We finally tried BC for dd's acne, after we'd battled it for 5 years and tried everything short of Accutane. She also had horrible period pain, so bad she would vomit, and tried really high doses of advil which did nothing to help. With the BC her acne is much improved and period pain way better too. I'm so sad that we didn't try it earlier.

Can anyone suggest an English grammar course or resource to use in a co-op setting for middle schoolers? This is a classical co-op where most of the kids study Latin, but several parents think their kids aren't getting enough grammar through Latin alone. We're planning a Poetry/Grammar class and looking at using the Grammar of Poetry course, but it definitely focuses on poetic and literary devices, not basic English grammar. My co-teacher ordered Teaching Grammar with Perfect Poems, but the poetry used is not the quality that we're looking for. I think we might just want 20 minutes worth of grammar and then something fun like ad-libs to send home for review/reinforcement. Any ideas? Thanks!

Lively Art of Writing (with workbook) and Windows to the World If not, what needs to be added? Thanks!!

My dd would be crushed under a schedule like that. We've already found that she's got too much on her plate and we're trying to figure out how to manage it all without dropping all the fun stuff. She's doing a lot of catch-up while our co-op classes are on holiday break. Then we have a day like today where she's volunteering 4 hours with her National Honor Society and a 3 hour Shakespearean Drama rehearsal. It's a struggle! Here's her current schedule: Algebra 2 at home DIVE Biology online (lab at co-op) English at home History of the Ancient World at home Shakespearean Drama (.5 fine arts credit at co-op, will finish in Jan.) Spanish at co-op World Geography at co-op Clean Cooking at co-op(fall) Health at co-op (spring) Russian Imperialism at co-op (spring) Weekly chorus and volunteering at a therapy horse barn. Science Olympiad. High school curriculum takes much longer that anything we used for middle. There just aren't enough hours in the day!

This is our third week, but our first week with all activities and co-ops running. Of course, my 6th grader gets sick. She missed her first day of Tuesday co-op, but her older sister and I attended while she stayed home with Dad. Her workload has increased quite a lot due to adding a second co-op that assigns homework. She's ready for this, but it's an adjustment. She complains a lot of her hand hurting from writing so much, though it really isn't that much. I'm having a hard time getting to science with her, but her co-op science is more meaty than I thought it would be so I'm not going to worry about it for now. I'm attending several "back to school" meetings each week and am so happy that they will be over by Thursday.

Life was like that for me and it didn't bother me, but it would drive my sister batty. Everyone is different and that's okay. I tried to leave them with dh a couple of times a week even if I did nothing more than slowly browse through Target and buy nothing. An hour or so at Barnes & Noble was great too. I definitely enjoyed meeting others at the park with kids the same age so we could just sit and chat, or push the baby in the swing and chat. I never felt bad about giving them an hour of television so I could relax in another part of the house. Mine were never great about going to bed early until we started doing audio books at night. Our library has a great selection and they usually fell asleep before an hour was up.

I know that Beech runs homeschool deals. I think it was $20 for rentals, lift ticket, and a beginning lesson. You can also pre-order a lunch through them for a good value. Google "rider's choice homeschool ski" and you should be able to find it. Snowboarding is available too. We really like App as well. I imagine gear would be hard to find in Louisiana! We've had luck with craigslist here in NC. We ski these places every year. For a big trip out west, our favorite is Steamboat. Snowshoe, WV is another favorite, but hard to get to. We love the people there! edited to add that the deal was $30 at Beech.

Jumping back into the conversation. I've homeschooled from preschool, LOL, and have received very little negative talk from other people. Suddenly, now that my 8th grader has come back out and is choosing to continue at home, the neighbors are shocked. This child is very social and enjoys being with others so they just can't imagine why she would make this choice. I'm telling them the same thing I said above. I can prepare these kids as well or better academically. B&M schools are just so inefficient and many times the teaching is poor. They do not want to hear it, LOL. The big thing that we're doing differently next year, when I'll have a freshman and 6th grader at home, is doing a second day of co-op. My youngest really wants to go to school, but for purely social reasons. She is my extrovert who craves lots of interaction with others, but she's also ADHD and would not achieve much learning in a classroom. We've really searched and observed several co-ops this spring and I think we've found one that will support us through high school. The classes are small enough that she'll enjoy herself and I'm able to support her learning at home. They'll be part of a larger learning community complete with clubs, dances, field trips, graduation events and yearbooks. These things are especially important because they see their older sister's public school experience.

I've not read all the replies, but thought I would add our experience. I used to be a middle school teacher, that's why I chose to homeschool. I thought I would never ever send my girls to middle school. Then, for various reasons, we needed to send my oldest to school for 9th. I knew she was a hard worker and would do well. My middle child wanted to go to school for 7th (the same year oldest would start high school). She got into an all girls magnet school. She loved 7th grade year, was so excited for 8th, but by October was begging me to homeschool her. The teachers weren't great, she had to be retaught math most nights (she's a very strong student), there weren't many girls that fit her idea of friend material, and she was tired of spending 7 hours in school and coming home to several hours of homework. I pulled her out at Christmas and she plans to stay home for high school. Having my oldest in high school though also showed me that I can do the same or better for the remainder of my students if we think homeschooling through high school is the best choice for them. She's had some good teachers, but also some really bad ones. The social atmosphere it pretty bad, though she's finally found some nice kids to be friends with. Through a combination of classes at home, classes at co-ops and one outside extra class, I think dd will get a great education. We're not planning for anything online because she prefers books or classes.

We've used CLE which is good, but Seton has 2 reading comprehension books that my 8th grader really liked and learned from. My daughters love to read though so I'm not sure how they would work for someone who isn't so into reading.

I'm using it with my youngest who is a reluctant writer. The set-up of the book and the assignments don't intimidate her, though she's using it a little below grade level. I like the progress she's making and she doesn't groan when I tell her it's time for writing. Definitely check out the online samples. I printed them off and used them with her to be sure.

I'm interested too!

I haven't given this much thought, but reading the plans of others is giving me inspiration. Still trying to figure my youngest out. She's sooo different from the other two! Horizons Math 6 and Life of Fred (not sure where we'll be with those) Spelling Workout, CAP Writing & Rhetoric, unsure about grammar Beginning Latin with?? Don't want to overwhelm her. Science with Behold & See 6 History - Beautiful Feet Early American & Geography thru Lit Maps, Charts and Graphs (this is like test-prep for her) World Geography at co-op Spanish at co-op P.E. - competitive year-round soccer team, summer swim team, tennis when we have a free night choir and art classes

My 8th grader is returning home this semester after 1.5 years in school. She's identified as AG for language arts and she enjoys reading and writing. Still though, I don't see her as super motivated. She wants to do One Year Adventure Novel as an elective that she'll begin this year and finish next year (we own this from an older sister). She's also doing a 6-week creative writing course with an outside teacher. I thought I would use Meaningful Composition and Excellence In Literature for English, but now I wonder if that's too much writing? Any ideas? I also own level 1 of Writing with Skill and she hasn't used it.

Thanks so much for all the great advice! Here's what we've decided on at this point. Math: finish Algebra 1 while beginning Jacobs Geometry Science: The Elements & Carbon Chemistry (to prep for AP Bio next year) English: Excellence in Literature and probably Meaningful Composition (or WWS) We'll finish off American History with History of US following the Hewitt Syllabus (already owned this!) Not sure which Latin, will take her to the homeschool bookstore to pick something. Holding off on French until she can begin a class next fall. Editing to add that she wants to try One Year Adventure Novel as an elective. We already own the program, so I just need to get her the workbook. I'm so glad that she wants to try this! She's also taking a 4 week creative writing course with a "retired" homeschool mom in the community that she's really excited about. Definitely planning for dual enrollment for junior/senior year if she's still home. I really appreciate everyone's input! There are several sources that I hadn't looked at before which I think will fit her nicely.