to all of you for your responses. Today was a totally different day. My son was loving and gave me lots of hugs today. Wow, what a difference a day makes. He was just not his usual self yesterday and his remarks did hurt. He is my oldest so all of this teen stuff is new to me. I can remember myself being that way too, so it is unstandable and certainly forgivable. I appreciate all of your prayers and encouragement. It made me feel so much better, more than you know. I will try to do more activities as "mom" and definitely set aside (as hard as it will be) academics and just have fun. Again, thanks to all of you.

toward you? I have homeschooled my son for the past 7 years because he had some reading difficulties when he was very young. We quickly got past that and continued homeschooling (by his choice). This child is one that has to be constantly pushed when it comes to academics. He's just not all that interested; it's not due to any disability. I even gave him the choice to be put in a private school when he entered high school. He said no, that he liked homeschooling and enjoyed the co-ops we had been involved in. Today, he said some very harsh things to me. He said that he couldn't separate mom and teacher and that all I thought about was academics. Well, considering his education is on my shoulders and he can be quite lazy, I have to constantly stay after him about his studies. I feel like I have devoted my all to this child, trying to give him a heads up and an opportunity. I never forced homeschooling on him and he still says he doesn't want to go to school, but he seems so resentful toward me. Sometimes, I wonder if this was the right choice? Should I have just let him fail and struggle through the school he was in? Should I not care if he is educated or not? Have any of you gone through this? This really came "out of the blue" today. I don't know what this stems from. I am very depressed and saddened. I needs words of encouragement and prayer. Thanks.

:)We have been using Total Health, but we have spread it over a year. It would be a lot to cram into one semester. However, as another poster suggested, you could cut out a lot of the extras. I believe there are 16 chapters. The reading is not too heavy; a chapter a week is certainly not overwhelming. Just cut down on the worksheets, etc. and it is very possible to finish in a semester.

My little 4 foot tree was taken down on Christmas in the late afternoon. I usually put up a 10 foot tree, but I just wasn't in the mood for it this year. It took me all of 15 minutes to take the tree down and pack up. We do have some lights in the yard, and we will leave those up through New Year's Day. :001_smile:

Yes, it's snowing! We usually don't see this but every 10-20 years! And it's my 40th birthday! How exciting! :001_smile:

Sounds interesting...thank you for posting. Gayle39

Yes, my son just started reading this and finds it very interesting. Thanks, Gayle39

Thank you, LoriM. I will check out the series.

Any great worldview, life skills, or inspirational reads for a young man?

I've used several of BJU materials. I have never heard that they were rascists? Where does this come from????

Thank you all for your encouragement and advice. I appreciate it so much. I think we will lay off of the test prep for a while and pick it up later. I think the testing environment plays a small part as my son is a nervous tester. I hope by doing the practice test he will eventually be put at ease. Once again, thank you all for responding. I do feel a little better.

He did well on the English and Math sections, but bombed in Reading and Science. I expected the score in Science since we haven't worked on it a great deal, but the score in Reading was totally off. I was just wondering if an increase of 2 points in the composite was typical, or do most students greatly increase it over a year. I just expected that it would increase 4 or 5 points. Is that asking too much after working so diligently? I have seen quite an improvement in his scores on the ACT prep books; I guess that's why I was dumbfounded with his results.

My son is in the 10th grade and we have been preparing for the ACT for about a year. He took the test last April and his scores were less than desirable. He is a good student and makes good grades. I just received his score from the test he took last month and his composite score only increased by 2 points. I am feeling so discouraged about this. I feel that I am doing everything possible to help him. I have purchased several ACT prep books and he has practiced almost every day since January. Many of his peers are beginning dual enrollment at the local college. What am I doing wrong? I see so many home schoolers who barely do any schooling, and I work so hard with my child, yet I don't see the payoff for it. I wonder if he just doesn't apply himself, or if he just doesn't care. If any of you have been through this, please advise me as to what I should do. Thanks.