I think for my DS, it will be easier to schedule more upfront as well. If I try to add in a subject after the beginning of the school year, he will bark about school pushing into his 'free time', and he has a lot of interests that he wants to pursue, so I need to keep that in mind as well. If I tell him we are going to schedule it heavy and flush out what doesn't work, I am hoping this will lead to more open conversation.

This is what I am hoping for with my DS, he is great about knowing what he has to get done for PS currently, and I never have to 'remind' him to get it done. He's proactive about seeking help if he doesn't understand something, which his teachers LOVE about him, and hence why they think he can handle the load he was recommended for in HS. He typically will finish homework before the due date, depending on his extra curricular activities (which currently are volleyball, fencing, piano, boy scouts, and OWL - religious education through our UU church.)

I thought it was too. I talked with my son and his teachers and they all thought he could more than handle the course load. Our schedule is still in development but we are looking at Ancient History Ancient Lit (possibly through Center for Lit) Bravewriter (if we do the Center for Lit, we will round out his English credit with three of these classes....Kidwrite Intermediate (?),Expository Essay, and a creative writing class maybe Physics (Clover Creek) My DS picked this instead of Bio - we will probably do AP Bio next year (he is a very strong STEM kid) Earth Science (it's required in our state - probably using Mr.Q, not sure about our spine, and some Great Courses if I can find some to line up) there isn't a lot of Earth Science curriculum out there for this age. Geometry (www.myhomeschoolmathclass.com) with the added material to make it an Honors class Spanish (?? - maybe La Clase Divertida - I haven't fully explored these options yet) His extras are: piano, fencing, and Boy Scouts

I was thinking something similar to the block system, he will be taking two (maybe three) online classes, so I was going to use those as my outline for scheduling the rest of his classes. I'm hoping for more of an on-going conversation for what works for him and what doesn't, but I want to have something in place, just in case. He went to PS in 6th grade because our relationship was suffering, so I want to be clear about expectations, etc. Luckily he realizes that he is in charge of his education, and he is very proactive in getting the information he needs to complete assignments (at least he is in PS!) ty I love this Monday morning meeting idea!! I think that will work out great for him, as he has many other interests and his schedule may need weekly tweaking, this would allow us to make adjustments for things coming up during the week, without getting too far behind! ty

Do you give them a list of things that need to be done for the day or week? Do you 'recommend' a daily schedule? I think he will get into a groove that works for him once he gets going, I'm just trying to get him started on the right foot. He will be coming home from two years of public school, so I think keeping his school work between the hours of 8-3 would be best to start off with. Secondly, would you plan more up front and drop something if it was too much, or vice versa. I'm worried about 'push-back' from him if I ask him to add something into his daily schedule if it happens he's moving through stuff quickly. He was placed for his High School public school classes in the following: Honors English Honors Earth Science (required here) Honors Biology Advanced Honors Geometry US History (no Honors option here) Honors Spanish 1 Creative Writing Piano My plan for him is a little on the light side because my husband is worried about over-whelming him, but I'm worried about not challenging him enough!

My son is signed up for this class for next year, so I'm listening in as well!

My son reads all the time, he's never without a book, however he doesn't like being 'told' what he has to read. I was explaining to him that the reading 'assignments' go toward his necessary credit hours for his English credits. He liked that idea, but then I wasn't sure if I was giving him accurate info. I guess what I'm trying to ask is, Do most homeschoolers consider required reading hours towards english credit when calculating hours?

Thank you! And is this standard in public HS classes, do they count reading time into the credit load for the year?

If you do a Lit study, do you give credit for hours spent reading the book? Or just the discussions and compositions,etc. If you do, how do you figure the average hours it takes to read a certain title?

I just ordered it, can you elaborate a little bit. We were going to do history at home...and possibly have him take the WTM ancient literature or Center For Lit, World literature. I like the idea of World History taking a couple of years to cover, rather than running through it all in one year... I was also looking at Oak Meadow for History or supplementing...

Have you looked over the History of the Ancient World book? My DD is a voracious reader and loves history. That said, she would have killed me if I had signed her up for that class. She did eventually read most of HoAW, but at her own pace, and as her interests allowed. I say this having read the book myself, and her having taken Ancient Literature with WTMA. I just ordered it...we were going to do History at home, and either the WTM Ancient Literature class or Center for Lit World Lit. Can you elaborate a little bit? What did she think of the Lit class? Thank you!

Lori you are AMAZING!! Your insight has been extremely helpful to me. I looked over the WTM History and we can definitely do that at home (I don't know why homeschooling him through HS seemed so overwhelming to me). My husband is a huge history nerd, that is partly what sparked our sons passion for it starting in 1rst grade! Attending public school classes has dimmed that for him. I have a degree in Biology, so I can 'oversee' that class. I want him to be challenged, but not overwhelmed. Jann Perkins Geometry sounds like a perfect fit for him, with the option for Honors course work. He is very busy outside of school, with activities almost every day of the week. He is just now beginning to appreciate having some down time. Off to do a little more research....Thank you so much for taking the time to help me see the bigger picture. He truly has a love of learning and I don't need to bog him down with course work for him to excel and be challenged.

I have found this to be true with my son when he started PS in 7th grade. He lost some of that passion for history that he once had...you make a very good point! My husband is a history nerd as well, and this would be any easy class for us to do at home, and he would probably get more out of it.

This is a fantastic point that I had not even considered!! Thank you for pointing it out. All the WTM classes do follow the same breaks, but the other providers haven't set Spring dates yet that I saw.

Wow....so glad I posted. He is not gifted, but driven. He's prepared to spend 6 hours M-F doing school work, but would rather not do more than that. He is a kid that pays attention in class, does his homework without prodding (or even asking) and gets straight As without having to really 'study' anything. He's a deep thinker, but not fast to process things. He is adamant about taking two sciences. He is a voracious reader, and his verbal and written skills are solid, far above his public school counter-parts. He has never liked geometry, but loves algebra, so I think I will revisit the AoPs math (that sounds like it could be a nightmare for him) and maybe drop the Lit class altogether and opt for independent lit study and 2-3 Bravewriter classes. How does that sound?

My DS is going into 9th grade, he's on the honors track for everything, but is a STEM kid and loves Science(physics) and has always been a closet history buff - but doesn't consider that really 'school'. He's coming home from being in PS for two years, and does better if he answers to someone else (other than me) for schooling, hence all the online classes. WTM Academy - Geometry (AOPS) WTM Academy - History of the Ancient World WTM Academy - Ancient Literature (I was going to do Center for Lit because we LOVE them, but these seem to go together) WTM Academy - Biology w/Lab Clover Creek - Physics Spanish (either La Clase Divertida or Spanish Academy) Bravewriter of his choosing to round out his English credit Extras (piano, fencing, mixed-martial arts, Boy Scouts)

Physics is what he is interested in, but most of the classes I've looked at are geared towards upper class level. He would probably take 2 science classes a year (depending on course load) but I'm stuck in in the Bio, Chem, Physics train of thought.... I've never heard of Clover Creek....off to check it out!!!

It's listed as a regular biology, but from what I've read it's pretty intensive. What would need to be added to it to make it an Honors class? My son is a STEM kid, he wants to take Honors Bio next year, but I can't find a suitable program. It needs to be secular, and rigorous. I'd love for him to take the Oak Meadow Honors Bio, but it's out of the budget. It doesn't have to be an online course, but I'd prefer not parent intensive. I looked at Thinkwell and Plato and felt wasn't terribly impressed. He would also like to double up in science for freshman year, I was thinking Environmental Science... Thank you!

Thank you! So you feel like her courses are kind of light? He is signed up for the Center for Literature monthly book club with writing component, it's suppose to be a 2 credit course (one for the Lit, one for the Composition). I previewed the assignments and they seem pretty intensive, so I'm wondering if a couple of Bravewriter classes would round it out, or be overkill. He would be going into Honors English if he stayed in public school, but he has what I think is a pretty heavy course load.

My son would love some of her classes. Has anyone put them together for HS credit? They are typically 4-6 week classes, so does that mean he would need to take 6 classes for one English credit? TIA!

My son sat with his Highschool counselor last week, he's on the Honors/AP track in English, Math, History, Science, and Language. He said he would need to take Algebra II before AP bio. From my understanding it has more to do with math 'maturity' and the understanding of certain concepts before taking AP bio, not necessarily that they would use it per say in Bio class. It made sense to me, then again he is my first going into HS so maybe it's just the way they do things here.

I would look at the science sequence you plan to use. For instance, they recommend having Algebra II before doing AP Biology, if the science sequence isn't an issue for you, then I'd let him pick.

My son has been in public school the last two years (after 7 years of homeschooling) and will be going into highschool next year. He is in Honors Algebra, and its looking like he will be in Honors Geometry in ninth grade and Honors English. He wants to homeschool through highschool and finish in two years. I want him to enjoy the love of learning but support his ambition. Where do I start??

This year my son (11) read: My side of the mountain trilogy - Every kid thinks about running away at one point or another; few get farther than the end of the block. Young Sam Gribley gets to the end of the block and keeps going--all the way to the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York. There he sets up house in a huge hollowed-out tree, with a falcon and a weasel for companions and his wits as his tool for survival. In a spellbinding, touching, funny account, Sam learns to live off the land, and grows up a little in the process. Blizzards, hunters, loneliness, and fear all battle to drive Sam back to city life. But his desire for freedom, independence, and adventure is stronger. No reader will be immune to the compulsion to go right out and start whittling fishhooks and befriending raccoons. Warrior series -(These have some grit to them - a little more than I prefer but my son inhaled them) Erin Hunter is inspired by a love of cats and a fascination with the ferocity of the natural world. In addition to having great respect for nature in all its forms, Erin enjoys creating rich mythical explanations for animal behavior. She is also the author of the bestselling Seekers and Survivors series. Sign of the Beaver - Although he faces responsibility bravely, thirteen-year-old Matt is more than a little apprehensive when his father leaves him alone to guard their new cabin in the wilderness. When a renegade white stranger steals his gun, Matt realizes he has no way to shoot game or to protect himself. When Matt meets Attean, a boy in the Beaver clan, he begins to better understand their way of life and their growing problem in adapting to the white man and the changing frontier Hatchet - Thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson is on his way to visit his father when the single-engine plane in which he is flying crashes. Suddenly, Brian finds himself alone in the Canadian wilderness with nothing but a tattered Windbreaker and the hatchet his mother gave him as a present -- and the dreadful secret that has been tearing him apart since his parent's divorce. But now Brian has no time for anger, self pity, or despair -- it will take all his know-how and determination, and more courage than he knew he possessed, to survive. Island of the Blue Dolphins - (he was hesitant because a girl is the main character but he LOVED it) This is the story of Karana, the Indian girl who lived alone for years on the Island of the Blue Dolphins. Year after year, she watched one season pass into another and waited for a ship to take her away. He reread the Harry Potter series Others: Percy Jackson Kane Chronicles Heroes of Olympus Eragon series The Penderwick Chronicles Hmmmmmmm......there are a couple others he loved, I'll ask him in the morning for some suggestions.

We have been homeschooling since 1rst grade and now he is going back to 'regular' school next year. What would/do you use for afterschooling? He is solid in Math but a weak writer and horrible speller........I had his year planned out at home, but unfortunately I won't be able to use all the awesome stuff I had planned and purchased....