My favorite hands down: Josh Groban's Noel. Such a great mix of traditional favorites and Josh Grobany new pieces. Second favorite (and I haven't seen it mentioned): Keith and Kristyn Getty's Irish Christmas Joy But #1's been in my CD player since just before Thanksgiving. Lisa

Love it Elegantlion. How bout just a general, be kind because really, we never know what folks are going through. We were walking to our car today in our downtown city and saw a not very loving situation between mom (probably?) and 3-year-old. My youngers were horrified. But how do you say something that might only escalate when you leave? It was a clash of worlds for my youngers to see it and for me not really to be able to solve it. We talked about people who are never really loved and why we need to try to understand and show kindness where we can. Don't mean to hijack. Just stayed with me today. Lisa

I thought I posted this the other day but it must not have loaded. Here's the link to the newsletter called Epistula, found under the Resources tab of their home page. It's actually an interesting newsletter, with some general interest classical schooling articles. Lisa

My kids have always done the book Everything's Coming Up Fractions with their cuisenaire rods after finishing the math text units on fractions. It really helps them see the fractions and helps solidify the concepts. Lisa

I agree with a phonics based spelling program. Also consider doing something like the Explode the Code books which tackle both phonics and spelling. Are they reading aloud to you? If so, then you'll know if there are still phonics rules that they need to know. Otherwise, they've decoded well and are on their way! Good job! Lisa

*following

Veritas has been around for more than 20 years and is one of the oldest and most established classical curriculum providers (I'd also put Memoria Press and Peace Hill Press in that category.) I've no idea what their business model is, but they have a pretty successful press and live online classes, so I don't think there's ever been a worry that they would fold. For those looking for sales, the April sale included the condition that the course would only be available until the next April. The September sale had no such conditions. Unfortunately, VP's sales have not been consistent so it's difficult to plan. Wish they would have consistent sales. But if you're waiting for a sale, subscribe to their email for notifications. Lisa

Rose, It's been a while since I've used the PP guides. If memory serves, we would either orally discuss the chapter questions or I'd have my dc (only the older 2 used PP) write short answers to the discussion questions. It's been so long, I'm not much help. I think Hewitt had some great essay prompts that my oldest used one year in American Literature. Lisa

I have no assumptions about what kind of different socialization your friend thinks a high schooler needs. Perhaps she meant the sports, band and clubs available in high school and maybe she meant learning to get along with all types and enduring the *harsh reality* of high school. (I don't think the latter but I've had folks say that they think kids need to learn to deal with it to be adequately socialized.) Anyway, here's what we found. When our oldest was in 8th grade and we examined the question whether to homeschool or public school for high school, one of the deciding factors was that we were pleased with our children; we were happy with their character, their curiosity and the way they related to us, their siblings, their friends, older neighbors, people of all ages and types. Notevenwithstanding academics, we were very content with their *socialization* -- i.e. their personalities and ability to relate to others. For that reason and a few others, we chose to continue homeschooling through high school. And as far as sports, club and band, there are so many opportunities for homeschooled high schoolers where we live that we have to continually say no to very good things. Lisa

Here's what I would do. For the 45 minute per day free reading, I wouldn't impose any accountability. Unless you found that he wasn't reading at all. I would continue to let this time be pleasure reading and as long as he is quiet and you know that he is reading some/skimming and/or skipping parts to get to the good part of the story, I'd let that go. For other reading -- assigned science, history, literature selections -- I'd have him do oral or written narrations. You can really vary the question you ask for narration (look at the list SWB has in TWTM). I wouldn't always require a written narration. But I would let him know that he needs to read carefully, note characters or certain facts or a sequence of events and he will need to tell back/write back or answer questions when he's done with the reading. Maybe it's a phase of his reading; maybe it's something you will need to watch as he grows. Lisa

I'll throw in our experience for the record. Generally, we separated literature and writing. :tongue_smilie: Probably not what you wanted to hear! But we usually had a writing curriculum that my kids were doing (Classical Writing, IEW, LAOW, Rhetoric in the Classical Tradition, others) and combining writing and lit was an exception not the rule for us. Also, the vast majority of books my kids read were read independently without accountability questions, family discussion or required essays. We did do some of that, but not every semester, every year. When we did do lit study, I usually used a Progeny Press guide and occasionally parts of a Total Language Plus guide. We also used the Hewitt materials for a year and had a book club that included great book discussion. In high school, my kids have been part of a lit tutorial. There is weekly discussion. Not only does the teacher love the class, love the books and love passing his passion to the kids, but there is opportunity for discussion since there are at least 5 kids in the group. But he doesn't include writing so we continue to do that at home with our own materials. And I'm really good with that because his class is so excellent. I found my attempt at regular discussion at home fell short because it was just one or possibly two of my kids and me and it was really hard for me to keep up with their reading as well as my reading, my studies, my stuff. The best book discussion experience I had at home were the years I ran a middle school girls book club. Lisa

There was also just another 50% off sale in September. OP, you probably can't wait that long but if others are reading this thread and trying to plan for next year, look for a Sept (or was it Oct?) deep discount on the self-paced classes. Lisa

I'm not a huge planner anymore either. I used to uber-plan for history, pulling together all kinds of material, read alouds, library books, books at different reading levels for my kids, hands-on projects, etc. But the more we've homeschooled, the more I've chosen curriculum that doesn't need much of a plan. Right now, I'm only really planning history for an older and science for my youngers. Lisa

Will Benadryl help him with the welts and any itching? We've gotten spider bites and my kids have woken many times eaten up by a mosquito in the room, but never a scorpion! Sorry about that! Lisa

This exactly. This is what I usually tell moms of 8th graders whose pulse is racing. If you have been homeschooling all along, and have found a rhythm to your days, your teaching style and your dd's learning style, then 9th grade is really just another step up along with the necessary record keeping. Yes, there are high school requirements. They're pretty self-explanatory (1 math, 1 science, 1 social science, 1 language arts, 1 foreign language a year and add in interest-driven extracurriculars). Use this time to learn about the options and testing and curricula of high school, just as you did when you studied homeschooling as you began this journey. You've got plenty of time and lots of good help and past threads on this board. Lisa

That after 6 consecutive days off formal schooling, my kids (and I) need a lot of grace to get our brains back into top condition. This mostly showed up in math facts. Lisa

That after 6 consecutive days off formal schooling, my kids (and I) need a lot of grace to get our brains back into top condition. Lisa

We love Jotham's Journey and Bartholomew's Passage but have not yet made it to Tabitha's Travels. I lent them out for a few years and we did some other things. We're not doing a formal Advent study, but I'll be doing a 15-day Christmas countdown tying Scripture in with our Nativity scene for my youngers. I blogged the list of Scriptures we're using if anyone is interested. Lisa

Another idea: it's really fun for kids to explore the library themselves, but you can help steer some of their choices by finding out what they are interested in. Go to the library catalog and look up books in their interest areas. You could also research books you want them to read, make a list before going to the library and help them find some of those on the list. There are some great choices on the 1000 good books list, the list for Newberry Medal winners list, lists from Sonlight or VP and books such as Honey for Your Child's Heart (probably available at your library). Lisa

I'm a *no junk from the library* mom. There is only so much time to read and I wanted them reading good stuff. Most of my kids didn't go for the junk, but if they did, I just re-directed. Fun is great -- Homer Price, or The Great Horned Spoon. My boys read every single Asterix and Tin TIn book they could find more than once. But we didn't go for the Goosebumps or Captain Underpants series. Others may differ (always will) in what they do for their kids but if it's making you sick to your stomach and you think you need to redirect your kids reading, then do it.I see no problems with that. You could also require them to check out certain books first -- a science, an art/craft/music, a history/social studies, a biography and one or two from your list. And then limit them to one of their own choosing. Lisa

Given your needs, VP self-paced should be an excellent option. That's why we started it 3 years ago -- recovering from a family crisis and I needed to outsource where I could. I couldn't outsource math and learning how to read and write but VP made it easy to have ds keep up with history. He loved the online games. VP is not shallow; I've found the discussion, especially the theology, to be meaty. There is ample built-in review. You'll have to add in crafty, hands-on projects. But on the days where time gets the best of you and you cannot meet all of dh's needs as well as a big, hands-on craft project, history can still get done. Lisa

The illustrated Bible linked by violamom looks great. I'm going to have to compare that one to the one I'm familiar with. I just bought two of the Kids' Adventure Bible in New King James (one in blue *leather* and one in pink) for my youngest two. My oldest kids really enjoyed this Bible. Lisa

We are not lightening up, but I have learned the hard way to stop well in advance of Christmas Day. I think for a couple of years, I only gave myself the week of Christmas, but I need much more time to prepare for Christmas, visiting family, etc. So giving myself enough margin around Christmas Day is essential. To all of our well-being! Lisa

I have one there as well and a d-in-law who worked in the ER last night as they came in. Not the kind of news you want to wake up to. I've been praying throughout the day for the young man still in critical condition. Please pray for him and his family. And yes, each day is a gift, to love those God puts in our path. Lisa

Looks great based on the description. Wow, all of these years homeschooling and I have to agree with the author that this kind of methodical, chronological Bible study for whole families is long overdue. Glad it looks like this one may fit the bill! I'm bookmarking to investigate more. Thank you for posting about it! Lisa