Your courses look incredible! Best of luck. We can't wait to be part of your exciting world of chemistry!

Perhaps reach out to Ms Eva at OpenTent Academy. Her instruction and feedback are excellent. See if she has a recommendation.

I'll give another plug for Open Tent Academy.

Congrats to you and ds!

My heart goes out to both of you. I can’t imagine how you must be feeling. My advice would be to contact Mr D - mrdmath.com. He is an outstanding resource with a heart of gold.

I thought it might be a good time to check in on those taking WTMA Chemistry. How's this semester look for those taking this class? DD14 is considering chemistry for next year - 10th grade. She prefers live online classes and I'm struggling to find options. I'd appreciate any pros and cons for WTMA. Thanks!

quark, just ordered Proto. Looks great for my pre-med girl. Thanks.

For our DD14 it's National Geographic, SN (Science News Magazine), Christian Science Monitor.

Alte Veste, we feel the same way! I'm not sure about APChem or Ms Jetta's chem. DD14 wants Ms Jetta! DD14 does not have a strong chemistry background so jumping headlong into AP might be a poor decision on my part.

DD14 Lights! Camera! Action! - an English class which is movie based. We're all watching movies which were never on our radar before. World Wars - for my stem daughter, she's learning a ton about World War I and is proud of her new found knowledge Art History - taking this class for an elective credit and enjoying it more than she anticipated Deaf Culture - this class start in January DD12 Powerful Paragraphs - demanding class for my girl but she's growing and maturing as a writer Our girls perform better with live online classes. We plan to continue with OTA.

DD14 and DD12 are taking classes at Open Tent Academy with Ms Eva, and turnaround time is outstanding - less than 3 days so far. Papers have only been one to two pages so it may take longer as assignments lengthen. Feedback has been solid. She gives kudos for a job well done and yet directly addresses deficiencies. Ms Eva sent DD12 video feedback which was extra special. Our daughter replayed it several times. In fact, Open Tent Academy with its live online classes has been an outstanding fit for our family. We receive timely feedback from all of our instructors.

Hi there. We took physics at Clover Creek last year and are taking fundafunda bio this year. So far so good. Summerreading, I feel bio is best for an independent learner. It took DD14 a few weeks to get into a solid routine - a routine which had her ahead of lab and essay assignment due dates. While physics outlined daily assignments, fundafund's bio requires much more planning on our part. Deadlines are not as organized and set - we've seen deadlines change a week or so before a project was due. Surprisingly, DD, who normally requires structure, handled these last minute changes really well. She likes the material and stays driven. The most challenging aspect of this class is watching the lecture videos and actually seeing the instructor's drawing while she's speaking. DD the video recordings of the notes and drawings could have been more effective and helpful if taped from a different angle. To compensate for this, DD pauses the videos to make notes and then rewinds to watch again. DD definitely misses the live classes. She enjoyed the relationship with Ms Jetta at Clover Creek and felt it added to the quality of the class. She still chats with kids from last year, I don't think that will be the case with bio. We will look for live classes for next year.

For our first day of school, I decorate the workroom with balloons, streamers, banners (which I've reused every year....7 years now) and number signs indicating the girls' new grade level. I put out all of our new books, workbooks and supplies, along with special treats. Sometimes a new shirt, jammies or something they've been dreaming about. We put in a relatively full day day of school, but the girls love the excitement of it all. Daddy tries to join us each year and his participation makes the day even more memorable. We plan an adventure (i.e., beach day, park visit, aquarium) when the public schools start; the girls love knowing that we're on a field trip while their public school friends are at school.

Our DD14 is signed up for Open Tent Academy's Lights! Camera! Action! class. The class will watch 8 movies over the course of the school year. It might be worth checking out.

Check out outschool.com. There is a "Learn to Juggle" class starting tomorrow!

Earlier this year, we considered homeschooling a friend's daughter. After much thought, we opted not to do it. Both daughters were eager to help, but DD14's one comment brought it all home for me. "Mom, homeschooling is a way of life. We would have to adopt her." For us, homeschooling is an integral part of our lives - every day of the year.

(Also posted under the general education forum) I wanted to pass along an offer from Open Tent Academy (OTA). A few of the classes we registered for are at the minimum number of students required to hold the class. If a friend of mine signs up for one of the following classes, you'll receive $25 toward a future class. They were also running a 25% off promotion, but I'm not sure if it still applies - worth checking out. We are registered for the following: Touring Art History and Meeting the Masters (high school credit) Lights! Cameras! Action! (high school credit literature course) Finding Yourself in Wonderland (our 7th grader is taking this but not for a credit) 20th Century Wars (high school credit) Deaf Culture (high school credit) Powerful Paragraphs (not for a credit) Eva, the owner, has been incredibly responsive to emails and my many questions. While we haven't taken a course with OTA, we are very excited for our upcoming school year. Message me if you're interested or have questions. Thanks!

Hello! Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. I wanted to pass along an offer from Open Tent Academy (OTA). A few of the classes we registered for are at the minimum number of students required to hold the class. If a friend of mine signs up for one of the following classes, you'll receive $25 toward a future class. They were also running a 25% off promotion, but I'm not sure if it still applies - worth checking out. We are registered for the following: Touring Art History and Meeting the Masters (high school credit) Lights! Cameras! Action! (high school credit literature course) Finding Yourself in Wonderland (our 7th grader is taking this but not for a credit) 20th Century Wars (high school credit) Deaf Culture (high school credit) Powerful Paragraphs (not for a credit) Eva, the owner, has been incredibly responsive to emails and my many questions. While we haven't taken a course with OTA, we are very excited for our upcoming school year. Message me if you're interested or have questions. Thanks!

It's been forever since I've been on the forum and had a few minutes to update our adventures. DD14 continues to plug away at the personal development. Just last week she finished a two week medical camp which was one of her first personal development goals; that's 80 hours added onto her total. It was an amazing 8 days full of hands on activities and rotations with hospital personnel; she plans to apply for the four week camp next year. Also in the area of personal development, her dance instructor asked her to return to a teacher/mentor position with a lower level ballet and tap class. DD loved working one-on-one with these young dancers and seeing their growth over the last six months was very fulfilling. I know she'll continue to enjoy this part of her CA goals. She's still participating in a local ASL Club and attending deaf socials. This doesn't amount to a ton of time, but she loves it and is becoming more active with each meeting and event. Physical fitness was kind of a let down. She had planned and worked on a backflip, flour combination piece to use in her first solo dance, but at the last minute, took it out. She was scared and nervous. So, while she put in hours of work, in the end, she changed her mind and didn't reach her written goal. I'm still going to count these hours and she'll write up her thoughts after working for five months and not bringing it all to fruition. (However, she did well on her first solo. It was cute and sweet - nothing majorly technically but very much in our daughter's style.) She's working now on a new physical fitness goal, possibly . . . increasing her push ups from . . . well, ZERO, to 20! She still only has a handful of volunteer hours. Back in April, she was interviewed and accepted into a local hospital's teen program but nothing has come of it. The program has stalled and DD is so disappointed. We even bought the white sneakers and khaki pants! We kept putting off anything else as she only wanted to commit to one volunteer program. But we couldn't wait anymore, so she starts volunteering at the library on Thursday. Not her first choice, but DD knows she needs to start putting in some time. DD only has one, one day trip under her belt. We have nothing planned for the next couple months, as we don't leave the ac during Florida's summer months. She's been talking about a train trip to Savannah, Georgia which I think would be very fun. Hopefully, that all pans out. And, Mirabillis, sorry but I'm no help answering your questions! Hopefully, you've been able to secure some advise from others. Well, that's all I have from the Gulf Coast! Happy 4th!

We have had great success with Online Groovy Kids classes. DD likes the format - it's independent (questions, quizzes, readings, activities) yet she answers to an outside authority. The projects are always fun and creative and offer the student a chance to present a project to the class at the end of the course.

I was feeling overwhelmed as well. Rose, your continued enthusiasm has given me renewed energy! I'm also going to sign in and get started. Thank you!

We're looking to use Big History Project this year. I was curious to see if anyone added any other supplements. I'm looking to add other reading sources - maybe some historical fiction. Any suggestions?

Roadrunner, we've decided on FundaFunda bio. I was hesitant to go for it, because DD really prefers live online classes. She's currently taking Jetta's physics class and is tears knowing they only have one more class this year.

No, HeatherL, we've never used Open Tent before, but are really looking forward to the classes. Prior to paying, I communicated with Eva Lynn Goldstein–Meola, M.Ed. (founder of Open Tent), as well as the teachers providing our other classes of interest. I found every instructor to be prompt, informative and very willing to answer our questions. If you have concerns or questions, I'd definitely suggest contacting Eva.

Hi there! Thought I'd touch base as we have had some developments in regard to volunteer service. DD had an interview and tour of a local hospital yesterday and was accepted into their teen volunteer program along with 12 other teens. We were given a tour of the hospital in order to introduce the teens to the different floors and get a feel as to which area of the hospital might interest them. DD didn't seem to care which floor, but was leaning toward the surgical floors or ER (which would be after she has more experience). The duties are similar on all floors: distribute waters/paper; hand out blankets/pillows; fill supplies; pick up a leftover food tray; etc. In order to be in the programs, teens must volunteer for 8 hours a month - minimum shift is 2 hours. They are given a yellow "teen volunteer" tshirt to start and then receive an embroidered collared shirt after completing 20 hours. We have more paperwork to complete along with a background check and health screen, and then an orientation before she can start. This process will take a month or so. DD's just thrilled to have been accepted and has no trouble waiting another month. DD was also accepted into a two week pre-med camp this summer, 8am to 4pm, which was one of her personal development goals. She attended the one week camp last year and loved it. We're hoping for a similar experience this summer. Anyone else out there with some recent developments?