My favorite Paleo recipes come from Melissa Joulwan. She has several cookbooks, and a lot of the recipes from these books are on her website. The recipes are extremely flavorful with a variety of ethnic influences. There are some weird ingredients but if you aren't a strict follower of Paleo you can make some simple substitutes (eg. soy sauce vs coconut aminos, butter vs gee, vegetable oil vs coconut oil). Here are some of my favorites: "Imitation Grain" Sides: http://meljoulwan.com/2013/03/30/cauliflower-rice-pilaf/ http://skinnyms.com/zucchini-noodles-aglio-et-olio/ Vegetable Sides: http://meljoulwan.com/2012/03/14/coconut-almond-green-beans/ http://meljoulwan.com/2014/02/07/wf2-recipe-garlic-mustard-brussels-sprouts/ Mains: http://meljoulwan.com/2010/05/17/scotch-eggs-a-k-a-protein-pellet http://meljoulwan.com/2009/02/22/my-favorite-chili-recipe/ All-in-one Meals: http://meljoulwan.com/2011/05/08/paleo-pad-thai/ http://meljoulwan.com/2009/12/17/beef-stew-provencal/

For Presidential and US Senate elections, I am a single-issue / limit-test voter (i.e. abortion). For local and state elections I am a single-issue voter (i.e. gun safety). For US House of Rep, I am a limit-test voter (i.e. competency). Primary elections are more "fun" ... as I usually get to pick the candidate that best fits my vision for the future of our country. :)

Here are just some random thoughts I have after reading your post: There’s not much “innovation†in Civil Engineering because most of what we design is heavily regulated by state building codes, department of transportation codes, etc. However, starting one’s own Civil Engineering firm is not all that difficult/uncommon. Although, the people that I know that own their own engineering firms do very little actual “engineering,†as most of their time is spent running the business side of things. Actual “engineering†is really hard to teach in a school setting. To be a good engineer you have to know the theory (which is taught in school) but you also have to have good “engineering judgement†(which is gained through experience). Most states require a minimum of 4-years of work experience before you can sit for the Professional Engineer exam and become fully licensed (which is similar to passing the Bar Exam). So, even if he wants to start his own company, he should plan on working for someone else for at least that amount of time, and probably a little more. In Civil Engineering one generally reaches a “Senior Engineer†level after about 8-10 years and this is when people usually go off and start their own companies. If he hasn’t already done so, I would recommend he take a class in computer science. This knowledge is useful for almost any area of engineering, and it might spark an interest in computer science itself (which has lots of “innovationâ€). A master’s degree is becoming almost necessary in engineering. Most engineers take one of two routes. The “traditional†route is to graduate with a BS, go to work with an engineering firm, and take classes part-time to earn the MS while gaining work experience for the PE. Most engineering firms cover at least part of the tuition cost, and you are usually making enough money to pay for the rest out-of-pocket. After 4-years you have your MS, PE, and a huge jump in salary! The other route is a 5-year BS-MS degree, which more and more colleges are now offering. I highly recommend this option. It might cost slightly more upfront, but it will make getting that first job easier and working full-time going to school part-time is hard. Aerospace Engineering is often seen as a sub-discipline of Mechanical Engineering. Unless he really, really only wants to work on aerospace projects and nothing else will do, the general recommendation is to get the more general degree in Mechanical Engineering and focus electives around aerospace. This gives you more flexibility post-graduation, if say the aerospace industry takes a sudden nosedive (no pun intended!). Engineers with a PhD are rare. Usually if you have a PhD you either teach or work for a research company. In civil engineering the salary difference between one with a MS and one with a PhD is often negligible … work experience usually drives salary. Students in engineering PhD programs are almost always fully funded, tuition is either waived or paid with a grant, and a stipend is earned as a teacher/research assistant or a fellowship grant. If starting a company is a definite goal, I would highly recommend some sort of business minor … something that covers marketing, accounting, and managing (people and projects). When it comes to finding a college, I would look for ones that have strong internship programs … just in case you missed it, work experience is really crucial for engineers. I would also try to attend a college in the area you want to live-in post-college … engineers tend to hire engineers from their alma mater because they know what they are getting. (This is somewhat nullified if you attend one of the more “famous†engineering schools, ie. MIT, Stanford, etc.)

Uncle Tom's Cabin ???

Hopefully this post won’t overwhelm you even more. I happen to be out on a project site today and the contractor is having lots of equipment problems so I’ve had lots of down time and have been occupying myself by writing this. Specific “recommendations†are in the last three paragraphs if you want to skip most of this. :svengo: Designing/building a structure is a complicated, iterative process that involves a lot of different specialties. As an example, here is a simplified process for designing/building a large office building: 1. A map of the project area showing all existing features is created by a Surveyor. 2. Using local building codes and the surveyor’s Map, a Civil-Site Engineer figures out where the best spot for the building is, how big the building can be (eg. footprint and height), how big of a parking lot it needs, and a general idea of how stormwater runoff will be managed onsite. 3. An Architect designs the building layout (eg. the shape of the building, where the doors/windows will be, where the rooms/hallways will be, how many bathrooms are required, etc.). The Architect will also decide what the “facing materials†will be (eg. brick, stone, stucco). 4. A Civil-Geotechnical Engineer will study the history of the project area and go out and sample the soil/rock below the surface to come up with design parameters for the Civil-Structural and Civil-Site Engineer to use in their analysis. Man-made materials like steel and concrete have “known†properties … the ground and what lies beneath it is highly variable and so a site-specific investigation is required. (This is part of what I do for a living :seeya: ) 5. The Civil-Site Engineer finalizes the site plan: the exact location of the building, shape of the parking lot and the line striping, the entrance/exits to the property, the grading/slope of the site, the stormwater management system (eg. the size, shape and location of inlets, piping, storage basins etc.), where the utilities (water, gas, electric) will come onto the site. 6. The Civil-Structure Engineer designs the “bones†of the building … the columns/beams along with their connections, roof trusses, how the walls will be constructed (eg. wood, concrete block), the floor slab, etc. 7. The Civil-Structure Engineer and the Civil-Geotechnical Engineer work together to design the foundations. For a simple shallow foundation, the Structural Engineer does most of the design, for a more complex deep foundation the Geotechnical Engineer is more involved. (This is the fun part of what I do for a living :hurray:) 8. A Mechanical Engineer designs the heating/cooling system. What size and how many heating/cooling units, the size/location of conduits/vents, etc. I believe (but am not sure) the Mechanical Engineer also designs the plumping system. 9. An Electrical Engineer designs the electrical system for the building. 10. A Landscape Architect designs any new plantings, gardens, etc. 11. Once all of the above is completed, the Architect and/or Civil-Site Engineer create a bid package, including all of the drawings, specifications, and contractor documents. Then they send it out potential contractors. 12. The contract is awarded and construction begins. Large projects are usually lead by a Construction Engineer/Manager. This person (or usually a team of people) has many tasks: They come up with the project schedule (this is highly complex given that things have to be built is a specific order by specific trades and can be affected by weather, material availability, etc.); They make sure the contractors are following the plans/specifications; They oversee the budget/payment of contractors; The manage change-order requests (no plan is perfect and there are always changes once construction is underway); and lots of other things. The Construction Engineer is onsite full-time, working out of a trailer, while all of the people that worked on the design of the project only occasionally visit the site during construction to make sure things are being built according to their plans (This is the frustrating part of what I do for a living :banghead: ). OK, that is probably a bit more information than you need, but my point of listing all of that out is to show you that there MANY different paths your son could follow and still be involved in “the building of things.†At this early age, I really would not worry about focusing on one particular area, or finding that perfect class. Get the basics in and then let him have fun exploring different areas and finding out what interests him the most. The Arduino Class sounds like a wonderful experience, regardless of his future career choice. Even if the specific topic (i.e. mechatronics) isn’t related to his future career choice, there are valuable skills that can be learned … eg. teamwork, design, creativity, etc. For a future engineer, my standard high school course recommendations are: 4 years of English (do NOT underestimate the importance of writing/communication) 4 years of math (including Pre-Calculus, preferably through Calculus) 4 years of science (chemistry and physics are a must, biology is somewhat optional depending on field of interest; environmental science or geology could be useful for a future civil engineer) Min 1 year of Computer Science (yes, even for future Civil Engineers) 3-4 years of social science (they will have to know how to take timed essay tests and write a research paper) 2-4 years of the same foreign language (because most colleges look for this) 1-2 years of fine arts (again, because most colleges look for this) For a future architect, I would ad in (or replace the computer science classes with) studio art classes that focusing on drawing/sketching. Almost all architecture programs require a portfolio submission along with the application. Drafting/CAD courses are also beneficial for both future architects and engineers. However, this isn’t a “must-do.†Most college programs will have an introductory course the first year, and then students will pick up the rest through school projects and on-the-job experience.

How do you know the sister wants to get married? I've been with my 'boyfriend' for 7 years, cohabitating for the last 3 years. I do not need a formal ritual or a legal contract to know that I am in a loving, committed relationship. (At this point I prefer the term partner than boyfriend, but when I say that people mistake me for a lesbian.) We've talked about it, and neither of us feels it's necessary. If we were to have children, or if one of us becomes seriously ill, we might change our minds due to legal reasons.

Free online "textbook" from Columbia University (used in their required freshman general science course): Frontiers of Science: Scientific Habits of Mind

JMO, but the transcript is the least "shiny" part of the application. Its a simple one-page document that shows that the student met the requirements for highschool (and for a top tier school, took the most advanced courses offered at their school). That's why I'm saying consider just going with the transcript from his correspondence school. Where applicants really shine, is in their essays, letters of recommendation, and supplemental materials ... all of which you would submit with a "normal" international transcript OR a homeschool transcript. For instance, in his essay, he can describe why he enrolled in the correspondence school (eg. so he could focus on math/music and instead of spending his remaining time preparing for the extra scholarship exams, he could study history, econ, philosophy, current events, biology on his own terms). He could also take SAT II subject tests as "proof" he studied additional topics (i.e. biology, literature, maybe world history?) Most universities also let you submit supplemental items, such as a resume that details all of his music training/performances, his math competitions, etc. He could also submit a video of himself performing a music solo. So, there are lots of places for him to "shine" outside of the transcript. ... Not trying to argue with you, just providing a different view point :tongue_smilie:

You say your son is enrolled in a correspondence school. Will he "graduate" from this school? Do they award some kind of diploma/transcript? If yes, then why go through the trouble of putting together a "homeschool" application? For instance, from MIT's admission website: I don't mean to diminish the extra work you have done in your homeschool !!! Just trying to see a different way to simplify things for you. I would think most top universities are familiar with the education requirements from other countries and will not turn away your son just because he doesn't have four years of English on his transcript, etc. He would still have his essays, "resume" (at least with MIT ... that's the only one I looked at), and letters of recommendation to describe his extraordinary accomplishments and/or mention the additional studies he did beyond his country's graduation requirements.

I've yet to see an "Intro to Engineering" course that was any good. Even the one I took in college was worthless. However, there is a free course on edX right now ... from the looks of it, it is not "design" based, but gives a history/overview of the various fields of engineering. To get a taste of engineering, I think working on design projects/competitions are better. Here is a free bridge design competition that home school students can enter: https://bridgecontest.org/. And while I don't personally have experience with this kit, if he is interested in computers/robotics, this looks like a great beginner kit that could easily be used as the basis for an elective course: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WIXUF9S?psc=1 ETA: Here's another course on edX that looks promising: Introduction to Aeronautical Engineering.

What are his plans for after high school? If he is college-bound, delaying geometry until 11th grade could hurt him when it comes time to take the SAT/ACT.

Most colleges would use this book over three semesters (1.5 years) ... for solid high school credit, I would not expect to finish the entire book. Start with Mechanics, then move on to Electricity and Magnetism. As time/interest allows, add in Waves/Vibrations, Light/Optics, and Modern Physics.

Its not unusual for an architecture firm to have a civil engineering department. For housing developments, civil engineers would most likely be designing the road/building layout, grading of the site (including any retaining walls, if necessary), storm water management (inlets, pipes, basins, etc.), and helping out with any of the necessary building permits. Sounds like a great opportunity for a high school student!!

Ugh, that sucks! School group projects are so unfair and in no way represent how "group projects" actually work in the real world. I say this as an engineer that had to endure way too many school group projects during my education and now works on group projects on a daily basis. Hopefully the teacher will be able to distinguish between your daughter and this other group member and adjust the grades accordingly. :grouphug:

I'm not a expert, but to me, the difference between an essay and a paper are a bit arbitrary. Essays tend to be shorter and may or may cite sources; a paper is longer and usually has several (or more) cited sources. Purdue has a really nice website for academic writing: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/. In particular, I would look at the Common Writing Assignments page and their descriptions of the different types of Essay Writing. "Literary Analysis" is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of Literature. A Literary Analysis Paper, is usually an expository or argumentative essay exploring some aspect of Literature.

Maybe the Killgallon books? Sentence Composing for High School. Paragraphs for High School.

Wow, that is a lot of science! I would skip the AP Physics 1&2 courses ... these courses are weird, don't really align very well with the "typical" college courses, and probably won't get you any college credit if you are going into a STEM major. I would choose between Honors Physics or AP Physics C. It sounds like you have enough "hands-on" labs with the other science courses so virtual labs would be fine. OR, you could skip the "labs" and do several science-fair type projects throughout the year (say 1 per major unit/topic). There are no specific labs required for the AP Physics C exam. (If you want to call the class AP Physics C on the transcript you have use an approved syllabus that spends a specific amount of time on labs, but you can always call the course Advanced Physics with AP Exam and not worry about that.)

AP Calculus is the only exam that will require a graphing calculator. If you think you might use an outside class for that course, I would hold off buying a graphing calculator until you see what the instructor recommends. (Often times, the instructor will provide specific instructions for their preferred calculator). As a practicing engineer, my go to calculator is a TI-30XIIS. Any standard scientific calculator would suffice, that's just the one I've been using for years and am most familiar with.

Another idea ... Medical Technology (also known as Clinical or Medical Laboratory Sciences). These are the people that perform the laboratory tests on medical specimens (i.e. blood, tissue, etc.). Its a four-year college degree. Jobs can vary from working part-time in a small laboratory attached to a doctors office to working full-time in a large hospital laboratory. My sister started off in this field and really enjoyed it (she then veered off into IT support / database management ... which just goes to show you that your college degree doesn't dictate the rest of your life!) It has: paperwork, following instructions/test steps, very schedule driven (my sister is notorious for setting a timer for EVERYTHING), relates to her favorite science, decent job demand, rubber gloves :lol: , and possibly friendly to moms.

Computer Science ... pays well, in demand, could potentially find part-time work or even work from home ... and programming is one big list of instructions.

I would also go with this option. Taking Calc I twice is overkill and I wouldn't want to cram Calc I into 5 weeks.

Things I would include are: 1. His degree program with expected graduation date 2. Any related courses he has completed or are in progress 3. His GPA (if it's good ... could skip since he'll only have one semester of grades) 4. Previous work/volunteer experience (doesn't have to be engineering related) 5. Extracurricular activities (doesn't have to be engineering related) 6. Possibly include engineering related clubs, competitions, etc., completed in high school 7. Computer skills (i.e., Word, excel, power point, cad, java, Python, etc.)

On the Internet Archive website, there is a gray box on the right-hand side that says: Download Options. Often, each lecture is available as different file types (mpeg4, ogg, real media, etc.). Click on the type of file you want, and then a list of all the lectures will show up, then click on each lecture to download. To download the entire course of lectures you'll have to do a torrent download. I know how to do that, but not well enough to explain how :tongue_smilie:

The audio/video has to be downloaded separately. The MIT OCW website has links to download each video file separately. Or you can just go directly to Internet Archive and download all the videos for a course in one shot. I think you can also find them in the iTunes U app.

I'm working my way through the Coursera Data Science Specialization and really like it, but you may find taking the R Programming course by itself lacking in depth. Also, without prior exposure to computer programming, the course may move too fast for your son. To learn basic programming using the R language, I would recommend Part 1 of Learning R by Richard Cotton. A nice feature of this book are the quizzes and exercises at the end of each chapter, along with solutions to both at the end of the book. To learn how to "do statistics" with R, I would recommend R in Action by Robert Kabacoff.