My dd has been asked to make the video for our homeschool support group's graduation ceremony. You know, the video of all the graduates' baby photos and childhood photos and then some type of list of upcoming plans for their future.... She did the one last year, and had a perfect song. Now this year, she needs a new song! I just knew you guys would have some suggestions for her, right?? What are some songs ya'll have used or heard that were perfect for graduation? Christian music would be great, but not required. thanks!!

Not fiction, but interesting -- Diary of a Napoleonic Foot Soldier really gives you a feel of the times. Of course, for fiction there's Count of Monte Cristo. For my own reading, I love the Master & Commander series, which is a tale of the English Navy but set during the time of their war with Napoleon.

What about a timex runner's type watch from Walmart? You can set alarms and things on them, and I think you can get them from around $15. I'd worry about a lanyard hanging around the necks of my kids, not only can they fall off, but they could get somehow entrapped around their necks. Seems to me a wristwatch would be safer.

Hi Karen, welcome to the WTM boards and also to TOG. I just wanted to encourage you to include your 10 year old if at all possible. A good bit of the fun and advantage of TOG is having the whole family involved. The nice thing is, in the UG years you can easily substitute titles if your library has anything on the topic. Dialectic isn't hard to substitute either (you would want to try to find the literature books, though). Good luck, and have fun!

If I remember correctly, the NC teenpact (and I assume all the others are the same) said we could count it for 1/3 credit of "State Government" .

I'm planning to use the Physical Science one with my 9th grade dd this year (just bought it this morning, actually!) Myra, the cd's are a full course, with both lectures, quizzes and labs. You can use either a textbook like Apologia or the internet for supplemental readings. I'm glad to hear some success stories, but I'm a little concerned my dd will be like Cindy's. She's not much of a science whiz! But I'm hoping for the best!

I used Classic for 4 years, and then switched to Redesign. I'm beginning our 3rd year with Redesigned. I have to say, I agree with Polly. I haven't found Redesigned to be any drier or to be watered down, and I have found it to be more user friendly. But the thing that is most important to me about Redesign is having 1) better & more detailed Rhetoric discussion scripts, and 2) answers to Dialectic questions and Dialectic discussion scripts. I haven't been sorry we switched. I only had the problem of having the wrong books for 1 year, because when I used Classic my kids were on different levels than they are now. Only one Dialectic year was overlapped, and I did have to buy some extra books for that year.

sure, you can absolutely do this! In fact, I'd say a whole lot people do this. You might want to consider, though, that R literature is probably the toughest of the R subjects. If you're going to ease into any subject, it might be the best one. If you're worried about credits for dialectic work, the rule of thumb is to complete all dialectic assignments in a given area to qualify for one regular high school credit.

I imagine you could make it work. The thing about R level TOG, is the students are answering pretty specific Accountability & Thinking questions, and SWB's book may or may not cover those topics. That's not to say SWB's book isn't a great resource, it just may cover things from a different angle. Your students could always use the internet to supplement and find the answers, but that's more time spent. Also, you won't have the specific page number references if you use different books.

Thanks, everyone, for these fantastic ideas. Kareni, that's a great site -- thanks for finding it for me! Rebecca, that book list it great -- I had a couple of them already, but certainly not all of them. LatinTea, is the dvd set still on sale? I must have gotten a hundred email offers in the last few weeks from TTC but of course today can't find one in my old email or my email trash :glare: When I go to the site it says that dvd is $595 -- too much for my budget!! I'm not planning on any labs with this, since ds already has 2 labs (bio & chem) on his transcript. Thanks for ideas -- keep them coming!!

Am I crazy or way off base to consider this? My ds, who is a rising junior and does not plan to major in math or science (thinking business/pre-law right now), has taken Apologia Biology and Apologia Chemistry. I'm planning for him to do Physics his senior year, either Apologia or through the local CC. I really want him to have some Anatomy, though I'm not sure he needs the extent of Apologia Anatomy & Physiology. What I'm considering is a Charlotte Mason style course on Anatomy. Would that be able to count as a science? He doesn't need the lab, since he had that with Bio & Chem, right? One thing I know is I'd like him to read "Fearfully & Wonderfully Made" by Phillip Yancey. I'm also thinking of incorporating Total Health in some way. Any other ideas on how I could put this together? Or am I just way off base?

My dd will be doing Y3 Rhetoric in 9th grade this year, after having done tog for 6 years previously (this is her first year in rhetoric). Here's my planned list for her: TOG History (1 credit) TOG English/Lit (1 credit) TOG Church History (1/2 credit) TOG Philosophy (1/2 credit) Art 1 (Artistic Pursuits) (1 credit) French 1 (BJU) (1 credit) Physical Science (Apologia w/ DIVE) 1 credit Algebra 1 (Lial) 1 credit I'm not sure yet about any extra curricular activities, as we have just moved to a new city and I'm not sure what's out there. In the last city, she would've done a public speaking class (NCFCA) and possible tournaments.

I blog, but it's been sadly neglected this spring. Now that we've moved to a new city and are getting settled in, I hope to blog more. I'll have 2 teenagers in high school, and we'll be adjusting to new opportunities, so I should have some things to write about!

I can't answer the one about the project planning sheet -- I don't know if there is one available for you to copy, or if you just make up your own. The term "spine" just refers to books that are used for several weeks (or even a whole unit). They are already listed in the "History Core" section of the reading assignments, but not designated as "spine". That term's not an official TOG term ;)

In TOG year 1, there is a full, in depth survey of the Bible, as the OP said earlier. In the later years, there's not a Bible study per se, but the Rhetoric & dialectic level kids have questions in many, if not almost every, week that ask them to take a stand on a particular topic or question and use scripture to back up their answer. If your student takes the time to really answer those questions well, they have IMHO done some in-depth Bible study. There is no scripture memory, however.

Just to chime in -- my ds loved his geometry class with Ms. Jann, and he's looking forward to taking Algebra 2 from her next year :-)

I was wondering this too (about Apologia Human Body), and a mom here who teaches AP biology for our homeschool co-op told me not to get one. She said to rely instead on images from the internet, as they'd be much better quality than anything we'd see on a microscope. She said not to spend the $$.

Our plans for non-mathy/non-sciencey dd for 9th grade: History: TOG Year 3 rhetoric level English: TOG year 3 rhetoric/dialectic level mixed, writing aids, R&S 8 grammar as needed Church History/Worldview: TOG Year 3 French 1: BJU with supplement from free Tell Me More online Math: Algebra 1 w/ Lial's Science: Apologia Physical Science w/ DIVE Art: Artistic Pursuits High School book 1 plus readings from TOG Year 3 Health: Total Health

:iagree: with Leanna. Sounds like a good plan to me. I also recommend folks who are starting a new R level student to consider jumping to R level history first, and then bring in lit the next year. (of course, I'm not following my own advice with my dd next year -- she's planning to jump in and do all R in 9th grade...)

I just wanted to second (and third) the pp's who posted about the United Methodist churches. My dh is a Methodist minister in NC, and the spectrum from liberal to conservative is very wide. My dh actually grew up Southern Baptist, so he is on the conservative side of things and leads his congregations that way. There are lots of conservative churches. However, there are some extremely liberal Methodist churches, too. You really have to visit the individual church to find the slant of that congregation, and realize too that the pastor there won't be there forever. Methodist ministers are itinerant and are appointed for varying lengths of stays. Usually, the bishop and the board try to get a feel for the minister's and the church's theology to properly match them, but it doesn't always work perfectly.

Yes, that's the book. It is used extensively in both years 1 & 2 as a reference for literary terms and analysis. I agree that it would be very helpful for you to read it over the summer if you can. Also, on the Loom documents that come with your year plan there is a great file on teaching Rhetoric Literature that I've read over & over again. It contains lots and lots of good info, too.

There are history-based writing assignments in just about every (if not every) week of TOG. You can choose from a variety of assignments by picking from the various levels. This way, you can tailor your writing program to what you want to cover -- persuasive writing, expository, research papers, web site building, newspaper writing, etc. Lots of choices!

Here's a couple of thoughts: 1) you don't have to start your 9th grader in R if you don't want to. You might want to consider either holding her back in D for all of it, or holding her back in History and moving her up to R lit, or vice versa. Then you could still combine some discussion with both students at least in some areas. I know lots of folks who start their kids in R in 10th grade. 2) I would assign all questions, but you can decide how long of an answer you require (a few words vs. full sentences/paragraphs). There is an occasional question that has the student write a paragraph or short essay -- you could modify those assignments too, if you wanted. 3) Several weeks, the R & D students are learning about the same things, and you could keep them separate but combine on the weeks they are together. 4) Philosophy is interesting, and excellent for building a biblical worldview. I would pursue it, but only with your R student. It might go over the head of your younger one (it goes over mine all the time until we really delve into it!)

:grouphug: I am so so sorry for your tragic loss. :grouphug:

Susan, do you have a link for the free software from Arlington? Is it free to anyone, or do you have to be a registered patron at that library?