Anyone can self study for an AP test. Anyone can take an AP test. Unless you (the parent/teacher) submit a curriculum that is approved by the college board, you cannot list "AP ____" on a high school transcript. That being said, this is what I have learned since my dd started doing an AP Bio course. AP classes are really difficult! I was going to have (very bright) dd (14) self-study for her class. I am not a biologist but have a strong math/sciency background. I found a copy of a syllabus that a sciencey mom used to get approval and learned (from a conversation with the people at Collge Board) that anyone can submit a syllabus and it is the syllabus that must be approved, not the teacher. So you could do this. However, at the last minute and because we were going to be moving from Europe back to the States, I did sign dd up for the AP Bio at PAhomeschoolers. Boy am I glad I did! She is getting an amazing teacher (MD in oral surgery) who has a great track record of teaching kids for this class. There is no way I would be even close to this instructor! Also, my dd is working her litttle tail off on this subject, putting in hours each week and is doing fine. I say "fine" because even with all this work and excellent help, she is not rocking the practice tests they take! I mean, I am very proud of her but this is a real college course! So, unlless your specialty is in that particular subject, I would be very leery of taking this too casually. Granted, I think that the sciences are very difficult in general, and I'd heard that on sheer memory AP Bio and AP US History are the most intense. If your dc is still interested in the AP exam and takes it and doesn't feel good about the test, s/he can still take the SATII in that subject. You certainly can prove that you know theh subject with a high SAT! Anyway, bottom line is that my dd is quite bright, I feel that I can help her quite a bit, but this is an extremely difficult class to do. Honestly, I was really surprised myself how much work it is! Hope that helps (and don't want to discourage you). jeri

DD (14) is using it for her Geom course. (Tried LoF and did *not* like it!). So, is this enough for a std high school Geom class? (She liked algebra much better and really isn't too fond of Geom.) Thanks. jeri

Jeri

Jeri

DD switched to this midway through our int'l move. So, we have the text but not the answers. Can anyone look at the challenge questions at the end of Chapter 2 and just list the answers? I think there are about 10 questions or so. Our household goods arrive in two weeks. Looking forward to that for more than this one reason! Thanks! Jeri

DD switched to this midway through our int'l move. So, we have the text but not the answers. Can anyone look at the challenge questions at the end of Chapter 2 and just list the answers? I think there are about 10 questions or so. Our household goods arrive in two weeks. Looking forward to that for more than this one reason! Thanks! Jeri

Megan, that's a horrifying story! Glad it went well. Ok, so I took the first step which was to get the mold made on Friday for the flipper, and match the tooth color. She looked at my xray again and said it will be tricky since this tooth has had quite of bit of bone loss around it. She said it's almost easier to do if it is out suddenly due to an accident. But she will be rebuilding the bone over a six month period. I have started to drink gallons of milk in the last couple of days in hope that this bone rebuilds well! Yes, this is kind of stressful, getting ready to pull the trigger on actually removing my front tooth! I will keep you all posted. Jeri

Thanks for validating my stress and telling me to be strong! jeri

Saw periodontist #2. She was really great but said that due to my badly mangled tooth, she would have to do bone grafts. Interestingly, she said that if the bone grafts "fail," they try to do it again and it usually takes the second time. It's just that the patient has to be patient about the redo. I think I am going to go through with this. Have to make an appt for a "flipper" for tomorrow or Friday. Then she said I could probably wait until we actually move into our new house the first week of Nov. Insurance will cover half (yay!). Thanks, ladies, for all the moral support. It's especially hard being in a new area where you don't know anyone and aren't even living in a house yet! I keep thinking how really vain all this is in the grand scheme of things. Two of my friends both were diagnosed with breast cancer this past summer, so I really have nothing to be upset about! jeri

I had trauma to one of my top front teeth years ago in grade school, followed by a root canal. Then I had to have some sort of filling from the top down (through the gum) several years later due to an infection. Several years ago I had it capped and then when that popped off, most of what was left of the tooth came too. That was fixed with a post a yar ago, and now it is inflamed. Anyway, I just saw a periodontist ans she said that the tooth root cannot be saved. She is recommending a root removal, damaged tissue removal, bone pieced implanted and then it is left alone to heal for 4-6 mnths. Then I come back and get the implant base inserted and wait another 4-6 mths for it to heal. Finally, the new tooth is screwed in. Have you had this done? Would you do it again if you could, or would you go with a denture? Certainly the price with the latter would be less, but on the other hand, I'm led to believe that the implant would be more natural. DH said that he couldn't be bothered with almost a year of getting this done and he would just go the denture route. I'm also concerned about the whole bone density thing. I'm 48 but my mom has osteo (at 78). She's had an implant and there is concern about her osteoporosis. But maybe I should just worry about that when I get 30 years down the road,. I told dh I was posting this for "the girls" to answer and he thought it was very funny that I would do so. Then he reconsidered and said that among all of us, there's bound to be implant experience! Thanks! Jeri

anyone actually live in Fairfax with kids my ages? jeri

We just finished our move from Germany to Falls Church. Living in a hotel until we can close on our house in Fairfax. Have four kids I homeschool (dd, 14; ds, 11; dd, 11; ds, 9)and two kids who will be going to school (one attending Oak View adn one attending Robinson Middle). It will be a bit crazy for us while we wait for our van to get here, enroll two kids in school and an exciting emergency periodontist appt for me. But once our hectic week is over, what do we do and where do we go? Like I said, hook me up, ladies! Jeri

I showed her all the responses and she feels pretty good about what she's doing. She is also pretty stubborn and does not want to drop it! Jeri

I am going to pass it on. I had no idea what kids are taking now in college. Also, great tip on withdrawing with PAH before end of Sept. I think we will revisit this tomorrow. However, I don't think she will since she is very determined. Just found out today that she has an 87% in the class and that has inspired her. Jeri

DD is taking the PAhomeschoolers AP Bio course and although she really likes it, she is finding it to be very time consuming and difficult. She is getting stressed out that college will be like that times 6 courses! Can someone give me an idea of "what" courses your kid is taking in colllege? I told her that since you are taking a variety of courses, some require more work than others, and I don't remember them all taking the same massive amount of time. FWIW, she's only in 9th and I think part of it is that this is the most difficult course she has taken as a homeschooler. Thansk. jeri

I am 1/2 of the way through WWE 3. My 6th (ESL) dd and my 4th ds are good on reading and summarizing but the scope of the dictation is really too difficult for them. Especially for my ESL dd! I print out the two sentences every week and have them diligently copy them daily. On Friday, I give them the "dictation test" along with their respective spellling tests. I plan on doing this until through with WWE about Christmas, then moving them into WWE 4. At that point I will probably continue with writing/copying the sentences, but add in (easier) dictation that I get fromj other sources. I just find that in WWE 3, the words are too difficult to spell, the grammar is many times not straightforward enough, and the ideas difficult to hold in one's head. jeri

jeri

How about the "I now know all the details of carpet removal" badge. Or the "I now participate in carpet removal badge." Finally, "The very idea of carpet removal horrifies me" badge. Jeri

We are moving from Germany back to the States and I have six kids from 8 to 14. We will be in a hotel for 10 days on this side of the pond, and at least a month in the DC area. I am working very hard right now to get a very clear idea of how our day works--who is capable of what, what curriculum works, what doesn't, how mch time everything takes, etc. I am also printing out about two months ahead, and storing everything possible on our laptops. I figure if we run out of stuff, I can print out worksheets from various stored curriculum on the hotel;'s printer. Also, some stuff that is just too bulky to carry on the plane I am shipping ahead to the hotel so it's there within about 5 days time. good luck and have fun! Jeri

putting it on 1.2 or 1.5 speed. I just don't have the one and a half hours to do it! I find I need to work to keep up in the middle of it, and granted I'm not holding the positions for the full amt of time, but it's better than nothing. Congrats on the P90X! Hang in there--you can do it! I'm just starting week 10 and very happy with the results. I love Kenpo (but I have a tae kwon do background), plyo (even though it's a killer) and even cardio. You'll get lots of support here! jeri

the govt said no. We originally were going to be here through Feb of next year and were going to ask for a 2 year extension. However, due to budget cuts, dh's office is shutting down. So we are flying out of here on Oct 8. Hope you like Wiesbaden! Lots of changes going on here, and it's going to get really big! Let me know if I can help you with any info! Jeri

First, I concentrate very heavily on spelling, reading and math. If your kids can do these basic skills *well*, then they can keep up with the "core" stuff found on standardized tests. My kids all took Terra Novas this past year at the public schools. One had a perfect score in everything (99%); one had all 90%; two were between 75-90% (my two least motivated kids--smart but no desire to do well); and one ESL child did right in the average range (he's only been speaking English for three years). My other ESL student scored in the mid range of the Iowa tests. So, I'm very happy with their nuts and bolts tests (even if I have a relatively low regard for TN testing in general). Second, I am not teaching the public school way. That is why I homeschool. I teach thinking, logic, history from a world perspective, Latin, grammar, art history, German, etc. If I wanted them to learn Spanish or "social studies," I would have sent them to public school. They read high quality books, and not just what "keeps them reading." When they are older, I teach the Great Books. Finallly, so much of what is on a standardized test for knowledge is based on what the state requires. So, if it's 6th grade it must be earth science. If it's 7th grade it must be American History. I don't particularly care what they learn when, as long as they learn it at some time. So, we do plant biology when it's springtime. We learned about William the Conqueror when we went to Bayeux. Keep the reason you homeschool in sight. It is not to compete with the public schools; it is to do better than the public schools however YOU define it. Jeri

Thanks, Jen. This is kind of what I'm thinking of doing for reading but I'm glad you emphasized the discussion in the TM! Jeri

jeri

I have it and have read through the TM. My questions are how you are using it! I have an "assigned reading" spot in my schedule for my three kids: ds (6th), dd (6th--but probably more of a 5th grader), and ds (4th). Honestly, I don't want to sit and read these aloud. But I'm not sure if they would get a lot out of them if I didn't. So, how are *you* using these books??? Jeri