I do agree with this, but I find this is the case with most HS boards, so not any more so here than anywhere else. But don't worry---I've never been in the 'IN' crowd here, at SL or anywhere else IRL :001_huh: I just figure it's Gods plan for my life experience.

So sorry :grouphug:

:iagree: :iagree: We held dd back a year for various reasons and at the time she was NOT happy about it! She had to watch her only very good homeschool friend graduate and leave for college while she was 'stuck' here in our small town with no friends and feeling left out. Fast forward a year later----she was SO happy we knew better than her and told us so! She watched her friend get into the party scene and become swayed by the ultra liberal atmosphere at most colleges, much to the dismay and shock of dd. this girl had a wonderful foundation! Fast forward 2 years----dd had enough time to mature and really find out what she wanted to do, and so is working to pay her way through school, in her own apartment away from us. She is responsible ( well, 99%) for herself and her bills etc. she does not drink or party and neither does her boyfriend. She is quite mature and VERY responsible. Her friend, who does live in the same town, still lives a very dependent existence, not cooking for herself, not paying any bills for herself and more into the college party scene than ever. She works unskilled summer jobs as if she is still in high school. But she does make Deans List every year :tongue_smilie: So my new take on college---and certainly how dd sees it-----an extended adolescence for too many. I think a gap year or extra year at home in high school can be very necessary for some kids and has nothing to do with sheltering or holding them back from growing up. I think many colleges today take the cake for preventing the kids from truly growing up anyways :001_huh: if you feel like your dd would benefit from another year at home, then by all means do it.

Great idea to look at MUS in person. I relate to your fears of putting your dd in a lower level of math than she 'should' be in. But I will just say that I had Epsilon in hand when my dd was in 8th, and decided against it for the same reasons you are stating. I felt she should be in Prealgebra, even though now I realize she didn't have the bases covered yet. So I sent the MUS back and put her in a Prealgebra program the she struggled in, and then an algebra program she struggled in and on and on :001_huh: It would have been so nice if I was as wise as I am now back then, because so much time and money and struggle would ave been saved for us. :glare: Homeschool allows us to work our children on THEIR level, not on society's 'supposed to be' level.

:iagree: Very well said!

I 3rd the suggestion for MUS! It was the ONLY program that allowed dd to actually get through Algebra and Geometry---Alg 2 was NOT going to happen! My biggest regret also,is not sticking with MUS with her, as we used the original Foundations and Intermediate and she was doing GREAT! I then figured she was ready for something more rigorous, so we switched to Saxon, which ruined, ruined her love for math and sent us into s spiral for close to 3 years. She began MUS Prealgebra midway through 10th, and was finally able to comprehend and finish Alg 1 and Geometry.

We'll be using 100 again with the new IG so I guess I'll get to read all of these notes finally ;). And yes, it's anything but boring!

Yep---no indictment for MFW on this issue whatsoever! We used Ancient History and thoroughly enjoyed it with no theological problems ;)

Well honestly, we never used the notes for 100 so I guess I might have missed a few things? :001_huh: The History of Us books didn't paint that picture and neither did any of the historical literature. In fact, we didn't start using any of the notes until 400 with the easier to use upgraded IGs, and I don't recall any sort of condonement of slavery. As far as renaming the Civil War---I do tend to agree as it wasn't simply Northern outrage of slavery, as the North was largely as racist as the South. mr. Holzmann is right that it's a bit more complicated as the typical history textbook portrays. SL just gives SO much more information to allow one to make up ones OWN mind with so many different sources and viewpoints to read from as compared to simply one text ;)

Praying for her and her family, especially since we dealt with the same type of condition with my dad 6 years ago. She is such a kind and helpful mom!

As a Catholic, I won't use BJu either as they are very anti-Catholic with no attempt at hiding it. Have you looked at Notgrass's Exprloring America program? SL 300 is a GREAT program! It was honestly one of our favorites. I do suggest trying to find a used copy of the older history spine 20th Century Day by Day though, as it is much better than their current spine. Have you used Core 100? Again, one of our favorites and our dd used it in 10th. The Core 400 is a VERY challenging core, but the nice thing about it is that it presents history clearly---warts and all---and in a very even handed manner. We did not care for the Bible books or the Carson Govt book, but the rest of the history titles were top notch. I am a very BIG fan of SL at the high school level because of the challenging history titles that really cause kids (and adults) to challenge and question the traditional stories of Am history that perhaps are not the full truth. SL most definitely tells the truth not only of slavery, but of race relations since then. It's been cringeworthy at times.

Lifepac high school health program! I believe there is one Lifepac in the bunch that talks about mental health, but the rest cover pretty much everything you are looking for.

We have used and loved MUS now for quite a few years. First of all, if your dd is not going to be a math major, why push her through Prealg AND Alg in one year? Especially if you say she has no conceptual understanding. My suggestion is to start with the MUS Prealg and see how she does. If she is happy, I wouldn't push it too hard. Then she can tackle the Alg 1 in 8th. If you continue with the MUS sequence, it is very good math and sufficient, even if it doesn't move as fast as some other programs mentioned here. MUS takes more time to teach understanding and true mastery over sheer volume. My son is in 10th and started MUS in 7th with Prealg, with Alg 1 following in 8th. He is truly enjoying, but still being challenged, by MUS Alg 2. We do supplement with Life of Fred because it adds a different take on the math, with much more application to real life. My experience with pushing math too much, too early is massive burnout. If your dd is doing well with MUS, why switch? And doing MUS Prealg, Alg 1 AND CLE all at once sounds like too much. Maybe your CLE alongside Prealg in 7th and Alg in 8th? DS used Hands on Equations in 6th and LOVED it. Kids can manipulate algebraic equations at a young age, but the true abstract understanding of what they are doing and why truly comes with maturity ;)

They're both good, solid programs, but which one you use depends on what you need the program to do. IEW will have more hand holding and explicit instructions for each writing assignment. PTIW assumes a certain level of proficiency and covers some mechanics but focuses more on different types of writing assignments rather than on how to actually write in the first place. We used PTIW briefly this year, but I came back to IEW because ds and I needed more 'how to' instructions.

They're actually great reads! VERY doable, especially the Fagles translations. Now if those books were for a student, my opinion would change to 'yuck' :tongue_smilie: I enjoyed my sons 9 th grade year reading some of those titles MUCH more than he did----something I was not expecting. Happy reading ;)

But hopefully this message did reach some kids. I wish to God I had heard someone say something like this to my class when we graduated from our spoiled, pampered rich kid school---it would have made my life SO much easier for the first 10 years after graduating! :001_huh: I canNOT stand looking at my alumni magazine that always has bragging articles about the few rich kids that went on and became richer and successful (with that trust fund being über helpful mind you) because I am one of those 'special' students who did nothing but get married and have a couple of kids that I homeschooled. Nothing worth mentioning at any reunion or in an alumni catalog, making me feel like I am a 'loser' because I didn't make a lot of money in a successful international career and I certainly didn't marry a rich man who could pay for my,kids to attend that exclusive school. Stupid---because success is not just about money and public achievements :glare:

:iagree: with your last comment 100%! We do the program together too, discussing everything etc. You don't have to forego that if your student uses the workbook, but for us it's made it more convenient to be 'on the same page' because my son would zone out if it was just me narrating the rest of the program :tongue_smilie: Workbooks and filling in blanks, answering qiestions in writing, looking up vocab definitions aren't all 'bad' and don't necessarily stifle deeper intellectual discussions or bunny trails....

We are using 1st edition with the recommended book, TE and student book and ds loves it! I can't imagine not using the student notebook because it allows the student to really delve into what they just read, study the vocab and then analyze their reading with the study questions. Using it simply orally with 2 students would require an immense amount of time on your part and give more of a survey course than the in depth study it is meant to be. Using the book that goes with the study allows for quick reference, as the pages line up exactly with the questions, and so again it Might get very frustrating to use any version of the book and then scramble to find answers. The extra Unit studies are great too, so again your student might not get so much out of it if you simply use the TE and do it all orally. It's only a $40 difference between 1st and 2nd edition, but why not stick with the 1st edition since you have a portion of it already! This is a VERY beefy program no matter which edition you choose ;)

Yes.

I signed ds up for a Landry Academy 2 day chemistry lab intensive!! I'm so excited because we have NEVER done any group homeschool classes or gatherings with him at all (nothing here at all...no high school homeschoolers)--and he has homeschooled from the beginning. Granted, we will be driving about 375 miles one way, but for us it will be worth it for so many reasons ;)

:iagree::iagree: We are using MUS through Calc too----love it!! We use LOF as a supplement because it's interesting and give more explanations for the 'whys' of math. But I don't think it's more challenging at all, and neither does my son. We are absolutely loving the MUS Alg2 program this year!

If I let my son pick his electives.......he would pick...nothing! :glare: Seriously. I have let him pick electives before, like French. And then he complained the ENTIRE year!!!! I had to keep reminding him I spent a fortune on the program because HE wanted to do it, not me. So now I pick his electives, within reason of course. I only pick things that I know will be useful in later years. ;)

Not the last time I talked to them. They assume most homeschoolers will use a CC to tackle this subject. They don't factor in how many of us have no CC close by....:glare:

MUS is work text. Ds is now in Alg2 and we plan to use it through Calc---we love it and also love there is no recopying of problems involved ;)

I feel for you! BTDT with my dd, and Saxon had the exact same effect on her self esteem. I know the feeling of not wanting to change curriculums...again...because we did WAY too many times, but I do highly recommend MUS. It was the ONLY curriculum that gave her confidence enough to finish Algebra and Geometry---we switched out of desperation so many times, that's all she had time for :001_huh: