A number of our group (including me) looked into that - but we didn't do it because it was so expensive. Please post about your experiences after the event. Meryl

I did a training session - it is required in TN. It definitely was worth it. And there are 2 contests per year for SMG, so you could join in the spring one. In the mean time, you can let your son go on http://www.howthemarketworks.com. It is a free site that also lets you 'invest' money. It would be nice for teams to meet, but as I said, this was never really an option for us, so sometimes the kids ply all 10 weeks without ever meeting their team. Not ideal, but it works. Most of our teams make it to the top 12 at some point if they play regularly. Meryl

Capt_Uhura I wait to see how many kids in our h/school group sign up for Stock Market Game and then divide them into teams of 4 or 5. We are in the Eastern TN division, so I would guess all our students would need to be in the area. I have wondered about including MKs and if that would be allowed. You could ask your co-ordinator. I register the teams online and have to provide the name of the team captain as the top 12 teams kept listed in the local newspaper on Fridays. Other than that, they have no idea who is in the teams - unless you place, of course. When our one team one, they went to an awards banquet etc ... don't know how that would work if some kids weren't local. You do sign up in a particular state. Once the kids are in teams, I send them instructions on how to play and it is the team captain's responsibility to email his team and ask for suggestions on stocks to buy. Initially I make them each send the captain 5 stocks, and then the captain sends out the list of ll 20 or 25 stocks selected. They then select their favorite 5 and rank them. The captain adds the rankings together (eg. if one kid ranked Google as 2nd favorite, that would score 4 and if another ranked Google as 5th favorite, that would score a 1, so Google's total score would be 5). The team captain then buys 100 of each of the top 5 as selected by his team - and that gets the ball rolling. After that I let the captain decide how he/she wants to progress. SOmetimes each student will pick a stock, sometimes someone suggests a stock and the rest votes yes or no. I only allow the captain to make transactions online - or it could get chaotic - but everyone can log in and see how the team is doing. If the kids do all go to the same church, or co-op or happen to live in the same area, they will sometimes get together to discuss what to do. But our group is pretty scattered, so that is impractical for us. The teens communicate via texts or Facebook. Meryl

I think I should add a section to my article for other contests I don't have personal experience with and I'll put in those too. I have thought of adding MOEMS as it can be for younger kids than AMC, but I am not sure if I have the Energy to organize something else. If I remember correctly, Math Counts needs the team to get together to practice - our co-op did a class for that once. As the kids in our homeschool group are doing so many other contests already and have loads of other things they do (sport, dance etc) I thought that would be impractical. I try to have as few practices / meetings for the contests as possible. We use the internet to communicate whenever possible (eg with Stock Market game the kids do it all over email) Quite a few of the kids in our homeschool group have done Science Fair and enjoyed it - but then at some point they'd decide to try Science Olympiad, and then they would drop Science Fair (for us it is always in the same month, usually on back-to-back Saturdays). The appeal of Science Olympiad is that you have a partner for every event and you work as a team so it is more social. And they get a HUGE kick out of beating the school teams. Our middle school team came 4th at State last year - and most of the kids medalled, so that is big attraction. Meryl

You are welcome to copy the link anywhere. And I added another contest a few minutes ago. I hope if some of you who have read this post try any of these and have success, you will post here on the forum and let us know.

I have just added an extra contest, and will do another tonight. I have done (and will be doing again this year) all these contests with my own kids. And they've been fairly successful too. Without some success, I guess we would have given up by now. Actually my kids don't know what to do with all the medals they've won - and their names are often in the paper, which is fun for them too. And it is good to be able to show that homeschoolers can hold their own - and often do better than - school kids. This year I want to find a mom in our h/school group to handle publicity and send in a story every time one of our teams places in a contest.

You're welcome. I plan to add a few more tonight and keep going till I have up all the ones my kids have done. Contests really challenge them to do their best, so although it seems that we just go from one contest to another (because we do) my kids have learned to prioritize, to learn quickly and to make choices about their time. They watch practically no TV - but as it is their choice to do the contests, they don't complain. And of course, when they get to apply for college - all those contests look so good. Meryl

Hi My kids aren't brilliant or anything like that, but they do like being stretched academically and I have found contests have been a wonderful way for them to do that. In addition they learn to lose, to win with grace, that life is not fair etc. In addition many contests are group ones and they can socialize at the same time. I have managed to get my local homeschool group to join me in my enthusiasm for contests and so we have teams in practically every contest going. In addition my kids do quite a few individual contests. I would love to see more homeschoolers doing some of these. I have just written up about many of the ones we do, and thought some of you on this forum might benefit from what I wrote - so go to http://www.squidoo.com/contests-for-students for more info about some of my favorites. I have links and photos etc. And post if any of your kids have enjoyed these too - and succeeded in them. And just for your encouragement - the 2nd placed team in the National Science Olympiad Competition was a homeschooled team - Excel - from Washington State. That was such an awesome achievement!! Our team has to work hard to even make it to the State contest, so for a homeschool team to not only win their State championship, but eventually come 2nd, is just amazing. Meryl

I use Miquon as well as Singapore ... it all depends on your child. I agree reinforcement is good - but my kids hate 'more of the same' which is why I rather use 2 different programs that approach the same concept very differently. And my kids liked the fact there was not too much practice in Singapore - though for kids who need more, they have extra practice problem books and also books with Challenging sums. Meryl

I am not a big drill fan .... mainly I give my kids real math at the store, while we are driving around etc to get them to practice - but with my youngest I did buy her a Flashmaster (sold by Sonlight) which she found fun. It is pricey, but has a good resale vlue, so I reckon it won't cost more than about $10 / $15 once I've resold it. Meryl

I am also biased - I love SIngapore!! Many of our homeschool support group use Saxon still, but recently we have had a couple of discussions about math at high school level and every single mom (but one) who has used it in our group has said it is terrible and recommended people use something else - so I would perhaps rethink coming back to it. After Singapore 6B your kids will be ready for Algebra - you do not need any pre-ALgebra. Mine (3 now) have all moved straight to ALgebra with no problems (Videotext for my first, Teaching Textbooks for next 2) ... my last is still in Singapore. There have been some great math discussions on the Accelerated Learners board (and no - my kids aren't 'gifted') and as a result I have just bought Life of Fred ALgebra to try with my son who started Teaching Textbooks ALgebra about 2 months ago. It arrived today and looks WONDERFUL!! Meryl

Hi As a result of various recent posts on these boards, I have just bought LIfe of Fred Beginning ALgebra for my son (will be grade 8 in the fall). He has already got 1/3 way through TEaching Textbooks Algebra 1. What I want to know is: are any of you using Life Of Fred as your only Math program? Or do you just use it to supplement? Thanks Meryl

Like Sany'd child - mine just took AP Chem and also felt well prepared after Apologia ... like her, I have to wait and see - and it is encouraging to hear about the 5 one student scored! My dd is not very 'scientific' so we would be thrilled with a 4! To answer the question about what APs can give you - yes, they give college credit, but they also show that you can do work at a high academic level. My dd just got into the Honors program at Biola. THey said you pretty much need to have done APs to get in. (Her Engl / Hist Aps won't count there as her Honors course replaces the usual Engl and History). If your child plans to go to a college which is harder to get into, it is a VERY good idea to have some AP scores to send in. Meryl

I agree with Brenda - many kids test better on the one than on the other and all the colleges my dd applied to accepted either. She sent only her SAT scores up as she didn't do as well on the writing portion of the ACT (after scoring a perfect 800 on the SAT - go figure!) From what I have read, it seems to look bad if you take the SAT more than twice (remember all SAT scores reflect when the scores are sent to a college). But, you can take the ACT as often as you want - and then choose the best score to send to colleges. So - don't stress - your son has many options. Meryl

1. You can skip the LA if you are doing something different ... I am pretty sure it is mainly writing assignments. And I am sure SL does cover many literary terms in sl 100 ... we did it a year ago, so I am trying to remember. At the end of every set of questions on the books you have to say who the protaginist is, I htink they ask for the theme and that sort of thing. If you stick with SL over high school they do cover everything they need to know. I think my dd got 790 on the SAT II Literature exam - she did the AP this year, won't know those results for a while. I have only used SL. 2. There are questions for the readers and history books. I suppose it would take 1 - 1 1/2 hours. I bought tests from Hewitt Homeschooling. 3. Check the catalog - I know there are missionary biographies 4. I wouldn't worry about the slant ... SL has notes that prompt you when you should be discussing stuff with your kids. It is good for them to learn that books have biases. I don't think it will drive you crazy - my dd was 16 when she did this and is definitel not modern liberal ... but I don't recall her complaining - thought I think she did sometimes disagree, Meryl

I'm not sure most reluctant readers would enjoy Till we have faces. I enjoyed it, but neither my avid reader, nor my less interested one liked it. My dd's favorite book is All quiet on the western front. She also loves The importance of being Ernest and that is short - as it is a play - and the movie version is great. Meryl

For all your encouragement - my dd always ended up with a higher 'real' result than the scores she got on the practice tests. And, as one poster said - these really are no big deal. If they score too low, they can just try another one. I registered my dd for the heard of the 2 math SAT II tests, by mistake and by the time I realized it they said it was too late to change. My dd was not impressed with me, as math is not her thing, but I told her to try anyway and she could do the other math the next time. Well, I felt pretty bad about it - but when the results came out - she had 730 (or somewhere close ... after a few months you don't even remember the scores!) So, you never know! Meryl

I would definitely recommend using more than one ... one gets boring after a while. We do Rosetta Stone + classes at co-op - plus my younger one has done Jumpstart Spanish and a workbook I got at Sam's. My oldest (just graduated) has used some reading comprehension books as well. I just find switching things around a bit keeps the interest up. Meryl

Has any one tried Aurolog's Tell Me More chinese? I just got a sample Cd Rom from them but haven't tried it yet. Meryl

What does your dd enjoy doing, by the way? That would help readers of your post to know what history would be a good fit. Meryl

I would say it is affordable - you can buy Apologia used very easily and they have a good resale value. I have bought and sold mine for virtually the same price. then you have to buy the lab equipment - but that would be true of any science program for high school. I buy from Sonlight, Apologia or Homesciencetools.com - wherever is cheapest. And my kids have done all their Apologia by themselves. I just grade the study guide questions and tests. Meryl

We have a successful Spanish program at our co-op - all 4 of my kids have done these classes - and will be continuing with them. For elementary and middle school the teacher uses her own materials and works around a theme - eg the community. She gives them a project to do at home eg draw a map of your community and label in Spanish. the kids get points towards rewards if they do the homework. She also gives out a list of suggested resources to parents at the beginning of the year so they can supplement at home if they want to (we do Rosetta STone on days the other 4 days a week) For high school she uses the Usborne Spanish book which is like a mystery you have to solve PLUS she has online work they have to do - she has foudn a free online site that has grammar exercises. If yu want I can find out what it is - but my older two are away until tomorrow night. She can see how they have done on the quizzes etc and uses that as part of their grade. Then she makes them to speeches once a semester and written reports. Meryl

Could you post the website for Math Olympiads? I know about all the other ones you mentioned. Thanks Meryl

I second Cheaper by the Dozen ... that was what I was going to say - the other one we all loved was The Great Turkey Walk. Meryl

Fantastic!! Those librarians are going to be real happy! Meryl