My dd took APUS Govt with Julia Reed two years ago (so not last year, but the year before). Here's what she had to say. She's off at college now so I texted her and put her exact response below. "The work load was probably about 10-12 hours a week, class included. The layout worked really well because she had a couple of different class times so everyone could attend when it worked best for them. She’s more than willing to help you understand the concepts when you don’t get them and she gave me an opportunity to understand what I had missed on the tests by allowing me to go back and review the right answers and why they were right. I enjoyed it, even though gov isn’t my favorite subject because she made it interesting and was willing to help us understand the material."

My son is currently in English 2 with Mrs. Thomas. He enjoys the class. The grammar part is hard for him, and a little overkill, but overall a good class. I like the feedback he receives as I feel this helps him to see where he needs to improve his writing. We've taken English classes with other vendors where my dc received no feedback whatsoever. My dc have taken just about every level of English classes with TPS, and we really like them. We prefer the challenging aspect.

TPS English classes are somewhat advanced and very grammar heavy as the previous poster said. My dd took one summer class once with TPS in order to “qualify” to get into the class we wanted. One class during the summer was a lot. I can’t imagine doing two. I think that’s too much. Have you asked if there is one she could take to get into English 2?

My dd has taken English 1 this year. I've not been too impressed, but I'm very picky. The class consists of literature which they read and discuss. This is definitely the best part of the class as they do a fairly good job of discussing the literature. There is a vocabulary book that they are supposed to be working through. The assignments are not posted in the same place as other assignments, and my dd basically doesn't do them. The vocabulary assignments are never due, but there are quizzes. As you can imagine, my dd doesn't do very well on the quizzes since she never does the work. There are grammar assignments which have to be turned in, and they often have discussion about grammar during class. This is also another good part of the class. The writing assignments are ok. However, my dd has literally gotten 100% on every single writing assignment and never gets any feedback. This is the one area that really bothers me. I rely on English classes to help my dc learn to write better, and this class has done nothing in that department. My dd only likes the class because it is super easy and "she doesn't have to spend too much time on English." Also, if you're looking for something that is secular, this is not it. My dd says they do lots of scripture reading in the class. Hope this helps!

I don't see why not. I've never seen any restrictions on their classes and who can take them.

That is correct. Sorry to be confusing. I just felt I should mention that as it seems many don’t like TPS English because it is rigorous and can be seen as strict in their writing requirements. I understand sleepless nights, and no newborn here either. 😩

My dd took this class about 4 years ago. She really liked the class. We really wanted her to be in English 4 that year, and she needed this class to bring her writing to the English 4 level. I actually listened in on the entire class (all summer) as it was our first experience with TPS, and I wanted to see what we were getting into. She wrote five full essays, one smaller essay, and then had a final presentation. (We still use TPS for other children so I can login and see.). I was really impressed with this class, and my dd's writing definitely improved a ton just in that summer. Prior to this class, dd writing was weak. This same dd had three more English classes with Mrs. T, and learned a ton! Her writing improved massively and she has been well prepared for college. I just asked her and she said Mrs. T is absolutely one of her favorite teachers ever. Hope that helps! We are big fans of Mrs. T and TPS, but we prefer a more rigorous style of homeschooling.

My DD did both Test Rocker and Kaplan, but honestly, the best thing she found was taking practice tests. She spent many weekends taking practice tests out of the Real ACT book and then going over the questions she missed and why she missed them. Of the two prep classes, she liked Test Rocker the best. It was not an actual class, but more of an on your own type preparation class with videos and then questions.

Ok, so I'm demonstrating my stupidity here, but would someone please tell me how MIT OCW courses work. Do you just do the work or is there something to sign up for? I'm completely clueless and would love all the info you'd be willing to take the time to share! Thank you so much!! -Lisa

I don't consider this to be off topic. It's more info on a related topic, and I've appreciated the insight. So, thank you!! -Lisa (the OP)

We've used some AoPS in the past, BA and Alcumus. The biggest reason is that my kids can't stand Chalkdust or Foerster's. My husband likes both of those, but is willing to entertain AoPS. We will see who wins, the kids or DH. I'm just the middle woman doing the research. :) -Lisa

My children have not taken Algebra 2 anywhere else. My DH considers the Algebra 1 curriculum we've done to be excellent (Foerster's and Chalkdust). I've told him we will have to fo back and do some of the Intro to Algebra book before moving into the Int Algebra book. He's not too convinced. That's what I get for trying to argue with an Engineer who has a minor in math. :) -Lisa

Thank you for the input. I have not used the other AoPS books. We've used BA, and I have Intro to Algebra, but haven't used it. These two children did Foerster's Algebra 1 and also Chalkdust Algebra 1 (we really wanted Algebra 1 cemented in). -Lisa

I'm wondering if anyone has done this on their own, as opposed to taking a class, that would be willing to share how they did it. What I mean by that is, are you just really mathy so you taught it on your own? Did you use Khan Academy or other videos? Or is there some other resource that you used? We are considering using this. I'm not very mathy, but my husband is extremely mathy!! The problem is, I'm the one who is home, and my husband's time at home is really limited. It would be difficult for him to teach this class in a way that would benefit the kids (there are 2 that would take it). I would consider an online class. However, we are on the east coast, that puts the class at 7:30 to 9:00pm. My kids have checked out by then. They get up really early (5:15am) for an early morning religion class so I really don't think I can do that to them. We may have to go with another alternative that has videos, but I'd love to hear any experiences with AoPS Int. Algebra if there are any out there. Thank you so much!! -Lisa

Thank you for all the comments! It is extremely helpful to hear others experiences!! -Lisa

Pinkelement, thank you for your feedback. It's very beneficial to hear what others experiences have been. I'll ask you the same question I asked Sebastian, would (or did) you pair this with another English class from another online provider or would it be overkill? How about pairing it with one of the other Lukeion courses, specifically grammar or vocabulary? Thank you again for your thoughts! -Lisa

Sebastian, thank you so much for the extensive information and also for the link to your previous comments. It looks like your comments from when your son took the course that you used this as a stand alone English class. Would you have considered pairing it with another English class from another provider or would that be overkill? Would you consider pairing it with one of the other Lukeion courses, either the vocabulary or grammar course? Thank you again! -Lisa

Thank you for the feedback. With the papers, did you feel like the students got sufficient feedback to improve their writing? Also, do you mind my asking the age of your child when they took the class? I'm trying to get a sense if we're aiming for the right age. Thank you again! -Lisa

I'm wondering if there are any other vendors, besides WTMA and AoPS, that teach AoPS material? Also, are there any other videos for AoPS besides those on their website? I'm looking for videos that would cover the "Algebra 2" piece (so part of the Intro book and then the Intermediate book). Thank you so much for your help!! -Lisa

I'm wondering if anyone has any feedback/experience with either of these two courses that they'd be willing to share? I'm considering this class for a student who will be a freshman next year and hasn't taken any Lukeion classes. Thank you so much for your thoughts!! -Lisa

Please forgive my very delayed reply to your questions. I just saw this. The teacher uses Schoology for assignments and join.me for the live class portion. Also, she uses the code.org curriculum. My son said that the teacher goes over the past material at the beginning of class and then goes over the upcoming work highlighting anything that might be confusing, etc. He said the majority is independent work. However, they do have group projects. He thinks the group projects happen about once a month. Hope that helps! Lisa

My son is currently in the Computer Science Principles class. He's really enjoying it. He's a geek (term of endearment) to begin with so he's knows quite a bit of it, but he's learning some as well. He needs structure and organization (he's ADHD) and seems to feel fine with how this class is going in terms of that. There is a live component, if you are available to attend, which I think is invaluable for him. I just asked him what he thinks of the class. He really likes it and feel like he is learning. He feels like his teacher is organized and knows what she's talking about (for what that's worth). Keep in mind, he's 14. Hope that helps! -Lisa

I think your plan sounds great. We do similar here with our ADHD son. FWIW, I have older children who did DIVE and we found the tests to be extremely difficult so we did open book with those. We changed it up for this child as the difficulty level would have created a nightmare. Best of luck!

Thank you for your reply. This is kind of what I figured so we've started down the path of taking a year to do it. Thanks again! -Lisa

Thank you for your reply. I kind of had a feeling that it would be too much for a semester and I don't want to cut a bunch out so we've started down the year path. I'm a little concerned about having summer in the middle but am hoping it will help cement some of the fitness aspects more. Did you find it difficult because you had the summer in between or do you homeschool year round? Thank you again! -Lisa