I've had pretty good response for the more popular curriculum sets....not so much for random books.

My dd (high school age) has completed 2 full years of Spanish & desires to continue the language. She would like an opportunity to be emerged in the language, but not spend the entire summer away from home. In addition, she would like it to be mission minded and be able to share her Christian faith in the process. (Having the ability to have other family members travel with her would be an added bonus.) If you have any experiences, contacts, words of caution, advice, suggestions, please share! We would like to travel either summer 2016 or 2017. Thank you in advance for any assistance!

I switched from Rightstart to Saxon then to Lial's and next year we are doing Chalkdust. If you like the spiral review, then go with Saxon. BUT...if your son does not like the kill and drill, then you can tweak the homework to help him succeed. I made a sliding homework scale. If my child made 90-100, they only had to do 15 problems on the next homework lesson. If they made a 80-89, then 20 problems, and so on. This allowed me to PICK the 15 problems they needed the most review on & skip the stuff that was just busy work for them b/c they had mastered the concept. It also helped me to reinforce the "show your work rule" (I counted it wrong if they just wrote the answer unless we previsouly discussed not showing work for a particular type of problem.) With Lial's or Chalkdust, the key is you don't have to do all the problems! Remember, these are college texts, so just do the odds or evens (or just pick). If you wish ot make it an 'honors' course, then give more problems. HTH!

The Crusades by Terry Jones is available to view for free on youtube:

If you use LCII, then want to progress to the "FORMS", Memoria Press will give you the 5 lessons [free] that bridge you from LCII to Second Form when you purchase the Second Form (as per the rep I spoke to at the MP website).

I have heard some ship it to military stationed overseas. Some churches use candy as 'rewards' or class participation encouragement... I'll keep thinking....

Here are some other links.... At Teaching with Movies, you can find lists of movies for certain time periods (go to "Top 10" tab, then choose which category you are interested in)...you an also purchase resources from them if you really want to 'teach with movies'. (I have not used their resources, so I cannot lend advice to the quality or content of the lesson plans). Visit the blog "Teacups in the Garden" for another list. Paula's Archives has an extensive list too. I'll add others as I remember them....http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/images/smilies/lurk5.gif

One avenue to try (alternative to Netflix) is renting/streaming from Amazon. If you are a Prime member, many of the movies are FREE. Our local library has quite a few DVD's to rent as well. You can even go on line to reserve your copy if you don't want to rummage thru the shelves.

The Inn of Sixth Happiness (1958) with Ingrid Bergman All her life Englishwoman Gladys Aylward knew that China was the place where she belonged. Not qualified to be sent there as a missionary, Gladys works as a domestic to earn the money to send herself to a poor, remote village. There she eventually lives a full and happy life: running the inn, acting as "foot inspector", advising the local Mandarin and even winning the heart of mixed race Captain Lin Nan. But Gladys discovers her real destiny when the country is invaded by Japan and the Chinese children need her to save their lives. Based on a true story

Gifted Hands (NR - I would think PG) Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr. stars as pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson (portrayed as a child by Jaishon Fisher and as a teen by Gus Hoffman), who overcomes enormous obstacles to study medicine and save lives at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Kimberly Elise plays Carson's hardworking single mother, Sonya, who faces her own hurdles on the road to helping her son succeed in this made-for-cable drama based on Carson's memoirs End of the Spear (PG-13 - natives spearing people & loin cloths!) Many years after his missionary father was speared to death at the hands of Waodani tribesmen, a young man (Chad Allen) returns to the Ecuadorian jungle to meet the native (Louie Leonardo) who murdered his father and learn the truth about his family's legacy. The result, in this film based on a true story, is a life-altering experience that brings him closer to the kin of his father's killer and impacts both of their lives forever. Beyond the Gates of Splendor (PG-13) This documentary tells the extraordinary story of five American missionaries who, in 1956, traveled to the Amazon basin of Ecuador, where they were killed by the Waodani, an intensely violent tribe of indigenous people. Upon learning of the murders, family members of the slain men took up the missionaries' work with the Waodani, ultimately bringing peace to the savage culture through their teachings of love and forgiveness.

Sunflowers, Can you share your recipe for the paleo brownies? TKX!

Thanks for the lead....very neat! Our local school system has an "IB" program...this looks like it's taking the student to the International location... Gives a whole new perspective to the culture when you LIVE it rather than READ it! Will definitely be looking into this one!

GTK! Thanks!

We pay fees thru tickets (tickets are $7.50 each).

For this age, consider great read alouds with good moral lessons & character. When Lamplighter books were first suggested to me, I thought, "My children will never like these! There are no pictures!" Little did I know, that these very books would be their first choice when we went to the selves for read aloud! I love it when I would find them out in the yard acting out a scene from a recent book like Hedge of Thorns, Helen's Temper, Jill's Red Bag, Little Threads, or Teddy's Button. All I can say is....PRICELESS! Enjoy teaching your children! KimberlyNC