Well, I just bought the Catholic Heritage Curriculum for 2nd grade. The lesson plans are all laid out. But I'll be shaping it into a Latin Centered Curriculum. So my plans are: Latin - Latin for Children (she'll be listening in on her older brother) Math - MCP Math Language Arts - My First Catholic Speller; Language of God (grammar), A Reason for Writing for copywork/penmanship but if she wants to move into cursive, Writing Can Help, plus we do other copywork. History - SOTW audio, plus other read alouds as we are so inclined. Also I have lots of American history easy readers, picture books I'm going to read chronologically Science - co-op nature study Geography - co-op cultural studies Religion - Bible plus CHC religion curriculum Art - I have a video program plus we do lots of coloring, etc on an informal basis. She wants to try ballet next year, so if I can schedule in a little class, I'll try. She isn't clamoring for music lessons so we just listen to lots of music for now.

Well, we did all the problems in the lesson practice but for the mixed practice we did even problems for even numbered chapters and odd problems for the odd numbered chapters. If however, the child was having problems, we made them go back and do all. We did this up through Alg 1. For Alg 2 though and Adv math we required all the problems.

Well, as someone who went to law school and is married to a lawyer (and also is the daughter of a judge) I would say it really doesn't matter what you major in! I knew an excellent lawyer who was an Art History major in undergrad. I knew people who had majored in biology, economics, English, etc. There are so many different types of law. If you are going to be a court room lawyer, either criminal or civil you need to be able to think on your feet and speak well in public. So a flair for debate or drama would be an asset there. My dh majored in economics and works in regulatory law, so his background in economics is constantly used. I know people who became tax lawyers because they always enjoyed math. You do lots of writing as a lawyer and you have deadlines to meet all the time, so both good writing skills and discipline are necessary, so the poster who pointed that out, is right on target.

I did Oak Meadow for 4th grade. The math is a little behind so we didn't use OM math. There were many wonderful things about the curriculum. I don't know about the reading level for 5th grade but I know that for 4th there was a wonderful list of books to supplement that were both easier and more difficult but on topic with what was being taught. The grammar and writing instruction were great. I didn't like the spelling especially because it didn't teach by rule but just pulled various spelling words out of reading selections (as I recall). The thing that made me not go with OM the next year was that I was having a baby and OM is very teacher intensive. I just couldn't do all the one on one teaching it expected me to do with two younger children and a baby on the way. It is very hands on and artsy/craftsy oriented. I wasn't good at getting things together for that, and my dd, while she appreciated some of that, didn't need it enough to warrant spending all that energy and time on various projects.

Okay, now that you've been brave enough, I'll admit, we've never made it through a whole volume as a read aloud! BUT my kids when the got a little bit older read them all on their own just for fun! So, it did serve us well there. However, I've just done something crazy and bought the audio version of Vol 1 because we all love Jim Weiss here and if he reads anything, we listen. So I'm hoping my little ones and I will get through history with Mr. Weiss' help.

We are using Saxon and my oldest dd did very well on the SAT math portion. She went through about the first 3rd of Adv. Math.

Joanne, I agree completely. A child isn't a dog that you train only by behavior management so that you MUST ALWAYS be right and consistent or else you'll have a monster on your hands. They are human beings trying to grow into adulthood and life is very complicated! You can talk to them and reason and cajole and share, etc. You can actually explain things to a child and that makes them feel respected and included. And they see you striving to be fair and just and compassionate, not rigid and controlling when you do this. Even if you do have to give a consequence for some naughty act on their part (and you definitely do have to do this at times, imo), at least they'll understand you were trying to have their best interest at heart, instead of just feeling stomped on. The common cry among adolescences is "you don't understand' or 'you never listen to me.' or 'you never let me do what I want to do.' I really think so many parents, parent from fear. They do think, well if I don't follow through here, he'll just push further. That's parenting out of fearful assumptions instead of trying to really connect with the child and work with them. Btw, I could see my dh standing by and not reacting. But it is just his personality style. He tries to diffuse things by either ignoring or joking about them. Sometimes when I take over a situation when he is there and I am handling it in a way he would not (especially if I'm getting heated), he just shuts up and let's me handle it and then we deal with it later on our own. I'm just throwing that in because I don't think the fact that the dh didn't intervene as necessarily dysfunctional. Some parents don't see it as an us vs. them situation. Poor Colleen, you are probably hearing more than you wanted to!

I think it has to be acknowledged for sure, but I don't know if that acknowledgement necessarily means punishment. It can escalate that way. You say: do so and so and he says: no! So you say: okay I'm going to do this now! And he says so what! And you say, well now you're really in trouble, I'm gonna do so and so! See what I mean? It becomes who blinks first. Not the ideal relationship between those that love one another. I remember trying this same tactic with my oldest now 17 and it kept escalating and my dh finally joked that the only thing left was the death penalty! But I didn't mean to imply that you were dishing out punishments right and left. I probably had kind of a knee jerk reaction because my teens have about 5 friends going through terrible times. One even spent the week with a friend because she and her mother are at each others throats so much. And it can start off like this. But it definitely doesn't have to go like that. Just respect, benefit of the doubt, patience, etc need to be the order of the day, imvvho! (being so far from perfect myself!).

Well, I have an almost 13 year old boy (I also have an older son who's 15 and a dd who's 17) and he's gone into a very moody stage. I think lots of this is hormone related. To help me sympathize with having to live with such irritating behavior I remember how moody and irrational I can get when my hormones are in flux. My older boy got really spacey and reclusive during this same stage. So I wouldn't take some bad attitude personally. I think I would try to talk to him over something that would bond you. I'd tell him that you feel badly about him missing practice and that also you don't want to punish the team for his bad mood. But then I'd come up with some other consequence. Also I wouldn't turn every act of defiance into a confrontation. Instead of lowering the boom and making him run laps, say in a puzzled, hurt kind of voice, "Why not, honey?" Or something like that. Not everything has to blow up. Maybe give him a choice. Say, something like, 'well, if you don't feel like it right now can you do later?' This shows you respect his feelings. You'd be surprised how being gentle instead of authoritarian can get you more! You know you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar! Imho, kids are miserable enough in adolescence and they need to see their parents as not the enemy who is always punishing but their mentor who they can turn to when they feel out of sorts but don't know why. I know of so many parents who have driven away their kids during the teens years by being terrified of defiance. And the more terrified they get, the more the teens rebel. I've seen it over and over again. It is much wiser to switch to a more trusting, intimate give and take; lots of genuine discussions (not lectures), laughing together, talking things out, giving the benefit of the doubt, being patient, letting go of little hurts, sometimes biting one's tongue (especially hard for me) and just letting things be for a while. Not that you give up your authority or anything. You don't want to turn into a doormat! You're still the mom! But now you're a mom of an emerging adult (though it take years) so you have to switch gears a little bit. Just let patience, gentleness, kindness be the foremost in your interactions. I know easier said than done! I'm a work in progress, but I have to brag and say I have the world's best teenagers, with all their imperfections and we are close where I have seen family after family go into crisis mode because the parents were just too overbearing. Sorry if this sounds like a lecture. I'm really lightheaded at the moment . . . . Don't mean to offend or anything.

I went to Mt. St. Mary's College (now a university) in Emmitsburg, MD. I loved the campus (beautiful and full of history), the location (an hour from home and Washington D.C., right down the road from Gettysburg, 30 minutes from Frederick MD, very close to some beautiful parks). I also had some wonderful professors there who really opened up the world for me. It was a fairly small campus and the professors really cared about the students. I hated the drinking, the drugs and sleeping around. It was supposed to be a 'Catholic' college but I didn't see much virtue going on! I hear it is much better about having a good encouraging, religious atmosphere. I hope so. It was depressing. I hated being there without a car because I loved getting off campus. I was a poli-sci major with a minor in Philosophy. My 17 yo is thinking of applying there, though it is not her first choice. I don't think she'll have problems steering clear of the party-ers and I think the campus has gotten somewhat better about it anyway.

How about H.G. Wells? Or C.S. Lewis' Perelanda series (retelling of Dante's Divine Comedy only in a space trilogy)

We have the cd-rom program. I didn't even know there was a dvd program! Or at least I don't recall seeing a dvd only program. Artes Latinae is supposed to equal one year of high school Latin (at least that is what I thought). Is Cambridge a high school level program? Because if it is, I think Artes Latinae would be redundant.

oops! the url is www.kolbe.org not koble. Typing too fast!

Kolbe Academy www.koble.org offers Italian. They use Prego as the text.

I am trying to get back on track now after being very relaxed the last couple of years. But before when I did have babies/toddlers and was trying to do a modicum of scheduled learning I had a couple tricks up my sleeve. 1) Montessori trays - Using the Montessori services catalog and other resources, I accumulated (and added to as the years went on) materials that replicated things you'd find in a Montessori infant school. I would put out two trays with different activities plus a basket of blocks. We also had a toy kitchen nearby with little brooms, etc. So my littles would get up and be surprised every morning by the trays I put out. During the morning they would move between the trays, the blocks, the kitchen and play quite happily. Some mornings would be noisier than others and not everything went smoothly all the time, but it worked quite well over the long run. 2) I always started school up right at breakfast with read alouds. Right after breakfast, I'd wisk the dishes off the table, give the table a quick wipe, and before anybody had time to wander off, I'd whip out the seatwork. I'd try to keep everyone in the same room (have a diaper station nearby). My older ones who might need to work a bit harder, with less supervision, were set up at a table in the next room. I spent my time going from kids, coaching them and keeping them on track. Often I'd be nursing a baby or quietly playing house or building blocks with the toddler, but we were all right there. 3) I used a timer. Short lessons for the seatwork. I truly believe in CM's philosophy that it is better to do, for example, 5 math problems perfectly than a whole page of math problems where the child gets weary from the sheer number of exercises and begins to dread the drudgery. Especially at your children's young ages. 4) Lunch was read aloud time again or any recitation, etc. 5) After lunch I had an enforced quiet time for the littles. They could listen to stories on audio or music, nap or play quietly in their rooms. This might take some training if you are not in this habit, but it is well worth the effort. Then I would try to take a 20 minute nap! Twenty minutes was all I aimed for! I would force myself to just lie down and close my eyes, no matter how messy the house was or what phone calls needed to be made. Again, I might be nursing a baby at the same time. The thing was to lie down with my feet up. It truly rested me. 6) After my 20 minutes, I'd get a cup of tea and work one on one with whichever older student needed it. Sometimes we'd work together (where I could group them, like in spelling) or one day I'd work with one and the next with the other. School was usually over by 2. Then I'd make phone calls and attend to household chores. If I had missed anything during the day, I'd go over it at dinner. My dh or I would read good lit. at bedtime. 7) My dh was in charge of science. He read to them at night, did experiments with them over the weekend took them on fieldtrips over the weekends and also taught science during the summer. Planners never worked for me. They took so much time and energy and I very seldom stuck to them. Then I would get so discouraged. So instead, I would just find a program or curriculum I liked and we would 'do the next thing.' I'd mark everything in pencil with the date we did it. A couple times a year, I'd sit down and go through the books figuring out how much we generally needed to do in order to get to wherever we wanted in the program. I didn't feel obliged to finish everything, if I didn't think it was necessary. There is so much review built into so many programs that to me finishing something wasn't necessarily a goal. Hope this helps.

We tried it. It is very good. My son really enjoyed it. The trouble is that we as a family are not disciplined enough to stick with Latin on our own. We need some kind of outside accountability. But the program is excellent. We thoroughly admire it! If you have the discipline to stay with it, go for it, I say!

Both my parents went to college, but their parents didn't go. Actually among my siblings I was the first to get a 4 year degree. The others got two year degrees went off to work or get married and then some finished up their degrees later in life. None of my husband's parents or grandparents went to college, so he's first generation.

Did anybody ever see the movie, Au Revoir Les Infants? There is a scene in the movie where one boy is reading the racy parts of the Arablian Nights out loud to his friend. They're at a boarding school and it's after lights out so they are furtively reading it by flashlight and the boy listening, drops right off to sleep in the middle of a very interesting part. It is a funny scene! The movie is great but it does have a lot of adolescent crudeness about s*x in it.

Do you mean Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut? He is an American author, is he not?

I'm teaching a British Lit and History course right now to a group of teens. Here's what we're reading (might give you ideas): Beowulf Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Canterbury Tales Hamlet and A Midsummer's Night's Dream Robert Southwell poetry Paradise Lost (just Book I) Gulliver's Travels (we just read the first part but some of the kids read the whole thing just for fun!) Ivanhoe Rebecca and Rowena Pride and Prejudice Wordsworth, Shelley, Coleridge, Byron, Blake and Keats Mary Barton (girls) Heart of Darkness (boys) I gave the kids a choice and all the girls wanted to read the first and all the boys wanted to read the latter! Tale of Two Cities Short stories by Chesterton Animal Farm The Four Loves Poetry of Hopkins and Eliot I am relying heavily on Lightning Lit and Progeny press guides and used internet resources for the others The kids also saw Taming of the Shrew and G. B. Shaw's Major Barbara. And they'll be seeing Julius Caesar in April.

We decided to go with the same text our county's public high schools use. It looks solid and balanced and there's lots of extra teacher support at their website. It's put out by Glencoe and it's called Economics; Principles and Practices.

I try to make the lessons short and fun or at least short! I remind them that if they can't get it done now (while the timer is ticking) they'll have to do it later. The worst thing though is to turn it into a power struggle. Just be very clear and matter of fact and exact about what they need to do right then and you should be right there to monitor whether they do it. Don't give an assigment and then wander off to answer the phone or change the baby. If there is still a problem, you matter of factly give them a consequence. time out in their room or docking screen time are the two consequences that work best for my crew. Sometimes when things get too heated, I just say that we both need to recover our tempers so we need to work on it later. Then at another time, we sit and work through it. A good approach is to try to come off as a coach rather than demanding, "how can I help you can your work done?" "How can I help you settle down and do your job?" That kind of thing sometimes works with my kids.

Wow, I must be really emotional right now. Tears sprang to my eyes when I read this! What a sweet, caring man!

Oh! I have the perfect answer for you: writeguide.com! I used them a couple years ago and will probably use them again. They let you call all the shots, but they'll help edit and coach your students through the writing process. I thought their service was wonderful. You go at your own pace.

I have used lots of different resources for copywork. We've copied over Latin saying from Schola Latina and Latina Christiana, we've copied over first sentences from famous books, poetry from The Harp and the Laurel Wreath, riddles and tongue twisters, quotes from scripture, prayers. Sometimes I'll actually have it together to have copywork coincide with a particular day, for example on March 17, we'll copy over famous Irish blessings. For my little ones though I tend to merge penmanship with copywork. We used Memoria Press's copywork book last year for my second grader. I also like A Reason for Writing and the Catholic version of that, Writing Can Help. For my teens I just downloaded Spelling Wisdom from the Simply Charlotte Mason site. I really like having a different theme for copywork a day. I like organizing things along those lines. So I am thinking of doing something like Latin saying or quote - M, jokes/riddles/tongue twisters-T, Scripture-W, book quote -Th, Poetry - Friday.