Good to know about the scholarships and volunteer hours. I "think" the police explorers keeps a record of the hours (they need so many hours to get ride alongs) but I will definitely check that now.

Interesting. I have read many things about making the transcript work for the student by adding in the "extra" stuff and showcasing the "whole" student. I guess it's a matter of semantics since some would call this extra stuff a student resume rather than a transcript. I know the term "transcript" varies greatly depending on how one will use it and the expectations of the receiver/college. I was planning on courses/credits to be one section and the additional info in another section. I also am not using this for entry into a high level college since he will be starting at a community college. I am mainly wanting to get all the info down for scholarships and other applications that might need a transcript of some type. So back to the volunteer hours. I guess I will look at some more references on how to do this.

I am taking the advice of some expert transcript folks and doing this year by year, instead of last minute when he's a senior. He's in 9th grade right now so I'm trying to get his 9th grade year written up now so I don't forget anything. My son is in Police Explorers and volunteers approx. 10 hrs a month with events. I'm trying to decide the best way to list this. Should I just write "volunteers approx. 10 hrs per month" or add up all the hours for the year and put that number? Should I add a general list of duties such as handing out fliers, child ID card fingerprinting, directing traffic, etc? Or would that be obvious considering it's for Police Explorers? He also does lots of training on various issues such as suicide, domestic violence, homelessness, etc and I think these are great trainings too. Not sure how to list that though, thoughts? Other than his basic academics, Police Explorers and martial arts are his main activities. Since he is not academically inclined (he's scraping by with the basic subjects of Algebra and writing but enjoys history and science), I really want to highlight his other activities. Thanks for any feedback.

Thanks everyone, you've given helpful insight. Regarding Pre-Algebra, he was only missing up to 3 questions per lesson (not missing 3 every lesson, but 3 at the most) so he was successful in that program. He passed the tests with 90% or better. BUT, he was not writing all the steps out as I mentioned, so he did not develop good habits which is definitely biting him in the butt now. I was looking at the gradebook for a measure of success, not HOW he was getting it done. I do think I will look at Key to Algebra because I have used some of their other books when needed and they were helpful. I also think I have to accept that this will likely be a 2 yr program for him, which is fine. Maybe letting go of the pressure of getting it done this summer will take off some stress from both of us. I think someone else teaching him would benefit him most so I will definitely look harder at tutors.With 3 younger kids at home also, this would benefit BOTH of us I think.

We've used Teaching Textbooks for 5 yrs so his math content has been consistent. He does well in math and he did great with the TT Pre Algebra course. But Algebra 1 has been a nightmare and after lesson 20 or so he has hit a wall and he was only getting less than half the questions right after that. We even deleted it all and started over in November because he admitted he wasn't doing all the practice problems which is key to learning some of the concepts. I've had him watch Kahn academy videos (he didn't like these because they didn't teach the concept the same way as TT), we bought the Great Courses Algebra course (he is watching this now and says he "kind of gets it" but it's not translating to the TT problems), but he just isn't getting the Teaching Textbooks Algebra. I tried to find a tutor but one was not taking new students, another was too far, and another doesn't want to use TT, but her own book which I didn't like. My husband could explain some of the concepts to him but it was in a different way than TT taught the concept so when he went to do the problems without his dad, he couldn't do it. I will admit that he likes doing math "in his head" and I tell him repeatedly that you can't do that with algebra, he has to write the steps out. I simply CAN NOT help with this, this is my one subject I barely passed in high school, and honestly, only got by because I was a good student otherwise. I learned nothing in algebra. Honestly, if he didn't have to pass some standardized tests to get to comm college, I'd probably let him do something else entirely like consumer math or an accounting class. He's very spatial and I bet he will do great in geometry but he really needs more algebra before we can go on. Any other programs that might help him?? I am at a loss. ETA: I should add that he his very auditory which is why TT has worked well for him and textbooks not as much. I don't think a textbook by itself would work for him, though I have not tried another Algebra book yet.

Talk about good timing! My 9th gr son was supposed to take Physical Science this year through an outside source but it fell through at the last minute due to low enrollement. I had no other plans because I thought it was a done deal. So the last few weeks I've been scrambling to figure out what to do for science (other than have him read the text which is an option, just not the one he was interested in and I didn't blame him). I do have a class for Biology for next year for sure so didn't want to push that to this year but do have the Holt text and student bk as a back up just in case. I have the Great Courses Physics in your Life course already and just gave it to my son 2 weeks ago to start watching since I didn't have a sold plan in place and wanted him to get started with something. I have not watched all the lectures he has (only 1 lecture) but he said while he did not understand everything, they were interesting and he was learning from them. I was going to have him read Science Matters as well. Seeing this outline made me jump for joy! I really want him to get more out of this DVD course and this sounds great. My question is this-he is just taking Algebra 1 this year so will the above syllabus be too hard for him to tackle this year or is it managable? Thanks for any feedback and THANK YOU to the OP for taking the time to put this together.

This conference is going on now and you can still catch live sessions on Saturday and catch recordings of Friday's sessions. Some speakers are better than others, as usual. But there is a HUGE variety of sessions. I especially loved the Feminist Homeschooler session so far! Check it out.

The reason I did not have American History listed was because he read the entire Joy Hakim series this year so I figured he was good for a full Amer History course. Should we do another one with a more advanced text later in high school?

Thanks everyone, those links gave me a few good books to start a list with. I will also check the Teaching Co because we like their programs too. Just to clarify, my son is not on track for a service academy. I think he will likely do 2 yrs of community college for an assoc degree then enlist.

My son will entering 9th grade this fall and the "official high school" timeframe will begin. Talk about scaring the daylights out of a parent! Anyway, he has consistently talked about going into the Marines for the last 2 yrs and I see that as a likely scenario for him. As I lay out his high school courses he has asked about a military history class. He has been reading many first person accounts and gulf war books this year-mainly on the Marines but also Army. For the next 4 yrs of history I was planning on a 20th century history course, world history, econ/government (1 semester each), and that leaves me with 1 yr left. I was planning on doing Runkles Geography for that year but I can still add a Military history course in there somewhere. Anyone have any courses they suggest or good book(s) that are engaging and not just dry facts? Thanks!

Plato Earth Science is working well for my son now. We'll be doing Physical Science next.

Yes, they are worth it to me. BUT, I have bought all of ours used from craigslist or ebay for $30-$40 less than retail . All have been like new or in very good condition. We have bought some of the clothes new from the store-I was the weak one on that trip! But we get most of the clothes from etsy.com for very reasonable prices.

You link doesn't work... The question can't be answered on it's own-what type of learner is your child? What do you want out of the writing program? How much can your child do on their own and how much guidance do they need? Essentials in Writing has the DVD segment and might be helpful for auditory learners and those that learn better from someone else other than mom. Evan Moor books are great resources and I've used them through the years. I tend to use them more as supplements though, not a complete program. Though, I do think some of them could be used by themselves. Since I can't see what you are linking to, not sure about the ones you are referring to. If you give a little more info, I'm sure you'll get more info.

I didn't know Bravewriter had podcasts-I'll have to check those out too. Thanks both of you!

We are planning on doing Plato Physical Science the 2nd semester. Not sure if this would be something of interest but Teaching Co has great videos too and many here use them as a supplement or stand alone with readings. Here are some for earth science: Intro to Geology: http://www.thegreatcourses.com/tgc/courses/course_detail.aspx?cid=1700 How the Earth Works http://www.thegreatcourses.com/tgc/courses/course_detail.aspx?cid=1750 Intro to Astronomy: http://www.thegreatcourses.com/tgc/courses/course_detail.aspx?cid=1810 There are others too but these are the ones I'm most familiar with since we have these. We have only watched the astronomy so far and plan to use the others later.