I agree with Kinsa in that I teach to mastery and most of my grades are subjective. When I give tests, it is easy to get an A as the student has already been taught to mastery. I don't give a bunch of tests however. On daily work, if it wrong, it gets corrected. If is is not understood, it gets retaught. In subjects that my inclination has been that my child may not be able to do A work, I've outsourced and they've objectively received A's from outside teachers. I don't worry much about "my" grades being good as we also have AP exams and ACT scores that reflect excellence.

Never looked at Wasko lit. My biggest recommendation toward Center for Lit comes from my oldest. He took a class as a 9th grader. He did not as a 10th grader. He then came to me and asked to take another Center for Lit class saying that it made him think about everything he read it more deeply. He's my very bright STEM kid that loves to read.

Do you think she wants to use BME as a path to medical school or to work an engineering job? I'm not sure it influences what she does in high school, but it might influence what she does in college. A fair number of BME students go on to medical school is why I ask. If I had it to do over again, I would have gone Biomedical Engineering - not sure if I would have gone to med school or not. As it was I went Chemical Engineering to medical school.

For a student going into any STEM field a good foundation in math and science is important. Strong math classes are important, but even more so understanding the math before just moving on. Physics is good for any engineering; biology and chemistry are important for Biomedical Engineering. I'd also through in statistics because I think it's important for everyone. In general a solid high school class load would include: English - 4 years Science - I'd aim for a minimum of biology, chemistry, physics for a STEM student; you might add second years of these courses or add anatomy and physiology Math - 4 years starting wherever she is at Foreign Language - I'd do a minimum of 2 years History/Social studies - 3 years You can add in more core classes, more foreign language, other electives, etc. I would let her pick some classes and go from there. Weighting the courses toward a heavier load is more competitive if trying to get into harder schools.

I was in the same boat - I can teach the math, but needed to remove myself from the main teaching. Just ask for the half price option. Usually he sends the solutions without asking, but sometimes you have to ask. You have access to all the videos, homework, tests, solutions. Just buy the workbook (and for precalculus there is also a textbook) watch the videos and go at your own pace.

I think your son will be fine with that math background. Taking notes from DO lectures is not too hard. For the lecture part, he has a workbook with a lot of notes already there. Part of it is basically filling in the blanks as you listen. It is also copying sample problems into the workbook. It's very different than note-taking to a blank sheet of paper. We've found DO to be a good fit. I am doing the half-price option in which I do all the grading (with the solutions provided).

No grades. No report cards. ... well, I do have to do high school grades for our transcript. The only reason I've ever considered report cards is that all their friends get perks like free Krispy Kreme donuts for good grades. Oh well, I just take them out for donuts and save myself the time of grades. edited to say that I'm graduating my oldest this year and he had no problem getting admitted to even the very selective school he applied to.

I agree that the state U very well might not be the cheapest option. For us state U cost about twice as much as super selective school (with great financial aid). My son could have gotten a full-ride elsewhere based on merit, but we thought it was worthwhile to pay something for him to go to his first choice for multiple reasons.

Well, if you like those online (non-graded) courses, you could put together your own syllabus and have it approved by the College Board.

If you are looking at super selective, then I'd focus on getting the test scores up. As far as extracurriculars, kids should be who they are. It is certainly good to show that you are passionate about something. I look at the list of some kids extracurriculars and accomplishments and some look like they are "trying" too hard to stand out for colleges. I'm not sure what colleges actually thing of this, but I know what "I" think of it. I would read blogs of admission officers about what they are looking for. Be yourself and let a piece of you shine through in your application. I would go ahead an apply to a couple of selective schools knowing that it is a long-shot if you are interested in the schools. Definitely run the numbers and be realistic about finances as well. It does no good to get admitted only to find out you can't afford it. My son just got admitted to a very selective university. He has good academics, but doesn't stand out as incredible in the extracurriculars. He is an Eagle Scout (always a plus), plays competitive ultimate frisbee and shows a passion for math (coaches Mathcounts, competes in ARML). He does not have any other clubs or leadership positions to list. He wrote a passionate personal essay which gave a huge glimpse into who he is a person and I think this went a long ways toward getting him admitted.

Yes, it certainly looks different for each child. My middle schooler needs very little help other than technical (computer) help. My 10th grader is exceptionally independent. My senior on the other hand has come a long ways toward independence. I still keep track of his assignments (without him knowing) and intermittently ask pointed questions like Do you have any assignments due? but the the last pieces of him being able to stay organized enough to manage the course himself have all fallen into place THIS year which is a good thing as he's off to college out of state next year.

Hypothetically - yes. You have notification that everything was received by the deadline so you should be good. I've "heard" that colleges often have a slightly later deadline for recommendation letters if all the supporting student data is in. It wouldn't hurt to call the college and confirm that everything is in order.

I would be as involved as needed. I would "help" with homework if needed, but mostly help the student learn how to ask for help from the instructor or other students. I would remind my student and help schedule as much as necessary (some kids can do this very young, some still struggle as seniors). In general, I'd try to help my student become more independent and I'd help them along in this process. Based on something in the syllabus of our very first online class, I've changed my mindset about online classes. Most approach online classes as the teacher sets everything - homework, grades, time frame, etc. I've subtly changed that at my home. For the most part, we take online classes exactly as they are set by a teacher. However, my mindset is that "I" ultimately am the teacher and I'm using this class as a resource. This gives me permission to grade to my own grading scale, change (expand/delete) any assignments, or tweak anything else. I change very little if anything. Some things that I've changed are: 1)my son with learning disabilities had trouble writing out every homework assignment - the teacher had the students self-grade and then graded done or not done. Therefore, I emailed the teacher saying sometimes she'd get the homework written out by him, other times she might just get a note signed by me saying it was done and graded orally - I decided it wasn't worth my time to scribe as she just wanted to make sure it was done. 2) Recently my son got a midterm grade of "B". I told him as far as my grading scale went he had an "A" since in the online grade book his test average was an A and the assignment average was an A. I emailed the teacher questioning how she got the grade and turns out it was a mistake - he really had an A+. However, even if she intended the B, I was going to record an A because as far as I was concerned he earned an A in my grade book. 3) occasionally an assignment is unclear - I always have my student email the teacher for clarification, but sometimes it remains unclear. I tell me student to turn it in with "my" interpretation and say if he gets docked on his grade for something I misunderstood, I'll recalculate his final grade not taking off those points as ultimately I'm the teacher. I've never altered a grade, but I wouldn't have any trouble doing so if the student meets my expectations for a grade.

I agree that if UC schools or anyone else wants something specific, you should make sure to include it somewhere on your transcript so that is it clear. Most colleges want a high school GPA, so I would not include middle school classes in the GPA unless it's clear.

I agree. Colleges ask for a HIGH school transcript. This is a listing of courses taken during high school. If you want to highlight somewhere some courses taken during middle school, that is fine, however I'm not sure if matters much. If you start high school with French 3, it's assumed that you took French 1 and 2 before high school. If you start with higher maths, then it's assumed you have completed the prerequisites. If you start with advanced science, then it is assumed that you have the background in formation to be able to be successful in a harder class (whether or not you have formally taken an easier course). In reality, it doesn't matter if you actually took a formal math, science, language course in middle school if you are doing well in the harder course in high school. Colleges want you to have so many credits DURING high school years (or the four years before college). I didn't bother listing middle school credits. I assume that if my son can pass AP math and science courses then you don't really care when he took Algebra 1. The one thing I might highlight from middle school is if your student took several years of a foreign language that doesn't show up on the high school transcript; of course this then begs the question why it wasn't continued. I see no reason why you can't list the courses (separately) as an additional note to the transcript, but I would make sure it doesn't look like you are counting them toward high school or in the GPA.

Agree with Regentrude. If the exact text is required, I'd just deal with the ick. If you can find the content elsewhere, then I wouldn't fault you for spending extra money to get something different.

There are several issues that interplay with showing your work in math and I agree with the points EKS made. From the standpoint of a mom of a very talented math kid with learning disabilities, I vote minimal showing of work in SOME cases. My oldest is currently doing multivariable calculus at home and does the vast majority in his head. For years we've been doing math orally with him spitting out an answer while I scribble away at paper to see if he's correct. :closedeyes: My son had to learn to show work for a few reasons. He has to be able to explain the logic of the problem. This was a very different thinking process for him in middle school as usually he could just "see" the answer and it was hard to break it down into steps. Due to severe dysgraphia, we still did this orally for many years with him telling me what to scribe. Most of the problems I'd just let him answer. When problems get too complicated to do in your head, then you need to write down some things so that you don't make silly mistakes. This is with very different levels of problems depending on the child. As I said, my oldest does most (hard) calculus problems in his head with no writing. For my son (with learning disabilities), learning to WRITE out a problem was essentially a different subject than teaching how to solve the problem. In reality, the first problems he ever wrote out were multi-page math proofs. I know this isn't the norm, but you have to deal with each as an individual. It is important to learn how to write out the basic logic steps so that someone else can follow your logic. This becomes very important when turning in work for higher level math/science and might get you partial credit even for the wrong answer. I'd ask WHY you need a student to show work. If they are making silly mistakes, then stepping through work on paper "might" help. If it's just to check the logic, then you might ask for the process on occasion, but then let the student do it in their head if getting the correct answer. Learning HOW to show work in a logical manner is hard for many students and takes time as well.

Agree with the above posts. Figure out what you minimum is and help him get to that point. Also figure out how to accept the fact that he is not as driven as others. Sometimes they need more hand-holding for longer due to immaturity, but at some point you have to let them be who they are and be happy with it.

First, I'd look at your son and the resources you have for classes and then pick what gives HIM the best education. He needs a life, education, pursue passions, etc. and how that looks for him will be very different from others. Definitely keep in mind basic requirements for future college goals so that you are not shutting any doors and then plan around your student. It's also possible to take an AP class just because it's a great class and then not take the stressful exam. In that case, I'd probably not list it as an AP class because it looks odd if you don't take the exam (unless it's your senior year and they won't know you don't plan on the exam). There is no rule that you have to take the exam.

Consider the pros and cons. I tend to think a label is helpful for the person to better understand them self and explain to others if necessary. As far as Asperger vs Autism - I'd let them diagnose Autism and assuming they say it's the same as what used to be called Asperger's then I'd have no problem calling it that.

Awesome. Hope he continues to do well whatever path he chooses. My 2E son will be going off the college in the fall and he'll have a bunch of hurdles to get past in order to meet his potential in class.

Agreeing that you can only go at the pace of your child. The first several were torture for my son. We went very slowly through each of levels 1,2,3 and repeated each before moving on. It was discouraging to get to the end of a level, decide we need to start over and it still take forever when we had already done it. Level 4 is notoriously hard for everyone, so it's not likely to get better real soon. However it will eventually get better and it helps when they can start reading some "real" books. My little guy just started level 6 and I'm finally feeling like we are making real progress. I felt like my daughter was making progress much sooner than level 6 though.

Current 10th grader: English Precalculus AP Macroeconomics AP Microeconomics Latin Finished world history; starting US history Chemistry Various non-core co-op classes

Take a deep breath - it's not easy. I break up my Barton into about 3x/day - short with the 1st being the longest and newest work. Session 1 - Work on the main Barton lesson - I aim to do all the parts of a lesson over one week; sometimes this works, sometimes it takes longer. Session 2 - work on sight words and do a fluency page. We only work on a limited number at time and if it's taking too long, we'll table some of them. I often add in a short reader at this session that we read a few pages of (we're farther in Barton than you). Session 3 - I put here something I'd like to get to, but it doesn't always get done every day. Usually an extra page from the end of a Barton lesson; another fluency drill page or some more reading that is easy review. I have separated out spelling and I'm doing All About Spelling separate from Barton - very slowly.

I've found that within the same provider (PA homeschoolers) the breaks still don't line up. So far, it's not been too hard for us to work around. We've had some flexible teachers that have said such things as Spring Break is early March. However, here's the next few weeks of work. If you want to work through the scheduled spring break you can shift the spring break to any week you want. Many teachers will work with you if you ask them to.