Sorbie, I am a bit confused about how the two workbooks fit with the text. From what I can tell, both workbooks cover the same progym exercises. Does the student cycle through the text twice? Do you think it is written such that a student could just do the second workbook? And the samples say something to the effect that now your teacher will give you an assignment. Where are the teacher notes? Funny (to me) is that just when I think I've heard of every writing program out there, I hear about another one! At any rate, however we launch the progym next year, it no longer seems like a crazy idea to me. Yay for that:)

Well, plans have changed and we won't be in England this summer. But I am keeping it on my hope-to-get-there-while-I-live-in-Europe list :) And when it looks possible again, I think I will try to go with basketcase's suggestion about The Swan Theatre - it does look like the best venue. We might try to get to Copehagen for HamletScenen. After all, every summer deserves a little Shakespeare in it, right? :lol:

I would love to know more about your project, if you are willing to share:) You have an interesting collection of books in this thread.

I am going to have my son start the progymnasmata in 8th grade. Has anyone else done this as late 7th or 8th grade? I had been sort of ignoring the progym because I had the (I believe now) mistaken idea that you had to start in 3rd or 4th grade in order to meaningfully get through the progression. Hearing about programs like CAP's Writing and Rhetoric program also made me think that it was just too late for us to go down that path. Then these resources changed my mind: Cindy Marsch's tutorials - Narrative, Fable and Proverb (recommended for 7th grade and up). SWB's 2008 (!) Using the Exercises of Classical Writing in High School D 'Angelo's Composition in the Classical Tradition While I already had Corbett's book, D'Angelo's book is the one that really changed my thinking. After some fable exercises, he teaches how to use the fable in a pattern of arrangement that is an essay. There is certainly nothing 3rd gradish in his treatment of the fable. Now I am seeing the progym less as 'something to get through" and more as something you could cycle through. But considering that I have zero actual experience with the progym, I hope that we are not jumping off a writing cliff so close to high school. FWIW, DS did WWS1 in 6th grade and we did writing-across-the curriculum for 7th. We don't want to go back to a writing curriculum that is disconnected from our other studies, but we both seem to now be yearning for a framework with a sequential feeling.

I love your idea :hurray: You could take a look at the Soul Travelers 3 blog / website. The family has been traveling and homeschooling for years, and I read in one of the blog posts that they were starting to plan high school. The blog does not seem to get updated frequently, but maybe you could email her. Here is a thread about frequent traveling / roadschooling that I started recently.

Agreed. I was thinking only of Belgium, but I did not make that clear. There are currently no AP test centers in Denmark, so we would have to travel no matter what. Good point about the PSAT-thanks.

I really don't know, and my son is only going into 8th so I am just thinking out loud. Posts by you and some others have made me leery of even trying to plan for AP. It seems like helping people here to actually find a place to take the exams would be a nice offering.

I wonder if they would be able to help those of us in Europe actually find a seat for taking the exams. It is such a big hurdle.

Tress, I am curious about the Dutch summer holiday schedule. This is Denmark's last week and then a six week summer holiday starts. Gymnasium is done already; I am referring to K-9 classes. We also (mostly) follow the local schedule.

No need to assume international student status. My son (U.S. citizen) graduated from an international IB school, but he was not considered an international student by any of the American universities to which he applied. Sometimes it was easy to tell from the application, but when it wasn't we called and asked.

My favorite writing curriculum is whichever one I have most recently purchased but not yet used. Not very helpful, I know. Sigh.

I haven't read the book either, so I should stop posting in this thread. I just have a soft spot for the late bloomers and sensitive kids. Today's classroom selections can be tough on them. Is Carrie sexual? That was on one of my rising 9th graders' summer reading choices until a parent (not me) complained. Not a book that usually shows up in middle school, but it is the only parental complaint that I have first hand knowledge of.

I wish that I could like your paragraph about restricting film 1000x. I think the imprint of film is so different. But it seems like there is an assumption in this thread that all 8th graders want to read about sex, and that is simply not true. What about the 13 year old kid who would prefer to put his hands over his ears and say la-la-la-not-listening? I assure you that they are out there. Yes, this type of child needs adequate sex education, but that is separate from what he or she needs for literature. The short story sounds like something I need to consider for my 8th graders list. .

Nan's date sounds about right. My son got his IB scores first week of July. Thinking of you, Laura!!

I want to clarify that the video lists give a sense of progress through a series. He certanly does not log everything. For example, he put a copy of the Periodic Table in there so that he could easily keep track of which Periodic Table of Videos he had watched. He can just mark them on the chart.

I love Latin for the New Millennium! My middle son's high school used it, and he had a successful Latin experience. My homeschool son did GSWL this year (7th) and he is signed up for Latin 1 using Latin for the New Millennium with the Harvey Center for Learning for 8th. Op, You could slow the pace down if you don't want the pace of a high school course. I think it is a great follow up to GSWL.

DS's middle school school science notebook is a composition book. It contains all sorts of stuff: diagrams, notes, formulas, lists of videos he has watched. I also make him do all of the work :)

If you get the museum pass, you can go into the Louvre multiple times. An evening visit and a day visit would work out well. Fairytalemama is spot on about the size.

I think that IB's Theory of Knowledge course could fit in here. There are various textbooks available.

Crimson Wife, thanks for mentioning this. I see that they also have a guide for Newton at the Center. I like that these guides are from a Language Arts perspective - have you looked at the guide yet? To the OP: I agree with the others. We did the first book this year for 7th, and I found the Quest guide to be useless, really.

I will talk to you:) I have ordered / purchased just about everything, but I have a lot of THINKING left to do. I just made a major decision to change writing around...for the bazillionth time. My son is going into 8th grade and I am not sure what country we will live in when he starts high school. At times, I panic about this. Mostly, I try to just place one foot in front of the other...

Ok, well that helps. Henry IV Part 1 is more likely (because of the dates). Battle scenes are good :) The 13 year old is quite into Shakespeare. The 20 year old and DH will also be there, and it sounds like they would probably prefer the Henry IV.

I have not read the book or seen the movie, so I can't speak to the content of this particular book... I am very liberal with books, and I think this is a book that I would let my rising 8th grader read. But I do hate for my kid to squirm with discomfort in his classroom, or to feel like he is uncool for not wanting to discuss sex in the classroom. That would be my biggest concern. Somebody upthread mentioned the giggling trainwreck... edited

I am pretty liberal with books, but I am certain that none of my sons would have wanted to discuss strong sexual themes in an 8th grade classroom. Sometimes I wonder if teachers even consider that not all kids want to deal with such in 8th grade. When my DS was in 5th grade (at an international school), the teacher showed a short film called "Eat Sh*t and DIe." According to the trailer, the film was modeled on MTV's Jack*ss. My son was disgusted, and I was flabbergasted. Our complaints fell on deaf ears. A defensive "Well, everyone else liked it" was all I got from the teacher.

We will possibly be passing through Stratford Upon Avon in July. And I might have a choice between seeing Two Gentlemen of Verona or Henry IV part 1. Which would you choose? The dates may not work out for an actual choice, but I'd like opinions anyway :)