I really like FLL 1/2 and really disliked FLL 3. So we follow FLL 1/2 with Primary Language Lessons which is rather similar.

You could stick to one syllable and go with a sky theme - I like Storm for a boy's middle name. Or if you really want four letters - Snow (For a girl, Star would work too!) :D

How To Read a Book - M. Adler A Philosophy of Education Vol. 6 - C. Mason Study is Hard Work - W. Armstrong Well Trained Mind - S. Bauer Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student - E. Corbett Educating through Art - A. Nobel

My dh's company passed out little bottles of Purell at the last staff meeting as one of the employees has swine flu. And 79 kids are currently out of school at our local elementary, for flu-like symptoms. I'm not optimistic.:glare:

Highlands Latin School is another really good source for seeing what a typical latin-centered program would look like. If you click the link below, scroll down and click on the 2009-2010 Course catalog you can see schedules for each grade that include exactly what they study, for how long and the resources used. http://www.thelatinschool.org/Admissions.html

They are just called wood spiders around us. Probably because they like to live in wood walls. :) They can get twice that big. We had one sitting in the middle of our bathtub. The legs came up both sides. We took a picture - it was really huge! We used to have two fairly big ones that lived in our bathroom that we named Hairy and Sally. They keep down the insect population. They are timid. I've never heard of one biting a person, but have never really researched it. ETA - We also get quite a few brown recluse - much smaller with round bodies and skinnier legs. And we get banana spiders - they are about that size, but skinnier legs with a more black/white or black/yellow stiped leg and almost always found in a web.

Thanks for the information! I am off to look at computers tomorrow.

We are going to buy our eldest dd a laptop for her Christmas/birthday gift this year. Is there one you would recommend (or any to avoid)? It needs to be fast enough to run online classes and use the internet for some research and it needs to be able to run standard software (Microsoft Office) and store all of her school work, papers, etc. It doesn't need to be top of the line, just functional. Thanks!

We use the textbook, workbook, intensive practice and challenging word problems.

I wouldn't have minded either one of those comments. When he found out we homeschool, our doctor commented that his families with the most kids (8+ kids) all homeschool. It was just a comment - not a judgment. I think the coach was actually drawing the child into the group with a comment like that. He's making it seem like less of a big deal than the other kids might otherwise see it. I see that as a typical, joking, guy way of making him one of the group.

Thanks for the responses! It looks like this is a 'go with your gut' area!

How much of your child's work do you require be typed at the jr. high level? Do you allow your child to compose (any/all) outlines/essays on the computer or require they be written first longhand and then typed? Thanks!

We use unlined for all of our work at all grades. :)

Bulfinch's Age of Fable is really good.

Saxon math! We use the K-3 books. It has worked wonderfully for each of my kids, so I keep using it. But I can't wait to be able to put Saxon math behind us for good. :)

I consider it a skill area. I started my first two together and separated them when they were 10 and 8. I plan to do the same with the younger two, starting them together and separating them probably when they are 9 and 8.

I think the website says Excellence in Literature I is meant for 8th grade and up. But, it also says that the requirements are that the student is reading at a high school level and has a good grasp of grammar and writing. The program is basically reading books, reading context material surrounding the books, discussing books (optional) and writing about the books. There isn't anything else to it. My dd is a strong reader and wanted to read more challenging works. She wasn't interested in lit programs with comprehension questions, vocabulary pages, word puzzles, etc. and neither was I. EIL has been a great program. We tested it out last spring and it has been a wonderful fit for us, but I wouldn't have tried it this early with a child that wasn't interested in literature and excited about the program. We are going much slower than the schedule. The schedule suggests one focus book and one additional book (usually by the same author) for honors to be completed in each unit. Our plan is to read both those and one more, but we will spend at least twice the suggested time on each unit. So, she will finish up level two as she enters high school. Here's the list of readings for level one (as noted on her website): Unit 1: Short Stories by- • Sarah Orne Jewett • Edgar Allen Poe • Guy de Maupassant • O. Henry • Eudora Welty • James Thurber Unit 2: Jules Verne • Around the World in 80 Days Unit 3: Mark Twain • A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court Unit 4: Charlotte Bronte • Jane Eyre Unit 5: George B. Shaw • Pygmalion Unit 6: Robert Louis Stevenson • Treasure Island Unit 7: George Orwell • Animal Farm Unit 8: William Shakespeare • The Tempest Unit 9: Jonathan Swift • Gulliver’s Travels

I've never seen LFC, but Song School Latin would be fluff. (But it is fun and all of my kids can sing the songs.) Prima Latina is often considered basic, but boring. I sold it without using it. I found Galore Park's Latin Prep to move too quickly for an 8 year old and it can be expensive when you add in the cost of audio. My dds loved Lively Latin. They went through LL1 when they were 7 and 9. Personally, I think 8 would be the perfect age for that curriculum.

I'm probably not the one to ask. Personally, I took a much broader interpretation figuring he was writing more to school teachers and not parents. My interpretation: Read lots of classics and discuss about half of them in-depth, leaving the other half to be simply enjoyed by the student. We do that! :D I don't use quizzes since I can have one-on-one discussions and know my child is reading the book. We do have some writing assignments that go along with literature. I also use a literature curriculum with my oldest dd.

I don't think Classics in the Classroom is a book to be implemented in the way his other books are. He basically says the teacher/parent chooses 8 classics to be read and discussed in class, followed up with quizzes and essays and another 8 classics that the student chooses from a list and reads independently and then discusses informally with the parent/teacher. What to discuss with the student during the informal discussions is covered in the book. The section below was copied from the RFWP website about how to implement Classics in the Classroom. Students should read an extensive list of classic works that are the common experience of educated individuals in the world. The in-class titles are great books that are assigned, and that are evaluated with quizzes and essay tests. The student should perceive most books as being hard to read, i.e., challenging. We tend to assign everything, but students need choice. The outside classics are chosen by the student with guidance. They are designed to double the reading quantity and to give students a reader’s-- rather than a student’s-- experience. They are therefore best evaluated with amiable conversations, book talks.

Lone Pine Scholars Online Great Books Academy

What is your plan for 4th and up? That would help determine what to use in K-3.

Daily before school: walk/outside time/unstructured science beginning around 9am: Language arts (approx. 1 hour) sequential spelling ILL grammar island/practice island reading aloud to me - one chapter catechism (online, 15 min) Latin (online, 1.5 hours) First Start French (30 min) lunch (1.5 hours or so) singapore math (1 hour) American history program (1 hour) IEW U.S. History silent reading (1 hour) free time / dinner / guitar / some days karate (3 hours or so) geography (online) OR mapping the world with art (1 hour)

My kids like any of the Jack Prelutsky books to add a little bit of fun and build vocabulary. Walter de la Mare is one of my favorites for children. I think our book is called Poems for Young Children or something nondescript like that.

I received an email from Ellen McHenry (also wrote the programs- The Elements, Carbon Chemistry, etc) that Mapping the World with Art is now ready and available for purchase on her website. I've been waiting all summer for this curriculum! http://www.ellenjmchenry.com/id151.html