Sounds good about Latin 1 being a bit repetitive to learn it solid, particularly if she used a different textbook than Latin Alive. My dd switched to Latin 2 at the last moment when we transferred to WHA, and it was pretty tough for her that first semester to learn all that new vocab she had missed in not doing Latin Alive Book One, previously.

I didn't see this note until after I just ordered a new WHA precalc textbook the other day. Sadly, I have a beautiful Larson textbook for 9e, but needed to buy 7e for this class!

Thanks so much for posting this! My dd needed a one-piece swimsuit right away before we take off for LINK and then Cedarville University for her 'College Now' experience taking an Economics class. It was fantastic to just get expedited shipping and 50% off!!! My ds heard about it and decided he wanted one, too, so now he's got swim trunks on the way; and I ended up spending $52 total for BOTH! Here's hoping the size chart worked and they both fit! Gotta love the hive, Brenda

Great! Guess she's going to get something, then! Thanks, Brenda

Thanks, Crazyforlatin (and I love your name). ? It will be interesting to compare the 2017 cut-offs with the 2018, but I guess I will just have to wait and see!

Can someone tell me what the cutoff for a NLE medal is for Latin 2? Does it depend on what state you are in? Where can I find this info? Thanks, Brenda

I'm interested in this question, too. Our dd will be taking Pre-AP Chem. at WHA this upcoming year with Ranya Bailey. Depending on how things go, we may go with her for AP Chem. the following year. Brenda

The essay has to do with having a campus one mindset from experiences learned while growing up in America as an Asian Adoptee, and the magazine has an adoption focus.

Well, that's the rub...in teaching a foreign language, everyone will be at different levels of understanding. Normally in a class, you wouldn't get as individualized of instruction that you are giving your dc...hence the burn-out. What you need is another student from the outside to join your kids so that you teach in broader strokes and allow dc to help each other with some games or what not thrown in. It seems you have lost the fun of it and that needs to be rekindled somehow! How many dc do you have and at what ages/levels? Is there a lack of curriculum variety out there for teaching German?

Just wanted to add, now that we are nearing the end of HSLDA's school year, that my ds begged his AP Lang. instructor, Ms. Janie Barbosa, to teach an extra class as he cannot bear to have this course end...and she agreed. Thus, she is doing an optional extra class tonight on Creative Writing, just because the class (led by my ds) desired it!!! She has been a FABULOUS choice to prepare my ds for writing college essays and the like. The 'proof in the pudding' for us is not only that he loves to write and now is considering an English minor in college, but also he is getting an essay published in a magazine (the same essay he submitted for a college scholarship earning him $3k per year over the course of 4 years).

Do you like to know every word in a passage you want to translate or does that not matter to you? This is a fundamental reason why I do not do well with LA and prefer something like Henle, but the vocabulary words in LA are much 'richer' and more varied, plus they will prepare you better for the NLE. So it depends on your style for learning and what your goals are. Here is a quote by MP regarding Henle: 'In the First Year text (Henle I), a limited vocabulary of 500 words allows students to master grammar without being overwhelmed with large vocabulary lists. Repetitious Latin phrases and copious exercises produce mastery rather than frustration.' The above quote says it all for me. If you want profuse vocabulary lists with few exercises to practice what you are learning (but very interesting passages on mythology or history to try your hand at translating...with the answer key very handy as your best friend, then LA may work out very well for you in the long run. But for me, it is back to Henle and Memoria Press Online Academy and MP guides for now. After I become more skilled with knowing all the Latin grammar, I think I will enjoy going back to Latin Alive and studying all the cool mottos and learning mythology, etc. But I do not recommend LA as a beginner's tool for learning Latin. It moves too fast. Brenda

I am not familiar with whatever video you are using, but as for the textbook moving at a furious pace with little opportunity to practice all the reams of vocabulary you are learning each week, 'No, it will not get better'. How did you end up picking Latin Alive? I need to add that I am a bit biased against Latin Alive, but both my dd and I have the same opinion after using Henle and Memoria Press materials for Latin before coming into an online academy that uses this textbook.

My dd will be working at his booth next month at a homeschool convention. I may ask him how many more years he plans on teaching his online Spanish classes as I believe he just retired this year from teaching at a school in Florida and can now give his undivided attention to funclase.com. At the time I asked him prior to beginning Spanish I, he said he planned on six more years. We are in year two of that six year plan so there still seems to be plenty of time for newbies to have him all the way through a complete three year cycle if just starting this September. This is a question I would want to find out, though.

Hi Random, You are right. Sr G loves his work and all his students. Spanish is my dd's favorite class. I know that it is rigorous enough because he uses an accredited college textbook (you keep the same one over three years) and we got approval from Wilson Hill Academy to transfer in foreign language credits from his program. Sr G emphasizes conversation while still covering all the grammar. He uses Blackboard and sends students into various 'rooms' to practice what they are learning. As a warning, the workload is uneven and he is known to be sometimes disorganized, but that is why he gets student helpers to manage the homework announcements, etc. He calls it 'funclase' because he knows the brain can learn a language better if one is having fun in the process; Sr G has quite his own quirky sense of humor, but he so enjoys what he is doing and it shows!

Sure! The website is: www.funclase.com. The class times are as follows: M/W (Aug. 20, 2018 - May 15, 2019) 9:00-10:30 a.m. Spanish III 10:35 a.m. -12:05 p.m. Spanish I 12:10 - 1:40 p.m. Spanish II T/Th 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. Spanish I 2:35 - 4:05 p.m. Spanish II 4:10 - 5:40 p.m. Spanish I Notice that there are three Spanish I classes, two Spanish II classes, and only one Spanish III class. My dd is nearly finished with Spanish II and is already signed up for Spanish III next year. She enjoys his classes so much that she is even going to work at Sr. Gamache's booth at our local homeschool convention coming up soon! Blessings, Brenda

I would say that one of the most often asked questions of dc by adults or others is, "What grade are you in?" So, whether we homeschoolers like it or not, we do need to prepare our dc to answer that question in a way that is not vague. In our case, we realized in 1st grade that our dd was a bit socially withdrawn, so we made the big decision to 'hold her back' a year, even though we kept advancing her in academics a year ahead of her official 'grade' And, in math, we even advanced her two grades when she was in the new so called 3rd grade, since she seemed to memorize her multiplication tables instantly and I knew that was the main goal in 4th grade math, along with problem solving (as her older brother had just finished that textbook), so I put them both in '5th grade' math with BJU at the time and both of these decisions have proved to be great ones for her. Her closest friends have always trended younger or the same age, never older than her. Incidentally, that 1st grade year our dd was often heard complaining that she wished she wasn't the youngest in everything. So it's been a great call; she is now a sophomore and continues to be quite content and happy with her 'grade'. I do not know what your state cutoff is, but our state's cutoff for K is that they turn 4 by Dec. 31st and our dd's birthday is the end of Nov. What I did was compare my dd's birthday to the cutoff dates in all 50 states and I discovered that in 4 out of 5 states, she would not even have been given the option to start K as a 4 year old anyway. If you were curious or thought you might ever move or that your dd might go to a college in a different state, you could compare these stats and it might help make your decision easier! Blessings, Brenda

All I can say at the moment is 'boo hoo' because we are in the middle of our third nor'easter in two weeks and no sandal-wearing weather in sight! But I WANT to think about Birkenstocks!!! :)

Love, love, love their Latin instruction! We've used the Form Series on our own, starting with Middle Schoolers and a parent that didn't know any Latin, and we all did fine! We are now doing Henle with MPOA (their online academy) and my ds is learning tons with Mr. & Mrs. Timmis. Plus Latin has become one of his favorite classes and I NEVER would have expected that in a million years!!!

Our ds was accepted to UCONN and received a merit scholarship. Additionally, he received a second scholarship for Cedarville University (Campus One Leadership).

Well, he has been accepted to both schools, so now the wait continues as he figures out which one he wants to choose. They are only polar opposites in just about every way I can think of, but he really was not expecting to have this choice, so it is rather amusing to watch this dc who is always so decisive be suddenly contemplative as he ponders where he wants to live, study and build relationships over these next four years... :lurk5:

Yes, I remember being intrigued by the course when my dc were younger, but it just never worked in our schedule. But just maybe it could fit into yours! We did WP American Story I & II which we loved. Since you said you were interested in studying inventions and science, this could be a possible way to incorporate all of it together into a fun year that would work for a broad age range. Best wishes in whichever way you go, Brenda

I've never used this, but what about WP Adventures in Sea and Sky? Here's a very long blurb about it: A 36-Week Schedule for Your Year-Long World History of Transportation Study The History of the World as It Unfolds Under Sails, Wings, & Space Machines A Science Study of Oceans, Weather & Space Target Age Group: Grades 4th to 8th Type of Resource: Non-Consumable The “Adventures in the Sea and Sky†Guide The History Study in This Program This guide pulls together the resources to follow the unfolding of world history through the lens of transportation. Your student will be on hand to see how major turning points in history have been decided by the technology available aboard ships, on airplanes, or space ships. They’ll begin by discovering the earliest sailors to take to international waters: the Egyptians, Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans. Then they’ll see how the marauders of the Middle Ages, the Vikings, made their ill-gotten fortunes thanks to their superior ships, and how their raids helped to push forward ship development in the latter half of medieval times. But they’ll likely marvel at the innovations of the Renaissance, and how ships developed to explore the globe, build empires, fight huge sea battles, and birth a generation of pirates. Then it’s on to the modern age to find out how England’s sea tradition and America’s industrial development shifted the balance of power at sea in the last century. By mid-year, students will be heading into the skies with early aviation pioneers and the Wright Brothers to discover how the forces of flight and axes of motion were harnessed to allow men to take to the air in powered planes. They’ll feel the exhilaration of Kitty Hawk, witness the destruction of the world wars, then break records in newfangled speed machines. And then they’ll head into space, going aboard early launches and exploratory missions, and following the progression until Americans landed on the Moon. They’ll travel on Apollo missions, launch aboard the Space Shuttle, and spend time walking (or floating) on the International Space Station. The Science Study in This Program As they sail, fly, and launch onto seas, into skies, and out into space, they’ll also explore science topics. They’ll begin with a study of the oceans, its tides, waves, currents, and zones, as well as ocean biomes, sea life, and the things that affect the oceans. As they move along, they’ll begin a weather study and learn to make forecasts of their own. Finally, they’ll explore the galaxy, find out more about constellations, and learn first-hand how to observe the night sky. It’s a full year of amazing scientific discovery!

Wow, guys, I just wasn't prepared for all the HIVE likes this a.m.! I shouldn't have been surprised, though, as you all are a great supporting group! :iagree:

Application Update: our ds is ACCEPTED into UCONN!!!! Not sure if it was the four stacks of notebooks or what, but we're very happy and relieved around here! Now ds gets to choose which university it will be... :laugh: :hurray:

From what I recall, the first book or two of Hakim's series is written to a younger audience. Later on, she gets more detailed, but still maintains an easy-going reading style. You could get the Oxford Assessment tests for U.S. History with Hakim for your 9th grader and then maybe use what Vintage81 posted for the younger ones (not sure what these are like, but I also heard that common core used Hakim for 5th grade or so. Obviously, it is learned in a different way than when reading the series as a 9th grader, though.