OhElizabeth and Lori D. I'll look into your suggestions. With appreciation, Wanda

dd is required to take a career course for correspondence school. She doesn't want an online class. Are you familiar with any books/curriculum that cover the gamut of career planning, job security, creating a resume', etc? We would love some suggestions. Thank you!

Two kids took classes from her last year and we're back for more. They love her teaching, her style and her personality. A huge blessing!

The American Govt. book from Great Source? It's one I'm considering in conjunction with the Amanda Bennett Election Unit Study.

and so much that I agree with and have experienced with my own children, adults I know and with the dyslexic students that I tutor. I do believe that my oldest daughter, who struggles with spelling, wouldn't be as far along as she is today without the help of a program like Spell to Write and Read, which is what we used. My younger dd, who is more inclined in the area of language, would have become a great speller with or without SWR. (IMO) I don't think spelling rules are the be-all-end-all, but I do think they are tools that can help in many cases, and I find them helpful for many of the dyslexic students that I tutor. I do wish remedial spelling courses were offered in high school and college for those who just didn't get a good foundation in grade school. Math and English are, why not spelling? Spelling has always come easily to me, not that you would know it from my earlier post :), and I've benefitted greatly from teaching my own children. That's part of what I love about homeschooling, the opportunity to fill in the gaps in my own education! I knew how to spell words, I just never knew they "why" until I began teaching spelling. I also agree with recognizing where your deficiencies are and working to accommodate them - it's true that some people are completely unaware, but what we write and say is received as a message about ourselves to the world - *I think*. Spelling obviously does not define our character or our level of intelligence, but I personally believe in striving hard to improve or excel at whatever we take on. We had a pastor who was dyslexic and many of his PP presentations were misspelled. IMO, he should have used spell-check, his wife or a friend to help him with what he was presenting to the congregation. Thank you for all the input. It's quite obvious that spelling ability/inability has not affected academic and workplace success for many of you and others that you know.

what is the correlation between IQ and spelling ability...do tell!

I pride myself on being a good speller... guess that's out the window - well, happy to hear that the "consensus" is you can still be educated, smart and not spell worth a darn. Hmmm...

I have one dd that struggles with spelling and one that spells naturally. I think you're right, either you have a knack for it or you don't.

What's the concensus?

I've been using the 30-day shred; love it. Easy to follow, but a great workout. I've lost 20 lbs!

Wordly Wise 3000 or Wordly Wise? Thanks!

There are two series, Wordly Wise 3000 and Wordly Wise. What is the difference and which did you use? Yes, I agree about using those words. We're actually good about throwing them into our vocabulary or making little word games. Thanks for sharing!

I was wondering about using both and whether it would be too much. I think I'll order Wordly Wise then. Are you using your Word Roots from the book only or have you made or purchased flashcards or any other extras? Thanks!

We've started using Word Roots and I think it's helpful. Then I perused the Wordly Wise sample, which focuses more on straight vocabulary buildling. Which would you say is more beneficial for 9th grade? Word Roots are building blocks, but Wordly Wise seems to expand vocabulary and prepare your student for the SAT. Any thoughts? Thanks

I'm from Ketchikan...and my dd is working @ Knudson Cove this summer with James! Too funny. Yes, we definitely take for granted that whales bubble feed in our backyard, kayaks are the norm...and silly us, doesn't everybody get to eat fresh salmon? :) Glad to hear you enjoyed your time in our great state!

we're signed up with Laurel Tree Tutorials. I have only read positive reviews and Ms. Randolph has been very professional in our correspondence to date. I'm really looking forward to having both kids in her classes.

I didn't realize it was only a semester long at first...it really seems it would fit best as an elective or health credit, doesn't it? We're planning to add it in as an elective. Thanks for sharing the review. It sounds fun! Wanda

If you don't hear from us, pm me at some point and I'll let you know how it's progressing.

as is letting her take it as an elective. I did purchase Total Health and dd is excited about using it, but she may be more excited about exercise physiology as a health credit...and, depending on how hard she wants to work, she could add it as an elective if she wants to stick with Total Health. Thank you for all the excellent suggestions. I really didn't want her to give up chemistry this year.

Dd took biology last year and the plan is to follow-up with chemistry in the fall. However, we saw the exercise physiology/sports medicine class offered at homeschoolscienceacademy.com and dd is very interested. However, chemistry is a required course and exercise physiology is not. Should I stray from the plan and let her take chemistry next year? She's not necessarily leaning toward the medical field, but loves exercise and health. WWYD? Take chemistry this year and exercise physiology next or let her take the physiology class this year and pick up chemistry next year? Thanks!

'music' on her transcript. She also plays piano and took voice lessons this year, although I don't know if voice will happen next school year. She plays and practices too much for us not to have it listed in some way. Thanks for sharing about music and transcripts.

www.homeschoolscienceacademy.com I haven't used them, although I plan to for computer this year, but it appears they have some all-on-one English courses.

I'm surprised to hear that WWW doesn't offer enough writing. I have only looked at the upper level samples, 7 and 8. Maybe too many exercises and not enough writing. I found this to be the case with Wordsmith Apprentice when we used it several years ago. I agree, IEW is a great program. I thought perhaps WWW would be a little more manageable in terms of time, teacher involvement, etc., but it doesn't sound like the benefits are nearly the same. I just received the sample of WWS and it does seem somewhat similar to IEW and looks very appealing. Decisions, decisions...thank you for the comparison, it was quite helpful. Back to sorting this out...

I don't have time now, running to ultimate frisbee, but thank you for sharing!

this looks like a great option. The concept is similar to HTTS and SWR, but simplified. You were asking about whether or not the words seem hard enough. This program might work nicely as a foundation and then you could use specific word lists...like the most frequently misspelled words by high school students or words from writing, other published lists, etc., and plug those into the 'rules' or pages where they fit in The Spell of Words. A vocabulary program might even work well with this program. Thank you to the poster who shared this program!