I wanted to post a follow-up. We just completed our first lab. We did the "properties of gases" lab. (That is either lab #3 or #4.) The lab took about 2.5 hours. That time includes set-up, reading the material, doing the lab, writing the answers to the questions, being thoroughly questioned by dad, building an atomic model of one of the reactions and clean-up. Everything about the lab worked as the lab instructions said it should. The instructions were thorough enough for a 15 and 16 year old (two girls) to do without problems. The lab was interesting and the girls made the scientific "connections" without too much trouble. Holly

Here's another option for you to consider. We haven't used it, but are considering it for physics. Holly http://www.derekowens.com/0910/index.php

We are using Prentice Hall Chemistry. It is challenging! Holly

For chemistry, probably not. There is a lot of information given. However, I do think that it assumes that you have a text teaching you how to balance equations or explaining what a mole is. I would not use the kit without a decent high school textbook to accompany the labs.

They do not go with any particular textbook. However, the labs follow a pretty standard science "scope" so I don't think you can go wrong. Just look at the lab titles and you should be able to match up the proper lab with the proper chapter.

Yes, Michelle. It is simply crazy to read pieces like Faerie Queene, Inferno and Diary of Anne Frank with no knowledge of the historical background. It is just common sense. I think that the significance of history can increase or decrease depending upon the piece of literature.

Hmmmm-I doubt that there is much overlap between Euro and US. You might get a little within explorers, WWI & WWII. But, it is pretty minimal. I've even heard that the overlap between Euro & World is very minimal too. I suppose it would be nice to learn about the American Revolution after learning about the French Revolution (in depth). I'm not sure that there is any order that you should take the courses in, however you might want to find out what subjects most appeal to your child. They will spend a great deal of time studying that subject, so I think it helps to "like" the subject, especially when taking the first AP class. It is a lot of work. We are looking at taking APUSH next year, and I have only heard great things about Mrs. Richman. My dd chose Euro because she wanted to learn about that time period. I don't think she was expecting to learn about such a grand sweep of history. There is a large focus on isms-Marxism, liberalism, conservatism, socialism, Darwinism etc., rather than the people of history. You learn about artistic periods rather than artists and philosophies rather than philosophers. Of course, people are mentioned briefly, but the emphasis is broad. I think the kids grumble about this at first, but then they get used to it. It is something to consider when deciding to take an AP class. Some kids are not ready for this type of broad based assessment of history. The other thing to consider is that there is no time for bunny trails. Blink, and WWI is over! Blink, and you've covered the philosophs. Or that is the way it feels. This is in-depth coverage at the speed of light. We discovered that dd had never really covered the religious wars and happenings of the pre-Enlightenment era. She knew next to nothing about the history of the Catholic church, popes, nor any of the artwork of the period. (Bad mom!) I suppose you could look at it positively: at the end of the course you will have far fewer holes than when you started. :tongue_smilie: Oh, and someone from a APUSH class could respond, but Euro does cover a fair bit of art. If your child has never covered art, or enjoys art, they might consider Euro for that reason. I've noticed that my daughter has taken a much greater interest in art because of the course. That's been an unintended positive consequence. Holly

My dd is currently in AP Euro with Mrs. Harrison. (no experience with APUSH yet) Mrs. Harrison is extremely organized. The class seems to be designed to make sure students are very well prepared to take the AP test in May. Students are well practiced in both content and skills. My daughter has found the class challenging, yet very beneficial. We highly recommend the class & teacher.

Coincidentally, I just received mine today. It is the chemistry kit with 14 experiments for high school. Supplies and a lab manual (on CD) are included. I just browsed through the lab manual and it is extremely comprehensive. I'm very, very impressed. You get lots of scientific background, detailed instructions and lots of questions to answer as you complete the experiment. I was curious to see how many items that I would need to come up with and there aren't many for this particular chemistry kit. I only noticed some common household items (like cotton swabs), food items (like egg), and easy to get items like rubbing alcohol. I'm very happy I won't be having to procure to many items myself. DH (advanced scientific degree) was pretty skeptical about the kit. However, after looking it over, he's initially impressed. I am excited to get started. Oh-and I ordered the kit Wednesday afternoon, paid for the cheapest shipping (UPS ground) and got my kit today. (CO-NV). Let me know if there is anything else you'd like me to try and answer. Holly

I am not a religious person. However, that blog post is the most slanted piece of propaganda I have ever read. (ok-maybe not ever, but certainly in recent memory) I plan on taking it to my high school rhetoric class to dissect every fallacious statement as an academic exercise. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

We are using Chemistry by Prentice Hall. There are three different suggestions for pacing the book, the fastest being an honors pace.

Reconciliation

I cannot compare the texts. However, dd did use the Dragonfly PH text last year. We covered each and every chapter and it is most assuredly an honors level class. DH (biology major who "taught" the class) agrees with the honors designation.

Awesome!!! Thanks!!!:hurray::hurray:

Michelle, I'm not sure that I agree with your assessment of Frankenstein and The Giver. It is a fine line. You could use those books to make those arguments. However, I don't believe that the books actually make those arguments in and of themselves. KWIM? I think that Frankenstein, especially, is a much broader theme than what you mention. In fact, Mary Shelley might not have had any problem with DNA manipulation. I think that using F. to make an argument against DNA manipulation is really twisting the text to meet a need (IMHO) rather than discovering what the text actually says and leaving it at that. That said, I do REALLY like the F451 idea and I think it would work well. How about using Animal Farm? Holly

Thanks Karen. We are typically doing between 20-25 problems. They are often questions with multiple subquestions. Since this takes dd so long, I was wondering if this was a typical amount of homework or not. Again thanks, Holly

Thanks Susan. That is a very helpful site! Holly

In general, approximately how many chemistry problems do you assign per chemistry chapter-assuming you are moving at a rate of one chapter a week? Just curious. TIA

My dd flies from NV to GA each summer. (She is 15.) You will have to call each individual airline to find out their policy. They are different, depending upon the airline. I found that it was better (for getting info) to call the airlines, but then book my flight on the internet (for the best price).

That is not logical. If that was the case, why did she post in this thread at all?

http://www.mrmartinweb.com/photomath.html Maybe this website will give you some ideas. Holly

My personal opinion and observations: Grade levels seem to be a factor around 7th and 9th grade, because that seems to be when the work load bumps up dramatically. YMMV. The students I have known who were young for their grade, or academically weak, seemed to flounder in 7th and/or 9th grade. Those who had parents that were sensitive to their weaknesses in 7th, and "pandered" to those weaknesses, finally watched their kids flop in 9th. Therefore, I think I'd wait to make any decisions about moving to a higher grade until at least 9th or even 10th grade. JMHO, Holly

My friend's son took the PSAT last year. She worked with a new counselor to figure out the details. So, this year, she called him up and just matter-of-fact said, "You remember us from last year? Well, this year we are going to be taking the AP with 3 other students." No problem. We didn't bother to share that we think we are the first in this district to take AP tests as homeschoolers. Holly

My ds tried to pinch me on the butt to mess up my bowling game. Unfortunately he ended up getting smacked pretty hard on the hand. Talk about natural consequences.