Rod and Staff fits the bill. The lesson begins with oral review of recent concepts (in the teacher's guide), then presentation of a new concept with about 25 probs., then written review of past concepts. Lots and lots of reinforcement.

Mrs. Vick is a phenomenal teacher, as she teaches the material with clarity and enthusiasm. She's very organized with the assignments, and she also teaches study skills (very helpful for middle school). I can't recommend her classes highly enough! HTH.

(He is only a few months into it.) Ds says that it's a good class. Miss Lacy is energetic and knowledgeable about the subject. Some parts are tough (perhaps the nature of Biology), but Miss Lacy certainly makes it more manageable. So, ds gives it :thumbup:. HTH!

Mrs. Anderson is an excellent teacher; my ds enjoyed her very much. It's a basic French I class and very manageable. We are onto French 2 now!

I would be inclined to drop the Geography video to simply read the text (maybe do the SA as well), and keep the science DVD. My ds did DIVE physical science and it was very tough for him. He's using the BJU Biology DVD this year and it's going much more smoothly. But science is not my strong suit, so your mileage may vary. Also, I don't consider Geography as essential, and I would not mind at all if my student just got an overview (or better yet, exposure) of the subject. HTH.

I appreciate your thoughts.

No debate, just speeches.

My ds took a speech class his Freshman year. What is the best title for this on his transcript? Thanks.

So sorry your ds is going through this. :grouphug: I recommend Bonnie Grimaldi's supplements. http://bonniegr.com/index.html We've seen huge improvements in our son. He's been using them for eight years, combined with her dietary recommendations. They haven't completely eliminated the tics/OCD behaviors, but it is so, so much better. When he misses a dose (rarely), the tics intensify and it takes a while for them to calm down again. Even if you and your dh don't want to invest in the supplements, consider adding magnesium and Omega 3's to his diet, along with reducing sugar and caffeine. That may give him some relief. Oddly, some of the worst things I can give my ds are OJ and raisins (high sugar content). Check out Bonnie's diet on her website. Praying for you and your ds. :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

I took my ds's when they were about that age. After an hour of shielding their eyes and redirecting their steps, we left. PM me if you want more details.

That's good to know. I'll take a look at MUS. Thanks.

I am glad that block scheduling worked for your son. I know that for my own ds, two lessons of math per day would be absolute torture. I'm quite certain it would harm our relationship if I were to insist upon it. ;) Thanks for the reminder about standardized testing, though. We'll be sure to incorporate some review of Algebra 1 before the tests.

Thanks for helping me to think about the bigger picture (advanced science, etc.). This helps me to solidify my own thoughts about this situation.

I think this is very wise.

Perhaps he would have time for both. When your dc worked through TT, was it difficult to complete each lesson in one day? Algebra has been a slow-go for my son, but I'm hoping that Geometry will be easier for him. Thanks for your advice.

This schedule may end up happening by default if the geometry doesn't get finished by next spring.

and if his schedule wasn't so full, I would definitely consider it. I think for him, though, it would be best to work on one math at a time. I may have mutiny on my hands if I insisted on two! :D

that is a very aggressive pace for my ds. He takes approximately two days per section (doing the odds and all of the word problems), and he has done several sections more than once. (Actually, he did a couple of chapters twice as well.) Thank you for your advice concerning the importance of the chapters. I will plan on him finishing the book.

My ds (9th) is wrapping up Ch. 11 of Foerster's Algebra. The last three chapters of the text are: Ch. 12: Radical Algebraic Expressions Ch. 13: Inequalities Ch. 14: Functions and Advanced Topics I know that there is no possible way for him to finish those chapters before summer is over. (He works slowly in math, and we are also preparing to move out of state.) Here are our options as I see them: 1. Finish the book in the fall (probably by Christmas) and then do a lighter geometry over 6 months (MUS or LOF maybe?) 2. Finish Ch. 11, take a break to move, etc., and then do a "regular" geometry text (BJU w/DVDs or TT) this fall, skipping Ch. 12-14 3. Finish Ch. 11, take a break to move, etc., then do a lighter geometry text (finishing early), and then come back to Foerster's for Ch. 12-14 I realize that some of the material in those chapters will be in Alg. 2, but as this child is not super strong in math, a second pass at those topics would be really helpful. Any advice? Thanks.

If you do BJU ICP, you won't need the Apologia text. As a side note, my son did Apologia Physical Science in 8th and then BJU ICP w/DIVE in 9th. I am very glad that he did both. BJU was much more in depth, and he had to work hard to earn a good grade. It was no walk in the park after Apologia PS. Apologia covers a lot of earth science in the PS text and not nearly as much chemistry. Also, don't worry about the 3rd. edition. It will coordinate perfectly with DIVE. That is the text that Dr. Shormann originally used to schedule his lectures. HTH.

I was/am in your shoes. My kids' primary instruments are their strings, but piano is so important and something had to give. For us, the string practice time has diminished in order to make room for piano. At first glance, this may seem like it would be a detriment to their progress on their strings. However, learning from a different teacher, focus on more theory (which automatically happens with piano), and exposure to a wider range of music has actually made them much better musicians on the whole. As for time...at a minimum, I insist that the length of the lesson determines the length of their practice time. So, if they have a 45 minute lesson, I require at least 45 minutes per day for practice. A 30 min. lesson requires 30 min. of practice time. (My kids have longer string lessons than piano.) Of course, realize that progress will be quicker now that they are already musicians. The foundation has been laid and it's a lot easier to build upon it than start from scratch. :hurray: Have fun and enjoy the journey!

:iagree:We'd love to see it, too! :D

My ds is taking his final exam w/DIVE ICP today. At the top under "rules", it gives a list of materials that are allowed during the exam. One of them is a "review sheet". I can't find any info. on what this may be. None of the other exams had this, so I'm assuming it's a list of formulas. ?? I did email Dr. Shormann, but haven't heard back yet, and ds is anxious to finish this course. Does anyone know?? Thanks.

I suggest focusing on the three R's for the little ones and let the other subjects come in via different routes. Personally, I would get Diana Waring audio books or SOTW audio (or any other, honestly) and call that history for the younger three. I would also make a weekly trip to the library and stock up on historical fiction, science books, and educational DVDs (history and science). Then I'd require 30 min. of daily reading from each subject for the little ones who can read well and make sure they listen to the audio books throughout the week. You could treat them with an educational movie every now and then. That's pretty "hands off". Melissa had a great idea concerning a history textbook and Apologia science for the olders. :iagree:Don't worry about a "program"; just figure out what the olders need to graduate. In two years, you'll have more time for history and science with the younger ones. HTH.

Ours is in my signature.