She started it in K and used it up until she was 6th grade or so. They put her in ps and she tested a year ahead, so she moved from 6th to 8th grade. She is a very smart girl with a very organized, rigid mother. It seemed to have worked well with their family. She homeschooled at my home for about a month while the mom was working. It looked a little dry to me, but not as dry as some others I have seen. I have another friend who was friends with said family and she used it with her kids on the mom's recommendation, using the umbrella program they have. The mom told me she felt so weighed down by it that they just slugged through the last semester of it and her kids didn't enjoy it. I think it was because they were on CLP's time schedule for finishing and it became too cumbersome, plus she had 3 kids. YMMV. Teresa

Thanks for posting that. I am suffering some guilt of late because of the whole sports thing. My oldest has some athletic giftedness and I worry that we're not utilizing it like we should. She's not top-notch but has some obvious leanings that way. Anyway, it has bothered me that she may not get to do sports and have the scholarship potential, etc. That article was eye-opening. Really, if I was honest, I mostly want her to have the joy and fun of sports. I guess we can do that without worrying about the scholarship. I have a very wonderful, very athletic niece who has gotten a full-ride for the next four years for volleyball at a university here in TX. I am so very happy for her (and her parents). She wants to be a nurse, and I have worried some about the pressures of keeping up physically while studying something as demanding as nursing. She'll be owned by the school. But wow, what a blessing for her to have that kind of ride. There are up sides and down sides. She is extremely gifted academically (could have gotten a scholarship that way also), so I'm hoping she can handle the load. Teresa

I'd be willing to look at some sites. My goal, as I said, is to do something that won't wind up being me planning a bunch of things for her but her taking it and studying TX history more on her own, as a side thing. I likely won't do any grading, just discussing and maybe a few papers and projects here and there. Thanks, Teresa

Dd will be 8th grade next year. She hasn't done any TX history and I thought it would be good to have her do that next year in 8th grade. I am not wanting that to be our whole year of study, though. It will fit in nicely with the time period we are doing, so I was thinking of having her spend one day of history per week working on TX history. Is there anything that would be good for this? I know Switched on Schoolhouse has TX history (I think). I'm considering it because I want it to be something she does on her own. I also have found one that is more of a unit study type thing, but I'm guessing it would be more involved than I'd want for 1 day per week. I want nothing that I have to plan myself...it just won't happen if I do it. Any ideas? Teresa

I have had the same type points made to me lately. First, my sister-in-law (a high school english teacher) was applauding the particular approach I'm taking and the work we put into this. She said that we are definitely in the minority because we really "teach" our children. I asked what she meant and she said basically that most homeschool families don't do enough and just kind of leave their children to the wolves. I think much of that is the indoctrination she's getting in the public school setting. I was a little taken aback by it, because honestly, half the time if I compare my family to other families that homeschool, I feel we aren't doing "enough". I don't always feel that way, but at times I get a stab of fear in that direction. The next comment was by a neighbor with kids who are my kids' friends. She was saying good things about our homeschooling, etc., and said that she hadn't had experience with anyone who did it for the right reasons like we do. She has a friend who homeschools just so she doesn't have to make the point to get them to school on time and the 4th grade child can't read or do math, etc. etc. I had another neighbor try to tell me not to do it (I moved here 7 months ago and have been homeschooling for 8 years). She said her husband's ex-wife homeschooled and her kids only got a 4th grade education. So I pondered the whole thing a while and came to a couple of conclusions: 1) Maybe many of the homeschoolers who choose to hole their children up and let them watch soap operas and cartoons all day aren't the ones who get out and do homeschool activities for me to get to know them anyway. I mean, if I felt ashamed of my efforts, I'm sure I'd avoid social situations, kwim? 2) A lot of people who don't homeschool but have negative opinions of homeschoolers make biased, blanket statements based on their uncle's cousin's sister who knows a family who knows a family who homeschools and 17yo junior can't write his name, and thus, all homeschoolers are uneducated. I've seen that often enough. JMO. I too think there are numerous ways to do this thing. My own convictions lead me a certain way, but many others do it differently. It's the beauty of having freedom to educate your child as you so choose. Teresa

Thank you!! I really appreciate your input there. How did you feel about having used MUS for several years and then making the switch? Do you regret having used MUS or were you satisfied with where your ds was when you moved him into Foerster's? 7th grade Dd has used it from Delta on through Pre-Alg. 4th grade DS is finishing up Delta right now, having done Beta and Gamma before, and I am playing around with whether to move him into Singapore next year. Sometimes I love MUS and sometimes I feel it is not "enough". I hate indecision. Thank you for your help, again. Teresa

My 12yo dd will be moving from MUS Pre-alg to Algebra next year. I'm wanting to go ahead and make the switch to something more rigorous for the high school years. Would MUS be enough of a foundation to move on? I'm also considering Jacobs, Chalkdust, and TT, though TT is lower on the list, and I don't like the price on Chalkdust. Any ideas? Also, she is doing okay in math, not fantastic but usually makes 85-90s on her tests. I just thought I'd throw that in. She has struggled more this year with math than in years past. Any good suggestions? I've not researched higher-level math texts as much as I wish I had. Teresa

Okay. I have seen the astrology ones and the barbecue and a couple of the Pillsbury cookbooks but never Bibles or tracts. I saw a little booklet on prayer once, but that's about it. Teresa

I'm continually and constantly hit in the face by the immorality of the world around me (affected, no, because I choose not to be). I'm amazed by our culture most of the time, but I don't focus on it. My one little step forward in assisting my children in keeping pure minds is my little pebble in the ocean of ridiculousness I see around me all the time. I won't flip them all, and actually, it's not the norm for me, but when I see one that makes me ill, as did the one yesterday, yes, I'll do it again! I guess you can go make your statement at Winn dixie or whatever store you want. It is illogical, though, regardless of your spin. I'm not going to flip something that has religious views in opposition to mine. Those are openly discussed here. But things that affect the purity of my children while being in a line in the store that I cannot avoid...I'll pursue with vigor avoiding weeds in the garden I am tending. Teresa

Wow. What Bibles are you seeing in line?? I've missed them entirely. All I ever see there, in the place I am forced to stand in order to check out, is all the tv guides and magazines. I don't make it a practice to walk to the magazine/book isle, the place where the Bibles & books & other magazines are found, and flip those. I just flip the ones that are RIGHT in front of my children's faces in the isle where I, as a patron of the store, am forced to stand until I have purchased my goods. If you feel like flipping the Bibles, I guess go ahead. There is not a logical ground there, but oh well. Teresa

No, when I flipped the magazine, I didn't do it for your children or anyone else's. I did it because, as a parent parenting MY children as I feel led, I feel a right to turn filth from their viewing, just as I feel the right to block certain shows on tv, help them to make healthy food choices, lead their education, etc.. I'm not trying to tell others they don't parent well, just do the best I can do to parent my own children well. I guess I feel that if grocery stores won't look out for my parental rights, I'll help them out and look out for it myself, adjusting the viewing of my children while I am spending money (large money with our crew) in their establishment...again, my right! Teresa Teresa

but I flipped the dadgum thing over so my kids wouldn't see it. It was really bad. Good job for you complaining and good job for him for responding. That is so weird to read this today when I had my cosmo encounter yesterday. lol It was really vile!! Teresa

I once went to a secular homeschool group whose main reason to get together was to bash Christian homeschoolers. There I was, naively wanting my kids and I to meet new friends. I didn't realize it would be that way and was so disappointed by their behavior. Either way you go, kindness is not too much to ask. Sorry that happened. :( Teresa:(

My dd is in 7th and we've homeschooled all the way. From first grade on, I switched around from Veritas Press to SOTW and back to VP. This is the first year we have used MFW and I don't see me switching again. Many people are so good at putting things together on their own, but I'm just not. I lack the confidence and second-guess myself. Having it laid out for me this year has given me confidence to focus in on the skills more and less worry over whether we are doing "enough". We are using MFW ECC and we love it!!! With the extra add-ons for 7th-8th grade, it has been thorough and rich for dd. It has been more than enough and enjoyable!! I can't compare SL, though. It looks like an excellent program, it is just more than I can spend. We use CW Homer and R&S6 for grammar and writing, apologia for science, MUS pre-algebra for math, and LCII for latin. It's been our best year yet!! God, His will, His plans for the nations are the focus while we are getting a great education in the process!! For my younger child, 4th grade ds, I use Writing Tales I and R&S 4 for grammar/writing. It has been a good mix. I add a writing project for him weekly or bi-weekly, along with the assignments in WT. The countries, science, animals, etc., give plenty to write about!! Teresa