I feel that Middle School Science should be relaxed with focusing on areas of interest but also covering a bit from each discipline (ie. bio, chem, physics, earth science, astronomy, etc). Focusing a whole year on one discipline may turn them off of it and they have to do it in High School anyway.

Hello, I just want to express my appreciation to all who share here. This is the first year I registered for Landry and was very happy to find great teachers suggestion. Have a great day, ya'll. Thank you so much . Shamima

Hi, I'm looking for resources (free to low cost) to fulfill the following elective for which I found the description in the district handbook: CAREER & MONEY MANAGEMENT (1/2 yr.) Want to learn how to make and manage your money? Then Career & Money Management is for you! This one-semester course will explore career opportunities, ways to climb the “corporate ladder,†and how to own your own business. You will develop a career plan, learn to write a resume, practice interviewing skills and learn how to “dress for success,†all while balancing a checkbook and exploring life as a consumer. Thanks. shamima .

DD started reading historical fiction when she turned 10 right when we started homeschooling. She loved Ann Rinaldi's books and started collecting books by her, all bought used from library sales.

Good to know someon else who couldn't read the Hobbit. I couldn't read it and didn't even try Lord of the Rings. My ds 11 had me watch the movies with him and I really enjoyed them. I don't think any of my kids have read Lord of the Rings except DD read the Hobbit and liked it. I don't think I'm making any other kids read it unless they decide to do so on their own.

Kira Kira was an amazing book. There are descriptions of poultry factory which may bother some kids. There was also some talk of making a baby. We were fine with it though. Great historical fiction about Japanese family's life in the US.

CK12.org sounds like a goldmine. We've been doing Nebel for years and really like the multiple topics to keep it interesting.I really would like to keep it this way until ds gets to 9th grade. Still got 2 more years!

Ever since I read 'The Good Earth' as a teenager and learned that it was written by a 'white' woman. I was so curious about her and how she came to know the Chinese people so well. Just recently, I obtained 'Pearl of China'. It is a historical fiction and tribute to Pearl S. Buck by a chinese writer. Pearl, of all the people in the world, deserved to return to China. She wasn't born there but she loved China and its people more than any chinese. The missionary connection is that Pearl's father was a missionary and that's how the family ended up there. Anyway, it's a beautiful book and I don't recall any inappropriate parts. shamima

This is great information. I have a 4th grader who's a budding writer. She currently attends creative writing classes. I'll keep this information handy.

DS likes building things. So we did robotics this year. He really got into it and could explain all aspect of the robot they built to swim, float, and fetch stuff. We along w/ 3 other kids, one being his younger sister competed and the team brought home 2 trophies - both on presentations. They were the youngest team out of the 4 teams participating and did a 10 minute oral presentation w/o any written aid. They were organized in their written presentation as well and got 1st place. It's too bad we can't compete all year long. He's also looking forward to building w/ trash art class but wants to make things for use. He likes to learn hands-on and would make a great apprentice. But where shall I find one to take him on. He wants to build his own desk and workbench and not to mentioned a go-cart w/ some electronic features. He'd like to become an engineer but when I mention rigor of the academics, he balks and says he's changed his mind :-( Very challenging. He's 11.5 yrs old and I'm waiting for maturity to come - isn't it 14? shamima

I've been looking at Mapping the World by Heart by Reynolds. Iit looks great and hope to run a class using this. shamima

The word problem book tip is great. My ds couldn't take Saxon - my favorite math curriculum. The older dd did fine with it and got quite confident with it. The younger dd loves it fine too. DS is already math confident I guess so doesn't like repeat material. I reluctantly switched to MathUSee. It is light on word problems and I am going to purchase the book you're using. Thanks. Shamima

What a wonderful project! Reminded me about my experience in Chemistry 102 - for Pre-med students. First day, the esteemed professor announced that 50% of the students will fail this class. What great news for an 18 year old in her first semester of college. I got a B on the midterm/ I went to the academic support department and got tutoring. The tutor showed how to do a problem and then asked me to solve it. While I tried to solve it, he chatted with another tutor, I never got a problem right with him and he didn't realize that he needed to be more attentive and supportive. He was getting $10 per hour to chat and look down at me. I wasn't a remedial student but definitely I had little academic related support at home. My confidence dwindled and I ended up unofficially withdrawing from the course by not showing up for the final. Later on I chose computer science and did well. I ended up taking Geology and Astronomy for Science credits and had wonderful teachers. At graduation, I had mostly A's and B's on my transcript and the nice dean removed my unofficial withdraw turned 'F'. It's been 27 years and I still remember the face of the arrogant chemistry professor. Sometimes, I wonder that I could have become a doctor or pursued something else in the healthcare field if there had been a support system in place. Oh well...I am just glad that there are programs now. btw, on the tutoring front, I tutored all through college and was much more attentive and supportive. One bad tutor had taught me how not to be one. shamima

The advice I give to first timers is relax relax relax. I started homeschooling with a 10 year old and the first year she caught up on all her reading and ended up having read 40 books in 8 months. The other subject she did was math. Everything else was not a priority and she picked them up from co-ops and field trips. However, when it came to my 2nd one, a boy who learned to read by age 7, I couldn't stick to the ideal schedule I had made in August and was worried and nervous for about 2 years. Then I started checking the world book curriculum site. I copied and pasted their topics for every subject into tables in a word doc and printed out a sheet for each grade. Then I would put check marks next to topics my kids had learned either through me, textbooks/living books, a class, or a trip. Just from putting checks next to the topics, I realized my kids were doing alright. Two years of doing that made me feel so confident and I've not had to do it again. I hope this helps. shamima

In case she gets frustrated explaining it all, get her some Life of Fred books and she'll feel rewarded. My dd has a blast with it.

This is a wonderful resource. I have one who graduated already but this will help me figure out where I messed up last time around :-) Thanks. shamima

DD just finished Psychology at Community College Summer session. Much easier to manage as she had to study only this one subject for 5 weeks. She ended up absorbing much more. This way when she's going full time in September, she can take a lighter load. Thanks for sharing your experience. shamima

I had also used water play in the kitchen for my toddler. It worked great. I also let her be a student as she wanted a notebook and pencil as soon as she saw her siblings had them too.

We're doing craft and writing classes in the summer, thanks to a brave volunteer! Also taking a pottery class. Will start full fledge in September. The warm days of the summer make kids feel so blah, they're ready to study full time come Fall. shamima

Great post. Thank you for starting out. My son is going into 7th next year. I had a hard time w/ foreign language last year but reading your post gave me some hope for this year. shamima