I used Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons when my now 25 yo learned to read. This year I will be homeschooling a kindergartener and using the same. Ran across some printables at teacherspayteachers.com by GlimmerCat. Looking forward to Round 4! Shalom, Teresa

Thanks, ladies- Since he doesn't drive, cc was not an option. However, after looking at Lials' College Algebra & Trig online and hearing my college student in the background say "Hey we used that book in MAT161!" I'm thinking I may just have to drive him to the campus twice a week :closedeyes: Kareni...do you have a stats book in mind?

We started school this week. Ds, 17, is a senior. He worked through TT Alg 2, Geometry, and Precal. Honestly, I don't know which math to put him in for this last year at home. He really doesn't want to go to college, however he will go to CC next fall, though, so I don't want him to skip a whole year of math. Purchased Saxon Advanced Math & Art Reed dvds (ds enjoyed Art Reed's instruction for Algebra 1), but after the first week, he is overwhelmed. (The course starts at lesson 60 and proceeds to the end of the book then covers L 1-25 in the Calculus text). Art Reed titles the course "Trigonometry and Pre-Calculus." Just really second guessing my plans. Especially when we factor in Physics, my part time job (22-28 hours weekly) and upcoming foot surgery. Looking for suggestions. Thought about Lial's College Algebra to keep his skills fresh. Thanks in advance, Teresa

Here in NC, it depends where the student is in school. Some (middle school) students are assigned laptops with all their books loaded. My daughter who just completed her Associate's Degree at community college, had to purchase actual books which she (gasp) read! A couple of her friends who are in university have to purchase hard copies of books. Wonder what Mr. Adler would think...... Smiles, Teresa

I have used TOG for four years. Enjoyed all but Year 2 (so I didn't use it =) When I started using TOG five years ago, I had upper grammar, dialectic and reluctant reading rhetoric students. Locating a co-op drew me in. I've also used Sonlight in the past. TOG outweighs SL because of the lesson plans and the discussion outlines. I do not have time to read all the books, especially for several levels. Pros: TOG helped my students learn time management and organization skills-priceless :thumbup: They have read some great literature and learned to analyze it. Love the chronological world history. Lesson plans are basically done. My college student just reminded me how prepared she was for the college work load from using TOG. Cons: Can be overwhelming. Give yourself at least 9 weeks (the first unit) to acclimate. Find a TOG buddy if possible. Lots of the rhetoric books are dry as crackers.(Year 3 is the worst, imo). Their worldview is definitely Reformed....just putting it out there. (Opportunities for discussions). Cost of books. Even so, I have been so blessed to find most of the books used (amazon) or available through the library. Finding buyers has been a blessing as well. Feel free to contact me privately if you have more questions :001_smile: HTH, Teresa

If this has been mentioned, please forgive me. Tapestry of Grace sells a digital version of the curricula and a print version. They offer a digital plus print package. It is clearly stated before purchasing the print copy sold with DE is not re-sellable (and Not for Resale is printed on each page). Because the Loom is contained in the digital portion, the print w/DE should not be sold separately. Some folks will print a copy of the curriculum from their digital version and offer that for sale. Illegal, I believe, because of copyright laws (selling something you printed at home and selling it for profit takes away from the author) and no Loom cd. When one prints from DE, the Not for Resale message appears. Only the print version sold with the Loom cd is re-sellable. From Tapestry of Grace's website: "DE + Print combines the best of both the Digital Edition (DE) and Print options, and at $20 more than Print Only, it's a great deal. You get all the benefits of Tapestry DE, plus the printed pages. In this option, your printed units are purchased under the same license as the DE, so they are not resalable." HTH, Teresa

Stopping in to update. My boys, 9th & 11th grade, have diligently worked through Zumdahl's World of Chemistry. My college aged daughter has been taken Chem I & II at the same time (Thank you, Jesus!).Boys have (gulped) enjoyed the text and found the Great Courses dvd's a huge help. They've utilized some YouTube videos when further explanation was needed and sister wasn't home. Labs, however, have been a bit disappointing. Quality Science Labs Microchem kit was simply too small to observe real results. Looking ahead to Physics and Biology...... Shalom, Teresa

We have used IEW for several years. Even so, I assumed my kids could take notes. Who can't, right? Every skill need practice So, I have my boys (9th & 11th grade) summarize current events weekly and visit www.Ted.com to summarize a lecture a few times a month. Ted Talks have been very enjoyable and informative for them =) HTH, Teresa

Just my two cents.....we used the older version of TT Pre-Cal this year. I had ds grade his own work, but I checked it and recorded grades weekly. I figure by this age he should be trustworthy enough to check his own problems. FWIW, he's got an 87 average =) Shalom, Teresa

With my 16 & 14 yo boys, I used the following: History Odyssey, Level 3: used as spine for world coverage, including the Americas. Also includes essay prompts, mapping, people/religion/gov't SWB History of the Middle Ages (I read this title) Truthquest guides: A bit too wordy for me, but useful info. Ambleside Online: Love this, but it's only from British perspective. Chose titles I simply couldn't resist =) Rose Publishing: Christian History Made Easy YouTube and NetFlix as needed. HTH, Teresa

Actually, the TOG resources are very Reformed and even contain outright errors. (I've corresponded with Mrs. Somerville about some of the issues). We found Christian History Made Easy by Rose Publishing to be a delightful inexpensive resource as we went through Year 2. http://www.rose-publishing.com/Christian-History-Made-Easy-Rose-Bible-Basics-Series-P453.aspx#.UizSFMZOOSo TruthQuest also has amazing notes if you can get past the wordiness =) Shalom, Teresa in NC

Child number 4. Getting him ready for college. All courses at home. Bible: Inductive study of Covenant Messianic studies History: Tapestry of Grace Year 3 Government Thread Philosophy thread (maybe) Literature: TOG Y3, chose nine novels plus poetry Science: World of Chemistry, Zumdahl Loosely following quarksandquirks awesome plans. Thanks mom4peace! MicroChem labs w/lab reports Great Courses dvd's to complement Writing: IEW "SWI-C Bootcamp" Elegant Essay Adding a dash of LTW Hone essays this year Spanish: BJU Spanish I PE/Soccer Ds just got a part time job. He has a full year ahead of him =) Teresa in NC

She placed into PreCal Algebra focus (MAT 171). Next she took PreCal Trig. Currently she is enrolled in Brief Calculus. HTH, Teresa

I can only share our experience. Not a mathy kid, dd, 18, worked through TT Alg1, Geo, & Alg 2. Graduated her a semester early so she did not work through pre-cal. She did remarkably well on the placement test for community college. However, she has struggled partly because she did not have exposure to PreCalculus and partly because the prof was awful. A driven, diligent student, she studies intently and really works for her grades. My suggestion would be to have your student work through precal. At least s/he will have an introduction to the subject matter. JMHO, Teresa

At the lower levels, you definitely could use alternate selections. At rhetoric/dialectic levels, it may be a challenge, but as long as your student read the questions and reads from source which supplies the info, I think it's do-able. Students may not find the exact same answer as indicated in the discussion outline. Just depends on how much that would drive you or them crazy. JMHO, Teresa

Shalom! A friend and I are facilitating labs in a co-op using World of Chemistry, Zumdahl, 5th edition. We looked at The Home Scientist lab syllabus to see if they would fit in our time constraint of an hour. Sadly, most would not. We are going to use MicroChem Standard lab kit instead. Covers basic chemistry labs. The labs are similar, but the MicroChem kit comes with all components =) Smiles, Teresa

Thanks, ladies! Ordering now..... Teresa

Looking for input on Art of Problem Solving Math Curriculum. Ds, 14, wants to use this instead of another math program. He is very astute at math, but will need to work independently for the most part. Thoughts? Smiles, Teresa

Precept Upon Precept bible studies or any study which teaches how to inductively study the Word Practicing His Presence The Pursuit of God Screwtape Letters biographies of missionaries We are so blessed to have a week long Youth Apologetics camp every summer. My 14 yo is there today. Speakers from around the nation come and address current issues faced by believers in college and the work place. In all honesty, your kids can read every book under the sun, but if your walk is not genuine, they will stray or worse yet, bail. Zig Ziglar once said, "Rules without relationship equals rebellion." Very true. We can give our kids a list of do's and don'ts, but if they don't have a strong personal, living real relationship with the living Jesus, it is all smoke and mirrors. I agree with Candid about the worldview straw men. Makes the matter of diligently teaching our kids even more urgent. (Deut 6) JMHO, Teresa

We've used Exploration Education for Physical Science which has over 30 lab/projects in it. Co-op for Biology labs (momma doesn't dissect anything =) This coming year, I'll be helping facilitate chemistry labs using a standard micro-chem kit at qualitysciencelabs dot com. May I suggest your student write up lab reports or keep a lab notebook. HTH. Teresa

I have to second the suggestion to stay with TOG for rhetoric. Started with it four years ago. It was difficult jumping in with three kids at three different levels. Coming back around through Year 3 for the second time, my rhetoric guys are actually excited to see how much they recall and what they're going to learn. Dd graduated and has thanked me for making her work so hard! She has commented she felt very prepared for college. We learned to utilize down time nights and weekends to keep on task with the readings. Scheduling lit discussion on a different day from history discussion is a must. Most importantly, remember, you can't do it. God doesn't call the equipped; He equips the called. If you could do it on your own, you wouldn't need Him =) HTH, Teresa

It is overwhelming and exciting. Having already graduated three, you'd think I have a handle on it. With the first one (graduated in 2005), I feel I failed her. She had debilitating migraines and was depressed. Ds #2 went to ps. Dd #3 went to ps and came home. Really buckled down and got serious about high school. Joined a co-op for accountability (for her and me). She later thanked me for making her work so hard. Now ds #4 will be in 11th grade and ds #5 in 9th grade. Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. (My 16 yo ds says it's a train =) Hangeth thou in there beloved! Smiles, Teresa

WooHoo! Good for you!!! Smiles, Teresa

What a great thread! I am still learning after 18 years of homeschooling. May I humbly suggest for older students utilizing weekend free time and evenings wisely. My kids wanted to participate in co-op which removes one day of school. High schoolers need to work on some subjects daily. Skipping math one day a week puts them behind quickly. Lots of students hold part time jobs and have other outside activities. We use free time on weekends to catch up or stay on track regarding reading assignments, edits/corrections, tests missed, research, etc. I have seen this as a life skill my older kids have appreciated when they moved on to college and jobs. Lots of encouragement: Don't assume your kids know you think they are great. Tell them! Andrew Pudewa once said when editing writing assignments, always give a positive comment for each correction marked in the paper. Quite a challenge, but oh so encouraging! Have your kids help with cooking: I usually have a sous chef in the kitchen at dinner. One teen is considering a career in culinary arts. Laundry: All my people do their own laundry and have for years. My daughter-in-law has thanked me several times that my son knows how to cook, clean, and do laundry. He still doesn't put the seat down, though..... How could I forget to set aside some time for yourself? Years ago, I joined a gym. I went when the littles napped. Eventually, we turned our FROG (finished room over the garage) into a workout room. My kids know someone better be bleeding before they come interrupt mom when she is upstairs =) I also searched out other moms of high schoolers to have weekly coffee/fellowship with. Though some have come and gone, one gal and I have met for the last 3 years! Shalom, Teresa