Paradigm Accelerated Curriculum. - thorough and interesting, not time consuming to leave time for literature, independent.

They can be done in one semester. If you are going that route, you don't need Jill Pike's lesson plans. Just go through TtC and then through WttW using the provided teacher materials.

The author of EIL recommends Elegant Essay and Windows to the World before EIL. I think those reqs are solid except for strong writers.

A subject doesn't need to be covered with textbooks. Books, writing and discussion work as well.

SWB had suggestions for studying history using a spine. History is part of the week and literature is part. Take a look at the lit studies from Secondary Solutions, which fold history into lit. Also, look at Roman Roads media. Wes Calihan had been teaching Great Books with history included for years. Just some ideas to get started.

The Write Foundation - Levels 1 & 2

Agreed.

Take a look at The Write Foundation Levels 1 and 2 -- paragraphs, essays (5-paragraph and extended), research papers, timed writing, editing, sentence structure, and poetry. Very comprehensive, easy to teach (30-45 minutes per day for teacher), and great price for the content. No need to put together resources.

Have you listened to all the podcasts, especially Andrew's podcasts on teaching from a state of rest and the free audios, which can all be accessed from Media Center page. All good.

Monarch - Business Information I

Kareni, Thank you. I've seen those posts, but you are right, the suggestions aren't what I am looking for. We have read and analyzed adult essays in the past, but I would really like to see some well-written student essays. I am putting together writing lessons for next year and need examples. Students who are not natural writers often need models, lots of models. 1togo

I am looking for websites with good quality essays written by high school students - persuasive, descriptive, informative, etc. I don't want essays written by adults. Just solid examples of peer writing. I am just beginning this search, so I would appreciate help.

Help for High School - Bravewriter

If you don't mind a libertarian slant, the Uncle Eric books with workbooks are good. Short chapters and additional articles to read, short answers, and definitions with lots of options if you want to go deeper.

MJ, TU. Dd has been worried about the workload. This sounds fine.

Elise, The paper doesn't sound too bad, but the peer reviews sounds time consuming. I don't like peer reviews for this reason and others. So, their grade comes in part from their peer reviews? Ugh! Also, how do they find examples of the word in classical writing? Thank you so much.

Thank you. I am trying to plan and trying to make the workload reasonable.

Take a look at Tablet Class Math. It is really good for review. I recently wrote a post about how the author suggests using it for review.

We're headed into Lukeion Latin 3. Can you tell me what the writing is like? Writing is not dd's strength, and I hope Latin 3 doesn't overwhelm her. She has an intense year with college aps, auditions, and finishing a heavy load to graduate. Thanks so much.

You might want to listen to Cindy Rollins' podcast on "Morning Time" on the Circe website. Fwiw, I don't think it's an either/or situation with teens during their home school years. In other words, sending them off to do their work doesn't exclude meaningful interactions, etc. With last dc, we get up most mornings for a two+ mile walk, and everything under the sun is discussed during that time. We travel to and from lots of rehearsals, etc.; we go shopping together... We are constantly interacting. Also, I am involved in school, either teaching or providing input or working alongside dc for subjects like math, English, and Bible for a few hours during the morning because dc either needs help with a subject or I choose materials for us to do together. Lots of interaction at that time. I have never called this time "Morning Time," but it's what I have always done, even when I had more children at home. Then, dc goes off to do independent work. The amount of your involvement/interaction depends on whether you want a subject to independent and choose those types of materials or whether you want to be involved. During the last two years of high school, especially, I have several goals -- foster and treasure our relationship and move dc toward independence since I will not be homeschooling college. There are other goals, but that's another post. Adding this -- a bit off topic perhaps. Circe's LToW is an excellent way to interact with literature because the invention method generates natural interaction/discussion. We've tried various lit materials throughout years that fell flat because the discussions were stilted/forced. In Michael Clay Thompson's Classics in the Classroom, he describes a colleague's first, less-than-successful attempt to lead book talks. Some people are able to do this naturally, and other people need practice. The same goes with mentoring writing or helping with math. I was not good at all with mentoring writing during our first years of homeschooling, but last dc and I really enjoy doing our writing lessons together. I have improved. Understanding how to help with math and what materials to use has taken muuuuch longer. Fwiw, some children want to get their work done as quickly as possible without much input. There is nothing wrong with that. Let them have it and cherish their independence. Your being there is the support they need.

Math has been ???? with last dc. So, based on reviews on this forum, we decided to try Tablet Class math, especially since Saxon, BJU, Math U See, Math Relief and and Video Text either did not work or were not a good fit. We bought the 4-course special. So far, so good. I talked with the instructor/owner at length before buying TC, and the following are his suggestions for students who need to review. Begin the course and use the lesson problems as ungraded quizzes. If your student can complete a set of lesson problems without any problems, move on to the next lesson. If not, watch the lesson video and rework problems. This approach has worked well for us. With more difficult lessons, we watch videos. With more difficult problems, we watch the video after we have tried the problems several times. On occasion, we have taken the chapter tests. There are lots of options for using the material as a review. Doing the above, a student, who is reviewing, can work through a course in a few months. Hope this helps.

Options to Explore for Reading Comprehension 1. Written narratives a la Charlotte Mason 2. Teach Cornell notes for non-fiction and annotation for fiction (Romeo & Juliet class w/College Bound Intensive is excellent for this.) 3. The Lost Tools of Writing - class w/Circe Institute All of these will help more than workbook-type exercises. Plus, daily reading (not all in one day) in a wide variety of genres; i.e. fiction, non-fiction, magazines etc. at various reading levels; i.e. below the student's reading level, at the student's reading level, and a bit above the student's level.

I never called it Morning Time, but that is what we did during 9th, 10th and 11th. We covered a variety of "subjects" -- grammar, logic, Bible study, and reading aloud. One hour or so was typical. Last dc has lots of courses to complete for graduation, and the courses are primarily independent work, but we will do something together, whether it is in the morning or evening. I wish we had more time, especially since this is our last year of homeschooling.

Analytical Grammar Do all 3 seasons in 1 to 1.5 years. Then, grammar is finished for high school. After the first few lessons,we split the lessons into two days; i.e. about 30 minutes per day. I was semi-involved -- checking and help with the diagramming, but it is easy to implement. I highly recommend AG.

A binder for each subject in high school. Last dc wants to keep everything for each subject, so we will have 15+ binders at the end of this year. On the one hand, I really think we should do some serious editing. On the other hand, I am glad all of it means something. The others could care less.