Thank you for the reassurance & offer, Sue. That is very generous! I'll PM you my email shortly. My oldest son plays football. He likes both (ETA: football and baseball) but currently wants to play football next summer for high school and then continue on into college. My youngest (only 2 yrs. younger, 7th gr. next year) plays baseball. Hopefully I'll learn enough the first time through that it won't be so hard again later. I'm really hoping the new changes for 2016 & later don't disqualify the non-mainstream type materials you listed, because those are the types of things I'm interested in doing, too. Do you know if the "2016 & later" refers to the high school start date or graduation date? Don't search for it if you don't know off the top of your head; I can do that. Thanks again!

My sons have always dreamed of playing sports in college, so I want to leave that door open for them with NCAA eligibility. I'm currently trying to plan for my older son who will be in 9th grade next year. I want to get busy preparing & planning for next year but I don't know where to find a list of approved or unapproved curriculum. I've searched & read a few threads here and some of the NCAA Eligibility site. When I look at the Homeschool section under Resources on the NCAA eligibility website, then click on what I think will give me a list of approved courses, it wants me to enter a specific school. I'm able to enter the names of local public schools and see generic course titles, but not which books or materials they use. How am I to determine if curriculum materials I am considering will be approved or not? When I'm looking at various private and free online courses, or comparing math texts and possibly DVD or online supplements, etc., how am I to know which are approved? In other threads, I read about homeschoolers listing the parent as the teacher with an online or other outside course as just a part of the parent-designed course. This sounds like a PITB, forcing a lot of supplemental work for the student & oversight by the parent. Would you need to retain the child's completed supplemental work as proof? I also read about submitting 2 separate transcripts: one for NCAA and one for college admissions. Can you tell me more about how to navigate this? Does either entity ever see the other transcript, and if so, would that cause problems? TIA. :)

Thanks, this is exactly the information I was looking for. I wondered about emphasis on calculator formula memorization because my dd experienced this in a b&m high school Alg. 2 class. She didn't know how to do the math without the calculator, so if she forgot any part of the calculator formula, she got problems wrong. I'm looking for nearly the opposite of that.

What are the differences between Foerster's and Lial's for Pre-Algebra, Alg. 1, Alg.2, etc.? I notice Foerster's is by Prentice Hall and Lial's is by Pearson. I'm interested in knowing if either has a very heavy emphasis on memorizing calculator formulas (esp. to the point of crowding out real understanding), if one is more user-friendly (in an open-and-go format for the parent/teacher), if one requires more parental math knowledge than the other, and any other differences you may know. Thanks!

...but I have made plenty of posts on the forum (this one and the old one) over the years. Is this a forum glitch or is there something I can do to work around it?

I spoke with a local friend who confirmed it is normal. My previous company must be a small operation, because they take any form of payment given (cash brought to the office, mailed check, call in to pay over the phone with a credit or debit card, etc.). They never did let us know when they'd be coming, but that was part of being on autofill and them knowing our usage habits. Thanks for chiming in; it helps me not feel so uncomfortable answering their questions.

Do the things this fuel co. is asking on its application sound normal to you? My family is looking at switching fuel companies (cold weather climate). With the old company, we were on an "auto-fill" plan (always cheaper per gal.). They simply delivered the fuel on their schedule & left a bill which I always paid promptly. This new co. wants our SSNs, Driver's License numbers, birth dates, mortgage holder information (name, address, phone), personal references, etc. on their auto-fill application. One of the forms expects one of their given payment options to be selected, which means a credit card # being kept on file for automatic charge. Is this normal? It' been a long time, but it feels like a lot of information they really don't need, and that I shouldn't give out. It's not like I'm applying for credit!

I'd sign my kids up for WTM Academy writing and get better computers & faster internet to support it. I'd get all the technology issues at my home (the printer, etc.) fixed. Field trips all over the world! A couch on which to do "together" lessons so we don't have to sit on the floor. Other furniture, home repairs, and an addition while we're at it. ...I think I may have just burned through more than $100K in my imagination.

I'm so sorry for your loss and hope the people who will do your heart good will be moved to come around. :grouphug:

I suppose there's no getting around "doing Tuesday", so I'm in by default. Dishes Laundry Clear kitchen counter Homeschool Bills/phonecalls Choose & set up a foreign language program on the computer Dinner Call friend and mom Wine? Chocolate, at minimum.

Other states refer to them as charters because their states define them as such, but if you look at our AK legistlature or AK Dept. of Ed. website, ours are legally referred to as "correspondence schools". They are called that because each is branched off from a public school district. They are state/federal programs, as they are funded with the same funds used to run public schools - federal education funds given to the state, and state monies gathered from taxpayer funds. I only bother to clarify such minutia because the TV commercials for these "homeschool" programs give the impression they are homeschool support programs but don't disclose the above information. They certainly never disclose that your child, once enrolled, is legally a public school student, or that the programs exist thanks to taxpayer funds.

I replied to your questions inside the quote. :) ETA: "IDEA" is the name of one of the public school - homeschool programs I mentioned, the same that ArcticMama mentioned. I'm not sure if that's the same "IDEA funding" you mentioned, Prairie.

This is where the teacher's manuals come in handy. I just followed the instructions for which facts to drill each day. It usually says something like, "Drill addition facts 1 - 18 and multiplication 2's through 5's". On the same day, the speed drill would be subtraction to balance it out. The speed drills as well as additional worksheets are in the TM. I stayed on an Abeka-like schedule for learning facts, though. I made sure to do any the Horizons lesson said to, plus anything from my own schedule not listed there. Abeka introduces fact families in order, 1 to 12. It was just easier to keep track of things that way.

I'm looking for something other than Horizons to continue with because the teacher manuals aren't much help for someone with weak math knowledge. I don't doubt it's a good curriculum continuing into higher levels; I just need much more teacher support than what it offers in the elementary grades. I'll look at the samples of the Pre-Alg. TMs, but unless it has a lot of hand-holding, I'm not sure it will work. That's why I've been using Abeka alongside it, for the detailed, scripted lessons. Abeka isn't on my list of top choices because I've read many reviews stating it gets weaker in the upper grades (Pre-Alg. & up). After a lesson-by-lesson comparison of the 6th grade level of each of the above (to plan out my own lessons for eliminating redundancy), Horizons does go further in scope. I was considering Saxon, Lial's, and others that offer videos, online classes, and/or other supplemental help. Saxon's geometry is contained partly in one of its higher math books, if "Advanced Mathematics" is higher math: "In John Saxon's math books, students who complete the entirety of the second or third edition of Algebra 2 have also completed the equivalent of the first semester of Formal Geometry . If parents would rather use another term, Analytic Geometry could be used. While finishing the first half of Advanced Mathematics, the student completes the equivalent of the second semester of formal or Analytic Geometry . Students continue to do geometry problems and proofs throughout the remainder of the textbook, but no new geometry concepts are introduced. Whenever I am asked what geometry title to put on the transcript, I tell parents to use just the title of Geometry. I cannot recall ever seeing a high school transcript that recorded Formal Geometry, Informal Geometry, Analytic Geometry, non-Analytic Geometry, Euclidean Geometry, or non-Euclidean Geometry. The transcript reflected just Geometry." -Art Reed http://www.homeschoolwithsaxon.com/review-credit.php

Nuts... I've lost my list of curricula with levels to look into after Horizons 6, and now the time has come for us, too. If it's any help, I've determined (with Jann in TX's help - thanks, Jann!) that the Lial's Pre-Algebra book she uses for her "Honors Pre-Algebra" online class would be a better fit after Horizons 6 than Lial's BCM (Basic College Math), used for basic pre-algebra. I think I remember AbbyeJ (sp?), 8FilltheHeart, and others having used Horizons and making various recommendations for what to use after Horizons 6. Hopefully they'll chime in. If enough people can give an idea of which level in other common programs their children used, maybe in looking at those programs you can determine which Chalkdust level is best to try first.

After completing a "meshing" of Abeka & Horizons 6 math, what level in other curricula should I be looking at? I looked at TT Pre-Alg but Abeka 6 covered all of that. What level of Lial's, Saxon, or other brands work well after completing Abeka or Horizons 6?

Thanks for the input; this gives me some more to look at.

Anyone? *cricket, cricket*

I'll be homeschooling an 8th grader that has never had a formal, separate vocabulary program before. He spent previous years solidifying spelling, which came hard for him, so he's not had root word study or lists of vocabulary words. I've got the following: English from the Roots Up 1, Vocabulary from Classical Roots A, and Sadlier-Oxford Vocab Workshop A. I'm willing to buy MCT if it looks like a better fit than these. My main concern is choosing something that is up to par for 8th grade and will be a good fit for him (a challenge he can meet), but not so hard he's defeated from the start. Here are my thoughts and concerns about each. If you have any experience or knowledge of any of these, I'd love to hear your response. In English from the Roots Up, there is a list of words with each root. Are those to be memorized, or just the main root with its definition? Lessons look teacher-intensive; is there a way to reduce this? At 8th gr., is it too late to start EftRU 1 (purely roots-focused) vs. more of a "regular" vocabulary program? Vocabulary from Classical Roots looks like something he could do, but it also needs teacher presentation/introduction. The TM is clear though, so there's no question what is or is not to be done vs. EftRU where I'm unsure what to do each day. Sadlier-Oxford Vocab Workshop looks a bit more independent; I could still go over any parts with him as needed, but the print is tiny and it doesn't involve as much root word study as VfCR. :( MCT - it's been awhile since I've looked at the online samples. Does this sound like it might be a good fit in this situation? Thanks!

To answer some things above, there are no learning disability issues. He's just never been exposed to the material. He has written 5-paragraph essays, but not up to par in quality for WWS 1. I'll look at Analytical Grammar. I'm not sure why I hadn't yet. I thought Abeka might do the same thing all in one year since it's so repetetive, enabling us to not have to speed ahead. I have the R&S books though. I looked at book 6 and it does look like the starting point for him if we used it. I don't know about MCT... it has always sounded lovely, but I'm a sucker for old-school diagramming. I'll keep my mind open & look at it anyhow. Paradox5, yep. That's what I keep running into over & over. It must be the solution.

How will taking the online Expository Writing classes differ from following the Writing With Skill books on my own at home? Will the online teachers use the WWS books verbatim, as I would?

I posted this question in another thread about working with an 8th grader to catch up in grammar & writing, but thought there might be more input in a separate thread. Any help is much appreciated. I have an 8th grader who is behind in English/Language Arts. The amount of work needed to catch up, per my original WTM-ish plan, is overwhelming. I just finished looking at the Abeka Grammar & Comp. I & II samples. Which level should a child start with if they have only been introduced lightly to simple subject-verb-adjective diagramming and only an overview of the parts of speech? Is there enough repetition that it would be OK to start in level 2? If level 1 is the best starting point, is it possible to accelerate the lessons a bit? How many Grammar & Comp. lessons are scheduled per week in the "Homeschool Lessons Curriculum" guide (teacher's manual)? Is the Abeka English curriculum so integrated that any one subject (Grammar & Comp, for instance) is dependent on use of Abeka for other language arts subjects? Is it necessary or ideal to use the whole Abeka English kit and kaboodle, or does it make no difference if Abeka Grammar & Comp. is paired with non-Abeka literature, spelling, and vocabulary? Finally, I'm curious which parts of my original plan this would replace. It looks like it could possibly be a way to start from a very basic point in grammar knowledge & writing skill and move forward to being "on grade level" by the end of the book, which is appealing. My original plan included Writing With Skill 1 (continuing into level 2 mid-year) with Writing With Ease 3 & 4 slowing continuing alongside, Rod & Staff English 5 continuing on into the next level(s) when finished mid-year, and some writing across the curriculum in literature, history, and science a la WTM. I also hoped to work in some of The Creative Writer. This is probably too much, which makes Abeka G&C look simple and easy to use. But what parts of my original plan are not replaced by Abeka G&C?

I'm in a similar situation with an 8th grader. The amount of work needed to catch up, per my original WTM-ish plan, is overwhelming. LivingHope, are you knowledgeable on the Abeka English curriculum to answer questions? Mind if I pick your brain? I just finished looking at the Grammar & Comp. I & II samples. Which level should a child start with if they have only been introduced lightly to simple subject-verb-adjective diagramming and only an overview of the parts of speech? Is there enough repetition that it would be OK to start in level 2? If level 1 is the best starting point, is it possible to accelerate the lessons a bit? How many Grammar & Comp. lessons are scheduled per week in the "Homeschool Lessons Curriculum" guide (teacher's manual)? Is the Abeka English curriculum so integrated that any one subject (Grammar & Comp, for instance) is dependent on use of Abeka for other language arts subjects? Is it necessary or ideal to use the whole Abeka English kit and kaboodle, or does it make no difference if Abeka Grammar & Comp. is paired with non-Abeka literature, spelling, and vocabulary? Finally, I'm curious which parts of my original plan this would replace. It looks like it could possible be a way to start from a very basic point in grammar knowledge & writing skill and move forward to being "on grade level" by the end of the book, which is appealing. My original plan included Writing With Skill 1 (continuing into level 2 mid-year) with Writing With Ease 3 & 4 slowing continuing alongside, Rod & Staff English 5 continuing on into the next level(s) when finished mid-year, and some writing across the curriculum in literature, history, and science a la WTM. I also hoped to work in some of The Creative Writer. This is probably too much, which makes Abeka G&C look simple and easy to use. But what parts of my original plan are not replaced by Abeka G&C? ETA: I'll start a thread for my questions as well. Sorry for side-tracking your post, OP!