I let it fight some of my battles and was pleased to see my teens rise to the occasion. They never edited or revised for me without an attitude but did so for the cc teacher. And worked much harder in their math classes or at least with less whining. I have had many illustrative talks with my graduates about their homeschooling experiences and it has changed some of the things I am doing with the youngest. They also urge him to work harder. But I have outsourced more with him because there is no one else at home to help diffuse any tension when it arises. Our relationship needs that. Ruth in NC DS1, gainfully employed with wife and 2 daughters DS2, finishing gap year in Israel then UNC-CH DD, UNC Asheville after gap year in Israel DS3, 8th grade at home

I have used the TOPS units in a similar way. Another source is My Science Box http://www.mysciencebox.org/ I used the Genetics and Evolution box and part of the Physiology box with 4 kids last year. I am looking at doing the Ecology box in the fall. But I am also tempted by the JASON Project so I haven't decided. Good luck, Ruth in NC

Thank you. Ruth

Thanks, sailmom, for replying. I have a few questions if you have time.:001_smile: I am looking at the ecology unit for my 8th grader for the fall. We may include a few other kids. Do you find that you can do most of the labs at home? When you use the printed version, do you still need to use the online games, videos and other online material? Have you included the novel resources? Ruth in NC

Has anyone used the curriculum from the JASON Project? In a co-op or as an individual? I am wondering how it works. Thanks. Ruth in NC

I'll use this, I know. Ruth in NC

Blue Hen - ds - University of Delaware, Case Western Reserve, CO School of Mines, Drexel (PA), Lehigh(PA), Rose-Hulman, Tulane, RPI (NY), Stony Brook University --- all acceptances. Brigid in NC - ds - accepted @ Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, North Carolina State (attending) CherylG's ds-UCLA, graduated, UCSB, UCSD, Westmont, all accepted. UMD-attending for master's in engineering. CherylG's dd-SBCC school of nursing-graduated. Creekland's ds - Covenant College - attending fall 2010, Union University, Calvin College - acceptances Deb in NZ's dd - Bay of Plenty Polytechnic (begin Feb 2010) dkholland- ds - Covenant College (accepted), Patrick Henry College (accepted) Grove City College Gwen in VA -- Washington & Lee (attending); acceptances from U Chicago, U Pitt, U Dallas, U Delaware, Hillsddale, UVA, William & Mary, College of Wooster, Case Western Kate in FL-ds-Cornell University (accepted Early Decision so all other apps had to be withdrawn) Kathy in Richmond - ds - MIT (attending), also accepted at Caltech, Carnegie Mellon, U Michigan, and UVA. Kathy in Richmond - dd - accepted at MIT, Caltech, U Chicago, William & Mary, and awaiting 3 more decisions Katia - ds- Ellsworth Community College (AA Computer Science) , Anderson University-attended , University of Northern Iowa (BA Computer Science), Kansai Gaidai University, Kyoto, Japan-attended Katia - dd#1- Hilldale College-attending , accepted at: Luther College, Ball State University, University of Northern Iowa, Oberlin College Conservatory of Music Katia- dd#2 - applying to: Hillsdale College , Warner University (accepted) Lady Lorna - dd accepted at Fordham University, Hillsdale College, The King's College, Middlebury College, St John's College, Thomas More College of Liberal Arts, Thomas Aquinas College, Trinity College. Waitlisted The University of Chicago. Still waiting to hear from Columbia University, Harvard University, Princeton University, Yale University LaJuana - dd#1 University of Dallas - graduated Summa cum Laude. Also accepted to Hillsdale. LaJuana - ds#1 University of Dallas - graduated Summa cum Laude. Also accepted to Hillsdale. Attending Westminster Theological Seminary (MDiv). LaJuana dd#2 Attending Oklahoma City University Bass School of Music (Musical Theatre and Vocal Performance). Also accepted at Samford University (AL), Whitworth University (WA), George Fox University (OR), Covenant College (GA), Houghton College (NY), Oklahoma Christian University. LaJuana ds#2 Attending Whitworth University. Also accepted at University of Dallas. (Except for dd majoring in MT and VP, my dc knew where they wanted to go, applied to two schools only, and were accepted at both.) Laughing Lioness - DS -Boyce College (KY) attending. Accepted to Augustana College (SD) and St. Mary's School of Nursing (SD). Lisa in TN's dd - Vanderbilt University - attending. Liza Q's dd - Saint Francis College - attending. Kings College, St. John's University, Brooklyn College - accepted Luann in ID ds1 and ds2 - LeTourneau University - attending (They both knew they wanted to go there, so this is the only place they applied.) Margaret in CO--dd accepted to Western State College for dual credit, accepted to Hillsdale College, graduated, accepted to CU Boulder School of Music, finishing Master's Margaret in CO--dd accepted to Western State College for dual credit, accepted to USNA, attending finishing Firstie Year, accepted to flight school, acceptances: Hillsdale College, USAFA, USCGA, ERAU (on NROTC), School of Mines Margaret in CO--dd accepted to Western State College for dual credit I'm going to stick my should-have-been-son-in-law (killed last spring), accepted to Hillsdale College, transferred to WVU, graduated, accepted to Toledo Medical College. Mary in GA ds: Clayton State University (attended & transferred) Georgia Tech (attending) Michelle in GA ds- University of Georgia (accepted); Berry College (accepted); Georgia Tech (currently attending) Moira in MA dd -- Acceptances at Dalhousie U (Nova Scotia), McGill U (Montreal) Mommyfaithe's dd #1 (accepted College of St. Rose (NY) attended Sage College Albany, NY Graduated Summa Cum Laude Mommyfaithe's dd#2 Attending Russell Sage College. Accepted SUNY New Paltz, SUNY Albany, waiting to hear from Simmons College in Boston Mass. MSPolly's dd- Acceptances at Covenant(TN), Union U(TN), U of MS, Belhaven U(MS) - ATTENDING Collaborative Piano/Pedagogy major WAHOO! Osmosis Mom Dd 1, Wellesley College (attending), accepted to Merrimack College, BU, Simmons, Emmanuel College Ruth in NC ds accepted St John in NM, Oberlin w/scholarship, Colorado College, Boston U, will attend UNC Chapel Hill, offered waitlist at Vanderbilt and Emory Ruth in NC dd accepted NC State, UNC Asheville, Appalachian State and Earlham w/scholarship, on Oberlin waitlist. Still deciding. Sharon in MD's ds-Drexel University -attending; UMBC-Meyerhoff program, UMD-College Park-College of Engineering, Messiah College- acceptances Susann-dd-Rose-Hulman, Purdue, University of Evansville, Trine, Taylor, Cedarville-acceptances Susie-Knits ds1 - Rose-Hulman, Valparaiso, U of Evansville, TN Tech - acceptances TransientChris's DS- George Mason U,attending; Hillsdale College- attended, Abilene Christian, Hampden-Sydney, St. Olaf- accepted Valerie(TX) - ds UT Arlington attended Valerie(TX) - dd accepted Biola (CA), Messiah (PA), Belhaven (MS), Mary Baldwin College (VA), UTA (TX), Hardin-Simmons (TX), Univ. of Mary Hardin-Baylor (TX), and Ouachita (AR). I'm missing one. ?? Outtamyshell - BYU Provo

Thank you. He has a great time and has matured so much. I don't recall how long it took them to respond. I do remember that he called the college and asked them what they wanted from him. So I guess my advice would be to call the school and check with them. Good luck. Ruth in NC

my son wrote a letter to UNC Chapel Hill requesting a gap year. He was told to include a description of what he would be doing and be specific about the educational value of the program he was attending. Good luck. Ruth in NC

I would love your movie list. My youngest is not a history fan and we are doing a lot by movie. And we both enjoy the movies.:001_smile: Ruth in NC

We have been reading these books this year. I have been using the TG's and making up a worksheet for each chapter. There are comprehension and critical thinking questions in the guide and I pick and choose the ones I want to use. Often I will copy the map and primary source page as well and give him those to answer. I bought one student guide and did not find it nearly as useful. Ruth in NC

I titled the history courses, which we did in 3 years, History of the Ancient World History of the Medieval and Early Modern World, and History of the Modern World and the literature courses were called Literature of the same. In the course description, I listed the texts he read, trying to divide them between the history and lit courses. He did a 4th year of separate American history and literature. Had we done it more truly the WTM way, I would make sure the course description clarified that Am history was included in the world history courses. Ruth in NC

for the info. My email is prmanning@triad.rr.com. I would be interested in hearing from your SIL. Ruth

"Or how 'bout Mau Jew-ee-EH (Mt. Juliet) and LEB-non (Lebanon)? " It's been a long time, I admit, but when I grew up in Lebanon, it still had 3 syllables. But my teens, who lived their first few years there, do say LEB-non, as does DH who is from Memphis originally, that's just north of Mi-sip-pi. Now when I was growing up, we rarely spoke of Moun Jew-yet. It was just a place where my poor relations with no indoor plumbing lived. But truly, this is practically ancient history. Ruth in NC, who doesn't know how to make those quote boxes

At the last minute my daughter has applied to UNC Asheville because Chapel Hill and NCSU are just too big for her. She should get in easily with her scores and CC classes. She is interested in wildlife biology. The culture of Asheville is certainly a good fit for her but we can't find anyone who knows anything about the school. We will visit before she decides to go there but I'm just looking for some information. Thanks for any info. Ruth in NC

Well, I had the statement on the transcript that "This is the official transcript of My Kid's Name for the years 2006 -2010" with my signature notarized. That was required by some of the colleges she applied to. I don't know how you could be more official. Ruth in NC

for my teens is at this post. http://travelingjews.blogspot.com/2009/03/historyliteraturehumanities-plan.html My son did not use a textbook but he is a history buff and reads history for fun. There are definitely gaps in this plan. I would recommend The Western Tradition videos as a background spine. You could add more historical fiction than we did. Son is not that interested in fiction. I think this can be done with an enthusiastic reader. Good luck. Ruth in NC

I have 2 teens using Hebrew Online. It's pricy but there is a substantial cost break for a 2nd student. There are classes for younger kids, as well. http://www.hebrewonline.com/default.asp Ruth in NC

We have textbooks in the house on most topics. For math we have always used textbooks but for literature, we never have. My history-loving teen son read widely in history with textbooks as a minor resource but he preferred textbooks for the sciences. My biology-loving daughter read widely in biology using textbooks mostly for the math related science topics. She preferred history textbooks. Ruth in NC

They have homeschool curriculum. They also publish student research in a newsletter a couple of times a year. http://www.birds.cornell.edu/ Good luck. Ruth in NC

when we finish Delta in a week or two. We backed up to review Delta and have run through it quickly but I expect Epsilon to be a bit slower. We had not done MUS before this and I have been happy with it. Son loves Fred and tried it last year but was not getting it. That's when we backed up. I plan on his doing one or two Fred chapters a week with other days MUS. Ruth in NC

My oldest graduated and is taking a gap year. He's now 6000 miles away and we won't see him until June 2010. My next one is a real go-getter, a senior this year, who is taking community college courses and works a lot. We rarely see her. That leaves my 13yo and me at home. What we have done - started attending more of our old group's park days, signed him up for some classes with kids of similar ages, done more field trips and called friends to go with us. It will take time but we are adjusting. But I miss the old days. Ruth in NC

In retrospect I suppose we should have used one before the PSAT but we did not. He took the SAT in the fall of 11th grade and did really well on the verbal but math was not good. He also did not do as well on the writing as we thought he could. I contacted a local tutoring agency and they recommended a 6 week session before the test for math and 2 weeks on strategies for the essay. He gained over 100 points on the math and made the highest possible score on the essay. With better planning than ours, no doubt you could get even more out of it. DS qualified for Duke TIPS with almost the same score he had on the SAT years later. Ruth in NC

to do with my 7th grade reluctant reader. He will be reading novels like The Door in the Wall and some pages in an old history book of the Middle Ages I checked out of the library. We will read a version of Beowulf and some other things together . For general background, we will listen to The Story of the Middle Ages from Librivox. I plan to use Librivox for Men of Iron or Otto of the Silver Hand also. He enjoys audio books and I think he will get more out of the history that way.

GTCC left a message on our answering machine today that only science and math classes would be available for dual enrollment. NO other classes would be available. And of course there are no science or math classes available. None. My daughter is so disappointed. She has completed 2 semesters of Spanish and there are several seats in the next semester class but apparently she can't take that.