Sounds like you may have found your solution. In case not consider Singapore Math. It's mastery based, colorful, challenging, etc. add in their CWP books and might be perfect.

On page 53 of SM 3B HIG, they offer an enrichment problem but their solution is not making sense to us. When using the bar method, they come up with 8 units but we are only seeing 6 units?? Hmm can I copy the problem here or is that an issue?

Also keep in mind that these are helpful but might not be entirely accurate. I used one with the sentences we were diagramming for Classical Writing and there were times that it couldn't figure it out without simplifying it first and there were other times I had to scroll through their possible diagrams to find one that really worked, and still other times it was just wrong. They are helpful tools but not an answer key substitute.

I buy TOG In DE format because I was hoping to continue to use it with a co-op. Given that, I expected to need to update my version as I progressed thru it with my kids. It is also handy to be able to use a search function sometimes. First time I tried TOG I also got stuck in the fog. I did much better later on with redesigned and a co-op. For the classes I taught at the dialectic or rhetoric levels, we assigned the weekly reading and picked which other parts for the students to cover. With history I typically included geography, or at least some basic map work. Once weekly assignments were determined then I'd work with my dc to determine when to do the work. Sometimes we'd break it out into daily assignments. Often times my dc preferred to block study it and do all history/geography in one 4hr slot. The. Lit would be on another day. Things like math and English might get done dAily. For the lower levels maybe do reAdings on M/W and projects on Friday? One thing I noticed as I considered TOG for my G and UG dc was that G stage work was all about introducing them to the stories, people, vocab, ect. UG seems to be focused on getting them used to reading more. Some folks get concerned that there is not a lot of assignments/worksheets for them to do at this level. But I think the main goal is to work on their reading level and amounts and to begin the discussions. There is plenty of work to pick for them at the D level, so don't sweat the workload at the lower levels. :)

I wonder if they will still be available via DVD? Ive notice that most things that are not available via instant viewing are available via DVD and snail mail. This is how we tend to catch up on older shows. :)

This is the one that I use online. ...no download needed.

I've used CW thru Diogenes. What do you want to know? I let the workbooks lead. They specify which pages in the core to cover. I've read them to my kids first time through but now I may not as I know it enough to direct them. Then I help them daily with the days workbook page(s). Sometimes we do the spelling or vocabulary pages, other times we skip them. Once I did RnS Eng instead of Harvey's but since then I just use Harvey's. Although we do it mainly orally since the concepts are repeated in the CW workbooks. I do have Mary Daly's First Book of Diagramming on hand for reference. For Aesop A papers, I would have dc dictate to me her narration while I wrote it down. Then she would copy parts, eventually all of it. By the end I would type her narrations and edit them with her. Then I would dictate some back for her to write. Aesop B: we continue the writing with more dictating back to her and moving to her writing it on her own. Homer: careful, this book offers lots to learn and this lots to do if if you use the workbooks. I use the workbooks but skip some of the work as needed for my kids. However, the full work load s doable. I td my co-op students to skip some of it and yet there were a few that were able to do it all anyway. For my kids I needed to do Harvey's orally. I sometimes did the spelling page or vocab page with them or just skipped it. I often did part of the workbook pages with them and assigned the rest for HW. I sometimes did the A&I part one week and the paper the next. If the student wanted to be creative I would allow it within the assignment but basically this gets addressed later In the book anyway. Remember their goal is to try to rewrite the narrative as good as or better then the original author. Apples to apples comparison. Diogenes: these were fun too. Lots of discussions on classic essays. Again do what you can. Use the answer key to figure out the grammar if need be.

Looks like he still has a chance since one grade is dropped. That Leaves him with a C and 3 more tests plus the final. Got him to talk with the prof ..not really sure where that got him. Told him to visit office hours often, maybe get the prof to quiz him even if it doesn't count just to test himself (& to let the prof know he cares and is trying). Don't know if he will though. Still waiting for him to tell his dad. He knows he needs to tell him before he asks but we know it won't go well. As much as I get upset by their bad grades, DH is worse. I have a BS in Computer Science w a math minor and a MS in Computer science. Dh has a BS in aerospace Engineerimg. We know the importance of grades and so should dc ...thus the frustration.

Mary Daly's First Book of Diagramming. It teaches just diagraming (& the concepts behind the grammar terms) and has lots and lots of examples.

For what is worth, he did take outside classes during high school. The only one he had trouble with was an honors chem class (close to AP level) where he actually was behind in the math needed for the class ... And I was very sick for a few months but he managed to pull a C. Some of the other classes were at a TOG co-op where he seemed to easily do better then the rest of the high school kids that joined. He was able to handle the rhetoric level while others were not. I even stopped the class to view the How to Be A superstar Student videos with the class! All his high school math classes were ouside classes also (mainly for the accountability). He is a smart guy, gets the big picture, makes the connections, has great discussions... However he writes sloppy, takes little notes, is better organized this year then last but this still needs work, and when I try to step in to offer help I get the line "I got this Mom!" <Ug need that head banging pic here> he just started the college's 1/2 semester course on study skills so maybe that will help...but will it help in time?? Dh thinks it was wrong to let him retake Calc 1 as now is is bored and not trying. He did pass it with a C but the advisor thought he should do better since he is tying for engineering. I agreed. It doent help that they don't Collect any of the homework. All the grades are from the tests! It's not his first time at the CC either. He did Dual Enroll his senior year. He averaged high Cs. We talked about paying more attention to due dates...even suggested he put the test dates and due dates on his phone...did he? No. Talked about study habits, note talking, etc. He matured more over the summer so I was expecting better results. I think he was too. Maybe retaking the math was a mistake. He thinks he already knows it and so doesn't do all the problems....and forgets to then go back and check his work with the answers in the back of the book. I told him to go talk with his professor today. Maybe he can retake the last test....even if it won't count the prof needs to know he is serious.

Ug so frustrating. First dc to start community college didn't do so well. Then again she was an angry freshman. Now, after getting her act together and switching colleges n moving out, she is doing better and it looks like she will probably get good grades. Somewhere in all that next dc started CC. He started better but still didn't get better then Cs. He smart and seems to understand the work, he is just a poor/lazy student. So much for homeschooling! I mean really, he is retaking a class to do better then a C and still getting bad grades! Ug! Really! And he is living at home with us. I have three more. Next two already seem more studious but I'm tempted to just put them all in school.

Hmm I like to show Caillou. It is one of the few shows that has a Dad who is caring and respected. There seem to be many shows (older kids shows too) out now that show the kids or even the Mom rolling eyes at the Dad and/or showing him as clueless. I also like Doc McStuffins for this too.

Yep same area here. That seems to be where many job are moving to today.

Classical Writing Homer and Diogenese take grammar to a pretty deep level. They use sentences from the writing models to analyze, diagram, and/or parse. They also have 6 different methods for rewriting them.

In addition to food issues, look into snoring. Appearently if you snore lots then you aren't sleeping well and you wake up tired. My 9 year old gal snores and sleeps too restlessly to join us in our bed. I've been told that this might be the cause of her headaches. Lack of real sleep causes problems. My teen also had trouble falling asleep. We ended up buying Melotonin supplements. Now my dh also uses them when he can't fall asleep. Best bet is to talk with your pediatrician. Maybe if you have suggestions from a Dr. then your hubby will be more inclined to help you implement them.

It's been ... a week! So dh got a job offer! But now we need to move to Alabama! Nice place I just really didn't want move away from our great high school co-op, new neighbor friends, old friends, great church, great Boy Scouts troop which my dh is leading, etc. oh well. Time to minimize homeschooling to prep the house for sale by spring! Dh will commute back here on most weekends till we are ready to move. We hope to finish the school year first. 9th grader and college guy are keeping up with their work (although college guy should be getting better grades!). Need to work more to ensure 4th grader doesn't fall behind as I quickly get pulled away and her work stalls.

Hugs. I can relate. Btdt. Typically for me I get them back on track before the end of the day. Then hubby gets home. He's quick to notice when I've had a day like that. I normally don't want to say anything because I really want peace and by that time it is peacefull. But the history of the day is not hidden from DAD. They then get a talkin from Dad. Usually next day is then better. Somehow correction from Dad seems to wake them up more then when I correct them. Anyway, HUGS. You are not alone with these issues.

Looks like we might be moving to Alabama, in or near the Huntsville area. I was wondering if there are any classical co-ops out in that area, like a TOG or VP Omnibus, or WTM co-op? I finally found a great high school classical co-op here but now we are moving. Maybe I can find one for all our ages (3, 9, & 15)? I'm not looking for Classical Conversations though, we've done that before. Thanks for any guidance you can give!

I've used CW Aesop thru Diogenese both at home and in a co-op. I gave the sample of the upper level of the Cottage Press product a quick read. CW was written so that the instructor can read the txt, and develop their own set of lesson plans and choose their own models. There is plenty of help included to guide one thru that process. The workbooks were later written to offer an open and go option to those who didn't want to create their own lessons. They still require the instructor to read the txt and teach the material in the lower levels. The higher levels are written to the student. Most of the work is done in the workbook, but some is done in separate notebooks. CP looks like the lesson plans are all laid out, no option here. It is written to the student, like a workbook with all the text but it requires much of the work to be done in another book I don't fully have the big picture for CP yet but it does seem to follow a routine like CW, but different. Looks like if each lesson is to be done on a different day then basically the analysis seems to be done in the first few days and the paper is worked on in the next few days. CW workbooks tend to call for the analysis to be done in the morning and the paper in the afternoon. Some do the analysis one week and the paper the next. Grammar and lit analysis are included in both programs. Hope this helps some.

Actually she didn't write the CW texts, only the workbooks that go along with them. I think she has branched out on her own to write her personal version of a writing program. ETA: The Classical Writing program was written by Lene Jaqua.

Singapore math with the HIG Classical Writing w the workbooks How to Teach Spelling w the workbooks I've also used RnS English, RnS Spelling n both were open go too.

Maybe for math you can take the time to really cement their basic facts. It will help them in class with their mental math work and will proved a really strong basis for anything you choose when you get back to the states. You might also want to bring in some interesting n fun word problems. Maybe Primay Challenge Math or Singapore's Challenging Word Problems or even Grocery Cart Math.

How to Teach Spelling w the work books. The way to make it work easy is to let the workbook lead. You can read the lesson from HTTS that corresponds w the workbook. Also watch for the dictation that the workbook calls for n take your time with that part. Another option is Megawords. Note that it starts at 4th grade spelling level. It focuses more on syllabication rules than phonics n has more workbook pages less dictation.

Sounds like a really neat idea. Thanks for sharing!

Once they are done with phonics they read chapter books. Usually they can tell me all about it. We do have to take yearly standardized tests here. These tend to highlight issues with Q&A. When this is the case I pull out Reading Detective CD. It's a fun way to work on reading, answering questions, and showing which sentences in the reading support your answers. I love the ability to buy once and use with all my kids. :)