an "extra." We are not planning to do much of the busywork I've read about here but focus on the strengths of the programs in the unit studies. So, I'm wondering if the Teacher book is all I need to purchase or will the student workbook still be valuable? Thanks!!

As previous poster linked, I also used Write Now for my 9th grade son last summer because his cursive had become illegible. He improved greatly!

Thanks! I'm preparing to begin using this curriculum in the fall and the color-coding is helpful in seeing how it will fit into our studies long range.

Those sound perfect for him!! Thanks!

Thanks! Really looking forward to looking at it. Grateful for your generosity in sharing it.

Yes, the calc based physics and he will be taking calculus in 12th. Thanks!

DS, rising 10th grader, is currently taking the Intro to Physics with Lab course from Georgia Tech through Coursera. https://www.coursera.org/course/phys1 He would like to be well prepared for AP Physics in 12th grade. I'm guessing he will need further preparation. Anyone have experience with this course? Thanks!