In our area, kids are allowed to take up to 2 classes a year at the public middle and high school. I don't know of anyone from our county that has done this, and I never see such a thing mentioned on here. I can see this as a great idea for lab sciences and foriegn language in particular. Does anyone have experience with doing this? The inability to just take trips or days off during the school year would be a big determent to me. Anything else I'm not thinking of? Also, if they wanted to take an AP class, I wonder how they determine if your child is up to it. My dd has never taken any outside classes, and I really don't know how she would compare to other kids her grade. By the way, this is my thinking ahead to high school. She's only in 7th now, but I'm trying to start thinking toward getting her prepared for highschool.

So if he scores high enough, his future college will accept it? Assuming they take credit for that particular AP test.

My dd was talking to an older homeschool student that said he was studying at home to take an AP test. I thought the course had to be accredited to take the test. Can you just study the topic and then take the test? Will the score still count?

I'm torn about CLE 800. On one hand, I've read that it contains a lot of consumer math and also cements basic math and pre-algebra. But on the other, skipping it would allow her to start algebra in 8th which seems to be the norm now. I personally think algebra shouldn't be pushed down to younger and younger kids, but when it comes time to apply to colleges, I don't want her to appear slow in math. She's only behind now because I didn't keep her on track enough. When time was short, I just let math slide way too much.

I'm listening in on this thread. I have a 7th grader going through R&S 6 and I agree it's a lot of grammar and totally new to me. We didn't do any grammar in school aside from identifying the main parts of speech. When we got to high school Spanish, we were all lost because we didn't understand English grammar, let alone Spanish. The teacher constantly used grammar terms we had never heard of. I'm planning on sticking with it as long as I can in the hopes that it really does pay off in the end.

Ruth in NZ, I love your idea about setting up a plan to get back up to grade level. For myself, I worked out how many lessons/week she needs to complete in order to be on track. It didn't really occur to me to have her be a part of planning it out. Maybe if she sees for herself that it is indeed doable, she will be more willing to work toward that goal. She's not a self-motivated person, but recently she is beginning to see that if she wants to get to college to study psychology, she will have to do the work. I remember being in middle school and not caring one bit about school. It never crossed my mind to study or do homework. I just showed up at school and did so-so. Then in 9th grade, by luck, I made honor roll. All the sudden, I thought, "you know what, I bet if I studied, I could do even better." I made mostly A's ever after that. I hope something like that suddenly "clicks" for her as well. Maybe if she sees herself as being successful in some small way, it will encourage her.

Thanks for all the great replies! You've all given me a lot to think about and I see a few new things that we can start doing right away.

Can you really skip a whole year of R&S grammar? As I already have R&S 7, maybe I can put her in that now and only be half a year behind in grammar?

I've even pointed out to my dd that she does extremely well on the yearly standardized tests. She accused me of fixing her answers.

Anyone else have kids this age (12) being so hard on themselves? My dd is working through CLE600 for math and R&S grammar grade 6. Over the last few months she has become increasingly distressed and conscious of being "behind". I've never made any mention of what level books she was in, but she just now really seems to have been bothered by it. I think it mostly stems from comparing herself to others her age at our homeschool group. We don't do academics with the group, just park days and such. All the kids she plays with most are very advanced and working a least a grade level ahead, if not quite a bit more. By comparison, she feels like an idiot. The thing is, she's a bright girl and not really behind in my opinion. The reason she is behind in math is because we switched curriculum this year and had to drop back a grade level because our last math book didn't teach geometry, metric measurement, and algebra. She's behind in grammar simply because I failed to do it often enough to finish the book. No amount of explaining this to her will get it through her head. I tell her everyday that I don't expect her to know things I've never taught her, but everyday we do something new, she's upset that she's never heard of it before! I try to explain that even though she's in 6th grade grammar, it's still more grammar than most public school kids learn by 12th grade (at least around here). By the 9th grade, she'll be caught up in these subjects. Is this just part of "teenage angst", or something I should be more worried about? The teen years are a time when kids are comparing themselves and feeling self-conscious, I know. Though, if teen years get moodier than this, I don't think I can cope. But then, biologically, I suppose she really is a teen already. I feel terrible that she ends up crying every single day because she thinks she's stupid. She thinks I only deny her stupidity because I'm her mother. I feel like she needs some outside validation that she is indeed smart. But what? Advice? What I really want you to say is, "Don't worry, it's just a phase and will soon pass."

I emailed the company and found out that level 900 is being made into a textbook that will be ready in 2017. The other levels are in the process of updating too, but there is no date yet. Sounds years away.

Thank you! I wasn't sure if it was a change in content, or just a change in format.

I keep seeing that CLE is updating the higher levels of their math. What are the changes? Is CLE algebra changing to a textbook, or to light units? Is the content the same, but just a change in format? I keep seeing that people switch to another program because the new book isn't ready yet. If my dd isn't going to reach algebra until 2017-2018, will it be ready then? Is there something wrong with the programs they currently offer for high school math? I can't think I've seen much posted about using it in highschool. I love the program so much, I hate to leave something that is working well.

My daughter is only in 7th, and not likely to reach algebra until 9th, but I would like to find an algebra book that I can work through and refresh my distant memory. I'd prefer a textbook with an answer key that shows the solutions. My daughter is doing CLE, but with the algebra series still reformatting (or whatever they are doing to change it), I think I should wait until she is actually there before buying. I've looked at some of the suggestions for algebra, but most sound quite expensive. If I knew my dd would be using it as well, I would be okay with the price, but not for just me. Also, I'm not the least bit mathematically clever, so I need one that explains everything thoroughly and simply. So basically, I need simple and cheap. But still thorough.

I take a similar approach. After reading a book on superfoods years ago, I try to fit many of these types of food into my daily diet. It's almost like a challenge to myself to fit them all in a day. My everyday list is: -green tea -green juice with ginger, carrot, 1/2 apple, celery, 1/2 lemon, and whatever is growing in the garden -2 TBS flax and 2 TBS chia seed - mixed with green juice -on my lunch salad - walnuts, mushroom, onion, olive oil, and sometimes beans -very dark chocolate -honey -1 clove garlic -spirulina -cod liver oil I try to eat blueberries a few times a week and I put red palm oil on my popcorn a few times a week, too. Now that I've typed that, I realize it sounds a little nutty.

Redsquirrel, what herbs do you take for varicose veins? I have one going down one leg from pregnancy. They only ache (no swelling) when Aunt Flo is visiting, so it really doesn't bother me. But it would be nice to be rid of it.

This is how I generally feel. The kids and I also take cod liver oil and it's expensive. I don't see a lick of difference, except in my wallet. But for some reason, we still take it. I guess I like to think it's boosting our immune systems and helping our hearts and brains.

I'd love to know what supplements or vitamins you have taken that have made an impact on your health. Generally, I take a supplement because I hope or think it's healthy for me, but I never see or feel any difference. I just started taking spirulina a few weeks ago and I've noticed all these short hairs sticking up wherever I part my hair. The reason I started taking it was for overall good health, and was surprised to see new hair growth. My hair is thin, so I'm quite pleased. It got me wondering what other supplements might I benefit from? I'm not into taking synthetic vitamins, or really any vitamins at all, so spirulina is all I take. I always read reviews on Amazon and think they feel results because they expect to. Maybe it's because I don't have any health problems or deficiencies to start with? I juice vegetables every morning and try to eat healthy foods, but I can't say I see or feel any results from it. I didn't have any weight to lose or health problems before I started those things.

I'm liking the idea of statistics after algebra II. Although, personally, I think a consumer math or money management class would be more useful in life. We are still years away, but it makes me feel better to have at least a vague idea where we are headed. Math is something we do lightly through the summer, so I feel certain she can at least tackle algebra by 9th. If she gets ambitious along the way, she should be able to accelerate it more. At least I've read of people accelerating CLE without too much difficulty. Her being behind in math is more my fault than her lack of math ability. To end battles of when math is over, I've just set a timer and let her work for the set amount of time. She'd just dawdle, and in the end, progressed through the book at a snail's pace.

I've now updated my signature to reflect what we are doing now. I sadly neglected it for 3 years. My daughter is in 7th grade now, but she is just starting CLE 600. We used Strayer-Upton before and are moving to CLE for the spiral review. I think she will be able to get back up to grade level by 9th grade, but I seriously doubt she will get to algebra before then. She's actually not bad at math, but has a serious mental block. I'm hoping that going back a grade will give her back her confidence in math and also catch her up on the geometry and algebra concepts that CLE incorporates in the earlier grades. Strayer-Upton has none of these. At this point, my daughter wants to be a psychiatrist or psychologist. She's young, so I know that will likely change as she matures. She is fascinated by mental disorders and drug abuse, and reads about them constantly. I doubt she will be looking to attend a competitive college, and in reality, may have to attend community college for the first 2 years as she'll likely be financing this herself. I am certain, however, that she will not be going into a technology or engineering field. And of course, I do realize that psychiatry in particular does involve math and technology. ​

My math-hating daughter will likely want to go to college. What is the minimum amount of math that most colleges require? It's been way too many years since I've last applied to college. With so many of her friends doing algebra in 6th grade, she is feeling terribly behind. I want to assure her that starting algebra in 9th isn't going to hold her back. I feel like waiting to cement basic math will make algebra more successful, so I don't want to rush her into it. I took algebra in 9th, and was accepted into colleges without problem. But with everyone now starting it so early, is 9th grade algebra now considered behind? What if she doesn't get algebra in 9th and does it again in 10th? What math is needed to do well on the SAT? I do know that you need geometry. I do know that I shouldn't stress over it and should progress in math at her own pace, but it would put my mind at ease to know that she was at least on the right path. I don't know what she'll want to pursue after high school, so I don't want to limit her choices.

Seeing that this is a kids event and some won't be reading age yet, I've decided against my peanut butter ball. Now I'm going with watermelon. Even if someone is allergic, there's no mistaking it as something else. Plus, we can just eat the peanut butter ball here for movie night.

I'm pretty sure someone has a peanut allergy. Another guest that I think may come has a gluten and dairy allergy. And yet another is allergic to soy and some other stuff. Most of the guests seem to be the health conscious sort that are allergic to everything. Maybe I'll just get some fruit and bring that. People aren't allergic to apples are they?

When invited to a pot luck style homeschool picnic, is it inconsiderate of me to bring a dish with peanut butter in it? I bought the ingredients to make a peanut butter "cheese" ball, but now I think it probably isn't such a good idea. Will others think me rude for bringing a "dangerous" food? If you have a kid with allergies to peanuts, would you be upset or offended?

What is ANKI? It seems like I've heard that come up before for memory work.