Oh boy. DD spends at least an hour and a half, sometimes two hours, on math. Many times, she asks to keep going. For those who use DO, do you follow his schedule? Or do your students just work for a certain amount of time each day and then it's on to the next day? DD went through it very quickly at first; much quicker than his schedule. Ooops - don't mean to derail. I should post this elsewhere!

Thanks for the hugs! It has not stressed me out too much, as I know I am finally in a happy and healthy place. He is most certainly not. I have been receiving more of his nasty emails since his lawyer informed him of my intent.

I apologize - it's been many years since I have taught a kid to read. I used the book, Phonics Pathways, along with Explode the Code books. I used Bob books and something else - I See Sam maybe? There were some free sites back then that even came with free readers. I would print those out. I know I used something for multi-syllabic words. I can't recall...

Welcome! AAR is for beginning readers, right? Depending on the kid, you may need to teach phonics in some way. But that can be done without spending any money. :) From one certified teacher to another, be prepared to throw everything you learned in school out the window. :lol: Enjoy!

Oooh - thank you for that link. I sent a letter to his lawyer, saying that he has five days to pay in full or I will file. That's what my former attorney suggested. I just need to know how to follow through in the best way. Thanks again!

We had a few other hits in middle school. MCT's Writing of Literature. It REALLY opened up dd's eyes to certain books. She and I loved it. In addition, she loved Great Courses Plus. Dorsey Armstrong's Analysis and Critique, Great Utopian and Dystopia Works in in Literature, Heroes and Legends, How to Read and Understand Shakespeare. She also loved every single linguistics course. Poetry is also a fabulous way of beginning lit analysis (you can start with Mensa). If you do The Hobbit, be sure to listen to The Tolkien Professor. Michael Drout is also great for other lit and language courses. Oh - dd also enjoyed How to Read a Book like a Professor. Just some more ideas to keep in the back of your mind for later. OP, I have no outline/no arc that I followed. I just knew which stories and books I wanted to cover - and it always changed according to her interests and schedule - and we just continued on with each day. But, that's just the way I roll! DD will be a freshman this year, so things will be a bit more structured with more output. She would like to do a sci fi/dystopian unit for lit. And maybe a women's lit course. I did that for one of my other dds and it was fabulous.

I LOVE using short stories and essays in middle school - especially in 7th and 8th. We read at least one of each a week. For those in 7th and 8th, Patterns for College Writing and Writing with a Thesis are perfect conversation starters for essays. No need to answer all questions, or have writing assignments from those books - just read and discuss, using the questions as a guide. Lori's lists for short stories are amazing. You can search for free pdfs and, many times, if you add the word "questions" or "analysis", you will come across some wonderful teachers who provide them on their websites. I agree with Farrar - only a couple of in-depth books a year. Otherwise, let them read great books and they'll be a-ok!

Agree with all of the above. I never stressed about hours for a credit. My kids went above and beyond in hours. When it gets closer to application time (and guidance counselor letter/school profile/course description time - blech), you can figure out how best to combine and represent it all. ETA: The writing that she spends hours and hours on - because she loves it - will have plenty of chances to be highlighted in other areas of her apps. She will likely have tons of essays to write, if she applies to a good amount of schools. Her talent will shine through on multiple levels. DS spends most of his waking hours learning. I mentioned it in my guidance counselor letter...

I need to file for contempt against my ex. I can no longer afford $325 a flooshing hour. Geez. Just wondering if there are some good educational resources (websites?) out there for someone who needs to represent herself? I want to make sure I do this right. I am in PA. Thanks.

DD is definitely getting her riding and barn work time on her transcript as PE credit. It will also be used as an extracurricular. :)

Thank you for sharing this. I am designing my own AP Human Geo course this year. If dd seems ready, she will take the exam. If not (she will only be in 9th), then so be it. No biggie. I really appreciate your update. Sorry it was such a mess of a class for him.

Hmmm. There are two kinds of videos - one with teacher standing in front and one which uses a blackboard of sorts. DO uses the blackboard approach. And the videos are short. Foerster's has videos, if necessary, doesn't it? Math without Borders? Are those videos accessible online at any time? Or are they only available through a download via flashdrive?

My only concern would be - for a kid who is easily distracted and not too motivated - there is plenty of opportunity for wasted time when self-teaching. I am just speaking from my own experience. I'd hate to see the OP switch again. I highly recommend something with more accountability. I still haven't found the perfect fit. OP - Lial's is not the most inspiring of books. There are tons of practice problems and, if I recall correctly, the print was small and there was a lot to a page. DS21 used it in 7th grade.

Just wanted you all to know that we ended up at Ocean Beach Park in CT. It was perfect for what I wanted. They enjoyed the beach and water slides. Then, two days ago, I took dd13 and her friend to Ocean City, NJ for a day trip - there, she could get the boardwalk experience she was craving. I am not a fan of the beach. At all. I think we can call it a wrap for this summer. :)

I was the OP in that thread; I got Art of Poetry by Classical Academic Press. We will start in the fall.

Just wanted to add that Live Lingua ended up being $10-$15 an hour, depending upon how many sessions you buy upfront.

This resonates with me, as my dd is very similar. She is an out of the box thinker and appreciates humor and stories in her learning. She liked AoPS enough, but with her personality, the retention was just not there. My boys could see something once and remember it always. DD just doesn't care enough. So - what works best for her - really in all areas - is more systematic learning. Step by step with specific output expectations. This is why DO isn't the perfect thing for her. I would love a teacher to be asking dd questions, telling her to do her work, nagging her. DD really likes DO. It is systematic on the input, but not the output (at least for dd). DD tends to slack with time management. For a chapter or two, she gets it and speeds ahead and other chapters, she slows waaay down, doesn't send in her homework before she takes tests, etc. It is an ongoing battle; this year, she will follow DO's schedule, unless I sign her up for a live class. I would love for DD to take WTMA's AoPS Algebra, but she would have to spend the entire year doing algebra again. I don't know what to do. OP - I feel your pain! Best of luck in what you decide.

Obviosuly, I shared this with her at some point this past year, but I really don't remember. Hmmmm. And I don't remember having dd14 read it. Weird! Thanks all!

Some that we liked in middle school (I see the ages of your kids)... Bob Brier anything Secret Life of Words John McWhorter anything Literary Analysis and Critique Heroes and Legends Medieval World - Dorsey Armstrong (dd14 really likes her) Building a Better Vocabulary How to Read and Understand Shakespeare The Other Side of History Great Utopian and Dystopian Works of Literature Plant Science Art of Reading Understanding the Universe Secrets of Mental Math Power of Mathematical Visualization Looking forward to Cultural and Human Geography and Writing Great Fiction

That's the book I have, but the essay is not in there. DD17 thought it might be Anne Lamott's first draft essay. I don't think it was that. Thanks anyway!

Dd17 is asking for the name and author of an esssay that dd14 read this year about writing a first draft. I can't remember and dd14 is out of cell phone reach. Maybe from patterns in college writing? Anyone know?

After AoPS, we went into Jacobs Algebra for the first half of the book - to cover prealgebra again. Then, we started DO Algebra. That has worked wonderfully, yet I still wish she had a teacher who could personally ask/answer questions and stayed on top of her. Yes, I do all of that, but with dd's personality, she would be more receptive (and more successful) if she had someone else.

Yes. My dd is being intensely taught Spanish for $80/hr. If I just wanted the basics or an intro, I would use my personal favorite, Live Lingua. You are assigned a particular tutor and when it is the right fit, it is fabulous!

Oh wait! I reread my post. We don't want to camp on a beach. We will stay at a hotel anywhere.

Funny about the lack of waves. The 13 year old keeps talking about learning how to surf. I told her today that I found a surfboard in my Amazon shopping cart and deleted it! She said she was hoping I would accidentally order it! Surfing has been her obsession for all of 24 hours. She is obviously bored! Off to check out the beaches you all mentioned. I'll let you know!