CLE is designed to be done independently. Oak Meadow samples look like it could be done independently, but I have never used it. Build Your Library can be set up to be used independently, as can Memoria Press; you just need to set up a time to have discussions each day since both are heavily dependent on discussing the material (based on my experience with both). Rod & Staff math and English can be used independently, but I would only use them as a last resort - so much of the programs will be missed since they are included in the teaching portion of the lesson in theTM. They do not work well when used independently in my house. A pre-filled assignment planner can be used to make many programs independent, with a time to go over or discuss the materials each day with you scheduled at some point.

Chapter 5? or lesson 5? There are 59 lessons in the first five chapters, so that is a lot to cover in three weeks!! I had a bonus student (not my kid) that I taught R&S 6. He had had several years of Shurley English before I began teaching him, and he struggled mightily. I though he would have been more accurately placed in R&S 5, but it was not my choice where he was placed. If you are on lesson 5 and he is still struggling, I would highly recommend moving him down to R&S 5. R&S 6 assumes a lot of prior knowledge (in my experience) that is still explicitly taught in R&S 5.

I think a blunt "How stupid do you think I am?" is an appropriate response to most of the questions. But I have had an especially trying week, so maybe not.

I would offer a snack and a short break outside (doing something that involved exercise like riding a bike), then read together on the couch for a bit. Then, depending on whether or not I thought he was up to it at that point, I might attempt to finish the math lesson. I would probably just try it again on Monday, though. Sometimes a kid's brain is just fried and they need a break or a reset.

I actually emailed CAP and asked them if there were pages missing from the book since it looked like they intended for the student to write the story. They replied that yes, the student was supposed to write the story; the last few pages somehow didn't get printed and included in the book.

Please, if the activity specifies an age range, don't automatically put your kids in the activity for the next higher age range just because you think they are special snowflakes. I know your 9yo, and she really doesn't have the intellectual and emotional maturity to be involved in a book club for middle schoolers. Put her in the 6-10yo book club. It isn't beneath her, I promise.

I have not used it, but I have heard good things about Excellence in Literature. It is supposed to be a combined lit and composition course.

Touch seems to be the key for my high-anxiety kid. Rubbing her back or pulling her in for a long hug when we are talking seems to lessen her anxiety visibly. Backrubs when she can't sleep sometimes do the trick. The line "What can we do about this together?" helps her refocus, as well as reminds her that we are partners and face everything together. Still working on preventing it beforehand or stopping it before it gets out of control. The hormones of oncoming puberty are not helping. Things that she used to have a handle on when she was ten now escalate, and I think the hormones are a part of that.

If you get to know some of the posters who post in the relaxed/unschool/rest threads that have older kids, you will notice that they have some of the most advanced kids on the board. Nontraditional learners thrive and advance with nontraditional methods of learning. I also agree that some people's definition of "relaxed" and "teaching from rest" may differ from yours. Relaxed for me means that I have the school year's plan in place. It is completely planned out and accessible to my kids so if something comes up (like I wake up sick, or there is an unexpected appointment) school will still be done, for the most part. All the books that the child needs will be on their bookshelf, and the books I need to get from the library every three weeks are on my list by week. Relaxed also means that I teach the way the child learns, because there is a lot less opposition that way. If the traditional way is reading a textbook and filling out a worksheet or writing out the answers to questions, and that way doesn't work with my child, that will lead to stress. A lot of stress. Ask me how I know! So if a laid-back approach like reading together, discussing what was read, and leaving the child to ponder the material and perhaps come up with some sort of personal output like a project (or not) works, then I will go with the more laid-back approach. And yes, I actually scheduled out 36 weeks of laid-back reading and discussion, along with online courses for my oldest and math time with mom for all three. It is rigorous - I plan on covering a lot of material - but we will not be stressed about it, and hopefully there will be no tears.

Most recent update in blue. My fourth update. :blushing: We begin in a week so I don't have time to change my mind again. I don't know what is wrong with me this year; I have never had this many problems planning out a school year!

We are starting school in a week, and I think I finally have a plan. I don't have all the books, but I have a plan. :tongue_smilie: English: Analytical Grammar Writing: Intro to Essay Writing from Coram Deo Tutorials (a "gentle" intro to LTOW-style essays) Math: Foerster's Algebra I Science: Novare Physical Science History/Literature: Build Your Library's History of Science Bible: Memoria Press History of Christianity Latin: Latin 100 online with Lone Pine Classical School Computer: Impact Virtual Learning's DigiDesign in the fall, possibly Intro to Coding in the spring Art: art history using the Annotated Mona Lisa, the Annotated Arch, and the Story of <composer> CD's (this will be a casual subject, she will just read through the books during the year) Music: piano and choir

Build Your Library has a Geography and World Cultures curriculum. I have never used it (I made up my own for my oldest's 7th grade year), but it looks really good.

bump....

bump....

I am considering the Introduction to Essay Writing class at Coram Deo Tutorials for my 8th grader, but I can't find any reviews of it (or any other class with them) online. Has anyone ever had a student take a class with them? Any reviews or feedback?

Has anyone ever had a student in the Introduction to Essay Writing class with Coram Deo Tutorials? Any reviews/feedback?

My daughter will LOVE this! Thank you! She has a digital camera that films as well, and she makes movies on that thing almost as often as she takes pictures. Or rather, she writes/directs/stars in movies while her brother or sister does the actual filming, depending on who needs to act in the scene with her.

In sentence 1 there is a stated doer of the verb. Who was not being? We were not being. In sentence 2 there is no stated doer of the verb, it is just passively occurring. Who was describing the captain's rule? No one. That qualifies it as being in the passive voice.

I'm sorry! I need to listen to the webinar again and take clearer notes. :o Mea culpa!

:iagree:This is what I would do if I encountered this situation. (Edited to remove an incorrectly attributed quote)

Here is a transcript template I downloaded recently...I don't know where I got it, possibly from Lee Binz of the HomeScholar?? It is arranged by course type. Transcript-a-sample-form-in-Word-format.doc Transcript-a-sample-form-in-Word-format.doc

For those in Texas that do not wish for anyone carrying a concealed weapon to bring it into your home, you can legally post a sign and they are required by law to follow it. Part of the CHL training is recognizing the signs and understanding the consequences for not obeying. From the TXDPS website: Print a sign (you can Google for exact wording and Spanish translation), laminate it, and stick it on your front door. Not exactly decorative, but it removes the issue of visitors carrying a concealed weapon without your knowledge. I am sure other states have a similar sign that can be posted.

As I mentioned in another thread, I live in a rural area in TX. If I call 911, my call is forwarded to the local county sheriff's office. That office is almost an hour from my house, and they told us that a minimum response time to my call would be 15 minutes. I can open the gun safe, unlock the trigger lock, load the shotgun, and be defending myself while waiting the other 14 minutes (or more) for law enforcement to arrive.

Huh, I just noticed that I forgot to record a book that I finished...I have the Iliad on the list, but I don't have the Odyssey, which I finished a few weeks after the Iliad. So I guess number 33 is the Odyssey, lol. I am one of the people that much preferred the Odyssey. So much more adventurous!

I haven't had a chance to post in weeks...I need to go back when I have time and find recommendations for more books on the threads I missed. Here is what I have last read since I last posted in the BAW threads : 24. The Things I Want Most (The Extraordinary story of a boy’s journey to a family of his own) by Richard F. Miniter 25. No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War by Anita Lobel 26. Still Life by Louise Penny 27. The Pearl that Broke its Shell by Nadia Hashimi 28. The Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan 29. Hope’s Boy by Andrew Bridge 30. I am a Bacha Posh by Ukmina Manoori 31. All Fall Down by Jennifer Weiner 32. A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny Two of the books made a strong impression on me. The Pearl that Broke its Shell took me to a world in Afghanistan that I knew nothing about, and when I say it took me to that world, I mean that after spending an afternoon immersed in the book I had a culture shock returning to my own life. I really expected to see the landscape and people of Afghanistan outside my door, lol. The second book that made a strong impression was All Fall Down. I could see how a person could become addicted to a substance and justify it to themselves long after it was seriously affecting their life. The only part of the book that I felt was unrealistic was the change in her daughter towards the end...in my experience, high-intensity children don't magically outgrow it...well, ever, I don't think; and definitely not over a period of weeks or months before they reach their seventh birthday. :lol: I am about to begin the third book in the Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny, and I am loving the books! Here is what I have read so far this year: 1. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand 2. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury 3. Without a Trace by Colleen Coble 4. Tempest's Course by Lynette Sowell 5. Freefall by Kristen Heitzmann 6. In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer by Irene Gut Opdyke 7. Bridge to Haven by Francine Rivers 8. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain 9. A Season of Change by Lynette Sowell 10. An Irish Country Christmas by Patrick Taylor 11. The Riddle of the Labyrinth by Margalit Fox 12. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr 13. Seek Me With All Your Heart by Beth Wiseman 14. Holocaust Survivor by Mike Jacobs 15. Unwind by Neal Shusterman 16. The Ditchdigger's Daughters by Yvonne S. Thornton 17. Delirium by Lauren Oliver 18. The Wonder of Your Love by Beth Wiseman 19. One Plus One by Jojo Boyes 20. The Lost Childhood by Yehuda Nir 21. The Iliad by Homer (Lombardo translation) 22. A Path Made Plain by Lynette Sowell 23. The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman 24. The Things I Want Most by Richard F. Miniter 25. No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War by Anita Lobel 26. Still Life by Louise Penny 27. The Pearl that Broke its Shell by Nadia Hashimi 28. The Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan 29. Hope’s Boy by Andrew Bridge 30. I am a Bacha Posh by Ukmina Manoori 31. All Fall Down by Jennifer Weiner 32. A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny