So helpful because we also did Singapore (Math in Focus) to Dolciani. Thank you!

So we have been working through the Dolciani Algebra II with Trigonometry book. We are doing the Trig parts as well as the Algebra parts following the suggested schedule in the teacher book but I did add some additional Algebra concepts (e.g., sequences) that weren't in the schedule. I flipped forward to see what chapters in the Alg II book (from the end of the book) are not on my schedule and what they contain--those concepts include matrices, determinants, probability and statistics. I had planned on him doing Larson's Pre-Calculus next year. So I went to look at that TOC to make sure matrices, determinants, etc. are covered (I assumed they were, but wanted to confirm) and I noticed that there is a LOT of repetition from what we have covered this year. I did a quick google and one site said some kids move straight from Alg II with Trig to Calculus. This was never my plan. I had looked at WHA's schedule and they use the Larson text after the Dolciani Alg II text. I guess they could have just covered the Alg concepts in the Dolciani text. I have no way of knowing. Am I messing us up somehow by covering Pre-Calc next year? I can't see how it would be totally bad to re-cover some of the ground again to make sure it is solid. I suppose we could accelerate if it is really easy? Thoughts? @daijobu

I'm so sorry that you have to do surgery! No advice, just prayers. I do know some people whose kids have had spinal surgery with Children's if you need a second opinion, etc.

As a former environmental consultant, let me just say there is a whole lot of chemistry in environmental science, if that is the major she sticks with. Ecology and conservation--has it sometimes--it depends on if she leans toward natural resources conservation (e.g. naturalist) versus natural resources protection (e.g. EPA). That said, even a naturalist is going to learn to look out for sources of pollution and their impact. Getting a good chemistry class in now may help her further refine her choice of major. I recommend a solid chemistry class. If she needs motivation, she could spend some time reading up on Superfund cleanup sites, drinking water contamination issues of the last couple of decades, etc. I think perhaps once she reads those, she will understand better how chemistry is a part of environmental science in general. This college has many majors relating to the environment, ranging from forestry to engineering. Just FYI if she wants to explore the spectrum of options https://www.esf.edu/departments/

work most likely. I would love for them to go to a camp but we can't begin to afford it.

This. One of the groups I am on only allows bumps once per week and you can't post pictures in comments as a way of bumping your listing either. Other groups don't seem to care.

I was going to suggest Northanger Abbey as well as it sort of makes fun of the "gothic novel" of that time period. It would be fun.

For sci-fi, not a short story, but short--The Time Machine by H.G. Wells You could also consider the science trilogy by C.S. Lewis (Out of the Silent Planet, etc.)

You can use ACT, SAT or as frankincense suggested, CLT. My oldest took the CLT10 last year in 9th and this year my 9th grader will take it. It can be taken at home, which is a huge plus. It meant that we could avoid cancellations in the middle of the pandemic as well as the stress of "test day" for ACT and SAT. My current sophomore took the ACT this year.

Actually, insurance is NOT included media mail. You have to purchase it extra. For priority mail, only $50 of insurance is included. If the materials are worth over $50, you need to add insurance (if you want insurance). Also note if you seek reimbursement for items insured, they will want to know what those items are and their value. They won't just reimburse you the $50 included with priority mail. You will have to prove the worth of the items.

You are responsible if the package is lost, UNLESS you bought insurance. I buy insurance on high value items because I don't want to eat the cost if the post office loses a package (it does happen). That said, right now, and for the past four plus months, the postal service has been really slow. So "an appropriate time" is something that you can dispute. If you can show via your tracking number (free when you purchase postage via Paypal) that the package is on its way, they shouldn't be able to dispute that it is not there yet (unless it has been literally months). I had a package take six weeks to get to Alaska.

Is a bear/raccoon proof trash can an option? They seem pricey but we have had our trash can for a really long time (it's not bear proof)

our trucks sometimes come around 4:30 a.m. so everyone puts them out at night. Our cans stay closed pretty well. Have you noticed your neighbor's trash in the street (indicating critters got into it?)

We do a mix of what 8 and Regenetrude did with other approaches. I do have a certain percentage of the grade come from tests and quizzes, if the subject has them. Homework is a certain percentage of the grade but is graded for mastery. Sometimes a course will have essays or a project and that is a certain percentage of the grade. It varies by course, really. For history, we do a lot of discussion, and I also treat that as "mastery" grading.

Just to note that if you get K12's World History Our Human Story it is basically the content of all three volumes in one, as I understand it.

Oh no!! I am so sorry!

I've noticed some of the things the OP has mentioned when using Duolingo. I agree with @Matryoshka though. Duolingo is by itself a very imperfect tool for learning a language. I feel like sometimes (even with "tips") they sort of throw you in and expect you to figure out grammatical concepts by trial and error. I know this would really frustrate my kids. It's okay for me, because I have at least a decent foundation in Spanish grammar, and I am using it mainly to "bring back" my Spanish and add new vocabulary. I would try another tool if I was going to have my kids learn Spanish from scratch. I have heard good things about ULAT, Homeschool Spanish Academy, mango languages, etc. Some libraries have services like mango languages for free. Ours has something called Transparent Languages but I know very little about it. I was pretty far along with Duolingo when I found it and didn't want to start over.

This is another thread about online Great Books courses, which is (very generally) what Great Conversation and CLRC Great Books are.

Another comment--Great Conversation is what they call an integrated humanities class. It is history/lit and theology combined into one class. So you would give credit for each--I think the last time I checked it was one credit lit, one credit history, 0.5 credit theology. Other options in this vein are CLRC's Great Books class that is combined history, lit and composition. Note that the GC class does NOT teach composition although you are expected to write papers. Also other options are Wasko Lit + Write at Home which would be two separate classes, one for lit and one for comp. The lit reading load is more substantial with Wasko, and the homework is as well, and will take a lot more time than HHL.

My youngest has Thomas Banks for Ancient lit. The class is a lot smaller than Angelina's lit classes (probably 8 students). He is really different from Ms. Stanford as a teacher--she is really, really lively and enthusiastic. He is enthusiastic--definitely loves the works, but he expresses it in a much more subdued way. You can tell he loves the stuff he is teaching, and he is a good teacher. The other thing I have noticed, and this may be different for the modern lit class which my oldest is taking next year, is that in the ancients class he likes to read passages in class and then stop on occasion and talk about them. Ms. Stanford does a lot of reading/sharing content from various commentaries like C.S. Lewis' and Banks does not do that. Since Banks has a background in the Classics he is well steeped in history and can put things in their historical context really well. The only other comment, which is not a negative, is that perhaps he is a bit less aware of some of the popular fiction as Angelina is--for example, he has not read Harry Potter in years, etc. Sometimes the kids will bring up something in a series they have read like Percy Jackson or Harry Potter and he doesn't know anything about it. Again, not a negative, but I suspect Angelina would have read those out of curiousity. 😃

Aack. Yes, I left a couple words out. I fixed it above. But yes, no complaints.

I have not used any QSL labs other than the chemistry microchem kit, and we only used it for a few labs where I was assisting another teacher. The microchem labs (which is the only QSL chem lab I am familiar with) are exactly that -- micro + chem So basic chemical experiments done on a micro scale. For some things where the chemicals/raw materials needed can be quite pricey, this really makes a lot of sense. That is why we used the microchem kit for those experiments. However, I did these labs about three or four years ago and at times it was really hard to see the reaction that we were supposed to see because it was so small. YMMV of course. Both of us (teachers) were in our 40s. Many of the students also struggled to see the reaction at times. So just keep that in mind. I think it is a tool that has its place. In some cases, the larger scale experiment might be more helpful but the larger scale experiment might also require expensive chemicals and create waste that needs to be disposed of in a specific way. As far as how it is written, ease of following the instructions, etc,-- there was nothing that we had complaints about, unlike the other labs we were doing (Novare) that sometimes required a rework of the steps. ETA: I have not fully planned my chemistry for next year, but I do own the microchem kit and I probably will substitute some of the experiments for microchem kit ones because of the reasons I mentioned above. I might need a magnifying glass for myself. LOL

So you are right, most classes are combined lit and comp. However, I wanted my kids to have lit that was based in certain time periods to correlate with their history, and in order to do that, I had to have them take a separate lit and comp class. So they will get credit for lit, and credit for comp, and the classes will be listed separately because the providers have indicated they are both full credit hour courses. How much work that ends up being is going to depend on the provider. For us, it is doable mostly because the lit class is very manageable. Also if you wanted, you could so something like Wasko Lit + Write at Home and adjust the comp bit of it to be less than a credit hour. From a practical standpoint, this has allowed me to disentangle reading from writing. So where I have a kid who is stronger or weaker in writing, I can adjust their comp course selection accordingly. All that to say, I am sure we are oddballs in this regard, but you can split them. 😃

@daijobu the images didn't show up, unfortunately. I got the impression that Mr. Tarrou makes his students fill out the unit circle often as a way of getting the values down and there in their minds for quick retrieval. I guess I am just trying to assess the best way to do this--use a blank unit circle and practice filling it in regularly? The other day when I was doing some problems I sketched the unit circle so that I could use it for the problems. That helped me when I was finding coterminal angles, coordinates, etc. But I would think sketching the unit circle first would take a few minutes, so I was wondering if a normal math teacher would just expect you to know the values without sketching it. I guess that is sort of my question?