What is a good, user-friendly Biology course for an eighth grader? We've done Earth and Life Science. I'm stepping away from K-12 this year, which is where I always got our science courses. Thanks!

Has she taken Pre-Algebra? I know a lot of people don't think PA is necessary, but to me, it's covering important facts and really working on the "basics" of Algebra, so when she starts Algebra it isn't as frustrating. I think sometimes people make a mistake by jumping into higher mathematics when they need to work more on the math skills that are required throughout all levels. Also, don't put a lot of weight in test scores. They are guidelines but nothing more. My son has had to make a big adjustment in not getting perfect scores any more in ALL of his subjects, because the work is more challenging and I don't guide him through every step. That isn't necessarily a bad thing. I think reworking the problem is a great idea. We use Saxon. I did an online pre-Algebra course for the second half of last year, but I didn't care for it. So We are doing a whole year of Saxon Algebra 1/2, and I like it. You can move at your own pace, and it continually goes over concepts even as you move on to new ones. The solutions manual shows most of the work, so even if you aren't a big fan of math, you can still see how to work the problem. We will do Saxon Algebra 1 next year. Good luck to you--I know it's challenging. I had the reverse problem that you are having--the boy loves math, but I've struggled for a year and a half to find an appropriate language arts program for him!

My son finished up Orbiting with Logic before Christmas break. Right now he's just doing Mindbenders. What comes next? I like the look of Building Thinking Skills, and I'm thinking book 2. He did OWL with very little trouble--in fact, I would almost say it was too easy for him. Thanks!

I know guilt should not be the motivator, so I'm trying hard to get over that. She enjoys school, so that's makes it a little easier. There are some very hard-core schools of thought, though, that say more can be learned by one-on-one instruction and attention. Still, I'm NOT a therapist of any kind, and I don't know. It's hard to go against the way we are conditioned to think, but isn't it the same type of thinking that says only teachers can teach our children? Obviously, we don't agree with that, so...... You see how my mind goes in circles with the thought. For now, I suppose she will have to just stay in school. I think the interaction is good for her, and, like I said, she really likes it. My biggest issue is going to be when it's time to go to middle school. Thanks for the responses!

I already homeschool my "typical" 11-almost-12-year-old. I have a lot of guilt over the fact that I send my 10 year old to school every day. She is severely delayed in all aspects--physical, mental, auditory processing and speech. She doesn't speak at all. She can walk, but has low tone and poor balance. She is in a class for students whose disabilities are moderate, severe, and profound. My question is this: does anyone out there homeschool a child with this level of delay? I'm not sure what I can offer her. I worry about having her around other kids, because she really doesn't have friends. How do you report her progress or work when she doesn't do regular work? I'm just a little confused as to how it would even be possible, and if I should even be considering it. I love the thoughts of having them both here, but I don't want to hurt her or slow down her progress any more. I'm not a licensed speech or physical therapist, and our school system will not offer special education services to homeschooled children. I'd love to hear some good dialogue about this--begin now! Thanks!

"Is it a hill worth dying on?" You made my day with that, I have to say! Well, studying music is a whole separate issue. We will study music no matter what, but it's the lessons I was dithering about. I personally feel that it needs to happen, for a lot of reasons. Not only is he learning a musical instrument, but he is answering to someone other than me for practice requirements. In other words, it will teach discipline and maybe a little more structure. Also, I've been trying for most of his life to teach him that a person should always try something before they say "I don't like it" automatically. For some reason, that lesson doesn't seem to be sticking! I guess the best way to make it stick is to make him try it!

Since I started homeschooling last January, I've been giving my son piano lessons. He's done very well, even though he was quite skeptical to say the least. However, I don't think I'm that great at teaching piano, and I would prefer him to take lessons outside the home. I would like for him learn a different instrument--one that is a little more portable and that I think he will enjoy more. I'd like for him to take some guitar lessons. He loves to hear people play the guitar and he loves listening to guitar music. However, he says he doesn't want to take lessons from anyone else. He says he doesn't understand why he has to study any instrument at all. I'm perfectly fine with making him do it, because I think once he starts he will like it. I just wondered what my "support group" thought about it. I always try to take his opinion into consideration, but ultimately I'm the parent, and I feel like I have to do what is best for him. Can't wait to hear your thoughts!

I guess to all you experienced homeschool moms this was old news--that fact didn't occur to me until later. It was big news to a newbie like me! Still pretty awesome, though!

September 24th is Museum Day! Smithsonian magazine honors the Smithsonian Institute's tradition of free admission by offering a pass for one adult and a guest to hundreds of various museums around the country. All you have to do is log in to www.smithsonian.com/museumday and find a museum, which are organized by state. You enter your information, and they e-mail the pass to you, which you print off! I did this for our local science center. We are a very rural state and I wondered if any of our museums would even be participating, but there was a lot on there! I just wanted to share this, as I thought it was a great way to save a few bucks and visit a cool museum in your area. Good luck!

The "describe our house" thing was just a random thing that popped into my mind to try and illustrate what I meant. My general point was that he does the least amount possible to get by, and it's not just specific writing, it's even answering questions in science and history. Thanks for the feedback, everyone!

Thanks for the reply. Really and truly, I don't know how to break the writing down much smaller. I'm talking about answering science questions on a worksheet and stuff like that. I feel bad for complaining, because he isn't doing terrible, I'm just a little surprised because he seems to have gone backwards. We've been working together through new English and Lit lessons, but if I'm not careful, he'll try and get me to basically feed him word for word what I want him to write, and while I don't mind helping him, I don't want to do that. When he responds verbally, his responses are wonderful--advanced, I would even say. Well, I guess time will tell. I try very hard not to nag or lose my patience, and just say, "Here it is, it has to be done. I'll help but I won't do it for you." I think you're probably on to something about that testing me thing, because I think that is surfacing in some non-school-related areas as well! Oh, the joy of adolescence!

Well, I've tried to convey to him that they only person he's punishing is himself. He knows he has to complete the work, and that it has to be done neatly. He had to do some work over last week, and he wasn't happy about it, but his quality has been much better ever since then. I'm trying not to make a big deal out of it. I'm pretty much right around all the time, and I hope it's just because it's still early in the year and maybe summer isn't out of his brain yet--although I didn't let him sit idle all summer. I thought I was prevently this from happening! Granted, we didn't do a lot of structured activity, but we did some things. What is it with boys and writing? It's so frustrating--he talks almost constantly, has great vocabulary, a wonderful imagination, and then I tell him to write a description of our house, and writes something like, "It is white." Yeesh.

My 11-year-old son is doing pretty good so far this year. We started on August 29th. This will be our first full year of homeschooling--we started mid-year last year. He has quite a few subjects, and I'm pleased with how comprehensive they are. However, it seems to be taking him FOREVER to get through a days work. By the end of last year, he was working so well independently! Now it's like he's in kindergarten again and I have to stay right on him! He hasn't really started anything that is totally foreign to him yet, and he isn't struggling--he is just wasting time! I am continuously fascinated by how adept he is at doing nothing while appearing to do something. I walk in the room and he's looking out the window, or he's pulling the lead in and out of his pencil, or he's just plain old staring at the ceiling and humming. Every five minutes he calls out, "Mom!" As an added bonus, we're getting into lots of feet shuffling and heavy sighs. Once today I actually went into the room and asked if he had asthma! We still do lots of things together, but at his level, some of the stuff shouldn't require me to be by his side all the time. There is a lot more writing so far, and that's a major point of contention. Am I wrong here? Is this typical? I know I am heading into a wonderful age bracket--but it just seems sort of sudden. I guess mostly I'm just looking for sympathy. Maybe we both are having trouble adjusting.:glare:

Maybe I've missed something from before, but what about K12? We use it for science. My 11 year old son just started Earth Science today. We did Science 5 last year. We both liked it. All the materials are there for you except for basic household stuff. It's a little pricey, but worth it to me.

Thanks for this! I think this would be a fine choice as the text for such a course--we always supplement extra reading and activities based on what we are studying! Thanks!

The most simple way for me to state my goal for my son is that I want him to be able to learn about whatever interests him. I want him to be able to self-educate about any topic that either interests him or becomes necessary in his life. I want him to have confidence, curiosity, and the ability to satisfy that curiosity. When he says, "I wonder why that is?" I want him to then go found out. The ability and confidence to self-educate is at the heart of homeschooling, in my opinion. While I know you shouldn't curriculum jump constantly, and of course there will be subjects that aren't your child's favorite that they still have to learn, you must still strive to find the most effective and intersting way to present the material that you possibly can. Good luck to you! On the heels of every failure there will be a success!

Hmmm....I like the idea of it. I wish it was more than just a CD ROM. It's very reasonably priced, so it could be a guide if nothing else. That may be what it is, anyway. I've never done a unit study, so I'm not sure exactly what that entails.

That Veritas Press course is awesome! I LOVE the look of that! I think you're right though--it's a high school credit course.

Thanks! I will check all of this out! He always asks all of these questions about government and taxes and elections and congress.......on and on. So I thought, come on, let's learn it!

This is in reference to a for-sale ad for the original version of SOTW volume 2. How does the original version differ from the revised? Thanks for the info!

I think we are going to do a Government course next year. My son will be a sixth grader. I'd like something interesting and not too intensive, but still informative. I've seen lots of different things on various search engines, but I always like to hear what the Hive Mind has to say! Thanks!

We just started homeschooling, so my sons skills needed brushing up, and we don't do a lot of the extra reading that some do, but he reads the chapter and outlines it, lists facts from the Usborne Internet Encyclopedia, investigates things on the Internet, etc. I try to keep his reading selections as near to our topics as possible. Right now he is reading "Black Ships Before Troy," which is based on the "Iliad." We use the AG maps, and even some of the projects that are appropriate for his age, and fill in the timeline. We also fill out the appropriate pages in the notebook--Men and Women, Inventions, etc., and study the atlas and globe. I think there is a ton of learning right at your fingertips, even without tons of other sources, but like I said, we just got started, so we may need to fatten up our program as time goes on. Who knows?

I have a Kindle, plus I have the app on my laptop and on my Android phone. The only thing I will say is that the actual Kindle is WAY less tiring for your eyes because it's not backlit. Yes, color is nice, but if you read a lot, there is a definate difference, at least to me. I can feel it in my eyes, if that makes sense. It would be ok for use with reference works or in a pinch, but I recommend the Kindle itself. If you have wifi, you can get the $139 Kindle.

I was going to use it for my soon-to-be sixth grader next year based on a recommendation that I received on this board, plus the fact that I looked at it and liked how it looked. We've actually managed to go for the rest of this year without a literature program at all (just using real books) and it has been fine. Still, I think I may go with the program for next year. I thought the LL program might be something to consider when he gets older. I hope someone who has used the program pipes up!

I appreciate this post (and all of the others, as well.) I can see that both programs are good. I'm such a dither-er. I want to walk that fine line--because my son is good at math, I want to push him, but I don't want to push him too far. He will happily do work that he already knows, in math at least, because it's easy and it's over quickly, so he'll never complain about getting a level that's too easy.;) It's not really like grammar, which he doesn't care for, where I'm searching for a program that will make it as interesting as possible. He will never love it, but I'd like to do my best to provide the information in as interesting way as possible. With math, science and history, he really likes those subjects, and adapts readily to whatever hits the table in front of him, so I'm sure I'm over analyzing this. I always do this. Having said that, the main reason we are homeschooling is because I could see a wealth of unmet potential in that boy, and I don't want to continue that particular trend! I'm anxious to see how the placement tests go. Thanks again for these great responses.:grouphug: