Here is part of the email that he sent me: In early April I finished the first draft of my 12th which is a college upper-division math book (Life of Fred: Linear Algebra). It was 13 months in the writing. It was a kind of experiment to see if Fred could be incorporated into a more theoretical setting which included such things as homomorphisms of vector spaces. Then I've gotten "back to work" at the homeschooling level. The tentative title is Life of Fred: Pre-Algebra 1 and Biology. It should "write" a lot quicker than that upper-division LOF:LA book. I estimate that it will be ready by the end of summer. I don't tell the kids, but the math will be 80% review of LOF: Fractions and LOF: Decimals and Percents with the problems often coming from a biological context. Then, tentatively, Life of Fred: Pre-Algebra 2: Economics, in which Fred will take arithmetic into the business world. And Life of Fred: Pre-Algebra 3: Physics. Sounds great, but maybe too late for my son, we will see.

Sonlight? http://www.sonlight.com or my personal favorite My Father's World? http://www.mfwbooks.com

With my 1 non mathy dd who did not do well with Singapore I am letting her try Teaching Textbooks and she is doing well.

If you go to http://www.triviumpursuit.com you can read some of the information included in the book. I think it is my favorite over all classical education book, with WTM (new 10 year edition :D ) as my second favorite.

I got it! It was really worth the price to me for just the logic stage outlining! It really helped my son to understand and have a better grasp of HOW to do it.

Teaching the Trivium by Harvey and Laurie Bluedorn.

Thank you everyone- this is so helpful! Rosie I am off to read that thread! Thank you for the book suggestions I am marking those now and thank you for the several PM's I have- let me get my thoughts strait and I will PM you! :001_smile:

Mostly for the kids- 8-12 age range. I wouldn't mind reading aloud a book if it was really good to help them learn more and get a good perspective.

I am looking for good books on Islam. I would like to also find a fiction work from a Muslim perspective if possible. Also, if you are Muslim and would not mind a few questions from a curious person could you PM me? Thank you for your input. :001_smile:

The only book I used consistently over the weeks and would highly recommend would be Missionary Stories with the Millers. My children LOVED this book and it is still one they pull out to read.

I didn't read all the replies, but hands down my favorite is Reading Made Easy be Valerie Bendt. I have used it with 3 children so far- 2 are done and great readers, the other is still using it. I highly recommend this program. :001_smile:

While my main focus is that my children grow up to be servants of Christ, I feel they can best do that with the best possible education I can give them. I agree with so much in the WTM, even though I was not classically educated, in fact I was not very well educated at all, and am learning along with my children.

Love the lessons, but hate the way the manual is set up. I wish it were set up the same way as the other manuals, but the program itself is great. Love the Bible lessons.

We love it for all the reasons already mentioned! I don't plan on changing. We are here to stay. :D

:iagree: We are studying the book later this year. We also have the movie version that John Hagee endorsed. My kids LOVE it!

Guess this was not a controversial topic after all- we all agree! ;)

:iagree: My thought exactly.

:iagree::glare: But I am happy for you!! :D

My son who also hated writing has had his writing ability grow by leaps and bounds using the IEW method.

I won't be at HEAV, but LOVE Voddie Baucham. If you can hear him speak in person I am so jealous! :D

As you can see from my signature- I have not used it. A friend of mine from church did though and she absolutely loved it! She had nothing bad to say about it at all. The writing was a little difficult for her child, but they got it by the end. They are going to use the second year program this fall.

Thank you for asking this. I am really learning quite a bit from reading this. The only parents I have ever known who do not spank, the kids did what they wanted and did not listen AT ALL. That is not acceptable to our family. So thank you to all who are taking the time to explain. :001_smile:

And I thought I was the only one who noticed these things. :tongue_smilie: That said, I believe it is an attack on families in general. God created men to be the leaders of their families. If the media (which children spend quite a bit of time with) can make dad look like a blubbering idiot then it undermines his authority in a way. Especially in the eyes of the kids. Where are the dad's like Bill Cosby? I do not watch much TV anymore, but of every sitcom I can think of the man is an idiot, and does not have a leadership role in his family. It is sad.

No telling what they thought of me and my 3 year olds then! ;)

I am not big on leaving my kids with a sitter anyways. However, if I knew the family and knew the child I would have no problems. There are a few young men (13 and up) in my church right now that I would be comfortable with, but I don't. My oldest is 12 now, and he does the babysitting for us when we need it, but we are usually together as a family.