Classical Academic Press and Christopher Perrin also have some good videos and podcasts available. They are on the same page with Sarah McKenzie.

The Eagle of the Ninth and the rest of the series by Rosemary Sutcliffe The Roman Mysteries by Carolyn Lawrence The Young Carthaginian by GA Henty Beric the Briton by GA Henty The Once and Future King by TH White

Not sure I understand...are you asking about word problems in addition to what is already in Saxon?

The Saxon workbooks have plenty of spiral review and they have enough problems in each lesson that material is constantly repeated.

For those ages I would not separate. Heck, most adults don't know they're separated.

At our place, dad does the science and Latin, plus any miscellaneous work that isn't done during the day. The main job is the weekly lesson plans and paperwork with Homelife Academy so mom can focus only on teaching.

The Jim Weiss retelling is quite good for lower grammar level.

I love all the suggestions for active learning. I can't think of anything worse for a 5 year old boy than being forced to sit still all day. Simple K could look like - reading fun books, reading aloud exciting stories of brave men and their great deeds, math, HWOT, and listening to classical music.

Ditto. We have used digital for five years and have transferred the license each time no problem. The only pain is downloading and installing the curriculum on the new device.

Honestly - if you're willing to make this a long term choice and not just in a book or two - all of classical education should do this. As you work through the great works of literature with your children, you will encounter again and again the great deeds of great men and provide ample opportunities for values/virtue discussion. So again, if you're not just looking for a single book, I would recommend ensuring that your literature selections for all of your HS career are based on the classics. This will get you what need in a more sustainable way.

We are big fans of Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Steps (or Lessons? Can't remember). We have gone through this with six children and it has been wonderful.

We are packing up for a week in the Outer Banks, NC. In previous years we have done Kitty Hawk, the lighthouses, Roanoke Island Adventure Park, and the NC Aquarium. What other great educational activities should we tackle?

We have moved to 6 weeks on, 1 week off, 6 weeks on, 2 weeks off. This allows us maximum flexibility around vacations and other life events. The weeks off are project time for mom and assessment time for mom and dad. These off weeks are when all planning and curriculum work is done, along with the ever-present re-organization-of-the-homeschool-bookshelves takes place. This does mean our HS kids are super bummed when their PS neighbor-friends are playing all day, but it really does fit our life schedule better.

There is a nice trick on YouTube that might help you. If you add ",long" to the end of any search, it will only provide videos over 20 minutes in length. I searched for "creation evolution, long" and it brings up a whole host of debates. I am not sure if any fit your needs, but it looks like a nice assortment.

Chemistry first. The traditional high school model (bio Chen phys) is a good one, plus a lot of the material reflects this assumption in age difference.

What a nice set of posts. We are still three years away from HS, but it's great to know this community exists.

I would suggest using some resources like the Talpestry of Grace book list and finding exciting read alouds that go along with the time period. Little ones can get truly absorbed by classic tales and attractive heroes. This is a staple at our place.

Does Kahn have any videos that might help? We have not used them but I heard they are nice supplements.

I am not sure if it counts at a textbook, but the Norton anthologies of American literature are spectacular collections.

We always use tigerdirect.com for last year's models.

We have an hour of every day called "symposium" (credit to Sarah McKenzie for the name). This hour: 1. read aloud to all the kids (currently on book 5 of the Little House series) 2. memorizing poetry (currently on Dutch Lullaby) 3. study a famous artist per week (using the art cards deck) 4. listen to 10-15 minutes of classical music (currently on The Planets by Holst) It is wonderful time for our family to focus on things that are true, good and beautiful and to train my childrens' affections.

I am generally fine with audiobooks...except Dickens. I am trying to listen through Bleak House, and if I drive defensively for thirty seconds and pay attention to the road, Dickens has introduced three new characters and I am lost. Again.

Some additional benefits we have seen are providing a link to the foundational culture of the Christian West (Rome). Memorial Press does a nice job incorporating this along with the grammar.

Spelling and phonics are not the same - I would do both. We love ETC for phonics practice after completing Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Steps, and also use Rod and Staff spelling beginning in 2nd grade.

Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan