I'm really excited about this product. I'm having some difficulty, however, downloading the trial version. My computer says the installer file is damaged. Have you had this problem with this publisher? (I've sent them an email for assistance.)

Thank you all so much for your honest input. He'll be going back to PS next year and I think it's for the best ... though I'll still have him do an online Latin class. I also expect to be very involved in what he's reading and his writing.

Anyone else finding that homeschooling an only child ... particularly in middle school ... Is challenging socially? I am struggling with weighing the curriculum benefits against the benefits of learning alongside friends and age peers that school offers. I think the fact that he's an only child and thus schools alone plays a large part. Anyone else have similar feelings?

I'll be starting ds (7th grade) on Macbeth in a week or so. I picked up Spark Notes' edition which has original on lefthand page and modern kid-friendly translation on facing page. We'll also see a live performance in January. Since this is our first foray into the bard, I obviously want it to be meaningful. There are a lot of great discussion questions I can rely on but I wanted to know if anyone here can recommend a good way of reading through the play. I'd love to incorporate dramatical flourishes though it's just the two of us. Suggestions?

Oh, right right right; I was thinking it was i but that's genitive singular. Of course. Thanks for clearing that up! :)

I believe there's an error on worksheet 5 of lesson 21 of FFL. If you use this program, can you respond to this? I think under IV Translation Skills the second sentence "Septem oppida erant parva" is incorrect. I think it should be "Septem oppidi erant parvi". What do you think? If I'm wrong, can you explain what case "oppida" is in? I thought "town" was a second declension neuter noun and thus "oppida" would be the plural form of the accusative case, not the nominative. Any clarity would help! :)

We've been using MP's Latin series since third grade, and though ds never returns with bated breath after a break, invariably within a month Latin is his favorite subject. We did PL then LC1 in 3rd through 5th grade (I was PT hsing him) and are now finishing up FFL (he just finished 6th grade and I've been FT hsing him since January). My expectation is that we'll do all four Form Latin books then move onto Henle Latin. Based on what I read here, though, I just checked MP's site to see what Henle I looks like and it appears to be a more advanced introduction to Latin (I would say for a high school freshman). I'm guessing that after ds has completed Fourth Form Latin, Henle I will be mostly unnecessary ... as to the lessons themselves. However I might still use it as a bridge from Fourth Form to Henle II since there appears to be some translation work. Henle, it seems, is all about translation, which is great, especially since after all four Forms I think ds will be ready. I don't think I'd subject my middle schooler to Henle I in lieu of all four Forms from MP.

I just looked at Homeschooling in the Woods' site and it seems as though their ancient maps may do the trick, however they offer only one sample and that's Mesopotamia. There appears to be a map for "Early Europe" with no political boundaries. Does anyone have a copy of that to show me?

Does anyone else have a hard time finding or even creating relevant maps for logic stage history? I follow (loosely) WTM's suggestion for doing logic-stage history. We use as our core text the Kingfisher History Encyclopedia. I try to include a map activity as often as I can (a la SOTW workbooks), but I really struggle with locating relevant fillable maps or, in the alternative (usually so), creating my own map based on resources I have (I have Uncle Josh's Outline Map Book) or can find. For example, in planning ds's Capetian France lesson I want to use a map of both France and at least southern England and have him identify Paris and London, the major bodies of water, and the dukedoms. I also have a notion to use arrows to show part of the French royal family crossing the sea to rule England and others going west on crusade. The encyclopedia shows some dukedoms but honestly I don't think it's very good. For example, the text mentions "Francia" and that area isn't identified. My goal is to have ds visually conceptualize the area under study while tying it in with his knowledge of past events -- constantly getting his bearings geographically. I believe this visualizing exercise helps to put the events into better focus, it adds an important dimension to history study. Does anyone else struggle with this and if so what do you do?

How do you add a fillable checkbox?

We began HSing my DS (11 turning 12 so 6th grade) again full-time about 2 months ago after he had been very sick, which toook him out of PS for 6 weeks. After a couple of weeks of slowly easing him into a full-day school schedule again (and a vacation which seemed to have broke the rut of his gi problems), we were able to put him on a full-time schedule. I work outside the home three days a week, but my husband works from home, however he's not able to HS DS all day because he is working. (He keeps an eye on him to ensure he's working.) I want to get a sense from others how their days are structured with their 6th graders. Three days a week DS is essentially on his own. A typical daily assignment looks like this: Math: One lesson from Math Mammoth 6-A worktext (PS math didn't take him very far, so I just started him on 6A rather than 6B). He reads through the lesson himself and completes the work. History: Read new 2-page entry in Kingfisher Encyclopedia's Middle Ages section, write 7 facts, fill in a map (from Uncle Josh's blackline maps). Or, if we're on a topic I feel needs more focus I may have him read a chapter in a supplemental book and complete questions. For example, we're exploring the development of the Islamic Empire, so he' reading The Story of Islam chapter by chapter and answering the book's questions. Spelling: Complete the next lesson from Spelling Workout F. Reading: Read a chapter from the book he's chosen (from a list) to read. (I'm thinking about changing this to read for an hour.) Science: DH works on the next lesson from Memoria Press' What's that Bird with DS. Latin: Recite 3X the lesson from the textbook, complete the next workbook page, and spend 20 minutes going through flashcards. (He's on FFL.) Before I leave for work in the morning or when I get home, I check his work from the day before and if it appears he's making a lot of mistakes, say, in the history assignment, I'll make a note for him to go back over it to answer the questions more completely or whatever the case may be, in addition to his new assignment. If I find that he seems to be struggling with the math concept, I'll bring a copy of the problem assignment as well as the new assignment with me to work and call him on my lunch hour when I'll give him a verbal lesson over the phone. On my two days off, we full-time HS together. Those are the days when we begin a new Latin lesson and I'll take him through some drills in addition to the new lesson. Also those are the days we begin a new writing assignment in WWS or when we do Day Four of an assignment because he usually needs help on that. We also do poetry on my days off as well as critical thinking (I use Critical Thinking from The Critical Thinking Co.). I am planning on reintroducing formal grammar (we used to do this when I part-time HSed him, but he seems to have forgotten a lot and I need to figure out how to re-teach what he's already learned, I'm being a little lazy about this because he's learning some grammar through Latin). His learning at this point is heavily independent and reliant upon workbooks and self-instruction. I'm concerned that he may only be getting a superficial education. I'd love to know how others who are HSing FT with 6th graders arrange their days and how their kids are taught and how they learn.

I'm in Wheaton; anyone else in the area?

DS is in 6th grade FT this year after I was able to PT homeschool him in the afternoons for the past 2 1/2 years (I went back to work PT in August). I had expected to be able to afterschool him at least on my days off but with piano practice, adjusting to FT school with homework (not much and certainly not very difficult ... just a lot of looking up answers in books), and fall baseball I felt badly about making him do more work with me twice a week. My solution was to read history to him and discuss it, continue to read him books at bedtime (this is something I just love to do ... will it be weird if I call him while he's in college to read him a night night story? :laugh:), and shoehorn in Latin when possible. On snow days, long vacations, and sick days I also expected to do some classical schooling as well. Well, we've not gotten too far and I'm feeling really behind and guilty about it. The kid's been ill and had to miss a ton of school (we're talking nearly two months off and on since August) and we haven't much progressed. I'm also not thrilled with the education he's getting at our local PS (which consistently scores high in Illinois and nationwide). I don't doubt he's getting a "good" education by our society's current standards, but having had a taste of classical education I realize it's nowhere near his potential and frankly what he deserves. Que sera sera, I guess. Sigh. Anyway, my issue is what do I do/can I do? For history I'm just going to continue to read aloud to him. I absolutely want him to continue piano (which I consider part of the classical curriculum) but Latin instruction is also extremely important to me. Is anyone afterschooling FFL? This course is much more advanced than the Prima Latina and Latina Christiana courses I taught him while we were home. I had hoped to continue with Greek but I see that's a pipe dream given our schedules. I will relegate grammar and writing to the summer. His math at school is nowhere near where I'd be with him if we were still homeschooling, but it's not the worst so I'll leave that to the school. Science is fine. Any feedback/ideas?

So 5G is coming to a close for DS as is our last year of part-time homeschooling. I'm super bummed but I've promised DH I'd go back to work to take some of the pressure off of him as the sole breadwinner. It's what's best for him and our family at this time. (But that doesn't help me feel any less sad about no longer homeschooling our DS). [For some reason I can't start a new paragraph, my enter key isn't working on this site!] I am planning on continuing some schooling over the summer (we have for the past three summers) and am putting together my schedule. He'll be busy with a great sports camp four days a week and will be continuing to take weekly piano lessons, which means practicing 4 or 5 days a week as well (okay, probably more like 2 to 3!). Because we've part-time homeschooled I realize we're only halfway through our fifth grade curriculum!! We're only on week 13 in WWS, Lesson VIII in First Form Latin, Lesson 36 in Susan's (draft) grammar book, Finishing up Alexander the Great in history and have about 50 pages left in Building Thinking Skills. I'm also going to have him read The Hobbit so we can discuss it based on the study guide I have from Memoria Press. No way are we getting through all of this stuff over the summer as I only intend on enforcing a limited schooling schedule: 4 days a week of Latin and Greek (alternating each language every other week), and one additional subject a day for three days a week (history, critical thinking, grammar). I'm giving him all Fridays off and he'll also have a few weeks off (plus the Fourth of July) sprinkled throughout the summer. I feel like he's "behind" and won't come close to "catching up" even after doing all of this over the summer. He'll be entering 6th grade PS in late August. I am quite sure he'll do just fine, but obviously I'm concerned about the less rigorous curriculum he'll be following in PS. I intend on afterschooling him, but can't imagine I'll have time enough to do anything besides Latin and perhaps a little grammar sprinkled here and there and hopefully some writing instruction. I feel like my dream of giving him a classical education in going up in smoke and that I'll just be chasing a fading dream this summer. I'm so bummed.

We've been using the Kingfisher encyclopedia as a jumping off point and sometimes we go to the encyclopedia online (through our library we have access to World Book). I like that because it gives ds a chance to do some real world research into an historical topic. For other books we rely heavily on Dorothy Mill's books (Ancient History, Ancient Greeks, Ancient Romans). I also like to recall some of the narratives he wrote during the grammar phase when appropriate to remind him of what he's already learned. I also use art books and shorter biographies to supplement along with some other library books but we don't use nearly as many books as she calls for. We have been keeping up with the enormous timeline (which I've had to roll up because it didn't stick well to the wall, plus it was hard to write on our wall), and I don't have him write something for every single topic, though for the most part we have -- even if it's just a list of 7 facts. We also use maps because I think geography is so important. I've tried to keep using Mapping the World with Art, but oftentimes we just don't have the time. I don't feel so bad about backing off of the writing aspect because we're using WWS which I think is fantastic, so he's getting plenty of practice honing that skill there. Also I choose books to go along with the historical time period we're in. I've actually felt pretty good about the changes we've made because I know that they are the right ones for us -- I think that's one of the beautiful aspects of homeschooling.

We've used DM's Ancient World book, which was good. We're more than halfway through her Ancient Greece book and I think it's fantastic. I found it at our library and haven't used the study guide, but nevertheless my ds is getting a lot out of it. We'll also be using her Ancient Rome book beginning in a couple of weeks. After using her books I've changed the way we approach history. I had been following the model laid out in the WTM but I thought it made history a bit unconnected. Using DM's books I've decided to focus on telling history as a story rather than using it as a research project. It gives us the opportunity to discuss differences and similarities between cultures and how mankind changes because of technology, philosophy, wars, etc. We still fill in the wall timeline and use the Kingfisher encyclopedia as a jumping off point but I'm now trying to emulate DM's narrative style, which reminds me of SOTW which we loved doing in the grammar stage.

Yup, that's the one.

I'm curious if I should include these in our study of Ancient Greece and Rome.

Don't forget The Perilous Road by William Steele. It's a great story about a mountain boy who so hates the Yankees that it threatens to destroy his humanity. Adventurous and great reading. Then there's the usual suspect, Johnny Tremain, which is good but perhaps a little over a fifth grader's head (I did it as a read aloud). I've also heard of Silver for General Washington by Enid Meadowcroft, which is about a young brother and sister who try to help the American army at Valley Forge. Hope this helps!

Because Elijah was born and lives free, he is lacking an understanding about what slavery really is, even though it defines his life. Like the reader, he only knows what other people tell him. When he sees the reality, his education and sorrow makes sense to young readers. We LOVED this book and plan on going to Windsor soon to see historic Buxton. This is a fantastic book for young kids -- it's witty, touching, descriptive, exciting, tragic, and hopeful all rolled into one.

I feel that multiple versions and multiple retellings of this great epic is honestly one of the most necessary components of a classical education. All of these versions are great. My goal is that by the time DS is in high school he can read a full English translation (and then read it in Greek in college, of course! :)). A few years ago we read Black Ships of Troy and we've been picking up and putting down D'Laires Greek Myths since then too. Currently DS has been reading Coolidge's The Trojan War and using the guide from MP. He likes it (reading isn't his favorite subject, mind you). Sometimes I have him fill in the workbook pages, sometimes I ask him the questions and we do it together. I especially like the vocabulary words with dictionary look up. Working through the workbook together also allows us time to discuss the deeper issues, such as human character flaws, ideas about grief and loss as well as courage and duty, even literary style. At 10 he's at a great age for beginning to explore the nature of mankind and the MP guide does a terrific job of providing an opportunity to do so. I highly recommend this route.

We're doing BTS Level 2 and haven't really found it to be too tedious. In fact, I'd say that the number of problems for each new skill is about right. He sometimes has some difficulty and we work through it; sometimes he finds the skill set very easy and breezes through it quickly. I definitely recommend it, though when we're done I'm going to pick up something else for summer (we won't be going on to the next level).

My son loved the old Disney movie of that book which is streaming on Netflix.

Oh ya, and Rabbit Hill -- great if read around the time you read Poppy.

If you're like me, you sometimes find it difficult to find good books that your 10 year old DS will want to read (or listen to). I came across two recently that are terrific: Avi's Poppy and Night Journey and a great Swedish author, Karin Anckarsvard's Doctor's Boy. I had to interlibrary loan the last one but it was so worth it. She's written some others and I will try to get those as well. Her prose is simple enough to understand yet sprinkled with advanced vocabulary. The characters are well developed and the story stresses moral growth but not in a preachy way. The main character is very realistic and likeable.