I totally understand where you are coming from! I guess you need to ask yourself some questions: 1. Are there other areas in your finances you could drastically cut back on that would help your financial problems until you have a hold on them---so you don't have to work? 2. Do the finances take precedence over your son's education at home? Even if he could work alone---do you want him to? Will he get any benefit from it? 3. Can you really work full-time and manage the rest of your life---even if you could possibly get your 9th grade son to step up to the plate and become self-educating----will it add MORE stress---off-setting the additional income? 4. I understand bad financial decisions (oh boy---do I ever :001_huh:). Is there some sort of debt management company you could work with to not have to work full time? Could you downsize? Cut some luxuries (if you have them) like cable/satellite, cell phones, get a slower internet, cut back driving, eat cheaper food? If you have not done this sort of analysis yet---you would actually be surprised at how much you can cut back even if you have already cut back! Could your son's get part-time jobs to pay for any extra's/gasoline that comes out of your pocket and doesn't pay important utility bills? I just know that we are in a situation where I have considered working also---BUT---I know for me personally the sacrifices would far outweigh any income at this stage of the game. AND---I will also do whatever it takes to home educate my kids through high school (ONE horrible public school here!). We are currently downsizing to a smaller home that will take away any need for me to work right now. It is that important to me/us. Can you survive drastic cut backs in lifestyle for the extra few years it will take to get your son through high school? HTH! :001_smile:

Hmmm--I guess a little off-topic here--but have to say it. SO---we all need to have a photo ID for an academic test---but not to vote for the most important elected leader in the United States.? Makes sense..............:confused:

I would add that the viewpoint is VERY fair----we are Catholic and my daughter was amazed that at the mention of "Catholic" there was not unfair and unintelligent bashing going on. She used a Bob Jones text last year---and we had many discussions of how off-base BJU is on the role of the RCC in history.

Well....first thing that comes to mind is Horizons handwriting---but I think it does have religious content? It's a great program though!

Funny you start this topic----we totally ditched MY son's Calvert 6th because we were in the SAME EXACT BOAT! I kid you not. He cried and complained every day----I ditched that horrible LA book very early on too.....maybe try Sonlight? Ace? As far as independent style so you can care for someone else----these 2 come to mind first (BTDT also :001_huh:) I also bought Calvert 6th last year thinking the structure would save us time and make it easier for ds to get his work done---NOT!

Books are great! Experiments are fun! BUT---my son HATED, hated---did I mention he HATED the notebooking?! But I think that part is easy to skip---the books and experiments are worth it!

I know exactly how you feel! My kids are older---but very different and I want to work with them individually SO badly---but ds requires SOO much side by side work, my dd gets left to do her work on her own and then I have to scramble to try and spend some quality time with her discussing things :001_huh: What about independent work time for one while you work with the other----or some independent work coupled with a video/tape to listen/watch so you can DO something with each? What about a simple break/playtime for your younger while you work with the older son? HTH!

:iagree:Agreeing that most who consider ACE to be inferior---have never used it, let alone looked it over in person. We use various subjects (English, math, electives, geography) and have found it to be quite challenging! In fact, ds used Ace 6th math exclusively this last school year for the first time---and scored VERY well on his Iowa basics---well enough to be elected into the Who's who. Ace covers the basics effectively and efficiently---leaving plenty of time for enrichment :) Ace will play a part in our school all the way through high school :tongue_smilie:

I just recently sent back Analytical Grammar. I know it has some great reviews---but it just looked too dry and not totally what I was looking for. So far, I LOVE the looks of Hake Writing and Grammar and Abeka grammar---I will be using these programs alternately until my kids are through high school.

I love it because my kids NEVER complain anymore!! DD got really, really behind in math while I tried to find a program that worked for her. I went through Videotext Algebra, Saxon, Abeka, Math U See, Paradigm Accelerated---and finally had her take the placement for TT---and she tested at the TT Pre-Algebra level---and finally, finally is doing math every day first thing without complaint! The placement test is critical----TT can be ahead, behind or right on depending on where your children are at in ability. A more challenging math text that covers more topics means nothing if you and your children do not understand it. My ds is also using TT Pre-Alg for 6th grade because that is where he is at. I did not think it would be challenging enough for him---but he loves it too! I was about ready to dump a program that was working miracles on both of my children because of listening---like a pp said---to the opinions of complete strangers who said the program was sub-par, behind, not sat/act prep etc. Well---it turns out that my dd and ds tested extremely well on their Iowa Basics this year---and they were using TT. I also came to the conclusion that I did not want to spend the money on 2 different programs for my 2 children with very different math abilities---so I put my son way ahead and let dd work at her level :tongue_smilie:

What a great thread! We are dealing with a situation in which our former good homeschool friends sent their oldest daughter to PS for a class this last school year---and she matured and made a ton of friends. Her 1 year younger sister does everything she does---so they both have a TON of new, fun friends with more permissive parents. That has left my dd in the DUST!!! She is a little less mature and socially aware (In a very good way) than these girls now---and they are totally mean to her!!! Put her down in front of the PS girls, tell these kids how we are so strict---etc., just basically make my dd feel like a sheltered reject who does not fit in. Basically, these girls all acted silly together and got along---now that the sisters have entered "the real world" so to speak---they way my dd acts has not changed and she is ridiculed and put down for it. This really would not be such a problem if this town was not SO small. Since we started homeschooling---our entire lives have revolved around the other 2 families in our church that homeschool and the church. Now that this is changing---we are in a major social limbo and licking our "rejected" wounds :glare: It is amazing how FAST that nasty attitude towards others without mercy can take over when the kids start melding into the PS social scene (although I do realize NOT all PS kids are mean or bad ;))

:lurk5:

Thank you so much for this recommendation!!! This book and another by the same author are waiting in my Wish List from Amazon!!! :001_smile:

Well, initially I was heading towards BJU DVD Biology---but the cost was shockingly prohibitive if I added in some hands on labs!! I went ahead and got Apologia and I am pre-reading it before dd starts it in the fall---and I am finding it very, very interesting and understandable. But more improtantly---Apologia is affordable and doable at home if you want hands on labs for high school. :)

Thanks. :001_smile: I am leery of skipping Alg II for my kids----and that is good to know that it is so necessary to continue to Calc! So---if anyone knows since i am no expert and just looking at Key to Alg it looks like a thorough Alg 1 course---what exactly is missing? :glare:

Thanks for the advice, I will pass it on. I guess I am also wondering if skipping Alg 2 IS truly an option for math bright kids? Is it really necessary to take 2 years of Algebra if you can pick up the rudiments you need over the internet when you hit a jam?? IS Key to Algebra a full Algebra 1 program?? If I can use it with my ds, that would save me $$$$ over TT...

If a student did Key to Math for Algebra, TT for Geometry, and then was struggling through Precalc, but getting help on the internet----would it be too much to put them in Calculus senior year if they really, really want to take it?? My friend is wondering what to do for dd and this is her math history. She will be a senior next year and is very good at winging things---but dd really wants to take Calc at the local public school. Too much??

I also found this site recently and was intrigued. So I ordered 2 of the LL books for the older kids for mine---and I LOVE them!!!! It is exactly the supplement I wanted. A catalog came with my order----and WOW!! I love what they offer---so much so that I placed an even larger order for some of the study guides for science and some of the read alouds for science. For a family business, I find the printing and quality very good. The books are actually reprints of very old books---and I find them charming and very interesting. They have packages for different levels with all kinds of goodies. I can't imagine that these would suffice for a complete curriculum for my kids---but they are wonderful CM supplement that I plan on using. :001_smile:

We have used 5 cores so far---and LOVE it!!! The reading lists are amazing, the history just comes alive with the books, and once I learned to use the IG---we started to get SO much more out of it! The only part of SL I really do not care for one bit is the LA. It just does not work with my kids. Everything else, though, is fantastic and my kids entire school years through high school are all planned out around those SL cores.

When we first used Calvert WAY back in 2001, I LOVED it!!! We used 3rd and 5th. I decided against 6th for dd because of the history textbook, but I got 4th for ds. MISTAKE----I hated it because it seemed like it went SO slowly and was actually easier than 3rd! Besides, I had gotten SL for dd, and she was enjoying it SO much, I ditched the 4th and got SL 3 for ds. After doing SL 3 and 4, I decided to try Calvert 6th for ds. Wow----what a difference.! He is hating the rigid structure and is BEGGING to go back to SL. I have skipped ALL the writing/composition because the textbook is horrible---I supplement in history and science. What a waste of money! The computer lessons are weak, at best. We also used the Math 7---and really disliked that too. The amount of problems the student was expected to do each day was ridiculous---and then there was NO teaching in the textbook---so I HAD to teach it to him every day. I sent the Math 8 back. I am SO disappointed that Calvert has now pretty much replaced all of their own special programs for mainstream textbook stuff----science, spelling etc. And the price gets higher and higher every year too-----It was charming and interesting at first, but this year has become drudgery.

We have both programs and have likes and dislikes about both. LFC is a heavier workload, and you would definitely want the DVDs. They add a lot to the program. I think you should start in level A also. There is just SO much more to LFC than LC1----and there is the reader also you would want to add. I actually had to stop LFC with the kids because the program was just TOO much work for them----and my son just cannot stand the girls in the DVDs :tongue_smilie:

Well---Officially since 2000---so 8 years so far with dd. BUT---ds insisted that I do workbooks and teach him to read when he was about 3, so really 10 years. DD is finishing up her first year of high school (YIKES---where DID the time go) and ds is finishing up 6th grade ;) Thank you!!! public schools for being SOO horrible---I have loved, loved this journey----it is challenging but gets better every year :D

We have used many levels so far----3, 4, 5 and the Apologia schedules. My kids have LOVED SL science! I think the lower levels are plenty----fun, sort of structured, but not a textbook with ALL those worksheets. Experiments all planned out and a box of the supplies right on hand. I regret using BJU 6th science this year with ds---it is killing his previous love for science because it is SOOO structured with very little hands on so far and WAY too many worksheets. If you stuck with SL science all the way to Apologia----your kids will learn lots of science and be more than ready for upper levels. The catalog does not lie when it states this is true:001_smile:

Megawords and Apples might be what you are looking for.

Yes---I know you can cut what you need to out of Mosdos, because that is exactly how I used it with my dd. Obviously with an analogy---you have more leeway in skipping because the selections are shorter, sweeter and to the point, as opposed to entire novels. :tongue_smilie:We used it mainly as a catch up to where I needed her to be in lit analysis---so we did some of the short stories, some poems and one longer selection and it worked well without being too hurried.