I'm trying to decide between these two for our family with teens and maybe my 9 and 11yo to watch, just for fun/extra. They are both pretty long. So it would be a commitment. Has anyone seen them both by any chance and could compare them?

I think: Just let her try it on her own. Do the us edition textbooks and workbooks. She'll be fine. And if she's not, you can try again later. Not worth the battle, unless you feel that it is a discipline/rebellion issue. In my experience, gaps are easily closed later. Jen

:glare: :lol: OK, I should have paid more attention when this was discussed the first 100 times, but now I'm the one dealing with it and I'm stuck. My older boy, who is now 15, never went through the "classic" boy who hates writing thing when he was younger. Now I have two younger boys, a 9 and and a 10 yo. My 10 yo is not a strong reader, which I haven't been too concerned about. He listens to tons of audio books, has great comprehension and vocabulary etc. I don't mind reading aloud, so that has been ok. His spelling is terrible, no surprise. His handwriting is terrible especially compared with his younger brother. And he basically cries whenever its time for writing. And I am not talking a large amount of writing. I'm talking 5 lines of copywork. So I don't know what to do. I would honestly just let it go and not force it at this point, but he's got this younger brother who is doing great with writing and spelling and I don't see a way to let the older brother off and not make the younger brother feel it is unfair. Letting them both off feels like its not an option because I want to keep the 9yo moving along doing what he is capable of. I just haven't had this issue before. I have three older kids who have always worked at or above "grade level" so we just moved along more or less. Does anyone have any words of wisdom for this situation?

We do almost exactly what 8 fills the heart outlined. We kept trying to do a "program" and my kids hated them all and so did I, so we never did them. But I have always had a lot of science books on our shelves and require reading from them every week. And of course whenever they are more interested in a topic on their own, we get extra books from the library. So far my kids seem very scientifically literate and have passed all their state tests (fwiw) without any science 'instruction" from me. And NO "experiments". My kids are 16 down to 8. Jen

Thanks! I'll look for the Ninja for sure. I've never even heard of it :) I don't get out much... Jen

The last blender I bought was $30 at walmart. I hate it. I'm willing to spend a little more, like up to a $100? Does anyone have a blender they love and can recommend that isn't a vitamix or whatever? Jen

Thanks for some good ideas! that bbc series looks amazing. I'm sure I'll have a good start with some of this stuff. Jen

We are using biblioplan this year, which I am excited about. I would really like to add some some alternate church history from a different perspective since mostly they offer reformed materials. Does anyone have any good places to start? biographies, or texts or even just stories are fine this would be for 6th grade and up through high school. Thanks Jen

Would you be willing to share why you are having them removed? Or is that too personal? Jen

We were just talking about this tonight! My dh figured this out last year and his hayfever has been 90 percent better. Strawberries, chocolate and fermented foods were what he cut out last year and that helped a ton. This year he avoided most of the same foods, but he also cut out wheat and that has made a HUGE difference. (he only has to avoid during allergy season, not all year) Hope this helps!

I don't know why I don't have one of these yet, seeing as I have 5 kids, but I've decided it's time. Mainly because I need more oven space. I would like to roast 2 chickens at once and be able to do other stuff with the oven. So if you have one can you give me pros and cons or at least a thumbs up or down? Thanks Jen

You guys are awesome! thank you!

We just went to see a high school performance of Oliver. It was pretty good, but not great. But it made me really want to see some great musicals, even if they are just on video. We haven't watched any except sound of music. So I need your best suggestions. And tell me if would be good for all the kids (ages 7-15) or just the olders. and please include the best version if there is more than one. Jen

we did QMA about 4 years ago. We did not enjoy it as much I thought we would looking at the program in the catalog. We didn't end up liking several of the books (and my kids LOVE to read). We also didn't care for the hands on projects. It's been a while now, so I honestly don't remember specifically which things didn't work for us, but I know I definitely decided not to use them again after that year. FWIW. They also may have changed a bunch in 4 years :) Jen

Just got back from outdoor school - fun to be in the woods for a while. I could see my dd's wheel turning while we were there. :) We talked to one of the teachers there and she told us that a BS was a requirement for her job. I didn't say anything then, but I thought I might bring that back up sometime soon and see what dd thought about that. Anyway - Arcadia - thanks so much for those links. She does love botany. Yesterday she went out in the yard to do her school work and spent an extra hour reading in her botany book. She was supposed to be doing algebra, but whatever :) Coffee - I went back and read through your thread - there was some great information in there! Such a great community we have here. Thanks again everyone

I love it here too. I have not ever felt judged or anything. My comment was just exactly what I said - it's hard sometimes to feel like things are not turning out how you wanted and to see others doing what you wish you could do. That doesn't mean I don't want to be here or don't feel valued. Plus, I have 4 more kids coming up - I'm sure at least one of them will love classical education, right? :) To the person who asked, I won't put my daughter in public school for a couple of reasons. She really doesn't want to (I've asked). But mainly, I love the person she is and I don't want to mess with that. Frankly, I hate the pop culture scene and I love that we are outside of it. I guess sheltered a little if you want to call it that. I just feel like we march to a different beat and I want to keep it that way.

Trixie - Thanks for your reply A few questions: Biblioplan is set up for 3 days/week, is that correct? Does that seem to work out for you? And does the work seem to in depth enough for high school? How much writing does your student end up doing weekly? Jen

Well, the unschooling thing seems to come back around quite often - maybe I will have to revisit that. I'm not willing to put her in public school and there is no way we could afford private. Believe me, I have pondered that one a few times because I know she would respond better to another authority. But I have to deal with what I have resources for. Thanks so much to the person who shared about the online school option. i have considered that as well. The idea of going to that after the richness of classical education is sort of heartbreaking to me. But that's when I have to realize that her life is about her not about me. Which is hard. I have so much invested. Thanks for the encouragement to give her a longer leash. I think maybe that will end up doing us both the most good. It is hard since she is my oldest, I am so protective. I am definitely going to check into some kind of apprenticeship or work study at a farm of some kind. It's hard for both of us when she insists that's what she wants and I think she has no idea how hard that kind of life is. Lisa - thanks for sharing your experience. It is true that I care a lot more about her education than she does at this point and I'm ready to give over that emotional burden. I am so worried about how her life will turn out if I don't manage every little thing and obviously that is stupid! I really appreciate everyone's encouragement and taking the time to share. It helps so much to get some perspective. And yes, our relationship is the most important thing. That is such an important reminder. Jen

Oh, there are so many great responses here! Thank you all so much for your ideas and your concern. I will respond more specifically when I have a bit more time to read through and digest a little. Jen

I am so at my wits end here. My oldest just turned 15. I've posted about her before and gotten some good ideas. But, honestly, it's only getting worse as far as I can see. She's such a great person. So creative, interesting, caring, fun to be around, etc. But she says she truly hates having to do school work. Thinks it is a waste of time. She only does the work she does because she is obedient to me and because I won't let her go to art school on fridays if she doesn't do it. And she LOVES her art school. So at this point, obviously, classical education is not for her. We gave up latin early this year. She won't really do logic. She reads a lot. History and Literature are OK. she does some writing. Going through algebra a second time. And doing botany because she does love plants. But I am fighting with her almost daily on sticking with her work, finishing assignments etc. If I don't MAKE her get started and stay on track daily, she just would never do the work. And every discussion we have about taking responsibility etc, starts and ends with her emphasizing how much she does not care about school work at all and doesn't see the point of it. I really don't know what to do. I LIKED school. so this is hard. I've told I can't let her quit because it's against the law. That's how bad it is :) Her goals are to wait until she can move out and then go live in the woods or on a farm and have animals and go hunting. Has anyone figured out to handle a child like this? I keep hoping this is sort of a stage and she'll come around. But it just keeps getting harder every year. This is so not what I had imagined for our high school years. Sometimes it's really hard to be a part of this community and see all the discussion people have about the work their kids are doing and realizing what we are missing here. Anyway, thanks for listening. Jen

I really need a good lesson plan for history next year. I did OK this year with WTM on my own. But I want to do better and I have 5 kids - it just takes too much time to figure it out on my own for all of them. I will be doing SOTW for the younger ones, so I am trying to decide what to use for my high school level. Both of these programs look good and have interesting points, but does anyone have experience they would be willing to share? If it matters we are doing middle ages next year. 10th grade. Thanks so much Jen

Thanks for the ideas guys. Our state doesn't have a practice test that has answers, I already checked that. I hadn't thought about psat. I'll check into all the suggestions. jen

My daughter asked me yesterday if she would be ahead or behind in public school. I told her I had no idea, but I thought she was doing just fine. She asked if there was a test she could take to find out. I don't want to pay for testing right now, for no real reason (it's not required here). Is there some way to find something online for free? This is so funny to me, because we have NEVER emphasized testing of any kind, just done the minimum requirements, so I'm not sure where this is coming from. But I don't want to just brush it off either, if it is important to her. thanks for any ideas Jen

That about sums it up. We've loved GSWL, but I'm not sure which would be better. I need something that isn't too complicated and Henle looks like it might be a little hard to figure out, just looking at the book. I don't know much about first form, so I thought I'd ask here. thanks Jen

Thanks for all the great replies! I really appreciate the feedback. It's so hard to know what to do. It's good to know about the resale value. I guess I am apprehensive about just "trying out" something so expensive. I'm glad to hear that people have had a good experience with it. And thanks for the differing perspective. That helps. I don't seem to have that issue. My child just wants to get the work done. He doesn't seem to be the slightest bit interested in "why". :( But I guess we work with what we have. He's extremely artistic, creative, etc. Math just isn't his interest. Jen