With ds heading into high school, I've suddenly got so many questions. Please bear with me while I work this out. :tongue_smilie: So today's question is this: If ds has completed Nance's Introductory and Intermediate Logic, will Memoria Press Traditional Logic I and Logic II be redundant? I see some things in Cothran's online samples that look different. Maybe I would start with Logic II?

Can a student jump in at Crocodiles and Coconuts and skip JA?

Stella, was it LOF that was lacking? Ds is self-motivated, but how would that bridge any gaps? Thanks

I overdid it on Algebra curriculum so we have Life of Fred Beginning Algebra, Foerster Algebra 1 with the Math Without Borders DVD and I also bought Jousting Armadillos because it sounded interesting. Ds loves loves loves Fred and is several lessons into the book which he would like to work on through the summer. He did Fractions, Decimals and Pre-Algebra with LOF. Please tell me that if we stick with Fred for Beginning Algebra, ds would be able to open up Foerster Algebra I at random and understand what's going on or am I dreaming?

Thanks for your responses. My concerns about the program are: It is mostly self-teaching. I can't help but wonder if it wouldn't be better to have an expert teacher online with some of these subjects. Yes, the science is behind the usual sequence, and I have the opportunity to sign ds up for a biology class with labs locally next year. I would rather swap out much of the art/music history/appreciation for more history/gov't/economic theory A year on Shakespeare and poetry?? Ideally, I would rather integrate history, literature, theology and composition like TOG, Omnibus or Roman Roads Media do. I think for me it's a choice between a) settling for a pretty decent one size fits all program that is safe because it gets done with him working independently and there is weekly accountability, or b) strive for the great high school education I envision which depends more on my planning and organizing. My days are not very predictable because we are a self-employed family and I get pulled away from home for related responsibilities. I'm not familiar enough with online classes to know which to farm out and which to coordinate on our end, how many classes are too much, etc. Since ds is our only child, I have one chance to get this as close to right as I can. He enjoys school and says since these are the years when his mind is most pliable, he wants to focus on things he likes instead of music theory, drama, art history, etc. He is quite willing to read 19 books for literature and loves logic, Latin, economics and politics.

Penguin, thanks for pointing that out. They use Saxon so it's Alg II with Geometry.

Hi! You just replied to my post on our 4 year homeschool plan. Thank you for that. And we have 4 x experience with Lyme, but none relative to high school yet. Ds going into 9th grade was diagnosed last the fall. I was the first in the family to be dx a year ago. I can sympathize with your dtr. Crippling fatigue, joint aches, fever, neck and head pounding. I cried for a week. Then dragged myself to the doc for a blood test. My dh and mother have it too. We are in Western PA, the hot zone. If you want any more info, please PM and I'll share what I can. Give your dd a big hug for us. It's a lousy situation, but you and she are not alone.

I am intentionally not naming the curriculum company that developed this high school program, but what do you think? It's pretty much a set package. I don't want to share my concerns yet because I'd like to see if any of you have the same ones. The positive factor is that it will get done because it is so planned out and ds has been very independent in the 2 years he has done the 7th and 8th grades of the program. 9th grade American Lit/Composition - 19 novels and Lost Tools of Writing (2 credits) Henle Latin I (1 credit) Economics (.5 credit) Intro to Gov't (.5 credit) Algebra (1 cr.) Drama - Taming of the Shrew (.5 cr) Music Theory (.5 cr) Physical Science (1 cr.) 10th British Lit/Comp. - 19 novels and I don't know which composition materials (2 cr.) Henle Latin II (1) Western Cultural History - Art and music history/appreciation w/ Christian worldview (1) Biology (1) Geometry (1) Traditional Logic I (.5) Socratic Dialogue - Plato's Gorgias (.5) 11th Poetry and Shakespeare - 5 Shakespeare plays and written analysis, poems (1) Henle III (1) American History - A Patriot's History of the U.S. by L. Schweikart (1) Chemistry (1) Pre-Calc (1) Philosophy Survey (.5) Traditional Logic II and a second study of Socratic Dialogue (.5) 12th Ancient Lit - Illiad, Odyssey, Aeneid, Theogony, Oedipus Rex- that's it. (1) Henle IV (1) World History - The Discoverers by D. Boorstin (1) Physics (1) Calc (1) Theology (1) Thanks for reading through all of this!

Rising 9th grade son has the opportunity to take biology with labs next year from a hs mom who majored in Bio. The plan was to do Apologia Physical Science next year but I see no harm in skipping it, right?

Op here. Thanks for all the responses. I understand the cost better which is exactly why I posted the question. And in the free market I can choose to enroll/pay the $ or not. Unlike the $5,000 taxes I have to pay every year to the local school district which we don't even access. Thanks for your comments.

Yikes! The online classes that I've looked at for our rising 9th grader are $500 - $675 each. Wilson Hill, Well-Trained Mind, Memoria, Veritas, Circe, etc. No brick and mortar expenses involved, right? It looks like many of the teachers conduct classes from home. Why so much money?

To the OP, Our son (along with 3 more of us in the family) tested positive for Lyme in the last year via Igenex, ( a reliable lab) last Oct. Ds is 13 and is often "wiped out" with low energy level and used to ask why he was so tired at his age. We are in Western PA, the hotspot for Lyme. Our LLMD did gluten testing through EnteroLab and ds is intolerant so diet went gluten free about 3 weeks ago. No noticeable improvements yet. Ds is on antibiotic Biaxin. Library Lover, you touched on an issue that I am concerned about. Ds has minimal interests. We had him do soccer, little kid baseball and basketball for 2 years each to find a sport for him. He disliked all of them. Like a lot of only kids, I suspect, he prefers one on one time with his one good friend or adult company He loves school (favorites are Latin and logic) but doesn't like to read novels. He is mowing five lawns this summer (not all in one day) for some spending money but gets very hot and tired. At night he talks about being bored and I suggest a book. He would rather play Minecraft and board games. How do those of us with teens who feel lousy rule out depression and or help them develop more interests?

Lisa, especially irksome if they fill the class later on. Your cancellation doesn't bump someone out of the class unlike a hotel cancellation where they lose revenue because someone else could have booked the room.

We dabbled in learning Latin in about 4th and 5th grade because it sounded like something we "should do." I was on the fence about the benefits. We didn't get serious until Classical Conversations Challenge A with Henle Latin.I ended up being one of ds's favorite classes along with logic. He is looking forward to translation later on although he's content to keep working through the basics. So one reason for including Latin is that your kids might actually like it!

Two questions: If PAHS classes are not live, how do they work. And what makes a class AP?

How many courses are your students taking at one time through PA Homeschoolers?

Another Lymie family here. Dh, ds13, my 80 year old mom and I all tested Igenex positive within the last year. We live in Pennsylvania which I just read is the most infected state in the nation. I have been on Biaxin for 10 months and the rest of the family began in January of this year. I am feeling so much better now than a year ago. The onset of mine was so dramatic and severe that I literally thought I was having a breakdown. I don't know what a breakdown feels like - I was just sure I was having one. I couldn't control my emotions and burst into desperate crying spells over the fatigue, fever, chills, etc. I had to crawl down the stairs in the morning, hands didn't function, neck pain was awful and I could count the crumbs of food I ate in a week because all food was repulsive. I didn't begin feeling better until Sept. and I continue to improve. Ds's main symptoms were fatigue and brain fog. Now he is having digestive issues and our LLMD advised that he take a break from his abx for the weekend. I feel so bad for him because he wears out so quickly. Last spring he earned his black belt in TKD and used to work out with an intensity that he can't even attempt now. I am not sure what the long term implications are for him and while I am sad for all of us, I am especially concerned that he is starting out his life with this struggle. What also breaks my heart are the stories I have heard in the waiting room of our LLMD of people who have undergone the expense and frustration of years of testing that revealed nothing. Or those who were told they have MS only to find they have Lyme. We are fortunate to have been diagnosed before we reached that stage, but what a crime. To the OP, you are not alone! It is hard to know which traits or cognitive challenges to attribute to Lyme. Like other posters, we are going GF to address ds's digestive issues and we'll see if that helps the cognitive stuff we both feel. Hugs to you all

Hmmmm, why the insistence that the tutor's child be in CC? Obviously the best tutors could be those who have graduated kids but who want to continue. The policy creates a revolving door. What do the campus directors say?

I used both along the way and I didn't like either. Looking back, I thought it would develop some deeper appreciation of a book, but in reality, I think it took the joy out reading. It might be better suited for a classroom setting, but in homeschooling we have the opportunity to discuss one-on-one. I think Adam and Missy Andrews have a better approach in Teaching the Classics using the Socratic method. Once you grasp the ideas, you can apply them to any work of literature you encounter.

Our experience with CC Challenge A and B has been very positive so far. We had not been involved with CC before last year and in fact I was not a fan of what I knew about the Foundations program. When I heard about Challenge A, however, I was drawn to it for 5 reasons: 1) I was planning on using the Lost Tools of Writing on our own anyway and I welcomed having some help implementing it. 2) Our ds is a quiet only child and the opportunity to interact with other kids over academics seemed great. 3) I knew accountability to a group would keep us on track. 4) It was reinforced on our campus that if we wanted to use our own materials for certain strands, we were still in charge as parents and could use what we felt was best. Most of the kids use a math program other than Saxon, for example. On seminar days, they work on skills and problems that transcend a particular curriculum. 5) I checked with the moms who knew the Challenge A tutor. It was the first Challenge level for our campus so I couldn't sit in on a class before enrolling. This tutor was highly regarded from her Foundations work and with a daughter ready for Challenge A, she had big incentive to move into the role. She took her preparation very seriously and she did a marvelous job weaving the different academic strands together to give the kids the big picture. The surprises: 1) Ds absolutely loves Latin and logic. Who knew? I wouldn't have been able to work through the Nance logic texts or Henle Latin without the tutor laying the groundwork. 2) After the first few weeks of Challenge A last year, ds was doing all his work on his own without any prodding from me. We would discuss the books he was reading and I would quiz him after he studied, but he was remarkably self-motivated. He liked the materials plus there was peer pressure to have all the work done before seminar days. 3) Ds did a year with a speech and debate club in 5th grade so he had some public speaking experience. But because he's very reserved, I was surprised how much he relished presenting his weekly science research paper to the class. 4) He likes the material so much that he will work ahead of the week's assignment in his books, especially Latin and logic. The benefits: 1) The current events discussions this year were very lively and everyone brought something to the discussion. You can see the academic maturity developing. 2) While ds hasn't had anyone from his group over to the house because they all are so spread out, he enjoys telling us what's going on with his classmates which he couldn't do when we were on our own. 3) He sees how he is progressing along with and relative to the other kids and has really developed self-confidence in his academic abilities. 4) I always had the "grass is always greener" syndrome with my curriculm choices and I would switch entirely too often. With CC, we have stayed the course which has allowed me to have peace and focus. I'm sure the continutity has helped ds too. Dh and I asked him if he wanted to continue into Challenge I (9th Grade) next year and he gave us an empatic yes. Our CC campus is spinning off a new campus because of growth, and our Challenge I tutor is moving with it. I prefer not to drive an extra 20 minutes one way to get there, so I hope a good tutor is found for our current campus 15 minutes away. Concerns: 1) I'd like more great books and history than the program includes. This summer we will be using the Omnibus self-paced or Roman Roads Old Western Culture to lay that foundation ourselves. We are reading through Story of the World book 3 in our spare time this year. 2) As others have pointed out, the tutor can make or break the year. I am concerned that the broad expectations of the 10th-12th grade tutors require extraordinary talent and skill. It's at this point that I wonder if exposure to master teachers in online or DVD classes might be a better fit for us. This remains to be seen. So far CC Challenge has worked well for us. I believe the skills ds is developing will serve him well to pursue a lifelong love of learning along with a heart for others in community as he seeks to glorify God in His creation. I hope this helps.

Can anyone compare the two programs? Roman Roads Media is new to us but OWC looks really well done.

Yes! We will be there all three days. Ds starts getting excited in January. He loves going to hear the speakers, and of course the comedy.

I came upon this a couple days ago while searching for something meaty for our 8th grade ds. It's free and it really digs in. The site is http://www.bereanpublishers.com and here is the first of three units: http://www.bereanpublishers.com/Bible%20Studies/Unit%201%20Commands%20Bible%20StudyPDF.pdf

Our ds, 13 yrs, is almost halfway done with Henle Latin I. He wants some extra translation exercises without getting too far ahead of his class. I have looked online and am not getting any good ideas. Are there any suggestions for us? Thanks!

Can anyone comment on the pros and cons of using Omnibus I self-paced vs textbook only? Self-paced saves prep time but are we giving up anything?