My dd attended a traditional school for 9th and 10th ... do we need to get course descriptions for all of those or can I just indicate that they were taken with an accredited school?

My daughter wants to do French in a class setting and its been a challenge to figure out exactly how that's going to happen. Spanish is everywhere but she's not interested. If you're looking for online options, Monarch/Alpha Omega is a good one. Also check Potter's School, PA Homeschoolers, and BYU Independent Study. Our homeschool group uses Spanish I- BJU Press (1st or 2nd edition) and Activities Manual Spanish I - BJU Press (1st or 2nd edition). Our previous group uses: Déclic 1 Méthodes de français and workbook: Déclic 1 Cahier d’exercices

Just throwing this out there as an option ... many universities are accepting American Sign Language as a foreign language now.

Coursera has some good refresher courses (I'm scheduled to take the Chemistry soon). I would do a search for different science MOOCs and see what's available. There are also some good YouTube offerings that explain things in detail. I took science in high school, passed hs Physics by the skin of my teeth and had to re-take my college Geology once and Chemistry twice just to graduate. I feel your pain! Science isn't my strong suit at all.

Which science is it?

Here's a multi-level plan from Our Busy Homeschool: http://ourbusyhomeschool.com/world-geography-and-cultures-multilevel-plan/

Are you familiar with Hands of a Child unit studies? http://www.handsofachild.com/world-war-ii-curriculum.html We've not used the WW2 project pack, but have been very happy with the others we've completed. The lapbook kits are generally for younger kids (there's a lot of cutting and pasting) - the note pack is the same information in notebooking form. We also like Time Travelers: http://homeschoolinthewoods.com/HTTA/TTS/WWII.htm WW2 Sampler: http://homeschoolinthewoods.com/HTTA/TTS/HTTA-WWII-Sampler.pdf ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Freebies: Also this one: http://jimmiescollage.com/2010/04/world-war-2-lapbook/ Timeline: http://practicalpages.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/world-war-two-timeline.pdf Anne Frank Timeline: http://www.education.com/files/265601_265700/265627/anne-frank-timeline-worksheet.pdf Leaders/Map: http://practicalpages.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/ww2-maps-and-minibooks.pdf Pearl Harbor: http://practicalpages.wordpress.com/2011/10/19/new-pearl-harbor-lapbook/ Printables: http://homeschooling.about.com/od/freeprintables/ss/World-War-2-Worksheets.htm

Good point! And she'll be thrilled not to have to take Calculus ...

The minimum math requirement for admission to an NC public university is at least four units of college preparatory mathematics (two algebra, one geometry and a higher level mathematics course for which algebra II is a prerequisite) For students attending a North Carolina public high school, the fourth unit of math must be one of the courses listed below. For North Carolina students attending a nonpublic school and all out-of-state students, the fourth math must be comparable to one of the courses listed below or it must be approved by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. AP Calculus AP Statistics Pre-Calculus Discrete Mathematics IB Mathematics Level II Integrated Mathematics IV Advanced Functions and Modeling Question ... my dd has taken Algebra 1 and Geometry, and is registered to take the Saxon Algebra 2 this year with our homeschool co-op. Would the Saxon Advanced Mathematics fulfill the 4th math requirement or will she need to take Saxon Calculus?

What types of summer camps are your high schoolers attending this year? I'm kind of sad that my dd has phased out of the outdoor, roughing-it camps of her youth, but happy we've been able to find some other things for her to do. I'm always curious to hear what other teens are doing!

Excellent point Julie!

I'm looking for a short group session that will give pointers on test-taking strategies ... a few hundred dollars at most? I've found a few different offerings in our area but they are all in the $700 - 1500 range.

I just started looking for a prep course today ... and had sticker shock! I don't remember prep classes being this expensive (relatively speaking) when I was in high school. Has anyone found a reasonably-priced source for in-person coaching?

In my experience with my daughter, driving is like reading - the more they do it the more confident they become. Does she need actual instruction or just someone to ride around with her? Our state requires 60 hours of supervised driving before attempting the driving test - that doesn't sound like a lot, but when you live in a small town where everything is 5 - 10 minutes away it can be a challenge! Towards the end we were just driving around aimlessly to get the hours in. She's on her own now and seems to be doing ok ...

My dd (16) would *love* to have a job but I encouraged her to wait until after summer is over because she has two summer camps and some family trips to work around. After that, we'd be happy for her not to work, but she really wants to, so we're supportive within certain boundaries. She volunteers extensively during the year. Most of the younger teens in our area seem to find jobs with family/friends or start their own businesses. The most ingenious is a pair of teen girls who dress up like various Disney princesses and do children's birthday parties for a very reasonable fee.

I saw that one and signed up for it too. My dd was studying for finals last week and it struck me that she's still making flashcards - which is great, but really time consuming. I took a great class in college and am kicking myself for not keeping the book - I even called the school to see if they remembered what it was because it was that good, but no one could track it down. Does anyone know of good college study skill resources?

Do you have to send hard copies of everything or could it be organized in an ePortfolio? I've been contemplating creating one to document labs and achievements for dd to strengthen her transcript. I work at a university and we encourage our students to document their study abroad/global/international experiences in this format so that they can add a link to their resume after graduation. "International" is a vague term and it helps to see the students' experience and reflective pieces. If you haven't seen them, here are some examples: http://eportfolio.lagcc.cuny.edu/scholars/doc_fa09/eP_fa09/Layla.Quinones/classes.html http://see.ludwig.lajuntaschools.org/?p=504

Saxon has an Algebra 2 course that comes with a DVD

https://www.coursera.org/course/chemprep Preparation for General ChemistryThe course develops critical thinking and analytic problem solving skills within a chemistry context in order to prepare students for success in college-level General Chemistry—a key gateway class required for many undergraduate majors. Course Syllabus Week 1 - Introduction and Warm Up: Preliminary Assessment given to appraise current knowledge and help set goals; introductory material, including matter and energy, classification and properties of matter, scientific measurement and units, significant figures, dimensional analysis, and problem-solving strategies. Week 2 - Boot-Camp I: Understanding atomic structure and quantum theory, which includes properties of waves, wave-particle duality, the interaction of radiation and matter, the photoelectric effect and the Bohr atom model. Week 3 - Boot-Camp II: Introducing the concept of mole and understanding how compounds form, by differentiating ionic and covalent bonding, learning how to write molecular and empirical formulas and how to determine percent composition of compounds. Introducing solutions and how to measure their concentration. Week 4 - Boot-Camp III: Move on to chemical reactions, by understanding how to write balanced chemical equations, use them to perform various stoichiometric calculations and determine the yield of reactions; learning the different types of reactions, including combustion, precipitation, and acid-base reactions. Week 5 - Boot-Camp IV: Introduction to the thermodynamics of reactions, by discussing energy and energy changes, heat, work, enthalpy, calorimetry, and Hess's Law. Week 6 - Final Exam Preparation: Reviewing of concepts from Weeks 1-5, in preparation for the final examination. Recommended BackgroundStudents are expected to have had an introductory chemistry course, for example in high school, as well as mathematics up to the level of precalculus (e.g., algebraic expressions, algebraic equations, inequalities, functions, and graphing).

High Point University has a sample homeschool transcript on their website: http://www.highpoint.edu/admissions/homeschooled-students/ Using HPU as an example, College Prowler can give you a break-down of what each school looks for on transcripts: http://colleges.niche.com/high-point-university/statistics/

This site has leveled readers you can download: http://www.readinga-z.com/ The yearly fee is a little pricey, but there's a 14-day trial offer :thumbup:

We are new to homeschooling and have several different local groups near us. What's the best way to figure out the personality of each?

I have a September birthday and was always the youngest in my grade. Academically I excelled, but socially I was always 1 step behind everyone else. I wish my parents had held me back a year. An extra year of childhood is a gift these days! If your daughter is already asking to be held back then you've already gotten past the biggest hurdle - her reaction/feelings to repeating a grade.

Have you looked into 4-H? You can start a club (similar to a scout troop) and define the focus as specifically or generally as you would like. We have several in our area that are STEM-based and don't do anything with agriculture or animals. I think there's a robotics league now too? The benefit would be that you could tie into their state and national leadership opportunities. This is one program I researched for years and really admire, but could never figure how to fit it into our schedule. http://texas4-h.tamu.edu/4hscience Here's a club: http://www.pioneervalleyrobotics.com/

For background, my daughter was in a public elementary, private middle and high school, and we are homeschooling for the last two years before graduation. She requested to be pulled out. We've been avid afterschoolers throughout her childhood so making the leap to homeschooling isn't' a huge stretch. Our private school was great in middle school, still pretty good last year (9th grade) and this year everything just went berserk once the kids started getting their licenses and a lot more freedom. We still believe in the school and its mission, but the student culture (and parent, to a degree) is at odds with what they are trying to achieve. I honestly don't know if its just this particular group in her school or a trend in society as a whole, but there sure seem to be a lot of entitled kids with access to large amounts of money and not a lot of supervision. I'm not sharing this to scare you off, but the trend in our area seems to be parents pulling their kids out of private to be homeschooled or go to carefully selected public schools. Having a larger group of kids to choose from can be a benefit - small school social dynamics can be tough and force kids to conform to a very narrow definition of acceptable to fit in. Good luck to you!