I agree- I don't think "Physical Science" as a course is required, but "a" physical science. Chemistry and Physics are both physical sciences, whereas biology is a life science.

It depends on the purpose. I called with counselor questions. I also wouldn't have any problem calling with parent questions - especially if I'm funding college.

I did not. I assume if you are looking at colleges then most don't really care what YOUR graduation requirements are if the student meets the admission requirements.

I did not weight my first son's grades. It did not matter at all for the school he ended up going to (highly selective). However, if he did not get in there, I'm afraid it might have cost him in scholarships elsewhere. I will weight my second son's grades (and other kids) as he will be applying to state univ. and they take the gpa as is for scholarships. I would hope that a human would actually think about it and consider the actual courses he took, but I'm afraid that he wouldn't make the first cut based on not having a weighted gpa.

Well, it is taught be a different person - the daughter of the Computer Science A teacher. I have no idea of how she runs the class.

My son did the AP Computer Science A class through PAHS last year and the teacher seemed very disorganized. Ultimately, he learned the material and made a 5 on the exam, but he was frustrated with the course.

They will approve individually.

My ten year old is co-reading Tom and Ricky books right now with me.

I'd give him a chance to make his arguement as to why he doesn't need to look any farther. I'd then also follow my instinct. If I think he's thought through everything and doesn't need to go, then I'd drop it. If "I" still think it'd be worthwhile, then I'd say that you just have to do certain things to please mom and this is one of them.

While Ms. Gilleran is asynchronous as in there in no live component, there is daily homework that is due daily. When my son took the class, he'd ask if he could access the homework early so as to not do it on days that he was super-busy and she said no. As the year went on, she loosened up and you could do the homework early, but for the first half of the year it was a royal pain to not be able to access Monday's homework until Monday.

Ugh. I hate that. Maybe you'll be able to sell it online with an unused code.

Well, if it's an official dual enrollment type class, I wouldn't change anything. I have had outside providers (PA Homeschoolers) that state in their syllabus that if parents want to add or change anything about the course they are welcome to do so and may also change the grade. However, if you ask for a recommendation or a transcript it would reflect the given grade. I'd be careful, but I think you can list an outside course as PART of a course and describe in your course description what the course was and how you changed it. Ultimately in this situation you are the teacher and you are contracting someone else to do some of the teaching. I do list things like Bravewriter courses as a part of my Enlgish course and then I give one English grade. I don't break apart a grade for Bravewriter, a grade for the poetry co-op class, and a grade for the home study work. I just describe all we did and then give one grade.

My oldest is on campus because he is required to live there all four years. :)

I'd camp out at the department head office and ask questions. This is ridiculous.

Have accommodations for ACT/SAT/College. Basically you need an official diagnosis and recommendation for extended time, and fill out the ACT/SAT specific paperwork. L is eave yourself plenty of time as they don't always approve it on the first try - and SAT is slow.

Long time Sonlighter, at least for the elementary years. I love the books, used to use the schedule, but now just read the books. For science in elementary - I tend to read lots of science books and buy lots of Usborne books. Geography - various Language arts - I tend not to use Sonlight, but do a mix of things I started all with Sonlight with my oldest. Over the years, I keep what I like and change what I don't like. I don't know of any provider that would suit me as all in one.

I love Brave Writer, but their online classes are expensive.

My son did both this year in college. Most were handwritten in the lab notebook during the lab. A couple had to be typed and were more extensive reports.

BW is a great choice if you want the more relaxed approach. I wouldn't worry too much about "missing something". Every language arts program is very different so will cover different things. It's not like she's way behind if you don't cover something - you just learn it a little later.

My first son did Calc BC with Gilleran through PA Homeschoolers. I really liked the Larson text she used. The class prepared him well and he made a 5 on the test. I will be going a different route with my second son. He's currently doing Calc AB through Derek Owens and our plan is to use Thinkwell next year for BC supplemented at home by mom with old test, AP prep book and or our Larson textbook.

We use our own and my son's school says most students use their own rather than buy it through the school. At his school, all students can use student health as they don't bill insurance at all, but the school requires all students to show proof of insurance or buy through the school.

I agree with starting at a younger age. Some kids are fine starting later, but if you are aiming for merit or anything competitive it is much better to start earlier. SR year is when many make decisions and it is too late if you are applying to competitive schools. Too often I hear kids talking in December about what they want to do, but they don't realize they've missed Nov. 1 and Dec.1 deadlines. It's really sad that they miss out because they didn't start looking early enough. I'd fine it useful to have ACT prep as that is helpful to getting into and getting money at many schools. Are they going to be working on writing an essay in your class or are you simply talking about essay writing? For many the essay needs to be done early in the senior year. I agree that the process is incredibly individual. For example, whether it is better to take community college credit vs AP classes. Locally, community college is easier and will transfer to the state schools, but it is unlikely to transfer to private or out of state schools. If you are aiming to go out of state, then AP is much better as it is more likely to give you credit.

I looked at some school IEPs and decided that they really didn't fit a format that I needed. I made up my own format. I listed diagnoses and dates. I summarized home accommodations through elementary. Starting in 6th grade, I listed accommodations by grade. I also summarized all evaluations in my educational plan chronologically and listed them under the grade age they were done. I called College Board with my questions and they were helpful. When the website says it takes however many weeks to process - it really takes them that long. ACT turns around an answer quickly, College Board does not. I submitted the formal evaluations with everything.

I did apply and get accommodations - on the first try. I know some have appealed and then gotten the accommodations. I talked to College Board, filled out their paperwork, sent a formal evaluation and diagnosis, created my own Educational Plan and summaried accommodations, testing and results through the years, and included a cover letter summarizing everything. My son received accommodations both through College Board and ACT as well as in college. Will start the process again in a few months for my daughter.

I like Brave Writer's classes. They tend to be 4-6 week classes and they have a bunch for this spring.