This was 3 years ago (and there were 12 or 15 aptitude tests then), but wow, that's a huge price difference. Maybe they've changed somewhat, but still. I might actually contact them.

I hope it goes well, Lisa!

I had my son do it his senior year. We felt it did a pretty good job of describing him--the description of his work style and many of the individual aptitudes seemed right on target. We did feel one of his aptitude tests came out with a wrong result, and they let him re-do it (and he did get a very different result). It made me wonder how accurate it might be for asynchronous students (I had asked that question of a rep ahead of time and they felt it wouldn't be an issue since he could take as many breaks as needed between tests). Most of the top job results were things he definitely wasn't interested in (like accounting), but a few may be in the right range for him. In the end, it hasn't ended up helping him decide what he wants to do any more (or less) than assessments he has done through college. I don't think that's the fault of You Science--I think there are just some people who are going to find it really difficult to figure out where they fit. But...in hind sight I wouldn't have spent the $200 or whatever it was had I known it really wouldn't move him closer to figuring things out. But, one can't know that ahead of time! I think it's good to know that it probably helps a lot of people but there's a chance it may not help, and just consider the risk.

Honestly, I'd say there's a lot of success here. You don't have to do lit. analysis every year, or on every book (I really liked the years I went eclectic and just did a guide here or there, and I don't feel it hurt my kids at all.)

You don't have to do every sub-topic every year. English 9 is a good time to focus on shoring up grammar and writing if you can, and you don't have to do both every day ( you could alternate, or do a semester of each, or do units depending on what your student needs). That and discussing the BP lit could be plenty. Aim for about an hour per day on LA topics and choose what you want to focus on. You don't need 4 years of "lit analysis" (though I'd keep her reading great books all 4 years)--you can focus more on lit. analysis some years, more on composition other years, probably a semester of speech in there sometime, and so on. I used to use a couple of free guides each year to focus more closely and guide our discussions on some books, and then for other books we just talked about what interested us. One year I did a specific focus on lit. analysis. Most years I had a composition component (because my kids needed that), one year I did a grammar unit...you can do whatever combination of topics your student needs or would benefit from.

For assignments, ours were often things like "read the next chapter" or "do the next lesson" so no instructions were needed. Sometimes it was "do this for 30 minutes" to make it the same each day--again no instructions needed. Sometimes I used red and green sticky tabs--green for go, red for stop, marking where to start and stop in the book. Ditto on the treats to find, and not overwhelming with instructions!

I always started my day with the "together" items, so I didn't put those in the kids' workboxes. We did those, and then they went to their workboxes for independent/one-on-one with mom work. For things like practicing typing, you can either put that on the velcro schedule (the one that has all of the numbers to pull off when a box is completed--I put chores on ours), or make up a card to put in one of boxes to remind him to do things like that. Have fun!

7 or 8 is usually the age this starts. They learn fairly early that saying "no" to something mom asks them to do will not end well for them, so they get more creative in stalling or changing what you ask them to do. I think it's helpful to step back and consider whether this is a more elaborate way of not complying and saying no. Sometimes instead of responding to my kids' arguments/debates, I would simply say, "You're arguing. Are you choosing to disobey?" That cuts to the chase and makes them decide in a clear-cut way, what they are going to do. Sometimes I also simply said, "You're arguing" and I walked away. Consider what you said here: "Also, any suggestions on convincing her that she doesn't need to turn every discussion into a debate?" The thought that you need to "convince" her can be part of the issue. That says that you lend credence to her viewpoint. Do you? Think about whether you mean her view to be on equal footing with yours. Sometimes as parents we can unwittingly communicate that kids have more authority than we mean them to have. It's one thing to take a child's viewpoint into consideration as we make a decision, and another thing to govern in such a way that the most persistent/longest/loudest arguments win. Instead of feeling the need to convince her, simply say, "This isn't up for discussion," and walk away when your decision is final. With that said--as you move into the teen years, it can be right and good to release our kids to more responsibility and more freedom--to let them be young men and young women rather than to micromanage every part of their lives. And she may be starting to feel some of that--that sometimes she would like (and may feel ready for) a bit more responsibility and freedom in deciding when and how to do something. You'll want to think through those kinds of issues. One example that always easily comes to my mind is mowing the lawn. If I found my teen son watching videos and not looking like he'd get to mowing the lawn any time soon that day, I had a choice. I could nag about being lazy and when was he going to mow and turn it into a conflict. Or I could use it as an opportunity to recognize he was becoming a young man. I could approach with a smile and a good morning, and ask, "What's your plan for mowing today?" He might reply that his plan is to watch videos for another hour and mow at X time. If that works out fine and nothing conflicts with his plan, I'd just say "great!" and move on. Now it's his plan--will he be accountable? Does his word mean something to him? and other similar thoughts become his motivation. It completely changes the dynamic from what it would have been had I nagged him and imposed my plan on him etc... These pre-teen years will sometimes give you opportunities to experiment with this kind of thing in a smaller way--to test the waters and see how she handles it (can she handle a bit of autonomy with a good attitude or does she argue for more? Does she accomplish the task or find ways to get out of it? etc...), and that will tell you a lot about what she's ready for. With regard to general discussions, sometimes I've asked, "Why are you arguing?" Another thing I did with my kids at times was say, "Show me evidence." If they can't show something in a book or on a reliable website, end of discussion. (I can't tell you how many times my kids argued something was "true" because they heard some cartoon character say it! Seriously!) It's also fine to just say, "That's enough" if she's arguing with other people and it's not appropriate. Then do more coaching at home later on.

Congratulations!

Yes, I kept a grade sheet for each subject (sometimes it was a photo-copy of the TOC of a book, sometimes something I made up, sometimes something a curric. provider included). I wrote down the grades for all papers, tests, lab reports etc... I did not write down grades for discussions but did include a discussion grade in the final average. But that's because I wouldn't have accepted less than A work in discussion (they have to have read the material and be ready to dig in and talk about it.) On the course descriptions I wrote up for each course, I listed the grading basis and any grades I kept. It was a pretty simple process though. I guess I don't see how one can accurately determine a grade at the end of the year if you haven't kept grades of papers/tests. Several times I had the experience that what I "felt" the year was at a given moment in time and what the actual grades were when I went back to look were different. My state does not require any reporting. I do teach to mastery, and if my kids miss something, I had them go back and study again. If they got less than an 80% on a test, I did require them to re-take it, or to do an alternate assignment. (Sometimes tests don't really show what a student knows or they aren't an effective method for the student. The semester my dd did Government comes to mind. I had her write out answers to questions instead of doing a multiple choice test because it showed more of what she was learning and also better helped her to process the information.) If they got higher than 80%, I had them find the answers or rework problems, but the original grade stood. Sometimes, again, depending on what it was, I had my kids answer orally if I felt they really knew more about something than what showed up on the test--and that sometimes allowed them to earn more credit/points. In high school, I don't so much worry about how college will do things with regard to grading. Rather, I concern myself with learning how to study and learning how to take tests, learning how to write, how to synthesize information, and so on. All of the foundational skills they need to be successful. Work towards building up those skills.

Maybe Essentials in Literature would be a fit.

I worked part-time through the high school years as well, and I know it can be busy. I honestly just made it a priority to check work daily most of the time. There were occasions when I wasn't able to get to it for a day or two (extra busy work week, illness, family emergencies etc...), but for the most part the old adage "don't expect what you don't inspect" is still pretty accurate for high school. I met with my kids one on one daily, usually for about 20-45 minutes, to go over any work we needed to go over, to discuss history, literature, reading, or another subject (usually on a rotating basis, not all in one day), and to catch up and make sure things were going well for them.

I found that workboxes really helped here, and I was able to set the order that way.

I did know that, but ds doesn't like the idea of transferring mid-year. Thanks!

where's a DIS-like button when you need one?! Awful!

LOL, yes! My 4-year plan was pretty flexible--I figured out what credits they needed for each area based on state and college requirements, but decided the curriculum and sometimes the specific subject content year by year, taking interests into account. So it was useful in that it gave me a starting point and helped me not to leave out something that was needed, but not so "tight" that we didn't have room to adjust for various opportunities and so on. (I started with the same 4-year plan for both of my kids but adapting for interests, opportunities, and a few times even curriculum made the results very different. They had only 12.5 out of 25+ credits that were similar or identical.)

Of course not! I hope you have a great year :-)

That's good to know, I assumed there would be a fall deadline (or at least for the first round of consideration if there are any transfer scholarships). That would help in case another semester helps him to know which way he wants to go. Ongoing and ad nauseum with career exploration. It weighs heavily on him. More the plan is that it doesn't make sense to take on lots of loans if he really has no idea what to major in. CC has been a great, inexpensive place to explore but without a strong drive to pursue one field over another (and without a strong sense of what he'd do since his interests are mainly in liberal arts areas but he doesn't like writing or speaking or research...), I think it's pretty difficult to proceed. We'd expect him to work full time unless he had a drive or interest in some kind of special opportunity. Both DH and I did gap years (I did one in the middle, DH did one before going to college) and found that a year to mature was helpful in giving us focus (I actually decided my major after my gap year). I think a little perspiration helps too (nothing like working full time to help a student decide they might want to pursue something else). Maybe we're all later bloomers!

Sorry about the appeal. I pray your interview goes well! I'd go with the pencil skirt and a flat or low heal closed-toe shoe that's comfortable for walking--no open toes for business attire. (Some people/places are fine with open toes, but I just wouldn't do it for an interview--save them for when you're sure what the trend is at that particular business.)

He'll have 6 hours left after Fall, so yes, he'll finish in May. Yes, he would be applying to schools that have an articulation agreement with our cc.

My son will finish up his associate's degree this year, but he's still unsure of what he wants to major in for finishing out a Bachelor's Degree. Because of that, there's a good chance he might end up taking a gap year before continuing on. Should I have him apply to a few schools anyway, in case he might end up being ready to transfer? (I'm assuming that most applications are due in the fall if a student wants the possibility of a transfer scholarship or aid from the school). What's the outlook if he tries to apply in the spring? Are there any negatives to applying and then not going anywhere for a year and needing to reapply?

I bought a nice pen last time I was there and use it daily, LOL! Their bookstore's profits go towards extra curriculars, so I do like to support it when I can...but I saved $200 getting a lot of the books online. The others were negligibly different and I'll get them at the store.

so bought a bunch of the kids' college texts on Amazon this week, LOL! Oy! (Actually we're trying out renting one for the first time, thanks to a conversation on here!). Yeah...not quite the same!

A few thoughts... One, it will naturally be at least *a* focus of your life because it takes a lot of time--likely most of your waking hours. Two, I think it's important to find at least some time in the summer to allow yourself NOT to focus on homeschooling. If prep is taking up most of your summer, then there may be some easier options out there to consider--or even some ways to streamline what you already like and use. Try to mark out a couple of weeks where you won't be working on school prep to rejuvenate. I honestly tried to do the majority of our school prep--all of the research and ordering--before the previous year ended. Then I would only be working on schedules and coming up with a yearly plan for each subject--the order of books we'd read and so on. If you are doing meticulous daily planning--I never did that. Three, I find it helps to try to connect with my kids as people--not as school students. My dh and I make it a point to each do one on one dates with our kids as often as possible (once a month if we can) to just go out and talk. Make sure to date and connect with your spouse too! Times like this can pull us out of that homeschooler focus. Four, if you are a Christian, pull back to that focus on Christ, because he is really the focus and center of our lives despite all of the busy-ness and activity that homeschooling can require. Five, consider whether you are doing too much (outside activities, too many school subjects, too many non-homeschooling commitments, etc...)--too much of a good thing can be just too much and can lead to this feeling. I will say that now that I'm done with homeschooling, it does leave a big hole! I'm giving myself time to process/think about what is "next." Even though I've worked from home for the last several years and have a few various outside hobbies/interests--there's nothing quite like homeschooling and it's a really special time with our kids.

We always did this--I always enjoyed this time with my kids. Here's a post on my blog with a form that I had them fill out as they got older (I liked to have them think about the questions--sometimes I got more info that way, but we still always did conversations too). And here's another post where I tell more about how we started doing evaluations. Have fun!