I don't think you can do harm at this age (unless the work sucks out the enjoyment). There is a good, free middle school microscope unit here that you could do: https://gsoutreach.gs.washington.edu/files/amazingcellsbook.pdf

I still really like Ellen McHenry's books for this age. There is a lot of meat there, fun activities, video links, etc. You can pick the things that really work for your child whether they are visual or kinesthetic learners. I like the size and flexibility of them. The ones that would cover some Life Science/Biology topics would be Botany, Cells, and The Brain, as well as Carbon Chemistry, but that one is often linked with The Elements instead. You would still need something separate that would cover evolution, and something to cover other human systems, but she also has an anatomy study guide too, I think. My 8th grader did The Brain book this quarter, in addition to her Biology class. My 6th grader is doing the Botany book right now. HTH!

This was going to be my suggestion as well.

Veritaserum's free Classical House of Learning literature.

Addressing the grammar issue only... My kids have really solid English grammar. That is making the study of Latin and Russian easier here. The oldest had no foreign language exposure whatsoever in elementary school (she started at home with me in 7th). I agree that learning languages takes hours of work, but that having rock solid grammar can only help. For us, MCT grammar worked quickly to make these skills strong. I think your goals are laudable. If they were mine, I would focus on immersion learning of the Spanish while they are young, since that is the only language that they need to speak fluently. I would simultaneously master English grammar. There is no harm in also doing workbooks that take little time and make them comfortable with a different alphabet and familiar with the languages that you want them to master later, but I would not count on that reducing the amount of study those languages will take later.

This made me giggle - I have a figure skater with the same mentality. Give her something difficult, and she is focused and determined. Ask her to do something easy and all bets are off.

What does she want to study in college? Maybe an in depth etymology study? For someone interested in any technical field, a technical writing course could be useful. Is she studying a modern foreign language? Could she do literature of that culture and papers related to that? Is she into theater or movies? She could do a drama or film analysis class with writing.

I leave my 11 and 13 year olds alone together all the time. They get along well and are responsible. They also both babysit young kids, so I figure if other people are willing to trust them with their preschoolers, I can trust them alone. ETA: I started gradually leaving them alone for very short periods of time from the time the youngest was 8.

Here is information about summer workshops offered by "Onion By the Sea" teacher Julia Denne. Cost of each workshop is $50, and sibling discounts are available. A nice way to get a little bit of literature study worked into a short time frame commitment with a really good teacher. The registration for two summer workshops "The Government Inspector" (July 7 and 14 at noon CST) and "19th Century Russian Supernatural Stories" (August 10, 12, and 14 at 6:30 pm CST) is finally open. Here is the link: http://bytheonionsea.com/2015/05/01/registration-for-online-summer-workshops-for-teens-the-government-inspector-and-19th-century-russian-supernatural-stories/ Here is the description of "The Government Inspector" workshop: http://bytheonionsea.com/online-classes/2015-summer-workshop-gogols-the-government-inspector/ Here is the description of "19th Century Russian Supernatural Stories" workshop: http://bytheonionsea.com/online-classes/2015-summer-workshop-19th-century-russian-supernatural-stories/

Agreed, they could only be a portion, not complete. We used it as a part of our math and science for 5th grade, but not for all of it.

I just want to thank the OP for posting this. My nephew (now 10) is like this, but according to my mom has been getting a little better this year after being in therapy for anxiety. We only see him 1-2 times a year, so he has never gotten comfortable enough to really talk to me. I just always considered him rude and thought my brother and his wife should require him to at least be polite when people talk to him. (I have never said a critical word - just thought this in my head.) This thread gave me more understanding and compassion for him. Good wishes to you as you deal with this challenge with your daughter.

I think that the prepositional phrase "in the district Monday night" is misplaced. The way it is written means the parents were talking about the way things were on Monday night, rather rather some time previously. The "on Monday night" should be moved to the beginning of the sentence which would remove the time discrepancy in the sentence. I like this better: On Monday night Lakeville Area School District parents spoke about the way some things used to be in the district ...

Is he a willing student? Are there LD's? Could you meet with a public school guidance counselor and see what kind of plan they would set up for him if he were to go to school, and follow a similar plan? Could he go to public school? Could he do a virtual school? What does he want to do? Sorry to have only questions for you rather than answers, but these are the questions I would be asking myself in your situation. I mean this only kindly, but if you don't have time to homeschool him, then why not send him to school?

Take this for what it is worth, but I would vote yes, to do it now. I love Earth/Space science because it is such an easy science to appreciate in everyday life. I when you are traveling it is so cool to look at a landscape and understand the forces that formed that region. To sit out on a hillside and stargaze at night or understand exactly what is happening when you see a lunar or solar eclipse. To pick up a rock and be able to identify it and what it might tell you about the area. It might not be considered the challenging science to take for the STEM kid, but it has real, everyday value in appreciating our world.

Unless there are learning reasons that this dc needs a lower reading level for history and literature, I agree with SilverMoon. I think that doing only SotW seems a little light for 8th grade. Otherwise, it looks like you have the basic HS requirements met.

Can I have your dh's papadums recipe? I'm not afraid of a few calories (or microwaves) on occasion for such a yummy treat!

We did this experiment for a science project a few years back after I had heard the same thing. The plants watered with microwaved boiled water grew just as well as with tap water and with filtered water.

I voted other because I think that it can be a good starting point for further investigations or for demonstrating something that is too dangerous to do at home. I wouldn't (and don't) hesitate to use it as part of a unit for a fun intro to a topic or wrap-up.

http://www.annenbergclassroom.org/pages.aspx?name=critical-thinking-lesson-plans&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1 I have had these Annenberg Classroom critical thinking lesson plan bookmarked for a while, but haven't tried them.

When my daughter took it earlier this year, she finished everything with time to check answers, except math. She did not get to the last 4-5 math problems. ETA: She took the ACT.

I have the Mills book and would be willing to read your guide for you. I was my high school newspaper editor once upon a time and still have a pretty good eye for catching things.

As a family we will have 10 days vacation and the girls will do the woodturners convention with grandma again. The 3 of us will do 1 wk Chamber Music day camp together (I may help teach again), My older daughter is my child who does not know how to relax and just chill. She wants to: finish Biology, do Fred Trigonometry, finish Second Form Latin, MP Lit class on Midsummer Night's Dream and 2 week long local teen Shakespeare workshop, 1 wk figure skating camp, and lots of ice skating and piano. Younger daughter knows how to chill. She plans a 1 day kayak adventure at local nature reserve, 1 wk digital photography day camp, and she will continue AOPS algebra, piano and violin. She may volunteer at some of our church's summer day camps (older daughter wants to do this too, but I don't see how she can add anything else).

I had read many opinions on this that said that Chemistry was really needed before trying AP Bio due to the amount of BioChemistry it covers. Could you do a conceptual Chemistry instead?

All people who work with Children or youth in our church have a background check, go through training on safe practices and identifying when abuse may be happening. We also have 2 deep coverage for all classrooms, and all doors are either open, or have glass windows in them.

Our district allows 9th graders to take AP classes. Dual enrollment is only open to 11th & 12th graders. I don't know if they would accept AP tests taken in middle school toward high school graduation credit though.