Can't help regarding the online classes, but Circe is also doing a number of live, 2-day student workshops in various locations this summer. My three children and I just attended one up in Sacramento a couple of weeks ago. I think it's a good way to either get a jump on using LToW oneself, or to get a much better idea of what exactly LToW is and how it approaches writing. You can see where workshops will be offered on the Events Calendar on the Circe site. If there isn't one in your area, I'd contact Circe & see if you could organize one. LToW is writing only, but it can be applied to writing about any work of literature or any other type of writing, for that matter. I have no affiiliation w/ Circe/LToW; I just love their approach to writing.

Calvert? Are you looking for an all-in-one provider? Or different sources for different subjects?

What age/grade is your son? Wilson HIll Academy is offering live, online Latin classes using Latin Alive. The instructor, Joanna Hensley, came over from VPSA and is a huge favorite with many students. My boys took Omni II with Joanna & Latin I & II/Wheelock's w/ VPSA with another, very good instructor. They both earned golds on the NLE level 2 exam.

Can multiple children use one subscription? Or would each child need a separate subscription? thanks!

Maggie, Having hunted for a great online writing class, I think it's going to be hard to find a good writing program in that price range probably because good writing instruction & feedback is so time intensive. It simply takes time to teach, read, give extensive feedback, read the final draft, & grade/comment. One alternative to reduce costs might be to use one of the essay/paper evaluation services out there. I've found that what I most want from an outside source is extensive, useful feedback on drafts and/or the final essay. If you handled the writing instruction at home and had your student complete the assignment, you could then send the assignment to an outside evaluator for feedback. Just an idea... yvonne

Haven't read the rest of the replies, but one thing I had that kept my boys busy for a solid hour at a time was a rice box. I bought one of those clear, underbed storage boxes on wheels so I could roll it out of the way, under a table in the room I used it. I filled it with a bag of rice from Costco, squirted liquid watercolors on it to give it colors, and threw in some fun kitchen utensils (funnel, slotted spoons, plastic measuring cups, etc. I rolled it out on top of a shower curtain or sheet to make it easy to clean up afterward. I'd put in different toys like little bulldozers or clear, plastic jars to fill... The options are endless. Yes, it can get a little messy, but it was so worth the hour or so of time it gave me! The other thing that kept mine busy for over an hour was the bookshelf of books. I had three lower shelves full of children's books. They would sit in front of it, pull books out one at a time, "read" each one, trade with each other, and pull out the next. All the books would be on the floor around them by the time they were done, but, again, it was so worth the solid block of time it gave me. And it was a good opportunity to practice putting all the books back on the shelf, right side up, spine outward.

Thought of one other idea.... Magic Tree House books translated into French, if you can find them here. The sentences are very short, very simple. I picked up four or five of them. My children whipped through them, but the novelty of reading them in French wore off after those five, so I didn't get any more.

This is a great opportunity! I wish more online providers offered a chance to try classes first.

We tried the Lit classes last year and did not care for them. I'd suggest only signing up for the first semester to see how your student likes them. We signed up for both semesters before classes began, and I was not able to get a refund for the second semester although it was clear after the second class that the classes were not going to work out for us. I would also suggest you ask what the maximum number of students will be for whichever class you're looking at. That will give you a better idea of how much discussion can realistically take place.

I never really paid attention to the verb tenses. Sorry!

My daughter and boys loved the Caroline series by Pierre Probst. Each tells about some adventure of Caroline and her bunch of animal friends. Great series!

Thanks, Laurel. Good to know what to avoid!

Laurel, Which charter was this? (Feel free to pm me if you prefer.) Thanks, yvonne

I picked up the 1988 TEd at a curriculum sale. The isbn is 0395430615, and the cover looks like the one here. However, I would NOT get this older edition because it looks like it would be hard to find a matching set of text + TEd + Solutions Guide. I'm getting the newer edition of the text becase I could get all the pieces and because it's what my boys will be using with the online geometry class they'll be taking. I was hoping I could use the 1988 TEd w/ the newer text, but they do not match up at all. I have a new edition TEd on order. When I have it in hand, I will repost and let you know if it has the same teacher helps as the 1988 edition.

I have an older, 1988 Jurgensen Teacher Edition. There are a number of teacher helps in the section of teacher pages including: 1) Chapter Tests - "A set of alternate chapter tests, one for each chapter, with permission to reproduce. Copmlete answers start on page T29." 2) Assignment Guide - This is a schedule breaking the book into 160 lessons and spelling out what problems to do. There are three different schedules to choose from depending on the student's level: "minimum," "average," and "maximum" (most challenging.) For example, the average schedule for Lesson 31, it reads: "Lesson 31: p 113-115/#2, 3, 5-7, 9-15 odd, 17-19. 109/#30, 32." 3) Teaching Suggestions - half a page or so of suggestions for presenting the material in each section of the chapter Haven't seen the latest TEd, so I don't know if it's laid out the same way.

Could you post a link to the article?

WHA's classes seem to be junior high & high school right now. I don't know if they plan on adding grammar school classes. I almost hope not because I'd love to see them focus on providing online classes that are at a truly college prep level, like those one would find at the best private brick & mortar prep schools. For next year, we'll mostly be using Wilson Hill because some of our favorite teachers will be there, (Bruce Etter, Julie Etter, Joanna Hensley, Josie Lowery, Cindy Lange,...) and because they'll be teaching the classes and/or using the texts we want. We'll be using Lukeion for Greek and Latin, partly because we're in CA & the WHA Latin class times are just too early, partly because my one son has loved his Greek class at Lukeion and I've only heard rave reviews about their Latin, and partly because Lukeion has an established path to AP Latin and my boys are aiming for that. We've been very happy with Veritas's classes and teachers, so we're not necessarily leaving VP. It's just that the teachers & classes we want will be at WHA, Lukeion, and TPS. That's one of the big advantages to home schooling -- being able to pick and choose the best classes and the best teachers for each student.

We've been very happy with the Latin classes at VP. All three of my children took Latin online with VP. My boys Latin for Children A-C and Wheelock's 1 & 2, and my daughter Latin for Children A-B. The boys just earned golds on the NLE level 2 exam. One of our favorite instructors, Joanna Hensley, has moved to Wilson Hill and will be teaching Latin Alive there. I highly, highly recommend her!

We've only used Cambridge and LNM to supplement. I'm not really the person to ask for a definitive comparison: I can only give my impressions. Cambridge is reading-based, while LNM says it takes a "fusion approach." "By combining techniques from the traditional grammar-translation method with the contemporary reading approach, this course aims to teach students how to read fluently with grammatical accuracy and syntactical awareness." Cambridge is more of a middle & high school text; LNM is aimed at high school & university students. I could never use Cambridge as a sole or even a primary text for learning Latin. It's too much of an immersion approach for me. I want to learn the conjugations & declensions up front so I know what I'm looking at in the sentences. LNM does both reading and grammar instruction, so it has the good parts of both worlds. You're right though about LNM being targeted at classrooms. Sadly, Bolchazy is not home school friendly. Latin Alive is targeted at home schoolers & classical, Christian schools, I think, and it does have dvd's & cd's available, so it might be more what you're looking for. Wilson Hill will be using LA, and I very much respect their Latin teacher. If she chose LA for their program, there must be a good reason. (Although it surely wasn't due to any aesthetic appeal of the text.)

Joanna Hensley who's teaching Latin at WHA is fantastic! I took VP online's Latin in a Week from her. My boys are taking a class at VP with her this year. I think all the students in her class love her.

Your student is probably old enough, but just a heads-up that the student must be at least 13 years old to access the OYAN forums. I didn't realize this until after the fact, and my daughter was disappointed to have to wait. My daughter loves creative writing, too. I picked up the OYAN for her when the Homeschool Buyers Co-op had it on sale. (She did not want the Cover Story program, and, since she's doing the creative writing on her own, I let her go with OYAN.) She loves OYAN and has worked through most of it already. I found that it really helped focus her writing. Before she was writing reams and reams of stories, character profiles, story ideas, etc, like your daughter. After a couple months with OYAN, her writing is so much better, much more focused. Whereas before she had an infinite number of unnecessary details and tangents, now her stories are wonderfully tight and so much more interesting. It's almost like she was free associating before. So, when you start OYAN, you may find that the sheer volume of your daughter's writing goes down, in a good way. My daughter spends as much time writing as she used to, but now she works and re-works chapters of her stories to get them to the point she wants them.

I got our Dolciani Pre-Algebra: An Accelerated Approach used/"like new" from amazon for $15 or $20.

So, this isn't really fair, but you DID say "Talk me out of Latin Alive"..... Go to the CAP site and download the Latin Alive 1 sample. You'll be able to see Chapters 1-3. Skip all the introductory stuff & Ch 1 which is more introductory stuff and go to Chapter 2. Look at each page of Chapter 2 & 3. Visualize teaching from it. That is what every.single.chapter will look like, as far as layout & structure. Every.single.chapter. Chapter.after.chapter. Now, go to the Bolchazy.com website and download the sample of Latin for the New Millenium. You can see Ch 1-3, Ch 7, and Ch 16. I am not a Latin expert. I have looked into a number of Latin programs out there, but we've only personally used Latin for Children A-C & Wheelock's, a little Cambridge, a little LNM, and the first couple of chapters of Latin Alive. LNM looks very much like it uses the same approach as Latin Alive. Maybe one of the Latin pros on this board can confirm/correct that impression. The only reason I can see to use Latin Alive is that the textbooks are less expensive. Of course, if one buys the less expensive textbooks and then bails on the whole thing bec. it is so tedious, those textbooks aren't quite as good a bargain. ETA: If you search the boards, you'll find a number of people who've used Latin Alive very successfully. So it might work for you. It just didn't for me. ETAA: As a total tangent, I've sometimes thought it would be interesting to see what the "retention rate" is for some of these Latin programs. The students who keep going through AP Latin, for example, what texts did they use? Students who started studying Latin, but quit after a year or two.. what texts did they use? Are some texts more conducive to longer term interest/study of Latin? Or is it a self-selecting sample... Students who choose Wheelock's are more committed to the long haul? Students who choose LNM have their interest piqued enough to keep going? Etc.

OP = the original poster or original post, which would be you : )

Hopefully, WTMCassandra will pop in on your thread, but she uses Spielvogel spread out over 4 years. In the 4th post of this WTM Rhetoric & Great Books thread, she offers to share her course descriptions for all four years.