My daughter received a letter and an email in February letting her know when the ceremony was. She had to send in a picture and write a short intro to be read at the ceremony. I believe she also requested her tickets for guests for the ceremony and Nationals game. There were also break out sessions for her to sign up for if she wished. Check in was the day before the ceremony. The kids just had to pick up their tickets and T- Shirts. They had an icebreaker with games for the kids at the same time. Nationals tickets each included a $25 voucher for food or merchandise. This year was the biggest awards group with 538 kids receiving their gold. They broke the group up by states into 3 different ceremonies. DD’s ceremony was the last one of the day. Actually worked well for us since they wanted a group photo. The early ceremonies had to go back for the photo. We did not find scheduling a flight difficult for us. Prices were pretty good. Our local Optimist Club and Power Company offered to sponsor DD’s trip. They paid for her flight and part of our accommodations. I am not sure when in June next year’s ceremony will be. Overall it was a great experience. If you have any other questions I would be happy to answer them or ask DD to. Here are a few pictures from our trip. DD ended up taking her heels off because they had to walk down hill from the Capitol to the reflecting pool for a group photo. They first picture is DD at the ceremony. Second is her after the group photo with her sponsor from the power company. Be sure to like the Congressional Award Facebook page they post pictures and updates.

So, we attended the Gold Medal Ceremony in DC. What an awesome experience! The ceremony itself was wonderful. The staff does and excellent job making sure the kids get the recognition they deserve. There are panel discussions the kids can attend and tickets to a Nationals game. If your child is working toward the gold and you can attend the ceremony in DC it so worth it!

Still trying to figure out 10th. We have been so busy with DD graduating, I have not even thought about DS’s plans. Math: we will continue with Mr. D. Pre-Calculus. We used him this year for Algebra 2 and year before for Geometry. Science: Chemistry not sure maybe DIVE. English: I have no clue. American Literature, but still struggling to find a writing program that works. He knows how to write but gets major anxiety and writers block. History: American History. Either Notgrass or History at Our House Foreign Language: either ASL with FLVS used a tutor this year but he was not a fan. Maybe German with OSU. Electives: not sure. He had already done health, personal finance, and PE

Just wondering if anyone's child has reached their goal? My daughter just received confirmation of her Gold medal. She met with one of our Congressmen today for a photo op. We will be heading to Washington in June for the Gold medal ceremony.

I am a little late to this post, but thought I would add my daughter Accepted: University of North FL ( Dean Scholarship) Auburn, Clemson, Penn State, University of Kentucky, and Berry College( Dean’s scholarship) Will Attend: Berry College

My 9th grader will be taking Algebra 2- Mr. D World History- Notgrass Biology- Friendly Biology Language Arts- not sure. Notgrass literature for now with their writing assignments. I will probably add something else later. ALS- Lifeprint. FLVS if they ever open the class electives- PE- swimming Personal Finance- Dave Ramsey Health- Apologia

12th grader: We have been following our state requirements for graduation through high school. She will only need an English credit next year to have everything required by the state. She will hopefully start DE at the cc. She will take her English credit and not sure what else. 12th grader is now enrolled at the Community College. She will take ENC 1101 and Student Life Skills( required for DE). Taking one semester at a time so not sure what she will take second semester. She will take Dave Ramsey Financial Peace and finish Calculus. 9th grader Algebra 2 with Mr. D World History- Notgrass Biology- not sure yet maybe DIVE English 9- not sure yet We have not found a good fit yet. BraveWriter has been ok. He struggles with writing. IEW looks so intimidating and time consuming so not sure how that would work but I need to find something. He knows how to structure a paper but struggles to come up with what to write. ASL- not sure yet maybe FLVS if they offer it Health- not sure yet PE- swimming He also has 4H Robotics Club and 4H County Council and a General 4H club he attends

May update: Math: Mr. D Geometry Science: Derek Owens Physical Science Language Arts: maybe Life Pack English 8, BraveWriter Kidswrite Intermediate and one more class History: Notgrass US History Literature: Notgrass as well as books picked by me. To Kill a Mockingbird, Lord of the Flies others TBD Electives TBD

I searched the forum but did not see a planning thread for 2017-2018 8th grade. I am struggling with trying to figure out Language Arts and Science for my 8th grader next year. This past year we started out with Rod and Staff English 7. It was so much like English 6 in the beginning, he asked to please do something else. We tried Giggly Guide to Grammar, but quickly found that it was not a good fit either. He ended up just using Moby Max for Grammar and BraveWriter for writing. We will conyinue BraveWriter for writing, but need Literature and Grammar. He completed Apologia General Science this year. It truely was painful for both of us. He completed it but I am not sure he can do Apologia Physical Science if it is anything like General Science. We used the Elementary Apology books and loved them. I really want to try Derek Owens but it is not in our budget this year with the other online classes we will be paying for. Does anyone have Science and LA suggestions for an 8th grader?

I am not sure where you would like reviews posted. Since we have experience with Groovy Kids, I thought I would write a short review of the classes we have taken. My daughter is currently taking her second class from Groovy Kids. She took Fantastic Beasts and is taking Disappearing Spoon now. Both classes have been fabulous! The content is not light. It is in depth and she has learned a lot. She has had fabulous feedback on her projects and writing. Fantastic Beasts was a great supplement to her Biology class she took last year. Disappearing Spoon as proven to be just as wonderful. It supplements her Chemistry class well.

Got my answer

My daughter is having a hard time getting volunteer hours. Age requirements have been an issue as well as lack of opportunities in our town. The conservation center will not allow volunteers under the age of 18. She filled out the background check information for the elementary school, and is good to go but no teachers have requested help. She is getting some hours through 4H. They have several small community service projects. Our next step is to try the library. She is racking up hours in her personal development. She is working( volunteering) with a local dog trainer. She is learning a lot. The trainer now has her working with dogs on her own. Her E/E is all planned. She leaves March 23rd for Guatemala for Spanish immersion school.

Still working on it. This is what we think we will do so far Math- calculus Saxon with DIVE Spanish - DE History- American History- Notgrass or DE Literature- American literature- Notgrass list will also add to it BraveWriter Writing for Highschool and ACt/SAT essay Science- Physics- DiVE, may also do Apologia Marine Biology Electives:TBD Looking for Art History and Music History curriculum.

So far 8th grade looks like this.. Algebra 2- Saxon with DIVE Physical Science- Apologia American History- Notgrass Grammar - this is where we have struggled. 6th grade with Rod and Staff went well. Tried it this year for 7th but it seemed dull. Tried Giggly Guide to Grammar- was not a fit. Gave up and just let him use MobyMax for grammar and vocabulary. Composition- Writing is hard for him. He just goes blank. Nothing has clicked. I will admit I have not tried tons of different programs but I don't want to spend the $ only to have it fail again. We are doing a BraveWriter class now. If this is successful we will try another class next year. Literature- This year he has read books on the Notgrass list for Civics and books he has picked. For 8th he will have his list from history. He will also have an additional list I need to figure out. He will also do a Shakespeare play each semester. TBD He will continue with coding he is involved in 4H Robotics PE is swimming when warm, treadmill, walking, outdoor play Of course this all may change after we attend the homeschool conference.

My daughter is in 10th. She just started last summer and is working towards gold by graduation 2019. She will do her E/E in April. A week in Guatemala at language immersion school living with a host family followed by a week helping in rural medical clinics. She has had a hard time with her personal development hours. The lady she was working with was gone for 6 weeks and then the holidays. She needs to get started back so she can get more hours. Her volunteer hours have been sporadic. We live in a small town where there are not a lot of opportunities. She has a possible chance at getting to work at a local conservation center. We are waiting to hear if they will allow her to volunteer at her age.