I have read Jotham's Journey (or one of the other 2 in the series) every Dec. for a few years. My girls like it just as well as my boys. My youngest daughter was probably 6 when I started but she is not the scared or sensitive type so she did fine with it. It might not work out for younger kids. Gretchen in NO.CA

Cynthia, (and others) I noticed you use Chalkdust Geometry. Do you use the new or the traditional. How are you liking it? My friend has offered to let me use her Traditional Chalkdust, which would save me some money. Has anyone used either? which is better? is there that much difference to justify the purchase of a new one?:confused: Thanks for all the board help. Gretchen in NO. CA

I looked again at the website and saw it. It costs $16 and you get $10 back if you order from them. Seems a bit pricey. I haven't seen another placement test that you have to pay for. Thanks for responding quickly. Gretchen

Hi, I am considering switching over to Chalkdust. (if I can find the money:001_smile:). We have been using MUS but I don't know what to buy them from Chalkdust. I went to the website and couldn't find a placement test. Do they have one? Thanks! Gretchen in NO. CA:bigear: c

Our homeschool group has a literature class that is $35 each semester. (which I think is cheap!) But I am always surprised with the number of moms complaining about the price. I know money is very tight for some but they just feel we should be offering these classes for next to nothing and then they take for granted what they are really getting. Gretchen in No. CA

This is awesome! :hurray: Where did you find the time to do all this? My son is half way through the book and I haven't even had the time to start it. I was hoping to read it too so that I'd be able to discuss it with him but that hasn't happened yet. Thanks for all your hard work and I'd love the answers too if that isn't too much trouble.:) Gretchen in NO. CA

My oldest is in 10th grade and is a really struggling student. I have always loved Literature based programs and we have done Sonlight, Beautiful Feet, Tapestry of Grace, and just plenty of books from WTM. I keep thinking that using a Literature approach will make the subject come more alive and he'll get more out of it. But that hasn't happened with him My other 5 kids love a literature approach so far) so I'm switching him to a history textbook. I don't know if he'll do better, but it will be the format that he'll use in college so that will be good. I was just looking at Abeka history last night and I liked that it had frequent review questions, a study guide, quizzes and tests. At least it will be easier to hold him accountable for learning the info. We'll see if it works better for him. I remember a post from Luann in Idaho who said her oldest daughter prefered text books and SWB said that some kids do better with that also. So go for it if that is what your kids are asking for!

This is great news! I wanted to order it from PHP to support them when they have helped me so much over the years, but I love the discount at Amazon. Maybe if I save enough money their I can afford Susan's Writing with Ease that I want to add to my collection.:hurray: Gretchen in NO. CA

How do you preorder it? Did you do that at Amazon or Peace Hill Press? I would like to order it through Peace Hill Press to support them but couldn't find it on their site. I was hoping it was sooner but I guess I can wait until Feb. to plan next year. I hope they'll be on time! Thanks! Gretchen

Hi, I remember reading that they were working on another revision of TWTM. But now I can't find any info. on it. Does anyone else know when this will be out? I am already thinking about my plans for next year and would like to read their new book first. Thanks, Gretchen in NO. CA

Hi, We will be using MUS Geometry this year with my 2 high school boys. I would like to have them do something different every Friday, kinda as a review day of the other math concepts. I was thinking of having them go through Life of Fred Algebra on Fridays for about an hour. This would help keep their Algebra skills up and just present it differently. Can LOF be done just once a week? How much would you do? I haven't ordered it yet. I was planning to order it today if you all think it would work out only doing it once a week. Or maybe we just take a month (or more) mid year and do LOF? Would that be better? Thanks, Gretchen in NO. CA :bigear:

Can anyone answer Lisa's question? Have any of you used the Chalk dust Geometry? My two boys, grades 9 and 10 are finishinig up MUS Algebra. I have purchased both MUS geometry and Chalkdust Geometry and don't know which one to use with them. I was able to handle the MUS Algebra but it took a lot of my time to learn the concepts in order to help my boys when they got stuck. I have no desire to learn (or relearn :confused: since I did have it in High School but don't remember any) and I don't have the time to help them much so I want to pick a program that they will be able to do indepentently and be successful. I plan to sit down with my husband this week and look at the 2 curriculums and compare but I don't even really know what to compare. I am leaning toward MUS because that is what we have used before, but keep hearing great things about Chalkdust. Can anyone help me with my decision? :confused: or give me any feedback?:bigear: Thanks, Gretchen in NO. CA

Hi, I have heard that United Streaming has a good Elementary Spanish program. But I can't find out anything about it on their site. What ages is it for? how many times a week? is it at a certain time or a video that you can watch any time? I know I can get a discount for it through the Homeschool co-op but I can't figure out what you are really getting. I am looking at it for kids ages 3-12. Thanks for any info. Gretchen in No. CA

Hi, I'm still trying to plan high school for my second oldest. He will be a freshman in the fall. I had planned on doing TOG year 1 with 3 of my 6 kids. but then I found out about the Lukeion Project. The Ancient Greece (fall semester) and the Ancient Rome (spring semester) look great! My son loves ancient history but when I look at TOG I can't imagine where I will have the time for planning, reading and discussions while homeschooling all my other kids too.:eek: My son is really bright but I think becoming very bored because I'm always busy with the others that I don't challenge him enough and don't know enough to have discussions with him.. Have any of you taken these classes? How have your kids liked them? Any feedback would be great.:bigear: Thanks! Gretchen

Thanks for the response. Does anyone know of a good spelling program for olders? Gretchen

Hi, I have never heard of this before reading the previous posts. Has anyone used this with an older child? My son is finishing 9th grade (he will be 16 this summer) and spells at aabout a 6th grade level (on a good day :glare:). Should he start at level 1? Can anyone tell me more about this? How much time does it take daily? Do I have to do it with him or can he do this independently? Thanks, Gretchen:bigear:

Hi, Thanks for the info. I will look into the insurance through HSLDA. It seems reasonably priced. I will also email SCOPE and see who they go through. Gretchen

Hi Ladies, Our homeschool group needs its own insurance. We got some this year but as our numbers have dropped (due to the high cost of insurance!) we need to find a new carrier. Does anyone have a home school group where they pay insurance? who should we go with? I know last summer it was hard to find anyone, either they wanted to classify us as a church or a school and it is too expensive. Thanks for any ideas! Gretchen in No. CA

Our co-op will be offering a High School Literature class this fall (if we can get enough students, we have had a huge number of kids go to public high school so we'll see if we can get enough). Our plan is to use a combination of Smarr Literature and Total Language Plus. We liked the structure this gave the teacher so that she didn't have to make up worksheets with daily assignments and she can devote more of her time teaching and grading writing. Since this is for the fall, I have no idea how well it will work. Gretchen in No. CA

Yes, I got my download enrolment code first thing this morning. Sorry I was so impatient last night! I had a free evening and thought that I would spend it on Lively Latin so I was disappointed that I had to wait until today. I have already started printing. Boy, there is a lot to print. But it looks good, and I think both my girls will enjoy it. Thanks for all your help. Gretchen

Hi, I just purchased Lively Latin through paypal but didn't get an enrollment code to enter so that I could start downloading. I really wanted to start printing tonight:confused:. Does it come as an email? Do I have to wait until tomorrow for them to email it to me? Thanks, Gretchen:001_smile:

Have you looked at Smarr Literature? They have a literature program for the Ancients. I haven't used it yet but I'm looking at it. www.smarrpublishers.com. Gretchen

I am looking for a literature program for our co-op. This year we have a 7-12 grade class and we are using Total Language Plus. This has worked out fine but not perfect. So now I am looking at other options for next year. Have any of you used Smarr in a co-op? What we liked about TLP was that it had daily assignments for the kids to do at home and it wasn't too much work for the teacher. Would Smarr still mean these same requirements? TLP didn't have any literature analysis so we added that ( maybe it does in the higher books but we did more jr. high books) Thank you for any info anyone has. Gretchen in NO. CA