We had to rule out the classes because they are done in chat/text format. The teacher, assistants, and students are all in a chat room, and the teacher will ask a question (typed into chat text field), the students reply (also via chat text field), and the assistants also type to help answer questions. I tried one of the evening seminars (can't recall what they are called) that is the same environment as the classes and it was so confusing. It took several minutes for my question to show up, and by then the person leading the discussion had moved on to something else. I was so sad to hear the classes are set up the same way. I know my DS would benefit from a class situation, but I know there is no way he can keep up with the typing right now. I know many people find the AoPS classes a perfect fit for their kid, but it just would not work for my DS. I was very happy to find the online videos that go along with the AoPS books though! :) http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/Videos/index.php?type=prealgebra

I am faced with this decision right now myself. My situation is different than yours of course, but here is my current train of thought. Hopefully some part of it may help you or someone else decide what is best for your own situation. Since I had breast cancer at a young age (symptoms started at 32), my surgeon strongly suggested removing my ovaries "at some point" because breast & ovarian cancer often show up together and there are no reliable ways to test or screen for ovarian cancer (basically, by the time they find it during an exam it is too late and has spread). I have done a lot of reading and research, and I agree that FOR ME and MY SITUATION I need to have my ovaries removed. I just have to decide when... and that is hard! Chemotherapy put me into full menopause, and it was not fun. It was beyond hot flashes -- I was so irritable and snarky (had to ban myself from message boards and facebook as I became brutally honest and felt the need to share my strong opinions with those who maybe didn't need to hear them LOL!). There were also many other side effects that are too personal to discuss here (pertaining to marital relations). In the months following chemo, some of the menopause symptoms subsided, and I am much happier. I know I need to do it eventually (I asked the doctor if I should wait until closer to natural menopause age, and she said no way -- especially since my mother is still pre-menopausal), and for me there are about the same number of reasons to do it sooner rather than later: Reasons to do it sooner: 1. There are no screening tests for ovarian cancer (blood tests for the marker are unreliable). There is no way to see it coming. 2. There is no way to catch it early. By the time a doctor can feel it during an exam, it is very large and usually has spread to nearby organs. When the ovaries are removed AFTER they find cancer, they also take tissue samples from many organs and basically wait for it to show up. 3. I am done having children. This is not a factor for me to keep them. 4. I am young and healthy and would recover faster/stronger now than I would when older. 5. We have good insurance now. This may not be the case at some point in the theoretical future. It will probably cost many thousands of dollars if I have to pay for it, or free if I do it now. 6. I don't want to get cancer again. Cancer really stinks, chemo really stinks, the surgery would be much more involved if it is done after they find cancer, etc. This should be reason #1! 7. No more periods. OK, I really should NOT complain because mine have never been a big deal, I don't have any of those things they advertise drugs for on tv. Reasons to do it later: 1. My life is finally returning to normal after 3 years of dealing with breast cancer stuff. I have just started running, am losing weight, and would have to take a break from all of that to recover from surgery. 2. It will put me back into menopause, which I got a taste of and am not looking forward to. 3. There are MANY medical concerns with early menopause -- increased heart disease and osteoporosis are the ones I am most worried about. 4. Hormone replacement therapy is SCARY. There are SOOOO MANY bad side effects from all hormone replacement therapies I am aware of. 5. It is SURGERY. With every surgery there are so many risks! Infection, reaction to meds they use, medical errors, DEATH. It was different with my mastectomy -- I had the surgery for a very obvious, necessary reason. This would really be classifed as elective surgery. 6. I will have longer to decide how much I want taken out. Ovaries obviously, but also the cervix, uterus, fallopian tubes, parametrium, upper vaginal wall... where does it end?!?! Each of these things has a cancer risk associated with it and is not necessary for survival... but there are considerations to factor in! 7. There are new discoveries all the time. Another option may become available in the next few years. I would hate to remove everything listed above, and then in 2 years find out it is no longer necessary. In fact, there is already an opinion that ovaries should NOT be removed as a preventive measure because statistically women who have them removed die earlier than women who do not (though it isn't that simple for me, since I had early onset breast cancer).

I like having the 16 individual books, especially since we didn't use them all and did not do them in any order. I also like having the Student Express CD-Roms to print off worksheets as needed (3 different levels for each section!) and the digital version of the text. The worksheets aren't necessary, but they were nice to have during seasons that I needed his science to be more hands off on my part. The Teacher Express CD-Rom is useful to customize tests using their questions, plus it has a digital teacher's version of each book (with notes and such) and includes software to make planning it all out simpler. If you get them bundled (which usually includes 5 of the individual books), it is about as thick as a traditional middle school science textbook and weighs several pounds. PS -- I am selling my complete set (16 texts, 16 student CD-Rom sets, teacher CD-Rom set), purchased new from the publisher with a 2009 copyright date. If anyone is interested in buying the complete set for $200 ppd, PM me.

There are LOTS of great early American books that go with SOTW 3. There are many lists online. The easiest list to find would be the Sonlight list of books for Core 7 (now called Core H I think?).

:iagree:

***LOVE*** this! My kids are color coded with those 5 colors! No idea what exactly I will use these for, but I am definitely ordering some when they are back in stock! Thanks for sharing!!!!!!!!!!!

They are so different... there is no way I could choose only one when they are BOTH such excellent programs.

:bigear:

:bigear: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And also: :willy_nilly::scared::crying::banghead::cursing: (This is me afraid of 5 teenage boys)

I can't decide either. :( With WWE, I cut the binding, spiral bound the teacher pages with the covers, place the student pages in a binder so I can place each week's worth of pages into a pocket folder (and only have to purchase student pages for younger kids). With FLL, I leave the teacher books as is so they are easier to find on the shelf (I am currently using multiple levels), then for 3 & 4 I pull out the student sheets as needed per week. With SOTW, I cut the binding and hole punch ALL pages, then divide them up behind 42 tab dividers (ie behind each chapter tab there is the Instructor Guide pages, 5 copies of coloring sheet, 3 copies of map work, 1 sheet with additional work listed for oldest). I also have OfficeMax save the strip they cut from the binding and slide it in the binder edge pocket and put the covers into the covers of the binder so it is easier to find on the shelf. With OPGtTR, I bought the perfect bound copy for my oldest. Then I saw the spiral bound at a convention and thought that would be easier to use with my 2nd DS. It wasn't. I hated it, sold it, bought another perfect bound copy. I think I am going to leave the WWS Instructor Guide as is, and let my oldest decide what he wants to do with the Student Book.

:bigear::bigear:

:bigear: :bigear:

Sorry. :) After I posted my reply, I re-read your original post and it seemed like you were looking for specific information about HOW people were using it with their highschoolers, which my post didn't really address. I will re-type what I wrote since you found it helpful (and maybe others may not be aware of this). SWB stated that students who complete the entire WWSkill series will be fully prepared to begin college level writing. The series that will follow it (WWStyle???) will actually begin working on college level essays, which many students are ready for in high school, especially those who have completed lower levels of her program. All students who are ready to begin writing essays -- whether they are in 4th grade or 10th grade -- should begin with Writing With Skill 1, as that is where the foundational work is done.

My oldest LOVES mythology and took a class to prepare for the exam. On his own he chose to take more sections than were required (a good life lesson for him). He is very proud of the medal he got for his score. It means more to him than the trophy he got for participating in soccer (where every kid who signs up gets the same thing).

It's heeeeeeeeere!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I used Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading for both of my early/advanced readers. Even though they were already reading, I wanted to be sure they were exposed to ALL of the phonics rules (many of the more advanced phonics are not included in easy reader books). I would have the kid read the list of words out loud (not per the written instructions in the book), then use the sentences to work on fluency of reading out loud. Each lesson only takes about 5 minutes this way, and we have made a big deal out of finishing the Teaching Reading book, complete with a book prize and permission to read books on the "big kid bookshelf." FWIW, I use a different method for introducing letters, sounds, and CVC words. I don't start OPGTR until they are reading blends and have finished the first set of Bob Books.

My boys who need deoderant use an unscented brand from a health food store as most deoderants have chemicals that are dangerous, especially to kids. You can check the brands and ingredients at the site http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ .

nm

As long as you include comic books in the list of acceptable writing pieces, this describes my son's dream school day. He doesn't complain about math or reading, but pretty much everything else. I have reworked our schedule so he only has to do "everything else" on Mon, Wed, Fri. Tues & Thurs he works on his own and pretty much only has to do math and reading.

Still waiting here... and UPS only has to drive mine about 30 minutes down the road. :001_huh: Side note... I placed an order from Cafepress on Friday and paid for upgraded shipping (not the highest one, the middle one). As of Saturday morning it was scheduled to be delivered on Wednesday. I just checked and the delivery date has been changed to TODAY! Included in the package is my new license plate frame that says "Authorized Muggle Vehicle" and my bumper sticker that says "Cancer touched my boob so I kicked it's a**." :D This is the only package being delivered this month that actually has something FOR ME. Although one could argue that the WWS package will be for me, I know my DS sure isn't as excited as I am about it. HA HA HA!

:iagree:

A got a phone call a couple of days ago and she said 10 days, but I got an invoice via email today and it states shipped on 12/9 (though it looks like a Quickbooks invoice, so shipped could just mean the day the invoice was printed). My credit card was billed on 12/12, so it must be coming soon. :)

OK, I found it. :) Yay.

I am coming. My 10 year old is coming. I'm not sure about my younger boys. And I have been waiting all morning for it to be 11:00. :) And it's 11:03 and I can't figure out where to register. :)

My vote would be for Hakim's History of US.