If you want to use ABRSM, you can get this book as a textbook to teach yourself. It will take you all the way through the first five levels of ABRSM. And you can do mock exams at home with the Music Theory Past Papers. That is what we are doing. I learned music theory with Snell. If it were readily available here, I would consider using it instead.

Coursera: Bloomfield's How Things Work (with DS and DH) Scandinavian Film and Television (just me)

Thank you - each reply is appreciated. We stopped using a curriculum this year. I think that the results have been mixed. But rather than just jump back into a curriculum, I am going to try to improve my "writing across the curriculum" strategy. I will flesh out my original post a bit. What is working: We rotate through history, literature and science with an occasional foray into philosophy/ theology. I like this. He is engaged and is working hard. I like the assignments that I create. I can discuss writing all.day.long. By this, I mean discussing passages of quality writing. Close reading, technique and all that good stuff. What needs improvement: I need better ways of helping DS move along with his writing. When I read back over what he wrote while using a curriculum, I think that his writing sounded more mature. And that really bothers me. But I can't decide if it is because (1) all of the step-by-step instruction is what he needs or (2) the step-by-step instruction masked the problem areas. I am genuinely not sure. Perhaps I should give more step-by-step instruction. On the other hand, by loosening the scaffolding, perhaps I am now better able to see the problem areas. It is hard to know when to call an assignment done. I mean, until it sounds like it could have been written like a college student, the assignment could continue to be improved! See my fourth point above? I have noticed that is easy to fall into the groove of reading and discussing...and not doing much actual writing. Even with keeping an eye on that, the one-paper-per-week routine seems out of reach right now. I hope this helps someone else. Just typing it out helped me :) edited

If you teach writing without a curriculum, can you share the SMALL details that are involved in your process? Do you write out the assignment in detail? Do you use checklists and rubrics and lists of writing rules? How do you decide on deadlines? Or do you keep it casual ? If so, how does your student know exactly what you are looking for?

I have now played around with a few of the project tutorials. So far I like the one that classifies plankton best :)

DS is going to take the National Mythology Exam again this year. He did well last year - he doesn't need a ton of prep. Just a bit. I want to use it as an opportunity to work on some skills, and have a little fun. He started doing some notetaking today. That's good, since the reading is easy he can focus on making mind maps and character/ event diagrams. But that can get tedious. The only subtest he will take is for the Norse Myths. So far, this is what I have planned: Choose a section and create a quiz for me to take. Take a section and turn it into a brief play. Script, stage directions, etc. Artwork: the Nine Norse Worlds. I am leaning toward a Waldorf-inspired chalk pastel. Just wondering if anyone else has done anything / has anything planned with older kids.

My first edition of WTM has a chapter called "The Specialist." I only have the first edition, so I don't know if the chapter is in the later editions. SWB discusses a focused project for high school juniors and seniors that would take "2 to 3 hours or more per week". Not quite as focused (nor as early) as what you describe, but if you have the book you could give it a read-through.

I was thinking about all of us who were posting in this thread last summer, and I was wondering how the year is going for you and your child. Our year has gone well, albeit with some hiccups. DS19 seems sure that he chose the right school, and that is a happy. He has seven credits in his major this semester, and he is pleased about that. You apply to the honors/scholars program after your first semester, and he is in :hurray: And he grew. Literally! He is taller than when he left. I had heard that boys can grow until they are 21ish, but I didn't really expect that.

I think that dereksurfs answered your question about getting the book. You do not need the book to enjoy the Coursera series. We are watching it as a family, and it has just been really enjoyable. I decided not to have DS take the quizzes, so he did not need to sign up.

Has anyone participated in Zooniverse? I haven't seen this mentioned before, and I am so excited. I found it through a citizen science link on the Scientific American website. I can't wait to show DS the projects! I just want to spend a little time looking at them first. I was looking for a way to get DS working with data, and this might just be it :)

Truthfully, this was all a bit silly on my part. My FB feed from last weekend was peppered with friends from back home talking about their 7th graders taking the SAT, and I started second guessing myself. If we get to go to the USA this summer, DS would probably balk at the idea of spending his time at any camp! Time to :chillpill: .

Thanks for the responses. The next international SAT date is in May, and I don't think that the ACT is even available in Denmark. So I just have to let it go. Anyway, my original reasons for not doing the test were good ones. I might look at scheduling the SCAT. We could do that locally, and it is shorter.

I did not choose to have my 7th grader take the SAT or the ACT in January. And now I am wondering if that was a mistake. I did not have him take it because: I think it would have seriously stressed him out. The nearest testing center is in Copenhagen, which is very far from where we live. There would have been a big build-up...the travel, finding the test center, etc. Walking into a room filled with 17 year-olds and taking a three-hour test... It seemed unlikely that we would be in the USA to take advantage of Hopkins or Duke programs. Well, now we might go to the USA for the summer. We have family/friends in both MD and NC that we could stay with. And he may have qualified. So now I have a twinge of regret. I think that I could arrange a proctored SCAT test here in Denmark, and Hopkins accepts that test. I am not sure that I am asking for advice or just whining,but I would accept advice :)

May I ask TWO questions?! One: If I wanted to find summer camps within the UK for a 13 year old boy, where might I begin my search? Possible areas of interest: acting (but non-musical only), sailing, computers / technology Two: Are you aware of any interesting vintage UK book series? If so, would you post them here or add to my thread "s/o Vintage UK Books esp. Anthologies." Thank you :)

Well, DS finished and will get his certificate :) Thanks for the recommendation. He had some moments of frustration, but he is glad that he did it. It was his first time managing an online course, and I think this was a good way to start that format.

LoF caused meltdowns here. Sometimes you just have to try stuff :(

I meant Movies As Literature. Sorry. If you follow my link, it will take you to a pdf purchase version - nice option for us overseas folks.

I will merely add this: do not discount Aops for kids who are not already branded as math stars. My DS loves the discovery approach and I never would have figured him to be an Aops kid until he tried it. His pace is slow compared to others on these boards, but he has really embraced the challenge. He is verbally advanced, maybe that is why the wordiness did not turn him off, idk. He is so proud of himself when he gets the hard ones right.

Looking ahead, I do get frustrated by the number of online courses that are NOT asynchronus. Besides amazon.uk (which I use all the time), I have found Christian Book Distributors to be quick.

What we have so far: Math: Aops Algebra Grammar: Rod and Staff 7 Vocab: Finish Caesar's English 2 and then no more vocab "programs" for us. Lit: Novels + selections from Journeys Through Bookland. I like Progeny Press guides and I plan to get Windows to the World. Also have my eye on Teaching with Movies. ETA: Oops, instead of Teaching with Movies, I meant Movies As Literature. Writing: Homegrown using Lively Art of Writing plus my reverse engineered version of WWS2, and a healthy dose of Warriner's Composition and Models. History: continue through K12. Not sure how far we will get this year. We are sloow, but DS likes geography, civics and current events. A lot. All good stuff, but it does slow down history. Need to do more w/ primary sources. Geography: Am very tempted by IGCSE Geography right now. Science: Somewhat interest led. Unit studies for sure. No way am I willing to give a whole year to one discipline until I have to! Danish: Tutor + college textbook + lit approach. DS will earn a high school worthy credit here. Art: My son's LEAST favorite subject. I refuse to drop it, knowing that he will probably never again study studio art after middle school. Music: Piano and ABRSM music theory (slow pace, mock exams only). But we sure have had a solid groove going on for music appreciation. It has been a highlight of the year. So...continue. TBD: Latin (we will finish GSWL this year). Henle? New Millenium? Theology Logic / Programming We enrolled in Kolbe Academy this year, and will do so next year also.

I want Sister Wendy's DVDs. And Artistic Pursuits. And Lifepac Art. And now, thanks to Karen, I want the Neu Art History workbooks and of course the Gardner's text that they accompany. Yes, me with the child who groans whenever it is declared to be time for art.

My son's university includes books in the tuition. Kind of nice and certainly convenient, but you can't then shop around and score any savings, kwim?

The recently resurrected Anthologies thread has me wishing for (at least) the second half of My Bookhouse. Never mind that I splurged in December to have a set of Journeys Through Bookland shipped from the USA to Denmark! Now I would like to know about vintage books from the UK. Maybe they would show up on amazon.uk, and I could indulge in something with a reasonable shipping charge :) Any suggestions? I have picked up a few vintage volumes from the Junior Heritage Books: Churches Ships Castles Wanna see how awesome John Mansbridge's illustrations are?! Click here.

I am currently reading The Once and Future King to DS13. We usually read it at night. I would like to read more aloud during the day. I was thinking of Rachel Carson's The Sea Around Us and Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything.

Our winters are long and dark. Am I weird for liking January and February because the only thing we really have to do is school?! Hunker down and get 'er done. Danish public schools take Week 8 off, and we will take a bit of time off then so DS can hang with his friends.