I said I wouldn't debate because the tone of internet discussions often devolves and is unproductive as are most political discussions (hence their almost universal ban on many forums). That's all. I certainly take all of the comments seriously, will discuss them in depth with my husband, and we will certainly take all the feedback into consideration. I appreciate all of this discussion and all of the thoughts and viewpoints about the things of concern. This is one of the reasons why I didn't want to "debate", because things can easily be misunderstood, etc. I'm afraid I didn't express myself very well here and apologize for that. I don't believe the text that was used was incorrect or that it spread Columbus propaganda. I do believe it wasn't as in depth as *I* would have liked it to be, so I added a lot of other material to make sure students were very aware of what I consider to be the truth. One of the videos I scheduled in is titled "Columbus was a murdering moron". In other words I made the material about Columbus much more in depth than what was in the spine text (which is a huge book that doesn't go into depth for each and every topic). I didn't write the spine book. As for being white nationalist, my beloved grandson is a mixed race child. I'm certainly not anything of the sort (white nationalist). I'm not sure if you were talking about me or the authors of the spine text. At any rate, thank you everyone for your concerns and comments. I assure you we care about what you say even in instances where we disagree and again, we will take everything into consideration. It is always my goal to learn and grow, and even for the times I don't come to the same conclusion, I still respect the criticism and use it to better myself and my products. I'm not going to involve myself anymore in this thread, because it's just too easy for things to be misunderstood as they seem to already have been (via the Columbus comment). <3

I'm here to address this (I'm Jennifer Guest of Guest Hollow). Thank you to one of the people on this board who let me know about this post. I apologize that I didn't see I was tagged. First of all, concerning the Mein Kamp thing - it was basically a fill in the blank answer only the blank was a blank book cover. I'm disappointed that anyone would take it out of context. The question was as follows: What was the name of Hitler’s autobiography? Create the book cover with the title: and then there was a graphic of a small blank book. I use that blank book for a number of similar questions in the workbooks I make whenever a student has to write the title of a book as an answer. I am a creative person and I like using things that aren't just plain lines for fill in questions. That's all that was. It was for the chapter about the Nazis - which I personally think were abhorrent. I never dreamed anyone would even think of that way of writing in a workbook answer as the least bit negative. I do appreciate the differing viewpoint, though, because I yanked it out of there the second I realized someone took it in the wrong context. I've attached a screenshot for everyone's reference. As for the Prager U videos, yes, there are some. There are also other videos with other/opposing viewpoints that are completely different. In fact, I would venture to say that in most of the curricula I create there is going to be something that upsets someone on one side or the other on any number of issues. I get emails from people who complain I'm too secular for a Christian -that I include things they would never EVER have their kids read or watch. I get other emails from people who complain that I'm not secular enough or that I have a conservative video or that I have a liberal video in this or that curriculum. Some complain that there was evolution in a science video, etc. I'm not here to please everyone, because that's impossible. I'm here to get kids on fire for learning - to help them love science, history, etc. and to expose them to multiple points of view. If you just want one viewpoint, there are plenty of other curricula that will do that. I encouraged my kids to think and to look at things from many. For example - we don't believe in evolution, but I certainly talked about it and didn't hide from them that others do. We read and talked about it, along with our own beliefs. I wanted to give them the tools to be challenged and while we have particular beliefs, I raised them to be kind to those who think differently and to at least try to understand where they were coming from (and to think for themselves taking in ALL points of view). I'm talking about highschoolers here - I do believe in being much more circumspect/restrictive for younger children as to what they are exposed to. If you want to see my philosophy about choosing books and videos, I wrote a post about that here: https://guesthollow.com/our-philosophy-concerning-scheduling-books-materials/ When it comes to the curricula I create for the younger grades, I'm pretty careful to not include things that are controversial (as much as possible by my way of thinking). However, in high school, I do include many things that are designed to get students thinking and discussing and talking via multiple points of view. Someone complained the other day that in the US history textbook I use as a spine that Columbus is painted as a saint. They were not aware of the associated assignment I had in the schedule to balance that out (and I disagree that he was painted as a saint in that book, but I do understand the desire to talk more about some of the negative things about him in more depth). It's easy to bash someone or a curriculum when you don't know them personally or know what they stand for or what they are trying to do. I would hope that many of you who have used or viewed Guest Hollow can see where we are coming from with our materials. A video here or there does not change our teaching philosophy and where we are coming from and what we are trying to accomplish. They may not all be a match for some - maybe some people don't feel comfortable with some of the things we've chosen. Most of our curricula is a buffet and you are welcome to partake of the things you like and skip those you don't. That's totally OK, and we absolutely respect that. It's one of the reasons why one of the forms we provide our curricula in is a Word document you can edit. We may not be a match at all. That's OK too! That's the joy of being in a community of homeschoolers - there are so many options that you can tailor to fit your family's beliefs and goals. If you want to throw away an entire curriculum because you hate Prager U videos, then I applaud you for doing your due diligence in finding what is right for you and your family (not speaking to anyone in particular here). :-) At any rate, we are not evil yucky people who assign things to glorify Nazis and we ourselves don't agree with every single thing we schedule in. The goal is to educate. If anyone ever has any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us via email. We are very responsive to our customers, and if there is any misunderstanding about something we are always happy to take care of it. I have no intention of entering into a debate over any of this. If you guys would like to continue to condemn our small business and my creative work, by all means you are free to continue on. I know there are some things that I would never touch with a ten foot pole, if I was still homeschooling. We all are different in what is right and OK for our own families. However, I did want to make sure that for those that are interested in hearing from the horse's mouth specifically what the intention of our materials is, and to understand that you are not dealing with some right wing whack-job, I thought I could give you the opportunity to hear from me directly. The curricula we create are balanced. They are NOT meant to propagate an agenda, but instead to precipitate expanding one's comfort zone and being able to talk and think through the issues presented. I encourage those who may be reading this thread, to know that we love all our customers...that we loved homeschooling, and that we love what we do. We always listen, and are always willing to be criticized and challenged. We are proud of the fact that we have customers from every bit of the spectrum (politically and socially, etc.) and that so many have been happy with what we offer. Again, we may not be a match for everyone, though! and that is what makes this world colorful! <3 I would just hope that people would not rush to judgement without poking around a bit and seeing what the context is. :-)

You can see the list of required books here: https://guesthollow.com/high-school-anatomy-curriculum-book-and-resource-list/ When you purchase the printable schedule, it comes with a printable version of the book list that ranks the books in order of importance, in case you wish to cull some for budget/time/interest reasons. 🙂 Let me know if you have any other questions.

Just thought I'd share my free Geography & Cultures Textbook: https://guesthollow.com/guest-hollows-geography-cultures-online-textbook/ I just finished updating it after our new website went live. 🙂 So far the feedback has been really great! Now I'm off to browse the boards. I haven't done that in ages and miss all the discussion! ❤️

Chiming in here quickly. This is on the website: Question: Aren't some of the books too easy for high schoolers? Answer: The spine text A Patriot's History of the United States is a book that is used in some colleges. It is NOT a lower-level book. Using just the spine book, the scheduled videos, and the linked activities covers quite a bit of history. The scheduled books are "frosting on the cake" that help bring topics alive in a way that is engaging and memorable. I do schedule in quite a few graphic novels and some easier fare (amidst some more difficult titles written for adults), but my goal is to get students to not only learn history, but to RETAIN it and LOVE it. I do this using a mix of materials that even adults could learn from. Information is information. It doesn't have to by dry and difficult to get through in order to be valuable (in my opinion). When I was homeschooling, I always used what I believed to be the BEST vehicles for teaching information, no matter what the "level" of those materials. The feedback I've received about this program has been amazing. Students who used to think history was dry and boring have remarked how much they love it after using Guest Hollow's American History Year 1! Question: Aren't some of the books too hard for high schoolers? Answer: I combed AP U.S. History reading lists when researching books for this program. Most high schoolers should be able to handle the reading. There is plenty of "easier fare" to balance things out. Let me know if you have any questions. My curricula isn't a fit for everyone, but the book list isn't 100% representative of the material covered. 😉 There are also tons of YouTube videos scheduled (including Crash Course, etc.). It's really a multi-approach program. You can always ask the parents who are using the program what they think (since I could be considered somewhat biased, lol): https://www.facebook.com/groups/1782356031831333/

The Kindle version of The Science of Seasons is free until Friday: https://amzn.to/2NxGk8s I wrote an illustrated it. ?

Good idea to separate it into a separate activity book...I will consider that for the future. :-) (And I love reading all the great feedback from the other posters!! Totally made my day.)

I'm glad you haven't changed your icon/avatar - whatever you call it, lol....because that's how I recognize it's YOU. Some of the others have changed theirs so I don't know if it's who I think it is or not. ;-) I'm glad you are still here!

LOL - Exactly! ;-)

I love it!!!! Yes, we need this, lol...

I'm enjoying it as well! I used to wonder what I would do with myself when I was finished, and it turns out I have LOTS to do, and it's finally what I want and not centered around the kids. ;)

The alpine lodge: https://www.amazon.com/PLAYMOBIL-5422-Alpine-Lodge-Playset/dp/B00A30Z1HE I bought so much Playmobil for my kids over the years. I think I was secretly buying it for me, lol...

Yeah, I bought myself a Playmobil set....lol...and then I set it up in my craft room. ;-) I may not have kids anymore, but I still love toys. :laugh:

Just sending you some ((hugs)). My kids are all grown up now, but I sometimes wish I could go back to those snotty 10 year olds and give them a hug. ;-) I think every parent feels like a failure at some point. My advice: Try to avoid power struggles. Allow several choices, so those struggles don't come up as often. Find activities for your ds like Boy Scouts or something where he can have some time to himself with friends in something that is structured. Try reading the book: Yes, Your Teen is Crazy: Loving Your Teen Without Losing Your Mind - Your ds isn't a teen, but the info in the book is really useful and will help you get some perspective.

I haven't had time to visit the boards much, but I MISS all of the great conversations. I need to hang out more here, even though I'm "retired" from homeschooling. I put about 15 grammar related pictures books on hold at the library for a curriculum I'm working on. Does that count? ;-) Just wondering if anyone else is hanging on, even if you aren't homeschooling anymore. I refuse to leave, lol....

I don't know much about stuttering, but you mentioned anxiety...I sometimes stutter at the beginning of sentences when I'm very upset or anxious. I hope you get some answers and that it's an easy fix for your Ds.

Yes, if I had to pee bad enough. ;-)

SOTW Singapore Math My own curriculum (Guest Hollow stuff)

I found MM useful, but booooooooooooooooring. I used it here and there with one of my kids and also a student I tutored. I did NOT use it as our primary math program. That would have bored us all to death, lol. Maybe you can use a bit of Khan Academy to make things more interesting for awhile - while you research other programs. I was never afraid to make a switch when something wasn't working and my kids "hated" what we had on hand. Homeschooling years are too short to hate things when there is always something that's a better fit out there. ;-) That's my personal philosophy at least.

Oooh, no, I haven't seen that....checking it out now. Thank you so much for the recommendation!

:grouphug: Everyone else has great suggestions. I just wanted to send you a hug. :-) I'm done with homeschooling now, but I LOVE it. I am redefining myself and focusing on my interests for a change. It takes a while to transition, but you can do it! Think back to the things you enjoyed before kids. Do any of those things still interest you? I've been making friends at a free gardening club at my local library. They have free crafts and such at the library, too. If your passion has been homeschooling, you might connect with a local homeschooling group and find a mom who would love some help once a week or something...just ease yourself into a few things and allow your interests to blossom. If you feel like you don't have any interests, try something new via a local class or group and see if it develops into something more. You will likely develop friendships and find yourself during the process.

I had to relearn math from scratch in order to teach it successfully. Singapore and Miquon really helped in that regard, as did RightStart. If I was homeschooling all over again, I'd use Singapore in a heartbeat. I think Singapore was by far the best math program we worked with, with lasting benefits all the way into college (according to my daughter). We also used Teaching Textbooks (among other things) and it had its place. I know it's often maligned, but it worked really well for one of my children who just needed to get through math without a lot of fuss. (Note: we only used the high school levels. I would NOT use the lower levels, as I prefer Singapore and other programs during that stage.) We did NOT have any success with Saxon. I found that my family needed math programs that allowed us to see math differently and approach it from many different angles (har har). I personally needed to replace my "rote" type of education with conceptual math to truly understand it. I am the "poster child" of a mom who was NOT comfortable with math who successfully relearned it and had great success in my homeschool, so don't be discouraged!! Math doesn't have to be a struggle. You just need to find a program that speaks to you / your children's way of learning and take the time to rebuild your foundation, if necessary. I literally started over with addition, in order to properly learn everything. Now I am very comfortable with math and it's a subject I really enjoy. I'm "retired" from homeschooling, but out of everything I miss teaching - I'd say I miss math and science the most (and history, lol). ;-) Because I made myself relearn math, one of my sons was learning Algebra I in 5th grade and by the time he was in 8th grade he was studying calculus. That wouldn't have happened if I had been unable to help him along by relearning everything myself. ;-) I also recommend Khan Academy. It's a great resource and you can start at the very beginning and work your way through math that is fairly advanced, and it's free! I had one child who originally struggled with math but had a lot of success using Khan Academy because it allows you to work on whatever string of math you want / need to without any grade level limitations (up or down).

I recommend prismacolors (colored pencils). I don't often have time to make sketches, so I resort to taking pictures and cataloguing them in a Word document. I add notes in the document. I've also collected samples and put them in Ziploc bags to identify later. Someday I plan on pressing some of the plants / flowers I find and putting them in a notebook (plastic sleeves or such). At some point I'll transition to a notebook and try a bit of watercolors, etc. A great book I recommend is: Keeping a Nature Journal by Leslie Roth Also, EDx has a free course that is starting on June 27: https://www.edx.org/course/drawing-nature-science-culture-natural-newcastlex-nhi101x-0 It's called "Drawing Nature, Science and Culture: Natural History Illustration 101" and is put on by The University of Newcastle in Australia. It's an online course with video & text instruction on drawing the natural world. I took the course when they offered it previously and noticed there were quite a few homeschoolers / kids taking the course. It "forced" me to get out and do some nature-related drawing. :-)

:grouphug: prayers for you and your family!

Another example: The ranger shared the best place to hike (along the trail). Is along the trail an object complement or a prepositional phrase acting as an adverb?