:iagree: Have ds haunt the NCFCA website. he will find lots of helps and discussion there! Also, Google news alerts will help a lot. We are with a club now, but will be moving in the next few months to an area where no clubs are available. I've heard there are a couple of clubs who meet via Skype. Maybe you could look into something like that?

No, not at all. My ds took Apologia's biology last year in 8th grade. He was also 13. He did very well, and has discovered that science is his very favorite subjects. This year he's taking Apologia Chemistry as a 9th grader. Your son and dh have nothing to fear! Have a great year! Hilary :)

We've used those books for all three boys (oldest will be a freshman this year) and I still love listening to them the third time through!They are sweet, simple stories in the younger books. The books for older ages are no less sweet, but have also sparked good discussions afterward. :) Someday I hope to snuggle and listen to grandchildren read them. :D

We had one in the town where we used to live. We went there once. The place was...not clean. :glare: REALLY not clean. Bleah. :thumbdown: We were never tempted to return. Clearly the one the OP visited had higher standards. :)

No. Not. At. All. :D

No. We're doing the Memoria Press's guide. They divide the purple book in half-ish. We did the first half last year, and will cover the second half this year. It looks like we'd fall in the "second year of a two-year Latin I program" section of the NLE. Thanks for your help! I'll check out the syllabi!

OK. Background: My ds completed half of Henle Latin 1 as an 8th grader. (We're following Memoria Press' teacher guide, which divides Henle 1 over two years.) We're going to finish Henle 1 this year, when ds is a ninth grader. So I guess I'm struggling with knowing how many credits to assign for each *half* of Henle Latin? (And how I'd write that up on a transcript?) Thanks! Hillary

You don't need to. Many people choose to, though. I've taken all 3 boys through Singapore Math, from Early Bird through Primary Math 6B. The only thing I've ever supplemented SM with is flash cards. All 3 boys needed some extra drill to get their math facts down, but that was it. My advice: start with Singapore Math and get used to the program. After a while, if you see an area of need (like math facts, etc.) then address it. But it's not something that you *must* do. :) And, welcome to homeschooling!!

I'd use Memoria Press' Latina Christiana 1. I've used it with my 2 older children when they were in third grade.

You know, I didn't start really using HIGs until 4A. I used them the most in level 5 and 6, I think. The student is introduced to drawing bar diagrams when solving problems in 3A and 3B, though. If you're unfamiliar with that, or are having difficulty explaining to your child how and why to draw those diagrams, then you may wish to have the HIGs. But they certainly weren't *necessary* for 3A and 3 B. We're doing 3A and 3B again this year too. Have fun! :D

My teen votes for either the "Knotty" or the "Topi." He said the "Boyfriend" would be third.

I like the idea, but would be unable to come or send my teen due to how far away we live. Could you consider doing a webinar, or something?

I don't know about the deal you made, but I'm hearing about people who offer a *ridiculously* low price, assuming that because the economy's bad the sellers will be happy to jump on anything. A young couple we know (children of friends of ours) were making offers of $30,000 (ish) on houses in a Madison, WI neighborhood, and couldn't understand why no seller would take them seriously. After a couple of months of this they finally listened to the advice of those around them and made an offer that was lower than the sellers' asking price, but still comparable to the value of homes in which they were looking. It was accepted. A builder friend here, where the housing market is still fairly good, tells me of people who offer crazy, low prices on *new homes*. He doesn't get offended, though, just asks them to make a reasonable offer. The last home we sold before the bubble burst was a nice house, nice condition, and was a *steal* at $120,000. (We were moving to KS, and simply wanted to have the house sold so we could look for housing in KS.) A couple buying their first home offered us $95,000. :glare: Um, no. They buyers were angry at us because we didn't negotiate with them. The house sold for our asking price about a week later, though. :D Maybe your offer came after a string of strange offers from others and the seller just flipped. I don't know. But I'd suggest doing your homework on the houses you're looking at before making an offer. Low offers are fine, insultingly low offers are not.

:iagree: :tongue_smilie:

Hi Alison! It's nice to "meet" you! I'm sure you'll do just fine homeschooling. Listen to Anj. Or me. Maybe just listen to me, then you can't go wrong. :D Have fun! And welcome to homeschooling! :001_smile:

I've used Movie Maker for several years and love it. Simple, cheap, and fairly user-friendly. I have an older version, though, and don't know how the newer versions compare.

Doughnuts on the first morning. That's about it, really. :)

My oldest child is 15. Do they wish they were in PS? No. he did occasionally when he was little, but it was mostly that he wanted to ride a school bus and eat lunch in a cafeteria. Now, he doesn't want to attend PS. He knows he's getting a better education at home. Do they feel lonely? We're active enough with church and sports activities. He's also part of an NCFCA debate club. He's got plenty of time to spend with others. Would they say they would hs their OWN future kids through high school? He says "yes," but realizes that his future wife's opinion will play a large role in the decision. Do they love it, like it, tolerate it, hate it? He likes being homeschooled, but doesn't always like doing schoolwork. What would they say about it? He doesn't say much, really. Are they proud or ashamed of being hs'd? Not ashamed. I don't know if he's *proud* about it. It's just part of who he is. Sort of like saying "I'm in scouts" or "I'm on the swim team" or "I go to _______ high school."

I grew up in Idaho, taught 4th grade state history for many years, and knew several Native Americans in southern and southeastern ID. If you pronounced it "Nay pair-say," honestly, 90% of the people wouldn't know what you were talking about without some context. Locals and tribal members I have met pronounce it "Nez purse."

I placed my order yesterday . (I always call, never do fax or e-mail. That's just me. :001_smile: ) The rep said that orders were leaving the warehouse in a "week or less." So if you faxed it today, it would ship on or before next Tuesday> And then add however many days it takes UPS to get from the Chicago area to your house.

Wait. You can't leave us hanging. What was in the tree??

We use "So You Really Want To Learn Spanish." (Galore Park) There's a student book (which you'd want to take to Kinko's and have spiral bound), an instructor book, and an audio CD. (You will want the audio CD. I didn't get it, because I speak Spanish and thought we'd be fine without it. We are. But having the audio on CD would be very helpful and would allow ds to practice listening independently.) I ordered from Book Depository in the UK. Great service. (Free shipping to the US!) I think that Book 1 and maybe half of Book 2 would be equivalent to 1 high school credit. It's very low-maintenance, as far as teacher-prep goes, but requires the student to spend time memorizing vocabulary. We just built making flashcards into our day, and ds has a system for reviewing them so he doesn't forget. i think it would be doable if you don't already speak Spanish, but it's certainly MUCH more doable if you do. There are many exercises that require conversation practice, and you want to be able to help an individual student with that.

Thank you all! I'm trying to balance difficulty with completing the history cycle. I can understand not beginning with #4. But starting back at #2 seems like it would give me too much ground to try and cover in 4 years. But skipping a year later on hadn't occurred to me. That may be a good option. Thanks!

Cedarmom, do you think it would be possible to start in Om. 3, and maybe take it a bit slowly at first? It the issue mostly the difficulty of the writing assignments, do you think?

:lurk5: