Depending on how long you are staying you should consider renting a holiday house for a week. Generally very economical per night plus you can do your own catering. Make sure you get one large enough is the only warning I have about them. There is generally just enough room for the number of people advertised. ;) We enjoyed the Wallace and Bruce exhibits available in and around Stirling. Really good.

Simply answering because I saw the other thread, since it was so long ago I didn't answer but probably should have because I am now looking back on it after high school chemistry. I am another who used the Elements and Carbon Chemistry. We did them rather sporadically mixed with physics (self designed with library books) for about a year when the dc's were 10 and 8. I loved these classes and so did the kids. The content is great. The workbook type pages were fun and easy to use. The content well explained. I don't remember ever having a content issue. Honestly these are on my list of great curriculum. A good friend is a Chemistry Professor and loved what they were learning. He was a bit doubtful about the value of memorizing the periodic table because he doesn't know it and never felt the need but it seems to have served my kids really well in terms of speed while doing their high school class, definitely did not hurt them! They are also great on answering quiz show chemistry questions thanks to their periodic table knowledge. I also think these classes gave my kids a huge sense of confidence mixed with a strong chemistry foundation. Dd loves chemistry and has gone on past basic high school chemistry to do some chemistry Coursera classes. Ds does not enjoy chemistry to be honest so I can't say these courses guarantee a love of chemistry. This is my very practical Ds who hasn't found a computer programming application for chemistry so considers it irrelevant to his life, loves physics which his uses in programming daily. :lol: We had the very first version of these curricula. Most games we played or tried to. I remember having cards with the elements around for quite awhile but they didn't really play the games repeatedly other than the memorization one. As a side note the customer service was great. We had a problem with the CD that accompanies the book. They were willing to mail a new one to Europe although in the end we were able to get it via downloads.

:grouphug: Halcyon I have been carrying my Kindle around all day trying to finish a historical paranormal romance that I found browsing in an overdrive library. Ascension by A.S.Fenichel manages to combine much of my current taste in fluffy books into one. ;) The setting is 19th century London with a hero who has just returned from France and fighting Napoleon. The Duke returns to find his beloved fiance a changed woman.....she now is a Demon Hunter. It continues from there, enjoyable with adult content. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22595242-ascension Stacia --I was also able to find The Dead Mountaineer's Inn in overdrive. I haven't started reading yet but it does sound interesting. Edited, I am having problems with my incorrect. It is off according to my toolbox but just fixed the author's name.

Especially the first third! VC -- Oh, wow. I am no good at emoticons and the keyboard ones don't work for me but you deserve a whole row. While we were in Florida dd kept spotting rat snakes. I admire your calm because my dd freaked out every single time! She managed to find a slightly different version each time so she didn't recognise the NOT poisonous part. I just remembered the not poisonous but couldn't name the type so she was sure I was wrong.

We did levels 2,4, and 6. We did them at a pretty leisurely pace as opposed to the week 1 done in a week, each book took closer to a year and a half. Veritas Press offered Shurley as an option at one time and I first spotted it there. I believe they were proponents of the every other year being ample for most. As I remember Level 7 is considered review so your plan sounds perfect to me. Just a warning....when I received my first copy, level 2, it confused me greatly. So much so I put it away for later, much later. ;) A friend had a question and I pulled it out in quiet house and really studied what I needed to do and it clicked. I think we started using Shirley the next day with dd. I have heard a couple of similar stories so wanted to prepare you. It may not be love at first sight but after you figure out the routine it is very easy. Also they do make a workbook with all the sentences separated for the diagramming. Dd loved copy work but those notebooks were lifesavers with ds. A whiteboard with markers would work well too.

First off my dc's are older so we haven't used it in a long time but I will try... One huge positive with Shirley is all the books have basically the same order so both will be studying the same basic topic at the same time. Also if they enjoy the jingles (mine did) they can do them together. We generally just did my older child's CD and both learned them. I have never used HOD so I can't compare. I did try many other curriculums and Shirley was my favourite. The writing is very much to formula which my kids liked. It was very clear what expectations were. It tells exactly how to write a topic sentence for instance, gives a model of what they need to do, then gives at least 3 starter ideas. Since the books say level not grade my dc's were not as sensitive about where they were. I would definitely do at least level 4 from my content memories for your older dc but if he needs level 6 to be comfortable because of the 6 I would get that. The sentence diagramming part does get more significantly complicated as the levels increase. He could learn the basics with the younger dc, try level 2 sentences, then move to his own assignment. More parts of speech are introduced the higher the level but they should be doing nouns at the same time etc. I hope this helps. I keep getting interrupted so am not sure how clear this is but need to post. If nothing else I have bumped you! ;) Just remembered, I did buy a copy of WWS when it came out and we have used that with ds, I like that one too. No grammar component in WWS.

:grouphug: to Loesje and Teacherzee. I am glad the Dr's appointment went well. I finished Out of a Silent Planet. Overall I enjoyed it and am very glad to have read it finally. I have had a Lewis 5/5 for 2 years with this series in mind....now for Prelandra. I read a new to me book by one of my favourite mystery author's Dorothy Hughes. She is an old but very good, very noir. I read the Scarlet Imperial. Here is a good reviewhttp://mysteriouspress.com/products/hard-boiled/the-scarlet-imperial-by-dorothy-b-hughes.asp.

:grouphug: praying

I think you would really like it. It was a book that really had me intrigued fromthe first page, which I read as a preview to see if ds would like it. I had planned to just glace at a couple of pages! There is such a broad range of TV, movies, and videogames mentioned I would be surprised if many people are familiar with all of them. I knew many of the major ones used in the tasks but several of the very computer game oriented ones were foriegn. Generally the descriptions were good enough so it didn't matter. I loved video arcades in the 80's but didn't have the money to spend as a student so I only occasionally played a very few games that I was good at! :lol: Ds aspires to be a game programmer and has played or programmed many of the original ones that came out with the Radio Shack computers. I am curious if he will know the ones in the book. When I was reading this book I realized how much of our 80's culture dh and I shared with the kids. They are definitely familiar with some of the television and movies referenced because we have them on dvd. So much of it is still available thanks to modern technology....we played Pac Man frequently when they were little . On another side note, I was amazed to see H. R. Puffenstuff and Land of the Lost referenced momentarily in this book, my favorites from Saturday morning which I have on dvd! I didn't think anyone but dh had actually watched them when we were growing up! :lol: The book really brought back some fun memories.

I just remembered what my friend liked to use, Spectrum Math from Australia. I found a link and it looks right.http://www.cambridge.edu.au/go/resource/?pid=1080#.VShI5GpZQv4 She really loved these books for math and they did look good.

I agree with just one book at a time. My Ds did bio as an eighth grader and found it to be at bit more of a challenge than the general science and physical science courses. He did find but would have been overwhelmed by both.

Late last night I finished a really good book that put on hold for ds but accidentally loaded onto my Kindle. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline was great.http://www.dallasnews.com/lifestyles/books/20110819-book-review-ready-player-one-by-ernest-cline.ece. It was another one off the books to movie list. Spielberg is turning this book into a film and is perfect for the job because of many references to his movies. For someone who grew up in the 70's and 80's this book is a huge cultural walk down memory lane even though the setting is actually a dystopian novel set in 2040. The world has turned into a very sad place with a huge portion of the people starving. Wade, the main character, lives in a trailer park which is stacked like a highrise building, a horrifying thought. Many people escape into their computers to a virtual world called OASIS which gives entertainment for free. The book starts with the death of the creater of OASIS and the contest (think Quest) he has created via his will. The first to complete his quest a capture the egg within his virtual world will inherit his entire estate and control of OASIS. This quest proves to be very interesting because it takes the reader on a serious romp through it's creaters favorite things from his youth which are all free to read, view, and listen to on OASIS. I think my ds will love this book too!

Most of them are much longer. 1Q84 is a huge chunkster but one of my favorite books. They all interesting......Colorless Tsukuru is the most traditional of Murakami's books that I have read. Here is a link you might enjoy about his books.http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/aug/06/colorless-tsukuru-tazaki-years-pilgimage-haruki-murakami-review

I think a friend used books from this site https://global.oup.com/education/content/secondary/series/international-maths-cambridge-secondary/?view=ProductList&region=ukbut these have different covers. I know she found her years 7 and 8 on a Cambridge website before starting the IGCSE books.

Mid week blues? everyone is so quiet. Let's mix it is a bit Stephen King or Neil Gaiman? Neither Italo Calvino or Haruki Murakami? Murakami, but I like Calvino too. Beer or Wine? White wine ghostbusters or three musketeers? Ds and I just watched Ghostbusters. It was fun. Shallow Hal or The Elf. Not a clue to this one. Gwyneth Paltrow or Jennifer Lawrence? I know who Gwyneth Paltrow is but she is not a favourite. Best Sidekick in a Novel or Movie? I like Donkey better but the first one I thought of was Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes from the Laurie King books. But I am not sure who the sidekick really is.....

Praying that all goes well over the coming days. :grouphug:

And I finally was current on this series, apparently for one week! :lol: Welcome Polly, you are welcome anytime. Totally sleep deprived but I am home!!!! Now to unpack.....

Mom ninja -- One important bit of advice that I have learned in the past month as your ds completes a subject have him sit for the SAT subject exams. It won't hurt and my make your life far easier in a few years. These are relatively inexpensive and widely available in the US. Note the in the US, long drives for us. Easy to book online. Dd has several planned but currently trying to decide if she should bother with the revision necessary to do a couple she doesn't remember quite well enough. She needs 3 with a good score which she should have but wants more.

Jane and Nan, I am so glad your boys are able to work in the field they love. Watching them go off must be hard but at the same time really fulfilling. Sort of the ultimate mom graduation. I have to admit I am dreading it myself and it is getting closer every day. Preparing for all the entrance exams this spring. I am far more worried than she is. Mom ninja-- I can only think of some series ds enjoyed, Charle Bone (we all loved those), Artemis Fowl, and Rangers Apprentice. We or he read them in book form so I have no idea how the narration is.

Thanks Kareni and Teacherzee, I just "bought" Breakaway. I also finished A Royal Pain by Rhys Bowen https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2241722.A_Royal_Pain. It is the second in a cozy mystery series set between the wars. The heroine is a distant member of the royal family who is being sent on errands by Queen Mary to hinder Edwards romance with Mrs. Simpson. Overall a fun series, I liked this one better than the first. This can stand alone.

Welcome Angela! Noseinabook -- Patricia Briggs also writes the Mercy Thompson series which you will probably want to read also. The two series are intertwined for lack of a better description with a few crossovers. Alpha and Omega stands on its own, so does MT but it is fun when the characters mix. Also Kevin Hearne -- I know you had problems with one of these, I have read them all. I always stall roughly 50 pages in, bored to almost quitting the next 100, and adore the rest. The beginning and endings have been good enough to keep me reading.

Happy Easter!!!!! I am so glad to see VC reappear :) . Now I am waiting for the rest of the missing BaWers to reappear. You have all been missed. I read a really good YA novel yesterday, Paper Towns by John Green. I found it on one of those books to movies lists that we were all looking at. Here is the youtube for the movie preview. All the lines are directly out of the book. I actually may watch this one! :lol: http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&source=android-browser&hl=en-GB&q=paper+towns

Robin, I like your new avatar! :)

Totally agree with Stacia about Angelmaker. One of my favorites. I also really enjoyed the Rivers of London serieshttp://www.tor.com/blogs/2013/06/ven-aaronovitchs-peter-grant-series-optioned-for-uk-tv-adaptationwhich is on Kareni's list. Recommend reading them in order. The first book apparently has a different title in the US, Midnight Riot. I recommend reading them in order. I have also read and loved another of the recommended series, Jim Hines Libromancer is great. The book on the list was the second in the series Codex Bornhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15824178-codex-born. I think I preferred Libromancer. ;)

:lol: My brain is elsewhere, red.