You might like this handy little book too. thanks everyone for your help with the OP! It's helping me considerably too.:)

yes please do!:iagree:

I use Primary language lessons (2-3 grades), then in addition to WWTB I use intermediate language lessons (4 - 6 grades), and I might use Lingua Mater (for 7th grade son #2 hated it, but son #3 might like it. Son #1 never used either.) Vol 1 covers these 9 units writing a descriptive paragraph - an object writing a descriptive paragraph - a place writing a descriptive paragraph - a character writing dialogue writing a short story (combining previous units into a short story) writing a fable writing a friendly letter writing poetry - rhyming verse writing poetry - a ballad/narrative poem Vol 2 covers these 8 units writing poetry - free verse writing a business letter taking notes, writing outlines, writing summaries writing essays - persuasive & expository writing a literary critique & a book review writing a newspaper article writing a speech writing a dramatic monologue I think starting with vol 1 and working our way through vol 2 is not a waste of time, regardless of grade level. Every unit has a checklist for proofreading and for evaluating a grade that are very helpful. Looking over the list, I think a strong student might just need some pointers to do other types of essays and a weaker student might need a stronger course, thus I might pull in Jensen Format Writing for a year after completing vol 2 for either student. I truely think this combined with being well read is enough. I wish I had done this with my oldest, my poor guinea pig firstborn.

vol 1 is for grades 3 - 12 vol 2 is for grades 6 - 12 Each is divided into topic units and each unit has 10 days, with day 10 being the final draft of the paper. The checklists are great tools and worth the very affordable price by themselves. Each unit starts by giving an excerpt of classic literature that emulates the kind of writing assignment they will be doing. There's usually a day or two of finding similiar such writing in other classics, some grammar and or writing style discussed, then they get started writing their own paper. I think it is very well done and my boys are really enjoying it and I'm seeing great improvment in their writing.

I have it. It's mostly bible stuff. I don't think it's even near as well done as the Prairie Primer.

Write with the Best Plus maybe Jenson Format Writing if a kid needs essay help. Shrunk and White Elements and Eats, Shoots Leaves for the fun of it or to cement some grammar. I agree with a pp. This does not have to be as hard and convoluted as some publishers would have you think to get you to spend an insane amount of money, imo.

Very cute, good and enjoyed here

FYI - you can get college credit with ALEKS for college algebra and up. Which is only a factor if ALEKS works for you anyways.

we should be ready to do these in a couple months. Lials BCM and Key To series Finish Seton Science 7 then do geology/astronomy then do apologia gen sci. Seton catholic world cultures seton religion 7 write with the best lingua mater (maybe. His older db hated it. We'll see what he thinks.) kolbe literature jr high guides continue CLE computer basics continue veterinary sciences basic Greek in 30 minutes a day continued all of that is already on my shelf. I'd like to add in world geography. We'll see.

Bump bc my 8th grader loves LOTR and might be interested.

:lol: yep. Me too.

:iagree: And don't even get me started on people who think I shoudl dumb my younger kids on my olders to babysit all the time.:glare:

Okay. First question - is the purpose of the club to talk about these things? Say an older moms club? Personally, I wouldn't care if my 8 year old heard about a home birth. Where babies come from is not much of a secret around here. I don't know. It sounds to me like yet another group where the "hobby" or purpose of the club really has nothing to do with the club. Maybe you could call the others that you particuliarly connect with and make a coffee date for outside club to chit chat over life? oh! Or better yet - since she is doing this because it's so close to scouts - can you change the meeting location to much further away? BUT and this is the biggest difference between your situation and the OP. This boy isn't actually involved. I think anyone who isn't involved should stay home. I think those who are should be welcome regardless of age.

If the lady had been coming before, then she knew how the group dynamics were when she brought her dd. I'd have kept on as thought the 12 year old wasn't there thinking that if she wanted to bring a kid to an adult function, she is prepared for adult conversation. I am slowly learning to HATE kids only clubs and activities. It's a huge hassle and expense with little reward most of the time.

This is very true too. Employees with good service skills are often simply nice people with good manners who like to make their employer and customers happy. This is very, very much who my dh is as a person. He gets great satisfaction from helping people and doing a job well. He likes to feel he gave proper work for his just wages. It's rare though that I meet many people with that attitude these days. Most just want to clock in and clock out with as little effort as possible. I almost wish my dh were more like that bc I think he is often taken advantage of or discouraged because of his solid work ethic attitude.

Often the service is very poor. I don't know that I can entirely blame the employee though bc truth is some of what they are required to do is bad business/service, imo. Another aspect is simply bad training. Many simply don't know how to do their job well, which is also an additional morale lowering factor. Low pay, low training, low expectations = low service.

:iagree: They are there for the hobby. Not a family party. Not a girls' night out. If the kid is old enough to participate, then he should be welcomed. Rocket clubs, astornomy clubs, electronics clubs all these "adult clubs" abound where I live without age restrictions. Yeah it's mostly adults, but most kick a real joy out of sharing their knowledge with a new generation and a lot is learned by everyone. Which is the actual point of the hobby club.

We are loving it and getting great results! My only minor gripe is that they are loose leaf copy paper in a binder and I would prefer it be bound for durability. I just put mine in sheet protectors. It is really very very well done. Simply laid out. Clear but not dumbed down language. Creative and engaging. I plan on keeping it in use for several years as it was a huge hit for both student and teacher in this house.

We're doing Kolbe academy's New Testament Greek in 30 minutes a day. My 12 and 14 year olds are liking it. I'd like an online course but alas they are all out of our price range.

OM has it's own math now up through 8th grade. No icky Saxon until 9th grade.:)

Yes you can start with beginner recorder instead. I think most seem to suppliment phonics and math. OM is supposed to be gentle and waldorf is in the better later camp on formal reading and math instruction. It is very easy to suppliment or substitute. In fact, I think the hard part is accepting that it is enough. It seems to easy, simple and not busy enough when you used to having a tall stack of texts and workbooks to get through everyday. Personally I've always been laid back in the early grades so it's not that hard for me. But after my list for my dd this year, it's really hard to see the greatly reduced materials as enough for next year. Until you start really looking at each weeks work. That 4th grade syllabus has some pretty meaty and time consuming projects in it!

No, that's right! No textbook and no workbooks either! All the research, lessons, projects and so forth are contained in the syllabus, with some additional helpful such as teaching tips and keys in the teacher guide. The syllabus is actually this huge thick thing, not the 10 pages or less course outline kind of thing you probably normally think of when you hear the word syllabus. The high school level is mostly textbook based though.

I just want to say that if you are diligent in looking, you can find the lower levels used for reasonable prices often in new condition. (BC those syllabus are so expensive, I imagine. I know if I spent $200 on ONE book, I'd sure be extra careful around my coffee mug! lol) Altho I've never seen the high school stuff used ever so far in the last 6 months. Amazon, begsource, homeschoolclassifieds, here... Good luck.:)

I am a newbie on the OM yahoo group and the OM boards. The OM boards are nearly dead and very difficult for me to access for some reason. The yahoo group is quiet. They don't have many folks doing the upper levels, but there's tons of chatter on elementary. This is all new for me within the last 6 months. But so far it's been positive for my boy. We'll see how the rest goes as we go through it.

Well I had not looked further into for this reason. But I was desperate for something and altho many women told me I could do it w/o a program, this artsy stuff does not come even an itty bit natural to me. And I truely do not have the time even if it did. Thankfully a friend sent me the 3rd grade and I was very pleasantly surprised at how little tweaking/weeding I've felt the need to do. Add in some catholic stories and do prayers instead of verses during circle time. Tremendously user friendly so far.