I read a lot of these posts last night and went to bed a bit disturbed... :tongue_smilie: If a mom with a triple degree is unsure of teaching highschool, then what chance do I have??!! (with only one year of college) If I have to be an expert in the areas I'm teaching before I can teach my kids, then what business do I have homeschooling?! :confused: 'Cause let me tell ya--I'm ain't no expert in nothin'! Then I started thinking about my schooling...Christian school K - 12-- Abeka most of the way-- had an English teacher in HS who had a 2 yr degree in office mgt and was more concerned about preaching to us about our worldly clothes than she was about teaching literature (I never read a single classic in my life or during my "advanced" English and Lit class; our writing instruction was "just start writing"); a new biology teacher (fired the following year) who was bullied by his Christian students and who gave us the answers to our tests the day before we had to take them (learned absolutely nothing); zero computers in the school; never had a foreign language (not sure how I got away with that--prob due to the French teacher leaving the yr I was eligible to take it); a math teacher that threw erasers at her students (that was actually pretty funny, but she was a terrible teacher)...but dag-gone, we had a thorough Bible education! :) OK, all of that said (and I could tell more horror stories), I still managed to score in the 99th percentile in English on my ACT and pretty high in everything else (except for that awful subject of math!). Now, how did I manage to do that?? (probably from reading the KJV my whole life!! heehee!!) My teachers were awful! But, even though I don't particularly like Abeka, that curriculum actually gave me somewhat of a solid education, in spite of the lack of expert teachers. And, compared with the PS grads that I worked with in the medical field, I in no way felt inferior to them, even though many of them had degrees. I went to BJU for one year, but (sadly) I had been raised with the notion that girls weren't meant to get degrees. They were meant to get married and have kids. My year at BJU was to find a Christian husband (which I did not find--I did, however, find a lot of nightmarish dates:tongue_smilie:). I have always regretted not finishing my degree, especially now that I am homeschooling. However, I find that I am learning (gasp) right alongside my boys and loving every minute of it! AND....my boys are learning also! Wow!! Amazing! And I'm not even an expert! I don't think that I am an exception; I think that most moms are like me...have a decent education but certainly not rocket scientists. That is why we mamas are always looking for the best curriculum--one that can help give our children a better education than we had, and one that will teach them despite our short-comings. I am using TOG and plan on using it through high school, even though I know I will have to educate myself before they get there. I actually have to, well, work and study. Knowing my weakness (math), I have them use TT (although we have been dabbling with Life of Fred lately and have one kiddo that loves it). Since I never had a foreign language, I got Rosetta Stone for them. So, since I'm writing a book, I might as well tell you about my husband's education!! (I'm actually trying to encourage those of you who do not have triple degrees--or even those of you who do!!) My husband grew up on the mission field in the Philippines. His mom (according to him) basically threw some textbooks at him (Abeka, again) and told him to do his assignments. She virtually taught him nothing. He had to learn to be a self-educator. He was also quite the little businessman, growing various food and selling it at the market--by himself at the age of 10! He also raised and sold chickens to make money. I guess you get pretty creative when you're broke and bored! Heehee!! :D For college, he came back to the US and went to a tough engineering college in TX where he did struggle at first, but because he had learned to teach himself and to work hard at learning, he made it through and has become a successful process engineer/project manager at a major manufacturing company. He also got straight A's in grad school for his MBA a few years ago while working full time, traveling world-wide, and being a husband and father. He got his degree online (thankfully paid for by his company!) where the teacher basically did no teaching. The teacher gave assignments and graded. Okay, so what am I trying to say... Curriculum choice is important, but not everything. Making sure the work gets done is important. Teaching them responsibility is important. Teaching them morals is important. Teaching them the Bible (at least for us) is important. Finding the right resources for their interests is important. But what is maybe not as important as I am seeing stressed here, is the expertise of the teacher or the extreme difficulty of the curriculum and courses. While we have our children at home (even the teen years), subjects are to be introduced--not necessarily mastered. A love for learning should be instilled. A love for God should be nurtured and encouraged. Learning how to learn should become second nature. These are not the years to expect our children to become masters in their fields. They have college and the rest of their lives for that. If God is calling you to teach your kids at home, He--and He alone--is all you need. If you ask, He will give you the wisdom to choose the right curriculum and to teach them what they need for a lifetime in GOD'S service. Remember, we are here to serve Him--not to become so intelligent and self-serving that we forget who it is who made us and saved us. There is so much more to life than a "perfect" and "rigorous" education. We all need to remember that God loves the humble and uses whomever He wishes--even the UNeducated or the UNDEReducated. God has called me to educate my children to the best of my ability. And that is what I will strive to do. I have to rest in the fact that if God has called me to homeschool, then He has given me everything I need to give our children the education they will need to do whatever it is that He calls them to do. If God gives them the ability and calls them to get 10 degrees--then awesome! But if God only gives them the capability or desire to be a blue-collar worker, then praise God!! I don't need to worry about getting them in every class possible under the sun, or having the best of every curriculum out there, or being an expert in every area of life. More than anything, they need my love and attention, which is what I am, by God's grace, striving to provide for them by staying home with them and patiently and lovingly teaching them--with WHATEVER resources God provides for us. They will be fine, despite of me, certainly not because of me, because they are in God's hands! Put God first in your life, and all of the rest will fall into place! God bless and happy homeschooling! Holly in KY--hoping to encourage, certainly not to tear down!

Ugh...so glad someone else had a hard time getting through that book. I think my love for literature went down with Capt. Ahab! :tongue_smilie:

We are newbies to TOG, starting yr 3 unit 1 this fall. (6th grade boys) I really want to use Writing Aids as our writing program, but I am also very interested in using MCT L/A. Would it be overkill to use MCT writing along with Writing Aids? Or could I use everything in MCT L/A except the writing and add Writing Aids to it...or....should I use all of MCT and skip WA??? Or....could I use both? :tongue_smilie: We have not done much "formal" writing yet. We have done mostly dictation/copywork, as they are boys and I didn't want to frustrate them early with original writing. However, when I have had them do paragraphs here and there, they have actually done a very good job without any complaining! I think they will adapt very quickly to any writing program. So, what are your thoughts? Should I put blinders on and skip MCT altogether and stick with Easy Grammar and add Writing Aids? Or is there a definite benefit to using MCT? It looks like a program I would LOVE... Please let me know your thoughts and experiences! Thanks! Holly in KY

Hello, I just purchased Tapestry of Grace year 3 unit 1 for my soon-to-be 6th grade twin boys. I am trying to decide whether to use their writing program (Writing Aids) or to use something else. I'm afraid that Writing Aids may not have enough structure for me to teach my kiddos, but I love the idea of keeping the writing on topic with TOG. I recently found Meaningful Composition by CQLA which looks like something I would love; however, I wouldn't be able to tie it in with TOG studies. So....I'm stuck on what to do!! We haven't done a lot of formal writing yet--mostly just copywork/dictation. Anyone out there have experience with either of these writing programs? Any thoughts? Thanks! Holly in KY