I agree that a live component is NOT necessary to make you feel connected to the teacher or classmates. In one of my kid's classes (AP macro) there is such great interaction between everyone that you feel like you know most of the students. In the past, AP Statistics, had such great interaction between the teacher and some of the students that it was easy to feel like you knew the teacher and some of the students - others chose not to be so interactive. In another class that has a weekly live chat, my son does not feel at all connected to the teacher or students. It has minimal interaction outside the one hour chat.

No formal review. Many of the concepts are used over and over and therefore "reviewed", but other concepts are simply not used much.

Haven't had anyone take AP English though I understand it's a heavy load. AP calculus was also a heavy load and we found it very inflexible in the schedule. AP Statistics is a lighter course overall and it's very flexible in doing the work. This could be you student's undermining however, if they postpone the work and then try to do it all just before it's due. My second son will do AP Statistics alongside AP Calculus and AP English next year. (AP Calc will be done at home so it will be more flexible). If all depends on the student on whether it is a good choice or not.

AP Statistics with PA Homeschoolers has a wonderful teacher. She gives daily messages with a LOT of teaching and examples not in the book. She is very good about answering and critiquing student questions and work. The workload is reasonable. She lays out a schedule that has daily reading and homework assignments, but leaves it to you to decide how to really do it. All homework is self-graded as the answers are in the back of the book. She expects it to be turned in but is graded done or not done. There is a test about once every two weeks. She's a tough grader, but tells you in advance exactly what she expects and what you will do wrong and she says that she'll grade it wrong when you do x,y, and z.... and then she does. Over the course of the year you learn a lot of statistics as well as how to answer questions well. She also provides links to you-tube videos on just about every subject for further teaching. She offers a lot of old free response questions as extra credit. I made my son do all of these. You post your answer and she'll critique it for you. While she offers extra credit, it takes a LOT of work to earn a few extra credit points. It is all worthwhile work and the student learns from it all. I have found her to be the best at TEACHING of all the PA homeschool courses we've taken, though it wasn't my son's favorite subject. (He did make a 5 on the AP exam). I will have my second son take the course through her next year.

Well, my son is taking Physics C with Jeff Lanctot this year. When I looked at the two teachers, my impression was that Kernion did more required video and more work that my son would find to be "busywork" though good for most students. My impression was that Lanctot gave the assingments for the student to do indpendently. I thought my oldest would do best with Lanctot and my second might do better with Kernion. Physics C Mechanics (1 semester course) nearing done this fall. The pace is similar to a college pace in that a lot of material is covered. There is minimal teaching. Mr. Lanctot gives assigned reading and problems. The problems are self-graded, but the solutions are not immediately available so you have to think through the problems. There is a computer graded test each week. The labs are expensive, but well-done. I wish I could have only bought the manual as I already own the equipment. The teacher is very approachable by email or on the classroom board. He quickly answers questions, though few are asked. My son has paired the class with Walter Lewin's lectures available on you-tube. I find that the only benefit of the class is to have someone else to be accountable for the schedule and turning things in on time. I could have done this myself, but didn't have the time or energy this year. Our intent was to continue with Physics C Electricity and Magnetism in the spring, but now we are discussing not signing up for the second course and doing AoPS Intermediate Counting and Probability instead. We figure the AoPS course will be fun to take alongside multivariable calculus. My son has been adamant up to now that he wanted to continue with Physics, but when given the option of replacing it with more math, I think we'll make the trade. He's decided Physics E and M can wait until colllege and it will likely be better taught there - it's unlikely to be worse as he's just reading the book and self-teaching now. I'd love to hear review of other teachers/classes as I might still be looking to outsource this for my next son.

I'd say max of two classes with a max of 7 credit hours.

I'd encourage you to ask lots of questions about how the class is organized - videos, lecture notes, self-grading, how much work, how flexible is the schedule. The more you know about any class, the better you can determine if it is appropriate for your student. In my home, the class that one student thrives in would not suit the next child at all. Most of our online classes have been asynchronous.

AP Physics (with Lanctot) - he assigns reading and problems; you do them; he grades. I could do it at home, but don't have the time and energy this year. AP macroeconomics - Very well guided self-study. Students watch lectures from a Teaching Company video set and answer the questions with immediate self-grading; Students read the textbook and do a questions set on these. There are occasional you-tube videos to watch and answer questions on. The students do a lot of old AP questions as well as make up questions for each other. The first half the year (Sept - Thanksgiving) there is an essay due every other week with giving responses to student essays the other weeks; After Thanksgiving, it looks like the writing is more AP Free response style questions. All the work is laid out on a schedule and it is easy to work ahead generally. There has been a lot of teacher time put into thinking through how to design this course (for independent learning). He doesn't lecture or give notes, but it's certainly worth paying for. The games of AP Macro can be time intensive, but don't have to be and they count for a minimal amount of the grade. Family members can play in the games. I played in the first game for four weeks. Moves must be done by 9pm EST, but I always turned my moves in the night before - many students wait until the last minute. The second game can be time intensive as you work in groups of three and might spend time co-coordinating. My son didn't have group members that co-ordinated well so he just did his own thing. The third game, you have to make decisions, but they are not dependent on others I see no reason why the moves can't be turned in anytime. I will play in that game after Thanksgiving. There is a fourth game that I can't comment on yet. By having families play as well, it gives us the opportunity to discuss and learn together. AP Statistics and AP Calculus (Guileran) both have daily notes that have a LOT of teaching in them. AP Computer Science has a live teaching component like a lecture from a professor.

My son is currently taking AP Macroeconomics. In general, I feel like it's an awesome course. However, it is that way because the instructor has gone to great efforts to make it interactive for the students (with each other) as well as laid it out great for self-study. I do not feel like the teacher "teaches" much. He's provided a fabulous framework for self-study, self-grading and learning from simulation computer games. He gives grades and feedback on the essays, but when my son specifically asked what the points where taken off for, or how to make it better, there is not an answer. Some of the teaching points that the teacher has made have been after the students all miss the same thing - he then says you need to do it this way for the AP exam. Well, I feel that he's been teaching the class long enough that you should tell the students this first (before they make the mistakes) rather than after. This class is a lot of work and probably my son's favorite due to the interaction with the classmates. He's learning tons and it's well worth putting him in the class. My oldest would have never been able to handle the workload of the essays. AP Physics (with Lanctot) feels like guided self-study. He assigns homework and grades, but there is very minimal teaching. He is available to answer questions, but doesn't get asked too many. My son is learning a lot, but he would do better to interact with classmates and a teacher.

Not sure if this fits your needs, but I have loved the Brave Writer classes. They have Expository Essay class (as well as other academic essay classes) that might work for you. I'm impressed that they can take a group of kids at various levels and move them all forward individually.

I don't know, but from everything I've read you need a diagnosis and a paper trail. Also, they prefer the diagnosis earlier rather than right before the test. My son has a diagnosis and received extra time on the ACT (and the written portions of SAT/AP). Take a look at the required paperwork listed on the ACT (and SAT) website. This will probably give you a better idea what you need.

By the way, "IF" he's going to do the BW college admission essay class next fall, then I wouldn't do too much planning ahead of time. They are very good at walking the student through the process of picking a topic. If he wants to write about homeschooling then that's fine, but there may be other passions that he'd rather write about. I was impressed with the process and it certainly wasn't our first BW class. It was tough for my non-writer to do, but he did an amazing job of portraying himself on paper. He then turned around and has used the same process to help him answer several more supplemental questions for college applications.

When can they use a calculator - it depends on the situation. Some textbooks are written where they expect the student to use a calculator - this annoys me and I avoid those textbooks. If I had my say, all math would be done without calculators, far later than most students do. I've used AoPS and it is specifically written to be done without calculators at any level. My boys have essentially not used calculators through calculus except for annoying decimals and AP statistics. My daughter uses a calculator for some of her prealgebra. She still needs a lot of work on basic arithmetic skills - long multiplication, division, decimals, etc. She can do these and we continue to work on them without calculators. However, her math logic is great and we continue to progress in math. She is allowed to use calculators for some problems to free up space in her brain so that she can work on the logic of the problem without getting bogged down with how to multiply two numbers. For anyone like her, I'd continue working on math by hand separate from the algebraic problem solving, but allow calculators to help them progress as long as they UNDERSTAND the math. My middle schoolers use a calculator for Mathcounts - there is a portion of the test written to use calculators.

Well, I didn't have any problem with the counselor section of the common app. I had a transcript, course descriptions, school profile, and counselor recommendation ready and sent it all to both schools that used the common app (through the app) as well as other schools.

#1 is open ended and you can write about almost anything. My son did the Brave Writer college essay class this fall. It was amazing. My non-writer senior wrote an amazing essay on question 5. Typical of other BW classes, they don't tell the student what to write about. I loved the process they had the students go through to brainstorm about topics for the questions. I think this class is only offered once a year in approx. Sept.

Can you help me with a project? I need some links to some lousy economics writings. I figure there are lots of lousy economic writing out there, but I'm not any good at finding it. I just need some links.

I wouldn't recommend any math to be done independently at that level - just me, but I think they learn much better with a mentor guiding them through the math and their mistakes.

I use Singapore Math with Beast. SM gives more practice than Beast so it works well for us.

I'm not sure what to recommend in your situation, but thought I'd throw out some thoughts. I have kids with various learning disabilities. None have an IEP or 504. I have written up my own "educational plan" documenting accommodations for college board testing and they have had formal testing from a psychologist for learning disabilities. My oldest did not have any trouble getting accommodations for ACT/SAT/AP exams. We've been told he won't have trouble getting college accommodations. I'm not sure you need an IEP or 504, but it might be helpful for you. Definitely document accommodations. Google the learning disabilities to get a better idea what might be offered. List every single thing you can imagine her wanting as well as what you do in real life. Document her goals as little tiny steps - in real life you might have bigger goals for her, but on paper, I'd list smaller goals that are more likely to be attained. It's always better in a review to say she made more progress than less. Accommodations my kids need: Scribe Typing on a computer Extra time or unlimited time for test and assignments Accept "messy" work if handwritten Someone to read novels aloud - use Learning Ally Extra breaks during reading/tests Extra space on paper for handwritten projects Calculator or multiplication table Do much of the work orally Limited writing assingments I'm lucky in that I don't have to report to anyone else. I can set my own goals which are endpoint goals - college or life accommodations; skill sets for if not going to college; College board accommodations. How I get there is not micromanaged by anyone else. Over time, I can push my kids and start to get outside help, but it is at my pace so I feel lucky about that.

I used Cuisenaire rods with Miquon. I didn't actually ever use them with SM. We just did the text/workbook and never needed rods. Not sure if you are using them with the HIG or just with the books. SM is certainly not specific to either.

I'd use a book like the Red Book for ACT review - good practice and real ACT problems.

OK - I love the idea of basing things off of movies. Now can you help me come up with a list of movies?

I don't grade writing at that age. I would ask - Did my student do what I asked? (even if it's not great) I'd encourage, point out good things and try to ask questions for improvement rather than pointing out what is not right. Writing is a process. Keep making baby steps and you'll go a long ways.

I agree with Daria and Regentrude. Accommodations should certainly continue for as long as a student needs them. However, they should be in place to help a student meet their potential by getting around a disability. Accommodations should not cause a student to be graded on a different scale than others. My son is highly gifted in math, but for years we've worked on how to get around his learning disabilities so that they would not hinder his further education in areas that he is gifted and passionate. He needs accommodations for writing - but he can write an excellent college level paper. He is capable of the output. He should be able to excel in a job requiring team brainstorming and high level math and computer algorithms to solve problems. He shouldn't be held back just because he physically has trouble writing. He can dictate or type, but for years "teacher-types" have complained that he shouldn't be allowed to accelerate in math until he could write the numbers. Oh well, I just kept teaching him the math and doing it all orally until his writing skills caught up to being able to write some of the problems out in calculus - all math was done orally before that and he competes at an elite national level in math so the skill level was there. It's always fun to try to explain to a math coach who is taking my son out of state for competition that he has trouble writing most of the math on paper. With time and maturity my son is developing mechanisms to better work around his disabilities, but in the meantime he needs some accommodations to be able to meet his potential. (Sorry if I went on a tangent here.)

Does the CSS still ask about cars? I filled it out for the first time this year and I'm sure I didn't answer any car questions (even went back and looked over the questions to make sure I'm not dreaming). Every school can use the information in the CSS however they want so the determination of what each individual school says you owe can be dramatically different from school to school.