I used Teaching Textbooks' Geometry with my not-all-mathy daughter and it worked really well. She actually liked it. The dvd lessons were really clear, and the set comes with answer dvds that have the instructor working through every single problem (both homework and quizzes) is solved. The information was in digestible segments, too. The materials come with a book that is essentially the dvd oral information presented in writing, and so it really helped my visual learner kid to be able to watch the dvds and follow along in the book, too.

The Teaching Company has a lecture set called Europe and Western Civilization in the Modern Age that I've been looking at for my 10th grader... and it gets very good reviews there plus it's on sale right now.

You might look at the grammar and language books by Karen Elizabeth Gordon -- The Transitive Vampire is one. They're not textbooks but they address writing matters and are very entertaining to read.

Polly, I have a sense of what you've gone through. My daughter has suffered from very severe depression as well, and it derailed her academic progress as well. It's what led us to pulling her out of school and onto this homeschooling path. While it's not what I'd have set out to do, it's been really great for my daughter and for me. I guess I wouldn't assume that because your daughter doesn't have higher aspirations right now, it means she won't ever have them. High school is pretty dull, over all, and she's had to cope with so much in a few years' time. It may be that by getting the GED and then knowing that the MANDATORY part of school is behind her, it'll give her the mental and emotional freedom to start thinking about what she likes, what she wants to do, etc. There are a lot of people who don't discover their interest in something until they're a bit older. Having my daughter suffer so much with depression made me realize that the most important thing -- the ONLY important thing, really, is having a happy, healthy child. If she's happy and healthy, she'll find her way. I hope she is doing better -- and you too. I know that once you experience that as a parent, the possibility of recurrences is always lurking in the back of your mind.

Take a look at the Transitive Vampire by Karen Elizabeth Gordon. I used to teach writing, and her books not only teach grammar well, they do so in a very funny way, with examples that use great, charmingly funny sentences to demonstrate how it works. Her punctuation book (The Well Tempered Sentence) is great too. Definitely entertaining reading that makes the actual learning happen in a fun way.

We used Teaching Textbooks for geometry, and my daughter found that she really understood it better if she watched the cds. The video examples ARE the same as in the book. But then the book provides practice problems and homework problems, and the videos will walk you through how to do do the practice problems, and the "answer" cds will walk you through how to do every practice problem. My daughter balked at first at watching the cds. But eventually it became a habit and she sailed right through, doing well all along. She's a more auditory learner, though.

You might check out Plato/CyberEd for science -- you have to go through the Homeschool Buyers coop to get in on their group purchase but we are using it this year for Biology and so far it's working well for my 9th grader. We tried Word Roots and I thought it was a waste of time. There was no explanation of the roots at all, so it was like a matching game with almost no actual instruction. I wouldn't waste my time or money on it again. Just my thoughts there. :-)

Any chance that the HS has independent study? That way he'd be enrolled in the school but could do some or all work at home, graduate with the class but avoid contact with the nasty kids if they're still there. There might be a way to take some classes independent study and participate in others in the classroom, too. BTW, you have described our experience with our daughter -- your details are different but the excited kid turned into a horribly depressed and school-avoidant kid are what we've experienced, and we are just on the downhill side of bad depression. We're seeing the kid we knew in large part which is great -- but even the thought of schoolwork right now is turning her off. So we are taking things slowly. I am keeping my fingers crossed that she will find something to turn the excitement back on, as your son did with Heifer Intl. Thanks for sharing the story. diane

I haven't even started this yet, but I am impressed with the look of the TRISMS history materials ... integrating history and other subjects in an active learning way. You might give that a look.

Sorry, what is HST? (newbie HS mom here) Diane

I just wanted to thank everyone on this list -- you have NO idea how helpful you've been to me over the past few weeks. I think I have been reading in this forum area for weeks, every single day. We're a family that has slid into home-schooling sideways, for a variety of reasons. But this will be the first year that my 14yr old daughter will do all of her classes via homeschooling. I've had a fair amount of panic about homeschooling high school grades, but reading the many messages here has shown me that a) I'm not alone, b) it's totally do-able, c) there are wonderful options for coursework and d) this really is a great option for my daughter. So, thanks to all of you I no longer feel like I'm jumping off a cliff into a scary unknown. It's more like I'm walking into a cozy lounge with a lot of friendly parents who are a lot like me! Diane mom of 14yr old daughter 9th grade plan: TRISMS Rise of Nations; Teaching Textbooks Geometry; Plato/CyberEd Biology; Japanese I; Literary Analysis with Lord of the Rings

Thanks so much for suggesting these -- these look like the perfect way to refresh some information for my daughter and transition into making history fun. I hadn't heard of these so I'm delighted you mentioned them! Diane