I used to use a spreadsheet on excel so I could cut and paste. That might be an option for you (not as technical as HST). However, if school is missed we often just push through to try to catch up. I do plan the occasional "catch up day" even if it's just one subject at the end of a unit. I also encourage my kids to work ahead if they can because missed days/subjects happen. If it's a lot of work, perhaps modifying it would help. I get stuck for the subjects the kids do together. If one is sick or not home, it can be a pain to make up the work. And I thought it would be a great idea...... They've got some work to do because I just planned a educational vacation for 4 days next week and we don't want to add 4 days to the end of our school year.

Of course I've been there! I don't think a day off is necessarily the answer. Sometimes we have to push through. I have to say that MY attitude is a key part of the equation so I try to keep myself calm, firm and happy, not dreading another round. I *try not to let their whining, negotiating, day dreaming annoy me. I set up boundaries and stick to them...calmly or at least appearing so. If I do that, THEY function more efficiently. I've been doing this 7 years and we just got over a bout of procrastination and complaining. It may never end! However, it was pretty quick once I remembered my own advice and not get sucked into the nonsense. Mine, too, can not have friends or screens until work is completed. Somehow it seems to get finished when they want it to be so I think they just feel overwhelmed with work, but aren't truly. I made a rule the first month I began homeschooling. If the child feels the work is too much, too hard, too easy or pointless, s/he and I will discuss it calmly and rationally (no whining!). I almost always tell them to finish today's work and then we'll talk about modifying. That seems to curb unfounded complaints in mid-el and up. My 7 yr old will still complain at times, but she has to do today's work before I will change things. We often find that it might have been too easy, but at least she got some practice. Some of my kids like having a schedule for the day. That way we are all accountable to work on read alouds or science and no one has to wait for another. One LOVES having a list of his independent work assignments. He is much more likely to get 'ahead' in subjects because he can cross them off his list. I do not assign more work because he worked ahead (although it's tempting!) My youngest likes having me put dates on the workbook pages so she, too, can see she's 'ahead' and enjoy free time one day or a playdate. I just re-read this and it sounds as if I might have it together. HA! I make the mistake of listening to the complaining when it crops up and that's my first mistake. Then I get annoyed with them. Then it can get even worse. ugh! When will I learn? You are not alone and you don't need to put the kids in school. PIcture the homeschool you want and try to make that happen. YOU are steering the ship.

I was about to suggest Real World Algebra, but Wendy beat me to it! We also like Life of Fred for a different perspective.

Don't forget periodictable.com (just like Elements book, but other photos as well) and periodicvideos.com (videos of chemists experimenting with nearly every element). My kids love both sites...and so do I!

Gee, I looked into this thread to see where the meeting is going to take place. :confused1: I love your disclaimer about grammar and spelling, Starting Over.

I just thought I'd chime in that the student guide seems better for the Newton book than Aristotle. I don't have a teacher's book. We all really enjoy the Hakim books, but there are so many, many sidebars it can make it tough to know what to read when. Some of the sidebars explain the concept right then and there, others just give interesting facts or comments. The graphics are very nice and we really like the first two books.

We found RWA to be a challenge. My dd had completed elementary math, Zaccarro's Challenge Math and Life of Fred Pre-Algebra books. She's working RWA along w/Fred Algebra and math is not as easy as it used to be. YMMV.

shopgreatcourses.com There is a sale until 1/31 (I believe.)

Neither of these are what you described, but they might help you. http://www.redshift.com/~bonajo/sciencebooks.htm http://appliejuice.wordpress.com/brain-suff/living-book-list-for-science/

I thought Harmony Fine Arts did this.

I think the vocabulary might be a bit much for a 5.5 yo, but the concepts might not be. I think it would be fine to read and do the activities. The worksheets may or may not keep a young child's interest. I'm going through Mr. Q with my 2nd grader and it's a good fit for her. Another option would be to read Magic School Bus and the free games and worksheets here http://www.scholastic.com/magicschoolbus/parentteacher/activities/index.htm Your library may have some of the videos or you can get the whole collection at amazon for under $40.

Don't forget what they are learning in the early years. They need to know their basic functions to see how numbers are related. If they are math-minded, this is not difficult for them (other kids might need a lot of drill, as you may have seen from some math curricula.) If you decided later that you want to slow down, you can always go broad with interesting topics (logic games, patterns, number theory, probability) which are often omitted from even great courses. We supplement with living math books. If you like that idea, check out this site http://livingmath.net/

I see you have younger ones, too. They all might enjoy an activity book called Geology Rocks. It could be a fun supplement for whatever you choose. My 10 yr old loved it!

I thought I might as well chime in. Here are the basics: Science--CPO Earth Science History--SL D beefed up with The Simple Homeschool's American history and other items (wish me luck on that!) Math-- Life of Fred & Teaching Textbooks (maybe?) LA--WWE (lit from SL)

We used Saxon 3. We really liked the spiral approach and varieties of skills worked on each day. However, I felt there was just too, too, too much practice. I finally made it work by skipping much of the drill and just stuck with the lessons. I will say that I don't think Saxon has missed anything! They really cover everything you would want....and then some. I felt the Horizons math had some of the better elements of Saxon without nearly as much drill. We coupled that with Life of Fred (just Fractions & Decimals and Percents) for a great foundation in math.

Usborne Encyclopedias have internet links so a child could read through and check out the links that might illuminate concepts. This was just recommended to me Science Detective at criticalthinking.com. I believe it's just a workbook, but a friend claims it's thorough and easy to implement.

That is the problem with so many curricula! I am considering putting something together, but I hesitate because I don't have a science background. I do love it and I'm learning quite a bit in my 40s. :w00t: She'll complete algebra this year so perhaps I will make a high school level course work for her. I just want it to be enjoyable. I'm checking out all of the suggestions. Thanks, everyone!

We love Vi, too! She is so awesome that she's even on Khan Academy now!

Hi, My nearly 11 yr old dd LOVES science. She is ready for high middle school/early high school science (she will complete both years of The Rainbow this year), but still likes it presented with humor, drawings, etc. Is there a meaty course that's not too dry? She loves experiments and I love being able to buy all inclusive kits, but the kits are not a must. Thanks,

We LOVED Noeo level I and neither ds or I was crazy about level II (he completed bio and chem). There are many, many days of reading in the Usborne book and notebooking. Sure, there are some labs, but it seemed a little silly to keep reading and writing about the little snippets from the same book. If it had been a living book or a book that went into a topic in depth, I think the notebooking would be a worthwhile exercise. As it was, it got old. We are working on The Rainbow this year. It's fine, but really not wonderful. While I'm so glad we have almost everything for the labs (you do NOT get everything you need), it's just so-so. In fact, the first several "experiments" in the chemistry section are worksheets. The physics labs were fine, but not one stands out as being particularly interesting. I had high hopes for The Rainbow and we are all disappointed. We are working on the second The Story of Science book and enjoying that. I am science shopping now and am looking into Science Fusion. It seems quite easy for the parent. Naturally, it's not cheap. I'll be keeping an eye on this thread!

I don't know why it keeps redirecting to the expensive course. Grrr.... In the catalog it's $30 for the DVD and on some webpage somewhere on the internet the digital download is listed at $19.95. You may have to phone them to check on the price. My library has a couple of hundred of these courses so you might find it at your local library, too. I hope it works!

This nice homeschooler made a list of supplies for the CPO Life Science course http://wildoakacademy.blogspot.com/2011/03/cpo-life-science-supply-list.html. I thought The Rainbow would be awesome....it's not. My 10 and 13 yr olds are nearly done with the first year and have not been wowed at any of it (except that the kit comes with all of the supplies). I'm contemplating Science Fusion. My holdout is that it's from a textbook company and the price, but it looks pretty good to me. Here is an overview. ScienceFusion for Home Schooling If you find that wonderful program, please let me know!!!

I hate to post about things I haven't used, but I am probably going to get this after hearing great reviews. How to Become a Superstar Student, 2nd edition from The Great Courses. http://www.thegreatc...l.aspx?cid=1050 It's on sale until the end of the month for $29.95 according to the catalog I got today, but that price isn't coming up on the website. Hmmmm...well, I'm pretty sure you could get the discounted price, but you may have to call them. 1-800-832-2412. ETA: Found the link w/a discount. Good news! It's only $19.95 for direct digital download. http://www.shopgreatcourses.com/tgc/courses/course_detail.aspx?cid=1050

I just got my RR catalog today and can't wait to look through it! RE: extra laptop. I thought we needed one as we were often vying for the computer. However, I bought a 7" tablet for $200 that does (almost) all I need. We can stream, watch videos, see content on webpages, etc. I thought I'd get a keyboard so we could use it for word processing, but we haven't found the need yet. As long as one can use the tablet, only one needs to type or use the CD-ROM at a time. I realize that doesn't help if you don't have the $200, but it has helped us for a lot less than a new laptop.

This is our second year with Sonlight and we really like it. I don't use aaaalllll of the info given in the instructor's guide, but I still love it (the schedule, maps, etc.) The book selections are very good. They are not as heart-wrenching as I'd feared (my dd is very sensitive). We do the readers much faster than scheduled so I often have to adjust the schedule, but it's not a big deal. That might be harder with the new layout of everything being tied to the week's plan rather than by each book, but I'm sure it would work. I have to get used to so much reading aloud. We always read aloud, but I am reading for an hour straight and it's tough sometimes. However we all enjoy cuddling on the couch (even the 13 yo). I plan to continue with it indefinitely.