I'm looking for a writing class for my rising 7th grader. She LOVES writing, which is a new thing in our house (her two older brothers are not fans). She's a good natural writer and the one thing she wants to do more of next year is write. I can obviously give her writing assignments myself, and I'm fairly comfortable doing that. However, she also LOVES the few online classes she has taken and really thrives on feedback. (Because of that I've asked her if she would prefer to try public school next year and she wants to homeschool.) So I'd like to find an online class for her. I know what I'm not looking for more than what I am looking for: I'm not looking for something IEW like. We took one class using a local provider (who now runs an online very popular site) and it was horrible and about killed the small amount of tolerance for writing my oldest had. We have used a few Bravewriter classes and I like the idea but they have seemed very pricey for what you get. It's hard for me to justify it, and since they are so short it's hard to really have that be something where she gets to interact with a class/teacher. I've also thought about Lukeion. We used them for four years with my oldest and it was a great fit so I'm familiar with them. But she's both creative and a perfectionist. I worry that Lukeion will stress her out. But maybe they are different for the non-Latin classes? I am looking for something ideally year long, or at least a semester. Live would be better. A mix of creative writing and essays would be fabulous, but not essential. It would be fine to combine with literature, she's a strong reader. Mostly something where she can write a lot and get feedback from a teacher and also have a bit of interaction with a class. She's a kid who longs to have assignments to put in her planner and loves classes where she gets to chat with the other students a bit.

There was a fair amount of writing in Latin 3 and definitely in the AP Latin 4. I can’t remember if there was any in Latin 2. He also did two English classes there (College Comp and Shakespeare). Those were also very good but I felt like it was really Latin that taught him how to write and that was because of Mrs. Barr. It’s a very specific kind of essay, but more important for my son was being forced to do it on a deadline and then that Mrs. Barr has such high standards. Learning how to master those essays have home the confidence to write other kinds of essays.

My oldest (now a senior) did Lukion 1-4. He really liked it and did well on the AP Latin Exam last year. He really liked Mrs. Barr. It was overall a great experience. It is rigorous and a lot of work but we were pleased with our experience. I think in Latin 1 and 2 that I'd guess he spent something like an hour a day on average. By AP Latin 4 it was probably more like an average of 8-10 hours a week because there is more writing and just a lot of translation. He is also a STEM kid (mostly Math) and not a writer or really that into languages; I think he liked Latin because it's somewhat logical. He is a fast reader and bright and generally a good student. He is not a natural writer and I credit Lukeion with really helping him with writing. Mrs. Barr was by far his hardest teacher in any setting he's every had and he often half-joked about being scared of her. Even to the point of trying to participate in his class from his phone on our lawn while we were in the midst of a house fire last spring (yes, seriously...he finally had to type into the chat that he had to go because the firemen wanted him to move.) He had it so ingrained that you NEVER miss class or are late. For him, it was a good thing. I think he liked rising to the challenge. He is also a competitive swimmer and he would sometimes compare her to his swim coach who has some of the same no-excuses mentality. We are fairly relaxed in our homeschool overall and he didn't do a ton of online classes other than Latin so having that experience of hard deadlines and no-excuses was good. Every year I gave him the option of switching to a different Latin class that might be less rigorous. I somewhat pushed that idea for junior year as I really wasn't sure he needed to spend so much time on Latin. But he very much wanted to stick it out and I think came out of the 4 years with a huge sense of achievement. This year he is juggling several demanding online AP classes and I think the experience with Lukion set him up for success. He didn't mind the names of the top students being listed as far as the exam scores. She doesn't ever call out people who did poorly. And again, as an athlete he has that competitive mindset a bit. I think he liked it when his name was listed (which was not often, he did well but wasn't usually one of the top three) but he didn't stress about it when it wasn't. I'll also say that he got great feedback from Mrs. Barr. She was hard on his writing when it wasn't good but in a constructive way. And then when she did praise him, he felt like he earned it. And she wrote a recommendation for him for college (I assume it was positive since he's gotten in everywhere he applied so far :)). All that said, it's a great experience for the right kid. My second son would never in a million years be a good fit for Lukeion. He's a totally different kid and learner.

Ds did AP Macro and AP Micro this year, both the one semester options. He is also doing AP Physics Mech and E&M this year. He has Burns for Econ and Kernion for Physics. Both have been fabulous and I've been very happy with them, which I guess isn't the original poster's question...but I figured it might help someone anyway. I would say neither is truly self-study. Slightly more Econ which has no live component. It does have a very detailed syllabus with specifically laid out assignments. Ds has LOVED the games and spends a lot of time on them and I think has learned a lot. He was in group that had conference calls about the games and got really into them so it also became a fun social thing. He hates to write so having to write papers quite often has been really good for him. As far as time, I'd guess he spends about an hour a day on average on Econ. He easily spends several hours a day on Physics on average. Physics has a live class every other week. The professor (Kernion) has also been very responsive. I've seen lots of emails in Ds's inbox discussing physics with various class members and the professor (someone asking questions). The lab kit was optional and inexpensive and I've been impressed by the labs he's done. I feel like both classes are somewhat interactive, but that might depend on the students. HIs Physics class also has some kind of chat going and they talk physics, I think. I feel like they have been well worth the money. If nothing else, ds has really loved both classes. He is now talking about possibly majoring in Physics (before it was just Math). I think he has gotten much more out of them than something that I put together or that he self-studied. The flexibility of the schedule has also been good as it gives him the ability to manage his work around other things going on .

Pretty much sort of both of these. I have notebooks that I write down weekly assignment in. My high schoolers figure out how they want to do the work in order to get it done. There are times we sit down and check-in or learn together but I don’t have a set amount of time they have to spend on anything. I find that a lot of times they get into one thing and then want to finish it. So one day might be a lot of time on Math and no Writing. Another day might be a little Math and a lot of time on an essay. Now with my senior, he pretty much has all classes that are outside except for a humanities course with me. So I basically check weekly his class websites to make sure he is on track and see how is doing. He keeps up with what he needs to do when. I have more regulated that they are spending time on the things they don’t like or that are hard for them. My now senior would happily spend all day on Math and never write a single word. My 9th grader is the opposite. So for each of them I have taken a more hands-on approach to the subject they would rather avoid. With subjects that are hard for them or they don’t like I am much more likely to focus on effort/time/masterythan completion of a certain amount of work. My senior wrote very few essays in terms of numbers in 9th grade because it was torture for him. So I allowed him to spend just a little bit of time regularly on writing. Now, he hates to write but he can write an essay in 30-45 min when he has to for a class (he has twice a week timed essays for one class). On the other hand, my 9th grader took 1 1/2 years to complete Algebra 1 and will likely take a similar amount of time to complete Geometry. I am much more concerned with him understanding the material than finishing it in a set amount of time. So I ask him to work every day, but it’s ok if it’s slow. If I asked him to keep up with the syllabus for the course he uses, he would absolutely rebel.

I echo the advice to double check that they mean that taking classes won’t affect financial aid or scholarships. Ds is a senior and will take a gap year. It’s always been part of our plan so I contacted colleges last summer asking about their policies. Every single one (and they are all small private LA colleges ) said the same thing: Sure, gap year fine. If you take any college classes for credit you become a transfer student and have to change the way you apply for aid and it makes you ineligible for scholarships. All the ones he applied to will allow him to defer his scholarships, again unless he takes classes. So I’d just double check. There is a difference between allowing you to do it, or even accepting the credit and it not causing issues with financial aid.

If your daughter is not applying to BS/MD programs, don’t worry about shadowing or intern kind of things now. Med schools really don’t care what you did in high school. They will look more at research, volunteering, shadowing kinds of things that you do in college. (I’m a pediatrician and have been involved in med school applications. 🙂 )

I am doing Psychology this year with a 9th grader. This kid would hate any kind of textbook. He’s my most unschooly kid. We are using Crash Course Psychology as a backbone. I did fine a worksheet/notes go-along for it on Teacher Pay Teachers which has helped pull out the main points. We are then adding on movies, books, podcasts, textbooks, etc. For books so far he has read The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Anthropologist on Mars. Movies we’ve watched are Awakenings and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I am planning on watching others on this list: https://psychmovies.com. They have it divided by topic and also a list for high schoolers that takes out all the R movies if you want to do that. We’ve used several of The Hidden Brain podcasts, some from Invisibilia and a smattering of TedTalks. I had him take a few personality tests this week as that was the Crash Course lessons we did. Then we had an oral debate over whether or not they were useful. He kind of got off track a bit with an essay assignment and spent a lot of time independently studying identity and self from a more philosophical standpoint so I let him do that and kept Psych light for a bit around the holidays.

This is what we are doing with my second son. He sounds very similar to the OP’s son. He has ADD. He was 13 in 8th grade when he started Algebra I. It took him about a year and a half to finish. We took the summer off, which I had mixed feelings about. I don’t think it’s a great idea but we had a house fire and in the middle of the pandemic everything was too chaotic. We all needed a break and I couldn’t fight him to do math all summer. He was able to pick back up in the fall and finish fine. He just started Geometry and will likely take a year or possibly 1 1/2 years to finish. I plan to put 9th grade for Algebra I and likely 10th grade for Geometry.

This just came up here. Ds has used AOPS all the way through and did the Calc book first semester. He self-studies and doesn’t do the online class. He took a practice AP calc exam and realized he had to have a calculator. We had never gotten him one, so we did. I mentioned how weird it was that he was required to have a calculator and he mentioned that on all his other standardized tests he’s done, everyone has one but him. I was mind-blown. He’s done very very well on standardized testing so it hasn’t been an issue for him but I did realize this was one of those holes in education I was blind to. I do figure that leaning to use a calculator will probably be an easier hole to fill than others would be, so it’s not too bad. But I’m glad we figured it out now in January. This is what we ended up doing. Ds has used AoPS on his own all along and it’s been great. Given the choice of doing an “official” AP class or a DE class or using AOPS he chose to keep using AoPS. (The online classes don’t work for us due to timing. They are all night here and ds is a swimmer who gets up at 3:45 AM. Plus he likes the self-teaching.) So I hired a homeschool grad who was a math major and they meet once a week on Zoom. They worked through the Calc book last semester so are doing the Counting and Probability book now and also working through old AP exams. I’ts been a great solution. It’s not cheap but it would be about the same cost of a DE class or an online class and I feel like it’s working really well. If nothing else, he really enjoys having someone to talk math with who understands it. He’s used to telling the rest of us stuff and we just glaze over.

Ok...I’m really only posting so that if someone else has a weird plan for next year they will feel better after seeing all the super rigorous plans.😃 My rising 10th grader is my most out of the box kid. The big question factor for our planning is how much travel we allow him to do next year. My oldest will be doing a gap year and the current plan is to drive around the country visiting every state. Obviously, that is assuming Covid is more under control and things are more back to normal. Rising 10th grader wants to go and we will likely let him go for a significant portion. If he does that I will create some kind of geography/history/literature course based on where they travel. That will take care of humanities. He currently does ASL online with Open Tent and he really likes it and will continue. He could do that while traveling. And he does Math with Derek Owens, he could also keep that up while traveling. He is starting an Animation course this month and I bet he will want to continue or maybe just do art on his own which is kind of a constant anyway for him. He also has talked about doing a podcast while they travel. If he travels a fair amount I think it will be a year off of formal science. But he is a huge consumer of non-fiction so I can throw in some science that way. If the travel doesn’t happen...then it will probably be all the same courses but we will use Simplify’s Global Perspectives Curriculum for Humanities and probably have him take Chemistry at our co-op.

I answered that it was the most rigorous. Because we had chosen classes that are rigorous. Is it absolutely the most rigorous he could have done? No, of course not...but it was comparable to a very rigorous curriculum at our local high school. And I figured they were going to ignore my answer anyway as a homeschooler. I felt like I could honestly say it was rigorous and if I put anything other than most rigorous it would only potentially hurt him. As to this thread...I totally agree with what has been said here. We are lucky to be in an area that has easy access to AP exams for homeschoolers so that isn't an issue for us. Oldest is a good test taker and had very high SAT/ACT scores so I felt like that in itself was a validation of sorts. He did take some AP exams but not as many as a lot of kids (when he applied he had taken 3). He is taking 5 more this year but mostly because the classes were ones he was interested in and wanted to take at that level and it's the two Physics and two Econ classes, so that equals 4 tests. He is self-studying for Calc with AOPS and other materials. He has a lot of "validation" in Math and Science and virtually none other than the SAT in English or Humanities. He did take the AP Latin exam but all his other exams have been Math/Science. All that said, he has gotten in to 8 schools so far. He is applying to small LAC and none of them had extra requirements for homeschoolers. I think the exams helped but I also think the overall application was probably looked at more than it might have been at a big school. I know a lot of people say finances keep them from looking at a private school, but we found that all the schools will be cheaper than our state schools with the aid he has been given (mostly merit). My second son who is a freshman now will be a different story. He is not a good test taker and totally uninterested in learning anything "for a test" or inside the box. I'm hoping that by embracing a fully quirky outside the box non-traditional high school approach he will find a place somewhere. 🙂 I know everyone's experience is different and I agree that the focus on testing and on forcing all kids to take AP tests is a huge issue. But I wanted to post to say to people who might not have kids in high school yet that there are avenues open to them that might not require doing a tremendous number of AP tests a year. That's especially true if you are looking at smaller places or not trying for Ivies or super-competitive schools.

Just to report. I had my second dose Friday (Pfizer) and have had no real side effects. I had heard that the second dose was worse. My arm was more sore and I did have some muscle aches in the middle of the night that could have been related. But it was all very minor.

I agree! I finally signed up for Tap this year and it's been fantastic. I am terrible, but it's still really fun. And such a stress relief. It's on Friday nights and I feel l like I get out all the frustrations of the week. I also have realized it's the most mindful thing I do. If I think about anything other than what my feet are supposed to be doing...I can't dance. So I have to just focus on dance and whatever other things that are worrying me or stressing me out go away for an hour.

My oldest took the SAT or ACT every year starting in 8th grade. I figured I'd rather use it to fulfill our end of year requirement than the Iowa (which we use and find not really that helpful other than as a box checker). I thought at least having him practice taking a test that he needed to take eventually would be good. I just made it very clear the first year that he wouldn't know all the Math (he was doing AOPS Algebra but hadn't had Geometry) and that I didn't really care how he did. I will say I knew that he was a good test taker. I planned on having my second son do the same thing, even more so because he is not a good test taker. He has ADHD and gets distracted and also way overthinks every question. He is an outside the box thinker and I have had to tell him so many times that standardized tests are about the NORMAL answer, not the "well, maybe in this weird circumstance" kind of answer. So he just needs to learn to take a test that he finds boring and stupid. He wasn't able to do it last year due to Covid and I'm not sure if I'll do it this year. I wouldn't if it was now. We'll see in June. As for the score jump, I always just hoped that colleges would be able to see that if a kid took a test in 9th grade and then again in 10th grade you would expect their score to jump due to learning more stuff.

Have you tried timed free writing? Where you set a timer and then just have to write for 15 min (or whatever time)? The rule is you can write anything (even something like "this is stupid" over and over) but you have to keep writing. I find my reluctant writers are more amenable if I also do it with them. Then we share, but it's optional to share what we wrote. Other thoughts...one of my kids really likes outlining. He's more of a logical thinker so outlining really helps him where a more free-form brainstorming doesn't. Another of my kids who is a good writer really pushes against it if he thinks the prompts are stupid. I don't know if your program is one where you could change the prompt or allow her to write something else. Or maybe a free write first on what would be better prompts and then she can see if any of those topics can fit into the original prompt.

Even weirder is that our dog loves snow but hates all other water. Although we don’t get very much so maybe it’s just the novelty.

I got my first dose right before Christmas. I had a bit of a sore arm, kind of like a tetanus shot. No fever, no generalized symptoms. All the other docs at my office, and my SIL who is a doc have gotten it with similar minimal side effects. Same with the nurses and front desk staff at our office.

I went on a long walk in the rain yesterday also. It was great. I made my kids come and they enjoyed it too even though there was much complaining beforehand. Weirdly, I have the one lab in the world who hates water. She will usually walk with me even if it’s wet but she puts the breaks on for anyone else.

Hello! I'm on a journey to being healthier. I had some successes last year. : I gave up a decade's long Diet Coke habit (I don't even want to admit how much I drank a day). I started tap-dance classes which has been a long time goal of mine but I think I had been waiting to do it until I lost weight. I finally just started and it's been so fun. The teacher is awesome and so good with beginners. We are able to go in a safe way in person and they also have it on Zoom. The people on Zoom look really fun, so look forward to when we are all together. At 48, I'm probably the average age in the class and the Zoomers are all older. I also started swimming semi-regularly last summer and continued in the fall. My current exercise goals: -Walking outside every day at least 15 minutes. This is as much for fitness as mental health. I find that I really am in a much better mood when I'm outside at least a little every day. I set the bar low because I do better at being consistent when I'm trying to keep up a streak BUT I also tend to get frustrated and give up entirely if I break that streak. So I didn't want to do mileage or steps. I wanted to do something that I knew I could do every day, even when it's horrible weather or when I have a really long day at work. -Swimming consistently. This is a little hard becuase we have to sign up for lap lane space at the Rec Center and it can fill up. But my goal is to go 2-3 times a week. -Tap class I'd like to add in Yoga and Strength training slowly. My daughter is a dancer and has been doing "stretching sessions" with the whole family over the pandemic which has been really good. We are going vegetarian as a family for the month of January. My middle son has been a vegetarian since he was 6 by his own choice and he went vegan in October. So we're fairly used to having veggie options. I also signed up again for Noom. I had tried it once before but ended up giving up because we had a house fire last year and I just got off track. I think it's a reasonably good program and if nothing else it keeps me accountable. And they had a huge sale so the price was pretty minimal.

Ds has gotten mutliple things from one school that shares his name. It’s kind of fun becasuse I don’t think that’s where he’ll end up but he now has a blanket, socks, a glass straw and some other stuff all essentially personalized. 🙂

Thanks. We really liked Messiah when we visited. But partially it was because we went for a swim recruiting event and so got to really meet a lot of people. I think both my son and I felt like it was a great fit...but we also realize that it’s hard to judge a lot of other places because we can’t visit. We also like Calvin, although haven’t visited. My son’s name is Calvin so that is providing us all kinds of amusement right now. They have sent him stuff with “Calvin” on it so our family joke is that if nothing else comes out of it he’ll have a glass straw and banner and socks with his name on them. 😁 I told my other kids their new strategy is to find school’s that have their name so they can also get personalized swag if accepted.

I just bought a bunch of the Subpar stickers for various family members. We went on a trip to Utah last year and did a bunch of National Parks so I think the kids will love it. I personally LOVE the wooden anatomy ornaments. I can't see spending $24.00 on one just for me though and I can't think of anyone else who would appreciate it in my life. If you have a Math lover in your family this is a great website: https://mathsgear.co.uk. It is international shipping but the things themselves are pretty reasonable. Oldest son is a huge fan of Matt Parker so I got him the newest book and it's a signed copy. Amazon had the book, but not signed. I also got him a 120 sided die which he is going to love.

I got the mugs for my sons for their birthdays this fall. They are really fun and actually also very attractive.

These are too funny. I might have to get the Grand Canyon one for my 11 year old who famously (in our family) declared it the most boring hike she had ever been on last year. Granted, we had just been to Zion and Bryce so she was a little over the beautiful rocks and scenery.