I'm toying with the idea of workboxes for my 15 yos--I got the Workbox e-book, and I've been reading it. He has a very busy hockey schedule (usually); we're not even sure where we'll be next year...I was thinking the workboxes might help us stay organized (probably more a tool for me than for him, esp. if we're commuting home several times a week--three hours each way...)

Those "Keys To..." whatever books for math worked well for us...

TOG did for me...my husband packed everything, and I had no proof of having used the old TOG (other than my son's work and my memory)--they honored my request for the discount for owners of the previous version. They also gave me a license for multiple computers quickly, when I found that my husband had packed the printer cable for my computer as well as the software to run his printer... the joys of moving...

Thanks--it's just a lot going on now...once we know where my son will be playing hockey next year, life will be much easier...

Just needing a small vent, here...we've reduced our house in hopes that it will sell, and we have someone taking a "second look." We're on pins and needles...and my son has tryouts for Fall hockey for his Spring hockey team on Saturday (we're new to the team, so we're worried, even though he had a shutout and another game where he stopped 43/44 shots...) Nervous Nelly in Michigan (currently), but really....

There's a book called Deconstructing Penguins or some such thing that should be available through your library--that should teach you many of the concepts you need for literary analysis...

My 9th grader did... * a gazillion hours of hockey and conditioning training every week (otherwise known as PE) * Latin I (with So You Really Want to Learn Latin) * German 1 (with The Learnables) * Algebra 1 (with Videotext) * Biology (with Abeka--probably wouldn't do that again--the video teacher was kind of boring) * World History I (with Trisms) * Language Arts (with Trisms) * Religion (various sources, Bible, prayer book) (a 1/4 credit) * Music Performance (viola) (a 1/2 credit) * Fine Arts (through Trisms-- a 1/4 credit) * Geography (through Trisms--1/4 credit postponed per his umbrella school until Grade 10 or 11)

I wish I'd found Charlotte Mason sooner...I wish we'd spent more time when younger with nature study...I'm glad we did a lot of hands-on crafts in history study--the swords were always great fun. I wish we'd moved out of New Mexico sooner so that my son could have beneftied from better sports instruction in his passion--hockey, but we're going home to Michigan now, so my husband will be happy and my son will follow his dream...and I'll be closer to 'home' myself...I wish we'd spent more time where I grew up, exploring the tidal pools. You can spend days at a tidal pool...don't worry about the grammar and spelling--they will come.

I wasn't going to answer this one, but I'm avoiding work :-)...In college, we hated the Princess Cassamissera (cassa-misery). We used to count sentence length--one went on for three pages. I did like Daisy Miller and The Americans, though. The course I took was entitled "Twain/James" and I much preferred Twain! Give me The War Prayer any day...

My son used them a few times for early hockey games--after I used them for driving long distances...they do give you an energy burst, but, like most products like that, they have a quick drop-off as well...I think they do contribute to "jitters." We've found that mixing gatorade half and half with water and eating half a powerbar is just as effective and provides more long-lasting energy...

My nephew (Yale boy) loves the Swiss Army computer backpack I got him three years ago--it's been to England and it's now in Washington DC (where he's an intern with the local senator). My son has inherited my original (which is about 10 years old and still looks good), and I have a new one! Woo hoo.

I'm with you, Peela, as my son sleeps in (until 8:30!) this morning after a late hockey practice. Our problem is that his exercise tends to come fairly late at night, so he needs to find a way to calm down enough to get to sleep by 11:00 p.m. or so...then, I have no issues whatsoever waking him at 7:00 a.m., since I've already been working for an hour by then. The joys of online work!

I just bought a second copy of Our Mother Tongue from Amazon for $20...I think it's an excellent review from a classical perspective (our original copy is packed somewhere--it's a long story). I'm a professional editor, and I'm more concerned with practical application of grammar than with identification of obscure grammatical constructs (ablative case, for example)... HTH,

Take a look at one of their free sample units--they do them in three-week chunks, and they give you a good idea of how the program functions...

Well, I suppose you could call it European Middle Ages...hmmm...although I did notice some reference later in Unit 1 to Muslim/Islam...which brought me to an interesting point brought up in church on Sunday (Trinity Sunday)...more and more to think about. I love this forum!

I suppose it becomes a question of "liberal arts" in the traditional sense versus practical degrees, like nursing or occupational therapy...

I feel like I could have written your message--we, too, used Trisms, and it was my fault that my 14 YOS did not "get it" like we did with HistoryMakers...I've decided to go back to Tapestry of Grace (a unit study I've used in the past), because, for some reason, I'm more accountable with TOG. We will be using Y2 redesigned, starting with the dialectic phase and moving to rhetoric by unit 2. It, too, is a study of the Middle Ages (and something you could do with all of your children...)

We used TT in 8th grade, but it was awfully easy. We used Videotext Algebra (modules A, B, C, corresponding to Algebra 1) in 9th, and it was "just right." My son really likes the way the curriculum is designed and delivered.

No help here, but my 15 YOS is taking FOREVER to finish Biology. I've threatened him with not going on the next hockey trip (Michigan on the 13th...and he's slowly getting done...) grr

Amen, Ruth--although my son (at 15) is beginning to speak again...he communicated with grunts for most of his 14th year :-)...of course, he wants to stay on our good side so that he can start driver's ed in Michigan...

This is a little different, but I'm glad we have the wherewithal to allow our son to follow his dream of playing hockey professionally...who would have thought that a kid from New Mexico would wind up playing AAA hockey in Michigan and being scouted (at 14) by the NAHL, which is his first step to D1 hockey...although we're not quite ready to let him play in Canada at 17 for money! We are a hockey family, Linda in NM (soon to be in MI)

Just completed for my hockey player... Abeka Biology (with labs) World History (Trisms) Videotext Algebra I (A, B, C) Latin 1 (So you Really Want to Learn Latin) German 1 (Learnables) Music Performance (viola) English 1 (literature selections from Trisms, writing assignments using IEW, English for the Secondary Child) PE: hockey conditioning, hockey practice, weight training, hockey games He did a great deal of work independently, since he does quite a bit of travel for the level of hockey he plays.

Barb at Harmony Art Mom...she's added some depth to the art/music components of TOG... Linda in NM

Gee, I feel like I've been away for ages--hockey, hockey, and still more hockey. In my break here, I've gone back to TOG with my just-turned 15 yos...I need the accountability TOG provides...it has a strong writing component, with practice in reports and essays (what my guy needs)...also, you might want to check the website and download one of their three-week samples... Linda in NM

My highly stressing son (but mom, I missed an answer on the biology test; I'm worthless--and off we go on my lectures about the "one perfect Person...") loves Trisms history--there's an ancients, middle ages/rennaissance, etc...and it combines quite a bit of research with historical readings (to say nothing of IEW for writing). Great fun for him. We're just back from our first AAA hockey tournament in MN; his team made it to the championship game, but we lost (MN Blades 5; Firebirds 3). He works so hard as a hockey goalie that I like to find academic programs that are less stressful for him...