with my oldest, now a senior in high school. We used Abeka for awhile because it had been recommended in the WTM. However, she didn't really know what she was doing by 7th and 8th grade. We did go to R&S. Yes, the sentences are very funny to us (we live outside of NYC, so rural Mennonite life is not what we experience), but the grammar instruction is thorough. I did back up my otherwise very academically advanced 9th grader to R&S 7. She did R&S 7 and 8, and worked through most of 9 and 10 before we called it quits. The grammar is very challenging by 9 and 10. And yes, I think your plan to look up the writing styles in R&S will work. So, you might even want to buy 7 and 8 immediately. They hold their value pretty well since they seem not to change, so you could always re-sell 7 if it's too simple. Or get your hands on both and evaluate. Now my next kid is doing Latin. He is working through Henle at co-op and his teacher has him doing lots of diagramming. So, he doesn't do R&S grammar. We do continue to do usage, but we only do Easy Grammar for that--not nearly as rigorous as R&S. Larissa in NJ

so I encourage you to read SWB's reasons for Latin and the articles on the Memoria Press website. Basically, Latin is dead so the language is set in stone. Thus, a student can carefully analyze the grammar, which always follows the rules, in order to apply that grammar to other languages. The inflection of Latin makes it ideal to learn those structures, which are applicable to other inflected languages such as Russian. Furthermore, the vocabulary of Latin helps students learn English as well as other Romance languages. The English derivatives from Latin are the tough words that kids might not encounter until later. Finally, for us, Latin required serious discipline that can be carried over to other subjects. I began some of mine in 2nd grade with Prima Latina from Memoria Press. My 13 yo is now in Henle, I have two in Latina Christiana I moving into First Form Latin next year, and a rising 2nd grader who will begin Prima next year. Larissa in NJ

I kept them separate by having the kids do the SWIs (I had all 3: A, B and C). When we did year 1, I used the Ancient History-based guide and I used the Bible-based guide for year 2. Then I used the US guides for years 3 and 4. They didn't match up exactly, but it worked out pretty well. Larissa in NJ

One day is a co-op where everyone has science and literature/writing and p.e. The other day we have Latin co-op, then choir, then chess. Then we are home 3 days a week, getting all that work done for those classes, plus our math, reading, grammar, logic, etc. I do enjoy staying home and taking care of homeschooling and housework. However, my 13 ds really does better when he has to be accountable to someone else. So we are out more than I would like, but it's working this year. Each year we re-evaluate. We do almost no playdates or general hanging out during the school day--they see their friends at co-op or on weekends. I can't run around during the school day beyond what we already do. Even our library visits now have to be evenings or weekends because we are busy during the days. Larissa homeschooling 5 in NJ 16dd, 13ds, 11dd, 9ds, 6ds

I know that this age can be challenging. Our homeschool co-op kids are generally ok, but there are very clear expectations for behavior in place. Are there clear rules for behavior for the co-op or for the class? Teens tend to test the teacher to see what they can get away with (sort of like toddlers). We make the work fairly rigorous, so they have plenty to keep them busy. I also teach a teenage Sunday School class, where all but my ds are in ps, and they are constantly testing me. I keep telling them, "Look, that might work in ps, but it won't work with me." Kids in public school are not allowed to text, so they shouldn't be allowed to text in co-op either. You have a tough decision. I also find various challenges in co-op, but as the kids get older, we seem to need groups to get things like science labs and writing classes accomplished. Homeschooling 5 in NJ, 16dd, 13ds, 11dd, 9ds, 6ds

We'll do first form! Larissa

and we started spelling once we got through ETC 6. We have used SWO, Spelling Power, R&S spelling, and now, finally, sequential spelling. Larissa

and she found the Singapore series to be rigorous and excellent preparation for higher-level mathematics. She did primary, then NEM I-IV, then New Additional Mathematics. She is doing Calculus this year. I think the Singapore series really teaches students to think mathematically rather than to simply follow a paradigm. I think it is the exact opposite of Saxon. Larissa

from MUS. I thought it was tiresome to focus on only one topic for a whole year. TT is very thorough program for students to use independently. Larissa

I just got my Memoria Press catalogue and I see that First Form Latin will be out in August. I am teaching a LCI class and I assumed I'd be going on to LCII and then First Form Latin. I was surprised that First Form Latin says to use it after LCI. I'm unsure about what to do. Does anyone know what follows First Form Latin--will we still go on to Henle? Does anyone have any more details? Larissa homeschooling 5 in NJ

My ds did MUS through Epsilon and began pre-algebra. He was just not getting it. The lectures solved relatively simple problems and then the worksheets were more complicated. DS just couldn't make the leap. I hear that the new MUS had solutions to all problems, but we didn't have that last year. We switched to Teaching Textbooks. He's doing better. He was able to go quickly but now is slowing down for the last few chapters. I prefer TT to MUS for ease of use. I also prefer doing several topics in a year rather than focusing exclusively on fractions or decimals. However, two of my kids were able to handle Singapore, and I think that the level of math they are doing is much higher than either TT or MUS. I think TT and MUS are fairly comparable. Hope that helps some. Larissa homeschooling 5 in NJ

I don't know about the Saxon, but the Apologia did a great job of getting my dd ready for her college class in physics. If he's used to the Apologia style for science, I would suggest you stay with it. It covers standard high school science material. And, yes, physics is in the science department. Although it uses a lot of math! Larissa homeschooling 5 in NJ

I guess first make sure your kids can type quickly enough to keep up with the discussion. If their keyboarding skills are good, they might enjoy being accountable to someone else and getting to know fellow homeschoolers from different places. We have had good on-line classes with Memoria. I have heard good things about Veritas on-line classes as well. I think the on-line classes might help ease your burden as you get through this difficult time, and allow your girls to develop some independence. Larissa homeschooling 5 in NJ

WWE builds writing skills so seamlessly that you don't feel you're doing a lot, but at the end of the year, you can definitely see the progress. My youngers who have used WWE are far ahead of the olders at that age because I was asking for more IEW or Writing Strands type of assignments in LG. It didn't really help to push at this early stage--there's plenty of time for that! Larissa homeschooling 5 in NJ

And also keeping a 14-year-old at dialectic. The reading would just overwhelm him, I fear. Congrats on making the decision! Larissa in NJ

the fact that there is soooo much more to choose from than there was in 1999. I stuck much closer to the plan when I first started. but now I know about more and thus have to make more decisions. Larissa homeschooling 5 in NJ

but we just switched from MUS pre-algebra to TT. What was going on for my 13 yo ds was that he would understand the lecture, but get stuck on some of the harder problems, and there was no help. I understand that MUS is changing so that you can get solutions to every problem, but this wasn't the case last year. You can also skip concepts/chapters you understand in TT and then if you need extra help in one area, there are step-by-step explanations of any problems you don't understand. We have found some TT chapters simple and some more difficult. So if he already got it, he'd take the test and move on. We're now beginning algebraic manipulations, and we've slowed down a bit. Good luck! homeschooling 5 in NJ

is that someone like your second son who tests really well can get a free-ride at a 4-year college/university, but many of those scholarships are only open to freshmen, not transfers from CC or another school. My oldest is just taking classes at cc, but will begin at a 4-year school as a freshmen in the fall on a full scholarship. My other kids, I think, may just stay at cc for 2 years, unless something better comes up for them. Larissa homeschooling 5 in NJ

We used MCP's plaid phonics books. They are colorful and the exercises are similar to ETC. The only problem is trying to find the exercises that correspond to what you are teaching. We used the Ordinary Parents' Guide so we had to search for the relevant material, but we had to do that with ETC too. Larissa homeschooling 5 in NJ

And my news is not good. The high school level texts will run you even more. But that is nothing at all compared to college. My oldest is taking one class at community college. The text book was $120 and the lab manual (about 40 sheets of paper, copied and bound at staples) was $40. That was a shocker! The only thing I've found that helps is checking out the used book sales at your state convention, searching on-line for used materials, and swapping with friends for non-consumables. Oh, and there are some good materials at the library and on-line. Larissa homeschooling 5 in NJ

We love WWE. Didn't like WS at all. My kids thought the assignments were corny. After WWE we plan to use IEW. Larissa homeschooling 5 in NJ

because I've changed my mind so many times over the summer. My stuff comes at the end of August and I have no chance to second guess myself. BUT...I have also sold and rebought the same materials. OR...bought 3 or 4 copies of a math book because it worked so great with one kid and then realized it was a disaster for the rest of the family. I'm sorry you're going through it now! Larissa homeschooling 5 in NJ

What I didn't know until this year was that many students who are applying to very competitive colleges take many APs. Back in the old days, taking 3 or 4 APs was great and showed that you were a serious student, capable of college work. My daughter applied to college this year. In her junior year she took English Lit AP (and got a 5) and took physics at a local college (she got an A). For her senior year, she took chemistry at the college and is taking the Calculus AP (BC) exam. (Our reasoning was that it's beneficial to get the lab experience for the sciences, so she took them at college, but for English and Calculus the AP was sufficient and would give her credit when she went for her degree.) I thought my daughter would be very competitive. She also scored perfect 800s in her SAT subject tests in English, Math level 2 and Chemistry, but I don't know if that's as important. Those tests are much easier than the APs in the same subjects. Well, it turned out that at very competitive high schools, students are in a mad rush to begin APs by sophomore year. For some of the scholarships she applied to, the students have 10 AP classes or more. (This is in NJ, where everyone is crazy about getting into the ivy league.) So...her transcript was not as impressive as I thought. Still, I would recommend taking AP exams. Colleges seem to expect them, and they show the ability to handle college-level work. Larissa homeschooling 5 in NJ, grades 1-12

Thanks--that will help me get started!

I am so relieved that I finished my high school senior's transcript. :001_smile: However, I think it would be good idea to do course descriptions and a book list for her. I started working on it, but I can't help but think that somewhere, someone has already written perfectly fine descriptions for things like apologia bio, chem and physics, NEM , IEW, etc. I am doing the humanities descriptions, but I'm wondering if there are samples somewhere I could borrow/adapt? I did a quick search, but didn't really find what I'm looking for. Thanks! These are the times I wish she had a guidance counselor so we could just hand in the forms and forget about it... Larissa in NJ Homeschooling 5, grades 1, 3, 5, 7 and 12