Kinsa!! Are you still in SA, then? I'm back in the Dallas area. Things are ... weird, but I guess life is like that, hmm?

One thing has not changed - Patty Joanna makes me cry, in a good way. I am so very thankful for the internet.

Hey! I remember you :) And I remember being here when SWB was in labor ...

It's mind-boggling how much my older two children have learned from playing these games. I need to get my younger two hooked ... my older kids (especially my oldest) tended to research every thing they came across in the games that seemed interesting to them.

I'd forgotten about this thread as I haven't posted here in so long. But as this forum witnessed so much of my sons' educations ... Oldest began his classes at the University of Dallas today, from which he has received a very nice merit scholarship. I wasn't sure at first, but after orientation I believe it is the perfect place for him. He was accepted to every college he successfully applied to.

It doesn't look like I had any pictures up here, except for my profile picture, which I've deleted. I'm sorry you're dealing with this, Susan. I'd be happy to donate as well, if it becomes necessary.

And then there's the question of scheduling it now, which would mean a week before Christmas ... or waiting until January and hoping everything is fine until then. Ugh.

Do any of you remember about how long the surgery took? About how long were you under anesthesia?

This worries me a little, as I already have abdominal pain and gas, etc. The gastroenterologist has been unable to find a cause. I don't want that kind of thing to get *worse* after having my gallbladder out ... I don't want to risk the pain of an acute attack, either.

Okay, Hive ... I'm looking for your stories about/experiences with gallbladder surgery. I'm considering it. How was yours? How is life afterwards? Are you glad you did, or wish you hadn't?

We are going to try a textbook called "Komm Mit." It's not a homeschool program, but there seems to be plenty in the way of online helps, files, plans other teachers have used, ec.

I've got a 9th grader this year. His older brother will be in 11th grade, so I'm a bit more focused on my panic over him and college ;) High school for #2 is going to be a whole different ball game. At the moment, he plans to be an engineer. He tolerates my coursework, and spends as much time as possible educating himself, instead.

I am so sorry, Joanne.

We did: Geometry (Life of Fred) Chemistry (didn't finish) Humanities III (co-op class, covered early modern-modern) Great Books II (co-op class, medieval Great Books) Attic Greek I Latin III Computer Science

I'd definitely count the theory as credit, if nothing else. Like others have said, my private lessons were counted as extracurricular, but my choir and theory were high school classes, and I got credit for them. In the US, it might work to his credit to have such a strong musical background when going for a STEM major (as long as he also has the strong science and math required). Colleges may view him as more well-rounded. At any rate, unless his science and math aren't strong enough I cannot imagine music courses being *detrimental* to getting into college in the U.S.

I think it looks great, Pam :) What are you using for chemistry?

You can dive right in to LL. My advice is to keep a copy of the College Companion on hand, and a grammar text like Wheelocks or Henle for if you get stuck and need grammar practice/explanation.

I've played around a bit with engrade (engrade.com). Also, my co-op uses a wiki (pbworks.com) on which all the teachers post homework and reminders.

We're doing the same as Suzannah - Life of Fred and Khan Academy. My 16 year old is probably average, or a little better than average, at math. He did Life of Fred Beginning Algebra and Geometry. I had him take our local school system's end of course exam (just printed it off the internet for our own information), and he scored well on both. My 14 year old is very mathy. He loves the Fred books. He's used both Algebra books so far, and is working on the Geometry book. He uses Kahn Academy whenever he feels he wants to/it's necessary for better understanding. For us, Life of Fred does seem to be "enough." My plan is to continue finding ways to test their understanding against comparable courses from schools. If we get into a situation where they don't match up well, we'll seek out ways to work on those skills. So far, we've not had to do that.

We had the kids work through Elementary Greek (koine), and then move on to Athenaze (Attic).

My 14 year old is very mathy and plans to be an engineer. He is doing very well with classical education. He believes that Latin and Greek are benefits to him, and plans to continue them in high school. His memory has been trained through memorizing and reciting long pieces of poetry - he loves to do this. I did not follow TWTM's recommendations for science in the elementary and middle grades. We more or less unschooled science. We read science books, watched documentaries, and went to museums. He participated in Lego robotics teams. He's teaching himself computer programming, with his dad and a family friend as mentors. TWTM is an excellent, rigorous model of education, but certainly you should tweak it to fit your own needs. Also, it's not the only model of classical education. At any rate, we have found plenty of room for my left-brained mathy kid to explore and excel in math and science.

I agree :)

You might look over the scope and sequence of Aesop on the CW website. If your student can do all those things, she doesn't need to do Aesop. Homer starts with longer models, though, which gives me pause for a reluctant writer. How would she do with rewriting a fable? How would she do with rewriting a 2- or 3- page story?

:lol: