We just signed our 15 year old daughter up for Clonlara. As far as I can tell, they do have online classes with teacher interaction available through their website. We are not going to use any of the online classes this year, since we are starting mid-year and already have her program set for the school year. We may use some of the online classes in the next two school years. If you have questions, the people I have spoken with at Clonlara have, so far, been very friendly and helpful. I'm sure if you called, they'd be happy to answer your detailed questions. I know I asked quite a few detailed questions about their program over more than one conversation! :D

My dd, who is 14 and will turn 15 in late August, just finished her Freshman year of high school. Next school year (starting in late August as well!), she will be called a Sophomore, but she will be "re-doing" some Freshman classes (math and science), and will be moving forward into some Sophomore classes (English 10, World History). Electives are not dependent upon grade level, so those will be counted as Sophomore classes as well. My dd is enrolled in a public school charter program (her choice, and a good one for her, socially, though I'm not thrilled with her academic experience). She takes the English and Social Studies classes at the school with other "home schoolers." (I say we are hybrid schoolers, now, though she was home schooled most of her life.). She does the math and science at home. She was just not developmentally ready for Algebra 1 last year, though her consultant teacher pushed her into doing Saxon Algebra 1. It went well for the first 30 lessons (really, a re-hash of pre-algebra), and actually solidified her knowledge of pre-algebra very well. But once the program moved into Algebra, she just wasn't ready for it yet. We've started over this summer with Jacobs, and with Key-To Algebra, book 4 and it's now starting to click for her, so no more tears of frustration! I don't know exactly how her consultant is going to do this on the books, but it was her suggestion that we put her in "grade 9/10" this coming year, but call her a Sophomore. Her consultant says she can still graduate in 3 years if we plan it right. The main benefits to her will be that she will have an extra year of math under her belt before she has to take the high school exit exam. And, I am hoping, though I need clarification on this, that it will look like she completed Algebra 1 as a Freshman, rather than as a Sophomore - but we'll see. If that doesn't happen, she can always go to CC for a year or two after high school. Dd is also a serious ballet student who will be training 25 hours per week, in addition to 15 hours a week of commute time, so this new plan will also give us some breathing room. If we were not tied to a public charter program requiring grades and records, I would not hesitate to hold her back in every subject and let her call herself whatever grade she wanted to. My son home schooled high school independently, and I didn't care what grade he wanted to call himself. He just did the work he was ready for when he was ready for it.

Then this is the program we will be using! :D (Actually, Dn (Dear niece) just finished Geometory using Discovering Geometry this year and she really liked it. She wants to be an architect, and she's very good at math, so between your recommendation, and hers I think we'll just go with it.. And I already know they have it at the resource center. :) )

O.K. Thanks, you guys. I'll be sure to get her half way through Jacobs Algebra 1 before starting in the Geometry book. Since I posted, I've read on this board some criticisms of Jacobs Geometry. My neice is currently finishing up with Discoverying Geometry, but frankly, I'm so dismal at Geometry (my husband takes on Geometry teaching around here) that I haven't really looked at it. It seems to get good reviews around here, so I'll look at it too. Whatever book I use, I'm liking the idea more and more of combining Algebra 1 and Geometry, but I'll be sure to wait until the half way point in Algebra 1.

My dd got not even halfway through Saxon Algebra 1 during her just completed Freshman year, and then hit a wall. She was doing very well, and then it all fell apart for her around Lesson 40. The positive from all this is that she finally has a good understanding of basic math and pre-algebra concepts. I have her working this summer in Key To Algebra to give her some confidence, and to work her up to the kinds of problems that Saxon seems to just suddenly throw at the students. However, Key To is not a complete enough Algebra program. So, I've also started working with her in Jacobs, and I think (I hope) we've found the ticket for her. Since she could complete Jacobs Algebra by the end of the first semester of her Sophomore year, I could start her in Jacobs Geometry at that point, but I was thinking of combining Jacobs Algebra and Geometry from the start of the school year. She has trouble retaining math concepts, and needs regular repetition (thus the go at Saxon) to help her retain it. I'm as certain as I can be that she would forget all the Algebra she'd learned if she only does Geometry for a year between Algebra I and II. Has anyone had their child complete Jacobs Geometry and Algebra simultaneously? Is it possible, or do they have to have a solid grasp of Algebra I prior to starting Jacobs Geometry?

I'm glad you brought up this topic. I am in the same boat with my dd, although she does well in English and the Humanities, and she struggles with math and science. She just finished her Freshman year, technically, and she has enough units to continue on as a Sophomore but only because she took more elective units than are required for Freshman. She is enrolled in a charter school program, and they gave her 20 units for her involvement in an intensive ballet program. She only finished 2/3 of her Algebra 1 requirements, and 1/2 of her science requirement, though! They let her extend her "school year" through the summer, and she is supposed to be finishing her Algebra program, and her science program in addition to completing her one semester health requirement. The problem with that is, she will be out of town for 7 weeks in an all day intensive ballet program. What I would like to do is make her a freshman again next year in the same program. Her teacher is open to this, and will make her a "freshman" on paper for standardized testing purposes, but let her keep her As in English, Geography, Art, Music, P.E., and Performing Arts. She'll set up the credits so she will graduate early. I have no idea how this will work, since they have had to officially provide grades and a transcript via the public school district, but her counselor seems to think this will work. In that case, I guess I don't understand why she needs to finish her freshman math and science and health requirements this summer. Her counselor also wants me to look for a good online Biology program for her for next school year (we both think that an online program would be better for her learning style than a text book approach), but that is a Sophomore science requirement. So, I left our final meeting confused. I may just have her repeat Freshman year, English and all, come fall. She could go to classes just the same (she spends 4 hours a week total at the school for English and Humanities classes), and then maybe just do online and CC classes during her real senior year so no one else would have to know. Maybe they could even put her in the Sophomore English and Humanities classes and say she's accelerated. I don't know. But I have that gut feeling - you know the kind, moms! - that I should hold her back. Ugh! So - no help here, no answers, just commiserating. FWIW, she has been homeschooling since 2nd grade (ds homeschooled as well, and we just graduated him), and this is the first time since that time that I've had to deal with official requirements.

One thing I have learned through my many years of homeschooling - if it ain't broke, don't fix it! My daughter used Miquon and Singapore math in elementary and middle school and she "hated" math. She would understand whatever math concept we were working on at the time, but she would get upset and say I explained too much. The other problem was that even though she understood and could work problems during each session, if we weren't actively working on a topic, she would forget the processes once we came back to a topic, and she'd have to start over almost as from scratch! I had heard so many negatives about Saxon from other people that I had never even given it a thought until a teacher who had worked with many homeschoolers listened to my complaints about my daughter's math learning and suggested that Saxon might be her perfect fit. I was skeptical at first - it looks so dull! But dd has been working her way through the Algebra 1 text, and she and I are both astonished at how well she is doing (finally!) in math. For the first time, she understands what she is doing, WHY she is doing it, and she doesn't forget how to do problems. It's the perfect fit for her. I do modify the explanations. For my taste (and dd's) the text explanations seem to over-complicate processes. My dd also uses the "Mastering Algebra" DVDs from Art Reed. She enjoys Mr. Reed's teaching style. If your son has been successful with Saxon, plug your ears or avert your eyes when hearing or reading negatives about Saxon and forge ahead. There are plenty of stories about students who became engineers, scientists, or mathematicians who grew up with Saxon as their only math curriculum. :001_smile:

We also sent Keystone back, and we got a full refund. That was not a problem. The main problem we had with it was that there were many technical errors including scoring tests incorrectly, assigning worse grades than she actually got and the staff refusing to correct the errors. We finally concluded that the program was not fully compatible with the Mac operating system, so if you use Apple computers, I would not recommend Keystone. Also, my daughter found that she got headaches from being on the computer for several hours a day. This, of course, was no fault of Keystone's, but I just thought I'd mention it. We learned that an all online program would not work for her. One of my daughter's best friends used 3 Keystone classes in one year and she and her mom absolutely loved it. Her daughter decided to go to a regular public high school, and they are missing Keystone for the academics terribly.

LOL! Thanks for the reality check, Redsquirrel. :D Memphispeg: I've heard great things about UC Santa Barbara (one of the most beautiful places in the world), and I've heard that the dance program is good as well. Both UCSB and UCSD are huge, though. UCSC's campus is gorgeous, and even though Santa Cruz is a wacky place :lol: it does have a nice small town feel to it.

Online open courseware AP classes: Description of program: www.uccp.org List of courses: www.ucopenaccess.org Fun online instruction in sciences, math, and misc.: www.khanacademy.org

I'm not concerned at all about whether or not a university is top tier. I have no problem with the idea of my kids going to a CC first before transferring to a university. That being said, my dd's intended major (dance with an emphasis in classical ballet) does not easily allow for that pathway. Her major of choice seriously limits her choices, and definitely requires her to enter a 4 year college as a freshman (or defer while she tries for a career as a professional ballet dancer). My son, 16, is already planning on going to the local CC when he's older and feels more ready. He has no idea what he wants to major in nor does he have any idea what he wants to be when he grows up, so CC is, in my mind, the best choice for him to pursue while he figures all that out. My niece could follow that path as well, and that would work well for her intended major, architecture. She could study art, take CAD classes, and get some GE out of the way and then transfer to a 4 year university. Dh and I both got our degrees from CSUs, and we've both been very successful in our chosen careers. :001_smile:

I can tell you that at my son's public charter high school that was a regular school with a regular high school schedule, units, college prep, AP's, etc. they had "contract P.E." which meant they had to fill out forms stating that they had completed 3 hours and 20 minutes of physical activity (walking, jogging, skateboarding, swimming, surfing, bike riding, etc. all counted) per week for 36 weeks per school year. They had to complete 72-75 hours per semester. I had to sign the forms each week. That's it. Kids who graduate from that school get into good public and private colleges regularly. (My son, a life long homeschooler, only went there for his freshman year and is now homeschooling independently. Once a homeschooler.... :D).

Memphispeg, UC Santa Cruz sounds like it would fit your dd to a T. Warm - check. Beach - check. Marine Sciences program with teamwork based learning, boats, scuba, etc. - check. They do have ballet classes there because they have a dance program within the theater program. I know one of the ballet teachers there who is wonderful. That being said, my dd is in such an intensive ballet program that I know it will be hard for a program like UC's to be "enough" ballet for her, but I don't know how intensive a dance program your dd is looking for in college. If she wants to continue dancing, but is pursuing Marine Science as her major, she might want to dance in quality classes but not want a 25 hour+ weekly dance schedule. She could certainly do that at UC Santa Cruz. (P.S. I would be thrilled if my daughter wanted to major in Marine Science in college. That is so cool!).

Come to think of it - I may have heard that the CSUs are reluctant to enroll home schoolers as freshman, but that UCs are more open to home schoolers. Janice H - Your experience with the CSU your son is applying to might be evidence (frustrating evidence) of that!

Interesting, KarenAnne. I do know two life long home schoolers who are at UC Berkeley on full scholarship, but they were admitted based upon their CC grades and SAT scores and not on their "mommy transcripts." I don't think they did many classes at the CC, though. Since we're not planning on having the kids take more than a couple of CC classes during high school (if that), I may have another reason to write off the UCs!