Wow! That was a quick response. Thanks for the info!

Hello out there! I haven't been on this board in ages. Does anyone know if there is a way to get the audio version of SOTW (not the physical CDs) in a downloadable format or online via audible, iTunes, anything? Thanks!

Since I was already in the process of looking for a plan to copy, I thought I'd paste some information here and maybe that might clear some things up. Here is the group's description taken from the group page, emphasis added: This group is not a homeschool support group. It is designed to be a place to store NON-Copywrited lesson plans that have been exported from a homeschool curriculum planning software called Homeschool Tracker Plus and no other purpose. Here is just a sampling of some files stored on one of the 3 language arts groups. Each successive one is an overflow of another, so it's not always quick to find the one you want, but I'm not complaining because I can't volunteer to redo it so I'm not expecting anyone else to. I appreciate that it's even there! The group's files are not alphabetized: Evan Moor Workbooks Language Arts & Social Studies workbooks by Evan Moor Vocabulary From Classical Root lesson plans for levels 4-6 Spelling Workout overflow from la2 Memoria Press Literature Study Building Spelling Skills These are the Christian Liberty Pres Books. Very simple lesson plans. Handwriting by George Copywork exercises from George Washington's "Rules of Civility & Decent Behaviour in Company & Conversation" Analogies Sequential Spelling Grammar Songs English from the Roots Up Easy Grammar Handwriting Without Tears Getty Dubay Italic Handwriting Dictations Various resources for home-created dictation lessons IEW Institute for Excellence in Writing plans Explode the Code Essentials in Writing Analytical Grammar Analytical Grammar Lesson Plans Applications of Grammar The name of this particular group is hst-LA3. The various groups are organized by subject, for the most part. There are math and science and other groups as well. Hope this helps! PS: HST tells you on their site about the lesson plan sharing group. http://www.homeschooltracker.com/tracker-plus-lp/

I don't use HST Online, never have. I bought HST Plus years ago. I wonder if we mean different things by "using other people's plans" or "copy lesson plans"? :confused1: What I mean is that I download someone else's lesson plan, e.g. apologia astronomy (which I just downloaded last week), it opens a dialog box so that I can use the items as the original person labeled it or my own, save and done. Open it in my HSTPLUS. I get the plans from the HST yahoo group, download it and open it with HST. There are several groups with tons of plans. I can include the links if interested. What plan do you need? Hope this makes sense and helps!

HST does. I use other people's plans all the time!

Thanks for the suggestion. Thinking through and responding to them has helped me to more precisely pinpoint what really is lacking and also to recognize some strengths. She has the skills to write well (and yes, she did do Windows to the World) she just needs more practice and confidence.) I think that I have probably been going through my typical it's-the-last-year-did-we-miss-anything syndrome. I had that briefly before but somehow it has been a little different this time because I have not been satisfied with our recent get 'er done approach. (It's one thing to do what you know to do and trust that it will go well -- as was the case with the first three. They've all done well after high school and are doing what they wanted to do. But this time homeschooling high school hasn't been what I've wanted/thought we needed but the Lord knows why our time has been limited, so I can still have confidence.) So, now that that is all recognized, we will do our best to fill in what gaps we can the best way we know how and trust the Lord for the rest. We have put Him first, so I can have confidence in His promises that He will add the rest as we follow Him. Ahhhh, schooling forever and still learning..... Thanks all! (What a nice feeling it gives me to hear my 23 year-old son teaching math to his 7 year-old sister using the same curriculum (updated) that he used at that age.)

Thanks! I've never heard of it but I'll look into. Do they have modern history? She did do Americ. Hist already with the Lifepacs at least, but she's never done modern world history. And it's all laid out? (Well, I'll try to find it and then I can answer my own question!) One of the main reasons I like TQ is its commentary so whatever I do, I will probably at least get one TQ guide to supplement.

Yes, OhElizabeth, that is what I was referring to. About the research paper, it must be a typed 15 page research paper. That is a graduation requirement for WCFS. And thanks, Candid, for your admonishment and suggestion. So here's a little more background and where we are since my post: My daughter's areas I want to strengthen: writing/communication history comprehension, e.g. an overall understanding and ability to fit together, connect the dots, analyze historical people and events. Her remaining graduation requirements: 1 credit Bible 1 credit English 15-page research paper PE Work Study She does not need any more history or anymore elective credits for that matter. So part of our plan is that her English credit will come from Historical literature and essays about what she is learning whether through reading or videos, etc. The paper could also be on whatever topic in history interests her most, but right now she thinks that that would be harder that just writing about a topic that really interests her. She does already appreciate history and what she learned when we did MFW was retained so much more, obviously, than the Alpha Omega workbooks. She also did retain some history from Str. of Civ. but the goal was to hurry and get done. What she retained most was what she and her brother talked about, e.g. Hannibal, etc. So, whatever she does, her brother and sister will likely do as well so that there will be discussion. I like the questions and notes in TQ so that's why I would like to include at least some of it. Also, since she has at least some comprehension from SOC1 and more from Creation to the Greeks (MFW), I'm thinking that we'd just review what she has done, try to connect a few dots and spend more time on the rest of history, getting deep in just one time period. I like your suggestion about the AOR3 and guest hollow, that site looks great . In terms of getting English credits instead of History, I'm thinking the TQ questions would make good essay topics that will help with analyzing and she can also write about what interests her. So, thanks Candid and OhElizabeth for your suggestions, they have been helping me process.

I didn't quote you in my response but I wanted to highlight this nugget. Thanks again for your "2 cents."

Thanks OhElizabeth for taking this time to make this well-thought post. I must confess that I do not have the TQ materials yet, so perhaps what I am suggesting is preposterous. Based on what I read and on the samples, I thought that TQ wasn't actually a plan but more a list with thought provokers. The options floating in my head were: Use the SCM guides/plans to help me whittle down the TQ, and then whittle the SCM down even more to core concepts in each period. Take the four spines mentioned in TQ for those who have to do it all in 1 year and see if I could use that with a SCM plan. Just pick and chose from the TQ and make my own plan. Whatever the case literature, writing, and Bible would be integrated with the history which would spread the history out across the subjects. In reality, she only needs a few courses to complete her senior year with the minimum requirements one of which is a 15 page research paper. And they like to read so their free time books would also come from history. So history in everything! At the dinner table tonight I was discussing the changes I want to make and why. I also suggested that my 15 yr old ds do his research paper on a historical topic and that my daughter (the senior) could continue with her Bible topic that she was planning for her research paper or she could change to history if she wanted or do Bible History... Here are the responses I got: 15 yr old son: :hurray: Wow, this is great! Can I do the revolutionary war? (He wants to do his 15 page paper this year instead of waiting til he's a senior, we'll see.) 20 yr old daughter who is CLEPing her general ed. requirements: :ohmy: Mom, oh my goodness! I am so glad I'm done with school. [Wrong response! at least out loud :) ] I think she was kidding... Daughter whose senior year is going to be affected: :mellow: "Well, I only have a few courses to graduate anyway." Later she said she thought it sounds good. :thumbup1: All that to say, I think that we will at least all be unified in purpose. I really like your dvd ideas (we've done a little of that before) and about letting them pick the books and zeroing in on what they are REALLY INTERESTED in. That way they will own this change. I am also following another thread in which the same basic question is being asked (without the TQ part): http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/488091-please-help-with-condensed-world-history/ THANKS SO MUCH!

That's good to know! Yeah! I haven't ordered from RR since I lived in the states (or at least not without having it delivered to family to be picked up when I visit).

Yes, I am on that group, (and two on yahoo) thanks! Just wondering if there is anything else ... (spoiled American adapting to homeschooling in Canada, wishing I could get most of my books inexpensively and/or used).

:iagree: (Wish there was something closer and need sleep!)

:bigear: I need the do the same thing but trying to figure out how to do it with TruthQuest, if possible, but if not, I'll need other options.

Hi all, I'm looking for places to find used curriculum in Canada. I've searched online but often links in blog posts are no longer good and the page/site/store/group no longer exists. I usually get my stuff when I'm in the US (much cheaper anyway) but it will be a while before I head to the States. Here are the resources that I know of: Homeschooler Haven http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/homeschoolerhaven/info Canbookexchange, http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Canbookexchange/info Homeschool swap on Facebook Is there anything else out there?

I know you didn't ask for an alternative, but if you need some: CBD and Amazon.ca When I don't get my books while traveling in the US, I order from Christian Book Distributors and Amazon.ca. I haven't had a duty issue with CBD, not sure why. Lots of other people around here use CBD for their church materials and haven't had a problem either. Maybe they have a fulfillment center in Canada(?). What I would like to know is where to buy used curriculum in Canada.

Hello everyone, I'll get to the point and then explain. Have any of you tried doing all or most of TruthQuest in one year? How has it worked? Context: I have a daughter who is a high school senior and we need to change what we've been doing, but I don't know how to fit it all in. I would like to do TQ perhaps alongside Simply Charlotte Mason books with my other children. At the TQ site, there is a one-year schedule for those starting the program in grade 12. (It won't really be a problem if she graduates a semester late. She will probably start CLEPing courses for college late in her senior year or just after.) Backstory: Why am I changing things when she is about to graduate? In a nutshell, because I don't want her to "just graduate." She did AO lifepac US History and Streams of Civilization but we were just trying to finish without supplementing so she doesn't remember much. We've been homeschooling for nearly 20 years but recently we've just been in "get 'er done" mode to meet the requirements and history comprehension is one area that has suffered. I'd rather tailor school to enhance my children's God-given strengths and to improve their weak areas. We did a better job of this with our first two boys. Even though we used textbooks for history to quickly meet the requirements, they did a lot of supplemental reading and they enjoyed learning history so they mastered much more of it. In sum: So, TruthQuest seems to be what we need now and seems like it would be a "fit" for where I’m going with the last ones. I am also hoping that as we discuss it as a family, some of my older daughter's "gaps" will get filled in (not because she needs it for school but for her benefit). I wish I had come across TQ a few years earlier. Any suggestions? I hope so! I've read how TQ can be overwhelming. Thanks in advance!

I don't see a problem with what you have, except maybe to leave off the A and B. It is obvious to the reader that in 9th grade the student did half a year of Algebra and half a year of Geometry and did the same thing again the next year. Personally, I prefer my transcripts to be as accurate as possible, with no explaining necessary, so I wouldn't put Geometry with a full-credit one year and Algebra in the other. I think my children had a subject that they started one year and finished the next. It's not a big deal. 1/2 credits are legitimate :)

We have consistently used Apologia Science for ALL of our children in high school. That includes three now grown children in college, one in highschool and one in 8th grade doing physical science.

We are in the process of enrolling my oldest daughter in CollegePlus and I realized that CollegePREP is not what I thought it was. I never paid it much attention because what I thought it was did not appeal to me for my next daughter still in high school. It is not CollegePlus for younger students. Here's the big difference and what appeals to me (if I had the money): CollegePrep is not about dual-enrollment but dual credit: "two types of credit for one type of work". I was never interested before because I wasn't interested in using CLEP books for my high school curriculum for any particular course. What I discovered is that CollegePrep is about using and doing what you are ALREADY using and doing and supplementing only if necessary in order to pass the exam. So, it is maximizing what you are already doing in high school in order to get college credit too. I hope this helps the conversation.

Our day is like a free/block schedule because it is so much more time efficient and like you said a 10 minute interruption out of 90 minutes isn't as disruptive. I use Home School Tracker and give the children (middle and high school) their assignments for the week. The assignments are grouped by subject and they can do the subject in any order and in any block of time as long as it is done by the end of the week, but we do make adjustments as necessary if there are unexpected outings, visits or unrealistic expectations. Basically, they do whatever subject they want to start with for the day and they focus on it for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stopping at a logical or convenient point. They like this much better especially for math, science and English because they can focus on the subject better without stopping to switch subjects. For French and subjects like that the blocks are smaller. Also, for subjects that have set-up and clean-up it is much better to get as much work done as possible with each set-up. Hope this makes sense. Oops. Just reread original post. You were asking about the grammar stage. I do blocks of time with my 6 year old as well. The difference between her schedule and the one above obviously is that they are independent and she isn't. My blocks of time aren't scheduled by a clock but by the flow of the day: Reading, Writing and Math (Somewhat Robinson style with her in the room with me, her table next to mine).

I have been using MUS since the elementary grades were all in one comb-bound book called Foundations. This year I have a students in: Alpha Zeta Stewardship Here's 2 ways we have used MUS over the years (depending on the child and our lives at the time): Weekly: Complete a lesson in about a week, test on Friday Intensive: Complete in 1 -3 days. This is for my children who would rather spend a couple hours or more at a time on one subject than to stop and start another subject throughout the day. We also do this when we need to "catch up" after an unexpected break. Either way, the child works independently, at his own pace and can skip the 3rd practice page © and the 3rd review page (D) if he scored 90 or above on the first two, for books with 6 lesson pages per lesson. If the lesson is easy and the child appeals, I might let him skip more review pages if he has been doing well. For books with 4 lessons they might skip the last review page. The point is mastery. If they have mastered the lesson and the previous lessons, I don't require them to do unnecessary work. This also encourages them to work carefully and not make careless mistakes. My daughter just reminded her brother (who was bemoaning how long it was taking him to do math because he had to do all the pages) that if he took the time to check his work it would save time in the end because he wouldn't have to do all the pages as a result of careless errors. I do teach (or rather I supplement or reinforce what Mr. Demme taught on the video) in the early grades but the child watches the video (with or without me) and after some additional input from me they do as much as they can by themselves. I am usually sitting nearby to guide or help if necessary. This week for example: My son finished a whole lesson in Zeta on Monday. My daughter started a lesson in Stewardship yesterday and finished all but the test today. (In Stewardship I require all the pages to be completed, no skipping pages.) My 6 year-old daughter just started Alpha (we were planning to start it in first grade next school year but she was ready. I had already been teaching her the concepts using the blocks). We watched the lesson 2 video together on Monday. She completed the lesson in two days because she wanted to get to the fun dot-to-dot page and started lesson 3 yesterday. Today I allowed her to start page B by herself. Her desk is next to mine so I noticed that she colored the seven block purple. I pointed out her mistake, she corrected it a little sheepishly and she continued. Notes to keep in mind in our case: I had used MUS for years so I didn't keep watching the videos with the younger children. In the later years the children are independent so I only watch if they are stuck and I am unable to help them by just looking at the book. My youngest child is the only one who is starting out with the "new" format so I will probably watch most of those with her, at least Alpha. Our son is "catching up" because we had a few years when we did Saxon. When we switched back to MUS two years ago, I started him a couple levels lower to be sure he mastered the concepts. So, some things are review for him. He was in Epsilon when this year started and we hope to have Zeta completed this school year and then complete Pre-Algebra and start Algebra 1 before the end of next school year. I hope this makes sense. I have been interrupted so many times trying to write this I almost quit. I guess this is why I don't post much.

Journey Through Grammar Land has been very disappointing. Format Writing by the same author was great though. Also, Saxon Math. I didn't mind it but my children REALLY didn't like it. I just gave away a whole box of various grade levels. (My children started with Math-U-See but we switched to Saxon when we tried the Robinson Curriculum. Now we are using MUS again.)

Does anyone know how this compares to Play n Talk (probably only older homeschoolers know what that is)? I need a phonics program for my youngest child. I've gone as far as I can in Play n Talk because I am missing parts after 15 years, 5 children and many moves. All my children liked it and learned to read quickly and easily. I hate to use something else, but unless/until Play n Talk starts up again, I need something and I'm wondering if Phonics Road would be a good fit. Thanks for any advice!

I am not a newbie (homeschooling for about 17 years or so by the grace of God) but I need this list. I'm not here regularly but when I am, I need to have the list next to me because I've usually forgotten what few abbreviations I understood thE last time I was here. Thank you!!!