and no it was not alot of work. We followed the schedule from Donna young's site, and ds managed quite well-and his work ethic when it comes to schoolwork is unfortunately, not the best. We didn't continue with the series, switched to Prentice-Hall Science Explorer for chemistry. I would say he has been more challenged this year.

There's always another hand, isn't there?:rolleyes: I hear what you're saying and that has been another concern. My plan is to keep him involved in Teenpact throughout high school so government studies will always be present. He plans on going back into debate next year (he was in it last year) and NCFCA usually picks topics that involve gov't/ politics. Thanks for your input. Btw, Trivium tid-bits is a cute name:)

about active and passive voices that is. She's going to need to know the difference when she's told to write an essay using only active voice. Her older brother is two grades above her and his writing curric. does refer to lessons he's learned in Rod & Staff grammar. I guess you could pick and choose or do grammar light by doing it orally, we do that on hectic days. We do plan to stick with it through 8th grade, and I will confess I'm looking forward to that day as much as the kids are!

Ds is extremely bright but extremely unmotivated. This past semester has been brutal in his eyes because I have required alot from him with TOG. He has learned sooo much this past semester and I guess I'm concerned he'll lose his momentum, so to speak, if I drop TOG until fall. Notgrass's state history looks good, and I do want him to do it, but having never used that material before, I'm not sure what to expect.

Prufrock.com carries my personal favorite logic books for grammar ages and do have age recommendations. Critical Thinking also is popular and recommends grade levels.

Okay, this is probably going to be glaringly obvious but I could use some input. My TOG plan for this year was Y.2 U 3&4 AND Y3 U 1&2. We are done with Y2 and should begin Y3, but since my oldest is in 8th and I have heard the Redesigned is much improved for Dialectic and Rhetoric, I am considering putting off TOG until fall when I can use the Redesigned and finish the year with Notgrass's Exploring Georgia (we have not done state history.) That way ds would have: 9th-TOG Y3 10th-TOG Y4 11th-TOG Y1 12th-TOG Y2 I'm not usually anxiety ridden over curriculum choices; I think I'm just feeling the weight of getting ready to enter high school next year. Plus, if I'm going to do this I need to trade in my classic units before the price increase. So, what say you? Am I going to ruin him if I do this??

I was about to place an order for a Ranger Rick subscription and saw an ad for Animal Baby. I've never seen this before and was wondering if this would be good for my 22 month old.

I'd love whatever help you can give! My 12 y.o. dd will probably end up with the job, but she loves crafty activities. my email is jclark9942ataoldotcom. Thanks!

Did you decide to make and sell those Greek magnets? I keep checking because I'd love to place an order:)

When I get stuck I substitute a word. Peter was most dreadfully thin demonstrates thin is an adjective, hence frightened is also a predicate adjective.

Oh May, I'm sorry to hear your dd struggled also, but I'm so glad to hear it's not just us! Mr. Mosely responded to my email and I'm just waiting for ds to get over his awful cold (which I believe came on as soon as he heard Mr. Mosely wanted to talk to him) and then I'm going to scan some of ds's work and have them discuss what the problem is. I was ready to throw in the towel on this text, but dh was adamant we not do that and fortunately Mr. Mosely is willing to make himself available to help.

You are not alone. 8th grade ds's standardized test scores were in the high 90's across the board last spring. He was complaining about how easy it was while his sister was falling apart over the difficulty of the test (she's two years younger). Yet...she consistently gets better grades throughout the school year because she does her work and pays attention! Dh has begun having ds read the classifieds and work out a budget on a minimum paying job so ds can see how difficult life is going to be if he chooses to not use the intelligence God has given him. Kind of like "scared straight" therapy :-). We shall see how that goes...

I supplement Delta with Horizons. I chose it specifically because it is so different.

# 3 and # 6 are both like this in my family. # 3 (dd) began visiting the e.r. at around 18 mos., and thankfully now keeps her injuries at a safer (?) level. Ds is now 21 mos. and has yet to visit the e.r., but just tonight, I commented to dh "Look at ds's face-there's bruises all over it". What's kind of funny is that they both have an amazing pain tolerance. Neither one of them will cry over a fall or bump that would instantly reduce my other dc to tears. Intense? Dh and I both have often said our dd "lives out loud". You better believe she's intense! Ds looks like he's going to be following in his big sis's footsteps. Dh and I pray alot :-).

but boys that age are just going to have a difficult time sitting still and doing all their work without someone checking on them and encouraging them to finish. Ask me how I know:rolleyes:. Honestly, my 14 y.o. ds is starting to mature and be more accountable, but the past few years I have felt like he needed more supervision than he did when he was 2! I would absolutely limit t.v. and video games or tie them in to rewards for completing school work at a certain standard. Have them sit next to you while you work with your other dc so you can periodically check on their progress. Read ahead on their assignments so you can ask "did you get to .... part, yet?" One time when I'd had it with ds, I had him start reading When They Were Boys out loud to me every morning, hoping he'd get inspired. He did like the book:). Leaving them to do their work alone though, will probably just lead to more frustration.

I think your art is cool. I 've never seen anything like that, and enjoy looking at your work when you post it.

Ds is currently struggling (drowning) in Chapter 4. He has made B's on his tests up to this point-due to careless mistakes, not because he doesn't know what he's doing- but Ch. 4 is just kicking his behind. I have looked at the TOC for other algebra books and they don't cover graphs until near the end, so I'm wondering if I could just come back to it...or should we hire a tutor? He has watched the videos several times, his dad his gone over it, I've gone over it, and still he gets those darn graphs wrong! They tend to be opposite of where they should be. I've emailed Mr. Mosely for advice, but wondering if anyone has input, or at least thanks for letting me vent. Frustrating morning here:(

I save those durned boxes until I've moved them too may times, watched them get smashed or ripped, complained about how they're taking up too much space, then finally throw them away! I'm down to one box that has been hiding under my bed. Its days are numbered:D

but my ds didn't like them past the age of 9 or so. I honestly don't see the difference between this type of activity and lapbooking, except the latter requires alot more folding (which drives me batty!)

TOG does seem overwhelming when you first begin, but if you are persistent and just do it, you will soon find your own way of pulling it together and making it work. I am using the classic and don't know what cd you are referring to, but I still am able to work out a weekly schedule for my dc in which they accomplish what I have determined are our priorities for the week. Some weeks this is very hard as there are so many things I want to cover, but the longer I homeschool, I can see that they will get the material again, and in fact some stuff is best saved for when they are older and repeating the rotation. We have opted not to do the lapbooks. I like my dc to notebook and we do have a couple Hands-On Historybooks with reproducibles that enhance the notebooking. We simply store everything done for a week in a notebook and label it week 31, etc. I tried separating according to maps, people, vocab., etc., but found just keeping it all together by weeks is easier. I teach three levels: UG, LG, and D. They each have weekly schedules where I list their weekly TOG assignments. That way, the olders can go off and do their own reading, timelines while I work with my younger dc. hth

I am really enjoying these Sunday night movies even if they are less than what they could be:)

"If you don't work, you don't eat" worked for John Smith! Maybe you should try a similar no-nonsense approach.

Maybe this has been asked before, but why do some of you have your dc take the National Latin Exam? Is this considered high school credit or just something positive to put on a transcript? thanks!

I don't have a pic, but my kids loved History Pockets by Evan-Moor. We did Ancient Greece. I thought they'd get tired of the cut and paste routine, but they couldn't wait to work on it.

Go to veritaspress.com, click on resources, then click on downloads and you will see an option to download a sample Omnibus chapter. Sorry, I don't know how to link.