How about reading Grammar Land by M.L. Nesbitt together? It is available online as a free PDF or reprinted from Amazon, or free audiobook on Librivox. It would be a fun intro, and would spark some good discussions and explanations along the way. Also, FWIW, second grade has not been too young for MCT Island for my kids. So you could just jump in if you wanted.

This is true, although Orberg's Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata (as much as I gigantic.puffy.heart LOVE it!) is not necessarily great practice for Latin Alive, since it has a vastly different scope and sequence. So yes, adding it in as a reader would be fun, but after several chapters it might still not meet your "need for practice" of Latin Alive concepts. I'm not sure what would meet that need, just wanted to add more info to the Lingua Latina recommendation.

We do tons of flash cards, but only digital ones (Anki), so I am not sure whether my advice will be helpful. I'll try to think about how our process would look with regular flashcards. First, I don't know what the "triangle" flashcards are. Are they number bonds, so technically each flashcard has multiple equations? Is there one blank on each side to fill in? Or am I misunderstanding? Are the equations on the front and back of a card related? Or randomly different? Is the front printed differently from the back, so you can tell all the fronts vs all teh backs? If they are number bonds, and if there is one blank per side, and if the front and back are related, this is probably how I would do it. Go through the whole stack (or however much the child should know). Do one side of the card (say, all the fronts). If she gets it wrong, immediately help her figure out the right answer, reinstruct as needed, ask her that card again, and have her give you the right answer. Then put it in pile A, to review again immediately after finishing the stack. If she gets it right, put it in pile B, to review again *the day after tomorrow*. This is the stack of "known" cards. When you finish today's stack, go through pile A to review the ones missed earlier today. Create a new pile A for any she misses, doing the same feedback process as above. Also create a new pile B, but these will be reviewed *tomorrow*. When you get through the A stack, go through the new A stack with the same procedure, until you are finished with all the cards. All the cards that are "rereviewed" in this manner should be added to the pile of cards to review tomorrow. Then, tomorrow, review that day's stack, using the same process. Cards that are wrong get reviewed right away, and rescheduled for the next day. Cards that are right get rescheduled for two days later. Then review all the Known cards, and schedule them out maybe three days. If any of the Known cards are missed, put them in the pile for immediate review and then reschedule for tomorrow. So that is kind of how I would do it. It is easier than it sounds, although I highly prefer a digital system to keep track of it all for me!

I'm interested, too!

First, look up "war" in the alphabetical section at the back. In my Roget's Int'l 4th Ed, it lists a bunch of words, some listed as nouns and some as verbs. Per the assignment, I'm interested in nouns. Here are a few of the entries listed in the nouns section under "war": armed conflict 797.1 military campaign 797.7 military science 797.10 as I look at the words, I notice the ones that have the meaning/connotation I am looking for tend to be in the 797 section. So, look for the 797 section in the front section of the thesaurus. When I look at 797, it is titled "Warfare". The first subsections (797.1 - 797.17) are under a capitalized subheading (actually at the beginning of 797.1) that says NOUNS. 797.18 starts the VERBS section 797.25 starts the ADJS section, and goes on to list warlike, militant, fighting, warring, battling, martial, etc... So that is how ya do it! Does that help?

Ahhh, now I understand what you mean. Hmmm. I'll be interested to hear what folks say who have actually btdt (as we clearly have not!). I guess I'm hoping that the combo of WWS + LTW + Art of Arg will get us there. But I'm really interested to hear what the experienced Hivers advise you, since I might have the same exact question in a couple of years!

We are only on Week 8 of WWS Level 1 (DS is 11, going into 6th), so take what I say with a huge grain of salt! But looking through WWS1 and WWS2 (I don't own 3 yet), it appears to me that Level 2 Weeks 31-36 basically teach how to combine different topoi into papers (including analyzing essays to see what topoi other writers have included). It also gives multiple references within the text, and has the student take notes on them, and then combine them into the paper. (So, isn't this a research paper? Or doesn't it count, since the resources were already provided?) What I (so far) think I will do is have my DS do Weeks 31-36 as written, with the sources provided. Then we will just practice it for a while - say, one composition every other week or so, or less/more depending on how it is going). We will follow the same steps as given in Level 2, Weeks 31-36, but DS can pick his own topic and resources. Wouldn't these be considered research papers? WWS is going to be our main writing program for the next couple of years (assuming it goes well), but I am also incorporating some Lost Tools of Writing, as well as CAP's Argument Builder (and probably Art of Argument, too). I'm hoping we can combine what we are learning in the different programs to build our ability to construct good arguments for persuasive writing. Like I said, we are just starting out in WWS now, so I'm just thinking aloud based on what I have read in the first two levels and what I expect we will do. Who knows if that will be reality :)

Oh, we also like Nature Anatomy. That one is less artistic than the Laws Guide, with simpler line drawings (more like 2D cartoon style, but not in a silly way). It is good for basic imitative drawing though, which I think is very helpful. The simplicity of the drawings is an interesting lesson in itself, showing how just a few lines can represent something that seems "hard to draw". There are no drawing lessons in it, but the illustrations are usually simple enough to deconstruct (especially if you were sitting drawing with your kids and they could copy you).

Have you ever looked at the Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling and the Laws Guide to Drawing Birds? They are not technically written for kids, but they do have several step-by-step drawings in them which I think even middle elementary kids could manage. Plus the books are beautifully done and full of insights about art and nature journaling in general, as well as tons of inspiration. I'm planning to start one with my DS11 this summer :-)

I was a computer programmer back before kids, so I'm not a total newbie, but still a newbie to much of today's technology! I just recently did the Edhesive Intro to CS course with my DS10. It was good, and I really liked some of the assignments. Nice challenges for him, and then a solution was given (in the teacher packet), and it was helpful to be able to compare our solutions with hers. It was a good start for us, albeit not cheap (maybe $150, which is cheap in some respects, but still I wanted cheaper). Pros: - Incremental - Not babyish, but also not too fast-paced for a kid - No need to set up any kind of development environment - it was all done via a website. - Forums to post questions (for both teacher and student) (we didn't actually use them but could have) Cons: - Some of the units I didn't care much about (e.g., a unit on digital music, misc sections about "career connections" where they talked about careers within comp sci, etc.) - I really just wanted lots of programming instruction, not this extra stuff - Some of the units pointed the student to outside websites to do their projects - which is okay, but technically we could have done that without the class. - Costs $150+, IIRC - I *think* the teacher/parent can't totally control the pace of the class. I'm not sure about this, but it seems like they work on a school year schedule, and the class units are "opened" at certain points during the year. If your student works faster than that, I'm not sure they can access the next unit. It might go by semesters (e.g., they open the first semester Aug 1, second semester Jan 1), but I think if a student works fast and completes semester 1 by Nov 1, he has to wait two months for the next semester to become available. We ended up not registering until February for the Intro class, so all units were already opened up at that point so it hasn't been a problem for us. However, the years ends on June 30, so even though we didn't get the class until Feb, we have to be completely finished by June 30th. That isn't a problem for us (though I definitely had to prioritize the class to make sure we get through it all in time), but having a hard date like that is just kind of annoying (esp because we school year-round and I don't like being tied to anyone else's school year, lol). (Incidentally, this weird scheduling is why I went ahead and registered in Feb instead of waiting for their new school year to being in Aug - I didn't want to be stuck waiting for the second semester.) Now that we are finishing up the Intro class I'm looking for other opportunities and found a couple of awesome classes on Udemy for $10 each, for lifetime access!!! (Use coupon code FATWALLETU *today* to get those prices - I think that deal ends tonight!) I think Udemy can be very hit-or-miss in terms of quality of instruction, but I have found two courses in Python (the same language taught in the Edhesive Intro class) which so far DS and I are really enjoying and learning a lot from. Some of it is review, of course, but much is new, and even the review has proven helpful for DS. The two classes I can recommend so far are: Complete Python Masterclass (Tim Buchalka) (36 hrs of instruction) The Complete Python 3 Course (Joseph Delgadillo) (18 hrs of instruction) (seems less "polished" than Tim above, but still really good) The instructors both explain things really well, and as the course progresses they introduce projects/challenges and model how they would do them (you can pause the video and work it out yourself first - that is what we do). They are so good and we are both learning so much! I also bought this one, but haven't started it yet since I'm just wanted DS to focus on Python for now. But I bought it because the instructor looks really competent and I am interested in a lot of the technologies he teaches. So, I haven't viewed it yet, but am just mentioning it as another one to consider: The Web Developer Bootcamp (Colt Steele) (43 hrs of instruction)

I wrote some very lengthy and thorough posts on this older thread about how we use Orberg's Lingua Latina (LLPSI) in our homeschool (especially my posts #11 and #18). I LOVE LOVE huge-puffy-heart LOVE LLPSI and we have used it for about five years now (we started when DS was 6). But the curriculum alone is not going to make you succeed; it also takes just a lot of perseverance and practice. For an older learner, it will take about two years to get through Familia Romana, if the learner is very diligent. Otherwise I would assume 3-4 years, but you *must review* or else you will hit brick walls along the way. I second a PP who recommended the Dwane Thomas courses. We have not actually taken his courses (though I have viewed several), but if you really need something "outside", that is where I would suggest going in your situation. But honestly it will be far better if you study with your DC and don't make it independent. There is no way my DS would be able to do Latin without considerable support and co-learning with me.

I did this, sorta... But is it possible to then see a list of *only* those books that have **not** yet been assigned to a collection? We have hundreds of kindle books, and I originally assigned a bunch to collections, but then only in a spotty way since then, so the collections are incomplete. But I can't figure out how to see which books still need to be put in a collection.

I'd just do read through the vocab orally together, before watching the DVD. If you/she has questions, discuss it and figure it out. Then watch the DVDs to check whether you were correct. The activity is worth-while, IMHO, but changing it to an oral one makes it quick and painless in comparison.

We are taking a ten-day trip pretty soon and I really need some food ideas! We usually have breakfast in our hotel (included), and then stop at a restaurant one meal per day and have sandwiches one meal per day, but honestly we can't live that way for ten whole days. We love it (yum) but we just have to be healthier than most restaurants want us to be (yes, I know I can make "healthy choices" at a restaurant - but I'm being realistic here that that just isn't going to happen much). I'm trying desperately to lose weight (unsuccessfully) and I am terrified that I will gain on this trip (because I always do when we travel because of access to all kinds of yummy stuff we don't eat at home). Logistics issues: - we (DH, DS10, DD7, DD3, and I) are flying up and back and then driving around in a big loop - because we are flying, I will have no access to pots, pans, utensils, etc. - we will have no fridge since we are staying in a different place every night (I suspect we might buy a cheap cooler to keep in the car) - we will have no kitchenette in our hotels, but will have the common breakfast eating area (which might include a microwave but that is all) - being thrifty on food is not important to us; it is only the healthiness of our diet that matters to us on this trip Diet issues: - DH eats a very healthy and very low carb diet. He has oodles of self-control. - We try to eat nearly no sugar, low salt, low carb. However, I love love LOVE sugar and carbs, and it is a constant battle for me. - We probably all qualify as "picky eaters". Including myself. :eyeroll: (I should clarify - we are picky about healthy foods. But give us junk, and we eat it quite happily (except for DH)!) - I'm really trying to lose weight. This trip is going to be VERY hard for me, because at home I can control what is in our pantry, but when faced with unhealthy options at every turn, it is SUPER hard to say no all the time. - I really need things to have NO added sugar, and low carbs. - I plan to avoid the hotel breakfasts because it is too much temptation for carbs and sugar (DH will still take the kids to it though). But I have no idea what I will eat instead. Any ideas for us? I'm really trying to avoid having us all eat different stuff at meals (especially because whatever I'm feeding the kids would be yummier than whatever I'd be having, and I just flat-out don't have the willpower for that day after day). Thoughts? I'm excited about our trip, but really worried and discouraged about this part of it :-(

I prefer paper books. *But* I might be coming around to Kindle, ironically for the reasons that you indicated concern - reviewing and lit criticism. I do find Kindles harder to navigate than a real book, and understanding where I "am" in the greater context of the book can be difficult. However, I have recently learned that if I highlight in Kindle, I can then review all of my highlights on the web, and I can add notes to them. For me, I think this will actually over the long-term make it *easier* to find quotes and such for literary criticism. I also want to highlight for structure - meaning highlighting headings and such, or main idea sentences so that I can easily see where in the overall book a quote or idea comes from. Highlight something in your Kindle book, and then go to https://kindle.amazon.com/your_highlights and you will see what I mean. Fabulissimo!!

See, this is why I ask the Hive. Voila, decision made! I should have asked y'all at 4:00 this afternoon instead of belaboring it so long!

Thanks everyone! Decision made, so I deleted the OP :-)

I heartily agree with the Orberg Lingua Latina recommendation. I have been learning Latin with my DS (I had never had any before). We started with GSWL and then graduated to Lingua Latina Familia Romana. He was young when we started (only 6), but it is a *great* program. Extremely effective for learning both vocab and grammar, not to mention enjoyable! It becomes hard work after the first few chapters, but if you hang in there it really pays off. The text is technically a one year college Latin program. If you study with your kids, the materials below will last you several years. Studying on your own, you could maybe do them in two years, but IMHO if you go too fast it is hard to really absorb all the vocab really well (and it has a LOT!). I recommend getting: Lingua Latina Familia Romana Exercitia Latina A College Companion (this does not undermine the natural method as PP feared; as a newbie to Latin I really find it to be a helpful resource, and we use it regularly, not only for our new chapters, but also when reviewing grammar concepts. I have a zillion Latin currics Answer Key (for exercises in the textbook as well as much of Exercitia Latina) After a while you might want to add some additional readings that are correlated to the grammar and vocab you are reading in Familia Romana. For that I recommend: Colloquia Personarum Fabellae Latinae (free download; once downloaded, change the extension to .doc (remove the single quote in the download filename) in order to get it to open) Hope that helps!

We school year-round, and I buy things year-round. But I also often buy things years in advance; I always have lengthy lists of possible curricula going far into the future, and I always keep an eye out for cheap used copies. I always read through whatever I buy, and even if I end up not "using it" with the kids, it makes me a better teacher to read through lots of different currics this way. It not only helps me learn more content, but it also helps me see different ways of presenting the same concepts.

Oh, we also love the book Perspective Made Easy by Ernest R. Norling. It is from 1939 and is a thorough and fascinating treatment of perspective, very step-by-step and instructive, and at just the right amount of detail and theory for inexperienced artists (like us!). If you google "Perspective Made Easy Norling", you will find a pdf version, but it has also been reprinted by Dover.

We love the Virtual Intructor. He is awesome! He offers lots of free lessons, and a ton more for a monthly membership fee. He has a few free lessons on perspective drawing (and other concepts) here: http://thevirtualinstructor.com/drawing-concepts-ideas.html

GSWL is a great intro to Lingua Latina by Orberg. It is *fabulous* and teaches a ton more vocab and grammar than similar programs, and is far more enjoyable. It gets to be hard work (especially by about chapter 12), but in our experience, it is well worth it. I recommend using Lingua Latina: Familia Romana, with the College Companion to help you out with grammar points and vocab, and also Exercitia Latina (and its answer key). Those materials will last you a lonnnnng time (figure maybe 3 years or longer). This is a program where you read and reread and reread the chapters, and every time you understand it better. It is fun to read, and by chapter two you meet the Roman family and then by chapter three the brother and sister are having a conflict and they call mom, etc... It is a fun read and very rewarding as your language skills grow. You and your DD can check out the first few chapters in the pdf version online and you will see what I mean (google lingua latina familia romana pdf and you should be able to find it).

I highly recommend reading the book Mindset. It is amazing, and speaks to exactly this kind of situation. Our society (and especially our schools) have this idea about who is going to succeed and who isn’t – teachers think the kid with the high IQ is going to succeed (and always will), and the one with the average or IQ is going to be average (and always will). But research shows this is not the case! It is the person who *works hard* and *perseveres* in the face of challenges who actually succeeds longterm. "Talent" or "intelligence" only takes someone a little way... the rest of the path to success is earned through hard work. So read Mindset, and then put on a growth mindset. It takes effort, attention, and practice to have a growth mindset when that isn’t your previous way of thinking (ask me how I know, LOL). Work at it, and teach it to your kids. Will there be another opportunity for your younger DS to test into the program? If so, I would tell him, “You know what? Teachers think that doing well on one little test means you should be in the program. I’m sorry, but this year you didn’t quite score well enough on their test. It might be a silly test, but that is just the way it works. How about we work together really hard this year, and see if next year we can make it happen? It will mean you have to do some extra work with me after school, and on your own also, but if you want to do it, I would love to help you.†Meanwhile, praise your kids for diligence, perseverance, and focus, rather than intelligence or admission into a GT program. Consider enrolling your older kid in an activity that he is not naturally good at. This will help him learn how to work hard and press on through challenges. Don’t let him quit. It is very easy for high achieving fixed mindset kiddos to not learn how to work hard and persevere, kwim? (ETA an important point in the first paragraph :-))

Oh my goodness!! I am impulsively buying that today!!! Thank you SO much for sharing :-)

What is LP1? I highly recommend Anki flashcards. I have oodles and may have the vocab you need, depending on the program you are using. For learning principle parts to a *recall* level (as opposed to simply a recognition level, which is easier but less useful), we first learn the Lation-to-English. The card gives you the principle parts, which you *recite out loud*, and then respond with the meaning in English. This is easy and gets you familiar with the principle parts. Then to learn to *recall* the principle parts, we learn the E-to-L. That is harder, and our E-to-L lags our learning in L-to-E (sometimes even by several chapters, which has been fine, in our experience). I introduce the E-to-L cards only after we know those L-to-E cards really really well (I think it is analogous to a child's reading being ahead of their spelling). To actually get them in our brains, DS and I have Anki decks that are just our E-to-L cards. For each card, the card shows us the English, then we *write down* our answer. Over time and repetition, we gradually get all the parts and macrons and such. It really isn't that hard, but the *writing down* is a critical part of the process in our experience.