My DS has both the elementary and middle school books (all 4 books). He's currently working though the elementary books together. The lessons aren't exactly the same in each book, but they are close enough that it's easy to combine the two. Neither set is very large so we decided to do all 4 books this year.

:lol::lol:Quite creative!

:iagree: To everything there are consequences and kids sometimes have to learn that the hard way. As a parent you don't want them to learn with something that will effect their whole life, but you can't live their lives for them either. Do your best to show them consequences their actions will have, but accept that you can't force them to do it your way (even when common sense dictates that they do).

Lego is a very popular option. Vex is another option that is popular with school programs. My DS is into electronics and other types of robotics so he finds Arduino or Parallax type building more interesting.

We are also using Human Odyssey.

My DS is working though a self paced online Plato Computer course. The course covers computer basics including some coverage of MS Office products. Some of the content is a bit out of date, but I explain those areas to him and it gives a bit of history. Additionally, he has some MS Office How to books with simple step by step instructions and plenty of pictures. So he'll learn a new technique then practice it while doing his school work.

Everyone gets a Vday gift here, just something small but thoughtful. We treat it as a family "general love you day". I often get flowers, but my DS will give them to me as often as my husband. My DS collects miniature dragons statues, so I'm getting him a dragon with a heart gem.

:001_huh:errrmmm.... and they are spending $70,000,000 (estimated) on it. My DS suggests the sequel be "George Washington: Zombie Slayer", and of course he'll have to use his cherry tree chopping axe.

My DS has used Music Ace Deluxe and enjoyed most of it. He had 3 years of music class prior and much prefered that to the software. He recently discovered http://www.musictheory.net and states that is good for review. I came across a cheap copy of the TheoryTime books, so he'll give that a try next.

I have the second edition TM and SB. I forgot about the additional notes in the SB. You wouldn't have those in the TM. You could use the discussion questions and vocabulary with just the TM but you wouldn't get all the extras. My DS loves the course. We don't do all the extras (like the essays) as we already have a full Lit program, but the discussion questions alone are worth the TM. :)

You could do it with just the teacher's manual. My DS uses the student book for the vocabulary, but we do all the questions verbally. You could easily copy the vocabulary words if you plan to use them. All of the tests are in the teacher's manual. We didn't buy LL version of LOTR so the page numbers don't match our copy but it's not hard to find referenced sections.

I personally dislike the whole age=grade system of the PS. If the point of going to school is to learn, then a child should be in whatever group he/she is ready for. Insisting only the same aged students can be taught together is nonsense. My DS was skipped 2 grades in PS before we switched to HS so his age/grade didn't match anyway. Right now, if someone asks him his grade, he tells them he attends a skills based private school (HS in CA). That tends to lead to them asking what skill level he is at in math or science, which is more appropriate. If he ever wants to go back to PS we'll probably have to deal with the age/grade issue again, but it's not likely he will.

We don't have to, but my DS wants to take it. I'm not sure if he could just sit in at a local HS test or not. Same for the other testing.

You might want to bring it up at your next Dr meeting. It's possible there are other medical reasons it could have happened that are known these days. :grouphug:

LOL well apparently the fact that I *posted* about his avoidance in writing things out was enough to get him to start doing it without a hassle. Today, he was a model student, and wrote every problem out in tidy handwriting. He made one tiny mistake when he missed a minus sign, but he did 2 lessons with no other errors, so I'm not complaining. He's been doing daily language tests for fun, so I'll see about getting him signed up for the SAT practice to include the math. I think he might enjoy the AoPS. I didn't see an example of the solution section of the book, can anyone tell me if the steps are shown for arriving at the solution or are just the answers given? I find he learns better when he can see exactly where he went wrong. Are there other core class programs like AsoP which are known for being more challenging or are aimed at early college prep? :bigear:

Thanks for the welcome and replies. :) We both liked Saxon, and had planned to use it though HS. However, he saw Thinkwell and he liked the videos (he liked Professor Burger) so he asked to switch. He thinks Algebra is easy in general. But since there are new concepts I'm at a loss as to how I could change anything than the method of teaching (different curriculum). I doubt he could "skip" to Algebra II without missing something. As for the amount of work with Saxon, that wasn't a problem. He was still at a PS when he was working in the PreAlgebra level and the teacher suggested he jump ahead or do every other problem rather than all of the problems, but he wanted to do them all. He also did additional Khan and IXL PreAlgebra courses at the same time. Currently we are using Plato Life Science for 6-8 and he aces every test. We are also adding our own labs and projects with various kits, web research etc. Prior to that he devoured every Science book he could get from his school. He likes the online, interactive aspects of using Plato. He was skipped ahead 2 grades in the PS, so I didn't think it was wise to jump to quickly into the HS science. Though come to think of it, his current history book is a HS book. I'll look into AoPS. It seems the more I read on these forums the more I question our direction. :auto: Skipping ahead and now HSing has made the ride much more bumpy, and I want to be sure we end up at our college destination with everything in order. He is dreaming of MIT or CalTech in one of the STEM fields.

I keep trying to post this and I keep starting over. Hopefully some of you with more experience can understand my problem. My DS is 11 and is currently learning Algebra 1. He has good days and bad days. He finds math "easy" in general but gets distracted and makes mistakes he shouldn't make. Things like adding instead of multiplying. Rarely are they concept mistakes. He works quickly; too quickly at times. He used Saxon though PreAlgebra and then switched to Thinkwell (his request). He uses IXL for practice. Thinkwell lessons take him 10 minutes on average. IXL lessons depend on his mood. He'll finish a section in 5-10 minutes one day and 45 minutes another day. My worry is that he might not be getting all he should be or that maybe he isn't being challenged enough. Before we began HSing his teachers said he was doing great, but needed to slow down (a common comment). He hates to write things out, and he's always in a rush with everything he does. It drives me crazy, but it's his nature. He is a smart boy; he was skipped 2 grades and got top math scores. So maybe I'm worrying over nothing. :confused: He wants to get a STEM career of some type, so he'll need a good math background. I'm pretty much at the :eek: stage with the whole college thing. I have had way to many sleepless nights lately. To top things off, I'm new to the whole classical education approach, so I'm looking at everything we have done in the last few years and trying to figure out if we did the right things. :willy_nilly:

Thanks for the link! That is so helpful for my DS who is working though his first year with Latin. I never learned Latin, so I'm learning along with him. He started with basic Prima Latina but was given Cambridge Latin I as a gift last month and he immediately noticed the pronunciation difference on the CD. It's on our "TODO" shelf, and I'm not sure if and when it will get used, but that site should help him with the new pronunciations.

My DS11 started Fallacy Detective and The Thinking Toolbox recently. He likes doing Suduko, Lumocity, 5 Minute Mysteries and Perplexors. I'm not sure if I should look at AoA, or TL yet. Or both? :confused: I never had any formal or informal logic training but I loved "logic" puzzles as a kid. I wish my parents had considered nonPS options. I'm so jealous of all the things my son is learning. It almost makes me wish I was back in school. :lol:

I also recommend starting with the Hobbit first. My DS was hooked after he read it. He's currently doing the LL:LoTR and loving it.

That's when I would toss them a notepad and say "Write it down, this time". :) If you still have problems then give them more detailed instructions. It works like a charm with my DS who hates tedious handwriting.

My son is currently using the LLFLOTR as part of his English Lit course and finds it quite enjoyable. We enjoy spending extra time discussing the questions in detail after he's done the daily assignment. Sometimes questions lead off in interesting paths which must be explored of course so an hour can easily turn into three or four but it's all good educational fun. He has seen all the movies, read The Hobbit and even plays LOTRO with his friends. The movies differ in many ways from the book but they are fun jumping off point for reluctant readers or anyone new to LOTR. I would recommend starting with a quick read though The Hobbit or at least watching the animated movie as it adds a bit of understanding and explains some of the main character backgrounds. My son thinks Elvish should be a valid foreign language :lol:. He's taking Latin and German this year, apparently they aren't enough.