I used Chalkdust Geometry this year. I purchased the DVDs and the textbook. I loved the textbook; I believe it is Larson. It was one of the best in terms of layout and concept coverage. It also had an excellent review of Algebra in almost every lesson. We used the DVDs to explain concepts I thought we needed help with, but oftentimes, the textbook covered it well enough, and we would skip the DVD lesson. BTW, I'm selling the Chalkdust Geometry DVDs if you're interested. :)

My children have had several Landry classes with mixed results. My oldest daughter took Human Anatomy with Greg Landry, and it was wonderful. This year has been a little different, but I think it may be due more to an unmatched teaching/learning style. I think if you are new and nervous about tackling high school courses, then some online classes are a good way to go. As an encouragement, I too was nervous when I began high school. I was so afraid that I couldn't get them prepared for college. My oldest has been in dual credit classes since last year, and she is making A's in all of them. I was so relieved. When I listen to my other two children's peers, I am amazed at how far ahead my kids are. There is no doubt in my mind that this has been the right decision for us all, and that my children have definitely received a superior education. So, a pat on the back to you for tackling this!

I just bought a used version of Larson's Calculus. This is the one that Chalkdust uses. I'm considering Thinkwell, also. I haven't received the book yet, but it was recommended as a supplement to Thinkwell.

Our cc requires a 19, too. My child had that and was able to take College Algebra as a junior in hs. She has decided to go to University of Memphis, and they require all of their entering freshmen to take a placement test through ALEKS before they can enroll in a math class. No matter what their ACT score is. I called and spoke with someone at the school, and they said they were beginning this because so many of their students were failing the math courses. They will place you in whatever math course they feel is appropriate to your skills. Then, that counts as your math credit. For instance, if my daughter was going into business, she would need to take calculus. If she did not place into calculus, they would put her into an alternative course which would count as her calculus requirement. My concern about this was that calculus is necessary for statistics, how could she pass the statistics if she didn't get the calculus she needed? Fortunately for us, she has chosen a degree which only requires College Algebra, and the one she took will transfer. When my daughter took the college algebra class, she pretty much tutored the class. There were upper classmen who had taken it more than once. The level of skills some students are graduating with is pretty scary.

I'm considering using this for my dd. If there aren't enough practice problems, can anyone suggest a source for more?

It is most definitely a test. I, too, have a dd who has trouble with test anxiety. We take the ACT here, and the highest score she could get was a 23. This is not a bad score, but my other two younger children have already surpassed her scores and one isn't even in highschool yet. It is no measure of her as a student, though. She has taken 26 hours of dual credit and made A's and two B's. In her college algebra class, she actually ended up teaching junior and seniors in college. She was asked to be a writing tutor because of her writing skills. All this is to say that the ACT/SAT is not the be all end all determiner of how your child will do in college. All I have is encouragement, no advice on the SAT since we haven't taken it. :lol:

OOPS - sorry i posted to the wrong forum

OOPS - sorry, I posted to the wrong forum, it's early, I'm still drinking my coffee.

My eight grader made a 25. Any ideas how that will translate, and what is the Duke program mentioned? Thanks

My two cents... We used Landry in 2010/11 before he offered so many new classes. We used him for Anatomy and Phsyiology, and he was the teacher. Overall, it was a good experience. Since it worked so well, I signed up my other two for classes in 2011/12. The classes were digital photography, aviation history, and critical thinking. Digital Photography has worked out ok. My intention was for my daughter to get a feel of photography to see if she wanted to pursue it. It was not a particularly challenging class, but she has learned from it. She has decided to take a photography class at the local college. Aviation history was good for my son. He really liked the teacher, and the teacher worked with us when my son accidentally hit enter too early causing a 0 on a test. He was extremely nice and understanding of our ineptness with the technology. This semester my son is taking critical thinking, and our experience has not been so great. He is not relating to the teacher at all, and I have been frustrated with her teaching style. I have emailed her, and to her credit she always responds. I don't think anyone is to blame, it's just more a teaching style that isn't working for us. So all this is to say, I think so much depends on the teacher you get when you take the class. And, you won't know about that until you're in the middle of it. I'm debating on what/if we will take classes this school year. It is a lot of money to spend. I will say, Mr. Landry is extremely cooperative in trying to work things out.

We are using Chalkdust Geometry. This is my third child and the third textbook I've used :). I must say, I LOVE this textbook compared to the other two I've used. It does the best job of explaining the concepts and gives excellent practice in cementing them. It also incorporates Algebra 1 concepts so they are not forgotten. We have Dana Moseley's CD's to accompany the textbook, and if my son has a hard time grasping the concept we watch him to reenforce it. We don't have to watch the DVD very often, but this may be because this is my third time through with Geometry. I ought to have a pretty good grasp on it by now!

I'm using Tro's, too. I found out about it on this board. From experience with another curriculum, what I like about Tro is the extensive practice problems. There are plenty of problems to help ensure mastery. The text also seems to be quite "user" friendly. I"ll know more once we dive in beginning in August, but I chose it over Spectrum because I was worried Spectrum wasn't enough.

We used the CD for Biology. It worked well. I liked not being tied to the computer for a class. The only thing we let drop was the written lab reports. Because we weren't attending a live class, I was not as strict about those as I should have been.

Thank you so much for the info. I think you are correct about the retoactive payments, from what I read. That is okay with me, I think we could swing the first year, if we knew we would be getting it later. Now, I just need to figure out the residency rules. I guess I'll have to make some phone calls. Again, I appreciate the website and other information, I'm starting to calm down just a little. There is nothing like major life upheavel occuring during major life changes. The gray hairs are sprouting all over my head.:)