Well, I took a very laid back approach to middle school. I did challenging math (AoPS) at whatever pace my kids could do - one was in advanced AoPS courses in 8th, one in geometry by 8th and one in prealgebra in 8th. I did Brave Writer, but was very loose about doing very much writing. LOTS of reading about history and science in preparation for more formal science. I let them follow a lot of rabbit trails to learn whatever they wanted. I challenged their thinking and developed a love of learning rather than doing the most rigorous curriculum out there for the most part. My high schoolers are doing very wellin very challenging courses now.

I would give whatever grade I deemed appropriate. In previous AP classes, our teachers have gone so far as to say this is how they grade but since as a homeschool parent we are ultimately responsible for giving the grade. I would be careful about changing grades, but I wouldn't have any trouble "giving" back points for anything that I approved and though appropriate though the teacher took off for. "I" haven't had to change any grades, but I have told my kids that I am changing the grading scale and will give the grade I think appropriate - it's been the same as the teacher so ultimately not a problem. I figure I am the teacher and am using a "tutor" as one resource, but "I" ultimately determine the grades. I would use this as a learning opportunity to say that you have to format as the teacher instructs, etc. I would also pull out from using this person as a tutor if you disagree with the grading - or simply say you want them to teach, but not grade.

Oops. Yes this is what I meant. AP Physics C is calculus based - you can take the others anyitme if you have the algebra background.

A big difference between the two courses is that you need calculus for AP Physics and you don't for AP chemistry. This is why most people take AP chemistry before AP physics. edited to add - Physics C is calculus based, you can take the algebra based AP Physics anytime.

My kids have needed more practice that Beast alone. We've added Singapore math, but not done it all. Beast brings a different level of thinking.

I think it has to be given on the national date and time. It causes problems if the test questions are released early or late. My son has to sit alone for all his tests as he needs accommodations.

Just wanted to encourage you to keep plugging along. I certainly don't know the best route for you to take, but it sounds like you are off to a good start. I admire your determination to work and learn.

What I've found in playing with some net price calculators is that some meet my need even better than the FAFSA, others are way higher. They all calculate the numbers individually. ... Hoping the numbers are right for my son's top pick school.

We've done most all the books on our own rather than the online classes. Consider doing Number Theory on your own - the first 5 or so chapters are very easy so he might just look over the review or challenge problems for those chapters and move on. The modular artithmetic at the end of the book is likely to be new and very important. The books are very well written and so are the solution guides. Counting and Probability - I think this book is much more fun, though there are fans of the NT book as well. If you want to do this on your own, then there are also videos online available for this book. For either book, you can do Alcumus which is free online. If you do any of these on your own, then you can certainly give credit for them on your transcript.

send me your email - I have a few.

One of the things I do for math is have multiple books. I say we have to do a least a page (or x pages) from this book. Then the student gets to pick which to do next. We don't have to do all. I usually have a main book that we have to keep plugging along through and then something supplemental that might be more fun and/or challenging.

I started with asking for College Board accommodations early and for a test that didn't matter too much if we didn't get it. You have to say what test you are going to take. I requested accommodations for 10th grade PSAT that would be good for all the tests in the future. Requested double time and only got time and half. Not sure I can be of any help.

Thanks so much Freesia for the overview. Sounds like something that would work well for my son.

Can you tell me more about how Edhesive actually works.

Interesting and very problematic to the validity of scores.

My oldest did Center for Lit in 9th and 11th. (At the end of 10th, he requested to do it for 11th saying it changes how he thinks about EVERYTHING he reads). I've had a middle schooler do a middle school class. Last year, my 9th grader listened in on some of his older brother's classes. This summer my 10th and 12th graders did the Macbeth class.

My STEM kids did Center for Lit before they included the writing component so I have no opinion of the writing component. I do know that it is still an option to do the discussion only, but you might have to email them specifically. My experience with Center for Lit started with my oldest who is definitely a MATH kid - loves to read, hates to write. He did the classes, read the book, listened to the discussion and never once participated in the discussion (with permission from me to only listen). As he did the first several classes, "I" really couldn't tell if he was learning anything, but as the year went on it amazed me the literary analysis discussions he could have with me just from what he had learned from Center for Lit. The next year he did not do Center for Lit. At the end of that year, he came and requested to do another Center for Lit class saying it changes how he thinks about everything he reads. It makes him THINK about it. That was good enough for me to sign him up for another class. I really have no idea if Center for Lit would be a good prep for AP English. I do know my three of my kids have taken Center for Lit and it has been a gentle, yet effective way for them to learn. Center for LIt says their classes are 1 credit literature and 1 credit writing. I've paired Center for Lit discussion with Brave Writer for writing and called it all one English credit. In the future, I suspect that my younger kids will continue with Center for Lit and I will specifically ask for the option of discussion only (no writing) as I am very happy with Brave Writer for our writing component and I don't want to go down an unknown path when I have already found something that works well for teaching my family writing.

My ultra-slow student took longer, but I don't think that would be the case even for most writing-phobic kids. I think Brave Writer does a great job of breaking things down into manageable chunks and then giving lots of positive reinforcement and great feedback. I'm impressed with the feedback across the board to poor writers as well as good writers. For their more intense classes, everything is still broken down into bite size pieces.

It sounds like his scores are in the ballpark of possibly being National Merit. Being commended (top 3%) doesn't do much for you. Being semifinalist, means you have to take the SAT to verify your scores and a few other things, but generally it means you move on to being a finalist. Being a finalist will get you automatic BIG scholarships at LOTS of schools. Other schools it does nothing. I don't have a link to a list of schools, but the lists are out there.

Things you can add (some are repeats): More math - go through SM 5 faster and add something else - Challenging word problems, Zaccarro, etc. Literature - assigned to read or listen to Free reading - 30 min per day Teaching company vidoes Youtube educational videos Books on cd from the library Family read-aloud Science experiments Logic puzzles Coding - scratch and minecraft mods are both good

There are usually about 3 assignments due per week with at least two days to get it done. The assignments generally can be done in one sitting. I'd say that most of the assignments take less than 1/2 an hour. In addition to the writing assignments, there will be time spent with some reading assignments as well as time spent reading teacher feedback on your own as well as other's assignments. I can think of two assignments that both my boys needed help on - one was a little longer and one very short, but needed some parental handholding. I think the Kidswrite Intermediate class gives a great foundation for high school writing without the pressure of creating polished pieces.

I'd count it as an elective.

I figure if it is really teasing, then that will happen in some form sometime in life no matter what you do. As far as homeschooling, my kids have never been made fun of for homeschooling. They or I sometimes get odd questions, but that is just a lack of knowing. How do you know your kids are learning? How do you know when to start the next grade?

Congrats!!!. Persistence pays off, but it's sure a hassle.

Well, I think you can count whatever you want for English - I'd include both literature and writing. I'm assuming he already has the first half of a credit for 12th grade English so all you have to do is fill in the rest. The reality is that you should pick whatever will serve him best. It won't matter much to colleges as whatever you do is unlikely to be known to them - just the fact that he took English. In my area, all the high schoolers spend a good amount of class time doing test prep for ACT/SAT. I'm not sure what class it falls under, but they do a section at a time and cover multiple tests as part of the schoolyear. I don't know how it is done elsewhere.