Thank you for the suggestions. I will check it out.

Thanks for sharing what a jump it is. I may try the first 6 weeks that is free and see how it goes.

My daughter has completed First Language Lessons 1 - 4. I am trying to determine what is the next step. We are part of Classical Conversations Foundations. I am not sold on Essentials. I am considering just doing the new Intermediate grammar program. I am also looking at the Fix It grammar program. Would love to hear what experiences you have with any of the above programs. I am required to test in my state and test scores have not been a problem. I do think my daughter struggles to use the concepts learned when she free writes.

Your children may find the following forum helpful: www.homeschooldebate.com My dd debated in NCFCA for 3 years before she graduated. She did well. She attended an Ethos camp and learned a lot. By any chance are you in region 8? My dd knows lots of people in that region that might be good contacts. Vickie

My dd had inflammatory acne. It required her to take an antibiotic for 6 weeks and she was also given a cream to help with scarring. If the acne is cyst like I think she should see a dermatologist. I wish I hadn't waited to take my dd. My dd hates going to the doctor, but I finally but my foot down. She is much better. She did have to take antibiotics off and on for a year. Vickie

I completely understand, except my son is 11. We are going to a counselor right now. My dh says send him to school since he can't behave. :grouphug:

There is a Western North Carolina middle schoolers yahoo group. They get together on Wed. wncmiddleschoolers might help you search for it. Vickie

I was able to get my baby to turn by floating around the swimming pool, but she wasn't in distress. Praying you and your doctors have wisdom. Vickie

My oldest child is a dd age 16. She has a boyfriend, and I'm okay with it. We read through I Kissed Dating Goodbye and another of his books about how he met his wife. When she was 12/13 we worked through Passport to Purity and one of the activites was setting standards about how far you would go physically. I've reminded her of that and since this is a long distance relationship I'm not too worried at this point. They only see each other once/twice a month. I think there comes a time when you have to trust you child, their maturity, and ability to make decisions. They need to get to know the opposite sex without it having to be so serious. Vickie

I have read on her blog that Sally travels to other countries. She is an encouragement. mom2g2b

If you join their email list at Knowledge Quest you can get a free sample download of the maps and instructions. It helped me to see it. Vickie

I get emails from Knowledge Quest and they had a free download of some maps. I downloaded them and saved them to the computer. However, when I try to open it, a messege says the file is damaged and can't be repaired. I don't know if it's my Adobe or theirs. Most likely the problem is mine. I was just able to download something from IEW sucessfully so not sure what the problem is. Any ideas? Vickie

There is a yahoo group for History Odyssey. I have used HO level 2 for the past two years. My dd is motivated and works independently and then I check her work. My son that I wanted to do the program didn't have the motivation and required hand holding. I used MOH several years ago. Both programs have the student make a timeline. MOH had the student make cards of 3 events. I would choose to either do that or do the outlining in HO. Vickie

I will go look at the scope and sequence. That's should help as well as the placement tests. Vickie

Is it possible to go from a traditional type math program to mathusee? We have used Saxon for a while now and I think it is time to do something different. We'd be going from Saxon 7/6 to either Zeta or Pre-Algebra. I need to do the placement test. Thanks, Vickie

I bought each of my children a tin whistle. You'll need the Foundations Guide and Veritas cards to review material at home. I'm not sure about Essentials. Vickie

I've read and re-read and taken notes to plan next year. It's helpful to me. Vickie

I am in a similar quandry. I have 4 children. The youngest is 21 months, doesn't nap regularly, isn't on a schedule, and very high need. It makes meeting the other children's needs difficult to say the least. My 3rd born has some ADD or learning issues and I was not able to give him what he needed nor was able to find a tutor locally. In January we put him in school. He has gotten some needed help, which I'm thankful for. The downside is having to be on the school schedule. It used to be easy to make appointments right after lunch but now that doesn't work since I have to pick him up from school. Also, he has homework most nights. After being away from him all day I just want to be mom. Try it for a year and see how it goes. It doesn't have to be forever. My husband says lets homeschool all three next year. We will have to see how summer goes. Vickie

The book I used had a passage for the student to read. Then they had to answer questiosn about the passage. Some sections dealt with cause and effect, theme, etc. I felt it gave my dd some experience with how the end of year testing is done. Vickie

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm going to look at the BJU w/ dvd's as well. I was thinking of supplementing with the Key to Algebra and Key to Geometry over the summer to help dd. She is not a math person and doesn't care for science but we are making progress slowly. Her strengths are with history, English, and debating. Vickie

We have struggled through Saxon Alg. 1 this year with the help of the Saxon Teacher cd. I'm not much help to my dd. I think she needs more practice with new concepts instead of the spiral way Saxon is. Teaching Textbooks seems to be liked, but some of the reviews I read say it is behind. Does that mean she wouldn't be prepared for the SAT? Mathusee is another option. I think that would fit learning style and the DVD's would be helpful. Saxon has a new geometry text that a Saxon Teacher CD will be available for in May. DD is interested in going to college and majoring in Pre-Law and going on to law school. She isn't going into a math field. Vickie

Does anyone know if the BJU level 2 health would be counted as a 1/2 or full credit for high school? My dd completed the book this week. Vickie

There are several homeschool stores in NC. Gullions has stores in Winston-Salem and Statesville w/ materials. Growing Scholars has two stores near Charlotte. There is a place in/near Raleigh called Homeschool Gathering Place. Vickie

I have the hardback book and the workbook. You could get away with just the workbook. However, I found it helpful to read the hardback to get the feel of the program. The workbook has done all the planning for you. Simply tear out the needed page for the day and do the lesson. Otherwise you have to find the passages for copywork and dictation. mom2g2b

There is a lot of information covered in this book. We just started using this for my dd in 9th grade. We have the new edition. I have a 6th grade boy and don't think I'd use it with him now. It may help you to look at it to see the material covered. Vickie