Ouch, sorry about that. :( Didn't realize it was such a heated thing. I was a boyscout as a kid and don't remember anything like this when i was there. Thought I'd give my kids a shot at it, but this research got me nervous (I'm secular and some family and friends happen to be gay). Hmm.

Congrats! May I ask what her long-term objectives are? I mean is she planning on a four-year after CC? What colleges is she looking at? I've just been real curious about HS kids who graduate and what they do. I guess I should go search for a thread about this. ;)

It's so interesting how kids take to programs so differently. My boys LOVE SOTW so far. We just started the Ancients together. I think the trick is keeping it fun and engaging. It's easy to fall into creating a dry atmosphere. When I read, I stop frequently to discuss (quickly). You can't read the entire thing and expect them to retain or engage. Stop at interesting points and burst out with, wow, what do you think about that!? Then move on. Afterwards, discuss, have them write narrate a few sentences, read them aloud, discuss their thoughts and then hit up your supplemental materials. We use Kingfisher and Usborne. They read a little of those encyclopedias and then we do an art project together, mapwork and timeline. I also include documentaries to watch. We do one hour, 3x a week. Anyway, we love it and make it fun.

Sorry for the quick de-rail, but I have a question regarding BSA. I was considering this for my boys until the research led me to a wide variety of websites that show quite a few discrimination cases against them and this apparent "3 G's exclusionary rule: no gays, girls or the godless". Is this still true? Are they really discriminatory against gays and the secular? Seems insane to me if so. Website of reference: http://www.bsa-discrimination.org/index.html I'd consider them if this wasn't the case. What's the deal here?

Why not make it one hour for everyone at the same time? I only have two kids but that's how we do it. They play video games together or one plays on PC, the other on Kinect. BTW, if your kids are hooked on video games, switch over to Kinect. It's been a huge difference. You can't beat a video game that makes your kids sweat and exercise. My kids love it! No more lethargic mind numbing games.

Takes us about 15-20 minutes for my 10 year-old. He's handling level 4 pretty well. We also only have the workbook, it has everything you need.

:bigear:

Something we've tried in the past when everyone has their own agenda is have everyone write down, "10 reasons I want to _______" on 10 separate index cards each. Then we sit down, read all the reasons out loud anonymously and pick out the best 10 as a group. Whoever has the most in that pile, wins. Just an idea to help you think outside the box. Good luck!

Hi everyone, My boys are a little nervous about their first year of HS. I thought it would be cool if they had another couple boys their age to discuss their experience with via emails? If anyone is open to being an email penpal, please let me know. My boys are really into soccer, art, comics, fishing and reading. Both are very active, smart, intuitive and eager to start HS, but again, a little nervous about the whole thing. We're also a secular family, if it makes a difference to you. Message me if interested in exchanging emails. Thanks!

I have another quick question. I'm doing AAS1 with an 8 and 10 year old. I was told to start at level 1 for both from several folks. Can it be taught together? Or should I teach it separately to each son? Also, should I maybe start the 10 year old at level 2 or 3 instead? I can't help but feel this is going to be a waste of time at his age.

Has anyone tried teaching calligraphy? I thought it might be a fun extra curricular activity during down time. However I'm not sure where to begin, what programs are out there for kids, or if it's even appropriate for this age (too difficult for 8 & 10?) Thoughts appreciated. :)

Hi Cathy, I recently beat Cancer (knock on wood) and will be starting my first year of HS with my boys, 8 and 10. Coincidentally we're about to start reading the Hobbit together, maybe a good jumping off point as pen pals? Maybe your boys can convince mine The Hobbit will be a fun ride? Let me know and I'll send you my email. Take care, and my best to your husband.

We've been doing a few subjects here and there to warm up for the upcoming first year of HS. Something interesting happened today when my boys turned in a bunch of work to be reviewed and corrected. Id didn't really know how to mark the errors. I sort of winged it and just circled a few things, wrote notes (long-hand) etc. My question is, is there a standard for marking work? Is there some shorthand tips you can give me? I did manage to write "sp" over misspelled words, but I assume there are more abbreviations or methods out there? Thanks!

Quite a few right here: http://app4.websitetonight.com/projects2/4/1/3/8/808314/uploads/Historical_Movies_and_Documentaries.pdf

I'm putting my 10 and 8 yo boys on the same, level 1 (first year of HS). I have given my younger the Osborne encyclopedia and the older the Kingfisher one. This seems to have done the trick. They both get the essentials during instruction/reading, but then both do separate individual work afterwards. That's my solution anyway. Yeah, I'd go nuts choosing two levels too.

Is it really advisable to start at level 1 as suggested, despite the age? I have a 10 year-old that scoffed at the idea when I showed him the material today. My 8 year old was more receptive. I guess we'll try it this way when we start in a few weeks and move up if he blows through it?

Curious about this one. Why?

As Samiam pointed out, the Ikea desks are great! I bought the same one's she linked. My Ds is a tall 10, in fact both are very tall for their age, so I needed something large. Here's a pic of the desk in action. This is two put together:

Great notes, back to the drawing board! :)

:bigear:

Thanks for the thoughts! The reason I didn't really include breaks is I figure they will happen naturally. I doubt many of these sections will last the full 15, and when they don't my boys can excuse themselves. However I liked your idea about alternating some subjects to give a sense of breaking things up. Well noted, thanks!

EDITED: Got enough excellent notes, thanks! I'll re-post a revision soon for you guys to look over. Thanks for the help!

Speaking of timelines, we're planning on making our own timelines on rolls of blank paper. Is there a link somewhere to ways of creating these from scratch? Thanks!

Thanks for the help guys, so this is what I found for my state: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sr/css05rtq.asp Does this look right to you guys? I plan to test them at the beginning of this year and at the end. Thanks again for all the help!

These are great, thanks!!!