Starting a self-study syllabus from scratch. Anybody have recommendations from last year? (I say last year because the latest changes were implemented in Fall 2011.) We already have the TC lecture series "History of the Ancient World - A Global Perspective" by Dr. Aldrete. Considering several spines and will get a prep book, too.

I say yes! With three suggestions. I'm coming from the social science end, mind -- but that's what you're after, sounds like. 1. Read the College Board's "Course Description." It's a lengthy PDF available at their website that lays out what THEY say the content should be for a particular AP course, not just how their exam is structured, or why you should pay for lots of lovely AP exams! :) I've found errors in prep books (even the newest Barrons) on tested content, percentage of subject areas on the exam, etcetera. CB has the latest word, of course, because it's their exam. If DS wants to score well in May, then reading the Course Description NOW may cause him to pick and choose his topics a bit differently than a textbook, pacing guide, or prep book might suggest. His time is limited, so assuming that whatever he learns will be of value, why not target what will really be covered by the exam? Also, for the courses I'm familiar with, CB often has some really solid approaches that you might possibly not emphasize otherwise; for example, studying primary sources in history. They do have good people working on this stuff. 2. Get a copy of CB's essay grading rubrics for that particular AP exam. Then you'll know how the essays are scored. Work with DS to self-score many essays using those rubrics, or get someone else to help grade them. Good writing skills and knowledge of the material will not necessarily knock the ball out of the park; these are very PARTICULAR essays and the rules vary with each course. The Readers tick through a jillion essays during their scoring week very, very quickly -- using those rubrics. Know 'em, love 'em. Don't worry if the essays take a long time to write in the early months. Have DS time himself so he can see his progress. By the time May rolls around, he'll be able to do them in the limits, if he's practiced. 3. Have DS take 2-5 practice exams that are structured like the real thing. (You can use released tests, but beware of format changes.) That means 3-hour sessions in a quiet room.

While you're at it, you MUST see David Tennant in Hamlet. Oh, yeah! Here's a clip:

1. Rose's colorful and brief wardrobe reminds us, along with her not RP accent, that she grew up in a tough part of town. This makes her the most difficult Dr. Who character for fancy dress, hands down. (Even if Mater & Pater allowed you out of the house in that get-up, can you be SURE everyone will know it's a costume? And all those mascara bits floating down into your eyes . . . ouch.) 2. Yes, The Doctor loves Rose -- but much the way you love your faithful, funny, and oh-so-clever golden retriever. Rose loves The Doctor, too, and is sometimes a wee bit confused on the romantic score. BUT. He's 900 years old, has two hearts and is a Time Lord, not a human. So no hanky, no panky. Just cuddling on the couch, Milk Bones, and traveling through the space-time continuum to set wrongs right and defend the weak against the powerful and immoral.

Love it! Short and wonderful. DH wanted the same last name, so we both double-barreled our fathers' last names. Mine went first. For some reason, ditto with two other sets of friends who also combined names -- the gal's father's last name first, followed by his. A fourth set of our friends who married about the same time decided to merge their names without the hyphen: he took her father's last name as his middle name, she moved that name to her middle slot, and they both go by his father's last name alone. But double-barreled would've worked very nicely for them, so we enjoy calling them the Young-___ies. Sounds like a great TV western, to our ears.

Saw the red velvet update at Allrecipes.com. Gotta try that, now that we can eat eggs. AND just saw Strawberry Pretzel Dessert at http://umwhatareyoudoing.blogspot.com/ and well, let me just salute someone who understands sweet + salt. Mmmmm.

Our AP Art History syllabus was approved by College Board today. Yay! Time has shifted to 11-12:30 EST. First meeting September 25. Still finalizing membership, but might have room for another remote member. If you think you can make a commitment, read the first post in this thread, check out College Board, and PM me. Wish us luck!

I second the NaNoWriMo recommendation. You can write a novel in November, too, on the adult side! 50,000 words in 30 glorious days.

If the bride really wants Red Velvet . . . I did an eggless cake a while back with whirled beets and raspberries that was delicious, though not super-brilliant in the red department. An option for brighter red includes stirring in raspberry Jello mix. All of which go well with cream cheese frosting!

Okay, this doesn't really respond to your great question about setting the tone, but my family's been having the best time watching Skip Gates' "Finding Your Roots" series together: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/finding-your-roots/ Love it. And come to think of it, Dr. Gates' programs set a great tone themselves -- looking for the best in people, really, and ultimately focusing on the most positive parts of family, despite the pains of history. Tia

Ideas for getting TC lectures more cheaply: (1) the telephone operator will often tell you WHEN something goes on sale; (2) they'll often double up or triple up coupons and offers if you do it on the phone; (3) get on the email list for magic codes; (4) coupon sites will sometimes have a bonus code for free shipping; (5) you can buy used copies on Amazon and eBay; and (6) depending on where you live, you can see if a neighboring municipality's library system has more copies than yours, and get a card there. Tia

> K12 changed the math course that year to being nearly > 100% on-line, so that it was pretty much impossible to > get through it. We couldn't skip redundant things, the > lesson was l.o.n.g. requiring multiple click-throughs. Oh, the clicking! And the screws! I hear you. Picking out a sub-theme here, in terms of time versus payoff, K12 can be great or awful. Taking an independent K12 course and using it for your own purposes may be very different from boarding someone else's one-size-fits-all program. Once you're on that train, you do not call the whistle stops. Period. That's why we wouldn't do it, though I have purchased two different K12 courses (MS art and HS English) independently and have generally positive reviews. I understand why other folks might go for a K12 package. If you're working full-time, say, and your local school system will pay for it, that's pretty attractive. Some people are very happy customers, for all kinds of reasons. Per the main theme of this thread, you gotta hike your own hike, and nobody else should judge. But -- please don't pick any package because you're scared that what you can put together with your budget won't be good enough. No brand name guarantees a magical Education with a capital E. Rule your resources, instead of the other way 'round. Reserve the right to dump something if it doesn't work for your student. That requires independence, though. Nothing's free. Alas. Here's where I say a few harsh things about K12. Our family is pretty darned rigorous about some academics, so when I say that some K12 classes have enough content to choke a horse, you're not hearing that from slackers. Why do they stuff so much "stuff" into some classes? I speculate that it's to meet hour requirements in some states. (If you know the real answer, I'd love to hear.) Anyway, if you're doing it on your own, just use what you need, right? Doesn't matter if there are empty squares on the progress chart. But if someone else is paying the bill, you may not have that option. To hear the previous poster, some K12 software might be written such that you can't even move past the unwanted content. Hmm. More hours of clicking. Worth checking out ahead of time, if you can. Going to a 100% online format for a class is brilliantly profit-promoting. When a subscription is done, your customer has nothing to recycle with the next kid. Here comes another fee! (I'm a capitalist. No criticism there. It just is what it is.) Our K12 art curriculum book was a good complement to a good online course, but artfully crafted so it became useless without the computer component. The "real" books we bought through K12 remain useful, though. Tia

Jilly6, :grouphug:. Assuming DS wants to help plan his year, it might be very beneficial for his sense of control and calm to have HIM pick out his subjects to cover the bases that need covering -- then look together for suitable resources. No rush, since you're going back to homeschooling, you can work as you need to and drip into summer if you need some extra weeks. Finding it all in one box, I think, is pretty hard for high school. Also, a decompression time might make his later work this year much more productive. Having to stay in a stressful situation for weeks will raise your cortisol levels, so Dr. Tia (I'm not, really) prescribes lots of educational videos on the couch, chocolate, deeply-colored fruit and salad, joyful exercise, and lots of sleep. At least for Week One. Gives Mom some extra time to shop & plan, too. In two words: planned transition. BTW, a few random panic attacks, even when things are going smoothly, might be expected. Let DS know that our bodies can't figure out as fast as our brains when the "danger" is over (sabre tooth tiger, high school, mean people, whatever). The technique of assigning numerical values to your level of panic, while doing slow and deep breathing, is a simple self-therapy anybody can do. (It's harder to freak out when following an analytical script and counting in your head.) If you ever feel like posting, I'd be curious to know what the ER doc suggested. Panic attacks can truly feel like you're dying . . . sigh . . . but it's part of nature's survival plan, blah, blah, blah. I'll enthusiastically second the recommendation on Teaching Company (TC) lectures, but I'm a bit of an addict (in fact, I'm about to sell what the earlier poster mentioned -- the 3-DVD high school "Early American History" by Linwood Thomson -- 'cause we never got to it before we simply plunged into AP US History with another excellent TC course). If you haven't seen any, just know that TC lectures are NOT highly produced entertainment. Most are . . . well, imagine a highly-competent-in-his-or-her-field lecturer standing behind a podium. Insert some graphics and charts. Maybe two cameras if it's more recent. Great stuff, but no CGI budget. You can also cobble together an AV-oriented course for science, history and some other subjects by using a standard high school book as a spine, and filling in with NOVA and other quality documentaries that follow the list of topics. Netflix to the rescue. Oak Meadow sells some curricula (basically paperback pacing guides and parent answer keys) that are nicely matched with easily-obtainable high school texts. Depending on maturity, your DS might also try putting together a study group for one of his classes. Could be just two guys, as long as they're both interested and compatible, and really take ownership. If it's THEIRS, a study group can take Mom out of the equation a bit, at least in terms of accountability, because it's a pretty poor discussion when one guy shows up unprepared! DS could decide to follow a simple reading plan or go for a more elaborate syllabus. Your cost: texts and time; maybe a purchased syllabus or curriculum. Tia

Bumpity-bump. We've got a nice little group, but would love another student!

Ditto on Ruth's recommendation of ABRSM. Starts on the ground floor. Progressive. Rigorous. You can get used books via Amazon booksellers and others if you want to check them out for a bit less. Working with a local ABRSM music teacher here in the US has been terrific for us. There are folks who will work with you to grade your ABRSM theory papers online, too.

Bumping -- and update: we may make time an hour later for a friend on the West Coast.

OK, I bought it (inexpensively) and previewed the first lab or two. It'll do just fine. Not indispensable, but I'm glad I got it.

http://www.fcps.edu/woodsonhs/guidance/academics/ai_docs/Woodson%20AP%20Course%20Expectation%20Chart.pdf This chart is from Woodson High School in VA (where two of my APUSH students took their exam this spring). It gives that school's idea of prep time outside class for each AP course they offer, plus some other particulars. You can Google similar charts from other schools. Keeping in mind that there are many ways to study a subject and/or prepare for an AP exam -- not the same thing -- I found the comparisons on these charts very useful.

Ditto to Suzanne's post. I'd talk to your county extension people, or get an arborist's opinion, because saving a tree (if possible) gives you . . . a tree! If healthy and in the right place, a sweet gum is a wonderful thing!

Hmm. Time to dig through the mail pile?

Here's the link to AP score analysis (at this writing, not including 2012 exams yet): http://professionals.collegeboard.com/data-reports-research/ap/data In 2011, fewer than three-tenths of ONE percent of students taking the AP US History exam were ninth graders. I know that a great majority are attending schools, and that most schools limit AP class participation by grade level (and GPA and recommendations), but that still surprised me. I'd love to see the breakdown for homeschoolers -- and our scores, too. This May, I finished teaching APUSH to a trio of homeschooled ninth-graders. Two scored fives; the third is calmly waiting to hear, with more patience than her instructor. :) All three were fine students and a delight to work with. Compared broadly to older students, though, it could be that these ninth graders had greater challenges in three areas. First, they had less familiarity with idioms, expressions and terms than older students would. (That makes a difference in reading primary sources and following lectures targeted at a more experienced audience.) Second, writing from an analytical rather than descriptive point of view was sometimes difficult. (On the other hand, I hear that's true for many older students, too!) Third, these particular students were switching from more-or-less unschooling styles to establishing high school routines with LOTS of weekly work. But they did great! I can say for my family that the course was a good transition to the rigor needed for high school. DD looks forward to AP Art History and AP World History this fall. Now that she's done one, she has a clear idea of what this involves. I think Kareni's point about balancing workload is critical. I'm glad we started with just one AP in ninth grade. Plenty for us! Tia

Such a fundraiser, that $8 call! We couldn't wait, either. I was thrilled to learn that two of the three ninth-graders in my tiny AP US History class (N=3) scored "5." Fives! Yippee. My third student is patiently, non-neurotically, waiting for her score in the mail. [muffled sound of my foot tapping :chillpill:] Her good score on the SAT II Subject Test in US History gives me hope that she did well on the AP also. Tia

No clue on how college admissions people view ninth graders taking this exam, but you can see grade breakdowns in a report at College Board. I'll post link when I find it. Ninth graders are definitely in the minority, but not unheard of. Many say the AP US History (APUSH) exam is one of the hardest. It requires boatloads of reading, good study skills for long-term retention of content, analytical thinking, experience with a variety of primary sources, and excellent skills in expository essay writing. For young teenagers who've had an un-schooly experience, the adjustment to the required workload can be rough. Having said all that, I just finished instructing three bright-and-lovely homeschooled ninth-graders who haven't got their APUSH scores yet -- crossing our fingers! They all agree that the course was a challenging (harsh?) introduction to high school, but each did very well. Their consensus is that if I teach the course again in the fall, I oughta pick on tenth graders and above, and leave ninth graders to enjoy another year of innocent bliss. Heh. Let's see how those scores come out . . . .;) Since the high school is giving you summer reading for the course, they might have a detailed syllabus, too. It might provide enough detail for you and DS to make an informed judgment. It seems that many high schools start off with AP World History, rather than APUSH. In my county, they often reserve the latter for 11th graders. Slightly different DBQ rubric, but I'm not familiar enough to say exactly why World is considered an easier introduction to AP, compared to US. Anyone? :bigear:

Fiddledd, that's very timely for me! Thanks for the detail.

Our girls love these, too. In fact, we pulled out "Wonder Women" during AP US History. (Go, Harriet!) If you like comic books and/or history, you'll like 'em.