I'm considering a different text for Latin II. Classical pronunciation preferred.

No one has mentioned my two favorite love-to-hates: Starship Troopers and Love Story. My mother kept gushing about how Love Story was such a beautiful movie, but all I could see were two boring, self-absorbed people in the '70s.

If you got accepted, then you're in. I've never heard of a college rescinding someone's acceptance for anything other than academic fraud. It's the school's job to decide whether your courses are acceptable to them. I wouldn't worry about it.

I'll be having my non-mathy dd do geometry next year through derekowens.com. He uses Jacobs.

I have a friend who put her kids in after 9th grade and she said it was a nightmare for all the reasons others here have stated. (LA Unified) And she had been in a homeschool charter, so they were technically ps students already. Didn't matter. They doubled up on classes to be "caught up," but they were just retaking stuff they'd had already.

I use the Stanford 10, because it is untimed. As long as the student is making progress and not sitting there completely stuck, there's no time limit.

This might sound odd, but I suggest BJU. My (almost-definitely) dyslexic dd went from hating math and feeling stupid to getting A's on her tests and thinking about becoming an engineer like her dad. Workbook, check. Mastery, check. Available manipulatives, check. Lots of drill and review, check. My kids usually do only the first page of each two-page lesson, and there are additional daily review problems, and chapter reviews, and cumulative reviews. Plus, you can also buy a book of reviews with a two-page sheet for each lesson in the main book. My dd is still struggling to memorize her math facts, but she's getting there slowly.

You'll have a lot more flexibility and better pay if you tutor on your own.

These schools are both quite new, so I don't expect anyone else will have dc who have already gone there. Has anyone visited?

I've suspected for a while that my dd is dyslexic; I just had a frustrating week with her. A half-completed grammar test? Really? :sad: The Susan Barton seminar was very good. She was saying that most dyslexic kids never qualify for special ed, and the schools aren't required to test for it by law. I've seen enough relatives go up against the education bureaucracy to know it's a huge headache. And I live in LA Unified. 'nuff said.

Hi all, I've been on the WTM boards for years, although I've been on hiatus from here for most of the last year. I went to a Susan Barton presentation last night and came away confirmed in my suspicion that at least two of my kids are dyslexic. I was beginning to think I should just put my 4th grader in school, but I'm more convinced now than ever before that home is the place for her and her siblings. No bureaucracy, no advocacy, just suck it up and git 'er done. But how, exactly? I'm re-evaluating my curriculum choices, so I'll be doing lots of research on the boards to find the best fits for our family. Buckling up for a bumpy ride...

So I posted this and disappeared again without setting up reply notifications. Sorry! "Little Bit" is girl #4, and she's just the Cutest Thing Ever. (I have scientific research to back up my claim, LOL.) I've been off the boards because of life stuff (not just baby), but I'll be back more often, I think, especially on the SN board. I went to a Susan Barton seminar and I'm reasonably convinced that at least two of my kids are dyslexic. If ever I needed confirmation that I have to keep homeschooling, it was this week. And last night that's what I got.

I knew I'd been gone awhile, but sheesh! New paint on the walls, new-carpet smell, and the square footage is bigger. And my siggy was way out of date. (Fixed now.) How's everybody doin'?

This coming year will be our tenth year. This past year was our worst ever. Shocked by the news we were expecting #6. Spent most of the school year depressed and unmotivated. The 3rd grader is behind in math and probably fell further behind because of me. I need to get her tested for dyslexia. The 4th grader was ahead in math, and now is either at grade level or slightly behind because of me. The 8th grader didn't get enough writing practice and a whole host of other things because of me. History and science petered out for the middles after we had a great start. Again. I don't think I'm very good at this homeschooling thing anymore. We've outgrown our house and need to either move or add on. Lots of repairs need to be made first, no matter what we do. Not a lot of extra money for that right now, but we still have to do as much as we can before I have this baby in six weeks. I bought new math curriculum for the middles to use over the summer to get caught up. I haven't had time to crack open the books and figure out where to start them. By the time I do, the 30-day return window will be over. I signed up the kids for lots of fun stuff to do this summer, partly so I could distract myself from the death march known as the final month of pregnancy. But that doesn't leave much time for planning and ordering books. Did I mention I left the standardized testing to the last minute, out of dread? And we're still testing, and it's the 4th of July tomorrow? I'm outsourcing all of my new high schooler's stuff next year. We're going piecemeal with providers, so lots of Wednesday driving and online stuff the rest of the time. She starts as early as August 29. I haven't a clue when to start the middles. I'm planning to do BJU online for science, and VP self-paced history for the middles. Everything else will have to be seriously independent-oriented. We had way too many extracurriculars going on this past year, but I haven't been able to figure out what we're dropping next year. On Fridays I'll be doing Mommy-and-me preschool with the 4yo, so something has to give. I suspect it will be what's left of my sanity. So, short answer, I'm not excited about next year.

There is a huge need in this country for writers who can report and explain scientific concepts to the general public. The average journalist is clueless about science, and many big stories in the media are the result of this cluelessness. Just one more angle to consider. But you've gotten plenty of good advice here about the nursing-only route.

A little out of your price range, but we're signed up for Laurel Tree Tutorials' High School Composition, based on recommendations here. There's also Debra Bell's website, but I hadn't heard enough feedback from those who'd BTDT to justify giving it a try.

Hi everyone, A homeschooling friend of mine shared this link on Facebook, and I thought I'd pass it along here. It's an interview with the author of a new book on the founding of the US. He argues that the key founders were neither Christian nor deist. I'm looking forward to reading it (if I ever have the time or wakefulness :)). I don't want to renew a debate here AT ALL with this thread. But if you're one of the many people who's engaged in one of these debates here in the past, you'd probably find this an interesting resource to check out. America's Key Founders: Neither Christians Nor Deists HTH!

Looking at Algebra I. I was all set to sign up, but I saw that the classes are asynchronous -- no class meeting time. I'm worried that my dd will always push this class to the bottom of her to-do list. Has anyone else with this kind of kid had success with his classes? I should add that we did Chalkdust Prealgebra this year, and she didn't really utilize the videos. She did much better when I stepped her through it. TIA.

All the way to English 6? Interesting. I had a few tests from English 6 I was giving him as worksheets, knowing that he wouldn't have been exposed to all the material they have there. So, for one semester, would it be better to have him in 5 or 6?

Usually, in college, there's a bigger pool of people to draw from, some of whom are older and more mature, and it's easier for kids to find their "tribe."

DS9 has finished FLL4, and I've been shopping around for another curriculum. Next year I'll either have him do BJU English via Distance Learning, or VPSA Grammar and Comp with a live teacher. He's very excited about the prospect of doing his schoolwork on the computer, and I would like to try out BJU just for one subject this semester to see how he takes to it. So, which semester of BJU English should I try after FLL? I know many people have gone seamlessly into R&S5 after FLL4, but I haven't seen anyone who's gone from FLL to BJU.

The UC system requires 3 yrs math, 2 yrs lab science, at minimum. Private schools like Biola and Master's are similar. She hasn't even looked at colleges yet. I suppose that's the next step. This kid will be doing Algebra I in 9th, and it's one of her weaker subjects. She likes to write, and she enjoys history and Latin. The CCs out here have matriculation agreements with the CSU/UC system, and the course catalogs tell us which classes will transfer. (I've already looked into dual enrollment, so I'm somewhat familiar with the CC end of things.)

My oldest will not be pursuing a math- or science-related major in college. Pretty please tell me it will really be OK to let her do the minimum (3 yrs math, 2 yrs science) so we can focus on Great Books/history, art and languages. I know SWB talks about specializing in WTM, and letting kids "rest on their oars" in math in certain cases, but I wanted to get some reassurance from those of you whose kids have successfully done so. Thanks!

Me!

Is Shurley independent for the student?