Ok, I hope I am able to explain this clearly without totally confusing everyone. Dd14 will be a 9th grader next year and we have chosen to put her in Classical Conversations Challenge B. She has not done CC before at all or Latin for that matter, so we chose to put her in B rather than Challenge 1. For those not familiar with CC, in the B program she will have Henle Latin, Literature/Short Stories, Current Events/Mock Trial, History of Science/Origins, Formal Logic, and Math which will be Saxon Alg 1. So based on her skill level I do feel like I need to do our own schedule with History, Eng/Comp and Science. She will likely do Apologia Biology and we are still undecided on History because I am not sure if I should have her continue chronologically with what we have been doing at home, or start at a typical high school sequence. If she continued with our sequence it would be US History (likely Notgrass), or start with what most start with for 9th being Ancients (not sure what we would use for that). So, here comes the weird part that I am having trouble deciding what is best. In our district there is a very nice dual enrollment program which allows her to get up to 12 credits a term free, books also free. Well, she is eligible to start when she is 16, so fall of her junior year, however the district nor the dual cc will recognize any homeschooling credits prior to her entering the program. She will basically be getting her high school diploma and AA simultaniously, in 2 years time. It totally sucks to not have the next 2 years count on paper for anything, but that's how their program works. I have no intention of slacking at all the next two years, in fact I want to optimize our time(course selection) so that it gets her into better classes during the dual enrollment period, hence more bang for our buck credit wise as a transfer student to a 4 yr university. What History, English/Comp would you suggest to best prepare a student for dual enrollment? Maybe it doesn't even matter, and I am worrying over nothing. I just don't want her to get there and go "Wow, wished I had taken more......before I took it at the community college. Thanks a heap, mom."

I just jumped over to Rainbow Resource and saw that they have a 3 book set, and that the tests/quizzes were optional. If that is all included, I thought it not a bad price especially since (per RR) it counts as a 3 credit course: US History, English/Comp, and Bible. Can you tell me if that is the package deal you got, and did it include the test/quizzes? It isn't really clear. Also, has anyone used this and taken the AP US History test successfully? My student I am considering this for will only be a 9th grader, but a voracious reader and history is her favorite subject.

:lurk5:I also have questions about Notgrass, especially since I have no way of seeing it first hand unless I spend the money to order it. :bigear:

So we will be moving on from MOH vol.3, there is no vol.4 yet or even soon, so we will likely be shifting to SOTW vol.3 and 4, picking up where MOH left off. I know that SOTW with the AG will be plenty for my dd/ds9 twins...but I need to beef it up for ds12. It seems like somewhere I read the later volumes of SOTW were suitable for older middle schoolers, but would love to hear opinions on that. I do have access to Hakims History of US series too. I guess what I am asking is: Is SOTW w/AG enough for a 7th grader? If not, what do you supplement with? Is there a lesson plan cross reference out there for SOTW and History of US? Thanks for your help, I am really bad at searches on this forum.

IMO, we found Alg 1/2 to not be totally redundant after 8/7. It does cover the same concepts, but I think they are harder in 1/2. My dd14 did 8/7 last year, but towards the end there wasn't enough practice/spiral left in the year for her brain to work out the concepts presented in the later lessons. We chose to go through 1/2, testing through until she needed to stop and review. She ended up having to work through about half the book even still because the problems were harder, especially the geometry stuff. It is hard for kids who need lots of repetition of a concept to get the repeated practice they need, if there isn't enough 'spiraling' lessons at the end of the book. I am glad we didn't decide to move on to Alg 1 sooner. When she does do Alg 1 next year, I will also be purchasing the Key to series for more practice problems. I would suggest getting a copy of the 1/2 and the Alg 1, and look them through to see how the concepts she is struggling with progress in difficulty in each book. I am now in your shoes with my ds12 who is finishing 8/7 this year and could do Alg 1 as a 7th. What to do when the puberty brainfog sets in????!!!!:tongue_smilie:

We have always been adamantly anti-Facebook for a very long time based on the fact it can be such a time sucker and privacy issues. I recently convinced dh to allow me to make a family page(haven't done it yet though) so our dd14 can stay in touch with her old private school friends, and we can feel more connected to our church socially, which communicates mostly through FB. I have found that, sadly, when your dc leaves a formal school situation, that out of sight is out of mind for a lot of those kids, and if you don't see them ALL the time or communicate via FB...you are OUT of the loop and they sorta forget about you and when you do see them again, it's really awkward. We have let her use email to her hearts content, but none of them email really, they only use FB. I was hoping that FB would help her stay connected, but maybe it would be a mistake and she would be watching everyone else's social lives instead of participating. Geez. Now I don't know what to do.

My oldest dd will be a freshman next year and I have been taking mental notes on threads like this. I hadn't thought of the auto care or personal safety aspects, but I love the idea and intend to incorporate it into our plans. Maybe I'll plan on one topic a month, I do a topic, the next month my dh does a topic, and switch off so it's more of a family affair. I also like the idea another poster had to do some one year, say 9th grade, and some another year, 11th. That way you can cover more topics, or take some to the next level. I hope more people chime in on what they've done.

Dansko was mentioned by another poster, and I have to concur...spending the $100+ is worth it because they last forever and are very comfy. I can't wear a healed shoe either, but the dress shoes (not the clogs) by Dansko work. Just enough heal to look nice, but not so much as to cause a problem. You can get them on clearance at Sierra Trading Post or try ebay, but you'll need to know what your Euro size is.

What a timely thread. Today is my birthday, and I just turned 38. I don't view anyone even close to my age as "old", but I feel like I am. It must be that "looking back at what I haven't done with my life" thing and wishing I had done more, and now there are just some things that aren't reasonable to fit in at this point. Oh well. I am going to eat chocolate cake today, and that will make it all better.:D

You all have been immensely helpful to me today. One less thing to decide...there shall be no chemistry...she definitely isn't far enough in math...we will pursue the biology. Hooray! Wheww...glad that's decided.:001_smile:

Brenda, I had the same concerns at first too. Why should I have to fill in gaps if I pay $$$ for CC. However, I have landed at the place of peace in that 1) It's a tutoring service, not a school. So if I have to fill in a few holes, so be it. They are providing the things that I can't in accountability, positive reinforcement, group discussion, and on, and on. I can't do this homeschooling thing in isolation, my kids and I both need outside encouragement and accountability, and CC is our only option for that here. 2) ANY other school (including my own at home) will never be able to satisfy what I want 100%, and CC is a fabulous program. So with that, I ordered the Henle Latin today so we can try to catch up to where she would have been had she did Chall A.

When you say supplemented, do you mean "we picked and chose a few chapters and activities", or do you mean "we were thorough, did all the chapters, quizes, tests, labs". I ask this because I have a really hard time picking and choosing, I want to do it ALL, to COMPLETION (sounds like a disease I know). I want to know if I can reasonably expect this child, who is a good writer, to be able to "DO" a whole other science curriculum at home. Is BJU Life Science a Bio course? I'm not familiar with it. I would like to do Apologia Bio or Chem.

bumping for more advice/exposure...you know...timing and all that.

Honestly, I am a little biased toward Apologia, and I just checked their website and it states that you had to have completed Algebra 1 to do their high school level Chem. I would love for someone who's done it to chime in and either agree or disagree with that statement, and whether it would be doable to just tutor her ahead in her algebra to meet the math needs of the Apologia Chem text like another poster mentioned.

[quote name=TheHomeScientist;3737469 Nowadays' date=' modern first-year biology courses have deemphasized dissections, examination of organ systems and macroorganisms, and all the other stuff that required no math (the "top-down" approach"), and begun looking at biology "bottom-up", which is to say the chemistry of life, life processes, microbiology, and so on. On that basis, it's actually better to have first-year biology follow first-year chemistry, although it's certainly practical to do biology first and just spend some time talking about the chemistry of life.[/quote] I will take this to mean that it depends first on the curric. you choose, and secondly on the math your dc has done, which will be Saxon Alg 1/2. She will be doing Saxon Alg 1 next year so this may limit our choice.

DD13 will have already done both Apologia General Science and Physical Science. There may be more cause to explore Chemistry next year rather than Biology for 9th grade because of a very valuable co-op experience. Does it really matter if you do high school level Bio or Chem first? Why? I understand the reason for waiting on Physics, as it requires higher level math.

It seems that amidst the research component of Challenge B, there is a bit of a Chemistry bent. Is this a correct observation? I wonder if that's the way we should lean with supplementing? I really like the Apologia high school texts, but I am guessing to do that much research(Chall B) and the Chem text would be too much. Would doing a Chem text this next year, then Bio really be a problem? I also don't need to slam this dc with heavy science, just a solid foundation, as she is more of a liberal arts gal. I don't want to go too light either, in case she changes her mind. The RS4K Chem is a good possibility, too.

Heather, I absolutely hear what you are saying, and I did for a while feel like I was comprimising by putting her in B. However, by putting her in B in this community I am already bucking the system a bit by not putting her in A. All the kids going into Challenge I have done both A and B, and I think it's full anyway. I am at peace with the Chall B position. My dd will be finishing Physical Science this year, so this next year in B she will do a lot of research and I will supplement with something(though I don't know what yet). The following year when everyone in Chall I is doing Phys. Sci, I will just have her do something else too. I understand what you are getting at with credits, but in the local dual enrollment she would have to take all those requirements again anyway, but for college credit and for diploma. What ever we do the next two years will only be for dd's good, not for a transcript.

We have been using MOH. I am wondering if the high school activities and lit rec's for Vol. 1 would be enough?

Well, If it weren't for the Latin and Logic, I would have rather done Challenge I. However, dd hasn't done these and is new to CC so we chose Chall B, knowing we would have to do some tweeking. Our choice to enroll in CC was more based on what I needed in outside accountability, positive reinforcement, public speaking, group discussions, and logic that I am not able to do at home as well as I would like. Our goal is for her to do the local dual enrollment program when she turns 16, but anything we do up until then will count for nothing in the eyes of the dual enrollment district. She will be literally doing a full high school education and AA degree at once over a two year period, but for free so I don't complain too loudly about our homeschool credits not counting. My biggest goal is to have her as far along in math and writing skills as possible so that she can test into the 100 level college math and writing. I believe CC will be a very good resource to build those skills, and I can round out everything else as I see fit. I am still hoping to piece together MFW AHL used, because I love that it includes Bible and Lit, and I need this to be an independant study for her. Thanks for the Dive science recommendation, I will look into that.

I posted a similar question last week, got no replies, so I am trying again. I have a rising 9th grader who is a very good writer, loves history, loves literature even more. As I look at the CC Challenge B curriculum, I do find it a bit weak in the history and literature areas, as well as "hands on" science. I would have done MFW AHL had we not enrolled in CC, but now I don't think I can afford it in addition to tuition/books. What other recomendations do you have that might be similar but less expensive? I also would love for it to already have a schedule if possible. It would be okay if it didn't have a ton of writing(some is ok), as she will have plenty of other writing within the CC program. My second thought was SWB History of the Ancient World, but I haven't heard of any accompaning lesson plan or coordinating literature lists. Some one on the board may have worked that out already, I don't know. In addition, I would also love a good "light" science recommendation with some hands on stuff to make what she is doing at CC more complete. Challenge B science is awesome for science research, but not seeing the hands on part that I would like. Like I stated in the thread title, Classical Conversations experience is not required for giving advice, just experience in general with supplementing something good to make it great for your specific kid. Thanks in advance. :001_smile::bigear::001_smile:

We just registered dd13 for Challenge B in a Classical Conversations community this week for next year. She loves history, and Challenge B is a little lacking in that area, so I was wondering what you supplemented with for history, and did you supplement with anything else like vocabulary, etc. I am not sure what era to have her study. I doubt she will stay in CC past Challenge II, then will go on to dual enrollment. She loves history, so not doing it is out of the question, but I also need it to be affordable as her participation in the program is sucking down all my funds. Before we decided to join CC, our likely option for history was MFW AHL. Any advice would be appreciated.

What do you mean by "flattening" your machine? Striping all programs that I have loaded? Please elaborate. Do you know what will be different in Windows 8 from 7. It seems like it would likely be cheaper to upgrade to 7. I don't necessarily need the latest and greatest, just something that WORKS. Thanks in advance.

I am not techie enough to know this. Is it possible to upgrade to Windows 7, is it cost prohibitive, and what is the best way to go about it? I hate Vista.:confused: Thank you in advance for your advice.:bigear:

I don't know if you are shooting for secular or faith based, but if we have to do science at home next year (9th), we will probably do it online through Apologia Academy. They do the labs at home, then have to submit their lab reports to the instructor, as well as other assignments. Apologia may not be what you are after, but I am sure that there are plenty of other online science courses that have a similar accountability. If they have questions on their assignments or labs, they email the instructor.