I'm a little late here, but thought I'd chime in anyway. My 9th grader is currently taking Latin, Comp, Algebra, and Physics at Memoria Press, and will be taking several classes with them next year as well. We have nothing but praise for his Physics and Comp teacher (Daniel Maycock), and have been pleased with the other teachers. Communication has been good between teachers/students/parents. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

Bump

Are there any vintage / public domain books that teach the progym? I've found many gems through the numerous discussions here of vintage grammar, math, and spelling texts, but would love to know if something like this exists for progymnasmata-style writing instruction.

My family is in the process of moving to a town just northwest of Eau Claire, WI. We have a 13-year-old son and 8-year-old daughter. If anyone is in the area, feel free to PM me. :)

Recently came across Roman Roads Media, and they just announced that they will be offering Logic, Humanities I, Humanties II online beginning in the 2015-16 school year. Wes Callihan is teaching the Humanities courses, and James Nance will teach the Logic course. I'm considering the Humanities I for my 9th grader and thought I'd mention the classes here, especially since they are new. The video lecture samples for the Greeks/Romans are fascinating--makes me want to take a class myself!

Latin: Combination of LC1 and School Song Latin 2 Math: Continuing with Rod & Staff after discovering that MUS is just not working for this one Writing: MP Intro to Composition (includes some dictation, may add more as the year progresses) Spelling: Rod & Staff, alongside Wheeler's Elementary Speller Grammar: Rod & Staff Reading: McGuffey's Third Eclectic Reader (revised 1879) + lots of good books, both independent and read-alouds Science: MP Astronomy History: MP Online class - D'Aulaires' Greek Myths (1st semester); undecided, but maybe some American History stories (2nd semester)

Bumping. Curious to hear from others who have used this--it looks great!

The class I watched was from one of their Great Conversation courses, which is basically a history, philosophy, and literature class rolled into one. They were discussing the book of Philemon (from the Bible). From Wilson Hill's description of The Great Conversation 1: "Students will learn how to fine tune the skills of discussion and debate, and how to critique every worldview through the lens of Scripture."

I emailed Bruce Etter (not using the form though, heard that was sketchy) and he emailed me a link to a Great Conversations class he taught--which even my 8-year-old watched with me and loved. I just wanted to get a feel for the format so I didn't ask for any specific class samples, but they have been helpful and quick to respond to everything I've asked, so I bet they would give you links to several classes if you wanted them. There was also a link to an open house they had in January on their Facebook page: https://wilsonhillacademy.adobeconnect.com/p1zampqbnf4/

Plans are pretty tentative, but I am outsourcing a lot for 9th grade: Grammar: Rod & Staff Writing: High School Comp II w/ Memoria Press (Classical Composition) Math: Algebra I--not sure where yet. Next year, 10th grade, we hope to sign him up with Polymath Classical. He really likes this teacher in his HS Comp I class through MP, and will probably take a summer course there this year. Science: Possibly Physics through Memoria Press. Latin: Henle Latin or CAP's Latin Alive series are the two contenders. Depending on which way he decides to go, we will likely have him take a class through Memoria Press, Wilson Hill, or Schole Academy. History: Undecided, but looking into an AP American History course w/ Memoria Press. Haven't spoken to anyone there yet about whether the workload will be too much for a 9th grader on the young side, though. If not that, probably a Great Conversation/Great Books somewhere else. He also wants to take a Java programming class, so we are looking into that. I may throw in some other things, such as literature assignments and logic, but trying to keep it simple going in. I'm not sure 5 online classes right off the bat achieves that, however. :) I think 9th grade will be a crash course in time management.

Here it is. No replies yet though. Guess it's not a popular option around here.

I'm planning to outsource more next year (9th grade). Particularly interested in hearing about their science classes, but feedback on any of them would be useful. Looks like they have a lot of offerings, but I haven't seen too much about them around here. http://www.logospres...com/logosonline

Thanks. I think I will. :) Probably should have done so to begin with, but didn't want to clog up the boards.

Update for anyone doing a search in the future: We are very pleased with the Memoria Press, the class, and the teacher. The teacher, Daniel Maycock, has been wonderful; he communicates with the kids in a clear, friendly way, he keeps the class moving forward, and he gives constructive feedback in class and in the comments on graded assignments (which are also graded and returned within a reasonable time frame). He is funny, laid back, and full of interesting information and asides relating to what they are learning about. My son loves having him as a teacher, and no wonder--an encouraging teacher who inspires his students and genuinely seems to care about them as individuals makes all the difference. The assignments and workload are adequate although not rigorous, but we knew that going in, choosing the regular pace instead of the accelerated. (I was told that next year, the accelerated pace will likely replace the current as the standard.) The difficulty and workload will increase in HS Comp II. As for the way MP is run, I have no complaints. Every time I've had a question the director, Scott Piland, has responded in a timely manner. The couple of times there have been technical difficulties, they were resolved quickly. Overall, it has been a positive experience we plan to take more classes with MP (and elsewhere, where we must) next year.

No one? Hmm.

I'm planning to outsource more next year (9th grade). Particularly interested in hearing about their science classes, but feedback on any of them would be useful. Looks like they have a lot of offerings, but I haven't seen too much about them around here. http://www.logospressonline.com/logosonline

Anyone? Maybe I should have posted this on Middle Grades/HS board too.

My 8th grader has blown through MUS Pre-Algebra this year, and we are trying to decide what to do for the rest of the year to keep his math brain from atrophying. Thinking of having him test into either Pre-Al or Algebra 1 through the WTM Academy for the remainder of the school year. Can anyone share their experiences with WTM courses/teachers? If you prefer to PM me that is fine. Thanks in advance!

Thanks, all! :)

My 12-year-old son has been reading every chemistry related book he can get his hands on. Chemistry was my worst subject, so it hasn't taken him long to completely surpass my knowledge of the subject; he routinely calls my dad (who taught HS chemistry) to talk science, and my dad says he has a better handle on concepts than did many of his high school students. He has memorized the periodic table, and checked out book after book from the library, even on sub-branches of chemistry. His birthday is coming up and I was thinking about getting him something that would feed his insatiable appetite for all things chemistry. So I'm begging suggestions from the Hive. Maybe a good quality microscope and kit with slides? (He has expressed an interest in biochem.) What would I look for in a microscope? Any good, detailed book recommendations on chemistry? He reads at a pretty high level. What else can I add to the list? What is a good place to buy science supplies online? Relatedly, Minecraft sparked his interest in metallurgy and gemology, so ideas that include those branches would be great too. Thanks in advance for any help--I need it! :)

That's too bad. We have loads of colored pencils around here too. Doesn't sound any better than our current model, which is heavily duct-taped. Oh well. Thank you all. You just saved me $25. I think I will try the smaller portable variety next. Or maybe invest in good mechanical pencils.

These look promising and have been discussed here before, but I am maxed out on Purchases That End Up Being a Waste of Money so I'm on the fence about getting one. If you have had one of these for a while, how long has it been in working order? Do you still like it? Did you find something better? I know nothing will last forever, but there has to be a halfway decent sharpener out there with a lifespan longer than a couple of months--something that can actually sharpen pencils with minimal user frustration. Operating on the pencil sharpener to dig out broken tips multiple times a day is not happening this year.

Thank you both for your input. We decided to go with HS Comp 1 at the regular pace. I don't think it will hurt for him to have a full year of Fable and Narrative to really solidify the (progym) skills needed in the highler levels of CC. Also, he really wanted a male teacher. :)

Same here. I'm also going to supplement with Wheeler's Elementary Speller for the lovely dictation selections. It's free.

Yep, I mapped it all out. We are doing only Fable this year so I read through the book as I made the schedule, trying to keep the workload--and especially the physical act of writing--balanced for my 2nd grader. The amount of work assigned varies in each lesson, but my current plan is to have her work through it at a pretty gentle pace, completing one lesson every two to three weeks and only working on it 2-3x per week. Like so (each line being one day's work): Lesson 1: Narration L1: Talk About It + Copywork L1: Go Deeper + Dictation L1: Sentence Play L1: Rewrite / Speak ItL2: Go Deeper + Dictation L2: Sentence Play L2: Summary L2: Amplification / Speak It L3: Narration L3: Talk About It + Copywork L3: Go Deeper + Dictation L3: Sentence Play L3: Copiousness L3: Amplification L3: Summary / Speak It Whether this will work in practice or not remains to be seen. :)