This is Mrs. Coppedge’s first year to teach for TPS, but she’s been teaching homeschool courses for years in my community! She’s an excellent teacher and has taught both Physical Science and Chemistry courses for the last 9 years, both in person and online. She is EXCELLENT. Amanda knows her subject areas well, is a thoughtful instructor, and, as a fellow homeschooling mom, works well with parents to make sure every student gets what he or she needs from her courses. Both of my daughters took her eighth grade Physical Science class last year and are so excited to have the opportunity to take her Chemistry course next year.

Hey! We're here in Germany for a few months and living in a city apartment and going a little crazy trying to be quiet, too! No fantastic advice, just wanting to commiserate and express solidarity. We're mincing about in our socks, not closing doors, and waiting for winter to be over.

Where the Red Fern Grows and Summer of the Monkeys by Rawls are set in Talequah, OK. Summer of the Monekys is delightful!

I'm an LPC! I was most of the way through the licensure process when my children were born, but I've worked anywhere between 10-20 hours a week since they were small. We've tried different things- working evenings, working Saturdays (those slots fill up fast!), and using various forms of childcare. Right now, I work one evening a week and two afternoons- about 20 clinical hours a week. My husband goes in early and comes home early those days and we have a Spanish tutor who comes in during the other hours and teaches some grammar/works on conversation. We've made it work. I've loved getting to have them at home for school AND being able to continue to counsel. You can do it!

If you're wanting something that meshes with the focus on cell biology and botany, we LOVE Ellen McHenry's Cell and Botany material. Both can be made as in depth or as light as you need and you can use it for a variety of ages.

We like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Westminster-Shorter-Catechism-Kids-Questions/dp/0983724911/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344141075&sr=1-7&keywords=the+westminster+shorter+catechism

My parents used it with us when we were growing up. I remember loving the animal stories, but as I've read them as an adult, I'm really troubled with much of the way the Biblical text is twisted to say what the author wants it to say. I've put the books away in our house, as I don't want my children to believe that Tamar and Dinah were responsible for their own rapes and other sort of egregious distortions like that. The books themselves are beautiful, but I would recommend you borrow and copy and check that Gothard's interpretation of Scripture meshes with your own.