My 9th grade son read Edith Hamilton's Mythology first, which he felt gave him a good foundation for reading The Iliad and The Odyssey. He says that knowing all the characters beforehand was especially helpful. He actually listened to the books (almost 29 hours), translation by Samuel Butler, narrated by John Lescault. He loved these epic poems, with The Iliad being his favorite. Renee

We're finishing the Teaching Company's History of Ancient Egyptian with Prof. Bob Brier. It's excellent! We filled it out with some other videos from Netflix and will be moving on to Ancient Greek and Roman history next, but not yet sure what we'll be using for materials.

When my son was half way through TT Algebra 2, he started TT Geometry. It was doable for him, but he's strong in math. He is now doing only TT Geometry with some Life of Fred for entertainment.

My son has finished TT Algebra II and is in the midst of TT Geometry for 9th grade, which he will follow with TT Pre-Calc. likely done over 2nd semester 9th grade and first semester 10th grade. What I posted recently on another thread . . . My sons love TT. My neighbor had recommended TT and then she flipped when her son went into PS for pre-calc and was struggling with some areas TT hadn't covered in Alg II. She promptly regretted TT and bought Chalkdust for younger son. She put older son into a few tutoring sessions with a math prof., who said he's very well prepared . . .. that the problem was simply switching curriculum mid-stream. The pre-calc teacher held parent-teacher conferences and said her son (over any other student) had the best foundation. This son currently tutors peers in Calculus at his university. He's in pre-med. I'm sticking with TT at this point, but adding in some LOF for the fun of it. Check this recent thread for more info. . . . Anyone use upper levels of TT and do well on the SAT's http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=196780

I love Leanna's post! I agree about the value of real work. My sons help manage the weeds and the forest on our land. They are responsible for checking oil and some car and house maintenance. They barter at a local farm (all aspects of farming) and are helping out on a community art project (mosaic). They get jobs from neighbors (dog sitting to refinishing patio furniture to yard chores). We do encourage their hobbies, which has given them some real work opportunities. They band birds about 3 mornings a week in the spring and fall, are responsible for a breeding bird survey region, and have just been asked to edit a feature for a professional journal. Right now? 14 YO son is doing math. We do school work year round, so they can participate in the above projects. 12 YO son is out documenting Violet-green Swallows on the verge of fledging. They really don't have time for computer games.

My 14 YO checks e-mail/Facebook in the morning, at lunch, and after dinner. Each session is about 5 minutes. Additionally, he might chat with an out-of-state friend once a week for 20 minutes. My 12 YO has little interest, but checks his e-mail about once a week. They use the computer for some school work and research. Their computer is in a common space and has internet controls. We try to stress that the computer should be a tool, not a distraction to the real work and enjoyment of life. ~Renee

Indeed, car, bike, and house maintenance are all essential skills!!! Knowing how to grow your own food is a huge bonus! Processing food (making salsa, etc) is another great life skill. I'm forever thankful to my father for teaching me (his daughter) to work on cars, do household repairs, trim trees, build structures, etc. ~Renee

This is a great topic and I look forward to hearing everyone's thoughts! We don't have any computer games or the like at our house, but my sons (12 and 14 yo) join in on the gaming at their cousin's house. It drives me crazy that they do this over backyard games or the nice pool table. Here at home, we've chosen to forgo the whole computer gaming world and my sons actually support us on this. We live a 15 minute drive to the nearest town and have no television reception, so my sons have been creative with their spare time. I've asked my sons to help me create a list of things to do. My comments are in brackets. #1 Run. [both boys are training for cross country. They love this! The book Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall has inspired our whole family. It is an adult book, so I advice you pre-read and make sure it is appropriate for your son/daughter.] #2 Jump on a trampoline [if you have one] #3 Learn to identify all the birds that live around your house by sight and sound. Keep a yard list of the species. [My sons have identified 120 or so species here and enter data into the Cornell's e-bird website. Birds are their passion.] #4 Get a good butterfly net and learn to identify the butterflies and dragonflies around your house and neighborhood. [This is a newer area for my sons. They catch, photograph, identify, and carefully release. They are keeping records of what they find.] #5 Play card and board games. Design and play your own board games. #6 Build bird houses and monitor them. Keep records. [Depending on where you live, this can be very rewarding! We've got Violet-green Swallow chicks in one of our houses right now. Earlier, we had nesting White-breasted Nuthatches, House Wrens, and Western Bluebirds - all but bluebirds were successful.] #7 Learn to cook and come up with your own recipes. ~Renee

I used the same level. My son is definitely independent and very driven and I honor that. It is how he learns best. He's not necessarily interested in a workbook program and MCT isn't too much work. He says it is too wordy and lacks context. He wants to know more about word origins and have some interesting stories to go along with that. I can't say that we gave it a fair chance, but it is very unappealing to my son. I'm hoping to find something better for him and I'm just beginning to look. Maybe this . . . Vocabulary for the College Bound Student - Harold Levine Let me know how it goes for you.

Please let us know how it goes. It seems to be a time of transition.

I am able to get on to the website. Does this mean I'm one of the last homeschoolers to get a 6 year on-line access account as a homeschooler? I don't know for certain. What I do know is that according to Pearson, the homeschool deal is done. They are no longer allowed to sell the 6-year on-line edition to homeschoolers. I don't know if they'll try to work something out for the future.

I'm glad to hear my son (14 YO) isn't the only one who dislikes MCT materials. My son loves to read and write and has a great vocabulary. I thought it'd be a great fit, but it is not. I'm waiting to see what others say here. For vocabulary, he does like Merriam-Webster's Vocabulary Builder. His uncle, a poet, recommended it.

If you pause, really focus on it and get it done. Yes, you might want to try one of the visual story approaches. Another one is Times Tables The Fun Way! Third Edition (Revised), by Judy Liautaud, Dave Rodriguez.

It's great to have the homeschool discounts. I tend to use the 40% coupons that are often offered for one item at Borders and Hobby Lobby. Anyone can use the Hobby Lobby coupon and Michael's will match it. I think you need to be a Borders reward customer for the Borders discounts.

Here's a link with CO homeschool groups. Maybe you can get connected with a group in the Denver area. Some groups have mentor programs. http://www.home-school.com/groups/CO.html