Looks like Jensen's Punctuation has recently been revised. It is similar to what we have...maybe a little better organized. Here's a larger sample - https://www.masterbooks.com/downloads/dl/file/id/724/product/2706/jensen_s_punctuation.pdf It does says that it will take approximately 30-45 per lesson. I think it takes my son about 15-20. Also. As we are spreading it out over 2 years and he only does it 2-3x per week, he spends an hour on less on it per week.

Only if you are completely comfortable with diagramming yourself. I am not and I definitely used the TM every lesson. But ymmv.

Jensen's Punctuation has worked well for my son - http://cathyduffyreviews.com/homeschool-reviews-core-curricula/composition-and-grammar/ungraded-multi-level-resources-grammar/jensens-punctuation https://www.rainbowresource.com/product/Jensens+Punctuation+(combined+volume)/000700

My oldest lived at home through college (local LAC), sharing a room with her 2 sisters. It was mostly a financial decision, as we couldn't imagine borrowing money for her to dorm when her commute was only about an hour. My next daughter also lived at home through college (CUNY community college, then 4-yr) and commuted, but for her last year she only shared the room with 1 sister as our oldest had moved out. My youngest daughter now has her own room and plans to stay home and commute this fall (CUNY community college). My son has his own room and intends to stay home as well (CUNY 4-yr) unless he gets a good scholarship to another school that meets his needs). But we live in Brooklyn and there are many colleges close enough to commute. I think dorming would have been a reasonable choice if we had lived somewhere else. And sure - our children are friends but they also drive each other crazy and there were times I wanted to kick some or all of them out...but that's family life, especially in an apartment. If we had a house...well, that would have been even better!

This was for 11th grade. For grammar: He was still struggling with punctuating complex sentences so Jensen's Punctuation was a good fit for him. For vocabulary: Amsco Vocabulary for the High School Student. It was on the easy side for him and I regret not using the Amsco's Vocab for the College-Bound Student. I may have him use it next year. I like the format of these books but he hated the parts that I find most valuable - the analogies and the writing. I am waiting to see how he did on his SAT before I make a decision for next year. Generally speaking, if your teen is spending several hours reading/writing/thinking/discussing every week, I don't think that there is an exact amount of "writing" or "literature" he needs to accomplish. My goal for each week is to have my children reading/discussing something interesting as well as planning/writing/editing. But it doesn't always work out that way!! Since this particular child struggles with writing, I decided that the BW classes were enough. Next year I will be requiring an expository or analytical essay each month for history and adding a research paper class and a lit analysis class or two. I think he is ready to write more!! Hope this helped! Also. Even though I don't think that a BW class really adds up to .25% of a HS English class (and that's jmho), I absolutely can not recommend them enough. Theimprovement in my son's attitude and the quality of his work has been just wonderful.

Having had my son take three last year....I didn't choose to have those classes account for 75% of his English credit for the year. Not because I think that they were light - he spent a reasonable amount of time writing each week. At most I would call 3 BW classes (18 weeks) .5 credits - the Composition portion of a High School English class. But that's just my comfort zone.

How many Total Language Plus guides? Are they one guide per book? Do they include writing? By .25 of .50, do you mean that the BW class will count for 25% of a one-semester .5 credit class and the TLP reading/work would count for the other 75% of that class? This past year, for 11th grade, my son took 3 BW classes (KWI, Expository, SAT/ACT Essay) in addition to a homegrown AmericanLit component: 9 short novels, 3 plays, about 20 short stories, about 15 poems, and a lot of non-fiction to keep him happy - no writing, just lots of discussion. I added grammar and vocab and SAT prep and I gave him 1 credit. This seemed about right to me. I would have preferred more writing but he did do his best and improved dramatically with BW, so I guess we went for quality over quantity this year!

I also used some of the Lightning Lit Guides - Early-Mid 19th C and Medieval. But there are a few more - Late 19th C, Shakespeare, and Christian Lit. https://www.hewitthomeschooling.com/Senior/sLightning.aspx

I realize that you used the ACT Prep, not the SAT Prep, but I was wondering if you had any thoughts on this... My son won't get his SAT Scores until July 12. We have a minimum score in mind, which seems very reasonable based on his practice tests - we used Khan. If he needs to take it again, would it be worth spending the money for only 6-7 weeks of prep since we would like him to take it in August? There is a test in October but we'd rather not wait for that.

I don't know if this is true in her later editions but in TWTM 1st ed, SWB suggests choosing Macbeth, Henry V, or A Midsummer Night's Dream. We started with Henry V, then the others, and had a lot of fun with them. She explains how to approach them in the logic stage section of the book and it is pretty simple - First, read a summary. I personally like to use Nesbit's Beautiful Stories for Children when they are younger, the Garfield's Shakespeare Stories when they are older. Sparknotes has a pretty thorough synopsis of each play. Next, watch a production. The BBC has a filmed version of all of them and Netflix had them for a while. I have a few favorite versions that I can list if you like. Last, read the play!

We also used the "pile" approach and we determined the value of the pile based on the price of our local city school - CUNY. We factored in tuition, books, a little extra for study abroad and a summer/winter class or two. We also added transportation costs, as we pay for their Metro Cards during college. We made it clear that we won't borrow and discouraged them from borrowing as well. Our oldest used it towards attending a more expensive local lac and she made up the difference with scholarships and a small loan for her final year, as she didn't work. She did borrow for grad school but we stayed out of it. Our second went to CUNY and was able to save and travel as she worked a lot. Our next two intend to go to CUNY as well but our pile is a little bigger as the tuition has increased a little.

My son is completely sure of where he wants to go. Local and affordable. He isn't sure if he will stay there as he is torn between 2 majors - Business and Engineering - but we agree that it is a good place to start.

My daughter did the book in one year - 8th grade - and I doubt that it took her more than 30m per day. But she had done a little diagramming in 6th-7th grade so it wasn't totally unfamiliar. It all just clicked with her.

Thanks Rootann! It wouldn't work for us but I am always on the lookout for good ideas as many of the families in our homeschool group ask me to recommend classes. We are trying hard to only have online classes 2 days per week and he has Pre-Calc on M/W am and the Thesis class on W pm so Monday afternoon is the best time to fit in Chemistry. If we had no other choices I would give him a class on a 3rd day but I'm trying hard not to. Live online classes are inflexible and we're unwilling to give up our flexibility more than 2 days per week!

Oh - DIVE had a lot of vocab to memorize, much of it technical. But if your child keeps a list and refers to it for tests (I am pretty sure that the DIVE website says that a child can take the tests open book if you want it to be regular, not honors) they would probably be fine. ETA: If you scroll down, it says that a child can take the tests "open note" and consider the class standard Biology. https://www.diveintomath.com/biology/

I used Power Basics Chemistry and Apologia Physical Science for my son in the 8th grade but we did the PB tests open book, skimmed over any math he didn't understand and just read through the Apologia text. That amount of work seemed about right for 8th grade. Power Basics is basic but I think if you did the whole thing and added the CC videos and a lab, it would add up to regular Biology. Just my opinion, of course. I think the labs are the big question mark because a microscope is so expensive. Add in the supplies and it is hard to have enough $$ left for the actual program! I was able to send one of my kids to a Christian school just for labs and they charged me less than the price of a microscope!! (is that an option for you?) and then borrowed a microscope for my son, which kept costs down. And I didn't worry about the labs lining up exactly - my kids were fine with it and my oldest two have done very well in college science. I think SOS is regular Bio. I found this sample of the Chemistry program and the set-up is the same as the Earth Science - so the Bio is probably very similar as well. It may not have enough video for you, though. Monarch is probably identical. Hope you find something that will work!!!

Well. It is not challenging in that there isn't much math but there is a lot of memorization. And it is possible to make the DIVE course easier by taking the tests open book. And, if you choose the CD or download option instead of the e-learning option, you would have to do the grading yourself but you could spread out the test questions so she is taking shorter tests more frequently. Or you can use the e-learning version that has the automatic grading and just lower your expectations and expect Cs, not As. Unless I'm mistaken, this child learns better with videos, right? Has anyone suggested that you use the Crash Course videos along with an easier program like Power Basics or Apologia? Or have you considered Switched on Schoolhouse? My son used the Earth Science in the 9th grade and it was engaging and well organized.

and I'm nervous. So I came here to think out loud and maybe get some helpful comments!! This is quite long and I appreciate your helping me out! (Our other plans are - Pre-Calc with myhomeschoolmathclass. Senior Thesis with Memoria. Govt/Eco, Lit and comp, Music History/Theory, Business Math all with me. Possibly dropping Spanish with me - waiting till October to decide. Guitar lessons, yoga, soccer. Maybe Debate. Youth group. Destiny lol!) My son will be a senior next year and just finished - and loved - Clover Creek Physics (and he did very well. It wasn't that difficult for him - he was probably a little old for it - but he was also learning how to take an online class so it was just the perfect level of challenging). He's already taken Earth Science and Biology and has little interest in Chemistry but we both agree that he ought to take it. He is interested in both Engineering and Business and he wants to be confident with college science. After a lot of research, I decided to have him use Zumdahl's World of Chemistry with some online videos/tests I found online/labs at home. We both like the text a lot and I know that he would have no problem working through it independently. I wouldn't be able to help him with the actual work, but I can schedule and keep him on track and my husband is great with any kind of labs. Yesterday I brought out my plans for next year and I realized that I wasn't convinced about doing Chemistry on our own. I discussed our budget with my husband and he was all "Last kid, last year, spend whatever you want" (nice, right!). So I brought it up with my son and he told me that he really would like the accountability of a class for Chemistry. Last year he was horrified that he would have to take Physics, Alg 2, and some Writing classes online and was sure it would be horrible. Now he sees the benefits of doing a few classes this way. We looked at our schedule, and found 2 online classes that we could fit in: Dr. Wile's new Chemistry class and The Potter's School Pre-AP Chemistry. My son used Apologia in 7th-8th grades and found the texts interesting but too chatty. The Discovering Design text doesn't look like it would be a challenge but he thinks it would be a fun class, especially since Dr. Wile is teaching it. The TPS class uses the Novare Accelerated Chem text and he thinks it looks dry but more difficult/thorough. We both much prefer the Zumdahl text but he thinks accountability trumps textbook choice right now. Also. We haven't seen any reviews for either of these classes. Dr. Wile's class is new but I was surprised to find very few reviews of any TPS classes here. So I do feel like it's just a shot in the dark here. And another also. He took the TPS Placement test and has already been accepted to the class. So I need to decide fairly quickly!! Then we made a pro/con list for the 2 classes and our only question mark is this: is challenging a pro - because he'll be better prepared for college and he is capable of putting in the work, or a con - because next year will be very busy and he doesn't care much for Chemistry. Basically - should this be a get-it-done class or a learn-and-do-as-much-as-possible class??? Any thoughts?

Have you considered DIVE Biology? Very inexpensive if you use their online text. And not much more if you buy a used text if you prefer one. The lab kit was pricey but you can spend less if you pick and choose which ones to actually do vs which ones to watch. https://www.diveintomath.com/biology/

My 2nd daughter did it over 2 years - 3x per week, very relaxed. She liked it a lot! But I know that we could have done it in one year, as it was not particularly challenging. I would contact the company about the contents, to be sure.

ITA

Could you define easy and interesting? One of my daughters used the Great Courses US History videos, Notgrass US History, Lightning Lit American Lit, and several extra books, both F and NF. Regular discussions, a few essays, weekly quizzes - nothing too difficult. And it was fairly interesting.

Well, we were - and are - very open with our kids about income, taxes, savings, investments, etc. I think it has been good, as even our oldest, who tends to be oblivious about practical things, has learned to manage and save. She and her husband are paying back student loans and saving and are already planning for how they will manage when/if they have children. Our next daughter is more...aware?...and is great at budgeting. She's managed to travel quite a bit as well as save a lot. She likes a certain lifestyle and knows what things are worth to her. When she has a busy week and decides to send her laundry to the laundromat instead of doing it herself, she will automatically spend a bit less at Starbucks. She brings lunch to work every day so she has that little extra money for the weekends. Our teens each have their own plan for saving and spending, though neither of them work yet, so they are mostly managing on a small allowance. So they save any money they receive as gifts so they have a little more for a large purchase. But I will say that my kids are living a way better life than my husband and I led when we were first married, and certainly had more comfortable childhoods than either of us had, even on one income! Their ideas of what is necessary are quite different from ours!

I've been very happy with Algebra 2 with Jann in TX - http://myhomeschoolmathclass.com/index.html This class uses Lial's Intermediate Algebra. I don't know if it would qualify as engaging...but. My son used to see math as a drudgery and now wants to major in "something that uses math" in college. I will ask my son for a description of how the class works, so you can describe it to your son.

I kept them together in history for many years and I found it to be the easiest way to manage things. I just used the appropriate texts/materials for their ages. For example, when my oldest was a senior, the others were 10th, 5th, and 3rd grades. That year everyone covered Year 2 - MA/Ren/Ref. The younger ones used SOTW and plenty of library books and historical fiction. My 12th was using Spielvogel and my 10th, who found that heavy going, used an easier World History text. They read everything together with me - Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, lots of Shakespeare. We continued this way until my 3rd was in 9th grade and we changed things up for her. ETA: For Science, I split the older 2 up when my oldest was in 9th grade. And I kept the younger two together until my 3rd was in 9th grade. I would have found it too difficult to modify and arrange things at 4 different levels for one science, though I never found it difficult for History/Literature.