Map Blobbing

They offer every thing from Learning Labs to Record Keeping to full textbook or full on-line programs. They also sell the lab kits. We purchased our chem kit directly from them. Like Lori D mentioned above, pick areas that you struggle with teaching and outsource. Bridgeway LL science labs are taught by K-12 certified math and science teachers. Ds' 14 science teacher was one tough, but fun, cookie!

We belong to a very small, local gym- the kids work out with us, doing treadmill, bike and weights. When it's nice, the boys jog with dh several times a week and dd will ride her bike along with him They do floor exercises/ karate forms together. The boys go ballroom dancing every other week. They play volleyball in the summer (it meets weekly- they try to get there regularly). The boys often go on LONG walks in the hills.

went to church yesterday. Today I need to work at least 4 hours on a big project for work. Am making a pallet Christmas tree Taking pics and posting a Xmas house tour blog post Planning for our last CC day of the semester (I tutor the Master's class). I've already cleaned the kitchen but need to get caught up on laundry. Get a 1/2 work out in. Read or listen to the kids read, Verily New Hope.

Foreign Language- Rosetta Stone. Some people don't like it. We love it for both Hebrew and German Science Labs- Bridgeway Academy Learning labs are 10 week on-line live interactive classes where the kids earn 1/2 high school credit. Ds 14 just finished Chem lab- it was excellent! They offer fall, spring and winter courses. For writing- Omnibus has a lot of writing assignments but little in the way of writing instruction- make sure grammar is up to speed. We've used IEW with good success. We'll be venturing into The Lost Tools of Writing next fall.

What we have used is MP's World Geography I and II- both excellent. Drawing the World with Art- there is a thread on the Logic board about it- I think this is best used in a group to ensure that it gets done. Map blobbing and going for drawing the world in a year, along with continents, mnts, rivers, lakes, oceans, features, etc. ala CC. Ds 14 is doing this now, having done the above. It's challenging but in a good way if you have a geographically inclined kid (and even if you don't!)

Pyscho Ed focuses on innate ability and educational attainment, strengths and weaknesses. A neuro-psych eval focuses on evaluating innate ability and attainment but more on functional ability and disability, more on brain pathology and function, and trying to localize where some of the disturbance, limitations or damage is. There is a lot of overlap. Both can use an eval from the other, but have specific areas of specialty.

Thanks for the shout-out, Evanthe! I've posted middle school, high-school info since I started blogging in '08. My 4th is currently in high school and my 5th is a middler- Fun times in paradise!

I found this book to be helpful: Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnosis of the Gifted Child.

Great ideas! I also thought about an remote started for ds' car, esp as it's nearing deep freeze temps. Ds20 mentioned that he wants a shot gun microphone for his camera (who knew?)- if that is useful to anyone else with a movie making wannabe. Spryte, I just discovered Wm Shakespear's Star Wars. - there's a hardback trilogy that would make a great gift.

sorry for double post

ds is taking 15 credits, while living at home and working 8- 20 hours a week. He does construction/ roofing for a family friend, the dad of one of his best friends, who treatshim great, pays him very well and instructs him on stuff he doesn't know. He has a couple of years of construction under his belt and a full summer of roofing, 2 of landscaping and is an exceptionally hard worker so the money he makes is well earned and it helps that he is making a living wage vs. minimum. Like City Mous he seems to do way better when working and a bit busier. He is getting great grades at a state school, plans to go to S.Amer for a 8 credit, 2 mth intensive this summer, along with a full load on-line at a private school. He should make enough roofing when he's home to cover it with some money left over for fall.

We've used Fulbright's A & P- the kids listened to the MP3. We have also used the General, Physical, et. al through high school.We found Fulbright to be a bit pedantic-she made claims to prove points that my kids found to be a stretch. We'd rather hear, "We don't know" or "We're not sure" than a illogical or historically inaccurate stretch to prove a theological point. It wasn't often, but just enough that her credibility was questioned by the kids. Also, MP3's make the world go round imho and so discuss any points that might be a sticking point and play that baby. The materials are excellent quality. I wrote a review here. We love the books by Wile. My evolution-Bible as myth scientist fil, as well as my intelligent design inerrentist scientist dh both think they are excellent, my kids love them and we've had great interactions from Wile on the occaission when there's been a question or comment.

I totally agree. I don't outsource much for "enrichment" at all.

Since this is my 24th year of homeschooling, and we were very much part of the group that fought for the right to homeschool, I think I qualify as an early homeschooler as much as anyone. Because I have kids who have graduated using a less rigorous methodology, I think I'm pretty qualified to speak to outcomes. Yes, there is a difference= in character, ability, desire and motivation. Clearly, we are going with the pedagogy that we see/believe and experience to be the most effective. Having 5 kids over 16 years, and having homeschooled for over 2 decades has given us a unique longitudinal view. No one has to agree with us. I'm talking about our experience, having homeschooled long term in 5 different states for the long haul. To be crystal clear: we in no way "public school" at home. We offer our kids a highly individualized academic program utilizing a number of different resources. One of my pet peeves about the homeschooling community has been the lack of education passed off as a pedagogy (i.e. unschooling), "play is a child's work" "they are learning all the time" etc.. Truly reading and understanding the likes of Holt and Colfax, et al revels a very intentional pedagogy of education, not an apologetic for mom just not getting to math or whatever (which is, let's admit, what 80% of unschoolers are really all about these days- I can cough up example after example of this, far more than examples of people truly unschooling via Holt). Just witnessed a discussion on a local board of homeschoolers who are totally not schooling at home all talking about how they really hadn't gotten to school today (or this month, this fall) and yea, they felt guilty, and their kids were bickering and bored and anxious but hey, that's the "beauty of unschooling"...

Catan, Life and a Star Wars Monopoly have always been hits. Also, Mancala and Chinese Checkers.

Apologia eled has Mp3- painless and good info. Also, the Tiner series- fantasic all the way around!

I would just fill in 1/2 credits with ACE. So, i f she has the first 1/2 of Alg 1, purchase the last 1/2 of Alg 1 pack, finish it and give a complete credit. I would salvage as much as you can, esp. with academic classes. You want her to move forward, heal emotionally, without feeling like she has to be held back for the crummy situation she was in.

Also, if you know where your kids want to go to college, see how many CLEP exams, and which ones, they'll accept.

This year my kids are in a CC community (Foundations and Essentials), a small co-op at my house (Grammar of Poetry, culturual studies and bio lab), they are going to take 3 classes on line each. They also do an outsourced art class and ds is doing math tutoring. Why bother going through all of the hard work of running them around, getting my house ready, getting on line? Because we are committed to a quality education, because I need to work at this point, because there are amazing opportunities that we can't replicate ourselves at home. I've been told I'm not a "real" homeschooler for the past several years because I outsource. Really? I teach my kids at home. I teach other homeschoolers for hours each week. I manage my children's private, rigorous, classical education. My dh and I spend HOURS each week tutoring and mentoring our kids (dh spent every Sat this fall -4-6 hrs each week working with ds on his chem lab). He is, at this very moment, showing the kids space exploration/.launch/ space missions info, having interrupted a Poetry lesson with me, as my kids write an Anapestic poem in tetrameter, imitating Byron's, "The Destruction of Sennacherib." So, yeah. Maybe we no longer "count" as "real" homeschoolers. I'm fine with that. I'm fine with embracing every.single.resource I can get my hands on to educate and train my kids.

I've known enough homeschoolers who would beg their parents to teach them a specific thing around Jr/Sr high school and the parents (often running a business or ministering) would tell the kid that if they wanted to learn it badly enough, they would figure it out. Righto.

Lost Tools of Writing

Angie- perfect for my hirsute 20 yo!

My dh is learning Hebrew using RS. He's learned German and Greek the textbook route and loves RS. The only problem I see using it with younger kids is that it is sometimes glitches in picking up soft, young voices on the microphone.

I agree with the CC Grammar chart. It's basically the gist of the charts the kids copy regularly.