The 6th grade math I have was way-used when I bought it two years ago for DS #1. I'm sure it's the first edition. So, can I use the 2nd edition Teacher Packet? (The consumable pages that you use - or, at least, used to use - with the info in the Teacher's Manual) Also, we've been using Rod and Staff this year, so please remind me if there's anything else I'm supposed to order (beside the student and teacher texts). Thanks bunches!

The good, the bad, the ugly, the stuff I can't think to ask...;) Thanks!

Thanks! btw - there are rubrics and sample essays as well...

You're not jokin'! I saw when I went to Amazon that I wasn't about to get nearly as good a deal on Geometry as I did on BCM a few years ago - LOL! Thanks for responding! It's good to know you like the 3rd edition of Jacob's - so many people raved about the 2nd edition when the 3rd came out that I wasn't sure which one to go with. (The 3rd will be so much easier to find if we end up trying it on our own.)

Does anyone know how it compares to Jacob's (we will finish Algebra with Jacob's this year)? or ChalkDust (which I am considering, since I think it would be good to remove myself from Math, but really dread spending the $$ right now)? Also, does anyone know if it would be comparable to the Traditional or the Whatever-the-new-one-is-called? Thanks!

:party: Great job, Mom! :party:

Thanks! I am hoping I can understand the print catalog better than the website - LOL! I just can't grasp what I can't hold in my hand.

I'm planning on using WEM and the WTM list. A few things from thegreatbooks.com. So, no set program. (Actually, I thought I had bought Smarr Ancients used for a steal; but when it arrived, it turned out to be the World Lit program. The first half is Ancients - maybe I could use that to help me get my feet wet.) I *do* have Writers, Inc. (or maybe it's Writers 2000?) here. I will have to sit down and read through it all, I guess. I bought it, but never used it because it just seems so overwhelming! Though, that would truly be preferable $$-wise, to be sure. Thanks for posting!

:iagree::iagree::iagree: But, thanks for posting! I've been tossing that one up in the air for weeks, so I'm glad that's settled.

Thanks! I just requested a print catalog. Could we do the "C" Level *and* the History Based Writing Lessons, or will we have to choose?

(and, being from the deep South, that's a big "if") ~LOL~ But, seriously, we will finish R&S-8 this year, so everything and everyone seems to agree, that's enough. (Sorry, SWB!) I didn't take the board's advice about Intro. Logic, so...well, I'm listening this time! My question is, what do we *do* to ensure writing (and, hence, grammar review) gets done if we're not doing grammar? If I get a book like Lively Art of Writing, is that good? Should I get Wordsmith Craftsman instead - something that has a year's worth of writing assignments? IDK - guess I'm asking what you all think we should do!!! Given that next year we will be doing Traditional Logic, I do think we'll need a writing/grammar class. Maybe after that, we could combine writing with Rhetoric? So, with that in mind, could any of you tell me *your* ideal writing plan for my soon-to-be 9th grader? I'm open to any and all suggestions!

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?p=759793#poststop hth! - We don't really make flashcards at all, anymore. I do have him put the roots, their meanings, and a sample word in his notebook. (Why do we even *have* notebooks, IDK? No one ever looks at them. Oh, well, that's another post. LOL)

Ds is not a flash-card person, so trying to follow the WTM suggestions was like pulling teeth. And, although he was flying through the exercises, he *wasn't* getting them all right. I bought the Teacher's Guide at Christmas, and backtracked a few chapters. The Teacher's Guide gives suggestions which make it a very teacher-intensive subject, but the activities are fairly short (maybe 10 minutes daily), and they really help my ds remember the meanings of the words. We even use them in everyday conversation (sometimes facetiously...but, it does let me know he is remembering the words). Now, he may miss one or two on the test, but not almost half - LOL! Of course, you probably weren't looking for teacher-intensive.

:iagree::iagree::iagree: One thing I miss about the old board (sorry!) is being able to scan ALL the posts quickly looking for names of moms from the high school board that were posting on the K-8 board. I learned so much - I would read their posts no matter what the subject or age of the student. And, I was sad to see that now I won't be able to sneak-a-peek at college stuff while I'm sneakin-a-peek at the high school board. (Only a few more weeks, and I'm there myself :001_huh: - how did that happen?)

Yep, I realized when I read Nan's comment: "The end of each academic year is always a time of facing broken dreams..." that's it! That's what this vague "blah" is - the broken dreams of working so hard to make plans that will be "the perfect fit" my dc and my hopes for them, only to tweak them into oblivion. And, then panic hits as I realize it's too late - we can't go back and re-do it all now - LOL! And, even though I also realize that we did the best we could, and we did learn a lot, there is still that feeling of loss. I think just acknowledging that my daily winter reality often doesn't jibe with my summer plans of a perfect life, and that's ok, helps. Knowing that I'm not alone in that is priceless! (ps - you know, my favorite part of WTM is *still* the part where it says "the house will get messy". Everyday I look around and think, "Yep...it sure will!")

You do realize that Human Odyssey is a 34-chapter book, that the average high school class would complete in one 36-week year - not the four years of the WTM cycle, right? That's a chapter each week if a teacher attempts to do the whole book. So, I suppose some things are going to be covered more superficially than those of us who are used to a slower pace with more depth would prefer. I see here that HO (p 821) states, "The Provisional Government quickly collapsed with little bloodshed," so I am guessing that is what you are referring to. Just for reference, according to Clive Ponting's World History: A New Perspective: "The central organization had almost no control over this process...Eventually Lenin was successful in arguing for a seizure of power in the name of the Petrograd soviet where the Bolsheviks held a majority. A handful of troops was enough to disperse the provisional government and the Bolsheviks took power." (p 757) That was the jist I got studying our logic-stage resources this year, as well - that as far as revolutions go, it was a fairly peaceful transfer of power. Four pages earlier (p817 in my book), HO states that "Between 1914 and 1916, two million (Russian) soldiers had been killed, and another four to six million had been wounded or captured." So, I don't think he is avoiding statistics or war deaths. But, the overthrow of the Tsar, and then the overthrow of the Provisional Government, was not the cause of 40 million dying in Russia. That was the work of the famine and the policies of the Communists (particularly Stalin) who took over *after* the Civil War. I don't have time to read through all the references to Stalin in the index, but perhaps that is where you should look for that information. ***** As an aside, I don't believe that WTM recommends using *only* Spielvogel for a history resource. It is also recommended that students look up the context of the book using The Timetables of History and DK's History of the World. Then, in addition to that and the Spielvogel, it is recommended that they read about the time period from another source. (There are two recommended sources in WTM, one of which is the Ponting I quote above.)

My boys wouldn't have *at all*, in the younger ages. They thought books were for eating. I have felt so much guilt over this, I can physically get sick wishing I had known *what* to do differently. Then, I see my dd just so naturally taking to and loving being read to. It's just a different world! So, no more guilt. She listens to some on the list, and plenty of similar books at 3yo. I'm guessing from comments here that these are Read-Alouds? If so, then I'd say my boys probably "caught up" to the list somewhere between 3rd and 5th grade. Some on the later lists I am planning for Read-Alouds when the boys are in middle/high school. ETA: My 5th grader and 8th grader actually *enjoy* the Pooh books much, much more than my 3yo, because there are so many funny puns and jokes in the books that just fly over a 3yo's head. It really is a shame they have been relegated to "pre-school" because of the Disney cartoons.

Here's mine from today: DS-11 was reading Genesis this morning. He comes in while I'm making copies and says, "Mom, I didn't know Abraham was a redneck." Me: "What? A redneck?" DS: "Yeah. He married his sister." Jeff Foxworthy would be proud~

I didn't like the tests for SOTW-3 last year when my kids were in 7th and 4th grades - but, I am partial to narrations. Narrations allow a child to talk about what interested *him*, and at 8yo, mom can write it out, and then he can draw a picture. (You can use it for copywork or dictation later if you want.) But, really, I always laugh when I remember Janice in NJ replying to me once that "no one remembered who Charles the Hammer was except Mom." It's so true! The tests are...hmmm...it is not that they are difficult in and of themselves. But, SOTW is not set up with "Review questions" at the end of sections. (By SOTW-3, you may have noticed there are usually 2 and sometimes 3 stories within each "story". So, really, if it were set up to be used a textbook, there would be a break at the end of each section with mini-review questions.) So, ok, if you really want to use the tests, maybe you read the text together, stop and discuss what you know is going to be on the test? That way, if there's something on the test that he didn't notice (wasn't important to him for whatever reason), you can catch that right away rather than waiting until so much info has accumulated, and it seems overwhelming. But, really, I would just ask him what he thought was most interesting, or most exciting. Talk about that, and then write down his thoughts. (You may have to format his sentences for him at first - it *is* hard!) Keep it short and simple, and let him read it out loud, color a picture, and forget about the tests. ymmv, mho, and all that jazz~

Currently, ds is using: Jacob's Algebra 1st 1/2 of Henle Latin using MODG syllabus Apologia Physical Science History: home-grown WTM-inspired mix of SOTW-4, KIHW, Making of America, Growing Up in the People's Century, a few library books and read alouds Geography: beyond filling out the SOTW maps, we are trying to use The Geography Coloring Book and learn our states and capitals Memory work: usually we work on one Bible verse and one poem at a time, along with the presidents Grammar and Writing Instruction: R&S 8th Reading: WTM 8th grade list Vocabulary from Classical Roots A We were doing Introductory Logic, but found it hard to learn to mastery. So, we are doing Fallacy Detective and watching "How to Be a Superstar Student" from The Teaching Company instead

Since no one else has responded, I will try. The Pandia Press is the same as "History Odyssey", right? The pro of that is that you do not need to do any scheduling of history (supposedly). It is very rigorous - that could be a pro or a con. But, please consider that it is so rigorous that if your high schooler has not done such a program before, they recommend Level 2: 6. Why are HO level two guides recommended for grades 5 and up? or, Can I use level two guides for high school? Both our level two and level three courses meet and exceed high school level standards for history. Our level three courses are writing intensive and prepare students for college-level thesis writing and literature. For some high school students, especially those who have not been classically educated before or who struggle with writing, level two courses may be more appropriate. If you are using level two for high school, we recommend that you add literature from the level three reading lists and add essay-writing assignments that require thesis statements I did about 8 weeks of History Odyssey Level 2 Middle Ages when my older ds was in 6th grade. I liked the schedule, the maps, the timelines, being told what to do when. Unfortunately, so much of the reading was over my ds's head because he had never studied Middle Ages history before that time. I ended up taking out so much, and then having to add in so much that I wasn't really saving any time. The biggest con is that there is no teacher's guide. We used ABeka 5th grade text for a while in 5th grade before switching to WTM Methods and SOTW. (We sort of straddled the fence between grammar and logic stage that year - our first year homeschooling.) I had to study the Abeka text every night, and then check the test to see what *they* thought was important, and be sure that I let ds know what was important so he would learn the "right" things. (fwiw - *my* quotations are the way to add my sardonic tone to that word, as I often disagreed with Abeka concerning what things were the "right" ones to emphasize.) I found my disagreement with ABeka to be the greatest hurdle to continuing with it. (Who can study middle eastern history without even *mentioning* Islam - or study India without mentioning Gandhi or Mother Theresa? ABeka can!) Frankly, I wouldn't advise someone to use either one. I would recommend SOTW, Kingfisher or an encyclopedia, library books, and lots of narrations and short outlines for 5th grade. So, now you see why I was so hesitant to respond - LOL! Maybe at least it will give you a boost up, and someone else can chime in. Or, Sonlight Core 6...

Have you used the tutorials? I tried watched some of the first sample, and I can't tell. Is the "tutorial" just a recording of a previous class? (like the Abeka DVD's are supposed to be?) Or, does your child actually participate in the class? Also, there is *something* inside me that questions spending money on a tutorial for a book that is supposed to be self-teaching. If you did use the tutorials (or Potter's School), did you find that it added to the text, or broadened it, in a way that using it on your own could not? Thanks, Rhonda

Thanks, Sue! Definitely good info to know.