I taught a freshman writing class for two semesters at a small 4-year college. Both semesters were required classes. I had students who couldn't identify the verb in the following sentence: A man bit the dog. Several couldn't tell the difference between a sentence fragment and a complete sentence. Many couldn't conduct research, wanted to rely exclusively on Wikipedia, a number of them plagiarized like crazy (they were ridiculously easy to catch, too), and most of them couldn't tell off-the-cuff blog information from reputable sources. And I had some really great kids, too. Motivated, interesting and fun. Not perfect, but who is? They taught me a great deal, too. What's the answer? I don't know. All I know is that my daughter read Machiavelli in 9th grade (hated it, by the way), and some of my college students had never heard of him - even the political science majors. My daughter can identify complete sentences, fix run-ons, and repair sentence fragments. Why can't students two and three years older than she is do the same? Public schools need to set the bar a little higher - kids will reach for it and grab it. I agree that not all kids are cut out for college and shouldn't have to fit themselves into some perceived mold. A college degree shouldn't be required for every profession. I have a degree in journalism, but I've learned 99 percent of what I need to know on the job.

Didn't know it was there until I stuck in a tape.

I'm reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Also listening to it during my commute to work.

Now that I read the posts, I see the women who had 7 and 8. Perhaps my MIL's five weren't so bad.

My MIL had five C-sections beginning in 1956 with my spouse. She was a farm wife, had very little help, and had three kids in rather quick succession. Then my youngest SIL and BIL came along 1961 and 1966, respectively. She tells me hers were done the old-fashioned way - vertically. Yikes.

I used Abeka pre-algebra and Saxon 8/7 (which has a lot of pre-algebra in it) with my daughter who is now a sophomore. Saxon drove her to tears so we abandoned it in favor of Spectrum 8th grade math workbook. There wasn't much pre-algebra in that, but at least it got her through the rest of the year. But, mind you, she was in 8th grade doing pre-algebra and according to WTM, most kids should have algebra 1 in 8th grade if they possibly can. I tried Abeka for 9th grade. We slogged through the year with her younger brother doing as well or better than she did. She managed a low B by the skin of her teeth. On the advice of many on this board (I looked up old threads), we're now using Life of Fred for Algebra 1. This program, while not thrilling my kids, is at least doing the job. Google "Life of Fred" to find the book's author and web site. We sometimes supplement with extra problems from Algebra 1 workbook for Dummies, which oddly enough, is also quite thorough and offers a lot of practice that doesn't feel overwhelming. I'd hesitate to recommend the Dummies workbook as your sole source, however. I'm not sure how that would look if a college (or high school if she ever goes back) would view that. Much of Life of Fred can be done by the student alone. However, I learned not to leave my kids completely on their own with it because math confuses them so. There is no video component, but I think most all his books come with a Home Companion that contains extra problems. I'd recommend getting that for the extra practice. LOF lessons are done in small, bite-size chunks. The math is told in a story fashion that isn't too cute or annoying. It also doesn't pander or try to be cool. Check the old threads on WTM if you're interested. Many people have been using the program for a while. The rest of our tale: My daughter is now a sophomore and so is one year behind in her math. Most colleges she's interested in would like to see four years of math. Since she received no credit for doing pre-algebra in 9th grade, she'll have to do some makeup work during the summer to catch up.

After my kids head to college, I'll take up the violin once more, then go to college to study Latin. I'd also like to become fluent in Spanish and learn Greek. It would be fun to learn to make movies. If I had the money, I'd also travel extensively.

I know kids are tired after school (mine have only been home for 2 years), but you can still do read alouds and projects in the evening and on weekends. You can still supplement their school work with all the knowledge you've gleaned in your years of homeschooling. Have you thought of having your child tested out of kindergarten? It's still early in the year; perhaps your child would do well in first grade? Here's one thing to know about schools: You are their bread and butter. Your children bring with them not only their wonderful personalities and skills, but federal and state money. You can have some say in what happens to them in the classroom. Yes, you have to let the teachers do their jobs, but I found that most of my kids' former teachers listened respectfully to what I had to say and even tried to implement some of my ideas. And all this before I homeschooled. I'm sorry you're having a tough time. The journaling and self-ed idea is a good one. Maybe the kids could journal, too.

I'm using this program with an 8th grader and a sophomore. The sophomore will have to do extra readings and a formal (8-page) paper to beef it up just a bit. I'm also adding experiments from library books and will check out some videos from the library on the various topics. Those will only be viewed after the book work is done. So far we like it. It's appears to be a good program for kids who don't really like science or have no interest in pursuing it further in college. Rainbow Resource catalog does a good review of the program.

I haven't read all the posts, but I was gratified to see some people still read newspapers. The Internet is gaining (probably surpassing as I write) on us, but I hope the world will always want newspapers. They're much better for cutting out articles about your friends and families.

thanks so much for the site

I can use a lot of this. Thanks.

I haven't read all the posts (they frown on that here at work), but I used that book with my kids last year; they were 12 and 14 at the time. The 14-year-old had to do a lot of other assignments to round out the course, but that's another story. I taught my kids the lesson separately (boy and girl). I taped an index card over the picture in question, and told the kids they could look at the picture in private if it was too icky to look at with me. They took me up on it. They both declined to discuss it further, but I remind them now and then to ask me questions any time they like. Actually, the discussion wasn't as bad (for me) as I thought it would be. The poster who mentioned farm life has a point. We live on a farm and so do their grandparents. They've seen sheep, stray cats, cattle and assorted other mammals in compromising positions, so perhaps this is why they took most of our discussion in such a matter-of-fact manner. I also think people in Great Britain could be, in general, less apt to question drawings such as these. From what I understand from friends who have visited England and lived there, they take procreation studies in stride; it's no big deal. And these are British texts. Anyway, you have to do what it is right for your kids. We liked the Science Prep 2 book. We only used it for biology and now plan to sell it.

I've put together classes during the past two years using a variety of sources. For instance, I use Science Power Basics for earth science for both my 8th grader and my 10th grader, but I add readings and a final paper for the 10th grader. For Language arts, I use vocab for the HS student and Vocab for the College Student, but the youngest will study poetry while the oldest will do Learning to Write the Novel Way. Neither will do a formal grammar program this year (they didn't last year, either), but I think what I'm doing will suffice. I use a combination of texts for history/lit, but I mostly do that the WTM way. I'm also letting my 10th grader add books and videos on India to count as history hours. I won't test her on that or have her do papers. I'm trying to let her add some enjoyment to a class she doesn't really like (history). Your lineup sounds quite good, though.

Candidates would have a very tough time getting their messages across, positive or negative. The very media Sarah Palin just vilified ("I'm not going to Washington to get the media's good opinion") is right now providing her with a forum. When she debates Joe Biden (if debates are scheduled), where would either of them be without the media to publicize it? If the media didn't cover these campaigns, what would either party do? America has a very large appetite for political garbage. If we didn't provide the interest, the media wouldn't provide the stories. Just by examining the general board and reading the message from SWB, I can see overwhelming interest in these matters. The liberals are just as bad as the conservatives. I certainly wish these campaigns could deal with issues instead of personal junk. But that will never happen. Hmm. I've become quite the jaded journalist.

Any other reference you can use?

I am a long-time member of the much-maligned media. It's difficult for me (but I've developed a thick skin over the years) to listen to people bash the media as if the majority of us are nothing more than muck-raking scoundrels. I work at a mid-sized paper that focuses on local news. Any national stuff we run comes from the Associated Press. We don't add to the stories unless we have a local angle. We have run stories on Palin, Obama, Biden and McCain, not all of them flattering. It depends on the news of the day. And we are darned if we do, and darned if we don't. If we hadn't run the news on Palin's daughter, we would've received many irate calls. If we hadn't run the news on Obama's former pastor, again we would have fielded many irate calls. The media cannot be blamed for all the negative coverage. I have found over the years that for newspapers to survive, we must give the readers what they want, not what we think they need. So we readers are to blame for a lot of this. If there weren't such a market for unflattering news, media outlets wouldn't print so much of it. These boards prove that many, many people are willing to discuss the candidates and their foibles. Yes, we can be judicious in what we print. But if Sarah Palin is involved in an investigation into the firing of an employee or if Barack Obama listens for years to a pastor with an acid tongue, I believe the public has a right to know it. These people want the most important jobs this nation has. They want us to gift them with our votes. Therefore, they must withstand the scrutiny. If they can't, then perhaps they shouldn't run. As you can see, I'm still a larvae. I use this board as a search tool; most of my questions have been discussed at some point so I find little use in starting new threads about old subjects. I look at these boards quite often and am gratified to see that most every side of political issues are discussed. I'm chiming in late here, but at least I feel better for having defended my profession.

I'd like to try Classical Writing, but I'm not sure where to start. My eighth-grader is a good writer, but can be balky. My 10th grader likes to write and I think she'd enjoy this program. Any advice is welcome.

The difference appears to be in the price. Rainbow lists one for $5.95 (I think); that one doesn't have pictures.

It has several pages of study guides beginning around page 210. Some are secular; some are from a Biblical worldview. There's a wide range of prices and depth of content, too. If you've never seen the catalog, you'll be surprised. It's huge. And free. http://www.rainbowresource.com

I wish those of us whose children are finding it difficult to find friends could introduce them to each other. A pipe dream, I know. My son is happy having one or two good pals, even if he doesn't see them often. My dd is lonely and would like to have a girlfriend to giggle with once in a while. Hopefully, the situation will rectify itself in the fall. She's taking a college class and I think some local high school kids might be in it. Maybe that will help.

I like your interesting background and would think it would be fodder for some great conversations. I think being different could be part of our problem. We run a secular homeschool (we don't ignore faith; the kids love exploring different religions and seeing how they relate to history and current events), but almost all the families in our group are running Biblically based homeschools. I'm sure they don't think we'll corrupt their kids, but you wouldn't believe how many of them have turned down invitations to visit us. It's pretty hard to explain that to my kids. I don't blather on about our secularity (is that a word?), but I also won't stand by and allow anyone to criticize what we do and don't do. One lady in our group actually chided me severely for allowing my kids to read Harry Potter books as well as see the movies. She said I'd be sorry some day (I'd like to see the day I'll be sorry to watch Alan Rickman in any movie!). I was at the gathering long enough to hear her talking about me. This woman has two daughters just my dd's age, but of course, they can't get together. I won't ramble further. I just wish things were a bit different. I just hate cliques of any kind.

Homeschooled kids also have their cliques; they're just more polite about it. My dd has, for the past two years, tried to be friendly with the girls in our homeschool group. These girls are very polite, say hello to her and ask her to join their group. Fifteen minutes later, my dd will wander back to where her brother is hanging out or come back to sit with me. The problem? These girls have been homeschooled for years and have known each other practically since they were in diapers. They have their inside jokes, all their classes are similar, and they sit and talk about all the times they get together on the weekends. My daughter has been invited to none of these intimate gatherings. My dd is friendly, kind, interesting and has a lot to talk about. But she says she feels rude if she tries to change the group's subject. She's quite certain the other girls think she's boring because she can't find anything to say. My daughter hasn't had a best pal, or even a close pal, for the two years we've been homeschooling. That is my only regret about homeschooling. While I don't think peers should take precedence in a child's life, a child shouldn't have to go around friendless. If it weren't for my ds and their ps'd cousin, my dd would have no friends at all. Nice, huh?

Try this Google search: "study guides" glencoe "title of book" This should turn up PDFs of study guides that appear to be decent, complete with questions and activities. I tried using sparknotes for my daughters 9th grade lit, but those left a bit to be desired (too tough or too easy). I've looked at glencoe's Frankenstein, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Huckleberry Finn. There's bound to be more.

I just googled "study guides" glencoe and came up with a lot. Maybe this would be a better search.