Hi all, I am so sorry to hear about the sudden closing of Landry Academy. I can only imagine how distressing this must be for all involved --especially students. Many of the Aim Academy teachers are willing to work with any of you this semester--whether you are displaced or just looking to try an online class. Our instructors are independent contractors. They set their own prices. Just send them an e-mail via our contact page: https://debrabell.com/meet-our-class-instructors/ You can find a list of second semester classes which start January 9th here: https://debrabell.com/product-category/second-semester/ Just so everyone knows how we differentiate ourselves: We are nonsectarian, even though most of our teachers are active in their faith community. And anyone who knows me, knows I'm a Christian but as my kids got older we used online options where they were able to sharpen their reasoning powers and broaden their perspective--which worked well for us since they all went to secular universities. We are aiming to create that kind of environment. Our primary goal is to help students anticipate equivalence exams (such as CLEP and AP) by the end of high school. So even our middle school classes are aligned with those tests. This seemed like a gap in the many options out there. Contact me if you would like to know more --- I know the forums are not for promoting commercial endeavors, so I don't want to violate that policy. I'm praying for all of you who have been affected. Seems like the homeschool community is stepping up to the plate and helping these families in a remarkable way. We've always been a force to reckon with! So grateful to be counted among you. Debra

Hey everyone, I'm happy to answer any questions about these classes, or try to see if any of our current parents are willing to respond. So far, the classes have been going well -- I'm not getting any complaints and the teachers are getting positive feedback. (But, I know my say so isn't what you are really looking for :) I did want to post because it is not true that I don't write recommendations! I don't know where that rumor came from. I write LOTS of recommendations. Because of that, I ask students to give me a 2 week turnaround (if possible). But, now that most recommendations are submitted online, it is a lot easier for me to complete these quickly. Thanks! Debra

Elizabeth, I guess I have two questions that would guide me in deciding what to do on the high school level with any of my kids: 1. What are our family priorities in homeschooling? 2. What does my teen want to accomplish in high school? So the curriculum decisions I would make would flow backwards from our end game (family priorities) and my teen's own agenda. I always thought my role at the high school level was to support my teen's goals. I spent more time helping my teens establish goals then I did choosing curriculum for them. They did most of the decision-making, and some of their decisions weren't the best. But then they learned how to make better decisions. I think I saw the fruit of this approach then when they were in college, where they paid their way and made all their scheduling choices. ( We certainly were adding our two cents from the sidelines, though.) They made fewer mistakes then because they had the experience from high school under their belts. Does this speak to your situation in any way? Raising an independent learner was one of our family priorities in homeschooling. Of course it was subsumed under our highest priority, seeing them embrace and mature in our Christian faith. I was somewhat concerned about the content we covered, more concerned about the skills we acquired. But again, this is just what we did. I really, really believe the glory of homeschooling is the opportunity to individualize our program for each child; so I think there should be a lot of diversity in what we each do. Anything in my books should be taken as suggestions and illustrations for your consideration.

Hi Elizabeth, A friend let me know about your question and I think it would help if I explained what I was thinking when I gave my recommendation on pp. 146-147. This section is titled "Acceleration in English" so I'm writing to those who want to start accumulating college credits via dual enrollment or AP testing somewhere between 10th-12th grades. In order to be ready to succeed on the AP exams, students need a solid foundation at the high school level. So my suggestion to use TOG for 7th-10th was only for those who want their kids to be AP ready by 11th or 12th grade AND also want to complete a classical Christian curriculum. I realize it would be a very rigorous courseload for MOST students, even college-bound students to try and complete TOG by the end of 10th. I also don't think completing TOG in advance is the only way to get kids AP-ready. I'm writing from the perspective of an AP teacher who has seen a lot of my students over-challenged by the demands of AP coursework because they didn't have a solid high school course under their belts first. So, in my book, I'm trying to point out the advantages of using the junior high years strategically to get kids gradually ready for college-level work before the end of high school. I hope this makes sense. Shannon is right, I didn't use TOG (it wasn't around) when my kids were at this point. And I've always been a do-it-yourselfer. Any curriculum I ever used was never fully used and always adapted for our family's unique purposes. Thanks for reading the book! Any feedback folks have is most appreciated. I already have a list of things I need to revise next time around. Debra