We’ve been using Lantern English for 8th grade and I’m very happy with it. My daughter did Essay Basics, Poetry, and just registered for Intro to Creative Writing for this quarter. I’m planning on her taking the fiction literature course last quarter and we plan to continue using Lantern for high school. The feedback has been appropriate, constructive, and very helpful. I did not fully understand the format of these classes before starting and I assumed that being online there was more of an interactive component with other students. There is not, however. It is all email correspondence with the instructor. DD receives an email weekly with her lesson and assignments for the week. I go over the lesson with her and she does the work and emails it back. The instructor grades everything with a rubric and provides feedback as well as marks errors for editing. It’s been such a great experience. I’m not sure if we will do the full 9th grade program next year or just some writing courses but we will definitely continue.

I’m mentioning this *just in case* because so many kids remain undiagnosed.. have you heard of PANS/PANDAS? My daughter’s onset was the summer before 5th grade after getting coxsackie virus. Her anxiety rapidly became debilitating. She lost the ability to tie her shoes. She developed OCD (never had before) and obsessed over redoing her work to perfection (which was never achieved.) She also developed many other horrible symptoms after getting the flu later in the school year, which finally clued us in that we were dealing with something more. PANS/PANDAS can present differently and also can mimic many things. In my daughter’s situation, she was diagnosed and treated successfully relatively quickly. I’m not saying that your daughter does have this, but I have to mention it when it might be a possibility because I would never have known to look into it myself if it weren’t for another mom online. https://kids.iocdf.org/professionals/md/pandas/ https://kids.iocdf.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2015/07/Pediatric-Fact-Sheet-FINAL-102413.pdf

Thanks 🙂 I've looked at Supercharged Science. I would totally get that if she had experiment kits for the single topics or smaller bundles. She only includes supplies if you buy the entire elementary, middle school or high school program which covers several years and starts at $700.

My son is almost finished with EE. I was going to put him in a program this year that would have taken care of science but our plans changed. So he's finishing up EE, which he started last year. He has LOVED this course. He uses text-to-speech on his computer which helps with the reading. It has an experiment or hands-on activity everyday and he has done them all with minimal help from me. It came with everything in the box. Is there anything else like this? I'm planning to have him do Rainbow Science next year. For now, I want: --minimal reading, so either a video component or an online textbook -lots of experiments -comes with EVERYTHING (I truly hate running around to find materials) -student led (very bright, science minded student) Anything?

I used to get them new costumes. A few years ago (or maybe more years than a few at this point...they are 13 and 11 now) I told them that they had to either use what we have, make something, or spend their own money. We have SO. MANY. COSTUMES. and my kids are very creative so I felt that was appropriate for them moving forward. In your situation, you were considering a knight costume because you could use it again, right? I wouldn't buy the ninja in that case, but that's me.

I don't think so, based on talking with them at a convention last June. The rep actually said that so many people have asked for the workbook style light units that have space for writing that they may start producing them, although it won't be anytime soon. He did not say that they will be phasing out the current softcover books yet.

My daughter is just in 8th grade but I’m using Lantern English online (really it's email correspondence with the instructor). The courses she’s doing this year are the 7th-9th grade level. She’s finishing up Essay Writing and I just enrolled her in Poetry for next quarter which starts at the end of the month. They are very affordable at $60 a quarter. The instructor emails her the lesson and assignments for the week and grades her work based on a rubric and offers feedback. It is really the perfect amount of hand-holding for us and i love having someone else give her feedback on her writing. I’m planning to also have her do the fiction literature course and intro to creative writing next semester.

Well I switched my DD to CLE in grade 7 last year and it has been wonderful for her. They cover pre-algebra in 7th and 8th, so if you are wanting to do algebra 1 in 8th, this won't work. I will also say that it is not fast--it takes her about 45 minutes a day. But the new information is presented in extremely small increments and the majority of each day's work is review, which has been so amazing for her and really solidified all her skills. She's now doing level 8 and succeeding. She would not have been ready for algebra 1 this year, but I'm confident that she will be next year in 9th grade.

I much preferred MM to Key To Fractions

I’m just not sure yet if/when we will move. It’s hard to leave an unregulated state for a highly regulated one! 😉😂 But it *seems* that it’s a lot easier as a certified teacher.

We’re considering moving to PA which is highly regulated. I’m in NJ which is unregulated. I’m also a certified NJ teacher. My teaching license is not active because I’ve been homeschooling my kids and not currently employed as a teacher. However, in talking with the PA Dept of Ed, it seems that I have the credentials to get certified just by going through the application process. They even have my test scores on file in PA because I originally had them sent to both to NJ and PA, not knowing where I would end up. My question is, how much easier is it to homeschool in PA under the private tutor provision? What exactly do you have to do and do you need to compete continuing education credits each year? Are you really not required to jump through all the other hoops like portfolio submissions, testing, evaluators?

I donate or sell what I can but throw out the rest with NO GUILT. I can’t wait around for freecycle and Facebook pickups and drive all over trying to re-home or recycle things. Not at this point in my life when all the stuff gives me increasing anxiety. Toss it and be done.

No idea my kids are 13 and 11 if that matters

I bought one last summer at Rainbow Resource and the edition is 2016.

Yes, probably mostly older middle, really to avoid more mature themes. These are great suggestions! Still open to more 🙂

A flip phone won’t work for skiing though. I’d like them to be able to glance at the watch and see that I said “we’re leaving so come back” or “20 more minutes” etc. There is no way I’m giving them a phone to take skiing.

I guess there aren’t a lot of options for this yet? My searches aren’t turning up very much.

My son started Exploration Education last year and is finishing it this year. He's in 6th grade now and last year only did 4 days of science a week so it's taking him more than a school year. I bought him the advanced/high school kit even though he is young. He uses the text-to-speech feature to read it and LOVES that. He has done great with all of the projects, but some of the tests have been hard for him, and some of the concepts are a little over his head. I really have no complaints about it except that the textbook is 100% online, and for him as a 5th/6th grader taking a high school course, I would love to have a textbook that he could easily use as a resource for the tests. (Although he absolutely loves that he can let the computer read it to him.) We have had some issues with experiments and needed replacement parts but they sent them out right away. I looked extensively at Rainbow Science because I was considering it for DD but have not used it yet. My impression is that there is "less" overall for physical science than EE. The first year covers physics and chemistry but not nearly the amount of hands-on projects that EE has. It is designed to be two days of reading and one day of labs a week; EE is five days a week for the advanced program and there are hands-on experiments/projects constantly. I hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.

I don’t think we could use two Apple watches on one phone. Apple is more expensive than I want to spend anyway. Also we are not adding another phone. The shared aspect of the “house” iPhone keeps them from feeling entitled to “their” phone, and promotes accountability/lack of privacy. It’s been a great way for them to be able to communicate with their friends but we still feel we can oversee it well. I wonder if we would need two different brands of smart watches in order to use them on the same phone. I’m having trouble finding which watches have this capability.

I'd like to get my kids a smart watch. They do not have their own phone or iPad. We have a "shared" family iPhone instead of a landline that they may use with permission, but it stays in the house at all times. I'd like to be able to get in touch with them in an emergency and I'm also thinking ahead to ski club when they go off on their own with their friends. Are there any good options where they can receive texts without the phone with them? We can sync it to the shared phone, but the watches need to be able to both be on the same phone. On the ski slopes they will not have wifi. I don't really like the Gizmo watch and they will not like that one, either. They are 13 and 11 and I'm sure they'd want it to be "grown up" looking. Oh, and I'm not springing for $300/$400 apple watches for them. I'm thinking like $150 max.

My daughter is doing From Adam To Us this year. She’s enjoying it. I’m not having her do the separate literature pack as we’re doing other things for la/lit.

My sister-in-law worked for Tiffany’s for several years as a silversmith before staying home to raise her kids. She went to RIT and did her bench test in Colonial Williamsburg where she was offered a job blacksmithing, but then took the T&Co. job instead. At T&Co., she worked in the trophy department and actually made the Lombardi trophy for a few years. Here is an article about her. Just showing another really cool option in this field. https://www.rit.edu/news/you-made-what-2?id=48732

CLE. I wished I switched my DD to it years ago.

I live in NJ so I'm well aware that I can do whatever I want. What I want to do is prepare my kids the best that I can so that they are not limited by what I didn't offer them.

Why is it not ideal to do biology first?