I would ask him. Tell him about the book in question, explain there'll be an emotional part where somebody dies and ask if he's up for reading it anyway. If he says yes, delve in. It's okay to cry at movies or books or get emotionally entangled in a character. It's a sign of a good book! If he says no, find something milder.

We attended an awesome Episcopal church for a few years where the priest had basically been sent to close it down. He was a very funny, smart, older gay man originally trained as an Eastern Orthodox priest. Instead, he managed to entirely revive the church... starting with a music program. He hired an amazing music director and began hiring musician to put together a choir, organizing first regular candlelit compline chants and later concerts. Then they began growing a choristers program involving free piano lessons and voice lessons for kids (it was a low-income area with no music programs in the schools). Parents would come to church to support kids. It was very high church and in a beautiful old stone building and it became a beautiful, diverse, welcoming church -- traditional and engaged in social concerns of the community.

Local 8th graders in our town take a trip to Washington DC. I'm planning to do the same (only much better) with my 13 year old daughter. We have two weeks in late August and besides Washington DC, I want to make sure to get to New York City for a few days, to Williamsburg, Yorktown and Jamestown, and to other historical sites like Gettysburg, Harpers Ferry, Antietam and Valley Forge. It looks cheapest for us to fly to Philadelphia, so I'll also want to explore there too. I'll rent a car for part of the trip, but have no desire to drive and park in cities. I've requested tickets from my senator for the white house tour, etc... I'm only in the very beginning stages of planning, so any ideas are welcome.

I have a smaller range... between -5 and 10. The 10s being classical and unit studies and the -5 Waldorf and Thomas Jefferson. Everything else is 0-3. I think it reflects my opinion that there are lots of ways to learn, but I lean towards classical.

I would probably keep going with Saxon if it's working. Some other options -- Teaching textbooks is spiral and obviously easy to implement. CLE is also spiral and open and go. Math Mammoth 6 is easy to use and not at all wordy but you'd need to add in review (Math Minutes has worked for us).

I think LL7 is pretty doable for 6th grader. Have you looked at Galore Park?

Not a documentary, but my daughter loves this horrible history song:

We used that Chaucer coloring book - it's published by Bellerophon. I think we first used Ellen McHenrys Excavating English to teach a little historical linguistics before tackling the middle English. Besides Beowulf and Chaucer, don't forget getting in something like Anglo-Saxon riddles or The dream of the rood.

Math Minutes

DK books in general are very mainstream. I've only browsed through it, but it's definitely "descriptive" not "prescriptive". It has two page spreads on each topic and was readable and colorful and accessible. That said, it's not a textbook, so don't expect worksheets or activities or anything like that.

Yes! The elements would be perfect for a 5th/6th grade co-op!

I like using DBQs for writing in history because they present possible primary sources that can limit a topic and direct a student towards a thesis. The first few I did together with my daughter so she could see how to read and analyze documents, looking at the context and date and authorship... And then how to group them together (those dealing with the economics or political or social causes related to a situation)... And then how to formulate a thesis and write the essay. I also like them because they can be done quickly (usually an hour or two). As a bonus, they're good practice for future AP history exams.

Galore Park

I had that same question last year. Didax Daily Mental Math is what we went with. Easy and quick!

I'd do pre algebra for sure. It's easier to start at a lower level and move forward quickly if needed than to realize you jumped ahead too soon and missed something important and your child is struggling and feels frustrated.

We did a simple stock project in high school economics that involved building a portfolio with a given (imaginary) amount of money, following the stocks and seeing who had earned the most by the end of the semester.

Besides the World Religions workbook from Teacher Created Resources, we have read lots of excerpts from holy books, learned about (and eaten the foods of) various holidays, and watched videos such as "God in America" (Frontline) and "East meets West" (about Islam), "The Mormons" ( American experience) and some others I can't remember... I also organized with a Jewish, a Unitarian, a Roman Catholic and a fundamentalist Christian (mega-church) friend to go with them to a religious service. My daughter found those interesting and a bit socially awkward, but I think it's cool to see other religious services and compare traditions. We don't live in a particularly diverse area, but we did what we could.

How about graphic novels? Smile, Persepolis, and Anya's Ghost come to mind...

We loved them! It was especially fun when we did it in 6th/7th grade because I had two kids at the time and they loved to play the games and do the activities. Once I had only one child, the materials were less fun, but still good. I think the materials are best when you have multiple kids.

I've been using P Tracker for a few years and am happy with it. I don't bother with much of it about moods and cravings or whatever. I just click on a button once a month and check it every once in a while to know about how long until the next time.

I was thinking about doing an economics unit and considered using : DK The Economics book and Economics: a self teaching guide (Steve Slavin) Or Walch Understanding our economy? And if you don't mind your economics sliding into sociology, Freakonomics is very readable and fun.

Maybe think of it as a good example of language acquisition -- how cool is it that our brains can regularize a word. It'll no doubt be commonplace in another generation... and you'll remember your kids on the forefront of language change.

Every deodorant marketed as natural that I have ever tried has ended poorly. I've found the key is the conventional mainstream aluminum-laden types.

I'd skip Salem, but add Ashland and Bend. Ashland in particular is a nice, safe community with good public schools and lots of arts and theater. I think of Eugene and Corvallis as college towns and like them both - maybe Eugene a little more. Portland is wonderful too, but much more big city.

http://www.amazon.com/Grammar-Works-Grades-4-8-Halverson/dp/0590604201. I used this when I was a classroom teacher and it was always really popular with the kids. I think it'd be ideal for summer use. We're using ultimate grammar (easy grammar series) for quick daily 10 min independent review of writing mechanics, though it's aimed at high school. You might also look at the Writing Skills series by Diana King.