Excellence in Literature, especially with the honors option, is pretty much on-par with the Honros & AP English classes my niece took at our local high school. It starts in 8th grade. Excellence in Writing sells programs that would be good precursors to EIL. If you're looking for a strong grammar program, you could look into Shurley English. I'm not familiar with W&R, though, so it could be just as effective.

http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/sku/035612 Maps, Globes, & Graphs have multiple levels beginning with level A. The above link goes to level B.

Tell me, you naughty Sea Nymphs. Subject Pronoun - (you) understood you Verb transitive - Tell Direct Object - Me Noun of Direct Address - Sea Nymphs Adjectives modifying DNA - you & naughty (although I suppose they could be considered part of the NDA) If the sentence said, "Tell me your secret," secret would be an indirect object because it's answering the question "Verb, direct object (Tell me) who or what?". "Me" would be the DO because it's answering the question "Subject, verb (you tell) who or what?"

I used to buy Great Works Literature Guides, but now I just buy studies from teacherspayteachers.com.

PAL Reading is different, but PAL Writing really does teach the basic understanding of IEW techniques. Section 2 introduces the stylistic techniques such as who-which clauses, strong verbs, -ly adverbs, etc. It introduces the idea of KWOs by teaching specific summaraizing, then it begins to teach the concept of re-writing a paragraph and adding dress-ups. By part 3, students are using the story sequence outline found in the upper level books to rewrite stories. They're encouraged to add dress-ups. By lesson 7 of part 3, they're filling out KWOs, re-telling, then dressing up the paragraphs. If you feel that your kiddo is ready to move on to the theme books, check out Bible Heroes or People & Places(?). Or are you wanting something that isn't IEW-related?

I will say that the GeoDraw camp is one of the better sounding ones. CC will be doing cycle 1 next year, so the mapping will center around ancient history.

I've been to some, and it's definitely a 3 day, all day CC commercial. You can glean some classical education tips (last year's practicum centered around the different stages - grammar, dialectic, & rhetoric), just be mindful not to drink the koolaid, so to speak. The camps can be fun, but at our campus, they were run by high school and college kids. Supervision was at a minimum which causes issues in some classes. The book store is open, but most everything that is sold is either CC- specific or can be found cheaper on Rainbow Resource. And yes, non-CCers can go. Practicum is one of the ways they bring in new families.

Mock trial and debate. I'd like to see a local debate group started.

We're Southern Baptist. Long Story Short (Old Testament) and Old Story New (New Testament) studies are pretty good. Each book takes a year or two to get through. You can sometimes catch them on Kindle for $1-2, whereas they're typically $10-20 each.

I never could figure out the emailing part. I got it emailed, but I couldn't get it to save in my kindle library. I guess it was the wrong file type. At any rate, I ended up downloading Amazon Drive to save, sort, & access my pdfs. Bonus is that it works like Google Drive and I can access them on multiple devices (although I guess if it's in my kindle library, I could do the same, but I digress).

I almost threw my fire when I was trying to figure out how to download, sort, & easily access pdfs. The struggle is real. You may need to sideload outside books. Not sure how to do that on a kindle, but I'm sure instructions are out there.

McGraw Hill Treasures has free pdfs of their spelling, grammar, & reading comprehension workbooks. If you can't print them, you could do them orally or write the answers on notebook paper.

Yes! I love them, as do the kids. The only problem I have is follow-through. It's one of our "extras," so it tends to be the first to get dropped. My 1st grader will ask to do them, though. My oldest wasn't as thrilled with history pockets when she was in 1st, though. ETA I just saw the SOTW part. I haven't used it, so I can't vouch for how well they'd work together.

Reading: McGraw Hill Treasures Spelling: McGraw Hill Treasures Grammar: probably McGraw Hill Treasures, but we're finishing Houghton Mifflin English grade 1 & do have the 2nd grade book & Teacher's Edition... Writing: Same as grammar...maybe. However, I do have IEW's PAL Writing, so I may use the 2nd & 3rd sections. There's not enough in PAL to last the entire year, so I may just do a hodge podge. I'm still a bit unsure. Math: Math in Focus 2A/2B Science: BFSU. This will be our first year using BFSU, but he's really science-y and has done quite a bit independent studies via books, shows, & apps. I actually quit a science program geared toward 1st graders this year because he already knew the material before we reached it. I figured he was learning enough on his own. After looking at the first and second levels, I'm tempted to start with the second level and use the 1st to fill on any gaps he may have. Apologia Zoology 2 & Apologia Zoology 3...I think History: History Revealed Ancient Civilizations with his older sister. Music: I'll either do something on our own with piano and some light music theory, or I'll put him in a class at co-op. Art: either a class at co-op or a local art class Foreign Language: He's been asking to do an abandoned Spanish workbook that was leftover from his sister. She'll be doing an actual Spanish curriculum this coming year, so my guess is that he'll probably glean from her & do workbook pages when he wants. It's definitely not anything I plan to push. PE: Hiking/backpacking/Wilderness survival. The plan is to be able to section hike parts of the Appalachian Trail when he's a few years older. Adding in some additional sports units. We're lot really a sporty family, and at this point, my 6 yr old doesn't know the difference between a basketball and a football (despite the fact that we have a basketball and goal).

My plan for next year: Reading Comp - MGHT w/ novel lists Spelling - MGHT Spelling Grammar - Our Mother Tongue? Write Source 6 with some sentence diagramming Writing - Creative Writer Bk 1 for the 1st semester & assignments based off of MGHLA (personal narratives, compare/contrast, etc) for the 2nd semester. Research papers will be assigned from science, history, & civics or WWS or Write Source Grade 6. I'm considering putting my only thing together with a hodge podge of those three books. It's a work in progress... Math - AoPS Pre-algebra Science - Apologia General Science History - History Revealed (Ancient Civilizations) Foreign Language - Spanish. We're starting a formal Spanish curriculum next year. We'll be using McGraw Hill Spanish Beginning Grammar. Art - Local art class Music - either continue with concert band or switch to guitar PE - Hiking/Backpacking/Wilderness Survival, swimming, tennis, softball, basketball, soccer, & regular calisthenics Independent Studies - Cake Decorating (I'm not really sure what this is going to look like, but she really wants to do it.) After a trial run for the last half of the third nine weeks, I'm nixing this. Making it part of "school" is zapping the fun out even though I'm as hands-off and non-grade-y as I'd be if it was completely on her own. Speech - co-op class Logic - The Fallacy Detective & It Couldn't Just Happen Introduction to Communication: Instead of trying to figure up and plan out separate speech, separate computer, separate logic, etc classes, I'm combining it under one umbrella. We'll be working with oral communication/public speaking, listening skills, digital communication (typing, media), logic, & debate. The resources that we'll be using are: The Fallacy Detective, It Couldn't Just Happen, The Case for Creation for Kids, The Case for Christmas, & the communication section in her Write Source textbook.

I can agree with those points.

We had some different experiences, but it ends up boiling down to the same thing. Our tutors are really good about repeatedly telling families to do what works and that kids will go through the cycles more than once. Basically, don't stress over it. My youngest can sing the timeline; my oldest can't. Whatever. My oldest was still able to tell someone that Napoleon was in power around the same time as the Lewis & Clark expedition. At the same time, my oldest will be Challenge age sooner rather than later. Where it's emphasized that mom is the teacher rather than the tutor, many of our challenge moms are feeling lost. They don't know how to help because, at the end of the day, they're not really the ones doing a lot of the teaching. Plus, it's so expensive. It's just too expensive for what you get. I can do it better, more tailored to my kids, and cheaper at home. We'd considered just doing CC at home, but honestly there's stuff out there that is a better fit. We've been using it as a supplement, and we're getting to the point where we've outgrown it.

How academically sound it is has been discussed ad nauseam over the last several pages. Surely you're not suggesting that college-trained teachers are necessary in order to provide a good education? If a teaching degree is necessary to educate children, why are we even on a homeschooling board? I have my own issues with CC, and we won't be returning next year. However, I think it's sad to see a homeschooling mom insinuate that a teaching degree is necessary in order to teach one's child.

I'm so glad they finally released this!

That happens to me if I don't drink enough water.

Some employers require a 2 year degree. In those instances, a gen ed AA or AS (transfer degree) absolutely does increase employability. Having earned one myself, I speak from experience. I can also vouch for the fact that an AAS degree isn't generally the way to go unless you're planning specifically to enter that career. I changed career plans at the last minute. Some of the classes (think Interpersonal Communications as opposed to Basic Public Speaking) that I took for my AAS degree didn't count towards my AA or my BA. Just make sure you take the one that counts for both. My advisor told me either would work, and that simply wasn't true. Classes taken for an AA or AS can transfer (although, I do recommend looking into transfer requirements, especially when going across state lines or transferring to a private 4 yr college). Worst case, you benefit from having a 2 yr degree. I've seen it benefit people when employers specifically request it, and I've seen it help edge people out when two people are going for the same job even if a 2 yr degree isn't required. Also consider whether or not you want your student to be eligible for incoming freshman scholarships. You can have a certain amount (up to 30, I think) and still be eligible. If that's a concern, you may want to consider the possibility of auditing classes.

Check into leash laws in your area. More than likely, he's responsible. They're his dogs. You don't have to maintain a fence to keep his dogs off your property. It's his job to ensure that they don't trespass.

I agree with what MerryatHope said. Our local community college has a transfer degree path for students to earn their choice of an AS or AA.

I'm starting to wish that a lot of my physical books were kindle books. Ebooks are easier to access. My bookshelves are labeled and organized, but it's still easier to just pull them up as opposed to going to the other room...or maybe we're just lazy. At any rate, if we're out and about, I can pull up any book without having to go home and get it. Ebooks are also easier (lighter) to store or pack around. I *love* books, and I used to be pretty well anti-ebook. The more I use them, the more comfortable I am with them, and the more benefits I see. Since I am an avid reader, it allows me to be able to access a wide variety of books without going to the bookstore or the library. I have slowly adapted to the benefits of highlighting and note-taking in ebooks, as well, which has allowed more freedom (and the ability to correct mistakes if I decide to change what's highlighted/marked). Most reference books & textbooks that I purchase are physical copies, but everything else is digital. Read aloud are much easier with kindle books because they can follow along on their own kindles while I read. Ebooks tend to be cheaper for us by far. I can only think of two cons, one of which is also a pro. First, if I buy an ebook for my kiddos, they won't be able to take it with them when they're grown. That's kinda sad, given I still have my book collection from when I was a kid. On the other hand, that book collection is currently on shelves, in my oldest's room, overwhelming her. >.> Secondly, kids can just do a search for reading comprehension answers instead of learning to physically go back through the text to find the answers. It's nice for me, but it could hinder skills that I feel are valuable.

When I first started teaching, I was told something that always stuck with me. If you don't give them something to do, they'll find something to do, and it won't be what you want them to do. You've already got some great suggestions. Keep them engaged. Ask questions. If you're prepared and confident, it's much easier to be in charge. I think this book has some really great ideas, as well. They may or may not all be applicable, but worth the read. The First Days of School: How to Be an Effective Teacher (Book & DVD) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0976423316/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_rTAlAbVTBRB6J It's always easier to be strict at first, then relax as opposed to being relaxed at first and having to get stricter.