This isn't necessarily for kids, but I love Pilgrim's Progress, narrated by Joy Chan.

My 10-yo dd (using R&S 5) does hers independently after I do the "oral review" with her. If she has questions, she can ask me as she's reading the lesson. She's the one who asked to do this independently and she's done very well. I assign her most of the written drills and we correct them together. If a completely new concept is being introduced (recent example: direect objects) I do work on it with her to make sure she understands. This is our first year using R&S English and we love it!

I let my 14 yodd sleep, but just this year she has begun setting her alarm for the days she needs to get up earlier, to be at band practice, for instance. On the days she has no outside activities, I let her sleep until she wakes up naturally. Like another poster mentioned, she often does some of her work in the late evenings because she is a night owl. She has been this way since she was about 10. It used to bother me, but now I don't fight it. If she can stay up late and still be even-tempered and productive during the day, it's fine with me. That said, she does most of her work independently, so she's not dependent on me and my schedule for her schooling. The older she gets, the more I let her manage her own time, and she's done well with that, so we just include her sleep schedule into that set-up.

I tihnk this is a great idea, and one I've contemplated using with my dd, who is now using Notgrass American for 9th grade. We have done basically NO geography and I'm really beginning to realize what a gap that is.

Self-entertainment from babyhood on up has been the biggest gift in our house. It's much harder for one child than the other, but the payoff has been worth it.

DD 14 - To Kill a Mockingbird, The Language Police, Assumptions That Affect Our Lives DD 10 - Understood Betsy, D'Aulaire's Norse Myths, and various Dick King-Smith books at night

Well, I'm a fan of Robert Fagles for ancient literature, so he gets my vote. You can also get an audio version of his translation of Aeneid.

We just watched the Ken Burns Civil War series with my dd, 14, and it's excellent, as are the few K. B. documentaries I've seen. Whether your boys would like it probably depends on their interest in the subject in the first place, and their attention span for learning about the war battle by battle. KB made an excellent choice when he hired Shelby Foote, the Southern historian, to appear in many interviews - we just loved his quirky commentary. KB has a unique and stylish way of weaving in visuals, music, and source quotes/documents that I find very appealing. They are not geared towards kids specifically, but the already-interested kid could certainly enjoy and learn from them. At the very least, the visuals will help "put a face" on what they're learning about the Civil War. And there's an incredible film clip towards the end of elderly Civil War vets from opposing sides meeting for a reunion.

My dd got hers at 9.5, and it's made a big difference in the way her teeth have been able to come in. I thought the "cranking" part would be painful for her, but she told me she barely felt it. We only had to "crank" for 2 weeks, but she's had it in for nearly a year to hold her jaw in place while her braces do the work. By contrast, my older dd got her braces at 13, but she had to have 4 teeth pulled in order for her mouth to accomodate all of her teeth, before she got her braces. So, I'm in the "earlier is easier" camp, but my girls don't have sensory issues. I'd say if you're going to do it anyway, start now. HTH!

I second The Care and Keeping book by American Girl. I, too, don't care for most American Girl stuff, but this was just right for my dd. I asked her if she'd like to hear everything from me or if she'd like to read a book and then ask me questions. She chose the 2nd, which I knew she would. The book has a positive, matter-of-fact tone that I appreciate.

Thank you, Alana! I knew there was a Newfoundland connection. If only we could somehow combine the Vikings and a Great Big Sea concert.....

I love reading all of these ideas! One decision I'm very pleased with is allowing my dd to take Latin online. Her studies have taken off and she loves it, and it's taken the responsibility off of me and put it with an expert. One decision I'm currently implementing is designing a schedule that honors my younger dd's request to work more independently.

Can the Hive help me with the best mapwork to do while studying the Vikings? We have access to blank maps to label, just wondering what the best would be. Iceland, Greenland, Scandinavia....? Please be patient with my ignorance. Thank you!

I got an 11-cup Cuisinart at Costco and I love it! Never attempt to make latkes without a food processor with a grating attachment. I'm just sayin'...

Montmorency!!!! We LOVE them! My dd has read them all, and I partially read some of them to her (she's a teen) because she was convinced I'd like them. Loved them! When we were done with the latest one in the series (I think it was the 4th) I actually emailed the author (Eleanor Updale) to ask if she'd be writing another one, and she said she will.....:001_smile:

For studying visual art, I recommend The Annotated Mona Lisa, supplementing where necessary or interested with library books that go into more detail for particular artists or artistic periods. The Annotated Arch, which is the architecture version of the above, is also excellent. As for "the arts" in general, my 14yo dd is strong in this area, so I am counting all she does in music involvement (many, many hours a week between being on the church worship team, several bands thru a homeschool music program, plus practice), graphic arts (newsletters and such), and photography.

Take a look at The Annotated Mona Lisa for art and The Annotated Arch for architecture. Both go through the history of those fields era by era with lots of visuals and interesting text. Perfect for integrating into any other history plan.

Well, I don't have experience with many of the programs you list, though we do own Literary Lessons and plan to use it in the next couple of years, probably as a component of a British history/lit course. I have a 14yo dd who is currently using Notgrass American History. If you're going for a "just enough" approach to literature, this would fit the bill. I have not even had my dd read all of the books due to interest level, and because I plan to have her read more literature at another time. The ones she has read have been very enriching. Also, and this is what sold me on Notgrass (as I've bene a literature-based kind of gal and was reluctant to use a more textbook approach, but my dd requested it), the history program includes a fat book of source documents, stories, poetry, hymns, etc. that are also part of the literature program. These are EXCELLENT, IMHO, because they give such the flavor of the times and flesh out the history so well, by showing the student (and the student's mom, hee hee) the actual words of people in history. Some of this has been so revealing to me, as I never read anything like it. That's the richness of it for me. Also, in our case, my dd does none of the writing assignments in the guide. If your dd was to do those, the lit/writing instruction would be more complete, though I'd suggest usign something else for solid grammar instruction. In our experience, this can be a completely student-led curriculum. One thing I've done to flesh it out (i.e. adding extras as you mentioned) is to use film. My dd loves film as a medium, so we have watched movies related to some of the topics in the history, as well as a documentary series on the Civil War (her request). Next we're going to watch a documentary series about WWI, again her choice. I'm not sure how far I've gone towards helping your head shrink back down to size, but feel free to ask me anything else (even PM me, if you'd like). I love to talk about homeschooling high school, even though this is our first year, because I'm so thankful to have been able to come this far! Oh, and if you haven't discovered the book by Mary Schofield (can't remember the name right now, but it's a common one), you might look it up because it's SO helpful! Thanks for letting me play!

To younger dd, "No, I won't bring you a magnifying glass while you're in the bathroom!" (She had requested one....):tongue_smilie:

I use the phone for "business" stuff, like making appointments, getting information, but I hate it for conversation. I never answer it, unless I am expecting a call, and even then I will screen. We have never had cell phones and don't plan to. So, you're not the only one!

I've bought and sold a lot on Homeschoolclassifieds.com. I've bought a lot from WTM but havne't sold here. I've bought from VegSource but I find their site annoying and slow. HTH!

One thing that helped me a lot when my dad died (2006, lung cancer) was to have people tell me that grieving is an individual process, and by that gave me permission to take as long as I wanted to with it. No one rushed me through it, but I can imagine that one of the worst things to experience when grieving would be trying to accomodate someone else's time table. Your friend had a horrible experience, and your presence and your prayers, no matter what you say, will be a comfort.

My dd started developing around that age, was wearing a small bra by age 10, but she didn't start her cycle until she was 13. This was similar to my own development, but it certainly felt different from a mom's point of view! I remember feeling so grown-up in both of these instances, but from my p.o.v. with my dd, 10 still seeemed soooooo young! My 2nd dd is now 10 and skinny as a rail, no signs of development at all.

Dawn, I'm glad my post gave you hope. There is always hope! To be honest, I never thought we'd learn Latin in our homeschooling. I am not a WTM'er, so I was not familiar with the philosophy of teaching Latin from young ages until I learned that some of my friends were doing so. At the time, my dd was younger than their children, and I confess I thought, "Oh, brother." Learning Latin seemed to me one of those things homeschoolers do because they want to be old-fashioned and eccentric, like French or German or Spanish wasn't good enough for them. "We must learn like Grandma and Grandpa learned! Let's go churn some butter and stitch a sampler!" Then, lo and behold, my dd when in 6th grade told me she was interested in Latin. This began our journey, and we've never stopped. If I hadn't been such a snob before, I would have done the research and learned about the benefits of studying Latin that have nothing to do with the benefits of studying "living" languages. The ironic part of this is that, besides being old-fashioned and eccentric myself, I am a passionate lover of language and words, and Latin has only fed that. Now my dd is far beyond where I was when I stopped working with her in LCII (we only got through the first few lessons) and I LOVE seeing her progress and her enthusiasm. The other day she was working on some extra translation paragraphs that her teacher posted for the students to do while they're on break (through the month of January), and she was amazed to find that in many cases, she can actually READ the Latin, without having to translate it word for word. I can't say enough about how a great teacher (Amy Barr from Lukeion.org, if I'm allowed to endorse on this board) and that extra maturity and commitment level can make the biggest difference. It has made Latin a true intellectual pursuit, rather than "I have to do this because (fill in the blank with any reason that doesn't truly excite you)." Keep in mind, too, that I mean no disrespect to the philosophy of teaching Latin early, and I don't mean to be critical of those who do. Many do and love it, as I did for awhile. The friend who originally recommended the Memoria Press materials to me starts Latin with her kids in 2 grade and they go through high school, and she teaches co-op classes to that effect. I just don't want people to despair if they can't or don't want to do that. I'm only one person with one student in Latin, so I'm just sharing my experience, FWIW. HTH!

Is there any chance he'd take notice if you added up what it costs to drink that level of Coke? Maybe the economic angle would work...