We used Derek Owens this year for Algebra 2 and have had a good experience. My dh, who is a mechanical engineer, was very impressed w/ his knowledge and presentation of ideas on the videos. The only reason we are considering other options for next year (Precalculus and Physics) is b/c, like your daughter, my son really would love to be able to interact w/ the teacher during the class. I just posted a question a few minutes ago asking if anyone had had any experience w/ phil4.com. Looking forward to hearing others' input, as well...

Hi, I was just wondering if anyone had used Dr. Chris Seberino at www.phil4.com. He offers *live* online math & physics classes (he actually offers additional non-math classes taught by other instructors, also). We have been using Derek Owens this year for Algebra 2. I want to emphasize that we find Mr Owens to be an excellent, knowledgeable teacher, and I have NO complaints/concerns about him, but my son would really, really love to have the ability to interact w/ the teacher in real time. As he explained it to me, sometimes just being able to ask a quick question for clarification is all you need to be able to move on w/ confidence. Having to stop, email, and wait for a reply can be tedious. Next year he will be taking Precalculus and Physics.

Don't have an answer for you, but I am curious to see what input others may have. Hopefully someone with knowledge of this class will chime in soon...

Barron's ACT 36 had good reviews, so I bought that one for my 15 y/o ds. So far, I've only just skimmed through the first 50 pages or so (and he hasn't looked at it at all yet--I suspect he's gonna need some "prodding" from Mom to get started w/ it ;-) ), but it does seem to have some good recommendations for test taking strategy. Amazon offers it for about $11.xx and also has about 30 reviews you can read for yourself. Good luck!

ignore this post--put in wrong place--sorry!

If you are interested in A&P from a Christian perspective, maybe this would be a good option? Body of Evidence DVD set http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=301370&item_code=WW&netp_id=914409&event=ESRCG&view=details I have not purchased this (yet!), but it looks very interesting...

I was just reading your post as I was browsing through these old posts. Just wondering how the boys were doing now?

Thanks for replying, MomtoNs and Caitilin, I emailed Ellen McHenry and she promptly and graciously replied in the same vein as your responses. I went ahead and ordered the hard copy option today, which also includes the CD and DVDs. Looking forward to it--it looks so interesting.

Question for any of you who have used Mapping the World w/ Art... would you need to buy more than one of anything in order to use this w/ multiple students (have 5 students that would be using this). Thanks, Eva

Question for any of you who have used Mapping the World w/ Art... would you need to buy more than one of anything in order to use this w/ multiple students (have 5 students that would be using this)? Thanks, Eva

Blessedmom, AHL is for the first year, then WHL, then the last two involve US History-along w/ some other subjects (Govt, Economics, etc). You can check it out here: http://www.mfwbooks.com/category/M50/50#curriculum HTH! :)

The majority of these students have used Abeka for English, from K-8th grade, so their English skills are strong. Previously, when I spoke w/ Brett W. at MFW, he indicated that that was an excellent start. I need to clarify w/ the teacher and administrator, but I think their concerns were not so much about the students' prior foundational English instruction, but they wanted to insure that it continued in as strong a vein.

Our small Christian school will be piloting MFW AHL for the 9th grade this year. I am really excited about this, having researched it extensively these past few months. However, the teacher is expressing some concern about the (lack of in-depth) grammar lessons throughout the year, and how that might impact their college prep. For those of you who use/have used MFW in high school, what has been your experience? Thanks

Just curious if anyone has personally experienced any issues with Apologia (or Abeka or BJU) not being accepted, as was discussed in the article? I'm curious, as this article was written back in 2008, and I hadn't noticed anyone on these boards ever mentioning any difficulties. (Now, that said, I've only been frequenting these boards for the last 6 mos., but I have done numerous searches for posters' experiences with/reviews of Apologia, among other things). Thanks :)

You sound like you are trying to take your time and think it through carefully, which I think is very wise of you. I know it would be too much for me, personally. Along w/ the other concerns mentioned, I would also want to consider how/where I would be able to find time to spend w/ my children *outside* of schooling and activities. I cherish the time spent alone w/ just my dh and my kids (upcoming 4th and 9th graders), whether it's playing a board game, or just hanging out, or going to do a family activity like putt-putt/movies. I know that this season in our lives, while our kids are here at home with us, is just that--a season--and I don't want to miss my opportunity or regret that I was so busy w/ other things that I didn't make the most of our time together.

A couple of other thoughts for you.. Another consideration in your choice of vocations is the type of area in which you live/wish to live. For example, my cousin just obtained her degree in Music Therapy. She is doing her internship in California, in the Los Angeles area. What she told me she has discovered is that this career is currently viable only in the much larger cities (she was raised in a town here in the Deep South w/ ~80,000 population). If she wishes to practice in this area, she would have to successfully launch and market the idea of Music Therapy to this area. Otherwise, she will need to plan to live in a much more metropolitan setting, such as New Orleans. I saw someone mentioned Speech Pathology as a career option to consider. Another related option is Audiology (hearing evaluation/hearing & balance disorders/auditory processing difficulties, hearing aid fitting, etc). Way back when I was in college, a long, long time ago ;), I obtained my B.A. in Speech Pathology/Audiology. Students then chose to either pursue a graduate degree in one of the two. I chose to get my M.S. in Audiology. IIRC, there was another option to obtain your bachelor's in Sp. Path through the Education Dept, for those students who knew they wanted to work in the school system. (One important note of interest: in Audiology, the requirement is now to obtain your Au.D--Doctorate of Audiology. A master's degree is no longer the minimum requirement. Not sure how that has evolved for Speech Pathology.) Within the field of Audiology, you could choose to branch into various areas--for ex., you could work at a hospital or w/ an ENT (ear/nose/throat dr), in the school system, or at a school for deaf children. Hospital work often involves more of an elderly clientele. Patient age would vary more if you worked in conjunction w/ an ENT office, depending on if they were a general ENT group or if they specialized more in pediatric or geriatric (elderly) patients. Aural rehabilitation is another area w/in Audiology you could research, if you were so inclined. Sorry, didn't intend for this to be so long, but I can well remember how stressed I was as I headed into the last half of my senior year, still so undecided about what type of career I should pursue. About the only think I was sure of was that I did not wish to be a nurse or a teacher. I initially planned to pursue a degree in sign language interpreting, but there were no options for this anywhere near my home, and I did not feel ready to head off hundreds of miles away from home to go to college. Furthermore, this was a situation similar to the Music Therapy dilemma I mentioned earlier, in that there was just not a big enough demand for sign language interpreting in the smaller, more rural area that I preferred to live in. (That has changed to some degree now, and would probably be less of an issue now). Then I found out about the field of Audiology, and off I went. :)

We will be starting MFW AHL in the fall w/ a group of 9th graders, at a new covenant school that is opening in our town. THe 9th grade will be piloting MFW for their Engl, Bible, & History. After speaking w/ both David Hazell (owner) and Brett Welshymer--I had lots of questions prior to our decision to go w/ MFW!--they both told me it would take, on average, about 3 hours each day to complete the scheduled work. HTH :001_smile:

I'm also hoping someone chimes in w/ their experiences... anyone? :)

Thanks, FourOaks and mcconnell boys!

Hey, FourOaks, I would love to see your plans. Could you email me or point me to where I need to go to look at them? I have 2 kids, one in elem and one entering high school, so all of them would be of interest to me :-)