Get Fuzzy? My boys have read all of Calvin and Hobbes, Peanuts (we have the hardback collection), and several Foxtrots. They both love, love, love Get Fuzzy. It has occasional questionable topics but no worse than Foxtrot.

For the most part I used the assignment list found in this pdf: http://www.andrews.edu/~calkins/math/syllall.pdf But occasionally, I would add or substitute both regular problems or word problems (either because my son needed more practice or because I thought he would like a certain word problem). I especially looked for word problems on topics that might interest him. Foerster word problems cover an amazing array of topics!

Have you done the art route before (a little north of Gatlinburg)? Have you driven over to Cherokee before? And Deep Creek? It is usually quieter over there. Also check out the Cataloochee side of the park. Have you done the Roaring Fork motor trail? Have you driven over Rich Mountain from Cades Cove to Townsend? Fun, fun drive if you don't mind a bit of rough driving. We go regularly to the Smokies but try to avoid Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge at all costs. lol! We stay in a fantabulous cabin in Wears Valley and spend many days just wandering aimlessly around the Little River. Plus we take several hikes. We are going in September this year. Cannot wait!!!

Not being able to hike kind of shortens my list of ideas. Could you tube? We've rented tubes in Townsend and enjoyed ourselves immensely.

Well, I had to *beg* my son to take a look at his scores. He has absolutely ZILCH interest in these types of things...drives his poor momma batty, that's for sure. He said that breakfast was "more important". lol! Anyway, Chemistry 5 and Eng. Lang. 4. Pretty much what we expected. Congratulations to everyone!!

I've made a broccoli/bacon salad that I was this week on THM's FB page. I made it this morning, and it is calling my name, but I have to wait until dinner time to try it. I've also made homemade guacamole (not that pea stuff...lol) with blue corn chips. And I'm marinating cucumber slices and Vidalia onions in rice vinegar...these will be gone quickly tonight! My sister is making homemade banana ice cream. Banana=fruit=healthy, right??? :-)

I definitely need some hand-holding. DS is going back and forth between an applied science or math career (geologist, meteorologist, actuary, etc.) and full-time ministry. Obviously, those are two very different paths with different college choices. So we are treading water here. We've toured a large research university, a top-notch liberal arts college, and a Christian college. There are a couple of mid-size universities that son may want to tour, and there is another Christian school that he has mentioned. DH and I are encouraging him to pick an undergrad degree, and then when he finishes that, he can go to seminary if he still feels that pull. His senior year course load is definitely lighter than the first three years of high school, but he has landed an awesome job locally that will look just as good on his resume as more coursework would, so I'm not particularly concerned about it. He may have to take the SAT in the fall if he makes the NM cutoff. His junior score is precariously close to the historic cutoff for our state (whereas his sophomore score is well above it...will I ever get over this??? lol!). Otherwise, he is finished with testing. I am trying to find sneaky ways to spend more time with him. :-) Anyone else know that feeling??

Oh! Thank you so much for posting this! My son would love to take an online sabermetrics course...he has dabbled in it on his own for years and LOVES statistics, so this is a great little choice to give his senior year some umpphhh. :-) Just asked him as he walked through and his was response was Sign Me Up! Sign Me Up!!

If aesthetics matter, Rhodes is drop-dead gorgeous. :-)

Yes! My older son read several A.C. mysteries in 9th grade and loved them! Thanks for the reminder...I'm sure my younger son would like them, too. As far as summer reading goes, I've assigned my rising 9th grader To Kill a Mockingbird and The Giver.

BJU's Earth/Space is one of the best courses we have done in our 12 years of homeschooling. It covers a WIDE variety of interesting topics that students might not get exposure to otherwise (such as meteorology). We have not used the online version, but the newest edition of the text is fantastic, and the majority of the labs are very doable at home. Highly recommended. We have also done BJU's Physical Science course, and we were just "meh" about it. Personally, I think BJU makes the course harder than it should be...neglecting basic conceptual understanding in many cases. It truly is an "integrated physics/chemistry" course. I used it with my older son in 8th (he did Earth/Space in 7th), but I'm skipping it with my younger son. HTH!

Hi Rose, I did something similar with my older son when he was in 8th grade. At that time I started a thread looking for book ideas...primarily biographies...but you may find some suggestions that interest you. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/274322-what-are-some-dont-miss-scientist-biographies/?hl=%2Bscientist+%2Bbiographies&do=findComment&comment=2960589 It was a great year! :-)

My son made a 35 on his first attempt in September of his sophomore year. It has been very nice not having to think about that test anymore. One school that my son is considering (his safety of all things) says that the ACT score cannot be older than 3 years at the point of enrollment. I'm not exactly sure when enrollment takes place...I would assume the summer before entering the school. Well, that gives him just a few months to spare. So you might want to check the schools that your daughter is considering to make sure they don't have some strange limitation on the age of the ACT score. Congratulations!!! :-)

Love this descriptor!

Son is home from the AP English Language exam, and he finished all 3 essays! WooHoo! That was one of the biggest challenges he has faced in school, and we are thrilled that he prevailed in the end. He is not a slow thinker by any means...just a slow, methodical handwriter whose print resembles a computer printout. lol! Glad to be finished! He just has a few more lessons and exam in DO precalc, and then it is summer, summer, summer! :-) A continued "good luck" to those with exams remaining!

Chapter 12 was the big challenge here, too. DS had to redo every single lesson in that chapter. But to give you hope...ds has flown through Chapter 13 on quadratics without even a hiccup. He *loves* completing the square and solving the quadratic formula. He is even...drumroll, please...SHOWING WORK. lol! Please don't tell him that Chapters 16 and 17 are optional. I do plan to have him work through them (although skipping the summary/review and test on them). Here's to 9th grade and geometry! HeeHee!

Right now, my son has two schools on his list, and they are polar opposites. One is a small, Christian, liberal arts school in a small town; the students are required to live on campus. The second is a very large, urban public research university where many of the students are commuters. We have another small liberal arts school in mind, but we haven't visited it yet...trying to find a date to do that. At this point he wants to major in math (actuarial science). Son is just not that interested. I do hope his interest and involvement in the college search will improve in the next few months. Right now he is much more concerned with how Barcelona will play against Bayern Munich. lol! Jealous of Jumped's daughter's lovely wall chart...

My 8th grade son has finished Bible, logic, science, his Write at Home course, and history. He only has 4 more lessons in Hake Grammar. But regrettably, he has 4 more CHAPTERS in Jacobs algebra, so we will be working on that probably through June. We've not skipped days in algebra...I've just made him re-do so many lessons (using Set 3 or Dolciani until I *know* he has it) that he is behind. I keep telling myself it will be worth it in the long run...

My ds has AP Chem tomorrow morning; he is prepared for it...not at all nervous about it...and should do just fine. Then he has AP English Lang & Comp next Wednesday morning. The polar opposite from chemistry. That exam could very well be a total disaster. :-( Ds writes well, argues well, etc. etc. but he requires time (and activity...like bouncing a ball against a wall) to formulate his thoughts . Obviously, time is not on his side for the AP Eng. exam, and I doubt his proctor is going to let him walk around and bounce a ball! lol! Oh well...the class itself has been just awesome and has helped him in so many ways. If his score is lower than we had hoped, then like another poster said...he will be very well prepared for college comp. Good luck to all!!

Hi! I am not one to give you advice on a humanities plan...although I will say that it seems like a lot to me. Hopefully, someone else who is more confident in their ability to critique such a plan will help you. As far as your grammar question, I think that will depend upon the student. With my older son, I did a semester of advanced grammar with him during his freshman year (picking and choosing from Warriner's Complete Course). He did not need anymore than that. My younger son, however, will need more grammar in high school. I will probably do a full program (such as Analytical Grammar) with him. Now...having looked through your plan, I see that you have "online study guide" listed for Pride and Prejudice. Can you provide a link to what you plan to use? Sounds interesting! :-) Good luck with your first year of high school!

This concerned me most of all. I will grant that all 11 sections may not make, and if they do, Ms. Brian will probably not have 15 students in each of them. But the perception of "over scheduled" is still there. Ms. Brian's schedule coupled with the workshop model (which would be pure torture for my son) made me quickly realize that Exp. Writing II was not a good fit for us after all. I requested and promptly received my pre-registration fee back last week. Mr. Otto is very professional and kind. Which makes me even sadder that the class will not work for us...I am SO disappointed. :-(

We definitely prefer to buy the printed, bound workbooks from Lulu. I think I heard that Lulu is having a free shipping sale right now...well, it may be over by now. Not sure...but worth checking into.

I did something similar with my older son several years ago (although we did use Hakim as the spine). Here is the link to a thread where I asked for recommendations for scientist biographies; there are lots of great ideas in it! History of Science thread

I'm going to assume that you've seen this positive comment on the instructor for Exp II: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/538797-any-reviews-of-wtm-academy-rhetoric-class/?p=6127363 (post 2), but I just wanted to make sure! :-)

Nevermind about the Lukeion research writing class. It is already full! :-)