:lol: I am just cracking up at your response!! Very interesting that no one seemed to care about lit. Hmmm. Maybe I'm worrying too much about lit and need to just concentrate on writing. Thanks so much for your info and transparency! Jennifer

WOW! You really do have a wealth of experience with their courses! I'm glad to hear the positive review of the English courses you've used. Can you give an idea about the weekly workload and types/lengths of papers that students write? What about lit analysis & SAT prep? Thanks, Jennifer

I know you said that you can't afford to outsource French, but I am going to highly recommend French from the Potter's School. It may be worth a try to contact them because I know that they give scholarships. Honestly, even though I took French for 3 years, I would be floundering myself if it weren't for the structure provided by the course & teacher. Just a thought. Jennifer

Thanks! PM'd you.....Jennifer

Wow! This looks really great; it does cover everything I'm looking for. It sounds like the workload will be tough, which definitely will crank things up a notch for dd. That's not a bad thing, but I also don't want to burn her out. I'm going to investigate this a little bit further. Thanks so much for the link! Very helpful! About geography...dd and I put together this course. Really it has been "her baby" this year. By the time she finishes, she will have researched EVERY country in the world. She has put together a notebook that includes large continent maps that she has colored and labeled with country, capital, large cities, and physical features. She also completed a one page analysis of each country using the newest version of the Kingfisher Geography Encyclopedia and the CIA website. She's been particularly interested in political disputes, terrorism activity, religious influences, and drug/human trafficking. (She's interested in foreign language & intelligence work for a career.) The missions component has been guided by two books, Praying for the 100 Gateway Cities in the 10/40 window (newest ed.) and From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya, a history of world missions. We have prayed over each of the gateway cities and had so many thought-provoking discussions based on our readings/research--probably more so than any other time I can remember. Below I'll link the map sources that I bought at Rainbow Resource. If you have any other questions, I'll be happy to answer them! Maps of the World Curriculum http://www.rainbowre...l.php?id=043296 Geography Matters Continent Maps paper http://www.rainbowre...1c7ae38912e03fb HTH, Jennifer

Sue, thanks for the review and Candid, thanks for the heads up about the class being almost full. If she primarily provides composition, what did you do about literature? My dd has been through R&S Grammar 8, so she's really mastered what she needs to know about grammar. She definitely needs more composition practice especially persuasive essays, longer papers, & MLA format papers. We both love discussing literature, but when it comes to the nuts & bolts of good analysis & writing literary papers, that just is not my forte. I'm a math/science person. DD has a lot on her plate already, so I don't want anything that will overwhelm her and I can't really afford to pay for a composition course & a lit course. According to your review, Sue, this course looks promising, but it still puts me in a quandary about literature. So, if you and Candid, could tell me what you did about lit, that would be great! Thanks, Jennifer

I was going to ask the same thing...which subjects? My dd has had a great experience with French 1, but really, I know nothing about other subjects taught by TPS. Thanks, Jennifer

Dd has had a great experience with two online courses this year: Derek Owens Geometry and Potter's School French 1. For 10th grade, she's going to be taking a chemistry course from a friend of mine at a local private school, TPS French 2, and DO Algebra 2. I'm considering outsourcing English. She's familiar with the TPS format, so I'm inclined to consider them the most. However, I've seen mixed reviews on the boards about some of the classes/teachers. I think they'd probably put her into British Lit since she hasn't taken their Foundations course. She's definitely beyond Foundations and has done literature analysis using IEW Intro to Lit. Louise Wood is the British & American lit teacher. Have any of your dc ever taken either of those courses with her? Any other suggestions, even if it's not TPS? A course that combines grammar, writing, vocab, lit analysis, & SAT prep is what I'm looking for. Thanks, Jennifer

Ladies, thank you for your diligence and hard work! YOU ROCK!! Jennifer

Here's a link to a "top 10 list" on amazon that's been created by a college chemistry professor. One of Timberlake's texts appears as #10 on that list. I think it's the one for health science majors. Sorry, I don't know anything about the Basic Chemistry text. Hopefully, someone will chime in. http://www.amazon.com/Top-CHEMISTRY-TEXTBOOKS-Prof-Krasnic/lm/R1NI0HDLAFH8RE HTH, Jennifer

Just thought I'd mention that one of my best friend's daughter is attending Rider in NJ and she absolutely loves it there. My daughter's best friend is a jr this year and visited Charleston Southern in February. She wants to double major in sociology & psychology and right now, that is her first choice school.

OK-gotcha. Sorry I misunderstood. Would A Visual History of the Modern World work or perhaps the world history book that SWB recommends in WTM? I think it is by Clive Ponting.

I'm having the same problem with my return/enter key. This has been going on for about a month. It seemed to correlate with the last upgrade of the forums. Using your advice klmama, I'm going to give the toggle button a try and use this post as a test.....here goes....... Test 1 Test 2 It works. Thank you so much! This has been bugging me so much--my posts have looked like long, strung out paragraphs. Glad to find an answer. Blessings, Jennifer

Amy, this is something I'm looking at using. If you click on the textbook called The Western Experience, it will link you to examples. However, it does cover all of western civ and the book is pricey, so this may not suit your needs. It may be available at amazon for less, but I haven't checked yet. I really like the Take a Stand book and the discussion DVD's that go with it. http://www.classicalhistorian.com/modern-world-history.html HTH, Jennifer

Welcome! You've come to the right place to ask questions, research, and gain insight. You've already received many helpful replies and if you've done any research thus far, you might be feeling a bit overwhelmed. Take your time and ask questions as you need to. You'll find this a great place to discuss ideas openly and honestly. My dd is finishing 9th grade, so I am no expert on high school, but I'll pass on a few things that I've learned along the way. Whatever you choose to do, be it online classes or other options, find out what kind of time commitment the course will require. With the talents that your dd has, it would be a shame for her to be so bogged down in coursework that she couldn't explore and broaden her artistic/writing abilities. I live in GA, and the high school kids I know who use GA Cyber Academy (online charter K12 program), spend HOURS working on schoolwork (nights/weekends). They have no free time; no time to explore, read, etc. So do your homework for the public school online option. On the boards, you'll see people often say "check off the box" subject--meaning choose something that will get the job done and meet requirements, but won't take an extraordinary amount of time/effort on the part of you or your child. That way you allow more time for deeper study in your dd's areas of interest. I'm not talking about being slack; I'm talking about prioritizing what fits your child the most. After all, that's one of the greatest benefits of homeschooling and I suspect from your post that's why you are seeking other options. On a personal note, I can highly recommend two online options that have worked very well for my dd. The Potter's School for French and Derek Owens for math and science. As you can see, these are two different programs. What you may find is that putting together a combination of various online courses coupled with things she can do independently at home may offer her more flexibility to meet her goals. Plus she won't be at the computer all day long. With her artistic talent, I'd also look into some private art instruction--maybe check a local college for recommendations. I hope this gives you a little more help. Here are the links for the online programs my dd uses: http://www.pottersschool.org/ and http://www.derekowens.com/ . Blessings, Jennifer

8FillTheHeart, thank you so much for this recommendation. I checked the link and this looks like a much more feasible option financially. It also makes me feel better to know that you sent a dc there that had a good experience. How did you feel about the supervision that the kids receive? Any other feedback about security or the camp in general? Thanks, Jennifer

:iagree:

Margaret, thanks for the info. We live in GA, so I will have to look into our state patrol agency. And, I can really dig FREE! Thanks, Jennifer

Have any of you used Landry's course for crime scene investigation or sent a child to one of their camps? My dd is chomping at the bit to go to this camp. It's a drivable distance for us, BUT it is also $1400+. OUCH! I want to know if 1) it is a safe, secure environment for a 15 yo girl, and 2) is it worth the money. The semester course will be offered in the fall for about 1/2 the money, so she could wait, but of course there won't be "live" work like at the camp. Any feedback or comments? Thanks, Jennifer

1) Bible: integrated w/World Geography--reading From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya, Praying Through the 100 Gateway Cities of the 10/40 Window, 2) World Geography--research based format that dd has done independently, 3)Geometry w/Derek Owens, 4) Physical Science w/Derek Owens & Earth Science, 5) English--IEW Stud. Intensive C & Intro to Literature w/world lit, 6) French I w/Potter's School, 7)Health & PE--a compilation of resources I have put together (I'm a registered dietitian w/varied background.), 8)Music (piano, violin, theory)--private lessons

Do you know about these two resources? I've seen them mentioned in other posts on this board. http://www.classicalhomeeducation.com/How-to-Read-How-to-Read-a-Book_p_188.html and http://www.thegreatideas.org/HowToReadABook.htm

Thank you, Karen!

Julie, thank you so much for this detail. Between you and Sweet Home Alabama, I think I have a much better understanding of how this program works. And I am thrilled to hear you say that "the information is being absorbed by the student so that they can write". I also agree with you about how people feel that Bible stories are no different from mythological stories--this is one of the reasons I want to study/compare mythology. Like you I want them to research these foundational truths of Christianity and form their own views. The writing assignments seem very doable for my dd and I'm glad to know there are guidelines for papers. The grading aspect sounds reasonable, but I still might consider having a friend, who is a HS English teacher, grade for me. I think my dd would benefit from an additional viewpoint. All in all, this sounds like it could work for us. Thank you so much for all your detailed info. It has been VERY helpful! Jennifer

Wow, I didn't know there was a TM w/tests & answers. Where did you find that??? Thanks for the coursera info, too. I'm going to investigate that more! Jennifer

Julie, thanks for starting this thread as I am also looking at Core 300 for my dd who loves to read. I don't mean to hijack, but I'd also like some feedback on other language arts & writing assignments woven into Core 300. How much time is required for those areas and what are some examples of writing assignments? Thanks, Jennifer