We started with the primer, right as we were finishing up 100 EZ Lessons. We read as many pages a day as he could do without complaining. We did the first reader together, he wrote the spelling words and had a test. Now in the Second, he's reading a story, copying the words for three days and then taking a spelling test. He's 5.5 yo, so I'm not pushing him too hard, and the difference in difficulty between the first and second reader is substantial. He's able to sound the words out that can be decoded, and is learning the sight words when they come up. My fourth and sixth grader are practicing their public speaking with the third reader twice a week. They take turns, we discuss and look up the unusual words and then we answer the questions aloud. They love it! :001_smile: And the stories are wonderful; full of character and virtue. I've had them for years and decided that they needed to be used.....I'm so glad that I did!

I realize that there is not a book on world history that will cover everything that EVER happened. My point is, if you are learning about the MAJOR events in history, which is what any textbook claims to cover, then how in the world can you leave out facts like 40 million people died from hunger during this 15 year period of time? What about the 60 million people who died under Mao in China 1949-1954, because that's not covered either! Am I saying that we need to know when every country had people die in a conflict? NO~ That would be absurd. But with the enormity of the loss of life in just these two SHORT periods of time, how could that be simply edited out? Doesn't it make you wonder what else is missing? Good lord, how could the enormity not be an important part of history? AND, it all occurred in the last 100 years of history. You'd think it would be covered MORE thoroughly..........

I know~ It's very discouraging that students are not seeing the entire picture. I want to give them as complete a picture as possible. I just could not believe how shallow the coverage was in the high school book. The fact that it is that it is also skimmed over in the college book is alarming.........

That would be great. Let's try the Bolshevik revolution. The Human Odyssey mentions battlefronts and that the Tsar's family was shot and burned. That is it on the death toll of the war. Does your text make mention of people actually dying in that war? (I'm not meaning to be obnoxious about this subject~) I just want my sons to see the entire spectrum of war. That people die, it's ugly, there are consequences. It's not like a video game or a movie. It's permanent. And high school is an appropriate time for them to learn that. College is too late, in my opinion. Does that make sense? Thank you for taking the time to look this up for me~~~:)

We also have a Big Berkey. Almost everyone in our family has one, actually. Once you invest in it, your only cost is the yearly filters.

Does anyone have a copy of both Spielvogel texts that they have looked through? I'm not paying for either book, based on what I've read in Human Odyssey. The page count isn't that different, according to Amazon.com details. I just found it astounding that wars would be discussed with high schoolers, and there would be NO discussion of the loss of life that occurred. That may be an implied fact for adults, but it shouldn't be implied when learning mature content about events in a historical context. Obviously, we're not discussing the death tolls of wars in elementary and middle school. I would think that high schoolers were mature enough to have access and discussion about that facet of war, considering that they would be old enough to die for their country before learning about the real cost of war in college.............

The copies that I bought off of Amazon for Pre-Algebra don't say chalkdust. They say Houghton Mifflin. And brand new, the total was $83 including 4 separate shipping charges. The authors on the books are the same authors as the chalkdust program. The isbns are the same. The covers are blue. How different could the books be> You know that they didn't get together, sit down and write two completely different pre-algebra programs...... It's all good to me. I respect the homeschool company, but I'm not going to pay three times as much for a math program if I can buy it for less with a different cover. It doesn't appear to be an illegal copy. Do you know how expensive it is to print a 652+ glossy paged textbook????

I am confused as to why so many people have chosen this text for high school. I borrowed a copy from the library and I am astounded by the amount of 'glossing over' there is on SO many subjects! The coverage of wars, in particular, is astounding. (I should say, the lack thereof) No mention of the cost of lives anywhere in the Human Odyssey, and I've looked! Not in the Bolshevik revolution, Moussilini's Italy, Hitler's Germany or Mao's China. The section on the Russian overthrow actually states that 'there was little loss of life.' HMMM, 40 MILLION Russian civilians murdered, and that's 'little loss of life'? Who is this guy?:confused: Where did he get his information? The lack of real history in schoolds is one of the reasons that I chose to homeschool. Apparently, that lack extends into college. I am still searching for a good text, and until then, we'll read autobiographies and historical accounts, I guess..........

I have been reading over the teachers guide, aesop sore and student workbook for older beginners for two and a half weeks. We've started the grammar, completed the preparation week. I am completely confused as to WHAT we are supposed to be doing each day! By the time I look in all three books to figure out what/where/how to do each skill, I am so confused that we end up taking a break and not coming back to it. I consider myself a bright person, but I'm on the verge of listing it for sale! Could someone PLEASE walk me through this? Harvey's Grammar- check. I get it, it's easy. Analysis and Imitation- I get the reading and narration. Then there's the outline. Is it an I. II. III. outline, like I learned in school, or is it another type that was covered in the original Aesop core? Are all of these steps done on the workbook pages, and then the vocab, copywork and grammar are written in their separate notebooks? That is a LOT of different steps for such a childish story(The Fox and the Crow)~:001_huh: Are we just going through all of these steps to prepare us for the harder stories/selections to come? I am not into busywork, and I just want someone to tell me that I am doing all of this for a perfectly good reason. I've been to the CW website, and I seem to be the only one having this issue~:confused:

The Hobby Lobby coupons are printable off of their website: http://www.hobbylobby.com Sometimes they are a percentage off of any non-sale item, sometimes they are for a specific item. It's hit and miss~ HTH!

You can get great silicon spatulas at Tuesday Morning for a couple of dollars.............Maybe a cute apron??

When we go to Nashville to visit my sis and brother-in-law, we always stop off at the Provence Bread and Cafe in Hillsboro Village. It's near Vanderbilt. The Book store on the same street is phenomenal. The Parthenon is great, and the art museum on the lower floor has some amazing paintings. Take a frisbee and a picnic~

Couldn't have said it better~ (but I don't have goats):D We are in the 4th month of unemployment, with no interviews in sight, so I understand how you are feeling........ Claustrophobic ring a bell?;) She loves and misses you and her parents seem to have switched places and life is a lot different right now. Maybe she is feeling a little claustrophobic herself?

I finally found the section on the grammar notebook set up in the student guide. We decided to do some of the easier lesson work aloud, and are writing all of the definitions in the front of the grammar notebook. I'm sure it's not THAT big of a deal, but I need to do EVERYTHING correctly~;) Thanks for your help!!!

Since we school year round, I end up buying around right now, and then again in the late fall. Can't wait to see what you have.......;)

My 12 yo spends 6 hours M-Th and then about 3.5 on Friday.

YAAHOO! It worked for my youngest. We are breezing along. Congrats~

We are moving through LC1 pretty quickly. The boys only seem to need 3 days to cover a lesson and do well on the quizzes and flashcard review. That said, it's kind of depressing to discover that you are behind of where you wanted to be....... That's life, I suppose.

Okay. I'm feeling much better now. Thank you, posters!

:lol: You are too funny~ I'm celebrating St. Paddys with my Jameson. Today, it is much appreciated. MMMMMMMM....

I have a 10yo and 12yo doing latin together, so that's why I chose LC1. Plus, we've done Prima Latina and I liked the dvd option. Maybe I just started this path too late~

He just turned 12 in January, actually. You think LC 1 is too slow?

He's doing great on Latina Christiana. It's amazing how fast kids absorb this stuff!

Say your 12yo has been through Prima Latina and is now 1/3 of the way through Latina Christiana I. Do you still recommend waiting until the child has three solid years of latin instruction before beginning greek? He's interested, but I just don't know if he can handle latin, prealgebra, CW for older beginners AND greek all at the same time. WAIT. Maybe it's ME that is wondering if I can handle all of these at the same time~:confused: We have time in our schedule, so that's not a problem. And he's a very strong reader. I just hate the thought of him being behind on the 'ideal' schedule, I guess. What would you recommend? Thank you in advance~~~~

Can someone tell me how you do this? I'd like to keep an updated list of what the boys are reading on our family blog. I'm looking, but not having any luck! Thanks in advance~