We are moving to the West Houston area in July. I have been trying to find homeschool groups around that area, but I thought it might be best to ask around here. If you are there (or have been), could you chime in and let me know what is available for homeschoolers? I am interested in groups which host spelling bees (and the like), offer play days, and maybe even administer standardized tests. Thanks so much!!

Hi all, I am wondering if anyone has had their children take the IEW online classes? If so, what did you think? Pros? Cons? Thanks in advance!

We are using Elementary Greek. I think it is simple, but offers some fun activities. It is not colorful. It is not overly fancy. I like the memory verses, etc. We do supplement with a CD called Sing and Learn Biblical Greek. It offers declensions, etc. in a song. My kids memorize the charts and the vocab. We are pretty straightforward with it, but it is getting the job done. Just so you know where I am coming from: I am interested in my kids' learning Greek so that they can some day read the NT in the original. I am not looking for much beyond that. HTH

I haven't started summer work yet, but I HOPE that we'll get some things done to keep ahead. The plan is to school in the very warm afternoons when no one wants to go outside anyway! Can you try to carve out two hours in that time frame? Of course, it won't work like that if you are in a different climate than I am ... You have gotten a lot of great advice- hope something works!

Agree with the bolded. For ds, we see what we thought he was capable of all along. I always remember the times I have seen him playing piano with meds and without meds ... wow, what a difference. It isn't that he is a virtuoso with meds, but it comes so much easier to him. If off meds is acceptable for your family- do it! We often consider the possibility of taking ds off the meds. We may decide to do it. I am constantly aware of the trajectory for unmedicated kiddos, however, and it seems to help ds so much. For now, we will stick with it.

I am really excited about it this year with my kiddos! I am eager to read your blogs since it will be our first year.

My dc are at the end of Elementary Greek year 1 and my husband has been asking that all year! They have had several situations going from Greek to English. It hasn't been a real issue, but it does challenge them a bit. Thanks for the clarification!

Bumping because I would like to hear more of this ... I have natural spellers. Would WW be better? Any ideas?

I'm planning/purchasing for next year: WWE 1 FLL 1 Singapore/Miquon Spelling Workout SOTW 2 RS4K- Astronomy (tagging along with older ds and dd) HWOT- grade 1 Lots of reading! Piano/Art Also trying our hand at CC this year ... :) It is helpful to see other plans!

Ds is sloppy all over the place. It isn't that he leaves things out ... he "makes" his bed, but it is a tangle of sheets; he cleans the bathroom, but there are toothbrushes and toothpaste put in random places; his handwriting has been a struggle forever. The thing is, he actually loves order, but he just moves on to other things or thoughts before he is done with the current one.

I am looking to make a list of books to read together for next school year. I was so hit and miss this year ... I want to have one book a month. It would be a read aloud and then discuss in a Teaching the Classics manner. This would be for all my children (5, 7, and 9) and me, but I think it could be a higher level since it is a read aloud. Does anyone do this already? If so, could you share your list of books? Thanks so much!!

You know, I started off with the teacher's book and the student's book. But then I realized we were going to skip so many pages and go quickly through it ... so I decided to have ds write on scrap paper or the white board. Then I could save the student book for my dd. She is actually using it now and I'm honestly finding that we can use the board or scrap paper again. For our situation, the diagram lines are a problem. It is better for my dc to construct the diagram on the paper/board. Then I can see if they really get it. I share this only for a different perspective. I think that most people probably like having the student book.

I loved it! My kids have been dragged into all sorts of museums around the world ... they did a great job in every one of them. We couldn't stay as long as we may have if it were just dh and me, but it was still very worth it! Thanks for posting!

I can't say for sure, but dh and I believe that IB will be right for our children when the time comes (they are young now). Dh was the IB coordinator at an international christian school (for anyone who cares: IB is highly secular; we used it with a Biblical worldview, but most schools do not). It is rigorous for certain, and I agree that some kids just won't do well in it. The pp did a good job of explaining it ... I will just add that North America is now seeing the largest growth of the IB diploma (which starts in grade 11; the IB has programs for younger students, too). In addition, a score of 31 average to low average. Just for reference, the highest student score I have seen is 42. One last thing: the diploma rides on one series of tests. If your children do not test well, this probably isn't the best option for them.

I saw that it is going to be on sale but I've never used it or looked at it. Can anyone enlighten me? Thanks!