Wow, this topic strikes my fancy for a few different reasons. I loved the article about "Emma" which is my Austin selection of the month (I'm trying to make it through the list this year). I just read P & P and I don't get the impression that Mr. Collins is "slimy" -- just a little odd and self-serving. The A & E show must have added some Hollywood to his character. He is a clergyman looking for a wife and was actually trying to help his relations by proposing marriage to a Bennet girl. I could be so wrong, though. As for the "daughter" issue, we adopted 2 little girls from China in the last few years so I have studied this issue in terms of Chinese culture. Girls are and have been considered property/burden in many societies/cultures from the beginning of time. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck is a great book about this phenomenon in China. Back to Austin, I just watched the movie "Becoming Jane" last week and I was hoping to find out here if the movie is remotely factual. Anyone know? And yes, I also rented "The Jane Austin Book Club" which I was fairly disappointed with. Great topic, Michelle. Thanks for bringing it up. :)

How ironic... I just had this conversation w/ a friend last week about the lack of "fun factor" in my homeschooling. I told her what I'll tell you: School is school. Fun is fun. We do school so we can have fun -- later. We work hard, play hard. We do have many giggles and smiles during our homeschool days. But not always. Some days are tough --and no one would consider them fun (especially on the whiny "Do I HAVE to do my writing?" days). All-in-all my kids love the way we do school at home. We get down to business so we can party later. :) Which is vastly different from the long days at their private school w/ hours of homework at night. AND they are learning more and having more fun w/ our rigorous homeschool schedule. Go figure. To answer your original question, though: My kids would say Latin is fun (how crazy is that?).

BLD, Would you care to share your writing curriculum/method w/ us? (any specifics would be appreciated) :) You must be so proud of your dc! Thanks!!

I talked to Martin Cothran yesterday (head honcho at Memoria Press) and he said they are producing their own audio for the Henle series, available this summer.

My former high school English teacher wrote the materials for TPS Narnia class and was a co-founder of the school. She is on the board still and speaks very highly of TPS. Chrissy, Did your ds take Mr. Spott's Latin course? Which writing course is he currently taking? Thanks!! Beth

Thanks for sharing his story w/ us, Jean. All I can say is "wow"...

Thank you all for your input. Prof. Mosely emailed me back and suggested we go for the TI-84.

I'm not changing our plans to accommodate what a college MIGHT be expecting down the road. We know what God has called our family to do. Ds, 12, will get his leadership/ministry/community service skills at church. He co-teaches Sunday School (13 4 & 5 year-olds), is a leader in youth group, will help lead worship at church (due to his serious commitment to guitar). He volunteers at the Portland Rescue Mission. These might not be valued highly by a secular admissions officer someday, but that is not our concern. I think kids "doing their passion" and being true to themselves is what will keep them fired up and passionate as adults in the real world.

HSKLNG, Where did you buy your calculator? I see Amazon has it w/ the Dummies book for $134'ish. Is that a good price? http://www.amazon.com/Texas-Instruments-TI-84-Graphing-Calculator/dp/B0001EMM0Q Cynthia, Thanks for your help, also. Do the Algebra dvd's show Prof. Mosely using the TI-83? Would it be a pain if we had a different model? As for CD, we are loving it. My ds 12 thinks it is such a great math program. I can see us continuing all the way w/ Prof. Mosely. Also, Cynthia, Your bold is a nice touch :) Thanks again!

Also, which calculator should I buy? Thanks!!

I am not learning Latin along w/ my kiddos. Mental atrophy maybe -- or just laziness on my part. I have the teacher guide and can correct their work, drill them on vocab and ask SOME questions to see how they're doing. They meet w/ a Latin tutor for an hour/wk so she is ultimately the teacher they are accountable to. I decided to take this year to read some Great Books -- so Latin had to fall by the wayside. I'm a great Latin cheerleader :)

I also like the K-6 & 7-12 idea. My kids are only 10 & 12 but I frequent the hs board and occasionally post questions. The hs board members have been more than gracious to accommodate a newbie w/ kids on the younger end of the spectrum. Maybe the hs board regulars would not want to change things -- as it seems to be working really well for them. Just my $.02...

Looking ahead, we will probably continue w/ a hybrid form of classical homeschooling w/ tutors, local classes and home ed. My kids will meet all state/natl standards and do strong SAT prep -- combined w/ ministry/discipleship and community service. I cannot imagine being able to accomplish those goals w/ any one strict form of schooling. I'll tell you, it was sure easier to pay the tuition bill for private school. But we know that wasn't the best to accomplish our goals for our older kiddos.

No, My dc 10 & 12 do not write in cursive except it Julie's copywork books. Ds 12 types all his papers. We have too many important things to worry about than perfect penmanship. Time spent on Latin and Math is more important, imo. My kids need to print legibly in their workbooks, math, etc. But I don't make them write in cursive.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/family/02/04/hm.helicopter.parents/index.html

Just pre-ordered!

I just pre-ordered -- thanks for the tip! :)

Thanks for linking this :) God has given her a unique gift and I'm so glad she is willing to share it!

Apples is a quick daily workbook page dealing w/ common spelling issues. I think its $14.95. My ds 12 needed this but dd 10 didn't. http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=727011&event=CFN

my 5th grader is in TT6 (basic 5th grade math) and my 6th/7th grader did TT7 (basic 6th grade math) in 4 months and is now in CD PreAlg. I loved TT 6 & 7 for the transition to homeschool. But we will do a more traditional sequence for PreAlg and up. Our local private schools use Prentice Hall and I want my kids operating at that level, appropriate for their age/grade. Since Prentice Hall doesn't have a dvd component, I went w/ CD. The price of CD PreAlg was $335 but math is not something I want to skimp on. Its like having Dr. Mosely in our living room teaching math. My ds 12 loves it and likes the challenge, explanations and pacing much better than TT. I am glad that both my kids can use the program and I can resell it later for a decent price. TT has been a great option for us. My mathy dh will ensure the kids are getting what they need to out of their math program, above and beyond the text. BUT we felt the need to supplement TT w/ Singapore CWP. I don't feel we need to do that w/ CD. I hope this helps. I'd be happy to help in any way if you need more info.

You actually helped me choose to go w/ CD rather than TT for Pre-Alg. Does your dd watch -- and re-watch -- the dvd's? Have you called Dr. Mosely? I was torn btw. using TT & CD. TT would be an excellent option for you, IMO. We had great success w/ TT 7 for ds 12 (although he did it in 4 months and it was mainly review). TT is so user friendly and easy on mom :) I don't think you could go wrong. Let me know what you decide.

World History -- Fertile Crescent to American Revolution Linwood Thompson is a hoot. My kids, ages 10, 12 think he's great. He speaks in different voices, wears costumes and is generally pleasant to watch/listen. He is a high school history teacher in southern California. This is the TC's option for the younger student. We consider it a supplement to our WTM method of doing logic stage history (which also includes lots of Netflix docs).

This group had a lengthy response/discussion regarding Van Damme's article in August. Does someone have the link to that old thread? Thanks for sharing this, Jessica.

Wow, Thanks gang. :)

Favorite study guide? Websites for themes/essay ideas? DS 12.5 and I are reading this together. Fascinating.... Thanks!!