I am planning on using the Excellence in Literature books. I have heard great things and the lady who does my evals swears by them. I was just looking for lighter history options to round it out because I think it will be pretty intensive on the reading and just needs to be rounded to fit both history and lit nicely. I think I have decided to give a go to World History by James Stobaugh

If we are planning to do IEW World Literature does anyone have any suggestions on a history program that is light but would work well with it? It will be for a 10th grader. I was told the lit program is good and complete and will work for a history program but would like to supplement it if need be since I have not seen the program.

History kills me every year. This last year I gave Sonlight a try and was pretty disappointed, it had a ton of busy type work and I felt the books it used really left a lot of open areas and just fell short. We tried to fill in the blanks but it became rough trying to get enough books and dvds to show what was missed. What I need this year is a complete, including good lesson plans that are easy to deal with, book for history. We are going to do US History again, and hopefully make it through this time with a good understanding. When I ditched Sonlight I had them sit down and research specific years and make cards for use this next year and they picked up more from that than they did the Sonlight (which used Joy Hakim books). My oldest will be going into 10th grade and I hope to get him to the point he can CLEP for history. I was told Sonlight would do that, but I do not see how. Maybe it just did not fit our learning styles. Any and all suggestions are appreciated. I do not mind Christian viewpoints but if it overpowers the actual history it is not helpful to getting where we hope to be. Does anyone use a good history that they love? We looked at Tapestry of Grace, but I was told it is just like Sonlight and leaves just as much open and blank to be filled in. History is my homeschool nemesis.... LOL Thank you! Jenn

I have a high school student, very bright, picks things up fast and well on most occasions, moving into 10th grade and I need advice on writing/literature/language arts as well as history. I have math down pat, he has completed Algebra 1 with Saxon and will move onto Algebra 2. For science we have moved into a college text to help him switch from the more religious texts we did in the lower grades. But, writing/literature/language arts always stumps me and I feel like we never do enough. He can write, and write well, when asked to but I have never asked him for anything on a larger scale (bigger than a couple of paragraphs). I want him to perfect his language arts/grammar skills, as well as learn more literature, and get exposed to all the types of writing. I am not sure how much is enough, and how much is to much. I have had IEW Elegant Essay suggested but will be honest and say IEW stuff has never worked well for us, we tend to get 1/4 into it and just leave it. Even my youngest does not enjoy it at all. It is hard to ask them to be creative when they dread the subject. I am open to any and all ideas. This child is a "book" learner and does a lot better if I can leave him to his own devices than if it is something I have to constantly hover about. Now, for history, we are looking for a good and fairly complex American History. We used Sonlight this last year and while the extra reads add some and the Joy Hakim books are a good (yet very brief with big gaps) books, we want something different this year. Even if it is more of a college level that will be fine, he enjoys a good challenge. With math, writing/lit/LA, Science (chemistry), history, and keeping up on classic novels...what else am I missing for him? Thank you.

If you mean what edition it is the 16th according to the cover. It is the higher level American History for upper middle and high.

I am doing American History in Depth and we are on week 8...Day 1 and 2 are normal but Day 3 lists PP pages but no book or anything. The pages it lists are to high to be in the history book they are doing. How on earth do I find out what book this is talking about so I can finish up my plans? Can anyone help me?

Thank you I will look at it. I would still love to have something to put together on my own though. Something easy to modify, not follow the lines.

Ok, so we started our year out well. There is only one sticking point, and we have had the same one in the past. IEW... My kids hate it, I am not a fan, and I am not sure what to do. We are currently doing the US History one since that is what we are doing this year. My kids are in 6/7th and 9th grade. I want to ditch the IEW and was thinking instead of a book just replace it with having them do reports each week for me. We could mix it up and have them either pick a topic or a book to do a report on. I would like to work through all of the types of reports and give different options on how to outline and brainstorm reports. Can anyone offer me any suggests? Did you do this and what resources did you use?

Thanks! All great books. I will have to hunt around and post what I find to share also.

I have been looking and found a lot of great classic reading lists but I would love to add some more up to date books also and mix the two for the year. We do a lot of reading, and a lot of reading together, and sometimes the older stuff can get tedious. It would be great to mix it up with some do not miss more recent books. Anyone know where to find decent lists like this??

Thank you, I will look at those.

I have never heard of that, I will go look it up and maybe add it in.

How do you teach report writing, the different types of reports, and all things report related? Do you use a system to teach, or do you wing it?

The computer programming is a fantastic idea!

I just do mine myself. If you google for movies from books you can get a ton of lists, I even found a zombie book to movie list LOL. We all read the book, then we discuss it openly, then we watch the movie (with popcorn and laid back fun), then we talk about how the book and movie were different. I ask questions like "Did the characters in the movie look like what you imagined when you read the book? Why or why not?", and so on. It is a lot of fun and a great way to spend some time together having fun, and some good brain work too. If you wanted to go further you could add in doing a book report and a movie report too. It is fun to customize. I plan on going back and doing a progression of movies starting from silent film and moving up to the present. I am glad others think my plan is decent, I was worried. I always worry LOL. What are you using for Spanish Melissa B?

Ok, I have put together this next years work. Can I get some input on if this seems ok, to much, not enough or options/opinions on possible changes. All ideas are appreciated and welcomed! I am brain dead this year, really I am. I am coming off of last year when I stepped back and took a break for myself and put them in an online program that both them and me hated with a passion. This year I plan to get back to where we love being and following (roughly) the well trained mind way of thinking. Thank you in advance! My 6th grader... Math - Saxon 7/6 (he is ahead in math and loves the subject) American History using Sonlights full US History program (I have the lesson plans for the 100 and plan on getting the books from the library to go with it) US Geography to go with History (no ideas here yet, I will put it together as I go probably) Language Arts Block - Vocab from Classical Roots Writing Strands Rockets, Radar, & Robotics (IEW, will use part time as something different not a main part of the subject) Progressing with Courage Set from Rod & Staff (I think) **big question here is will this cover vocab, grammar, writing if its mixed and matched, not all done daily of course** Science - We will be going back over all the elementary Apologia books during the year in preparation for General Science next year, he will also be helping his older brother do the experiments for Physical Science Other than foreign language what am I missing....any ideas of electives that are cheap or free to do through? ------------------- My 8th grader... Math - Saxon 8/7 (he is slower in math because he refuses to apply himself) American History using Sonlights full US History program (see above note) US Geography to go with the history Language Arts Block - Vocab from Classical Roots Writing Strands Life Science Writing Lessons from IEW (same as above just part time for something different) Preparing for Usefulness Science - Physical Science from Apologia with labs/experiments Same stuff as above, would love some fun electives to get in on too. We also read, they do one book of their choice and one of my choice a week and we have a lot of fun with it. Sometimes we do books and movies and discuss the differences. Why do I feel like this is so off the mark? Help...

I was given a set of Sonlight history, it says American History In Depth Core 100 on the front. I organized it all into a huge binder, it is the instructor's guide. I was also told I can get all of the books needed for this part from our local library, which makes me happy. My question is, I have never used Sonlight is it worth putting together Sonlight for the whole year or should I just use the history and piece together other stuff. I have never really found my groove and due to health this last year I stepped out and did an online thing which everyone hated. My health is better now and this year will be better. I looked through it and it seemed a bit light, or maybe my issue is I try to do to much. I am interested in all information and suggestions!

I am looking for blog posts, or lists, or information that may help me throw together some simple fun summer learning for this summer. I am wanting to do two things, the first is old movies with historical value and books to movies that we can all read and watch together. My kids are 11 and 13 and read at a very high level and tend to read 2-3 books a week. I just need ideas! I keep trying but my wheels are spinning. I am also not looking to dump any money into anything, so books I can read and movies I can rent or find online are fantastic. Any ideas? I am also looking for good science type movies/documentaries to toss in for fun. My plan being that we read/watch movies at home and then every other week we will go out and see a new release movie (if there are any good ones out).

Maybe a silly question, but what is HOD? Most of the others I know but this one is new.

Thank you all. I will look for those books for my 6th grader, to bad they do not have them for 8th LOL. I am still kicking around ideas, some spines we have really enjoyed while others we shelf pretty quick. No idea where I will end up. I wish I could find some good plans to look at to see what others are doing, maybe I will search here later.

Ok, my two are going to be starting 6th and 8th grade. I am trying to figure out which way to go, but I am stumped. For 5 years I have made my own plans and this last year I just hit that burnt out wall. I signed the kids up for time4learning just to get them through the year because I was done mentally. It was not the best decision but it kept them busy and I got to fix "me". Now I am back in the game and trying to figure out which way to go. How can I get enough in and not skimp but not go overboard either? I am looking at "complete" programs like My Father's World and looking at putting something together for them myself. I tend to teach Well Trained Mind/Charlotte Mason mixed type stuff with Saxon Math and lots of science/writing. For My Father's World, after adding in the few things they say to add, is there anything else I need to add to round it out for whatever reason? If I go myself what suggestions can I get on a language arts type block, and foreign language that will not break the bank? Thanks for looking.

Thank you all for all the suggestions! I will look into a lot of them to see what fits for us. He has had speech therapy and been through all of that. The school system was doing therapy once a week for 20 minutes and basically told me he would always "have issues" with some things. I pulled him and paid for a private therapist that visited several times a week and helped me learn what to do on my end for daily help and today as far as speech and his language skills he has no issues at all, other than he can speak a bit fast and you have to slow him down. His sentence structure is great, he often hears a word and asks what is means and its not long until he is using that word in his own vocab and things of that nature. He has come so far from the 2 word improper sentences (Me go, Me want, Me toy), not putting words together, and flipping around all of his letter sounds to where he is today and I could not be more proud of him. He reads well enough he can get through Magic Tree House books if I sit with him to help him fill in the words he is not sure about. I think his biggest problem is having no phonics base, and that is particially my fault because I thought that was part of what he was learning in order to fix his speech but it wasnt as much as I thought it was. My oldest son learned phonics very early and before I started homeschooling so its a grey area for me. I am going to look at the programs listed for sure, and I had someone private message me a great one too. I appreciate all the help and support! It is nice to know I am not the only one to struggle down this road. Jenn

I am having this huge feeling of beig a failure at the moment. My youngest son is 8, soon to be 9. He started out life with speech and language problems. When I pulled him out of school in the begining of 1st grade he was still not reading, they had never taught him phonics, and basically he was just pushed to the back burner. Now he reads but he struggles and its just not fun for him. He should be on a 4th grade level but I would put him around a 2nd grade level at best. He still lacks phonics skills. The problem is I get "phonics" type kits for him and they are very babish and he hates them which makes the whole thing worse because he projects that onto reading. HELP?? Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I am not even sure exactly what to ask, I just know I need help because he is struggling and I feel like I can not fix it. All other subjects he is spot on with and is even working 1 grade ahead in math.

Thank you for the insight. It is always fun for me to learn how others do things! I will look up that book too.

I have been trying to find a decent way to teach Geography. I have purchased a couple of books and disliked all so far. Then someone suggested combining SOTW with Geography, which is a very cool idea...but I have no idea how to put it into motion. Does anyone here do it and could you give me the basics on how you did it? I am wanting more than just here is a map with pretty colors, but I am not wanting something that *I* spend hours n hours every week preparing for the next week. I am also wanting something that covers how the world looks today and not just how it looked then (as far as countries/cities go). Any and all suggestions are appreciated. This really seems to be my only sticking point in what and how I teach, but it is a bit sticky mess. I would like to add that I have two boys 11 and 8, both are doing SOTW Vol. 2. I started schooling 3 years ago, but only found SOTW 2 years ago and started them both at the begining...I guess that was ok??