We're doing a Decades Book for US history this year. It's kind of like a digital scrapbook with a page for each decade (we're doing 1770's to 2000's). She includes important people, places, events, cultural developments, etc. We've only been at it two weeks but so far she is having fun with it.

According to the how-to file I found on CB's website, you should be able to download the sample syllabi as part of the registration process. But I just googled AP Human Geography sample syllabus and it came up.

And another one (or two or three) in February!

Is it worth it to have your syllabus audited by the College Board so you can call a course AP on the transcript? Anybody been through the process? I see that there are options to adopt an existing syllabus and/or unit guides, but I'm not sure what that means in terms of practical implementation. I don't think I would attempt to write my own syllabus. I just get too bogged down in all the educationese. DD15 will be doing AP Human Geography and taking the exam, whether or not we do the course audit.

That is NOT okay! No, no NO!

Or better yet, those generic workbooks from Walmart or the dollar store...

Quoting myself to add this corollary: If you don't know the answer to a factual question, DON'T ANSWER IT. Just had to correct no fewer than THREE comments on a post on a local group that was less than 15 minutes old because they were all flat wrong. They all started with, "I think..." or "Maybe..." No, AP exams are not only available to public school students. No, dual enrollment is not the same thing. No, you can't take an AP exam at a community college. I miss the ::headdesk:: emoji...

Yes this is a major problem I'm seeing. No amount of supplementation can turn an elementary program into a high school-appropriate curriculum. The biggest issue IMO with both veterans and newbies is jumping in on every single thread to push their favorite curriculum without even bothering to ask the most basic questions. I understand why someone who is new and overwhelmed would ask a question like "What's the best curriculum?" even though we all know that's almost never the right question to ask. But I am galled at the number of people who take that question at face value and use the opportunity to evangelize on behalf of Easy Peasy or TGATB or CC or whatever their pet program is. And it's very much evangelism, what I am seeing. MLM-type tactics. Veterans should know better and newbies should have some humility about what they don't know.

I can't ever let this one go either. I have to say something whenever it comes up. I am not someone who thinks that all students should get through calc in high school, but algebra 1? Yeah, sorry -- I think that's the BARE minimum for any NT kid. And the assertion that it's a waste of time to teach is so appallingly anti-intellectual that it's almost unbelievable. Of course, it's usually accompanied by the statement, "I want to teach math that my kids will use in real life," which pretty much is proof of concept right there.

Oh yeah. I've literally seen people say, "I don't want to waste my time teaching algebra."

This is the one that always gets me. I'm sorry, but if my high schooler is done in two hours a day, she's getting more work. Period. My number-one goal is to teach my kids to THINK, and if they are blowing through six or eight subjects in two hours, they aren't having to think hard enough. Of course, every time I say this, I'm accused of advocating "busy work." Just to be clear: We don't do busy work in our school. We also don't check boxes. We do work that is carefully designed to appropriately challenge the student at his or her current level.

Medical coding? My mom just retired from a hospital system; she oversaw all their coders. They all work from home and are only required to come in for meetings maybe once or twice a year. Great flexibility, benefits and pay. Not sure about starting salary and I'm sure it depends on the exact position and location but many of her employees were making in the $25-$35/hr range. You will need certification so there is an upfront cost but it will pay for itself quickly. If you already have a science background you'll have a leg up.

Well, we haven't done it yet, but... I ordered two kits from Pax Domini Press. Each includes a workbook on a specific theme and a craft kit. The biggest problem I ran into was being able to find a kit that wasn't intended for 50 or 100 kids and didn't cost a fortune. These were perfect. But I think you could do something similar by piggybacking off a theme you liked and copying the assigned Bible stories for the week and searching Pinterest for crafts or songs or snack ideas. That's what I thought I would do initially -- I figured we could use our children's Bible to read the stories and discuss, sing a hymn, and do some type of activity. I was glad to find Pax Domini though because a) the mainstream publishers don't always fit with our theology anyway and b) it will be so much easier for me to have everything planned out since I'm already spending a lot of time this summer planning for next year. The biggest drawback was that they are a small company and it took longer than I expected to get my order.

I was popping in to suggest Johnson as well. I'm almost finished and it's fantastic!

Ours is cancelled. I ordered a small packet of materials and am going to have a mini-VBS with ds here at home, probably at the beginning of August when dd has already started her schoolwork. My parents' church is having theirs. It's HUGE and as far as I can tell there are zero precautions being taken. I'm not sure how they will get away with it legally -- I guess it qualifies under the church exemption maybe, but it's not a service so IMO it shouldn't. I wouldn't send my kids there ever for non-Covid-related reasons, but if I were you, I wouldn't feel bad at all about telling your church your daughters won't be able to assist at your VBS this year. The only way I would suggest they change things is if specifically asked. I wouldn't want it to come across like an ultimatum, you know?

If it's required by law, I missed that point. It's not required by law here. Regardless, my answer stays the same. Pastors are human. I expect they also drive 10 miles over the speed limit on occasion too. You're not going to find a pastor who doesn't do wrong.

You're going to have disagreements with a pastor no matter where you are. So will your kids. Because pastors are, you know, human. And sinners. And so are you. I'd honestly explain this as a disagreement to my kids. That's exactly what we did when our pastor decided to continue services at the beginning of the pandemic (he later stopped when our governor issued a stay-at-home order). We let the pastor know that we disagreed, and we discussed the the kids our reasons for remaining home in order to protect our neighbors. They are smart enough to get it. Sincere people can disagree. They are still kids and still under your roof, so they should respect your authority as their parents and mask if you require it -- and your pastor should support both your decision to mask and your kids' responsibility to honor their parents. As long as that is happening, I would extend grace and teach your kids to do the same. It's a good lesson for them to learn.

My dh has been into soap lately. He's really getting bored being quarantined, I guess, lol. His favorites are Dr. Squatch and Duke Cannon. I personally prefer the scents from Dr. Squatch, but he likes Duke Cannon because it lasts much longer. He asked for a soap-on-a-rope pouch to put the soap in (think manly loofah) so that's what he's getting.

Yes, Yes, YES!!! Count me in!

My two favorites are Fighting for the Faith and Issues, Etc. Issues tackles some cultural/current events but also includes great teaching.

Hahaha, no worries. Thank you for responding! My dd is liking the format of Aleks, but I'm also finding it pretty frustrating. To be honest she probably won't even take the exam, so I'm not so worried about that. But I can't even tell if it is supposed to be a full curriculum, or just extra practice, or what?! I guess if they consider themselves a textbook, it would be a full stats curriculum? She is strongly opposed to taking an online class for various reasons, but I need something that will at least give her enough feedback to know that she's mastering the material, as I'm not equipped to do so myself. Based off the piddly "free trial" they offer, she thinks she can roll through it in a few weeks, which makes me wonder if it's enough. We were only aiming for a half-credit, but still... I really do appreciate your answering!!

I know this thread is old, but I'm resurrecting in order to see if @freesia ever got an answer to her questions, or ended up using Aleks AP Stats? If so, how was it? Considering it for dd but I can't get a read on whether it is enough by itself or not.

We get takeout at least once a week. We try to patronize local restaurants that are struggling after the SAH orders. No worries here at all. I was just at the doctor's office today and my doctor was saying how glad he was to finally get to eat in a restaurant last week after restrictions were lifted here. So that made me feel a lot better about going out more.

You may not want him to spend more time online since he already has some things planned, but Varsity Tutors is offering free virtual summer camps. Maybe one or more of those might appeal to him?

Wow, really?! That's annoying, especially given the price point. And the fact that, as you say, the AP folks have us over a barrel. 😒 Good to hear we could probably get by with the 11th edition at least. Would love to hear about the projects your ds did.