Brenda, Thank you so much!! This post is incredibly helpful--I was very confused and so glad you clarified the Memoria Press issue for me. Thanks again:) Michelle

My dd is using Oxford Latin I this year and will be finished in May. Could she jump into Henle Latin Year 2 (which begins with unit 3 according to Memoria Press)? Or-- would it be better for her to begin Henle at the beginning? I plan on using the guide books that come with the program. Thanks!

My budget is $250. I am looking for a good electric guitar for my ds who has been playing for a while and needs to upgrade from his cheap $100 "starter" guitar. He already owns a very high quality amp. Looking at guitars at the store, I realize that even $250 is cheap for a guitar, but that is all we have at the moment. Any suggestions on models? Thanks!

I'm reading John Adams, by David McCullough. My dd is reading it for school, so I am too. However, it will take way more then a week.

Susan, What didn't you like about it? Unfortunately , my dd is using this text in her co-op, so we are stuck. Thanks! Michelle

I know nothing about economics!

This is why I love these boards so much! I checked the titles out on Amazon, and there are a ton of them! They look great--just what I need for my ds who is studying U.S. history this year--something easy to read, but historical and fun. I can't wait to read them too! Thanks Again!!

The Unlikely Disciple, by Kevin Roose (about a Brown students who goes undercover at Liberty University--very good!) The Year of Living Biblically, A.J. Jacobs (about a magazine editor who decides to follow the Old Testament/New Testament rules for a year--funny!) I am starting on I Am the Messenger, by Zusak this week.

Yes, the journaling was my son's least favorite part of the class, but the rest was fine. We have a lot of experience with Keystone. As with most programs, it depends on the class. My son did Chemistry which was awful.Spanish ,we dropped. The Pre-Calculus was also bad. The book was great, but their was no instruction, just a book and a schedule. That is why Keystone is not a good choice for maths, sciences, and foreign languages unless you have someone at home to "teach" the material. Humanities are MUCH easier to implement at home. We also did the Honors World History was also very good.Again, we added extra books and DVDs for enrichment. Their English and history classes are solid high school level classes.They provided the spine, schedule, and grades, that I really needed that year. We added 10 novels for the American Literature class and that bumped it up from adequate to excellent. I have also heard great things about k12!

My son did the Honors English 3 four years ago. It was American Literature.There were lots of poems, essays, and short stories, but only one novel(Huckleberry Finn). We added more novels at home. There was a lot of writing(an essay every week, plus journaling). Also, the tests had lots of essays as well. There was no added grammar or composition instruction-- the ability to write five-paragraph essays was assumed. All in all, I liked it. It got the job done, and I didn't have to plan out the curriculum.

Some of our favorites in Am Lit: To Kill a Mockingbird The Good Earth, by Pearl Buck Catcher in the Rye (teens seem to like this better than adults) Fahrenheit 451 and short stories by Bradbury Of Mice and Men and Grapes of Wrath A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (for girls) The Joy Luck Club (for girls) Call of the Wild (boys) Short Stories: Poe, The Lottery, Flannery O Connor, The Most Dangerous Game, stories by O'Henry

Today I proudly(and successfully), worked through several trig identity proofs!

Teaching Company Videos!! Our library doesn't carry them, and if money were no object, I would buy oodles of them!

CherylG's ds-UCLA, graduated, UCSB, UCSD, Westmont, all accepted. UMD-attending for master's in engineering. CherylG's dd-SBCC school of nursing-graduated. Creekland's ds - Covenant College, Union University, Calvin College - all acceptances at this point. Deb in NZ's dd - Bay of Plenty Polytechnic (begin Feb 2010) dkholland- ds - Covenant College (accepted), Patrick Henry College (accepted) Grove City College Katia - ds- Ellsworth Community College (AA Computer Science) , Anderson University-attended , University of Northern Iowa (BA Computer Science), Kansai Gaidai University, Kyoto, Japan-attended Katia - dd#1- Hilldale College-attending , accepted at: Luther College, Ball State University, University of Northern Iowa, Oberlin College Conservatory of Music Katia- dd#2 - applying to: Hillsdale College , Warner University (accepted) Laughing Lioness - DS -Boyce College (KY) attending. Accepted to Augustana College (SD) and St. Mary's School of Nursing (SD). Liza Q's dd - Saint Francis College - attending. Kings College, St. John's University, Brooklyn College - accepted Michelle in GA ds- University of Georgia(accepted); Berry College (accepted); GA Tech(currently attending) MSPolly's dd- Acceptances at Covenant(TN), Union U(TN), U of MS, Belhaven U(MS) Osmosis Mom Dd 1, Wellesley College (attending), accepted to Merrimack College, BU, Simmons, Emmanuel College Sharon in MD's ds-Drexel University -attending; UMBC-Meyerhoff program, UMD-College Park-College of Engineering, Messiah College- acceptances Susann-dd-Rose-Hulman, Purdue, University of Evansville, Trine, Taylor, Cedarville-acceptances Susie-Knits ds1 - Rose-Hulman, Valparaiso, U of Evansville, TN Tech - acceptances Valerie(TX) - ds UT Arlington attended Valerie(TX) - dd accepted Biola (CA), Messiah (PA), Belhaven (MS), Mary Baldwin College (VA), UTA (TX), Hardin-Simmons (TX), Univ. of Mary Hardin-Baylor (TX), and Ouachita (AR). I'm missing one. ?? TransientChris's DS- George Mason U,attending; Hillsdale College- attended, Abilene Christian, Hampden-Sydney, St. Olaf- accepted

We used Truth Quest Rome a few year back. I LOVE the program. Pros: I love the idea of reading books to learn history! There are many options for reading selections and they are arranged by grade level. There are reading options for history AND literature The inclusion of Christian world view Cons: No tests..this is a con for me, because as much as I love history taught as a "story", there is also a place for memorizing some basic facts. I fixed this problem by creating a flashcard "game" on Roman kings, emperors,wars,etc. Then we reviewed them as we went along. And then, I pulled questions every so often from the pile and gave pop quizzes to keep my dc accountable. No schedules...they say you can get through two books a year, and I know I could sit down and hammer out a schedule, but I really don't want to! I wish they would do that for us. All in all, I love Truthquest!

Creekland's ds - Covenant College, Union University, Calvin College - all acceptances at this point. Deb in NZ's dd - Bay of Plenty Polytechnic (begin Feb 2010) dkholland- ds - Covenant College (accepted), Patrick Henry College (accepted) Grove City College Katia - ds- Ellsworth Community College (AA Computer Science) , Anderson University-attended , University of Northern Iowa (BA Computer Science), Kansai Gaidai University, Kyoto, Japan-attended Katia - dd#1- Hilldale College-attending , accepted at: Luther College, Ball State University, University of Northern Iowa, Oberlin College Conservatory of Music Katia- dd#2 - applying to: Hillsdale College , Warner University (accepted) Liza Q's dd - Saint Francis College - attending. Kings College, St. John's University, Brooklyn College - accepted Michelle in GA ds- University of Georgia (accepted); Berry College (accepted); Georgia Tech (currently attending) Sharon in MD's ds-Drexel University -attending; UMBC-Meyerhoff program, UMD-College Park-College of Engineering, Messiah College- acceptances Susie-Knits ds1 - Rose-Hulman, Valparaiso, U of Evansville, TN Tech - acceptances Valerie(TX) - ds UT Arlington attended Valerie(TX) - dd accepted Biola (CA), Messiah (PA), Belhaven (MS), Mary Baldwin College (VA), UTA (TX), Hardin-Simmons (TX), Univ. of Mary Hardin-Baylor (TX), and Ouachita (AR). I'm missing one. ?? TransientChris's DS- George Mason U,attending; Hillsdale College- attended, Abilene Christian, Hampden-Sydney, St. Olaf- accepted

My Kitchen is painted North Hampton Putty from Benjamin Moore. I love this color! It is warm, neutral, a sort of olive/khaki color. It would coordinate great with many colors.

I'm starting with Ethan Fromme, by Wharton. It is a classic and best of all it is short, so I know I can get it done in a week:)

I am looking for a medium tone(not too light, not too dark). I want it soothing, with a tinge of gray; not green or aqua. Anyone have a blue they just love? There are so many paint samples...I would love some input. Thanks!

1. The Shack-could NOT get into this 2. My Sister's Keeper, by Jodi Picoult--depressing, and I hated most of the characters 3. The Alchemist--I liked it at the beginning, but then, it felt like a very long winded, "mystic" lecture. Whoever said the Time Traveler's Wife was just so-so. I agree! In fact, I had a terrible time slugging through that one. As for The Good Earth...I LOVED that book:) Great post! It's neat to see how differently(or the same), we interpret books!

Top 3: 1. The Help 2. The Glass Castle 3. The Joy Luck Club

Thanks Robin, I had completely forgotten about LLATL. Does it include vocabulary, writing, quizzes,etc? About how long does each day take? Also, what are some of the short stories they cover? Thanks!

How did you like it? Could you tell me how it is set up? Does it include vocabulary, literary study, writing assignments, quizzes? Also- have you done the Non Fiction program? If so, what types of reading are included with that program? Thanks so much!!

You mentioned instacert.com. I looked it up and it looks interesting. Were you pleased with it? How much do you think it helped? Was it more helpful than the Rea books? Thanks!

Thanks Susan!! I have read bad reviews on the BJU Pre Calculus and mixed reviews on the Geometry...but I haven't seen much posted about their Algebra programs.I am currently using a mix of Chalkdust and BJU for Pre Calculus right now. I am happy to hear that the Algebra 2 teacher is better than Mr. Conn:) Thanks so much for your help!