I am fairly new to all this, so I may be completely wrong, but I'll take a stab at it, until someone else does. I am thinking that you would use narration from the child to determine the child's comprehension (as well as help it stick in their mind). If they have to verbalize it clearly, then it requires them to really focus on what it is they just heard/read. Composition would be more coming up with original work? Or at least putting their narrations down on paper with more detail and structure, resulting in a longer, more flowing description. (I'm not sure on this one. That's why I use open and go stuff that tells me what to do.)

That's fantastic! And I really appreciated the last part of your comment. Glad to know my kids aren't the only ones who do that!

How do you give the ITBS yourself? When I looked on the Bob Jones website, I got the impression you had to be certified or licensed or something to give it. Can you share a link? I would love to use the ITBS, if possible. My state does not require testing, so I don't need "official" records. This would just be for my benefit. Thanks!

I can't speak for anyone else, but I definitely do not use the TM as directed. If there is a new concept that I do not feel completely comfortable explaining, I will consult the TM before proceeding, but so far that's all I've used it for--that and grading the level 5 and 6 work. For drill and speed work, we use Mad Minute timed worksheets daily as well as flashcards. My K'er enjoys playing with the Cuisinaire rods too. But fortunately for me, my kids have been pretty quick to grasp math concepts, including mental math, so I am not too worried about leaving out most of the TM stuff.

I'm using Horizons, levels 1, 3, 5, and 6, this year (our first year homeschooling). For levels 1 and 3, each day's assignment is one sheet, front and back. For levels 5 and 6, each day's assignment is one and a half sheets. If I had the kids do every single problem on every worksheet, it would not be fun for anyone. But, there is a LOT of spiral, so I have never made any of the kids do the entire worksheet. If there is a new concept, they have to do all of those problems, but for any review, assuming they EASILY understand the concept, I may only have them do half of what is on the page. If it's something that's been reviewed for a long time, they may not even have to do that much. And it's been a great motivator too, because if my kids balk at the problems they have to do, I kindly point out how many they COULD be doing. That usually shuts them up quickly. lol I am very happy with it.

I have not used them yet, but I just recently purchased the lapbook and lapbook journal for TX history to use next year. I got the ebook format. I have looked over it briefly, and I like what I see so far. It looks like it covers everything. I was worried, because the sample only really showed state symbol type stuff, but after seeing the whole thing, the history is there as well.

We're using Mystery of History now and loving it. Very Bible based, and until we started using it, I never realized how much I, personally, differentiated between "world history" and "Bible history", as opposed to seeing them as one, simultaneous progression. I think I am appreciating the approach more than my kids. lol

Thank you for all the advice so far! Book or video, I really think they'll enjoy either one. I just know *I* enjoyed listening to him talk during the one video I watched, so I wanted to see what you all thought about the whole program. Thanks for the link for the discount too. If we go the subscription route, I don't want to subscribe until August, but I'll save the link.

I am looking for an art program for next year, and I'm trying to decide between using Mark Kistler's book (Draw Squad) and the online videos (Video Art Academy). Draw Squad is only $13.60, but it looks like you're supposed to write/draw directly in the book on occasion, so I guess I would get one for each kid (3 kids, so about $40 total). The videos are an online subscription that is good for the whole family, but it's $99 for one year, so once the year's up, it's gone. It is nice to watch him draw the lesson himself though, and he's pretty entertaining. I'm hoping some of you who have used one or the other (or both) can give me some input as to which you think is a better choice. Budget is somewhat of a concern, but if the video subscription is worth the extra $60, we can make it happen. Thanks in advance for any input!

Thank you!

I didn't know online tests like this existed! (It's our first year, so I'm still learning what's out there.) Thank you for posting this thread! Does anyone know if there are any online tests like this for reading comprehension or math?

:bigear: I'm very interested in others' responses to this as well!

It may change slightly, but my 7th grade boy will most likely be doing: Bible - group devotions using Long Story Short (and moving on to Old Story New around February) History - Mystery of History Vol 2 (Middle Ages) Science - Apologia General Science Math - Horizons Pre-Algebra English - Rod and Staff 7 Literature - Kolbe Academy Jr. High Literature Handwriting - Zaner-Bloser (because his handwriting is getting better but still needs work) Spanish - The Learnables Book 1 and Basic Structures 1 Critical Thinking - The Fallacy Detective Computer Science - KidCoder game programming (1st semester) and typing (2nd semester--not sure what program we'll use yet) Art/Music Appreciation - Greatest Artists/Composers (from www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com) PE - continuing Tae Kwon Do lessons And we'll probably spend a week or two on TX history using A Cartoon History of Texas as a read aloud and/or the Texas State History Lapbook Journal from www.knowledgeboxcentral.com.

I don't have any experience with this, but it sounds interesting! Is this curriculum considered a full science course? Or more like an elective? How much time would this require each week, do you think? Thanks to the OP for letting us know about it and to anyone with experience to share about it!

That really was my only reason for hesitating on subscribing. The pictures/drawings looked like they were just drawn (fairly poorly) on the computer--they just didn't look that good to me, but I thought I was just being picky. I will check out those other sites. Thanks!

I hadn't noticed that. That's interesting. My daughter does love worksheets. I am mostly looking for animal/zoology printables that she can do while her brothers are working in their notebooking journals for Apologia zoology--so while they're filling in information about a particular lesson, she can be coloring a related picture or doing a dot to dot or something for her own "notebook". I was originally just doing random google searches, but then I found enchantedlearning, and it looked like it had most of what I wanted in one place. Thanks for your input!

Hello, I am considering paying $20 to subscribe to www.enchantedlearning.com for next year. I am thinking we might get some use out of the printouts for my K'er. For those of you who have used this site before, do you think it's worth it? Thanks!

My husband and I got married just after I turned 19 after dating for 3 years. He was almost 21. We'll be celebrating our 15th anniversary in a few months.

Forgive my ignorance, but what does SSS mean?

Just wanted to add another voice of agreement.

From the video I saw in one of the links, it didn't look like they were on the sidewalks. There were too many to be on a sidewalk anyway. It looked like they pretty much took up an entire lane and were followed by the squad car. It reminded me of a cycling race or triathlon or something. Also in the video, it showed several of them loading their bikes into the backs of trucks, so I'm assuming they did not ride their bikes home. The part that gets me though, is that after the fact, the superintendent (and I think the principal as well), said that if the students had just informed the school ahead of time, they would have been ok with it. Hmmm, so the school knowing about it would have made the students safer on the roads? I think one of the comments I read (can't remember if it was here or on one of the links) was right--the school was just upset because they weren't in the loop and really didn't like being surprised.

I love this and completely agree as well. But, I probably wouldn't do it, just because I would be terrified of how the STATE would react if something happened. Or even if something didn't happen, but one of the neighbors or friends who knew/found out disagreed with my judgment and reported it. Not to mention what I'd have to deal with from my own mother if she knew about it. Ugh.

:iagree:

:iagree:

Is your hamster still hanging on? How is your son?