Mostly communal. Once they got to the age of a graphing calculator for AP classes, they got there own. My one boy has his specific pens due to his sensory issues. My artist has a fair amount of personal art supplies in her room. If I had a teen that wanted certain specific school supplies for himself, then I'd have no problem getting them just for him, but it hasn't really happened at my home.

:closedeyes: Well, when I read this post, I thought of MATH as the subject my oldest gets the most awe and wonder out of. He's hard-wired that way and always has been. He loves the beauty of math, but often is simply excited about some new wondrous finding in math. He often will be laying in bed with a dreaming look - I ask him what he's doing and he replies thinking about math. He's also written about the elegance of math for Brave Writer. I'm sure that's a completely different perspective for writing teachers. Guess what he's studying in college.

Sleep should be non-negotiable. Something has to give - less homework, not doing the homework, less activities, or different school. You will loose your kids with that schedule. I think some activities are very good. I also think that schools and teachers often have unreasonable expectations - a kid should not have to spend all their time outside of school doing more school. Family and life are also important. Add up the hours your child needs to sleep and school including getting ready for bed and school. Maybe even some time for meals. How much is left. How much is reasonable to devote to more homework? Don't sacrifice sleep. IMO - kids don't have enough downtime to simply be kids and have free play. Way too much of their time is scheduled (with good things).

Nope. Never heard of an 8th grade graduation. However if it's typical in your area I "might" consider it. For my senior this year, we did not do a cap and gown. We took him out to eat and presented a nice diploma. He opted not to do the nice community homeschool ceremony nor any party at home.

You need to buy the workbook from lulu.com. This is where the student takes notes on the lectures and does the practice homework. A few of the courses use a textbook (I thnik geometry and precalc), but I don't think alg. 2 does - I haven't done that one so I can't say for sure. The tests and homework need to be printed out. This is about a dozen pages per unit over about 3 weeks, so it is not very many pages per week. You can print all of these months ahead of time and just have them. If you have DO do the grading, then you need the capability to scan.

Extracurricular as others have said. I ask myself the question - If my kids were in public school and did this, would it be for a class or extracurricular? This is where it "typically" falls. There is no rule that you can't count something as coursework, but in general I try to mirror where it would fall for everyone else.

The homework and tests are downloaded from the website. If you look at a syllabus, you can see his schedule. The homework pages are generally one page each. The tests are several pages long, but not too many problems per page. With the half price option, he sends you a file with all the solutions to the homework and tests.

OK - here are some random thoughts. If you have a disability, then it's okay to accept the help offered. You need a budget. Start simple. Figure out how much money you have coming in and assign it somewhere. Pay your bills, food, house, clothing, insurance, etc. Tackle the debt that isn't mortgage. Start saving some money for emergencies. Once you have a better handle of where your money is going, you can assign some of the budget to schooling/books. If you have more money, then it's okay to spend it on what others might think is frivolous. However, don't spend what you don't have. Food is a need. People should not be praised for spending their needed food money on books. If you want advice on getting your finances under control and starting a budget based on Biblical principles, then I'd recommend you look at Dave Ramsey.

Just keep plugging along. Prealgebra skills and beginning algebra skills are foundational to any math and science beyond. If you rush, you will just have problems later on.

Singapore math level 3 challenging word problems - Yes this is a "third grade" book, but it has great word problems with not so hard of numbers. I use it a lot with algebra students who are struggling to pick apart word problems.

I find the best price at Sam's for duct tape.

It's not redundant. Do all of the intro book before moving on to the intermediate book.

Even as a supplement, I'd recommend the practice books. While the guides are fun and useful, it's in the practice books where you get the meat of the program--and lots of practice.

It really depends on your student. My son had only done the trig chapter of AoPS geometry before DO Precalc--and had done it two years prior. He did fine with DO precalc. Math does come fairly easily to him however.

We did a lot of simply exploring science topics of any choice during those middle years. My boys did History of Science by Hakim and read lots of books about physics and relativity. We took some rabbit trails down elements and exploding things and basically just absorbed lots of science by reading anything science related.

No. I wouldn't pay for classes you aren't sold on. Also the prices seem awfully steep to me. I'd keep looking and praying for new opportunities. You say you are in a major city so there are bound to be opportunities of some sort. As far as classes, you can keep teaching at home or outsource online for way less than $500/month. Look at volunteer opportunities, venture scouts, explorer clubs, classes through the library, theatre, sports, ultimate frisbee. There are bound to be ways to get out of the house without paying prices for classes you really aren't sold on.

My best advice is to Help her manage her schedule as much as needed until she can do it more herself. Be careful not to set her up to fail. You know how much is too much - don't put too much on her plate. Quality is better than quantity. I outsourced writing to Brave Writer for my dysgraphic kid. He did fewer essays, but they were quality ones, and he learned the process. He was able to transfer the skills outside of BW classes, but we still emphasized quality over quantity. Lighten up the load in non-STEM classes. You don't have to do a super-heavy history class if her main focus is electrical engineering. Do a little over the summer to lighten the schoolyear.

If you are doing vision therapy, then by fall your son is not likely to need accommodation due to convergence insufficiency. There may be other factors like learning disabilities, but I would not expect to need accommodations for his vision. If you still are having difficulties and needed accommodations after VT, then I'd strongly suggest you continue to ask questions and look further into possible causes.

I think guidance counselors can be relied on too much and parents ought to have some say in counseling their kids. It amazes me the lack of knowledge that some parents have and how trusting they are to let the guidance counselor do all the decision making with their kids. Too often, they just plan to let the kids take loans because that's how it's done. Yes, I think some GC have secret sauce at reputable schools. Others just give out advice and it's not always good advice.

Eagle projects. Backpacking and canoe trips. That's what my boys have done.

The original publication schedule for the first books was way off. Nowadays I think their publication schedules have been mostly accurate.

Congratulations on his graduating!!! It's been fun to follow your journey though homeschooling. Over the years I've gained a lot of wisdom from reading your posts. It helps me to realize that it's okay to school however is best for my kids and my family. My oldest is graduating high school (homeschool) and moving on to college next year.

I don't give tests for AoPS. I teach to mastery and I know that my kids have mastered the material as they demonstrate it in other ways. They don't forget it so I don't need to worry about that.

Such a cool journey. Congrats to you and your son.

Hugs. It's not your fault. Take a deep breath. There are situations in which late exams are allowed, some with a fee. I do not know if you fall into this category.