There are many writing assignments in Omnibus - for us, they are under the "pick-and-choose" category. Some will be assigned for writing, others we'll just discuss. They don't give writing instruction though (i.e. "How To Write an Essay") There are a few progymnasmata exercises with brief explanation - the teacher's CD gives a full example of how one might look, but generally I think they'd be easy enough to figure out, especially for a high schooler. In fact, the teacher's CD gives possible essay examples for all the writing assignments, and that is very helpful.

Planning to start ds (7th grade) with it this coming fall. He has done 4 years of Latin so far (LP I-III and 1/2 of Wheelock's), but I think a vocabulary program will be good for him - especially to solidify the roots aspect of Latin, which may or may not be getting through to him at this point. :tongue_smilie:

Ds finished R&S 8 this year (6th grade), so here's our tentative plan for the rest of his school life. ;) I tried to include a variety of grammar review, writing, vocabulary, and poetry. 7th grade Vocab. from Classic Roots – A Elements of Style (outline and reread each year) The Roar on the Other Side (poetry) 8th grade VfCR – B/C The Lively Art of Writing Eats, Shoots, and Leaves 9th grade VfCR – D/E How to Read a Book (w/ Classical Rhetoric by Martin Cothran) The Art and Craft of Poetry - level 1 10th grade How to Read Slowly (outline) Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace I.E.W: Advanced Communication (persuasive, note taking, college level papers) 11th grade The Art and Craft of Poetry - level 2 I.E.W: High School Essay Intensive (2nd semester for SAT and College Application essay writing) Our Mother Tongue (grammar) 12th grade A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations The Chicago Manual of Style (I'm assuming that here he'll be writing plenty in his subjects and might need these for reference.)

Each lesson took us about 30 minutes - reading through the lesson and then answering questions. You could easily do 2 lessons a week.

:iagree: We did Fallacy Detective in 5th grade, but the different names of the fallacies became a bit tedious for my ds (who loves logic!) We did Thinking Toolbox for 6th grade and it was a much more gentle intro. to logic, and very interesting for him. With my younger kids, we'll do Thinking Toolbox first.

But I do keep a reading journal just to record my thoughts on what I read and write down my favorite lines. I typically make only one entry per book. I think I'm like Alice in that if I were to try a more detailed journal, I just wouldn't keep up with it - I have a hard enough time finding 15 minutes to read, much less do writing along with it. Although I do think it's an excellent technique for high school students and those who are disciplined enough to stick with it :). I'm also reading Herodotus, and I'm guessing you'll need an entire notebook for your journal. Alice's idea sounds good - you might give yourself a page or two per topic so you can go back. Or you might use looseleaf paper so you can rearrange your notes as they come.

I'm finishing up The End of the Affair by Graham Greene now. Also: Small is Still Beautiful by Joseph Pearce The Yearling Anna Karenina (this is wishful thinking!) Murder on the Orient Express Reading aloud to kids: Pilgrim's Progress Also in preparation for teaching Omnibus I next year: Histories by Herodotus Aeschylus I Oresteian Trilogy Think I can read these, potty train my 3yob, and clean out my entire house in 9 weeks? :lol: Yet, here I sit at the computer. Sigh.

You can't tell I have strong feelings about Hardy? ;) I LOVE Bronte, though. Jane Eyre is one of my "comfort" books. So after seeing the other posts, think we can narrow it down to 6 American and 6 British over the sweep of History - poetry too? Yikes! I think it's impossible. If we stuck to authors rather than specific works that might make it easier. But, maybe cheating. British: Chaucer - Canterbury Tales Bunyon - Pilgrim's Progress Shakespeare - impossible to narrow. How about 2 Sonnets and a play? You can never have too much Shakespeare! Austen - Pride & Prejudice Dickens - David Copperfield (or Tale of Two Cities if you need something shorter.) Green - The Power and the Glory American: Melville - Moby Dick Whitman - Leaves of Grass Twain - Tom Sawyer Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby Steinbeck - Grapes of Wrath O'Connor - A Good Man is Hard to Find Oh, this is too much fun. Must get back to work.

Yes, duh. :tongue_smilie: Wasn't thinking. Take out Hugo, but don't replace him with Thomas Hardy! He's almost unbearable. Yuck. Skip him, and throw in Tolkien or Lewis. Sabrina, you see how hard it is to follow your rules? :) You are a hard taskmaster! :lol:

Sorry, just want to add - same here. One of the Great Benefits of homeschooling! I'm actually learning what I should have learned 25 years ago!

These forms of government assume a view of human nature that does not agree with the Bible. Christianity teaches that humans are born fallen and sinful and even the regenerated have an inclination toward sin and selfishness. A communist system and to a slightly lesser degree, a socialist system only works if people are completely self-motivated to do their very best - for their families and their communities. To work hard and do well regardless of reward or punishment. Unfortunately, humans have a tendancy to do only what is minimally required of them, and if the govt. provides whatever they don't want to provide for themselves or their families (by earning enough or working hard enough), there isn't the motivation to do it yourself. On the other side, a communist government also assumes that those in charge will always make decisions based on what is best for all the people. That doesn't happen either. Related to this is the idea that a central government knows what is best - the best way to feed, educate, house, and occupy it's citizens; and the govt. knows how to "do it better" (they're the experts, aren't they?). Ha.

Since it's such a huge field, I'm going to stick with fiction and (roughly) 19th/20 Centuries. American: To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee The Violent Bear it Away - O'Connor Moby Dick - Melville The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Twain The Great Gatsby - Fitzgerald Grapes of Wrath - Steinbeck British: The Power and the Glory - Greene David Copperfield - Dickens Frankenstein - Shelley Pride and Prejudice - Austen Les Miserable - Hugo Greenmantle - Buchan I feel horribly guilty for excluding Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. And Faulkner. Sorry guys. If I wasn't sticking to the last 2 centuries, I'd have thrown Pilgrim's Progress onto the British list.

1. Plant my garden (very small) with the little sprouts I started from seed a few weeks ago. Zucchini, tomatoes (big and little), lettuce, carrots, herbs, giant sunflowers. 2. Make adjustments to our new chicken tractor/coop. The orange cone isn't keeping them off the nest boxes and they are getting poo in the waterer. I saw 4 of them snuggling up to the orange cone like it was a giant teddy bear. We also need to move one end of the coop because it looks like it just barely goes into our neighbors yard. Technically it doesn't, but it's about 6 inches into the line where he typically mows and he's a bit of a fuss budget. 3. Finalize packing/planning for our short trip to Orlando next week.

I'm trying so hard to get the winter clothes put away, but I just can't find room for it all. I save my girl's clothes (hand-me-downs) and the boys clothes just haven't been sorted beyond sticking all the winter stuff in a box.

Well, isn't this nifty. So I can respond to myself or someone else. I apologize to everyone for responding randomly within threads. I think I've been just clicking on any "respond" button my arrow thingy comes across. It certainly makes things more clear.

Well, I had no idea there were modes. So new to this stuff. If I start experimenting, can I skip cooking dinner? Hee Hee!

It's a little hard for me to rate it, since the foundation of everything we do/think stems from religious/philosophical beliefs. So in a sense, yes, it's the main reason. I want a rigorous education for my kids, which stems from the belief that learning about our world is learning about God, who He is, and who we are in relationship to Him. Originally, though, I started looking into homeschooling because I was pretty sure his teachers would tell us he had ADD or some other disorder, and I wanted something better for him.

:iagree: You will need to grieve. Find a soft shoulder to cry on. (((Hannah)))

I personally feel naked without a seatbelt - my older kids are very diligent about making sure their younger siblings are thoroughly buckled into their carseats, too.

Yuck, Double Yuck, Eeeeewwww. Eeeek. Spiders on the mail. Thanks for your info everyone! We are starting a long "get ready to move" clean-out of the house and garage, which will likely take us the next 2 years. :glare: Wearing garden gloves, socks, and sneakers just make me feel so much safer. I will have to look into that enzyme stuff. I DO have a nice big can of spider spray in case of "emergency".

You could try using it and then supplimenting with lots of reading and video suppliments. Maybe read up on the history of some topics/discoveries/scientists. Your public library might have some decent science videos. I'm not sure how you would divide the subjects, but I'm sure it's doable. My 12yods is using it now, and he is certainly learning as much about physics and chemistry as I did in high school (I wasn't much of a science person, either.)

Help. We killed two in our yard yesterday. Then my neighbor called and said she has seen many, many in their yard lately and just wanted to let me know - we both have young children and pets. She's not sure yet what they are going to do (call an exterminator or some other remedy) - they seem to be congregating out behind their shed, but have also migrated closer to the houses. (Actually, a couple years ago we found one inside in my kids' toy box nestled among the fluffy stuffed animals.) Now I'm just creeped out. The weather is nice and my kids want to play outside. If you know of ways to get rid of them, I'd love to hear about it. I'm particularly worried about cleaning out their environment behind the shed in case they decide to all head out to our house. Maybe they'll duke it out with the brown recluses and everyone will disappear. Anyone see the movie Arachnophobia? Eeeeww. :tongue_smilie:

Sometimes I look at our prospective 7th grade schedule and feel the need to lie down. Omnibus I Vocabulary from Classical Roots A NEM1/Key to Algebra Rainbow Science year 2 Elements of Style/Roar on the Other Side (poetry) Wheelock's Latin ch.21-40 Traditional Logic I piano, saxophone I think that's it.

I see that Sparknotes.com has one. I use them occassionally.

It may be too late for suggestions, but two of my favorite reads are 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff (real correspondance between a NY writer and a used bookstore in London over a period of about 20 or 30 years after WWII - very funny and touching. A quick read.) My other favorite recommendation is The Last Coin by James Blaylock - funny and mysterious; historical, but in a weird way. Also gives an interesting perspective on cats.