When we first began home schooling, we didn't have a lot of money for curriculum, and it was so many years ago there weren't as many options. I bought a used Robinson Curriculum cd set, a set of Saxon textbooks, and followed the Course of Study. The Robinson family has six children, who all used only Saxon and were planning to earn or had earned advanced degrees in science when we began home schooling, which I thought was a fairly good endorsement since I hadn't seen that level of success with other curriculum. Of course, that was in the Dark Ages of home schooling, and I didn't have much to compare. Our two oldest children used Saxon through Calculus and did well enough on the ACT to earn scholarships. The oldest has significant learning disabilities and had no problems with College Algebra, Business Calculus, and Accounting courses in college. The other child did not go to college. We have not used Saxon or RC, for that matter, with our youngest and regret it. You will find Saxon fans and naysayers like any other curriculum. I agree with other posters that I would not make changes if a curriculum is working. Strong students can just move through the Saxon textbooks more quickly and on to college-level courses.

Rich Kid, Smart Kid & the New Testament w/dd Saving Baby Cathedral of the Wild You are Not Special The Big Tiny Dancing Through It Clive Cussler

The essay course from Bravewriter is over $200, but not as expensive as others. It is excellent, and the material can be practiced over and over after completing the course. Other Bravewriter courses are excellent as well.

Since LToW essays will be written about novels, I would not try to do WttW at the same time. I also would not do Kilgallon or the Rod & Staff work. The LToW essays will cover grammar, editing, and style. LToW with Grammar of Poetry would be a good match up.

We used Saxon, older editions, with two students. They worked independently through the course without any supplements; one lesson per day, test on Saturday, one year.

I consider the ability to write a basic lit analysis paper the minimum, and "Windows to the World" does the best job of that of anything I have found. Well worth the one semester. After Wttw, I would just practice with a few papers and read/discuss. Our oldest dc, an accounting major, had to take English 101/102 and one literature course. He was not prepared for the writing in the literature course even though we had read/discussed, and he understood lit elements. The WttW material would have done the job for the lit writing. As it was, we hired a tutor for the final paper, and I helped as well.

"Help for High School" from Bravewriter has specific exercises for examining multiple viewpoints on a topic. "The Lost Tools of Writing I" teaches the persuasive essay with a paragraph on the antithesis.

We worked every lesson, one book per year, including Advanced Math and Calculus. One lesson per day, test on Saturday.

WttW for lit analysis. The author of EIL recommends WttW and The Elegant Essay before EIL.

1 hour for class 30 minutes to 1 hour for homework per day

We took the class with Camille Goldston, a Circe staff member. It was an excellent class. Renee Mathis, the other LToW I teacher is excellent as well. We are beginning our last year of homeschool, and at some point, I plan to bore everyone with a recap of what we have done - what worked, what didn't, etc. LToW is on the hit parade. 1togo

I would begin with a Circe class, and I would choose that over MP logic if you need to make a choice about online commitments. You can easily do MP logic with their print materials. Dd and I worked through Logic I in a semester and called only two times for a bit of help.

Read the chapters, take notes, complete OYO/study guide/experiments. This takes about 5 days per module so you can get through 6 more modules if you work on the weekends. Apologia tests are lots of memorization. I would cover the material rather than focusing on test prep.

Help for High School - Used this with two children and loved it. Windows to the World - Used this with one child and plan to use with last dc. I haven't found anything else like it. The Write Foundation - Very good and not listed.

Hijacking the thread. Kind of. Is there anything else that teaches lit analysis essays besides WtW?

I wrote a post and deleted it. Then, I rewrote the post and deleted it again. Then, I came back for a third try, and MysteryJen had written what I could not. A few resources: Julie Bogart's blog posts Circe Institute blog posts and podcasts, especially "Assessing Them Like Human Beings" and "Teaching from a State of Rest" The Reader's Odyssey: An Individualized Literature Program for Homeschooling Middle and High School Students - Yes, a lit program, but also thick with ideas about how to engage less than enthusiastic students - choice, options for assessment and earning grades, etc. The ideas would work for many courses.

You can probably assume 45 minutes to 1 hour per day for Elegant Essay or SWI-C. We have used EE as well as other high school materials, and it usually takes that at least. We've always needed to schedule more than one hour for high school composition and literature if we are doing both. Grammar usually adds another 30 minutes.

Years ago, when I looked at types of note taking methods and talked to other families about what they did, I ended up with the following: 1. Outlining 2. Cornell 3. Mind mapping We settled on Cornell because outlining was more difficult to do in a fast-paced lecture and not as flexible; i.e. if the lecturer wants to add in an idea about an earlier topic, the outline is already set. Mind mapping was too scattered for our linear thinkers. In addition, one of our more artistic types got too involved in the visual aspect of mind mapping. :crying: I have written about Cornell in other posts, but the following is what we do: 1. Fold a piece of notebook paper in half 2. On the left side of the paper, write the main idea; i.e. this would be the Roman numeral in an outline 3. On the right side of the paper, write the support for the main idea 4. Use phrases for the notes. Do not write complete sentences. 5. Class and date in the upper right corner So, the student writes the first main idea of the lecturer on the left and then moves to right to write everything the lecturer says about that idea. Then, he moves to left again for the next main idea, etc. etc. We practice with sermons and TC lectures. This method is simple, flexible, and thorough. When studying, the student says the left side term/idea/concept aloud and then tries to remember what he can about it.

OhE, Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions. Next year is dd's senior year, and we must have it be more than a slog through boxes to check. We have done enough of that to meet cover school requirements. 1togo

OHE. What is the food writing text you will be using? Dd is very interested in this. TU! 1togo

I thought I would start a thread for new materials we have enjoyed/discovered this year. If you have come across something new and different that isn't often mentioned on the board, jump in and add on. The following are especially good for students that need something a bit different for literature: Online Shakespeare classes with Roy Speed, HS College Bound - Dd is taking Romeo and Juliet now and having a lot of fun - learning too. The Reader's Odyssey - Dena M. Luchsinger

Yes, I have used these materials, and they are very good. I had older student and wanted to get through those levels quickly. It took us more than a month; i.e. about three as I remember, but the included workbook condensed a ton of material in a way I could not. Also, the tutorial is put together to help the teacher. It is not meant for students to do independently. I watched the lessons and taught the material.

I also was going to suggest IEW. The website has grade-level suggestions.

There are many options for writing, but as with any subject, the best materials are those that get done. Your choices are good, and if the work is getting done, I would carry on. When you have finished Write Shop II and whatever levels of Writing with Skill you plan to do, then practice writing essays in subject areas and go deeper with literature analysis. I don't know what is covered in Writing with Skill in terms of lit analysis, but Windows to the World is excellent. Your daughter should be well prepared for advanced writing classes in high school.

Pam, When we first began homeschooling, we used the Robinson curriculum, and Dr. Robinson suggested a book titled "The Overnight Student." It is now oop, but the author suggested taking notes by outlining and then lecturing to an imaginary class to learn the material. Outlining did not work with all of our dc for lectures and videos, so I taught them to take notes using the Cornell method. This worked well for everyone -- different learning styles and temperaments. You can Google Cornell note taking to find instructions. Most websites about Cornell suggest a summary sentence at the bottom of each page of notes. We do not do that. We just take notes. I explain our version of Cornell as a loose form of outlining; i.e. the left side of the paper corresponds to the Roman numerals of an outline (main ideas) and the right side of the paper is all of the support. It takes a bit of practice, but once mastered, the method is fast and flexible. We study as follows: the student takes his notes, folds them in half, says the first term/concept/idea outloud and then tries to recall as much as he can about it, checking his notes if necessary. Monotone lecturing is not encouraged, and all note sheets must be dated and include the course title. Simply put, the student takes his Cornell notes and then learns by teaching the material to an imaginary someone else. Our children do this for all subjects. With math, the paper is folded in half (a habit) and terms are written Cornell style. Sample problems are not written in two columns. I also teach fiction annotation using Adler's "How to Mark a Book." Annotation is reviewed before class. I have a few study skills books, etc. on our shelves, but most of the ideas are too complicated. Cornell notes, lecturing, and annotation are what we have been using with success for many years. I do have a few bits and pieces to add. When oldest dc was in college, he read textbook material before class, and often completed the end-of-the-chapter work; i.e. terms, questions, etc., so lectures made more sense, and he could participate in class. Also, some profs clearly stated that tests came only from lectures, so studying lecture notes was enough. Others combined lectures and textbook material, so dc studied lecture notes and chapter work. Many profs provided a list of concepts, etc. for test review, so dc filled that out using his lecture notes, etc. -- very quick. Dc took a 5-subject spiral notebook with perforated sheets to class and took notes in that. He then tore the sheets out and put them in a 1 inch subject binder and used that binder for studying. I realize this may sound like overkill, but my dc need an organized system to succeed. Fwiw, oldest dc received many calls from desperate classmates for his notes. Also, he was always prepared for tests and exams, so there was less stress and cramming. Hth, 1togo