We adore the MENSA reading lists. We didn't find out about them until near the end of 3rd grade, so we did the K-3 list as summer reading (summer plus a little on both sides) and DS got his certificate and free teeshirt. Now we're reading through the 4-6 list at a pace that will have us reading about â…“ of the list each year. DS loves books, so we supplement that list with plenty of other books that he chooses or are highly recommended in various curricula. Some he's already read, but even though we're allowed to count a certain number like that we just re-read those. I'm lucky that DS loves books almost as much as I do.

A good basic class on study skills would be a great idea for all students, not just homeschoolers. Sadly, they don't teach kids any of this in school.

I started out pretty close to what she was recommending, but it fell by the wayside pretty fast when confronted with an actual homeschool situation. I modified some things to suit us, completely ignored her recommendations in other places because they made no sense for us, and tweaked a lot. After the first year it was easier to know what was realistic and what was optimistic, and while we try for the optimistic side we don't fret as long as we don't fall below realistic for more that a couple weeks.

It's a bit of a mixed bag for me. I tend to order things as I see sales or as I need them if I don't have time to wait, but I started planning what I wanted to do at least six months before we started homeschooling. I've only had one curriculum I've regretted, Spelling Workout, which I purchased the first two volumes of. It wasn't difficult for him, just boring and didn't seem like he was actually learning anything, so I ended up selling the second volume after making DS finish the first volume and promising we'd switch to something better as soon as we got through it (which had the added benefit of making certain it wasn't something that was just slow in coming). I order stuff in advance if I know I'm not likely to change my mind between now and then and it's a golden opportunity. For example, a couple years ago I bought a whole pile of "scratch and dent" stuff from PHP to finish out any language arts or history stuff they had on damaged clearance that we didn't have yet, even though some of it won't be used for several years. I'm fully committed to using these programs, even if it means having to make adjustments to them as we go. I'm comfortable with that. If I'm not that certain, I tend to hedge my bets and buy one year at a time. After the Spelling Workout flop I almost went with one semester at a time for those programs that worked that way, but decided it was significantly easier to prepare schedules if I had the whole year in front of me. Other things I tend to buy as we go. There are always supplies that aren't predictable, and literature that we were planning to get from the library that suddenly a half dozen people are also waiting for and I am not willing to substitute (or can't for some reason).

Thanks, I'll definitely take a look at both AG and JAG.

I play, but I'm not particularly good at it. I taught him the basics and then we moved on to books I picked up at the library to challenge both of us. I also bought a decent chess for kids book for him for Christmas. Next on our list is a better chess set. We were given a glass set, and we have a small cheap plastic set, but I'd prefer a tournament set. At this point he's got me convinced it will be worth it.

Both are technically correct because "erant" is a linking verb (just like it is in English). Both linked nouns have the same endings (same "part of speech" if you prefer) because they are treated equally by the verb. However, in the absence of other indicators to the contrary, it is safe to assume an SOV word order for Latin, so if you have to pick just one, I'd go with "Teachers are students."

DS10 is a huge Lego fan, and a tech geek like his parents. He saved his allowance for a whole year to buy the EV3 set and he absolutely adores it (we had planned to give it to him for Christmas that year, but he beat us to it LOL). We even used it to build a cookie-icing machine that an engineer friend of mine pointed out to me. That said, we didn't get the homeschool pack, just the standard version. I should investigate the differences and maybe pick up any missing components for him.

Never did understand why they stopped published NEM3 and NEM4 - had I known that I would have purchased the entire series a long time ago so I'd have them on hand when I needed them.

peaceful isle, I'd love your take on the pros and cons of Abeka. purple owl, good to know it hasn't been taken completely off the shelf. It doesn't explain why I never received a reply when I responded to the request for help, but that's okay. My email might have got lost in the shuffle. redsquirrel, that's my concern with R&S, although I'll still take a look at it. We're Christian, but I really dislike how in-your-face the stuff is from some publishers. That's a huge no-no for me with sciences and history (appropriate mention in the right places is a good thing, but many don't stop there), but I can probably live with it in language arts.

Thank you cintinative, I will probably contact them to see if I can get that PDF. If nothing else it will help me evaluate other programs when I can compare them to what I wanted to use. I also checked the other threads you linked and there were some good suggestions there as well.

Thank you, Scout. I will take a closer look at those. We are Christian, although I do tend to avoid anything with a marked slant in that direction because some of it tends to be rather heavy-handed.

Perhaps it would if they ever actually publish it. It doesn't exist yet, except as a partially completed, still-on-the-drawing-board concept. I'm curious how it could have helped anyone in that form?

I'd pass on AAR at this point. When we made the switch from Spelling Workout to All About Spelling in first grade I asked them about AAR while I had them on the phone to order AAS. They told me that since my child was already well into The Ordinary Parent's Guide that AAR would be unnecessary but AAS would reinforce what he had learned there. That advice was spot on and DS10 reads at approximately an 8th-grade level now.

DS and I had some discussions about regional accents when we ran into things like that. I found it annoying that she never addressed that, but it wasn't difficult to deal with when it popped up, and made for some welcome giggles at times. The program works, even with the occasional oddity.

Since ALL (Advanced Language Lessons) has clearly been shelved yet again (even the thread asking for volunteers to write exercises and diagram sentences has apparently disappeared, and my email offering to do exactly that never got a response), I'm going to need recommendations for a replacement. Please don't just throw a curriculum suggestion at me. I need to know why it worked for you, and what you think are its strengths and weaknesses. (Oh, and if anyone happens to know what happened to ALL, I'd greatly appreciate being put in the loop. I was really looking forward to that. I'd ask PHP directly, but I know from past experience that questions are often either ignored or "answered" by essentially saying they don't know.)

My goal is to have him fluent in Latin and one other language by the time I graduate him. If he picks anything other than French I'll either be learning with him or outsourcing, but even if he picks French I'll be relearning with him as I haven't used it since college.

As a biology professor I've been exposed to a large number of extremely good quality microscopes over the years, both in my own studies and in my teaching duties. We just purchased an OMAX from Amazon for about $200 that can do everything I would ever expect a light microscope to do (anything more detailed would require an electron microscope). After using it for a bit I would definitely recommend it to anyone who asked. It's solidly built, full of all the features I've come to expect from a good-quality light microscope, and far more affordable that I ever would have expected, plus the company has a good reputation for customer service. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0094JTZOU?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

It depends on the class. I've had experience both with classes that require you to take proctored exams, and those that only required that you take a timed "open book" exam at home. Neither is an issue unless you have computer issues during the later, or it's a bit of a drive to get to the former.

I'm no help - I used Wheelock, and intend to use it with DS once we finish Lively Latin, but he'll be older by the time we're done with Lively Latin. I may change my mind about that by the time we get there, so I'm subbing for alternate ideas just in case.

I have to disagree with Laura on one point. I found Latin much easier to learn than French. I've had similar exposure to both languages, but I'm much more capable in Latin than I ever was in French, although I'm certain I'd relearn French skills much faster having studied Latin than I would have from simply having studied French before. Both have advantages and disadvantages. French is a living language and, as such, is full of colloquialisms that a non-native speaker may never fully understand, BUT it means the language is both relevant to the modern world and possesses a vocabulary similar to English in scope. It also lets us practice with real French speakers and immerse ourselves in the language. It's ready availability in the modern world makes French an ideal language to study for both fluency and international citizenship. Latin, on the other hand, is a "dead" language. It has no modern vocabulary, no native speakers for immersion-style study, and no direct correlations for some of the vocabulary. It does, however, have a static vocabulary and clearly defined grammar rules that don't change when the next generation appears. The exceptions are known and detailed in most Latin grammars and dictionaries. The unchanging nature of the language (beyond those changes that have already occurred as a matter of the language's history) makes it an ideal language to study for methodical, logical language skills and translation, not to mention opening the whole world of Latin literature to independent study without relying on someone else's translation. That said, I'd let the child study Latin, but warn him that with such a full schedule he may have to make some tough choices in the near future - up to and including dropping at least one language to make room for the rest.

DS started out as a bit of a reluctant reader as well. Just keep reading to him and surrounding him with good books, both audiobooks and physical books. DS begs for library trips now, and always wants to know if I have a new book for him. Part of it was finding something he wanted to read about, and the rest was just patience. He sees me reading all the time, so he knows it's something I value, so that helps as well.

I'm thrilled if DS understands that mom getting choked up while reading out loud means it's a really good book. He loves books, so much so that I've had to resort to borrowing audiobooks from the library because I just can't keep up with his demand for new books, but he doesn't have the same reactions that I do, nor do I expect him to. I didn't even have the same reaction when I read some of these as a child myself.

Yeah, I would never give actual curriculum as a gift unless it was something DS was begging for that I might not have purchased otherwise. Even then I'd hesitate, and it would depend on exactly what kind of reaction I could expect from him. Books (even ones I will require he read at some point), games, art and craft supplies, sport equipment, science kits, and all that are definitely fair game though. My kid is pretty easy though - he gets excited about new clothes because he knows the person who bought them picked them out special for him. And Legos are always a hit, but the child has enough Legos to open his own Lego Store and this is what he spends nearly all his allowance on. Asking grandparents to buy stuff for me has variable results - my MIL is happy to do it, my mom would probably do it, my husband would look at me funny and tease me for months, and my stepmom would give me that look and remind that isn't really a present for ME. So I ask for classic literature I want for me that I also intend to have DS read for high school. LOL

The other thing I would need to know to make a reasonable recommendation is what your son wants to use the microscope for. There are different microscopes for different purposes and while there is some overlap, it's worth buying the right one for his needs.