There are some good essays in WwaT, but as with most books, the chance of overlap isn't that great since there are so many essays available. I would look into Models for Writers if you're looking just for examples. Some other complementary texts have essays, which could be considered too. Alyn and Bacon Guide to Writing (not a lot of examples, but there are some, and it's a nice complement to WwaT) They Say, I Say with Writings (although the additional cost for the writings is probably not worth it) Winifred Horner's Rhetoric in the Classical Tradition Speeches that Changed the World (obviously a different twist), by Smith-Davies publishers

FYI, there's a wonderful thread on an evaluation of writing curricula at: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/348864-my-evaluation-of-numerous-writing-curricula/

Yes and yes. It's all quite a challenge. One thing that helped me keep some balance (with both academics and real life) was to set some goals. I wrote down ours here, somewhat edited to make them less specific to our situation: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/588582-setting-high-school-goals/?p=6860378

I also made a little planning table like this: -----------------------------Grade------------------ pre-9th 9 10 11 12 Math Algebra 1… Statistics English Composition and Rhetoric Literature Social Studies World Languages Spanish French Science Fine Arts Other * [specific goals] **Place extracurricular activities below class table ETA: Edited for format

I've seen a number of threads, etc. where people seem to have been discouraged, overwhelmed, etc. about high school. Parenting for high school is definitely a challenge, either homeschooling or sending your kids off to school. Even when you think you have it all figured out when your kid is in 8th grade, they change by the time 9th grade starts. There are so many things to cover in high school, it sometimes seems so "important," and it really is the last time you're likely to be heavily involved in their schooling and learning process. One thing that's helped me to prioritize and focus, is to write down goals. I'll share a list to start, and welcome any one who cares to to chime in. I hope it helps someone and look forward to seeing what others think are priorities. I recognize that other folks will have different values and goals, and my intent is not to say these should be yours -- it's more a way of trying to stay focused on the big picture when making trade offs. Goals: Read well and think critically Analyze issues logically and consider others' point of view Write well and present yourself effectively orally Be very competent in math, including statistics Develop healthily in body and spirit Provide service to community (or "give back" to community)

Quote from above: ...but if literary analysis is new to him, then it's going to be hard to write about. It's always difficult to write about what you don't know. There is curriculum out there for paragraph work. What about KIllgallon Paragraphs for High School? I agree that literary analysis is probably not a good place to work at this level. Personally, I would not use the Killgallon reference, which I see as more polishing paragraphs and sentences once you're already "going" a bit. You might want to have your DC read MC Thompson's Paragraphs book this year, which, gives some nice thoughts about paragraph structure. There are probably others. My DS struggled a bit with writing and still finds it difficult, though he's made progress. You may want to cross-post on the middle school writing board too if you haven't. It seems that there are far fewer people on the high school board than the middle school board. I remember a lot of discussions on WWS (parts to whole), LToW (whole to parts), Bravewriter, etc. You might to look into Bravewriter reviews in your case?? We used Writing With a Thesis this year, which might provide a nice read for your DC in 9th after your DC gets a little more practice. I wish I had a magic solution (and wish I had one previously for my DS). ETA: tried to make it clearer that the top of the reply was a quote, which didn't work for me using the "multiquote" feature.

I think there's a lot to be said for the WTM book's outline of history. It seems to match all your criteria as far as I can tell. It's flexible and a lot of the books are available at some libraries and used at Amazon, abebooks, etc. If it's available at your library, you may want to take a look at SWB's The Well Educated Mind for adult learners and high schoolers to help pick up translations and provide a little background on each book, but that's not necessary. What works for writing is so dependent on the individual kid, background, etc., that you might be best having it separate, but writing about history if you'd like. SWB provides writing advice in the WTM and has some additional writing text suggestions on this website; other replies may help you out too. Best wishes.

People don't generally skip the AoPS Intermediate Algebra book; it comes after their Intro to Algebra book and before their Precalculus book. I think their Geometry book is usually used after Intro to Algebra, but you don't need it for Intermediate Algebra. If you're looking to cut out sections of Intermediate Algebra and Precalculus for the minimum needed to progress to calculus, etc., Kathy in Richmond and Regentrude had some excellent posts on that about 1-3 years ago.

FYI, if using a rail pass, there's a free app for Android and iPhone (Rail Planner) which has train schedules, downloaded when you have wifi but you don't need to have wifi to use it on your phone or tablet. Works great.

I agree that it's basically a one year course although, in theory, if one were to start the course with weak background and use every last bit and supplement with some of the material usually in a precalculus book, you could probably make it two years. There's probably some overlap with Foerster's Alg. & Trig book and his Precalculus book. I would want to use the Precalculus book for the second year unless you really needed to save some money and supplement the Alg & Trig book to cover those additional topics.

Plug adapters for UK and different one for continental Europe, money belt, nice backpack, Lonely Planet travel guide(s) in paper or electronically to save weight... If he's taking a laptop or tablet, perhaps a program/app to gather info. like in previous post or just verify that those types of things can be done electronically with the machine he's taking... Some money in the bank to take out via ATM card when there. ... Depending on phone, perhaps a SIM card with some minutes for calls and internet access when wifi isn't available.

FYI, there have been several threads on LToW, such as here ; just search on LToW, etc.for a broad range of views. You might also want to have your DC read Writing With a Thesis before the class. My DS thought it really resonated. You'll still want the feedback of a class, but it might help cut out the cost of one of the classes along the way.

It sounds like an instructor's preference rather than the text. Larson's books tend to be more calculation-focused than Foerster's books; Foerster, at least for Precalculus book which I've looked at pretty carefully and have both books, definitely promotes deeper understanding IMO and has better word problems for interest and deeper understanding.

Gilbert Strang's book, Linear Algebra and Its Applications, is also terrific. Although I used an earlier edition many moons ago, I basically learned virtually everything in the course from the book as the teacher was dreadful IMO. The book was delightful as well as very clear!!

Definitely agree that it's high school level, 1/2 credit appropriate. I also wouldn't replace some other high school math, at least not anything through pre-calculus.

Ditto here. There are different ways to accomplish teaching about politics. We've kind of unschooled this. We're doing Great Books/ancient literature and ancient world history, so it doesn't fit in real well and DS is kind of busy. But, with a little extra free time, and some modest "interest" on the part of his parents, DS has been reading a LOT about politics on his own in his free time. And each day there's something new. For example, he's learned a lot about the Supreme Court on his own in the last 24 hours! I just left out two books that I thought might interest DS. If he picks them up of the table, great; if not, he'll find something else interesting to him. I'm just saying that there are different ways to do this and share something that's worked extremely well for us.

I am not an expert, but I've heard many in the past, say, three years say that Python is more important than Java going forward; this was in a professional, somewhat sophisticated context. I also know a computer scientist family who are having their homeschooled high schooler learn Python. I'm sure there are other views and your mileage may vary.

I would focus more on spoken Spanish early on, including songs, videos, etc. If you can afford a native-speaking tutor, that would be ideal, but it should be something sustainable or it may not be an efficient use of money. Maybe someone else will have suggestions for online videos, etc. Best wishes.

I've got one with similar issues. It helps to know we're not alone.

This is similar to what we did. Map placements at the dinner table years ago, esp. from Rainbow Resource, which we continue somewhat today fostered interest. Lonely Planet travel guides have nice background on countries (e.g., at library or limited info. free on their web site) are very good, although DS hasn't read many. He does read a tremendous amount about physical, cultural, and human geography on the internet in his free time. We don't cover "geography" as a class since I think it would "spoil it" for him. We do cover history, however, as a class, and it does involve a little bit of geography along the way. The Great Courses class "Understanding Cultural and Human Geography," mentioned elsewhere, looks like a good one for high school.

We got (an earlier edition) of Campbell and Reece to a large extent because of this nicely laid out course of high school biology: https://quarksandquirks.wordpress.com/biology-hs-level/ I know that this homeschooler put great care into developing the syllabus.

A number of folks have suggested reading selections from the Confessions. I read it (a long time ago) and could see reading just selections for a high school student rushed for time. Does anyone have a suggestion on an abridged version? On a particular translation? Or best yet, a specific edition with (short) background notes and brief clarifying footnotes for a high school student? Edited later for clarity.

We don't use the internet much for schooling ourselves nor outsource much; for us, the internet is a distraction as much as anything for schooling. DS does find a lot of useful stuff himself on the internet, but in his free time. Your question is so broad, that the answer is almost "read the WTM boards," but broadly I'd follow the WTM book for social studies and English, and then find something in math and science (and other subjects) described on the boards that works well for you.

Of those, I would not cut Dante's Inferno. It would be helpful to have some of the cultural references readily available, or mentioned before reading a section, so that it's easier to read. I think that some of the cultural references are of interest anyhow.

We may run US History concurrently with World History over the same time periods, each at half speed. On the other hand, if it looks like a completed course in US History might be needed for a college application, or an AP class is desired, we might speed up one to complete earlier. Interests and goals are evolving at this age for DS, so it's really impossible to plan with complete certainty this far ahead for us.