Thanks for all this information! I have just started looking into what AP classes really are.

I'm so glad you posted this, Jann! We are using BCM, and I make my son do the same thing when a calculator is labeled on the problem. He thought I was on the only one who would be so detailed. :001_smile:

Sounds good! I have no clue what my son want to focus on yet, since he's only 12, but I thought more is always better on a transcript. Right? Now I just need to decide which curriculum.

That is too funny!:lol:

Thanks for posting the link!

Since we are doing Algebra 1 for 8th grade, should we do a 9th grade level physical science course too? Any thoughts?

When I talked to the rep, he just said that the curriculum was more experiment driven and the books were only supplemental. He said the experiments could not be done without their kits which were too expensive for in home use. Since I have not seen the books, I wasn't sure how much of that was true. I wasn't even sure if I could do the experiments with other things. Sounds like he was wrong!

I'd love to know also. I called CPO, and they said not to use their books for homeschooling. They didn't want me to even try because they said it was not possible. I was very disappointed after seeing all the wonderful reviews, but I'd love to know how people do it since I've never seen the books.

I'm betting he already knows. We chose have the talk early when our son was 8. I think sometimes it's easier when they are younger. I wanted him to be able to ask us questions and get the truth rather than some other kid who was clueless to begin with. I'd definitely talk to him now to see if he had any questions.

I also recommend Lial's BCM. It is an awesome book and completely reviews each topic in an easy to understand format. It starts from the very beginning too. This would definitely fill any gaps!

I don't know of a list. Sorry! I know Rod and Staff and A Beka include diagramming. We used R&S and enjoy diagramming. What can I say, we are weird! :)

Mavis Beacon worked for my 6th grader. He types about 45 WPM now.

We switched this past year. My son is in 6th. We went back to Gamma, but we zipped through all the levels including Zeta this year. I only bought teacher books with DVD for some levels but complete sets for the last few. It was a boat load of money, but I feel like we filled in a lot of gaps and got a lot more confident in math this year. HTH!

Thanks! I'm "non-sciency" too so I'll be on the lookout for all 3 components!

I have been trying to decide on Science for next year and CPO looks great. I will probably go with Life Science. Since I've never used them before and haven't seen it in person what do I need? I'm assuming just student text, teacher's edition, and investigations? thanks!

We have tried a few different math programs. We started with A Beka, then switched to Saxon for third and fourth, then went to Horizons for 5th. We just couldn't find the right fit. My son was great in math, but he didn't really "get" it. More importantly, he HATED it! We switched to MUS this year. I wanted to make sure he really understood everything so I bought Gamma. We flew threw that by just watching the DVD and doing some problems. We did several lessons a day. However, he quickly learned a different way to do long multiplication which really helped him. Then I purchased Delta. Once again, he flew through it pretty quickly, but the way long division was explained, helped him so much! I could see him really getting it this time around. We are in Epsilon now. We are going through it much slower. Fractions are harder, but with the manipulatives, it makes it so much easier. I don't have to draw pies out on pieces of paper anymore! He is so much happier with math now and has gained a lot more confidence! We LOVE MUS! HTH, and let me know if you have anymore questions!

We switched to SL last year and did core 3/4. Then, we did Core 5 this year. My son loves SL! When we finish a core, he is ready to dive into the next one. We easily finish a core in one school year. We just finished Core 5 a couple of weeks ago, and he's already hounding me about starting back to school! However, he loves to read, which is why it's a great fit for us. The price is high, but it's worth it to me because I don't have to hunt down books or make a schedule. Plus, he rereads the books, and our home library is huge. However, I do not use SL for language arts. I tried that, and after using R&S for so long, there LA program wasn't rigorous enough for us. We did like Science 4, but we really enjoyed Science 5 this year. We are not doing Science 6 next year because we aren't fans of the TOPS books. I do follow the WTM for a lot of things, but I love the ease of SL. With their money back guarantee it's always worth a try!