I'm so excited to see this! Thank you! I would love to subscribe to your blog, but I didn't see a link to click to subscribe.

Just an update ... It was an issue with my new laptop not being the same as the one we used for the class 2 years ago. DO emailed me with a solution. His physical science is a fantastic class, BTW, and I'm so glad I can use it with my other children!

This past year, we tried NL 3 (with my 8 and 10 year old). This was the first year I actually looked forward to science! It's not that it's a super fun program filled with cool experiments, bc it's not. Her science is very open and go and easy to teach. I love how thorough it is and how she explains science concepts. My kids really did learn a lot of science this year! They were always interested in the lessons, although they would have liked more experiments. So, I say go for it if you want open and go, all supplies included, thorough, interesting science that will easily get done. I think you should not buy it if you want a program based on lots of cool experiments.

When I bought his PS course, I was thinking I could use it with my younger kids when they were in 8th grade. I got the discs back out the other day, and none of the links work anymore. Does anyone have any experience with this? Thanks!

I haven't read all the replies, but I know how you are feeling. My son sounds a lot like yours. He did vision therapy in third grade, which helped tremendously but slowed us down in other subjects. I really wanted him to repeat third grade, but I didn't know how to go about it. Even though he was homeschooled, I still felt he needed to know that he wasn't quite ready for fourth grade work. We ended up calling it a "transition year" and had him do third grade content two years in a row. The next year we moved into 4th grade work and he was (for the most part) successful, which helped his self esteem. I know homeschooled means you go at your dc's own pace, etc. but if I hadn't called it a transition year, I would be pushing 4th grade work on him out of guilt. Just knowing that we "officially" had another year to catch up made it better for both of us. Also, keep in mind that a majority of boys (at least where I live) start school a year later bc of maturity issues and to give them an advantage with sports. I've never heard any mom say she regretted holding her son back a year.

I found exactly what I was looking for ... http://dinah.mybigcommerce.com/dinah-zikes-notebooking-central-notebook-foldables-us-history-pre-history-to-early-reconstruction/ Thank you for all the suggestions!

I love TPT! Thank you for the free resource link as well! It looks great!

Wow! Thank you! I've been homeschooling 10 years, and I've never heard of History Scribe. It looks so complete for such a low price.

I've been seeing a lot of interactive notebook pins on Pinterest, and I'd like to try one for American history this year. I would love a resource that has explorers, major events, US states/geography, inventors/famous people, landmarks, timelines, etc. all in one book ready to photocopy and color, write notes on, etc. I've seen a few lapbooks and workbooks like History Pockets that have some of what I need. I think my kids would learn a lot and have fun at the same time, so I'm very interested in trying this out. Any ideas or resources would be greatly appreciated!

Nm - I figured it out.

I'm considering sending my son to public high school next year for 10th grade. The counselor told me they only accept homeschool courses that are accredited (mine aren't). The only other option is to have him take all their finals for the classes he took this year to receive credit (and a pass/fail grade). I'm wondering how this will look on his transcript. Will an entire year of pass/fail courses hurt his chances of getting into college? Any advice is greatly appreciated!

"Reading Comprehension" is a lot more than just understanding a passage (for standardized tests). My guess is that she just didn't understand the terms in the question (not that she didn't understand what she read). Does she know the difference between fact and opinion? I remember being shocked when my kids didn't know! Can she make inferences about a passage? Would she be able to identify a simile or metaphor in a poem? Does she know what "author's purpose" means? How well does she draw conclusions about what she's read? These are the types of questions on a standardized reading test. My advice is to buy the eBook Standardized Test Skill Builders Reading: Grades 5-6. It's on sale for $1.00 right now @ http://teacherexpress.scholastic.com/standardized-test-skill-builders-reading-grades-5-6. Don't be discouraged! I think it's possible she just needs help learning to take a standardized test, not comprehending what she's read.

I understand! Thank you for making the Burnout session available on PHP. I'll refer my friends to your website to purchase it. I plan on listening to it many times!!

Unless she changed the title, this is a different one - "Our Teens, Ourselves: Homeschooling the “Good Kids†and the Odd Ones Out".

I was so disappointed that this session wasn't for sale at the convention yesterday. Is it possible she will sell it at PHP? I listened to her session "Burning Out", and It is definitely my favorite of all her lectures (and I love them all)!! I bought a recording of it and plan to loan it out to every homeschool mom I know! I found myself holding back the tears as she described the symptoms and causes of burning out. She spoke about her personal experiences with it and how she found a way to a better place. Her tips to prevent it as well as solutions to cope if you're already there were so encouraging! Thank you, SWB!! Please make both these lectures available on your website!

I had a physical last week and just got my test results back. My total cholesterol is on the high side (214, and normal is less than 200). What I don't understand is why my hdl (good cholesterol) is high @112 (over 45 is normal), and my ldl (bad cholesterol) is low @ 87 (anything over 130 is too high) yet my total cholesterol # is bad?? *My triglycerides # is 77 (normal is less than 150).

Yes, my daughter (6th grade) did it last year. Before I bought it I requested a word list for each grade bc I wasn't sure about her level. Pros: Inexpensive Independent Spelling actually got done each day Review is built in each week If she missed a word, it kept popping up in later lessons Cons: One of the review games was frustrating because you had to "catch" a word falling from the sky, and they fell too fast You can't skip ahead. This was the biggest con for us bc she was ready to move on but still had to go through all the games/lessons The graphics were aimed at younger kids, so my daughter was a little insulted that I was having her do a program she thought was too babyish. The words for each grade level were appropriate though.We were able to skip most of the childish intro each day Overall, I think it's a good program if you need something independent.

Calvert has an online spelling program that's completely independent and fairly cheap for a whole year.

Thank you for all the suggestions! He needs more friends and he needs to get out - I'm just having a hard time finding activities/groups/clubs for homeschoolers. It doesn't help that we live in a very rural area and are 30 minutes away from town. We have to be selective about activities with the time/gas money involved (and with 3 other kids to think about).

So he can put these activities on his college applications even though they aren't "official" extra curricular activities? Sorry if this is a silly question-this is all new to me.

He spends a lot of time playing video games, but he also loves: concept computer art (lots of people love his designs and have downloaded them), designing websites, creating music with computer programs, programming, animation, designed computer games, hosted a server, etc. -basically, a little bit of everything.

I'm getting concerned bc my son is not involved in anything. He's not involved in a youth group or co-op or athletics. He spends all his spare time reading or working on the computer. We put him in public high school thinking he could get involved, but we were disappointed in the lack of clubs and activities that were offered. He did well academically, but he was miserable and begged to come home after Christmas. At this point, he doesn't have anything to put on his college applications except for a few volunteer hours. Help!!

I pulled my son out of ps after the first semester of ninth grade. We tried Saxon Geometry, but it was a totally different style than what he was used to. So, I enrolled him in DO's online geometry. One of my son's complaints is that what he teaches in the lecture is different from the assignments in the book. Has anyone else had this issue, or is he just not paying attention to the videos? The other complaint is the amount of time it takes to do a lesson. Tomorrow's lesson is to watch the videos/take notes, do 60 problems in the book and then do 2 homework sheets to turn in to be graded. This class is taking up way too much time in his day. When he was in ps, he tested into advanced geometry and had a solid A the first semester, so I know he can do the work. It seems like a lot to me, but maybe this is what a high school course is like? Any advice?

Great ideas! Thank you

My son went to ps the first semester of 9th grade. Now he's back home, and I'm trying to piece together the last half of his freshman year. He was in Citizenship, so I bought Magruder's American Govt. text. I have the teacher's edition but not the resource cd rom with the quizzes and tests (bc it costs $$$). There is an end of the chapter assessment, but it is unreasonably difficult to study for (it would be ok for an open book test). I have no idea how to grade for this class, and I'm not prepared to actually teach him the material. Because of my own time constraints, he's going to have to do this independently for the rest of this year (next year's classes will have to be outsourced). Any suggestions?