I know. Which is why I am afraid the businesses will lose this one too. I hope that's not the case, but I'm not holding my breath.

If it only applies to what the board members are responsible for, I don't have a problem with it at all. They should not impose their beliefs on their employees by regulating how their employees behave/spend their salaries on their own time, but they should certainly be able to decide what their employees can use the corporation's facilities/money/etc. for.

Someone already did answer it, but I'll answer it too. As far as I'm concerned, any private business owner should not be forced by the government to offer anything. Abortifacients, birth control in general, Viagra, maternity coverage, mental health coverage, blood transfusions, annual check-ups, smoke-free facilities...nothing.

No news? I'm dying here! ETA: Oh shoot, I forgot about the time difference. lol

Following with trepidation to see how much I will regret not having done, now that we are almost finished with Ancients. lol

I don't really have any answers for you, but I wanted to reply just to let you know you are not alone. If I didn't know better, I would swear you were talking about my kids and me. I'm looking forward to hearing others' suggestions for you (us!). Thanks for posting.

Following. Thanks!

Do you have a link for these? Or could you tell me who the author is? When I google those titles, I get a whole bunch of options, and I have no idea which one it is. TIA!

I second this. I am using R & S for spelling this year with my 4th and 1st grader (the 1st grader is fairly advanced and is using the 3rd grade book). The words are not that hard for either child to spell, but the exercises teach them the rules for WHY a word is spelled a certain way. Then they can take those rules and figure out how to spell words they don't know yet.

I used Zaner-Bloser last year with my K'er, 3rd, and 6th graders. The workbook was all we needed. I ordered an extra ream of paper for each grade level as well, but I think we used those sheets for handwriting maybe twice all year. Instead, I used them for other writing assignments (spelling tests, grammar assignments, etc.) rather than using regular notebook paper. So you do not HAVE to order extra paper. This year, we are using Pentime workbooks. The font is similar to ZB, but Pentime seems to provide more practice, and the copywork lessons actually have educational information in them (at the upper levels, anyway). Plus, it's MUCH cheaper.

My 7th grader has always had atrocious handwriting, so he still does a couple pages out of a Pentime workbook every week. His writing has improved immensely in the last year and a half (since we started homeschooling), but it is still not pretty. I will probably not require handwriting as a subject next year. I will just be pickier about what I will accept on his regular work. My 4th grader has always had relatively neat and at times even pretty handwriting, so I did not require handwriting as a subject for him at all this year. Then, last month, I realized he had completely forgotten how to form some of the cursive letters, and he wasn't fluid at all anymore, so now he does a page a week in Pentime as well, just for review.

I second all of this, except I have not used FLL (or anything else). Between this year and last year with my 3 kids, I've used/am using R & S 3, 4, 6, and 7). And in the 3rd book, even if the lesson's title doesn't refer to subjects/predicates, that doesn't mean they won't be addressed. There is a whole unit on verbs. If you can identify the verb, you can identify the predicate (simple and complete). And at the end of many lessons, there are a few review questions that can deal with subjects and predicates. I pulled my 5th grader out of public school after 5th grade, and he had the same issues with R & S 6 when we started homeschooling for 6th grade. He could NOT identify the subject or the predicate, nor could he tell the difference between an adjective and an adverb, when we got to those. It took months before he could reliably identify those words in even a simple sentence. Lots of tears and hair-pulling. But eventually he got there. So hang in there! Going back to the 3rd grade book to save yourselves some torture might be just what you need!

Me too.

These are for sure. Bible: Old Story New (daily devotion/discussion) History: Mystery of History 3 (Renaissance) Science: BJU Physical Science Math: Horizons Algebra I plus weekly Mad Minutes for drill Spanish: Visual Link Spanish Level 2 Critical Thinking: The Thinking Toolbox Literature: Kolbe Academy Jr. High Literature These, I am still trying to figure out exactly what I want to do. I need to decide if we want to continue with formal grammar instruction or take a break and focus more on writing. Also not sure if vocabulary is a waste of time for this particular kid. Wordly Wise 7 has seemed like busy work. Grammar/Writing: either Rod and Staff English 8 or Jump In or both? Vocabulary: Wordly Wise 8? Art Appreciation/Music Appreciation: ??? No idea yet, but I want to do a semester of each. I'm going to go back through this thread to look for suggestions. Study Skills: Again, no idea, but I want to make sure he's prepared for high school. He wants to go back to public school then. We will see, but study skills would be helpful, either way.

OK, thanks. I was already planning to use Jump In for my 8th grader, so I was wondering if it would work for 5th grade, but it sounds like it might be too much. Especially since that child hates writing anything at all.

I do like Writing Strands, after looking at it some last night. Anyone have any thoughts on Apologia's Jump In? (For my 5th grader, not the 2nd grader.)

Thanks! Looking at them now. ...instead of going to bed. :sleep:

Ditto every word of this.

Sorry to butt in, but may I ask what you all would recommend as the "something for writing"? I am considering using EG plus something for writing for next year, but since we've been using R & S so far, I haven't looked at any other writing programs and have no idea what to use. It would be for a very bright and willing 2nd grade girl, who will be finishing R & S English 3 this year, and a very bright but not willing 5th grade boy, who will be finishing R & S 4 this year. And thank you, OP, for starting this thread!

Same here. I don't think it's a matter of being shallow. I think the importance of and effects of TeA (physically and emotionally) are just that significant. While I enjoy it, it doesn't really do anything for me that a good conversation or snuggling while watching a movie wouldn't do. But for him, it's a whole other level.

Same here.

We're using Horizons Pre-Alg this year. Between last year and this year, we have also completed or are using Horizons 1-6 math. I love the program, including Pre-Alg. The kids love it too--as much as they can love something they don't want to do in the first place, but that goes for just about all their subjects. I have not used any other programs though, so I do not have anything to compare it to, other than lots of time looking at samples of different programs online/in person. I always came away with wanting Horizons. As of right now, Horizons does not have anything past Algebra 1, which I am really bummed about. And from reading websites and reviews, it looks like it makes for an easier transition to Algebra 2 if you use the same program for Algebra 1, but I don't know how much easier. We're not there yet.

My son got his first corn snake 2 yrs ago at age 10. He was definitely not able to take care of the snake without help. I had to continually show him how to find the snake in the tank without scaring it/getting himself bitten, how to handle it gently and safely, and how to prep the mouse (we feed frozen/thawed, not live) and feed it to the snake. I can not imagine him learning how to do that on his own without me there closely supervising and being hands on at times. I certainly can't see a 6 yr old being able to do it, especially if they aren't already used to doing it. And like AmyontheFarm mentioned, we did lose the snake. Twice. The first time, I found it after about 2 or 3 weeks. (I went looking for it. I wasn't surprised by it.) The second time, we never found it. But we did find a snake skin behind the dishwasher about 6 months later. We got another corn snake a year ago. My son pretty much takes care of it all on his own now (other than me reminding him to do so), but he is 12 now and has 18 months of snake handling under his belt. But regardless of the type of pet or the age/experience level of the child, I would never suggest getting a pet for a child that you aren't ready and willing to completely care for yourself.

I used it with my daughter for kindergarten last year. When she was finished, I gave her an reading evaluation I found online (I don't remember what it actually was). It was simply recognizing/decoding lists of individual words, not reading for comprehension, and she tested at a mid-4th grade level. She was 5. She can read very well now, but like others have said, she doesn't always have the stamina to read high level books for very long. She tries but burns herself out quickly.

Not sure if this would exactly fit what you want, but my son is using Kolbe Academy Jr. High Literature. http://www.kolbe.org/academics/curriculum-grade-level/junior-high/junior-high-literature-curriculum/ It offers analysis, vocab, discussion/study questions, final tests, and writing assignments for more than enough novels, short stories, and poetry to cover both 7th and 8th grade. It also offers a quarter's worth of saint studies. We are not Catholic though, so I am just replacing those with biographies of people my son or I think are interesting. There are enough novels in the course that you could leave out the biographies altogether, if you wanted. I'm sure the literature aspect of it would be sufficient for you, but I'm not sure if it has enough writing. The weekly writing assignments are usually only about a paragraph long. Then there is a more formal book report at the end of each book.