I want to give another plug for the ease of NJ. There are huge numbers of homeschoolers so lots of support and activities. There is NO, Zero regulation. You would be close to NYC and/or Philly (two great cities with lots and lots to do). There is the beach, skiing, hiking, museums, great restaurants (that's for mom and dad), etc. Housing price and property taxes are very high in some parts, but less so northwest and in the southern parts of the state.

Obviously, you may have a different experience. This is with a math-oriented kid. We used LOF as a supplement until Beg Alg. My ds completed Beg Alg and felt that there wasn't enough practice. So for Alg II and Geometry we added the Teaching Textbooks book (not the CDs). I know all topics are covered. I felt Fred helped my dc understand the concepts right away, but that there is not as much time spent finding how one might implement those skills or how they relate to other concepts. By adding in another curric I felt that these connections were made and gave him a very solid understanding. We are back to Fred alone for Trig. He's almost done we'll see how it goes.

You ladies are making me count my blessings today. Wow, you are one tough bunch! The biggest challenge to our homeschooling was when our home was flooded last school year (Hurricane Irene). We were relocated and our beautiful year of doing Sonlight on the couch was replaced with a lot of commuting and time at Home Depot. Any way, we definitely slowed on the schooling, but I also just picked up some workbook/independent things for the kids to do. I also tried to get to the library a lot (which may not work for you). You may need to re-think how much you want them to do and how involved you should be. Can a friend or relative help with the schooling? Is it time for an online class or using Khan Academy to keep things moving if you can't be available? Keep it simple and it all worked out (it always does!)

Meaningful Composition www.tfths.com

HITS: Art of Problem Solving, Life of Fred, Horizons Math (MS and el) The Creative Writer (5th gr) Figuratively Speaking (MS) Memoria Press Logic I (MS) Ko's Journey (online math game) Mr. Q Life Science (el) MISSES Giggly Guide to Grammar (DD 10 hated this!) The Rainbow (MS Science) MCT..we loved Island level, got through Town level, but lost it on Voyage

My son used AoPS and love it. He found the videos very informing. However, not every book has videos (yet.) We used TT books (not the CDs) and thought it was fine. He preferred AoPS over all.

I'm just letting everyone know that Science Fusion is available through the Homeschool Buyers Co-Op until 6/10. It's now at 30% off (there is a $3.95 fee per order and a 4% shipping fee). If another 12 subscriptions are sold it will be 40% off! I was very happy to request a sample from HM and they let me preview ALL of the student books, teacher edition, assessments and lab manuals for 120 days. You can really see what you get as far as their printed/pdf products go. There is also a video and virtual lab component. There are several samples online, but I didn't get a full preview of that. I've never used it before. The rep at a hs convention I attended assured me that they've worked out some of the administrative kinks and that it's very user friendly now. Last year I know some had trouble accessing the teacher portion, yet the student portion was fine. If you're curious about it, now is the time to try it! :w00t:

DD 11 would like an astronomy book or curriculum that goes more in depth than the typical middle school books seem to go. However, she loves the pictures and charts that are often missing from high school texts. What have you used that your child enjoyed??

Anyone??

I've read and read and I STILL don't know which science to choose for my science hungry kid. Does anyone have any advice or opinions to share on Science Fusion or CPO Life Science? SF: Pros: great pics/graphics, great use of media, on sale at HSBC, I like the combo of write-in book/video interactive and hands-on Cons: doesn't seem as in depth as CPO, activities seem easy, but shallow, I've heard the teacher side of the site has been difficult to use, but a HM rep told me they were working out the kinks CPO: Pros: seems to be thorough, good graphics, labs easy to understand (most supplies seem easy to obtain or sub the lab) Cons: I'd have to have my act together to implement this I'm contemplating these two for my 11 yr old, but I'm also interested in SF (or other great curriculum) for my 8 yr old. Thanks!

Rosemary Sutcliff's books Black Ships Before Troy and The Wanderings of Odysseus. I think there are others.

Life of Fred Art of Problem Solving Noeo Science level I (level II was not nearly as interesting, imo) Character Quality Language Arts

I haven't read every response, but Malcolm Gladwell addresses this in his book "Outliers." He points out that many Asian countries call their numbers things that make them easier to manipulate. So 47-11 might be "four tens and seven ones minus one ten and one one." So the problem sort of solves itself because you can 'see' how many tens and ones there are. He also makes other observations that relate math aptitude to cultural differences and not simply time spent. I just wanted you to consider all reasons before having a kid do 2 hours of math/day.

I've used writing prompts off the 'net (eg, Describe your perfect day. Write about a new form of transportation.) I've also used the Spectrum writing books which have similar types of prompts, although I believe the one I used requested a variety of genres.

You could use Analytical Grammar to supplement. It's an intense grammar program, but it works! It's divided into 3 sections and dd would work through these over the course of two years (taking breaks). What I liked about it is that my ds wasn't going over the same stuff again and again. He actually got into the meat of grammar and understood it. You didn't mention Character Quality Language Arts. It is similar in layout to LLATL, but there is more work to the program and it has a great writing component. There is more grammar and vocab than LLATL, but it's not intense. There are month samples you can print off to try. There was a learning curve for dc and me and I took it very slowly in the beginning. Over time it became an independent program for us. www.tfths.com

First of all, many things can be cross over subjects. Once dc learn how to form letters, use handwriting for writing and/or spelling. Literature can be a way of studying history or science. Another thing that has worked for us is to do art for half a year and music for half or count a sport as PE. We also don't do grammar all of the time. They learn it and practice it while writing. Just don't try to do too much or you'll feel like this :banghead:

The kids and I LOVED a talk with Thomas Jefferson. If they are still offering that you might want to take advantage of it. Definitely hit the governor's mansion and garden. The kids loved the capitol and jail. We took a carriage ride and my girls enjoyed that as well. We also liked the book maker's shop. For dining we ate at both DOG cafe/pub (on Duke of Gloucester Street) and a cute (cheaper) place called Huzzah near the visitor's center. Both had decent kid fare and something for mom, too. Some of the more traditional places were pretty expensive, but I would have tried them if I didn't have so many kids with me. :o) Have fun!

I just wanted to caution folks about the Lands End Canvas. I have one we use for the pool and it's great. However, it is very heavy...even empty. That rugged canvas is thick, tough, and did I mention heavy? It's not too inconvenient for my 5'11" frame, but I would imagine a more petite mom might not want such a work out.

I didn't read every response, but wanted to mention you might want to try mind mapping to graphically organize thoughts from large ideas to smaller, chronologically, etc. I think organizing thoughts, facts, characters, scenes, are all important, but there are many ways to put it down so it makes sense without using traditional outlining.

I have not used this, but wanted to: Beautiful Feet's History of Music http://bfbooks.com/Literature-Packs/History-Of-Classical-Music-Packs

I used QMA several years ago, also. There was one point when we were reading books that took place 1,000 years apart. I thought the purpose was to group things together. I''m sorry I don't recall all of the details, but we used it in its entirety and were disappointed in the book choices (fine, but nothing special) and how expensive the guide was for how helpful it was. I thought I would find WP a perfect fit for us. We had used MOH and I love some hands on and lots of reading. That just wasn't the case. One option is to use MOH and add some readers and projects. We used Sonlight G and H and were very happy with the book choices.

I hope you get some responses, but RSO Bio II just came out so I doubt you'll find too many who have used it. Did you see the generous samples of RSO? I hate choosing science because I am often disappointed.

We didn't have a great experience with Rainbow. It is quite shallow. My science hungry 5th grader claims there is nothing in the physics, chem or bio sections that she hadn't read about or completed in the past. This surprised me because our science hasn't been great, although she does read a lot of non-fiction. My 8th grader felt the same. They were able to complete the first 3 sections quite easily this school year. Many of the chem 'experiments' were worksheets. Many of the physics labs were extremely simple for middle school. It seems that there was more "wow' factor in Noeo Physics I. The supply kits were NOT complete. I had to purchase a few things. Perhaps there were errors in the packing, but nonetheless I found it annoying when I was "promised" I only had to buy a gallon of distilled water. We were excited about this program and wanted to like it, but there just wasn't enough there. FYI, after researching quite a bit I'm between RSO Bio II and CPO LIfe Science for next year. I hope this helps someone.

We spent a year on world geography and cultures when ds was in 6th grade and really loved it!

Noeo Science