Susan, did you try this or hear of anyone's experience with it?

Thanks for the suggestion... I'll check it out. And I think I posted below concerning "not as deep" instead of replying to you. I notice you're using Notgrass... I really liked it myself. I might wind up insisting she use it, but if I have to choose my battles... I'd be ok with something else, if I could figure out a good substitution.

All I meant by "not as deep" is that I don't think we'll have time to delve into each time period as much as I'd like. Story of the World Vol. 4 would be great but I can't fit it all into the year, since I have to also cover from ancient times forward. I'm not against depth or a rich text, but in my situation, I think I only have the option of going wide instead of deep. That way, she'll at least be familiar with major people/events of each period.

I have a senior who needs World History condensed into one year. She has had some bits here and here over the years, but not much. The only thing I'm ruling out is Notgrass World History... I know many who like it, but we started this year with that, and she strongly requested something else. I want something engaging for her, and she'll have to accept whatever alternative I decide on. I like a biblical worldview, but not something that puts a religious spin on everything. That being said, I like Story of the World Vol. 4 but it only covers Modern History, so I'm going to need a spine, not as deep and more condensed, to include ancient times through modern. I might have to piece something together. I'd like to include a living book along with each time period. ok enough rambling... suggestions?

I have a senior who needs World History condensed into one year. She has had some bits here and here over the years, but not much. The only thing I'm ruling out is Notgrass World History... I know many who like it, but we started this year with that, and she strongly requested something else. I want something engaging for her, and she'll have to accept whatever alternative I decide on. I like a biblical worldview, but not something that puts a religious spin on everything. That being said, I like Story of the World Vol. 4 but it only covers Modern History, so I'm going to need a spine, not as deep and more condensed, to include ancient times through modern. I might have to piece something together. I'd like to include a living book along with each time period. ok enough rambling... suggestions?

Ok, I'll try not to ramble. First of all, I used R&S language arts and Saxon Math with my older daughter, and I decided to use both CLE language arts and Math with my younger daughter. Although Saxon is highly praised by most, it wasn't a good fit for us because my daughter found it boring and dry. Also, I found that it didn't give enough clear explanation of new concepts as we got into the upper elementary grades. CLE Math is spiral, introducing one small new concept each day and reviewing many previous skills (just a few of each). This has been so enjoyable for my daughter. She hardly knows she is learning something new because it seems so effortless. I like how the teaching manual explains every single thing I need to do (which isn't much). It's our 4th year with CLE and many days, my daughter tells me she's finished with Math before I bring it up. We just check it and clarify anything needed. Can you tell I like it? Used R&S Language one year. It was very thorough but tedious. CLE Language is thorough too, but lighter. They cover all the important skills but do it in a way that isn't intimidating. Very gradual but effective in my opinion. And there are religious references in all CLE curriculum, so you'd want to preview it if that's a concern.

... although I have to agree that the above suggestion does sounds very appealing. We won't actually be using World History until this fall, but I've skimmed the book and feel it's a good fit for us. We used Notgrass American History this year and my dd learned a lot. As others mentioned, it combines Bible and Literature. Notgrass may be repetitious for those who have read a lot of history based books, but we were light on history in previous years, so it has filled in gaps for us. Margie

Pam, I'd like to suggest you get more info. on a free online Mandarin class at www.virtualhomeschoolgroup.org They are having problems with their website right now, so you wont be able to get much info. from that temporary site, but you can contact them for more info. Class subjects are limited, so I was surprised to see a beginning Mandarin class this past year. If this class is like their others, you can attend the online class each week and also review the archived class as often as you want. I learned about this group from this forum and it's been a wonderful blessing for us this year. Margie dd 13, dd 9

I did quite a bit of research, and although we haven't begun formally using Fluenz, we did purchase it. After previewing several of the lessons with my 13 yr old, we are excited about starting it either this summer or in the fall, along with my 9 yr old. From all the reviews I've read (unbiased as far as I could tell) from different sources, the majority of people said Fluenz was much preferred over Rosetta to learn conversational Spanish, or other language. Keep in mind that most of the people who use Fluenz and rave about it are those who are planning to travel for business or pleasure in the future and need to learn the language quickly but thoroughly. I don't know enough about other programs to say it's the best for children of all ages, but I think it's a good fit for us. It was pricey but I feel confident that I can resell it for a good price. Margie 2 daughters (9,13)

I've read a lot of info. on the forum about different Latin programs, but it's all a little fuzzy now, and I have to make a decision soon. This is my situation: My dd (now 9th grade) started Cambridge Latin I last year with a tutor who is an expert in Latin but because of personality differences, teaching style.. who knows why, she did not enjoy it and is dreading going back for Latin II. She felt it was rushed and she still doesn't understand some of the basics. She would like to try another program and do it ourselves at home. One of her complaints was that in translating, there was no way to detect what the Latin root word was... so she didn't know if the word shown was already in a certain declension or verb form, or just showing the root. She did learn all the forms/tenses. I don't know Latin so maybe I'm not describing this correctly. Anyway, she was very frustrated and her teacher would simply say, well you just have to figure it out, learn them all, etc.. Can you recommend a Latin curriculum and level, since she did go through Cambridge Latin I but didn't grasp it... should I start over with another curriculum from the beginning? Any advice is appreciated... sorry for rambling on. LovinTeachin