I have one who also started a community college class at 14. Rather than an 8th grade year spent unschooling, he just skipped 8th grade. 🙂 Like Ellie mentioned, school for 12 years is not necessary for every child. Some years do seem to be catch-up type of years. My son has a September birthday. We started him "early" for school - meaning he would have had to wait another year for kindergarten at the local public school, but we homeschooled. He attended a hybrid school from 5th grade on. He then skipped the 8th grade and just started taking high school classes that year (he was 13 the whole school year). This year he was 14 at the start of the year, which was his 2nd year of high school, so 10th grade. He dual-enrolled for 1 class at a local community college to see how it went. No problems. I will say, that my older child would not have been comfortable going to an in-person class at a community college at 14. So, I think it all depends on the kid. Eighth grade seems like a great time to explore interests and deviate from the traditional path - especially if you feel that your kid is on track academically (whatever that means to your family). If they aren't on track, you can always assign them a course for whatever needs shoring up and let them make decisions for other areas. Taryn

I haven't used the high school books. I feel that the writing is pretty good, though, in the younger grades. But that is just my opinion. 🙂 My oldest dual-enrolled at a local university as a junior in high school for college-level english (ENG 1101 and 1102). So, that is kind of my basis for judging writing. Will my kid be able to tackle college-level writing assignments by that point... I do feel that TGTB is preparing for that purpose. The writing assignments are broken down into small enough segments that reluctant writers don't feel overwhelmed. But there is still enough teaching along the way to get kids writing. Again, just based on my experience and opinions, I think it is a pretty solid program. But, everyone has different goals for their children. I am not likely to be raising journalists or english majors over here. Ha ha. So, I may be coming from a different place. I have an MBA in Finance and am currently working on an MA in History. I've likely got a Fashion major, a Finance major, a Law major, and possibly a politician or a salesman. 🙂

I will deviate a bit here and say that I think TGTB is a pretty good program for Language Arts. I have four kids, and we have always homeschooled. We have used a number of different LA programs. When we switched to TGTB, I started my then 3rd grader with the 4th grade level. She is now on level 7 and in the 6th grade. My youngest used it on-level starting in 1st grade and is now in 4th using the 4th grade level. I will agree with previous posters who have commented on the literature selections. While lovely, they don't suit our needs, so I usually assign separate lit and select only a few readings for the year from those included in TGTB.

I agree with the posters here who have recommended reading "The Well-Trained Mind." I feel like she gives you the permission to put together your own curriculum with the realization that it isn't that difficult. Combining kids for subjects when you can is always helpful, as well. I only homeschool my younger two full-time these days (my older two attend a hybrid school two days a week). I combine those younger two for History and Science. They have their other subjects separately. I saw someone mentioned not loving The Good and the Beautiful. I was actually going to recommend them for Language Arts. I will say that I do sub in my own Lit. While I like the idea of sweet, old-fashioned books, I don't want that to be the only thing my kid reads. And sometimes we will skip a lesson or a portion of a lesson. If you're interested in jumping into separate curriculum for different subjects... I also love Elemental Science, Lively Latin (my kids use this in 3rd and 4th and then switch to the Form Series from Memoria Press), and Beautiful Feet (History). Is it possible that you could start to let the older ones handle some of their work more independently? I spend the summer creating planners for my kiddos with their lessons spelled out for everyday of the school year. I note what needs to be done with Mom and what they can do independently. This allows my go-getter kid to get started at 6am by herself. Ha ha. And my slower kid has something to work on when I work with the other kid. I feel your pain with trying to school several little kids. We have always homeschooled. Homeschooling four kids is no joke. 🙂

I would add that if you are having trouble finding a school another option is to email the school superintendent for your area. We did this and discovered that one local public school in our county is assigned each year to host all homeschoolers in the county for AP testing. The school changes each year, so I still have to search out the new school each year. But it was helpful to find out. Taryn

Anyone use Lively Latin? We have used it for about 9 years and suddenly the site is down this week. I'm wondering if they went out of business or are just having technical difficulties. Taryn

We have tried to follow TWTM pretty closely for the last 12 years. My fourth child will be doing 3rd grade next year, so I am planning now. Here is what 3rd grade looks like at our house for next year: Lang. Arts: The Good and The Beautiful 3 and HWOT Cursive (My older two used Writing with Ease and Spelling Workout. My older one used Voyages in English for Grammar. My second used Shurley English. We switched to TGTB with the third kid. She used Level 4 in 3rd grade. Everyone uses HWOT - starting cursive in 2nd grade and then progressing at their pace. Literature is usually planned individually by me in the summer. I pick books based on that kid's reading level/interests and then find activities to go with the books.) Math: Singapore 3 Standards (Everyone has used the same thing.) History: SOTW 3 (Everyone has used different levels at this age depending on who else they were combined with for school. We use the AG. I make a binder for my kiddos over the summer with the maps and any add'l activities I want to use. I get add'l books from the library during the school year). Science: Elemental Science (Again, different topics depending on who is combined for the year. Oldest did Chemistry in 3rd. For next year, my 5th and 3rd grader will combine for Physics.) Latin: Lively Latin (Everyone starts with this and then switches to Memoria Press's Form Series in middle school.) Logic: Mind Benders Geography: Maps, Charts, and Graphs (Usually C or D in 3rd grade) Fine Arts: We have used a few different things: Harmony Fine Arts, COAH World's Greatest Composers and World's Greatest Artists We usually do Lang. Arts, Math, and Latin 4-5 days a week. We do Science and History 2 days a week on alternating days. (So M/W is History and T/Th is Science.) Geography is 2 days a week. Fine Art is 2 days a week. And Logic is 1-2 days a week. A few caveats here... We do start using a hybrid school in middle school. We are planning for everyone to attend college. My oldest will start dual-enrollment for 1-2 classes next year in the 11th grade. We have always homeschooled starting when oldest was in pre-k. I am definitely a type-A list checker, but I only have one kid who is like that. 😉 Hope this helps!

Possibly, I don’t understand what you’re asking... But, the only way I know of to take an AP exam is to register with a school who is offering the exam. Therefore, you must have a college board account setup with access to the AP classroom. My dd has access to a college board AP classroom even though she is taking the exam as a homeschooler at a local high school. This will be her second year taking an exam like this at a local high school. You would have setup the account when you registered for the exam. Perhaps someone with more experience than I have can elaborate.

Thank you so much! We have spent the last two years doing COAH's musicians and artists lapbooks. Not sure how I missed that she had an inventor's pack as well. I also love Hands of a Child and Beautiful Feet Books. This is perfect.

I'm looking for a curriculum that teaches about Inventors. I'd like something that is geared to elementary for my 3rd and 5th grader to do together. I don't mind buying books or borrowing from the library. But, I would like things spelled out for me and something else besides a booklist - i.e. videos, worksheets/activities, etc. I know I could make something but my time is spread thin already, so I'm hoping to find something already put together. 🙂

Elemental Science It is pretty much what you are describing. We have used SOTW and Elemental Science for 12 years. We use the Classic series. It is made by the same people as Sassafras mentioned above. Sassafras is more like a story, though. The Classics series uses a spine like Usborne Science Encyclopedia. There are always optional books, videos, coloring pages, lapbook components, etc. So, you can do as much or as little as you like. We always combine kids, as well, so that makes it easier. Check it out. https://elementalscience.com/collections/classical-science

Thank you for the quick replies! Just to clarify, we have always homeschooled (mostly following TWTM), so my kids have always had grammar as its own subject. I've used several of the programs mentioned above previously. I'll check out the others. Again, thanks for the suggestions. Taryn

Hi all, My 4 kiddos are in a classical hybrid school (2 days a week). They are using mostly Memoria Press. My issue is that they don't appear to be using anything specific for Grammar. I'd like to go ahead and supplement them with something quick and easy. I'll use FLL for my 2nd grader. What should I do for my 5th grader and 8th grader?

My nephew has Atypical HUS (not from e-coli, from something genetic possibly). He receives care at Children's Healthcare of Alanta. He takes some miracle drug that keeps in remission. He went through dialysis, and we thought he would need kidney and liver transplants at one time. The medicine is called Soliris. Good luck!

Thanks everyone for responding. Maize, that was very helpful. That is basically just what I was asking. Jean, it's basically what Maize said. I'm overwhelmed with life and mental health issues and having trouble getting through the day. Umsami, I always enjoy your posts. I think you are right.

How do you know when it is time to put on your big girl panties and suck it up, because you are just being lazy, self-indulgent, slothful, too sensitive, etc.... Or when it is time to actually ask someone else for help..... I don't post often, but I read on here a lot. I mean, I remember reading about 30 pages of the cupcake thread and being totally amazed that people had that much time on their hands to argue about whether kids should be allowed to bring cupcakes to school. (I certainly have an opinion, I just can't find the time to write 15 pages about it.) ;-) Also, since I do read here a lot, I have certain people in mind that I hope to hear from. Obviously, I don't want to call them out by name, in case they don't want to respond... But, I'm looking at you Rosie! Thanks!

We are going in September too! We also use the ponchos from the camping section at Target. They are pretty cheap ($1 or $2). I have a Disney backpack from Mori Luggage, but I don't see it on their site anymore. Perhaps try a less structured backpack that doesn't sit right on your back to prevent the sweats.

Has he tried forcing a reboot? Hold down the power button on the top AND the sleep/wake button on the front at the same time. Has he tried syncing to iTunes? Charging it through the computer while syncing to iTunes could help.

Short answer... No!!! Dogs are so much work. If you are not a dog person, you are not going to get a lot out of the situation. Can you "borrow" someone else's dog for a few days? Maybe pet sit for someone to get an idea of the responsibilities?

Art of Animation.

I have not used cloth diapers in a while, but I do use mama cloth. I have a few different things, but my favorite are a fleece top. I think the key is in having different options for different flow days. I have some panty liner type things as well as thicker things for a heavier flow day. I also like darker fabrics.

I disagree about them being equal choices. Apple has far more apps, and the apps are much better vetted.

It's like an Internet filing label. :-)

I thought you were gonna say, "Homeschool your kids." ;-)

You can sell it. People will buy it and fix the screen themselves.