I just posted in another thread that I highly recommend Analytical Grammar. I think it's simple and effective -- tells you everything you need to know with enough practice to make it stick but not so much that you are doing "drill-and-kill" forever on each concept. My 6th grader has learned more this year doing AG then all the years doing Abeka. I'm a freelance writer, and it is a GREAT refresher for me, too.

We are having excellent results with Analytical Grammar. It is meant to be done in 2 or 3 years, but you could probably condense it into 1. My 6th grader has great retention of the grammar rules, which he did not have after many years with Abeka. And, as a freelance writer who hasn't really studied grammar in many years, I find it to be a great refresher of things I learned but forgot. I think it's a simple, effective program, and I highly recommend it.

DS is studying world history in 9th & 10th grade using Spielvogel's "Western Civilization." I was hoping to have him take either the AP World History test or the SAT Subject Test when he's finished. Can anyone recommend any good resources to prepare him for these tests & keep 2 year's worth of material fresh in his head? (I'm referring to things OTHER than the standard test prep books by Princeton Review, Kaplan, etc. I've already got 1 or 2 of those.) For example, I ran across this free video course (26 half-hour videos) from Annenberg's website (http://www.learner.org/resources/series197.html) that seems like a good review of more of the "big picture & connections" of world history themes & patterns: Bridging World History is a multimedia course for secondary school and college teachers that looks at global patterns through time, seeing history as an integrated whole. Anyone use this video course or have similar resources to suggest?

I love "College Prep Homeschooling" by David & Chandra Byers. It walks you through all the details of planning a course of study, creating course objectives, writing a syllabus, grading, creating transcripts, etc. The authors are releasing a new edition of the book in about a month. I pre-ordered a copy from Amazon for about $10: http://www.amazon.com/College-Prep-Homeschooling-Complete-through-School/dp/1600651003/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333368367&sr=8-1.

I used Magic Lens 1 w/ my 8th grader, and we went through it in about a year. I did not use any other MCT program, and I did not spend tons of time every day doing grammar (maybe 20 min./day and we didn't always do grammar every day). So, you could probably move thru it quicker if you spent more time on it each day and worked on it daily.

I have not yet used this, but I plan to in 10th or 11th grade. It is the Young Writers Program of the National Novel Writing Month event: http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/ywp. It looks like the actual "event" takes place during November, but you can download free student workbooks for high school, as well as lesson plans. Here's the workbook description: "We created these workbooks to spark your imagination and guide you in your noveling journey. The activities inside will help you create characters, build settings, and hatch plots, and keep you motivated throughout the month." Here's the lesson plan description: "Inside each grade-level track, you will find Common Core-aligned lesson plans, worksheets, and activities to help guide your students through their noveling journey this November." So, if you can't do your co-op class during November, perhaps you can use this at your own pace and on your own schedule, just adapting their materials to your needs?

THANK YOU for posting this! I just bought "How to Read and Understand Poetry" as a download for $17.45. :D I'm not a huge poetry fan. However, I need to understand it better, and I wasn't willing to shell out lots of money for a resource. This fits the bill perfectly. Thanks again for sharing!

For anyone needing to save some money on shipping charges when purchasing items from The Great Courses, I just got a catalog with the coupon code XPBA good for $0.99 shipping on any order placed by Thurs., April 5, 2012. Happy shopping!

Thank you, both, for the wonderful suggestions. This is all new to me so I didn't know where to even begin. I will check them out & see if they're what I'm looking for.

Can anyone recommend any resources I can begin using right now to help improve my son's social skills? I'd welcome suggestions for online training programs, You Tube videos, books, games, website animations, whatever. I am in the process of seeking an evaluation for my 15yo DS whom I suspect may have Asperger's, if only mildly. Unfortunately, the evaluation is 3 months away, and it is driving me crazy just sitting here doing nothing while I we wait for the appointment. (From what I understand, the testing alone could take several weeks and then even more time to compile the results, schedule a feedback session with the doctor, discuss therapy options, etc.) DS is a quirky, socially awkward boy who his very smart, sweet and talented, but has had very limited social success. He's got just a handful of friends and has always struggled with making/keeping friends. I'm hoping (desperately) to try to help him connect with even one kid at public school (where he takes 2 classes) before the summer break. This might be completely unrealistic, and I realize that, but I can't just sit here and do nothing. I want to know that I'm at least trying my best to help him, even if I don't get any results in behavior change or new friendships in 3 months. And, of course, even if the diagnosis is that he doesn't have Asperger's, he still needs some help with social skills (i.e., starting/maintaining conversations, greeting people he knows, making better eye contact, smiling more, complimenting others, taking the initiative to meet new people or invite people he already knows to do something together, etc.). My many years of giving him these kinds of tips as a parent has obviously not worked very well, so if there are effective resources out there that I could be using now, I'd love to hear about them.

I think it totally depends on what your son needs more help with -- lit analysis or essay writing. And, it depends more on long-term goals, such as college/career. I would think, in looking at the big picture, that essay writing would be more valuable long term for most students, but if your son is pursuing a degree in English or literature or related area, than lit analysis would probably be the way to go. FYI - We are doing both this year with my 9th grade DS. I'm enjoying both curriculums.

Awesome! Thank you SO much for sharing this! Just bought "Ethics of Aristotle" as a $5.95 download. Woohoo! :D

Wow! Great resources here. Especially love all the categories. Thanks for sharing this.

:iagree: I was just going to recommend this same book, as we are slowly working through this situation ourselves, and someone on this board recommended the book to me. My almost 15yo DS is an organizational mess -- his bedroom, his schoolwork, his desk area, etc. He was not always like this; it really just started in the last 2-3 years. I see no end in sight in the near future, as it seems to be 1 step forward, 2 steps backward. (But I do notice the occasional 1-step-forwards, so I've got to look at that as progress.) If I adopted the sink-or-swim approach, he would have sunk about 2 years ago. ;) I'm not willing to let that happen. But that book, in particular, provides lots of helpful, step-by-step instructions on areas such as organizing your time (planners, schedules, calendars, etc.), organizing your schoolwork (binders, folders, filing system, etc.), balancing your life (sleep, exercise, schoolwork, extracurriculars, etc.), and improving your study skills (taking notes, studying for tests, etc.). My DS struggles in ALL of these areas. It's like he walks around in a fog. Very frustrating. Hang in there. It is normal. It is frustrating. And, rumor has it, it usually doesn't last forever. It just feels that way. :lol:

Thank you both for the great advice and specific suggestions. I never took pre-calculus, so I had no idea that it included any algebra. (See? I told you math is not my thing.) You just saved me money buying unnecessary curriculum. :D I will stick to the SAT Blue Book for the practice tests, use Khan Academy videos and rely on DS's 10th grade pre-calc & chemistry classes for the appropriate algebra review. Thanks again!

My DS took Algebra 1 in 7th grade and is taking Algebra 2 in 9th grade. He won't take the SAT until 11th grade, which means he'll need some kind of review of algebra before he takes the SAT. What is the best way to review these math concepts? (He is a B student in an honors class, so he does well, but math's not his thing. Not my thing either, so I'll be of no help in the review process.) I know about Khan Academy, so that's always an option. But I was considering buying Life of Fred or Art of Problem Solving and having him work through the text in the summer before 11th grade. Good idea? Bad? Just stick with Khan Academy -- it's good enough? Other ideas? :confused:

A HUGE thank you to everyone who replied. This is all fairly new to me. I didn't even know what Asperger's was until a few months ago. And I'm still not sure that's what my son has. But it sure seems like a lot of the characteristics/symptons fit the bill. And it sure explains a LOT over the years. Either way, he could use some social skills training. I'm not really looking to get any meds prescribed or special accommodations for testing or anything. My main goal is for him to be happy and have friends. Simple enough, right? Yet seemingly so hard right now. You've given me a lot of food for thought here, and some great resources to check out, so I thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing your experiences with me.

Thanks, Teaching'Mine! I didn't realize there was a Special Needs board. I'm heading over there now. Night Elf, I've also seen lots of Aspie things geared toward younger kids, that's why I was wondering. What's out there for teens and did I already miss the boat on this? I never thought of this -- that a diagnosis might help him feel better about and more accepting of his quirkiness. My DS is also an introvert and doesn't share his feelings much (even with me), but I don't think he's sad about his lack of friends. I honestly don't think he's even aware that other kids don't call him or come over. But I sure notice and I feel so helpless. Thank you, all, for your insights. Much appreciated.

(Just discovered this Special Needs board, so excuse the cross-post.) Is it too late to get a diagnosis for my 15yo son, whom I suspect may have Asperger's Syndrome? I never even knew what this was until a few months ago, and it seems to explain a lot. Quick background: My son has always struggled to make and keep friends, and the situation seems even more noticeable now that he is high school age. He went to public school for grades K-1 and 6-7 and never made any real friends in this setting. (He does have 2 or 3 friends that he occasionally does things with. But it is not on a regular basis. And he seems to seek them out more than they seek him out.) He's had various quirky behaviors over the years, but nothing severe. He is highly functioning, tested as gifted (does that matter?) and seems socially awkward (more so than the typical, awkward teen boy). Now that he's in 9th grade, he takes art and band classes at the local high school, and I was hoping things would click with a few of the marching band members. But, 7 months into the school year, he has yet to make a real friend. (He seems to think he has friends at high school, but really they are just acquaintances. No one ever calls him or invites him to do anything on the weekends. It is breaking my heart.) Would it be crushing to his self-esteem to seek out a diagnosis this late in the game? Would it even matter at this point? What positive things could result from such a diagnosis? Please advise.

Thanks for the bump, Cindyg. And, thanks laundrycrisis, for the heads up about social skills training. That would be beneficial. I guess my main concern is that I don't want my son to feel like there's something terribly wrong with him by pursuing a diagnosis -- especially if the end result is that he doesn't have Asperger's, but he's just quirky and socially awkward more than most kids. The teen years are tough enough, and I wasn't sure if pursuing this path would be a help or a hindrance. I'd love to hear from others who've been down this path already. Could sure use some words of advice.

Is it too late to get a diagnosis for my 15yo son, whom I suspect may have Asperger's Syndrome? I never even knew what this was until a few months ago, and it seems to explain a lot. Quick background: My son has always struggled to make and keep friends, and the situation seems even more noticeable now that he is high school age. He went to public school for grades K-1 and 6-7 and never made any real friends in this setting. (He does have 2 or 3 friends that he occasionally does things with. But it is not on a regular basis. And he seems to seek them out more than they seek him out.) He's had various quirky behaviors over the years, but nothing severe. He is highly functioning, tested as gifted (does that matter?) and seems socially awkward (more so than the typical, awkward teen boy). Now that he's in 9th grade, he takes art and band classes at the local high school, and I was hoping things would click with a few of the marching band members. But, 7 months into the school year, he has yet to make a real friend. (He seems to think he has friends at high school, but really they are just acquaintances. No one ever calls him or invites him to do anything on the weekends. It is breaking my heart.) Would it be crushing to his self-esteem to seek out a diagnosis this late in the game? Would it even matter at this point? What positive things could result from such a diagnosis? Please advise.

We're about 2/3 of the way thru my 9th grader's year of reading through Ancient-Medieval literature. He is also a voracious reader, but did not "get" or even like all of it. In fact, *I* didn’t get or like all of it, either. I’m fine with that because the idea is to expose the students to these authors/works, not to make them teenage literary experts. And there are LOTS of resources to help you in your journey (see below) and a variety of ways to “read†the books (read a modern translation of the original, listen to an audiobook version, read the children’s version, watch a documentary/movie, see a play, etc.). My DS loves comic books, so I’m just now discovering graphic novels on Shakespeare, Beowulf, etc., which we might do in addition to or instead of reading the original. (Depends on our schedule, interest and ability at this point in the school year.) Do what works best for you and your student. Here are some general resources we used (mostly borrowed from the library) to help us BOTH understand ancient literature: · Teaching Company lectures (selected lectures from Great Authors of the Western Literary Tradition and Books That Have Made History: Books That Can Change Your Life) · Spark Notes & Cliff’s Notes (free, online) · Invitation to the Classics, edited by Louise Cowan & Os Guiness · The Well-Educated Mind, Susan Wise Bauer · Beowulf on the Beach, Jack Murnighan (not at all necessary, but a fun read on what to skip and what not to miss in the Great Books) Specifically, here's what we did: · Epic of Gilgamesh (Read both the children’s version and a modern translation. Used this study guide: http://www.bfbooks.com/The-Epic-of-Gilgamesh?sc=21&category=-121 & watched this free 30-minute video lecture: http://www.learner.org/courses/worldlit/gilgamesh/) · Iliad, Homer (Spent a month or two on this one book, annotating some of it, writing about it, discussing it. Watched Elizabeth Vandiver’s excellent and detailed Teaching Company lectures.) · Aesop's fables (A fun break in between the two epics -- short, quick, understandable.) · Odyssey,Homer (Spent about two weeks on this one book, mostly reading a children’s version of it and reading Cliff’s Notes. We had tired of Homer & the Trojan War period by this time. Watched Elizabeth Vandiver’s excellent and detailed Teaching Company lectures. Also watched Forrest Gump and had DS write a comparison essay on these two “heroic journeys.â€) · The Bible (DS is working on an ongoing Biblical allusions project as part of his literary analysis curriculum, IEW’s Windows to the World.) · Mythology, Edith Hamilton (DS read independently & enjoyed it. He also read various children’s books of Greek myths from the library.) · 5 Dialogues of Plato (Read the original, used Cliff's Notes to help w/ understanding, discussed, wrote a short paper.) · The Republic, Plato (DS could not *get* this, so we gave up after a few attempts of reading.) · Herodutus (Read children's version called "Herodotus & the Road to History" by Jean Bendick, plus excerpts from history text) · Julius Caesar, Shakespeare (Watched the BBC movie on Netflix, since it tied into our study of Ancient Rome.) · Clouds or Frogs, Aristophanes (About to read & discuss next week -- it's a short play, and it's a comedy, so it will be a nice break from the epic poetry we've been reading) · And, depending on what else we can fit in, we’ll read The Aeneid, Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Canterbury Tales, Hamlet, etc., using the same variety of approaches as we’ve used all year. Plus, we read brief excerpts of various ancient authors (Sappho, Ovid, Herodotus, Plutarch, Thucydides, Livy, etc.) in these two sources: The Norton Anthology of World Literature and from DS’s history text, Spielvogel's Western Civilization. So, reading the ancients is very doable in 9th grade. You just have to pick the literary works and approaches that will best suit your student. I wanted to cover more books (but go in depth with just a few of the original texts), so we included some alternative ways to cover a greater number of books. BTW, I’m sure if we waited until DS was in 11th or 12th grade, he would understand more and get more out of our ancient lit study, but I like following the chronological path for history/literature.

Well, I haven't used the high school reinforcement books yet, but I'm pretty sure that you DO have to do the entire AG program first. That is what I'm using now with DS 11 & 14. The AG program provides all the teaching notes (plus practice exercises & tests) and explains how to parse and diagram sentences based on each concept you learn in the lesson. From my understanding, the hs reinforcement books contain no teaching notes -- just practice exercises (similar in format to what's found in the AG program), but the sentences to parse/diagram are taken from American lit, world lit, Shakespeare, etc. Can someone else confirm this?

Just came across this interesting website and thought I'd share: http://www.studentsfriend.com/index.html. It offers a free, concise, online/downloadable history & geography curriculum aimed at high schoolers, although you can easily adapt it for middle schoolers as well. It presents a chronological overview of the key concepts from pre-civilization to modern times. It includes lesson plans, quizzes, grading rubrics, teaching ideas, projects, etc. All for free! We're using Spielvogel's Western Civilization, which were enjoying, but I plan to use some of the resources on this website as a supplement. The site is actually meant to replace a high school textbook, so I guess you could use it as your primary curriculum. Enjoy!

I purchased Elizabeth Vandiver's Aeneid lectures a few months and will be using them in the next few weeks. If they are anything like her lectures on the Iliad & the Odyssey (which I used this past fall), they will be very helpful and insightful. She's really good. And for $19.99, you can't beat the price! The course guide is helpful in following along or previewing the lectures and (as an added bonus) provides a great example of what a good outline looks like. Plus, the discussion questions at the end of each lecture (tho few) are good for post-lecture discussions and/or writing assignments.