I just reserved a carload of Asterix books (English versions) from our library, after my two middle sons devoured Tin Tin. Glad to hear they are such hits! Blessings, Lisa

I know you asked for an on-line sample, but we're doing this very thing right now. D'Aulaires Greek Mythology has a wonderful family tree with pictures. It's available at many libraries. HTH, Lisa

Hi Denise, I used TOG a couple of years ago. I really, really like the overall idea as well as the teacher notes, the literature worksheets, the discussion questions. But there was lots that I didn't use. For me, it was just too much investment of my time for *one* class -- history (although I'm well aware many count this as history, lit, geography, theology and fine arts. We didn't.) I think the only way I would use TOG would be in a co-op where I could divide the effort and prep among several different parents -- one taking lit review, one history, one a hands-on project, ect. I do have a suggestion. If you really want to see whether TOG is for you, dowload one of the samples on their site. Use it for three weeks. If everything clicks and you see that you'll find a rhythm, go for it. If not, rest assured that it's not a good fit and that there are many, many other good options. Blessings, Lisa

I'm in the trenches with you. I have 7, ages 16, 14, 13, 11, 8, 3 and 12 months. Many days, I feel like I spend most of my time keeping my littles busy so that the house is quiet for the school-aged dc to do their work. That's this year. Every year looks a bit different. Here are the strategies that have worked best here: 1) start some of my one-on-one teaching very early in the morning before the baby is awake; 2) avoid teacher-intensive programs and aim for solid curricula that can be done independently; 3) give each dc a weekly schedule so that they know what needs to be finished each day; 4) outsource some of the older dc's classes (they love it; I love it for many reasons); 5) spend my evenings grading papers, complete with sticky notes of what needs to be re-done or what to point out to a child in the morning. I don't *always* get to grading in the evening, but that's the ideal. 6) use DVDs such as IEW, Latina Christiana, Atlier and Calvert to alleviate my plate. Truth be told, it's a tricky balance. I do not spend an hour with each child (a la Vicki Farris). I do not teach every class. I don't always discuss at length each book my child reads. But they've had that in-depth discussion, in Bible, in book club, in lit class. I spend the bulk of my time during the day on writing, grammar and math intruction (and spelling for one). I spend *a lot* of time each evening so that I'm ready to spin the plates the next morning. I put books in their hands as much as possible with a reading schedule, rather than pulling together an elaborate history program. We read aloud in the evening after littles are in bed. Oh yes --- I try not to drool over the posts of those with one or two sweet children who are doing a bang-up job home educating. :) It's just not going to look like that in our home. :) Blessings, Lisa

Kathy, that's fantastic news! I will continue to pray for you! Many blessings, Lisa :)

Mama25angels, I edited my above post. I meant to write that SWI-C is fine without TWSS. It can be used as a stand-alone IMO because Pudewa teaches the course on the DVD. HTH, Lisa

Between 2nd and 4th grade, my dc learn all of the states, state capitals, major U.S. landmarks, continents, oceans and some major world physical features. That it, I purposely teach it sometime between 2nd and 4th. I'm always asking geographical questions as they come up in Bible, literature, history and science readings. In the middle grades, I used Mapping the World by Heart to teach the nitty-gritty of world geography. And my oldest is taking AP Human Geo this year. So, for us, geography has been a progressive, separate and purposeful study (sometimes halting history altogether to finish a geography curriculum). HTH, Lisa

Chiming in late and agreeing with the others that SWI-C is fine without TWSS. Also, Stacey, I used it in August with my 10th, 8th/9th and 7th graders and they all did fine with it. If you don't need it right away, there's a chance you might find it on the IEW Yahoo buy/sell group. You could post a WTB; it seems that most things for sale are scooped up rather quickly. HTH, Lisa Love that edit button!

My dc are 16, 14, 13, 11, 8, 3 and 12 months. Bible, bible memory: altogether. Math: completely separate LA: I tend to group my school-age into 3 groups for writing and grammar. Spelling and vocabulary is completely separate. Logic: older 3 using Intro to Logic; middle on some pre-logic books. History & Science: I group into 3 groups. And the groups can change from year to year, depending on the shifting levels of my dc. HTH, Lisa

Mitosis is asexual reproduction, growing and healing. Mitosis will always result in the reproduction of identical cells. Think a bacteria multiplying or lizard regrowing it's tail. Meiosis is sexual reproduction. Meiosis will always produce a different daughter cell than the parent cell because it takes another two different organisms. Think of a flower pollination or um, sexual reproduction. It can be confusing. I always thin of a silly mnemonic to help me remember which is which. HTH, Lisa

The best option for us has been to put together outside science classes. Either have the parents come together and agree to each take a lab or hire a tutor. Grad students or stay-at-home science-minded parents can make wonderful tutors. Apologia labs are very manageable. Even the dissections. This year, my ds is doing AP Bio on-line. They have provided all of the lab material, and he does them, but I think he misses the interaction available in a group lab situation. It's also nice to get feeback from a science grad on lab notebooks. HTH, Lisa, particularly posty today.

We are squarely in D. I love, love, love having the flexibility to choose between courses at home, on-line, tutored or co-op'd. We've not yet dual enrolled, but, again, I love that the choice is available. To me, this allows us to get the best of all worlds: outside accountability, class experience, working with other teachers, flexibility with schedule and start-dates, ability to choose curricula and reading for home courses. I love homeschooling my dc through high school. Lisa

I thought of one more thing. :) You could also make a small chart to tape to her desk with an example so that she could plug in the numbers she's working with. I wish I could draw it but it would look something like: 8 divided by 2 is and then mathematically write it the three different ways. HTH, Lisa

Well, I wouldn't use terms like "under the house." :) That just wouldn't mean anything to me mathematically and it's making her work through an extra step of trying to figure out whether the dividend or divisor goes under the house. I would start writing out division problems with her and using the math language as you write the problem. Try to give her a story problem if there isn't one. So, using your example, I might say: Me: Let's say I have 56 cents and want to put it into 7 piles. So I'm going to take my 56 cents and divide it into 7 equal groups. Let's write that mathematically. Me (again): Okay. .56 [writing .56] divided by [drawing "the house"] 7 [placing numeral 7 as the divisor] You know, division can be tricky if it's done completely in the abstract. Talk about real problems, give her the math lingo she's going to need to know, write the division problems out in the three different ways, show her using 56 cents how it really can be divided into 7 groups (well almost) and let her mind work from concrete to the abstract. I'm sure she's fine! It even helps me to draw out concrete examples for my youngers! :) Lisa

Well, I've used Shurley for years but we don't do the vocab as suggested. Does he understand the meaning of word? Is it possibly the synonym/antonym thing that's messing him up? If so, I'd ask him every week to: 1) first define synonym and antonym -- make sure he's gotten it straight in his mind that he's looking for similar words or opposites. 2) then complete the vocab. Also, sometimes the Shurley words are not straightforward antonyms or synonyms and it can be a bit tricky is the student is not perceptive to the word connotations. HTH, Lisa

This summer I'm hoping to have my dc start on projects for the science fair and history fair. It's so hard to incorporate these projects once school is already ticking along. This year, when we stopped structured schooling for a Christmas break, I had my dc work on a history fair project. It worked really well. They stayed busy in the morning, could focus on their project without other distractions and had only details to finish when we started back up with structured work in January. HTH, Lisa

Yes, and some colleges are sticklers for outside proof of the foreign language classes (through an SAT-II or accredited school class for example). Also, some colleges may not accept foreign languages taken before 9th grade. These weren't specifically part of your question, but they were news to me as I began to research college requirements. :) HTH, Lisa

In our 3rd and 4th year cycles, we concentrated on American history using VP. We periodlically used chapters of SOTW 3 and 4 during the year. I saved a full run through SOTW 3 and 4 for the summer. My dc read and listened on audio. HTH, Lisa

Just finished "The Cat of Bubastes" and moving into D'Aulaires "Greek Mythology" with the littles and Edith Hamilton's "Mythology" with all. Lisa

Most of my dc were squarely in the copywork stage at 2nd grade. Very little independent writing. What is your goal in her writing exercises? Are they for spelling or mechanics? For handwriting? For learning how to write? If you're trying to teach her to write, I'd make two suggestions. First, use copywork to model good sentences, paragraphs and word choice. [We also use daily copywork through 4th or 5th grade for handwriting.] Second, let her narrate orally; you can take dictation and she can either re-copy it or you can call it a day. Let her spelling and usage catch up with her so that writing doesn't become a frustration at this point. I think she's fine. I've had dc of mine that wanted to write their own book in 2nd grade and some who I was just trying to get to one write a sentence with a capital and end mark. :) Just keep on working those skills and she'll progress. Also, have you read the book "Any Child Can Write"? Your library should have it. It's a standard for introducing the writing process to children gently. Lots of good ideas for early writing. HTH, Lisa

Robin, Here's my 2 cents. :) Since she likes the class, is nearing the end and is receiving feedback on style, I'd let her complete the biographical piece and teach her the formatting instruction you feel she's missing. So if the next assignment is a rough draft, teach her the middle steps of outlining. Help her with transitions, topic sentences and clinchers if it's not being taught. In other words, let the Write At Home folks do the dirty work of editing style. This is sometimes where it gets personal to our kids anyway. You fill in the gaps with instruction. I wouldn't do this next year, by the way. Only to make it work this year. Yes, if I'm paying for an outside class, I definitely *do not* want to have to step in and teach it! HTH, Lisa P.S. Don't forget that you can use the summer to continue with writing skills. Once she's done this biographical report, you could use the summer working on other report-based writing. Don't lose sleep. She's young yet and SHE LIKES HER WRITING CLASS. That's huge.

Holly, I sent you a private message with my e-mail. Thanks for letting us know about perspectives on the issue. THanks, Lisa

Sounds like he did well! Hope he gets some scholarship money! Lisa

We loved these two about the early church in Rome: Martyr of the Catacombs, Anonymous Twice Freed, Patricia St. John HTH, Lisa

Seconding the Information, Please! series. Also, we've done several field trips at libraries in which the kids learn about various resources, how to use the library and how to use the computer databases. HTH, Lisa