DS took this last year. He actually thought it was easier than Intermediate Algebra (easyER, not easy!) He did need an extension the last week of class, so that one must have been harder. The best resource for extra help we found was the online forum. Classmates and teachers responded, usually very promptly, with helpful hints and tips

Another vote for iPads over Dragon. It's much easier to use. We started using apps to create documents, but what worked best for DS was to dictate a document, then email it to a PC for editing.

Check out the SocialThinking.com website. There are tons of free articles, maybe you can get some ideas. I have seen these products used in small groups and whole public school classrooms. It might be more than you need, but it really breaks these (and many other) social skills down.

He might be able to do this, but may not receive any reading instruction at school. Problems this may cause include creative pronunciation and incorrectly inferred definitions, even with above grade level reading and comprehension. Some examples I have seen: DS calling DD "ignorant" repeatedly, because she was ignoring him. pronouncing grotesque as grot-es-cue during a middle school presentation. It's great when kids learn independently, but sometimes they need a little guidance. Consider being prepared to work on reading at home through elementary, if he goes to school. If he is still driven to learn, teach him about dinosaurs, the latin names for every plant in your neighborhood, get a "Gray's Anatomy" coloring book and learn all the parts of the body. Anything but the standard school curriculum. Its boring enough once through for gifted kids, the second time can kill a love of learning.

For my DD, she has always been very social, but didn't have super close peer friends until middle school. She preferred adults and older kids. In 6th she moved to a school with many kids who were both age & academic peers. Its been a very positive experience, that I only really appreciated in hindsight. Now she has friends in a wide range of ages, and a wide range of academic abilities. My DS has always had good friends his own age, and they have always found common interests. That said, he has been gravitating towards friendships with math/academic peers in the last 2 years. He still has his old friends, but needs this "special-interest" group now. I think each kid is so unique, it really just depends whether they need similar aged friends. But I do think there is value in ensuring gifted kids have access (online, camp, etc.) to other kids with similar age & ability, if possible, even if they don't become BFF's.

Most colleges will prefer 4 years of high school math for a STEM admission, even if calculus is complete. I’m assuming that’s where you are headed. Some ideas: AoPS classes in Counting and probability, or Number theory are excellent, and could be done before or after pre-Calc. Has your son done the intro levels for these classes? AoPS intermediate algebra and pre-Calc cover materials not found in most other curriculum. These could allow you to go “deeper” into the topics if your son is interested, since he has the time. AP statistics is another option. My science-loving DD really benefitted from taking this before Calc, too help with understanding data analysis in experiments. After AP Calculus, there is always DE or online classes in multi variable calculus, differential equations, discrete math. Here is an article, explaining far better than I can, the reasons to take other classes before Calculus. https://artofproblemsolving.com/articles/calculus-trap

Thanks for the great info everyone. Jouful - my DS was in the same pre-Calc class as yours, and will be in the fall Calc class too. Small world.

My DS's first online class was Algebra A, and I think the benefit was there, certainly for him. He was older than your DS when he started, but in hindsight, I think he would have been fine 1-2 years earlier, if only I knew AoPS existed. Math was a strength, but writing and social skills were not. Challenging problems were also, well, challenging. Online classes really addressed all of these, really well. I'm not sure DS takes "full" advantage of the online community even now. But the benefits have been there all along, and continue to grow with my child.

The textbooks are well writing for a student to learn independently, and you can certainly master the material without using their classes. Alcumus is also available for free, so if you wish to include it in self-studying the material, you don’t need the classes. My DS started with self-studying pre-algebra, but after he tried the classes, he was hooked. Reasons why AoPS classes are worth the cost: feedback on written problems/proofs - this alone meets my value threshold. online community - a chance to collaborate with others. Also a very well moderated online forum to learn digital citizenship skills. an outside schedule - this could be a plus or minus for you, but it motivates my DS to stay on track.

Passing the CHSPE does not automatically graduate you from high school. There are students at my DD's public high school who are still enrolled after passing the CHSPE, because they only wanted it for CC enrollment priority. In order to leave high school, students under 18 years old must pass the CHPSE - AND - have parental permission to stop attending. So the parent doesn't consent, kid is still enrolled in high school. from https://www.chspe.net/about/ Passing the CHSPE does not, by itself, exempt minors from attending school. Minors who have a Certificate of Proficiency must also have verified parent/guardian permission to stop attending school. Many students who pass the CHSPE continue to attend school. State law provides that, if you leave school after passing the CHSPE and are no more than 18 years old, you may reenroll in the district in which you were registered with no adverse consequences. If you do reenroll you may be required to meet new or additional requirements established since you were previously enrolled. If you reenroll and then leave school again, you may be denied re-admittance until the beginning of the following semester. Contact your guidance counselor or school administrator for further information and details about leaving school after passing the CHSPE. edited to fix typo

The rules to register are enrolled in 10th grade for a year, or 16. So if you plan to take it "early", you need to provide school paperwork that says student will complete a full year of 10th the season of the CHSPE. Easiest done with a PSA, most charters that I am familiar with are not flexible enough with grade level designations. So my PSA rules, since I made them, allow for DS (9th) to be classified as a sophomore by credits, but not graduate early. I counted HS level math and spanish from 7-8th grades, which local PS & UC's do. So his class standing including the 4 credits from middle school allows him to be a 10th grader now, completing the 1 year requirement in the fall when he takes the CHSPE. He can't graduate early, since he will only take 1 english credit a year, and I require 4 for graduation. :hurray: It's all about bending the rules to suit your needs.

Ds is taking Intro to CS with edhesive, started in Jan. I think the 1 semester option is to just do the first half of the course. Since we stared late in the year, we weren’t sure if he could do the entire course by June, but pricing was the same. Both options “expire†in June. The course starts at the beginning...no previous experience required. In fact, Ds complained that it started out too slow/easy. I liked the easy first assignments to learn the platform. Ds has almost no programming experience, just a little Minecraft. He has not needed any outside help yet. The class does have a forum for enrolled students to work together, but we haven’t explored that yet. We are planning AP CS with edhesive next year (10th), and this course seems like a good intro so far.

We are having the same issue for my 9th grade ds this year, using Avancemos, the Spanish text by the same publisher. One thing I learned from the TE was that the last 2 units/chapters of Level 1 are fully covered in Level 2. The other units have spiraling as well. I understand that the French books have a similar format. So we spent 10 weeks completing Level 1, and now are in the Level 2 book. I plan to complete 3/4 of the Level 2 book, and credit this whole year as Spanish 3-4. The expectation at my dd's public school (she had the same course in B&M middle) is that students will eventually pick it up. Not sure if they do, or just drop foreign lang. Having her tutor ds for about 1 hour a week has helped her Spanish 7-8 grade immensely. So check between the book levels for Bien Dit! for significant review and spiraling. You might not be as far behind as you think.

Hey, it's our first holiday gf & cf. I made pumpkin bread tonight and it was yummy. From http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/09/gluten-free-tuesday-pumpkin-bread-recipe.html. The other website I am drooling over is http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com. She has tons of thanksgiving tips and recipes.

I would love to use butter, yummmmm, but family allergies overrule. I use cold pressed extra virgin coconut oil, which is delicious, all natural and healthy.