Here's the College Board's info page. http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/teachers_corner/8154.html and this is the book http://bcs.wiley.com/he-bcs/Books?action=index&itemId=0471441074&itemTypeId=BKS&bcsId=1442 However, there is a newer edition. Double however, usually for the APs you don't need the newest edition as they know schools don't change every year. Danielle

Even though I've had some problems with Rosetta Stone corporate, I think it's a good program for travelers or hobbyists. But without grammar and reading practice, it isn't a high school equivalent. Think about how a language is used for the purposes of college--it's going to be reading way more than speaking. So which should you emphasize? I found it eye opening to take a look at the SAT II subject tests in languages. You can get sample questions on the College Board website. Or look at one of the Prep books and decide if the program you're thinking of will prepare the kid for that. Seems to me like that's one standard that's useful. Danielle

One more idea--we made 8th grade our Shakespeare year. Looking ahead and following the WTM rotation in high school, I didn't see how dd would have the time to read more than a play or two, so we did 100% Shakespeare in 8th. She read 8 plays, and we watched at least one film version of each play. For example, Macbeth: we watched the Polanski version and the Japanese Throne of Blood (my favorite). for Hamlet, Mel Gibson, Kenneth Branaugh, and Rosencrantz & Guildenstern. You get the idea. No movies allowed unless play was read. Then we talked about the differences, read some background on Shakespeare, and listened to a few Harold Bloom lectures and selected ones from Teaching Company. This was fairly easy on yours truly as I'd had a college class where we read 16 plays in a semester (and all the sonnets). however, the sneaky truth is that plays are a lot faster read than, say, the Iliad and it's easier to keep up. DD has a pretty solid grasp on Shakespeare. I do think it's important to remember that a college bound kid is going to encounter this stuff all again, and we're not the last word on it all. Because of where we live, and because she plays in a youth orchestra, I get to hear from other teens and parents from top public and private schools. So far I haven't met anyone who has done more than we have, or even as much as we have. Haven't broken my arm patting myself on the back yet, but close. :001_smile: Danielle

We've done WTM style rotation since 2nd grade now and dd has just finished up 9th grade. I used to read everything ahead of her, but it just got overwhelming. This year I gave her a list (Ancients) and she had to pick out at least 15 works from the 25 or so I came up with, plus appropriate sections in Spielvogel and New Lifetime Reading Plan. We also watched the Teaching Company Great Authors of the Western Literary Tradition, which was great for introducing the works she was reading, and giving her at least some background for works she wasn't, even if she was reading something else by the author. For a little more history, we watched the Western Tradition from Annenberg/CPB. By high school, I think it's really valuable for the kid to learn how to learn on their own, with discussion from other people when possible. Even if you haven't read the work, the child should be able to discuss the ideas with you after describing what the book said. For example, was Herodotus naive? Are all travelers filtering what they see through their own frame of reference? You get the idea--just come up with some interesting questions. Or have them write a short paper, and if you understand it, voila, they've learned about communicating ideas to an "ignorant" audience. I just posted on my blog some more discussion on what I couldn't stand to read. I would love to have the time to read the 30-50 pages of GB my daughter reads. Education is so wasted on the young! Danielle

My daughter loved AP Human Geography (de Blij book) so much that she won't let me sell the books. It's a terrific intro to the contemporary issues in Geography, immigration, population movements, boundary disputes, etc. If kiddos have done geography pre-high school (map reading,etc.) they'll find it really interesting. The only geo we'd done prior to this was that Big Book of Map Skills with all the worksheets (which she also liked--like games). It's a LOT of reading (and there's some great Annenberg programs that coordinate with it) and very thought provoking. Danielle

Honest, First Start French at least is not Christian (or non-Christian) for that matter. It just doesn't really get into the topic. But please keep in mind that all Memoria materials have a 30 day money back guarantee and not only do they honor it, but they pass on any comments to the author. Don't hesitate to take advantage of it. Danielle

Reds, with Warren Beatty as John Reed, is based on 10 Days that Shook the World. It definitely has a point of view, but there's enough of both negative and positive portrayals that a good discussion should be possible. Danielle

Every time I see these threads I wonder why I waited so long to have a kid! Anyway: BA, Sociology--Finally graduated from Northeastern Illinois University after a mash up of other places--hey, I was a hippie--1975 MA, Social Service Administration, University of Chicago, 1977. Wish I'd been there the whole time, hope dd will be. Sigh, I'm old enough to be my daughter's grandmother. But it's a "family tradition"--my mom had her one and only at 40, too. Danielle

I like using Rosetta Stone for dialogue practice, but be forewarned that you better use it right when you buy it, as there will be no upgrades. I have a Level I and Level II set (ouch) that originally ran on Windows XP but will not run on Vista. I called about upgrades and the service rep all but laughted me off the phone. It's a lot of money not to be able to upgrade when you change a computer system, or plan to use it over time for multiple people. Danielle

Nope, not at all. I hope it's useable by anyone, Christian or secular. There are prayers (Our Father, Hail Mary & Glory Be) in the back of book one. They are definitely a part of French culture, short, and easy to use either for those who believe, or those who just want them as readings. But they can be easily ripped out, if someone wants to avoid them entirely, and they are not part of any specific lesson. No other content is specifically religious. In Book 2, the readings do cover topics such as Joan of Arc, Notre Dame Cathedral, etc., but these are cultural topics anyone going to France would encounter. France was a Catholic country until the Revolution, so some mention of religion is unavoidable, but in the book I don't take any particular world view (at least as I understand it). Neither is the book hostile to any particular world view. I'm not an employee of Memoria--they're just my publisher. They were great to work with, and did not ever mention any particular world view to me. In fact, I don't actually know just what religion any one at Memoria is, and they never asked me. HTH. Danielle

You can't do everything, but if you follow WTM even loosely, you will be teaching WAY more than most public school kids get. I recently heard a talk by a children's librarian and a reading specialist, and the literature they were describing was so EASY compared to what we read. A lot of what I consider to be classics have been eliminated because of politically correct problems (I say this shaking my head, even though I'm definitely politically liberal). Books such as The Sign of the Beaver are out. Many Newberry books--out. Many of the books SWB considers pre-high school are now assigned as high school because they're too hard--Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde were two mentioned by the librarian. In fact, in our school system, kids don't get any world history until 8th grade--everything else is american history, civics, state history, and a mashup of social studies (geography). Don't even get me started on art, music, art/music history--dd's orchestra teacher was actually shocked that she was conversant about Chopin (in 9th grade!!) Dd's strong suit is definitely not math, but she's at least at the level with all the honors programs had she gone to our local high school. We did a different science plan than WTM, (World of... books in 5th, Jason Project in 6th, Chem 3000 in 7th, Conceptual Physics in 8th) but dd's science knowledge is way beyond her ps 9th grade peers. Looking back, I think one of the main factors was just time--hsing wastes so much less than sitting around in regular school--assemblies, lining up, waiting---even in high school level, dd can take 8-9 subjects in the time the ps offers 6, and she practices harp 3 hours per day. Over the years, this extra time available for study makes a tremendous difference. Yes, she's really busy and we've always done a full day, 5 day school schedule, but she also doesn't have tons of homework every nite (unless she slacks off during the day). So I don't think she's any more "stressed out" than the ps kids, and she's getting a lot more bang for time invested. What's good, what you need to do, etc. should be evaluated, imho, for what you think is important to learn. But also consider, "compared to what" and you might feel comforted. Danielle

I modeled it after the Latina Christiana format as I thought that was easy to use and I didn't know any Latin at the time. Of course, if you know any French, First Start French will be easier to use than if you don't, but it's intended to work even if you are learning French with the kiddos. Also, if you have any questions while using FSF, just email me. I really support the idea of using multiple resources, limited only by student interest, instructional time available, and money which can be spent. FSF will supply more instructional material than almost any child would learn in a regular school pre-high school. But if you have the time and money to buy more resources, Rosetta Stone, Pimsleur, library books in French, etc. are all bonuses which will enhance your student's experience. I use as much of these as dd will put up with! Danielle

I love the Easy French Reader, but it would be best after First Start French. Easy French Reader is aimed at a bit older group--the first section is about the friendship/dating of two teens, the second is on historic personages, and the third is shortened versions of some French short stories. BTW, First Start French, Book 2 has a number of cultural & history readings included, which will set up the student nicely for the Easy French Reader.

Dd took AP Human Geography in 8th grade (14) and AP US Government this year--freshman (15). Her birthday is in November, so she's always on the older end. I may be a minority opinion, but I don't think AP is all that hard. If you get on the College Board listservs, the teachers are doing all kinds of projects and discussing supplementary materials endlessly. I think a lot of it is busy work. For Human Geo, basically dd read the book (de Blij) then read a test prep and did the exercises, and I had her practice for 3 mornings writing short essays from previous exams, then comparing them to the scored exams available on the AP website. For US Gov, she watched the videos from NROC, read the text assignments, and never did any of the written work. Again, she used a practice review book, but didn't even practice the essays this time. Dd is disorganized and both times had to put a full court press on studying--did very little (like, read 2 chapters) until about 6 weeks before the exam, then had to spend every afternoon working on it. Both times she scored a 5, so I blame AP for encouraging this bad behavior:001_smile: The only thing I see as difficult about AP is the prodigious amount of reading (maybe 1,000 pages for Human Geo). The tests have multiple choice, and as dd says, they give you the answers (ah, the joys of hsing, where Mom makes you write papers instead). I think as hs-ers it's really worth taking these tests early--if you wait til senior year, college admissions teams never see your scores. It really adds credibility to the grades I give. Danielle

Holly, This is probably bad news, but she really does need a language if she's going into music. For example, my dd was told by the harp prof at Northwestern that at a minimum they'd expect her to know French and German by the end of college. And Latin and Italian would be important also. One was essential before applying. FWIW. For a potential music major, I'd bag science (maybe even advanced math) before I'd drop languages. but only if time was really tight. In academic situations and proficiency testing, the reading/grammar is much more important than the speaking, so Rosetta Stone is not the program of choice if she will need to do placement tests at the college or take the SAT 2s. We all wish to be able to speak the language, because we think of language study as for travel. However, it's really for study and research when you're talking academics, or grad programs especially. Danielle

Michelle, Did she actually do the labs or just read them? Congrats! Danielle

Any of Robert Greenberg's music courses and Eric Rabkin's Masterpieces of the Imaginative Mind; as well as E. VanDiver's Iliad. Danielle

You just cost me $8!! I can't stand to wait for Christmas presents, either. Dd got a 5 on AP U.S. Government! Woot! Not bad for a liberal with horrible study habits:001_smile: Danielle

I'm trying to figure out whether I should "award" my daughter credit for music as a course or just count it as extracurriculars. Here's what she did: played harp for a youth orchestra (2 hr. class in the evening) (the local public school awards credit for orchestra, 5 periods of 45 min./wk) private harp lessons (1 hr/wk.) + 3 hours/day practicing music composition class (1.5 hrs./wk class, about 4 hours/wk spent on composing work) Except for orchestra, these continue through the summer. WWYD? Credit or extracurricular? If credit, how much? Danielle

I hope it's appropriate if I comment as the author. The program is really designed to be interactive between a teacher and a student. I really thought about this, as I too like things I can just hand to my dd. But at the age First Start French is aimed at, I really think it's important to practice speaking in an interactive way. Learning any modern language is thus quite different from studying Latin, where the speaking is a much smaller component. Latin as we now study it is more like math, and can be self studied. French, IMHO, is more like music, where a teacher is generally pretty important. The "aller" issue is a good point. Here's my reasoning, FWIW. Aller, etre and avoir are all irregular verbs, and all introduced early in the program. At the early stage, you just need to memorize them--but if you don't know them, there's hardly anything you can say, and it's next to impossible to come up with any meaningful sentences for practice or exercises. Before I wrote the book, I analyzed about 5 other text series, and aller is almost always introduced early on. But, in future editions I will include more of an explanation in the teacher's manual, and really appreciate the input. Danielle

An ezine is like a newsletter. You sign up for it on someone's website, and it comes to you via your email. Danielle

Would you rather read a blog or an ezine? For some time I've been writing an ezine on teaching and learning French. I usually prefer ezines for myself because I don't have to remember to go to the site, but now I'm wondering if other people prefer blogs. Can you vote, and tell me why if you wish. TIA! Danielle

Mine is so new I haven't even revised my sig yet. And it's not on homeschooling! (well, I'm sure that'll creep in from time to time). http://mindscale.blogspot.com/ Danielle

I think I ought to be reading what I'm giving dd for next year's reading list. (middle ages/renaissance). But actually, I'm ending up reading lots of books about writing and some for research. here's what I've just read or am in process: 1. The Sun King (Nancy Mitford)--research for a novel 2. The Ode Less Travelled (Stephen Fry)--how to write poetry. Kinda like crosstraining for writers 3. How to be a Famous Writer Before You're Dead (Ariel Gore)--jazzy and irreverant 4. Just read Outliers (Malcolm Gladwell) 5. Tried to read Lavinia (Ursula LeGuin)--couldn't finish it 6. The Instinct to Heal (David Servan-Schreiber) 7. Non-violent Communication (Marshall Rosenberg)--terrific book on peacemaking, conflict resolution, how to talk to teens, etc. 8. Short stories of E.T.A. Hoffman--discovered by watching a Teaching Company lecture. How did I miss these all my life? Hoping to do before September: 1. Hitchhiker's Guide--dd loved this and insists I read it 2. Portuguese in 3 months--I'll bet. Have another novel idea which requires research. 3.Finish reading The Odyssey. I've been at this project for about 35 years now. 4. The Princesse of Cleves 5. The Decameron (Boccaccio) 6. The Pillow Book (Sei Shonagon)-1/2 finished 7. Autobiography of a Yogi (Parmahansa Yogananda)--read in high school, half way thru a re-read 8. The Letters and Journals of John Woolman 9. The pile by the bed & 2 shelves in the bedroom that I've bought but haven't got to. Danielle

Well, I guess dd is finally getting older, as she has a "love"--just as geeky as she is. He's the nicest kid, so I'm happy for her. Up until now their "dates" have consisted of going birdwatching together. However, he just asked her if she would like to see the new Star Trek movie together and she's thrilled. My question--who pays? I dated back in the stone age, when the guy ALWAYS paid. But I'm not sure what the score is now. Anybody have experience? Danielle