:lol: I love those posts - from everybody, not just you. They make me feel normal! ;) :D

We love that book!! Shannon is/was totally that kid. We read it when she turned 11, and I've gifted it to several 11/12 year old girls. I'm looking forward to reading it with my younger dd soon, and to reading the sequel which was recently published.

I really like the looks of the OM syllabus. I haven't checked out the Holt book. I agree with Foxbridge that Mr Q's writing style is better directed at young kids that teenagers (or adults!) Foxbridge, that's an interesting plan, thanks for sharing. Shannon read the Ecology book you're using last year, and I had mixed feelings about it. I liked the nice summaries, but I worried that it was kind of randomly jumping around. The books don't have any kind of narrative thread, they are rather encyclopedic. I'm not criticizing your plan! Just thinking out loud. I really liked the idea of these books but wasn't sure how I felt about them once I looked at one more closely. I think your plan of treating each one as a unit and adding labs, tests, and a paper is a great way to pull it all together for the student. I think my problem is I was treating it more like a living book, that you read and discuss, and it isn't really that - it's kind of a hybrid between a text and an encyclopedic coverage. I like how it was very concise and to the point, though. Ok, sorry for the ramble. Thanks for posting your plan.

The highlights for me were SWB's sessions and Julie Bogart's sessions. Two homeschool gurus I really respect, and who consistently "bring it" when they speak. It's funny, because their products are so different, but they are really coming from a similar place philosophically, I think, if you drill down through the materials and method. They are both interested in producing kids who are literate, articulate, engaged, and prepared to be a part of the Great Conversation. The fact that they articulate different paths about how to get there is actually encouraging, and freeing. And they are both really good about telling it like it is! So many times they'll say "You know when you think X" or "when your kid does X" and I'll think, Yes! I do know! That exact thing has happened here! It makes you feel sane, and that you aren't going through this thing alone!

I agree that if narrations are causing tears and drama, and have been for several years, you have to let it go, at least for awhile. However, I get what concerns you - because my next solution would have been, "Well, just talk about things in life - TV shows, play dates, stuff that is going on in her world and that interests her." But it's clear you are trying to do that and not getting anywhere. So if it were me, and I had tried dropping the narrations and having everyday conversations and still getting nowhere, I think I would be looking for some kind of evaluation of this child. I'd want professional help in trying to pin down what's going on, whether it is an expressive difficulty, a learning difficulty, or anxiety, or what. Regardless, your instincts are telling you that something isn't right, and you've tried the low-hanging reasonable responses, so maybe it is time to ask for some help/more data? :grouphug:

I just remembered another thing, reminded by the comment above about the Critical Thinking for American history books. I also found the regular Critical Thinking books recommended for 7th-8th grade unusable, they were really structured for classroom use and I thought they would be difficult to adapt. I also thought that Building Thinking Skills was kind of just annoying busy work. I know I'm not the only one, I've read a lot of other posters who said the same thing. So unless there is a rousing response to this post, that is one you might consider dropping! We really liked Mind Benders, enough that I'm getting it again for my 2nd child. They (the Critical Thinking Company) have a bunch of new, related books (Balance benders etc.) that might not have been available when the last edition was published. You might just list CTC as a good source for this kind of material for upper elementary, without being on the hook for suggesting particular materials for particular ages? They seem to be somewhat hit or miss.

Same here. This is only sort of on topic, but I just finished reading the book How To Raise An Adult, and you might enjoy it. And it might be good for your dh. It's got a lot in there about the college application process and about how to help your kids be prepared to take ownership of their own lives as they grow into teenagers. And how to let them.

I think I've got it down, more or less: 8th grade Math - 2nd half of Algebra 1, Geometry review and complete English- MCT's new vocab, WwaT plus compressed WWS 1-3 mashup for rhetoric, homemade literature with an emphasis on classic and modern sci fi & fantasy Creative Writing - weekly writer's workshop plus time to pursue personal projects Spanish - continuing with what we started last year, checking out the new EdX Spanish class Metacognition: various TC lectures and books, starting with How to Be a Superstar Student Science - overview using Joy of Science & correlated texts & readers History - History of science Extracurriculars - horseback riding, community choir, community theater 4th grade Math - MM & BA, HOE & Dreambox as supplements LA - MCT Town and Bravewriter Partnership Writing History - SOTW & WFH Medieval, correlated literature Science - Habitats & Biomes, Nature study Skills - handwriting, keyboarding Foreign Languages - still negotiating. I want Spanish, she wants German, Greek, and maybe French :001_rolleyes: Critical Thinking/Prelogic - Mind Benders, Balance Benders, lots of games & puzzles

I'm reading the later rewrite. I read the author's foreword to his new edition, and it was a fascinating window on an author's world & process, and on what you can hope to revise and what you can never revisit. I'm enjoying the book so far. I've never read the original edition.

I did it orally only in 3rd grade - I read the section and then we discussed it, no writing. They are doing something else for writing, right? If so, writing in history too is probably overkill. Alternatively, if you want to do your writing in history only, you could have the 3rd grader write narrations, or give you oral narrations that you scribe and dictate back. Your first grader could answer the questions orally and you could write their sentences down and have them use it for copywork. The Activity Guides have questions/answers and sample narration/summaries. Or you can buy & download the written questions only from the PHP site. But I think that's a lot of writing for a 3rd grader.

I finished How To Raise An Adult by Julie Lythcott-Haims. It's been getting a lot of press lately, for good reason - it's a good indictment of helicopter parenting, and of the college admissions ratrace that has developed in this country. She was mostly preaching to the choir, but it was a good reminder as my kids get older, and do start thinking about focus/interests/college etc., that I need to be sure to take a giant step back and remember this is their life, not mine - parent/teach the kids I have, and try to tailor things to their interests rather than creating the ideal high school *I* would have wanted to attend. I did find myself constantly applying her words to the context of homeschooling, which she doesn't address at all. On the one hand, homeschooling could have the danger of being the ultimate form of helicopter parenting - removing kids from the challenges of school/world, tailoring things to them so they have a cushioned, bump-free childhood, being overinvolved and having your identity defined by your kids and their success (or failure) especially in getting into college. I'm not saying it is/has to be that way! But it's a risk. Food for thought.

If you click on High School in EdX, they have added a bunch more course offerings recently. We are going to give Elementary Spanish a try, it should be accessible I'm guessing. But no review yet, just excited to try it! They also have some essay writing/academic writing courses, which I'm going to check out this fall to see if they are worthwhile. I don't have as high hopes for these, though, I can't imagine that they are anything but exclusively peer-reviewed.

I agree with the first two, and will eagerly check out the third! I'd add Coursera's How Things Work and Learning How to Learn: Powerful mental tools that help you master tough subjects.

Yes, but think of all the money you would save on writing programs if you could really embrace the idea of writing across the curriculum! Not that it's saved me much $$, I must confess. ;) :D

Yep, it would help.

My kids, 12 and 8, watched them last year. The 12 year old got a fair amount out of them, as she'd been through history before and was watching them (together with me) alongside relevant readings. They brought up some really good discussion points. She also watched them inside of the Big History Project. They definitely bear a 2nd or 3rd watching. My 8 year old got nothing from them but giggles, and exposure, and participated in some of the discussions. But that's ok with me! Something that exposes her to ideas and people and events she will study later, in a fun context, is only a good thing. I have no problem with the humor, which I'd characterize as 14 year old boy rather than adult. My kids know what skoodeley-pooping is, so no worries there. If your kids don't know anything about sex, it would be awkward. So it's definitely not for a little kid.

I finished re-reading Ender's Game. SIgh. I have to say, this book just gets better for me each time I read it. Each reading adds a layer, without taking anything away. I read it as a young teenager, and related to the kids in the story. I read it as a young adult, and saw more about the wider world. Now I read it as a mom and a teacher and there is this whole other layer - the gifted child, perfectionism, the fear of failure, the fear of what it would mean to still be yourself if you ever, ever failed - it just affected me like a gut-punch. I'm back to relating to Ender, the child, again. but with the experience and wisdom(?) of someone who has been through to adulthood and thought about being, teaching, helping a gifted and perfectionist child. I have big problems with Card as a person, the more I hear about him the less I want to. But he nailed something in this book. And for me at least, the impact hasn't faded.

Ah, 3 more for the to-read list! Thanks Kareni.

Well, I actually liked the Town level the best of the three, so I wouldn't have wanted to miss that. As far as big picture for writing, I think that Paragraph Town and Essay Voyage were very helpful. I did find the two Grammar books - Town and Voyage - pretty repetitive. And CE is the best part of the whole program, IMO, so I'd never suggest anyone skip that. That said, you don't have to use everything at every level. My personal, idiosyncratic don't miss list is: Sentence Island CE1 & 2 Grammar Town Paragraph Town Essay Voyage So I'd be inclined to use all of the Town level, and be choosy about the other two levels. I wasn't a big fan of the poetry books, though I know they get a lot of love from MCT-lovers.

You don't absolutely need the revised edition, but I liked it, because it had additional words - a whole extra set of STEM-type words using the latin stems that are focused on every other lesson. That was worth it for me. It also has additional exercises - grammar using the vocab words, additional readings. But it can work fine with either. Kai is right, there is review of CE1 words in CE2, but I would be hesitant to skip CE1 because of the way the words are presented. They aren't presented in order of difficulty, but of frequency - he presents them in the order of frequency of use in classical literature. So you get the more frequently used words first in CE1, and the words get less frequent and slightly more obscure as you go on. If your kids are avid classic readers with great vocabs already, maybe it doesn't matter so much, but I wouldn't have wanted to skip focusing on the CE1 words.

Just finished Letters to a Young Poet, which I believe was a suggestion from Jane. It had some luminous bits of wisdom. I am sitting with this quote, from the last letter, "With each encounter with truth one draws nearer to reaching communion with it." Next up is The Magus by John Fowles, my IRL book group's August selection. I'm kind of looking forward to it!

Well said, AVA. You articulated better than I did both what we liked about it, and ultimately why I stopped using it after Voyage.

Ok, thanks for the review, Farar. You make good calls on books for my kid - do you think a 12 3/4 year old who loved The Outsiders would be ok with it? As long as it's not really heavy on the descriptions of torture, it sounds like the rest of it she'd be ok with. . .

Oh yeah, that was me! I definitely appreciated all the Shakespeare references this reading, ones I missed in high school. I'm definitely going to make sure my kids read The Tempest before they read it. It was the only book John Savage had to read, so all of his perceptions of the Brave New World (a line from The Tempest) are expressed in Shakespearean language and filtered through Shakespearean situations, it was the only tool he had to try and understand the world. Fascinating, it was one of my favorite aspects of the book.

Brave New World was my choice for the Banned Book category for our Adult Summer Reading Program. I had read it in high school, and remembered being affected by it, but not as horrified as I was by 1984. I enjoyed this re-read very much. I think it is one of those books that is so clearly a product of its time, yet also so prescient, it doesn't seem as dated as many mid-20th century dystopias do. In fact it feels like some of the predictions are actually happening, in a subtle way. So it's disturbing, without being horrifying. I've had BNW Revisited sitting on my to-read stack for awhile now. I listened to the audiobook of Dodger. I liked it. It will be fun to pair with Oliver Twist some day for Shannon, but not for awhile yet. Recently completed books: 108. The Reluctant Assassin - Eoin Colfer 107. How To Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success-Julie Lythcott-Haims. 106. Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card 105. Letters to a Young Poet - Ranier Maria Rilke 104. Dodger - Terry Pratchett 103. The Far Side of Evil - Sylvia Louise Engdhal 102. Set This House in Order: A Romance of Souls - Matt Ruff 101. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens 100. Enchantress from the Stars - Sylvia Louise Engdahl