Just know that you need consistent internet to use it. It runs on an online platform. We opted for Lenovo Winbooks for middle school and have been very happy with them. They are a tablet/laptop hybrid. A little more expensive than a chrome book though.

You don’t need to read the books. The literature list can be done or not. There are books listed on the cards as resources but you don’t need those either. I did some of the books last year as read alouds.

Typing skills are not needed. I really love it because I feel they learn a lot and it’s completely independent. I did many, many years of reading and discussing everything. VP self paced has been a huge breath of fresh air and a bit of a break for me. It takes about 45 min (I think).

Yeah. I don’t mind buying kits even in addition to the e-science subscription. But for comparison, it’s $700 for six months of e-science and materials. I can subscribe for 6 months for $222. I don’t think six months of materials should cost almost $500 more.

Thanks! I’m going to look into the TOPS kits. I don’t mind not having a unifying text. I think the cards would be more appealing to him anyway. I was actually sold on Rainbow Science, but seeing how excited he is watching the SS videos, I don’t want to give him a book. I really wish I could more easily put together the SS materials. He loves the videos and is learning a lot.

My almost 12yo DS is an incredibly math-minded / science-minded / can fix, build, or improve anything kind of kid. Last year and the beginning of this school year, he independently worked through the advanced level of Exploration Education. He loved having experiments and projects everyday. The online textbook worked well for him because his computer read it using text-to-speech. After he finished EE this year, I started him on the Edison Project with snap circuits. He enjoyed the projects, but the website was tedious to navigate and there was a ton more reading which bogged him down. He did not want to do another EP class. As a last resort, I signed up for a trial of the Supercharged Science e-science subscription. He really loves this because the teacher is engaging in the videos, he is learning a lot of really cool information, there is limited reading, and the experiments are fun. The problem is that it is a royal pain to find all the materials. It makes me absolutely insane. If we happen to have the stuff, he will run around the house and find everything and do the the lessons all on his own. But the stuff that we don't have is not always easy to run out and buy. The other day we tried to get all the materials to build a hovercraft and the stuff we got wasn't really right, so it didn't work, and we were both frustrated. I don't know what to do. I really want to encourage my son's love of science and not bog him down with a textbook. I would keep using this program if she sold some kits, but they only do that with the insanely expensive science mastery program. That is almost $700 for 6 months of e-science and experiment materials. Um, no. What else can I do? Please help me.

Well I don’t know about “fun”, but my 13yo DD took an 8 week essay writing class through Lantern English in the fall and it helped her tremendously. She took 7th-9th Grade Essay Basics. Their classes are very affordable at $60 a quarter and the format is email correspondence with the instructor. Next year I am going to have her take Growing the Essay. They are accepting registrations now for the fourth quarter starting in March.

Thanks everyone! I actually ordered a Positive Action study the other day. We did CBS for many years and I agree that their studies are great. I wish I could order them without being in a group. I particularly like that they have studies for the kids that follow the same passages as the adult guide. But unfortunately the Engage studies are not the same.

Has anyone done this? It seems very close to what I want to do with my DD next year for 9th grade. She's doing world history this year in 8th and I'd love to follow it up with a world cultures / geography study for 9th that has a "traveling the world" spin to hold her interest. I've never used Guest Hollow and I'm wondering how easy or hard their plans are to follow. DD does well with a textbook and very solid plan. She's doing Notgrass this year and there are no surprises as to what she needs to do. She likes that. But it is kind of boring and I'd like to mix it up with other resources. I just don't want something that will overwhelm her.

It's not readable or easy to understand. It is so far removed from the language that we use today. We prefer use more modern options like ESV or even NASB.

Does anyone know of a workbook style Bible study that is not King James? Something like CLE or LifePac that is easy to do independently, preferably through a book or books of the Bible, appropriate for 12-14 yo girl and boy.

Thanks so much for these detailed responses!

ugh, it is not my taste at all! that's why i'd rather just hand it to him 😂

Can anyone who has read this tell me if it is appropriate for kids? I'm trying to find something different for my picky 11yo to read.

Oh yes, we loved Homer Price and the Mixed Up Files as well.

Here are some funny books we enjoyed as read-alouds, but I think most could be read independently by a fifth grader-- By The Great Horn Spoon A Long Way From Chicago Summer of the Monkeys (I did cry at the end in a good way but we laughed out loud through a lot of it) The Phantom Tollbooth The Trumpet of the Swan Detectives in Togas (this is a mystery but it is quite comical) The Best (Worst) Christmas Pageant Ever

We did cursive first. I required it daily in one way or another through 6th grade. Not all assignments, just something, like a spelling list or a few sentences of handwriting practice.

My brother did this and so did his best friend. They both had a blast, but my brother got fired halfway through for using his cell phone when he was not supposed to. They are very strict about not using phones on duty. His job was an Animal Kingdom Safari driver/tour guide. I can't remember what his best friend did but I believe it was a similar cast member job.

So CLE covers pre-algebra over two years, the 7th grade (700) and 8th grade (800) level. I switched my daughter into CLE last year in 7th grade and it was the best decision I could have made for her. She's working through the 800 level this year and I think she will be well prepared for Algebra 1 next year. There is so much review and just a very small new teaching everyday that she gets plenty of practice. I find the teaching very easy to explain and I love the workbook format. I'd be happy to answer any other questions you may have.

The main thing for me is exposure to curricula that I wouldn’t otherwise know about. I know I could look at the list online and look them all up but I do love walking the aisles and looking in person. If I went, I would probably fly to Ohio. The closest drive is 5 hours to Rochester NY and that one isn’t until July 30th which is kind of late for me. I like to have things squared away for the next year early in the summer. Although if I find some friends to go with, maybe we could drive to that one.

I really thought that I posted this last week, but I cannot find it anywhere. I love going homeschool conventions but have never been to one of the really big ones such as GHC. I usually go to the PA CHAP convention since it is the only one reasonably drivable for me coming from NJ. They have about 100 vendors, which includes all of the the well known stuff, lots of colleges, some local sellers and authors, etc. DD will be starting high school in the fall and DS is a very different kind of learner going into 7th grade and I'd love to find some fresh programs for them. If I make the hike to a much bigger convention, and I likely to find a lot more options? I have looked at the lists of vendors and I wonder if the unfamiliar ones will be something "amazing" that I might want to try. Or can I really just continue to find out options from you awesome homeschoolers here. What do you think?

If you are going to try ibuprofen (which I also recommend as long as she doesn't have a medical reason to not take it--it was the first thing our immunologist said to do, before the antibiotics, to see if there was a difference) give it 2-3 times a day, her regular dose for her weight, and try to keep track of everything--improvements or not in behavior, compliance, anxiety, perfectionism (which could be OCD), etc.

So if this is PANDAS, there are a couple of things that could be going on. One is that the strep has not cleared out and the ongoing infection is causing the immune response of brain inflammation. The other is that the strep infection did clear, but there is still brain inflammation. In my daughter's case, she had viral triggers and the viruses had run their course but her brain was still highly inflamed causing all sorts of symptoms. A culture might show if there is still active strep but it might not and only be visible in a blood test. There is a specific test that they do to check titers and then check them again...I'm not totally sure about that because, again, in our situation it was viral. If she has been battling strep and on and off antibiotics, the antibiotics could be controlling it somewhat but then it flares up again when she's off them. If you are noticing an up/down or better/worse pattern and if this is due to PANDAS I would bet that is what is happening. Antibiotics have a strong anti-inflammatory effect; my daughter was successfully treated with only ibuprofen and antibiotics even though she did not have an infection. I want to mention again that not all doctors are PANS/PANDAS aware. If your doctor blows you off, I very highly recommend that you find an immunologist or neurologist who is a PANDAS specialist. Children that do not get treated can end up with brain damage from the inflammation. I am not saying that to be alarmist. The downward spiral is devastating. It sounds as if your daughter is still very functional and so if you are dealing with PANDAS, you are early enough in the game to get her successfully treated. My DD's immunologist told me that she gets many kids in that have been undiagnosed for years and when that happens, recovery is much, much harder. Please let me know if you need help finding a PANDAS specialist in your area.

YES YES YES! Strep is the trigger for PANDAS. Many doctors are unaware of PANDAS. I strongly recommend that you look into it, if nothing else, to rule it out. Our doctor initially referred us to a psych. My gut told me it was something else because the changes we were seeing were out of character and/or extreme and not age appropriate. Please let me know if you need any other information.

Well, I think she would flounder if I didn’t help her initially. But that might be a confidence issue on her part. I always print it out as a packet and sit down with her to go over it, and sometimes she says “oh I understand, I can do this” while sometimes she wants me to walk her through it more thoroughly. The poetry class was definitely harder for her because we had never done formal poetry analysis before. Compared to other formats—she hates videos. She is also very much opposed to trying a live online class. This is non-threatening for her. She did do two BW classes, Write For Fun and a book club. She enjoyed WFF and enjoyed interacting with the other kids message-board style. She did not like the book club as much and pushed back a lot on the discussion part (which was the point of a book club 🙄😂). It has been really, really good for her to have someone besides me give her feedback on her work and she likes the predictable rubric grading system.