We went through DIVE BIology with the Bob Jones text. Just wondering if anyone out there had a kid that passed the Biology CLEP and if you have specific recommendations for materials to use? Thanks! Fiddle

This is really helpful! I see a variety of paths and learned a couple things (like I thought everyone did Biology in 9th, but lots of people take it later high school; I thought earth science was middle school, but I see there are classes that must qualify for high school credit, etc.) I need to give some thought to what the high school path will be so I can figure out what dd should do for next year (8th)........I'm torn between doing Earth Science (which I think she would enjoy) or Integrated Physics and Science (maybe BJU with DIVE) to help get her ready for high school classes (and she is doing LOF Elementary Physics this year in addition to other science- but maybe that would be a good transition to Integrated Physics or some sort of conceptual physics? Still open to seeing other paths (or really any advice on science for 8th and suggested high school path)- this momma is having anxiety at the thought of homeschooling high school. Science was NOT my subject- I got A's but had an engineer dad who helped me through Physics, etc. Paula

I'm having a tough time planning for High School science, so I thought I'd see how others are doing it! My dd will have had Algebra 1 in 8th and then either Algebra II or Geometry in 9th. Thanks! Paula

I can't remember whose post I saw recommending Blue Tent English, but I am so thankful I came across it! We live in a rural area with not great internet, so doing "live" classes is tough. I was feeling stress of teaching literary analysis and composition and these look perfect for our needs. I signed dd up for Blue Tent Honors English I next year and hope it was the right choice. She's awfully shy, so we'll see how it goes. Paula

I've moved but the family is still transitioning here. Now I'm even more stressed about filing that paperwork because we're coming in quite a bit after their school starts here. Didn't see your response until now... but I can use any links to Wyoming homeschoolers I can get. I do have a few contacts here locally that homeschool, but honestly it's not nearly what we're used to having where we came from...... Paula

Wow, I'm excited to see more replies and also to know I'm not the only one mulling these things over. Ruth- some really good info. I think I need to have more confidence in my ability to teach these skills to dd. Funny, but the highlighting material worked well for me but I must be in the minority LOL I guess it's the perfectionist in me so I want something with all the answers so I know I'm doing it "correctly"- The reasons *behind* outlining the text, i.e. for the student to process the info, was a great reminder and somehow I feel a bit less pressure to be "perfect" in this area. Thank you for the awesome reminder. Warneral/loesji- You helped answer my questions about BJU!!!! Thank you! I feel like I've got some great info to make a decision and (maybe) more confidence in moving forward in science. Thanks, hive!!!! Paula

In addition to all the great suggestions (and I fully plan to use Sparknotes with dd when she hits high school), I also have Teaching the Classics and have heard nothing but great things about it as helpful to the parent re: literature. Just throwing that out there since I didn't see it mentioned. If you totally give up, they have online literature classes you can take and the books are preselected. Another thing that is helpful to some parents as a plan for how much to do in one year, etc. are the Excellence in Literature series. My problem is that I want to do *everything* and I always think we're not doing enough, but then sometimes it can overwhelm my dd (and we're just in middle school, not even high school yet). Since I know myself, we'll likely go with something like MFW or Excellence in Literature where someone else has mapped out what is supposed to be a reasonable level of work for the student and NOT leave it up to mom to plan the schedule LOL Best, Paula

Some great ideas, thanks! It seems like I read somewhere that the BJU middle science books have the kids outlining and there might be some guidance in the Teachers Manuals... but I can't seem to find where I found that info. Maybe someone on here has experience with the BJU texts? I know DIVE gives them experience with taking notes from lectures and maybe some help with labs. But I'd really like her to learn how to outline the textbooks and just not sure I can teach her that skill.....I need something like WWS for science!!! Any other ideas for me to mull over? Thanks so much! Paula

Writing...ugh. Anyway, lots of great curriculum out there, but when you said your dd is a VSL, I wondered if you've tried the mind mapping type software with her? My dd has dyslexia and a lot of kids find it helpful to use these... check out http://www.inspiration.com/ or similar type things. Helps them to organize thoughts and then translate into outlines, then they can write :) WS Apprentice would be below her level. You could use Jump In and skip the parts you find objectionable- it does spend some time going through different ways of organizing thoughts, i.e .clustering, brainstorming, etc. Anyway, good luck finding the right fit. Paula

Not sure what science we're using this year but I want my dd middler to learn how to take notes this year from a science textbook. Looking for suggestions on how to do this...... is there DVD based instruction out there for this? That also guide them along and also show them how to write lab reports? I am open to any type of science (earth, life, physical, etc.) and Christian or secular. I would like to use the time during the middle school years to get dd to learn how to study from a textbook. Thanks :) Paula

I'm not an expert, but I do have the MFW AHL Lit & Supplement as I'm trying to plan myself for high school. The Lit & Supplement has reading comprehension to go with the reading assignments to go with the various books they study in depth, grammar integrated throughout and the writing/composition focus is on learning and practicing the persuasive essay (the Notgrass is the history spine and would be the short essay answer type things) A lot of the essay questions tie in with the Bible. I think it would be too much to do the MFW and CLE. I don't have any experience with CLE, so can't give input there. Hope this helps a little in your decision and hopefully you'll get more responses. Paula

Oh, I guess I should say that my kids didn't like WS .... so, just wondering if the Rod and Staff with whatever writing assignments in 1850 to modern times will be enough for my 4th grader). :confused1: Paula

We're switching over to MFW next year, but jumping in at 1850 to modern (for various reasons including older children). We're going to stick with Rod and Staff English, but I am wondering will there be enough writing assignments in MFW to balance out since R&S has sparse composition assignments at that level for my 4th grader? If it's not enough, I could have her go through Wordsmith Apprentice in addition to R&S or in lieu of--- I have that lying around to use because I think dd would enjoy it. Thanks. Paula

If you pop on over to the IEW families yahoo group, Jill P. moderates that group and is VERY helpful at stuff like this :) She's a great resource to ask about high school planning. I'm with you- so many great resources and not enough time, so sometimes it's hard to narrow down which things to use for writing!!! Best, Paula

I just bought New American Cursive and it goes through upper and lower case together and it's well put together- I plan to even have my 12 year old review with younger one because I think this style of cursive is going to be easier to learn and will help her write faster when those good old SATs roll around in high school. :) Paula

Wondering how long it took your dc to get through the book? My dd is 12 and has almost finished TT Prealgebra but she did some of Apologia Physical Science through coop last year and had difficulty with the more mathy parts, so I am contemplating having her run through Fred's physics but have no idea how much time it's going to take. I've read the mixed reviews on it, and I know it is more "math" focused...I'm ok with that. Would like to know if your child actually liked it, though, or any other input. Thanks! Paula

I don't have much input since I don't have a high schooler yet, BUT I had a good friend whose kid needed to play sports to get scholarships for college and so she put him in the local public school for jr and sr year --- same deal in that state. No credit for his first two years- she just pulled him out of the public high school a couple weeks before graduation and graduated him from her homeschool (giving credit for the ps classes and prior hs classes). :hurray: I thought it was brilliant. The dual enrollment sounds good and there are other options if you can outsource or do online a bit more to help lighten your load of teaching, etc. Sorry you have health issues- we can relate in our household. Paula

Ah, I understand. We've got chronic illness in our home, too, with the homeschooling parent. Maybe consider some of IEW's products? My daughter LOVEs the Phonetic Zoo for spelling- this is almost no teacher prep, except every so often you come up with a list based on mistakes they've made in their writing. Not sure what you use for writing, but you could try IEW (the videos, such as the student intensives or continuation ones- I had dd watch the DVD with me one day of the week and she worked independently on the writing assignment the rest of the week until it needed "grading"). Or Wordsmith Apprentice. I think Wordly Wise has online Vocab, but the other thing you could try this year for spelling AND vocab is the free spellingcity website- FREE!!!! For science, I agree with the poster on Apologia (maybe have him do some outlines or reports for chapters) or DVD based stuff like SOS, BJU, etc. But honestly the BIGGEST help to our family in dealing with this is to have a CHECKLIST for the student of all the things they need to get done that day, so our kids can check things off as they are done. You could write the list weekly or around when you're feeling up to it, or even plan out the whole year and adjust as you go? Without those checklists, my kids were well-meaning but constantly needing to ask for direction. Best to you, Paula

Ah, thanks everyone!!! I think I was remembering a review of Writing Strands vs IEW by SWB and mixing things up.... alright, going to check out the applicable sections in the WTM and happy to have input. My kids used R&S last year, but only for grammar. Was thinking the writing instruction looks good, though and would be nice to streamline things a bit. Much to ponder...... Paula

Bump

Have you checked out the IEW materials? They start gradually (focusing on sentences/paragraphs) and move to multiparagraph papers... and you could use the various materials all the way through high school if it's a good fit. My dd needs explicit instruction for writing and IEW has done wonders for her! Best to you in whatever you decide! Paula

I've been searching- anyone have the link to Susan's review of Rod & Staff English? Is the R&S English considered good for both grammar and composition as a stand-alone if you're not doing WWE series? And for what grades? Thanks! Paula

Amy, A couple things....... 1) MFW has a pretty high resale value, especially the high school program since the high school programs are newer and most families hang on to theirs with other kids coming along behind. So, if you feel strongly about it, you could resell them probably pretty easily. 2) The MFW AHL is mean for the student to be working almost completely independently- they're learning to manage their time on a weekly basis- this plus the step up in sciences and math usually are more than enough for high school. Not to mention electives. I have AHL (haven't done it yet) and the other thing is that there is a focus on learning the persuasive/argumentative essay and tying it into the Bible & History. I've looked through it and it doesn't look "easy" to me (and I am well-educated with a graduate degree). There are things you could add to it to make it more rigorous if you want to tweak it, but you can see as you go along how your student is progressing. 3) ECC- again, it is pretty easy to beef this up. For your 12 year old you can get the supplement and they'll be writing regular country reports. There is book basket time and separate assigned reading time where you can add assignments to read the great books, classics, etc. I think most of the MFW levels are pretty easy to add or subtract to, depending on the student. That is one of the things that drew me to MFW- you have a lot of flexibility to tailor the program to your needs. If you really, really feel like it's not a match then I really think you can resell your stuff, but it seems like you could give it a try this year - you might find that you and your kids like it. Whatever you decide, best to you! Paula P.S. I'm still trying to figure out language arts for next year- writing/composition I have changed my mind several times over and can not make up my mind, so I understand the angst about curriculum......

My dd has been a reluctant writer and we got her writing now through using IEW and a bit of Jensens. My dd has covered the basic essay but not spent time yet doing different types of essays (compare/contrast, persuasive, etc.) She still needs work integrating grammar into her writing (we have only been homeschooling since 6th grade and did start R&S) and I haven't worked with her much on the revision process for papers. We're moving and this mom needs a break from teaching writing! I'm considering online options and was considering either Write at Home (1st high school level) or using Writeguide. Would love to hear experiences and reviews from those who have used one or both with middle schoolers :) Thanks! Paula

I think it looks great- it seems like you have all your bases covered. The only thing I would say is that if the literature doesn't cover writing/composition and/or literary analysis, you'll want to get that elsewhere or have your dc write essays, etc. on material they're covering. Best of luck! Paula