Oooh, I love this idea for the timeline. (We're starting TOG for the first time this year as well)

The Targets AND the Bad Guys (AND the good guys, lol) are now American, yes? A big change-up from the super-hero movies when I was a kid, lol. The bad guys were always the Russians... :ph34r: There was too much Tony Stark in this movie - not enough Iron Man. :D

There is MORE of that in this movie than the previous two put together, I think! Over and over and over again!! (It's never bugged me in the other movies, but this movie drove me nuts with it!) We didn't like it all that much - but Iron Man is generally our least favorite Avenger-movie, so... take it for what it's worth. There were dark "filmed" scenes with terrorism stuff that were uncomfortable - and the "bad guys" burned from within and that was disarming & ugly - but nothing overly "gross." The violence seemed about par for the course with Iron Man movies.

..

Here's what we have planned so far: Math: finish BJU 5 and begin Saxon 7/6 Science: Apologia Physics and Chemistry elementary book Writing: IEW SWI-B Literature: working through Literary Lessons From the Lord of the Rings Spelling: Spelling Workout Vocabulary: either Caesar's English or Wordly Wise, possibly... not sure yet Grammar: Rod & Staff 5 World Geography & Cultures also art and music and Creative Writing

It sounds incredibly time consuming (and incredibly useful for someone interested in that level of art) - hoping to ask questions of someone whose child has taken the course and lived to tell the tale. :D

Just finishing up 9th grade here and we are both SO very ready for next year at this point, lol! All the fun stuff is done - just left with the remaining tedious drudgery... :ph34r: * World History (using SWB's books History of the Ancient World and History of the Medieval World) * Algebra II (Saxon) * Biology (Miller & Levine plus BJU) * French I * Art History (.5) * Band * Creative Writing and Introduction to Publishing (.5) * English I * American Government (Notgrass) (.5) 7.5 credits

lol - I am an eternal optimist!! :thumbup:

I'm considering using TOG Year 3 next year and am debating whether or not to order the print version along with the DE. I think they're updating the years right now, so figured the DE would be the best option to catch all of the updates... but not sure if I *need* the print version or not. And, if I do opt for the DE, do you buy the SAP-packs or just print them off yourself (same question for the Map Aids)? I have 3 kids to print/purchase for. I "get" the TOG system and think we can implement it without much of the fog I've heard about... but making my mind up about which option to ORDER is a whole other story! Oy!

I'm considering using TOG Year 3 next year and am debating whether or not to order the print version along with the DE. I think they're updating the years right now, so figured the DE would be the best option to catch all of the updates... but not sure if I *need* the print version or not. And, if I do opt for the DE, do you buy the SAP-packs or just print them off yourself (same question for the Map Aids)? I have 3 kids to print/purchase for. I "get" the TOG system and think we can implement it without much of the fog I've heard about... but making my mind up about which option to ORDER is a whole other story! Oy!

We used AAH a few years ago and really liked it. It isn't "beautiful," but the workbook was exceedingly well-planned and the whole thing was very much open-and-go, which made me very happy. I combined AAH with SOTW 4, iirc, and made up a schedule with both aligned together. When we do US History again, we will be using the Hakim books - only because one child who will be doing US History already went through the AAH books and I hate to re-use the same books with the same child... so...

nevermind - I've talked myself out of it and will choose another level, lol! :)

I'd say it's time for her to pick up part of the bill if she wants those experiences for her prom night. :) He can still be a "gentleman" while she covers part of the tab. It is 2013, after all... I do understand why she would want to do the dinner and limo ride - that's a big part of the shared social experience with a group of friends. But if he can't comfortably afford it, then that's the reality of it and plans must be adjusted accordingly.

Can I ask some of you with children with type 1 diabetes some questions? You can PM me with replies if that's best. I have a child who just had some tests come back that are raising some flags and so we have more tests coming up, but it's put diabetes on my radar for the first time - ever. How did you find out your older (8+) child had diabetes? Were they having specific symptoms that caused you to go to the doctor to get checked out? Or was it routine blood work that came back with problems? The doctor has a plan in place that we're following, and I am trying to not check "Dr. Google" because that never ends well... but I'm wondering how parents first realize there could be a problem? I'm wondering if I'm discarding symptoms my child is having without realizing it and not bringing it to the doctor's attention - and perhaps those things are important. :/

We were all set to do Chemistry this next year, using Chang's General Chemistry textbook and labs from the Illustrated Guide for Chemistry. Then I started browsing Derek Owens' site (looking at his Physical Science for dd#2 for 8th grade) and saw the Physics class & love what I see (so did dd)... DD#1 is a STEM kid - will be in 10th grade next year. She'll be doing the first half of Saxon's Advanced Math textbook next year (Saxon works for her brain) - and also taking Environmental Science (following an AP syllabus someone else set up - hopefully taking the AP test at the end of the year). IF she waits a year for Chemistry, it will make it easier to get access to the CC's lab for some experiments (because she will be 16 years old). But, from what I gather, you can take an AP Physics course without having a "regular" Physics course before hand, so would this be a "waste" of a year, really, for a STEM student who will "have the math" she'll need to take AP Physics (her senior year, I think it would have to be?)? If she does Chemistry this year, she would take either AP Chemistry or AP Biology the next year (11th grade) and then AP Physics (12th grade)? If she does Physics this year, she would take Chemistry in 11th and then AP Chem or AP Bio in 12th grade. I think she will love Chemistry. I think she will love Physics. She would take them both next year if she could (not very successfully... lol... but she would try).

My oldest used this for 8th grade and loved the book. My upcoming 8th grader will be using it this next year. We didn't do all of the labs in the book, but I don't remember any of it being particularly pricey. But, we have a ton of science equipment and materials on hand already, so that likely impairs my judgment on the cost of the labs for this book. We have the Student Text and the Teacher's edition and that's it! :) hths!

Hmmmm, I wonder if this will be a course that will get dd through the German - considering that I know NO German and won't have the time to take the class alongside her. It's really disappointing to read the problems with the Student-Teachers because in the description of the class, it sounds as if they'll have a fair amount of chit-chat time in German. :mellow:

*snort* :001_tt2: So glad you posted this after I'd calmed down a bit. ROFLOL It might've been enough to send me off the edge. :willy_nilly: :rofl: Oddly enough, it really is comforting to know that others who take this seriously are or have been just as panicked as I feel. If it's normal, then I know dd & I can deal with it. And if I screw anything major up, hopefully dd will always know my heart was in the right place...

Thankyou-thankyou-thankyou!!! You made my life much easier! Printing off your replies to line them up with my list. I will be learning along with dd. When I did Chemistry in high school, we memorized the periodic table and did pages and pages of math. That's all I remember. lol DD is good at the math part, so she'll help me out there (lol) - and the Illustrated Guide really did seem very user-friendly for those of us who aren't quite sure what we're doing... (but thankfully we're really good at reading, following directions, and using common sense, so I don't foresee too many complications.) Thank you so much for taking the time to write all that up. It is an enormous help! P.S. I sent you a PM here regarding your notes on the experiments... :) TY!

Oh yes - please - I would LOVE your BTDT input in the Illustrated Guide!!! Absolutely!! After putting together a supply list, we could do the 36 labs (minus a couple) for $200-$300 total (because we already own so much lab equipment and a fair amount of chemicals and materials). Jenny above linked to Dr Tang's site. :) Thanks!!

DD is planning to use the "honors chemistry" lesson plans from the Dr. Tang site and use Chang Essential Concepts in Chemistry book. The Dr. Tang site has 9 labs. The Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments recommends 36 labs for a student heading towards a science major in college. So..... that's a big difference? :001_huh: I prefer the Illustrated Guide to Tang (Tang uses chemical formulas in the materials list and Illustrated Guide spells it out in good old English for us non-Chemistry folks... so it was much easier to make a list of what we need while flipping through the Illustrated Guide because I didn't have to translate things into a layperson's language). But, is 36 labs overkill? There are probably 2 or 3 that we won't be able to do due to lack of materials or equipment, but everything else in his first year labs seems very do-able. But when I look at the syllabus for Tang, and it being Honors Chemistry, and it only having 9 labs... I dunno. Time is a precious commodity for dd and although I am quite sure she would love nothing MORE than 2-3+ hours per week doing JUST Chemistry Lab work, I worry about it swallowing up more precious time than is perhaps really neccessary for a thorough first-year Chemistry class. She will also have Environmental Science labwork to do on top of the Chemistry. So - thoughts? Pick and choose from the Illustrated Guide, or attempt them all (that he suggests for 1st year labs)?

I've looked through many posts re: OSU German... how are those who are taking it this year feeling? From what I have read it seems that if you have a "dud" student/teacher you can request another ... and that you often have to ask for the weekly call-ins to include conversational German as opposed to just worksheet review... What else do we need to know? I have an upcoming 8th grader who wants to start German this coming year. She will also be taking French for the 2nd year... would this be a good choice? If she takes one class per year, she'll need to start this yearto reach the AP level?

Well, you all talked me off the ledge. :willy_nilly: DH too, once I unloaded all my thoughts on him on his lunch break that day. lol!! Poor dh... It's just hard to see so much potential in her - and not feel utterly responsible for every little thing. If she achieves her goals - that's all her hard work and effort. But, if she misses the boat ... well... I feel like that's on me. All of these dates and minute details for college prep, scholarships, camps, opportunities - those are not my strong points either. I want to hire someone to keep ME on track!! lol --- edited to add: In our area, there is 0% possibility of participating in any high school activities or classes. We can register to take tests (PSAT, ACT, AP, etc) but that's it. Signing dd up at this point in the school year would result in her having to take summer school classes to gain credits for the classes she's taken all year unless she takes THEIR subject test and scores above 90% on it. :/ Not likely going to happen considering she's used different textbooks than their tests are geared for. So - knowing that made the decision a ton easier.

We're looking at their AP Environmental Science class specifically. It's $300 to audit vs. $600 for the full course. http://www.aphomeschoolers.com/cgi-bin/choose.pl?class=envsci I cannot find any information about what, exactly, she will have access to if she audits the class, but for $300 I am strongly leaning toward signing up. (She will *not* be signing up for the $600 price... we'll put together a class at home instead). I do have some questions for the teacher, but wanted to ask about the auditing option here first to see if anyone's done this before and what your experiences were? thank you!

This is from the Saxon website, it might help: http://www.usingsaxon.com/newsletterpage-2012.php