Thank you all. When we are reading the guide books, they make everything sound like a must stop and we just don't have all that time.

Thanks so much. Any other suggestions? :D Karen

We are traveling to Rhode Island this summer and am looking for suggestions on what is good to see and do. We are coming from Delaware, so any suggestions on the way would be great too! :auto: Thanks, Karen in DE

Try harperlee.com I haven't gone through it yet, but have it bookmarked for to use this year.

Thanks for the advice. My son has not been using the postulates from his book, but on his last test, there were 2 problems that he couldn't get and I told him it was okay to look at them. I think they are hard to remember! Karen

Do you let your kids use the postulates when taking a geometry test? Do they have you do proofs on the SAT's? Thanks :D

:smash: We must have the same son. My son acts as if he is totally clueless about something, the same week we have discussed it in great detail. I'll say, you have your paper done, right? It's due today. Oh, I, umm, well, I, it will be done, don't worry. It's always, don't worry. Then I get the paper and it is missing a lot of the features we discussed. When I ask him about it, he would have either forgotten about it, or had a question, but never bothers to ask me. So what do I do? It's on time, but just not done right. Do it over, then it extends to later, which holds us up on something else! Ugh! Now in saying all of this, my son is very responsible, just very forgetful. I don't want to be dissin' my son either! :lol: We work on this all of the time. There are days when it seems to be getting better and days when it is not. :glare: This is what I have been doing. Making firm deadlines, occassional reminders and if it not met, well, that's his problem, not mine. Since I've laid down the law, I do see a big improvement. I think part of my problem was that I don't want them to have a bad grade b'c of poor memory, when the work is fine. I have really changed my mind on this though. Does a boss say, Oh, that's okay if you didn't hand your budget in on time. Don't worry if your bills aren't paid on time. It's okay if the mortgage is late! No problem, do it when it fits your schedule. No way. Doesn't work! :confused: So long story short, I am really making my kids take a higher level of responsibility this year. I have found that they really can do it. If I am soft, they will fall. If I am expecting it and it had a clear deadline, then they are getting much better about handing it in. Sometimes I am still a softy though! :D

After reading a post, it gave me the idea for this discussion. I'd love to know your thoughts on this topic. I spend a lot of time correcting and prepping school work. It seems to never ever end. I am always doing school. I know if I bought everything boxed, it would be much easier, but that isn't really our style. I just finished reading The Yearling for my son's literature group. I thought I would never get done! I really don't want to fake talking about a book. I still have to finish reading Misty for my daughter's group. This book is not as good as I heard it was. Oh, well. Then there are tests to make up for Jensen's, which always take me a bit of time. It just seems to go on and on. I was just wondering, do you all feel the same way? :001_huh: It would be nice to know I'm not all alone on this island. :willy_nilly:

This is very good news to hear. Thank you for posting the question. My son has taken TT Algebra I and now is in Geometry. After hearing what others had to say previously, I felt that I was failing him. It's good to hear the positive reactions.

Thanks Kathleen, I've read the book, all 405 pages. I was really looking for examples of a student, writing on the book. I have found a lot of lesson plans and places to actually read the book. Thanks, Karen

I've been searching for a web site that gives good examples of different essays. We just finished The Yearling and was hoping I could find an example of writing from this book, but everything I have found only shows a paragraph and you have to pay for the rest. Any freebie sites that anyone could suggest? Thanks in advance. Karen

I tried doing TOG, 2 years in a row. I also work, but only 3 days a week. My problem was each time I tried to attack it, I would have to refamiliarize myself again and again. That is what took me so long. It was just tooooo much for me. I felt so terrible, b'c I spent so much money on it. It was supposed to be a great program. Bottom line is, I sold it and did what we have always done. Reading and writing about the books of the time periods. It works great for me! What I decided was that if it wasn't working and the kids were not getting the history, than it wasn't right for us and I needed to accept defeat. :001_huh: Really, the bottom line is that the kids are getting in their history, not waiting for their mom to do history. Right? :thumbup: I wish you well.

I really appreciate this discussion. My son, who is in 9th grade, is in a Literature co-op this year. There are 4 families involved. We watched the "Teaching the Classics" dvd's with the kids and then are using that model to discuss the books. They fill out the form for each book and we have a discussion with the mom's and kids. We meet after we read each book, which is usually 2-3 weeks. So far we have read: The Pearl, Fahrenheit 451, Huck Finn, The Outsiders. We will start a series on Edgar Allen Poe this week. I have had him do a couple of writing assignments. For Huck Finn he had to put together a newspaper reflecting what happened in the book. That was an interesting assignment. We contacted the Library of Congress and they showed us some samples from that period of time. He copied their style. I put together a grading system for that one. I usually give him how I will grade with the assignment itself. If he is able to take part in the conversation and knows what he is talking about, he gets an A for that part of the class. It has been great reading/discussing the books with other people.

I have to say that is a draw back to Jensen's. I am making up the tests. :001_huh: But it must be really good if I am going to all this trouble!:lol:

Have you looked at Jensen's Vocabulary? We are using that this year after using WW for years.

I love family history trips. I find we talk about them the most! I am glad you had a good time and created happy memories.:lol:

I would definitely recommend the Teaching the Classics. We are using it now with a literature co-op. We spent a week before school officially started and watched the video's. Then have been reading books and discussing them, using his method. :iagree:

Nordic Naturals, Omega 3-6-9 Junior. Ages 5 through teen. He gets 2 in the morning after breakfast. We selected this brand b'c it was from fresh water fish. Nordicnaturals.com We purchased them locally from a health food store. I am not one for pills, so we opted to try a more natural approach than prescription meds. He seems to have a better level of concentration. He is 14 years old. He is very distractible. But not in a bad way. He wants to concentrate, but gets overwhelmed easily. Did this get rid of that, nope. But I do believe it has helped. I can see a difference. It can't hurt, you can give it a try. :001_smile:

May I add that I have supplemented my son with Fish Oils and they are really helping with his attention problem. This is a very timely discussion for my household. Thank you for starting it.

This is a great topic. We have had issues with falling behind too, b'c of lack of organizational skills. I sit down with him and help him get "reorganized". Honestly I wonder to myself....what's going on? Is it that difficult? :001_huh: Then I remember he is only 14, this is his first year of high school and it can be a bit overwhelming. So I have to put myself in his position. Do you think your son is going through this, or do you feel that it is another problem all together?:confused: Either way, I wish you well. I believe you are on the right track. It is hard when we don't have instantaneous results. I also believe that maturity is a big issue. I can see my son growing, but at the same time...there is a long way to go! Again, this is a great topic. Let's please continue with it. Hugs to you. :grouphug:

This worked for my kids. Make a lower case b with your left hand, and a lower case d with your right. B comes before D. You read left to right. Fun way to remember which is which! :lol::lol::lol:

Hi, Welcome to home schooling!:grouphug: I've done it a couple of different ways. You can go to the library and ask her what her interests are and find books on it. Read, do experiments that are found in those books. Check out: http://www.jeanniefulbright.com She has some wonderful science books. (Christian perspective.) Very indepth, very readable and a lot of fun. IMHO Try http://www.topscience.org they have a lot of hands-on books. Try http://www.rainbowresource.com and search under "science". I am sure they have tons of different programs to look at. Hope this helps or gives you a jumping off point. There is really so much to choose from.:lol:

Am loving Mosdos Press literature. This is my first time using them for my 5th grader and 9th grader. Can't really chat now about them, but you can check them out at rainbow resources. Look at the samples. I am very pleased. I do want to say that the teacher's guides are very impressive and helpful. It covers everything you could imagine.

Up until 8th grade, I only graded my son in math, spelling, vocabulary. Things with an obvious test. Now that he is in 9th, I feel that I need to grade him a little more completely. I am still grading tests, but am also adding in a percentage that he has completed his work on time and that it is all done. So he gets a check, check plus. I check the work, but don't really count that into the grade. I know he is a hard worker and if he gets it wrong, we fix it. So if he gets all checks, then he gets 100% in the homework column and that is added to the tests. It's different for different subjects. :001_smile:

I made up the first test. He took it today. I just used the definitions on one side and then the words on the other. Nothing fancy. I agree with you, I would like a test that would give them sentences and definitions. Mix it up a bit. Honestly, I don't have the time to do that though. Mabye if we work together and split up the lessons, we would be able to do it? Just a thought.:D