Thank-you for all the info! You all are much more experienced than myself. Sometimes I feel like a babe in the woods.:confused: Oh why couldn't I have found this forum YEARS ago?!

This question might expose my ignorance, ahem, but how would one go about discerning the more subtle theology of a curriculum? For example, I was just researching the 'Perspectives' course this morning and it seems to have a Reconstructionist bent. I am wanting to do some worldview courses and some 'why am I a Christian' type courses but I am so reluctant to order anything because it is really hard to know what you are actually getting. Any suggestions or experience would be greatly appreciated!

Thank-you for the response Luann. It helps me immensely!:)

Luann, I know that this is an older thread but could you please tell me if there is quite a bit of worldview included in TGB? I was looking at the first year and recognized a few worldview books. Also, is there some hand-holding in the course? I see that some books have guides and I saw the reading schedule but could you explain to me how the program works? Are there book end tests for each book or would I be more on my own? Would this type of socratic education work with just one child and myself (without the discussion group)? All of your previous answers have been very helpful to me. Thank-you.:)

Good point Denise. My daughter is 14 so maybe I will take that route. I have learned to ignore the sidebar ads so maybe this is just one thing that people have to put up with on the Internet. I really do tend to be your typical overprotective parent.:D The ads aren't really lewd but sometimes I do question the appropriateness for an early teenager. I don't think they should be bombarded with 'one trick of a tiny belly' everytime they go online.

My daughter left the webpages open from her schoolwork and I was apalled to read the advertisments on the online dictionary site. I don't think that she should know how to make it grow three sizes, kwim? So, I'm looking for an online dictionary site with NO advertisments. Does such a thing exist or would it be better to just purchase one? Am I wrong or would the options be to buy a dictionary on disc or submit to an online subscription? I really have no clue. Maybe I should just invest in one of those huge monster dictionaries that are so often solely used to press flowers.:tongue_smilie:

Thank-you for your answers! That is exactly the information that I was looking for.:)

We used SOTW last year when my oldest daughter was in grade 8 and all my children loved it and learned so much. I relied heavily on the additional reading in the teacher manual. I found SOTW very digestable as well as memorable. Our "teacher" was not quite impressed though, but I think it was mostly because we didn't do a whole lot of written work for history. If you were to supplement with additional reading and put together written work and projects I think it would work well. For us, I think it would be too much work for me to co-ordinate writing assignments from my not-so-creative brain so I am going to do the jump into Tapestry of Grace and let TOG figure out the creative stuff. Still, I'm a little sad to leave SOTW.:001_unsure:

I have nearly decided to go with Tapestry of Grace but I have a few last questions. Besides History, what does TOG include? Does it include vocabulary or would I have to supplement with Vocabulary from Classical Roots or something similar? We have grammar covered because we are using Analytical Grammar and would continue with that but does TOG include any writing instruction? If not, can anyone offer any suggestions for writing instruction? In the past we have used Student Writing Intensive and my daughter was willing to do the work but her writing is choppy and disjointed. I was hoping to find a curriculum to help her write more naturally (if this can be taught). Thank-you for any suggestions. BTW, my children are going into grades 9, 3 & 1 and I have a 1 year old baby as well.

We really liked Winning His Spurs By Henty. My 7 year old son was enamoured and my then 13 year old daughter enjoyed it too. I think it also goes by the name The Boy Knight. If you have any used book stores around you may be able to find it. We live in a town that has a used book store for every block (as well as a coffee shop to complete the effect).:tongue_smilie:

My daughter has bad posture as well so I feel your pain. I have put her in ballet and that has made her more aware of her posture but I really wish there was some sort of program that is like a finishing school for an hour a day. I will be eager to hear what others have done!:bigear:

Thank-you, this is helpful!

The whole thing is hard for me to understand too. I always tend to want to believe that there is a logical explanation and that the person in question would never knowingly do something wrong. Unfortunately I have seen in some church circles (speaking charismatic here) how power corrupts and how perfect power corrupts perfectly. It is a very frightening thing to be in a position of power and this must be why the Bible exhorts Christians to pray for those in positions of leadership and power. Reputation is also a dangerous thing and I imagine this is why Jesus made himself a man of no reputaion and became the servant of all. Phil. 2:5-8 (ESV) Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. It makes me want to cry when I see the power abuses perpetrated in the name of our Savior who came, never to grab power and reputation, but instead came as a suffering, servant.

Thank-you so much for this thread and thank-you to everyone who has been answering my questions. I am glad this has come up because it is helping me figure out my homeschooling philosophy. For some reason this coming year has me like a deer in the headlights.:eek: Martha in NM, if you feel comfortable, could you tell me what concerns of Mr. Wison's deserve careful thought?

Is the older version of WTM different than the current version? Is there anyone who has read the other thread about DW that can confirm or deny his type of worldview coming through in the Omnibus commentary? What does the commentary add to the program? Sebastian, could a person just read the books used in Omnibus without the commentary? I'm not sure that I have a firm enough grasp to pull that sort of thing off. :001_unsure:

Thank-you for the reply! How much time has your prep work taken per week with TOG? Next year my kids will be in grades 1, 3 and 9 (and I have no idea what I am doing). Did your second daughter do Omnibus and TOG at the same time? If so, did she find it too much work or did you go a little easier on the TOG? Michelle

Thank-you for bringing this up! I was about to put all my chips on Omnibus. I guess my tendency to procrastinate saved me on this one. Seeing the commentary included after every historical work really freaked me out because it seems to be a way to thoroughly train a child in this type of worldview. It is so difficult to find a curriculum that is balanced, as in not too legalistic and not too loosey goosey. This really takes Omnibus off the table for me and now I am left with TOG, which seems like a lot of work, or Wise Bauer's new history, which may be too biased and thus not entirely historically accurate (based on what I have read on amazon). What to do? What to do??

Have you tried Analytical Grammar. It has been a huge success with my daughter. She actually enjoys it.

Andrew Pudewa from IEW says that writing in pencil is very disturbing for children because pencils always give different feedback. When they are sharp they have a scratchy feedback and when they are dull they have a creamy feedback etc... He says that writing in pencil takes longer because kids are always erasing and they then forget their thought. Also kids need to stop frequently to sharpen their pencils to the desired sharpness. I know that my younger son has a habit of dropping his pencil at regular intervals which causes the lead to break and thus need to be sharpened(but he also has the habit of falling off his chair at regular intervals and I still haven't figured out how to sharpen him).:glare:

Do all fountain pens smear? We have some and the ink smears if it gets wet?

I don't plan either. I just get together the curriculum for the year and the kids 'do' it. I sometimes add interesting things as I come across them. I don't think I am nearly as disciplined as ma23peas though. For me, after 8 years of homeschooling, I find I have begun to slide with this method but having a schedule makes me feel so hedged in. If I used a schedule and didn't get history done one day because the baby is cranky and preventing us I would feel distraught. Maybe it is because I am a little OCD or something.:confused: I think I definitely would feel more successful if I made the schedule AFTER we finished the school work.:blush: How crazy is that? I think for next year I will try the scholaric. Thank-you for the suggestion snow white!

Could anyone give me guidance as to the difference between TOG and Veritas Omnibus in regard to parent planning? Does one requre a lot more time from the student to complete assignments? I have read that TOG is a pick and choose type curriculum and that you should not do everything, but in order to learn the material in a satisfactory manner would TOG take more or less time than the Omnibus? Lastly, is the content of the Omnibus too shocking for a rising 9th grader that is quite innocent? I was thinking of starting with Omnibus 1 and then moving on at a fairly quick speed to get all 6 omnibus' completed by grade 12. My daughter's favorite subject is history. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Maybe you could try a more hands on math curriculum like Math U See? We haven't gotten to the level that your daughter is at yet so I can't say how well it works for the high school level. At the lower levels it is great for kids who thrive with the hands-on approach. Another thing that has helped us is Kumon. I don't know if you have a Kumon center where you live but Kumon really helped my daughter to relearn the basics so that she would have more confidence and would not be struggling with things that should be second nature. I also liked Kumon because my daughter had to report to them and thus was more contiencious about getting her work done and I was able to side step her math frustrations.

Me too! My oldest daughter will be starting grade 9 this September and I only just found this website and forum a few weeks ago. I have been quite realxed in my schooling but now I am beginning to panic. I have such challenging babies so it has been difficult to be on top of everything but this year is going to be the best year yet...:confused:

My friend did CLASS in high school (she is now in her 30's) and she said that she feels that she got a really good education through CLASS. Her brother and sister (who also used CLASS) feel the same way and are happy with their education. I have been thinking about going with CLASS so I will be interested in the responses, especially if anyone has any info about how CLASS compares with Potter's School.:bigear: