Simon Kenneth Simon Joel Simon Bennett Simon Cole Simon Paul Of the ones that have been suggested so far, I really like Simon Alexander.

I don't think you can go wrong with this combo. I only discovered Hake this year, but I'm already a huge fan. :001_smile:

On my kids' swim team, the coaches never get in the water. My oldest helps to coach the youngest kids and they've had him get in to demonstrate a couple times, but the actual coaches never get in the water.

Do you know (or have you narrowed down) what you want to use for algebra? Depending on what you use, he might be ready when he finishes 6B. We haven't used Saxon or LOF at that level, but I think Lial's BCM would be too easy after Singapore 6. Lial also has a "Pre-algebra" which might be a better fit if you go that route. When my oldest finished Singapore 6, he spent about a month working on a few topics in Lial's Pre-algebra, then moved on to AoPS for algebra (AoPS Pre-algebra wasn't out yet).

I have kids in 9th, 8th, 7th, 4th, 3rd and 2nd this year. :D My oldest is very academic and has been homeschooled the longest, so he's really too far ahead to combine with his siblings. But, he's very independent, so I'm not really "teaching" too many levels. I think I'm going to have him study AP Biology the year that the next two study biology, so that at least they can do labs together. My 8th and 7th graders are much closer in ability, and will likely stay together for history, science and literature through high school.

Between my kids, some combos work and some don't. Lately, I've had DS14 and DSS9 in the dining room, DD12 in her room and DSD13, DS8 and DSS7 in the "school room" with me, except when we do things together. The three oldest would talk constantly if they were in the same room.

Yes, 2-4 hours sounds sounds reasonable to me. My 3rd and 4th graders could do it. That reading speed test is interesting! I scored 707 and my 14 year old got 690.

My oldest: 7th grade - Introduction to Algebra (this took 12 months) 8th grade - started Geometry, burnt out, took a month off math, completed Counting and Probability, then started Geometry again from the beginning 9th grade - finishing Geometry, just started Number Theory, will review Algebra in the spring The rest of the plan is: 10th grade - Intermediate Algebra 11th grade - Pre-calculus 12th grade - Calculus

We haven't used them, but you can see inside them on christianbook.com. :)

Our new hits are: Spectrum Chemistry Story of Science Hake Grammar and Writing (5 & 7) Math Mammoth (2, 4 & 5) OSU German 1 Nancy Larson 2 Old favorites: AoPS (Ds14 is using Geometry and Number Theory, Dd12 is using Pre-algebra) Lightning Literature 8 Analytical Grammar Writing With Skill Writing With Ease (2 & 3) Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Workshop SOTW Misses (which probably say more about the student than the curriculum): Teaching Textbooks - still using it because I don't know what to move to, but it's not going very well. The Creative Writer IEW SWI-B

My oldest was like that. He was swimming and diving in the pool before his second birthday, riding a bike without training wheels before his third and competing in triathlons before his fourth. At 14, he still exercises about 3 hours per day. My daughter was more of a gymnast/daredevil. I caught her using our backyard fence as a balance beam when she couldn't have been more than 3.5. Her fearlessness has made her an excellent cheerleader.

I don't really "teach" my 9th grader. We discuss a lot of what he's studying in some subjects (English and History, mostly), but there are some subjects that I either can't help him with (German) or he just "gets" and doesn't need my help (Chemistry and Math).

I wouldn't want to know why a teenage boy is spending more time than normal in the bathroom. If his schoolwork is still getting done, I wouldn't worry about how many bathroom breaks he takes. My highschooler has deadlines that he has to meet, but whether he wants to spread it out with a lot of bathroom breaks or get it done quickly and then go out to shoot hoops is up to him.

Dd works almost entirely independently and is very focused. She swims and plays soccer competitively, so she has to be finished her schoolwork by 3:30 every day. She works 5.5 - 6 hours per day, Monday to Thursday, then has a shorter day on Friday. Math - Lial/AoPS pre-algebra - 1 hour/5x week Science - Story of Science/Interactive Science - 1 hour/4x week History - Human Odyssey, Famous Men of the Middle Ages - 1 hour/4x week Latin - SYRWTL Latin - 30 minutes/5x week Logic - Art of Argument - 45 minutes/2x week Grammar - Analytical Grammar - 20-30 minutes/5x week Writing - WWS - 30-45 minutes/4x week Literature - Lightning Lit 8 - 45 minutes/2x week Vocabulary - Vocabulary Workshop - 15 minutes/2-3x week

Why is he taking two math courses? I agree with regentrude that the math block is too long. I'm not familiar with MOH, but if there's any way to cut his workload down to about 90 minutes per day, I would. How long is co-op? If it's taking up a big chunk of the day, I'd re-evaluate whether it's worth the time just for those two electives.

That sounds about right. My 7 and 8 year olds have practice 4:30-5:30, Monday-Friday and have to attend 4 of these.

We're doing one lesson (2-3 pages) per day, but only about 2/3 of the problems.

I've switched language arts for my 8th grader, math for my 7th grader and cut out all the "extras" for my 4th grader. I still might switch his language arts to something that will actually get done...

My oldest used Singapore 5 and 6 (he was in public school through 5th grade), spent a month working through Lial Pre-algebra, then started AoPS Introduction to Algebra. AoPS Pre-algebra wasn't available at the time.

My 9th grader has extracurriculars every evening, but his school load is a bit lighter and he never has to leave the house before 3:15, so his schedule is a lot more manageable. Monday - Friday 6:00 - wake up, shower, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, maybe a little work on German 7:00 - breakfast with me, I hand back anything I've corrected, go over it, discuss what he's going to do that day 8:00 - starts schoolwork, doing his online classes first, snacks while he works. This semester he's taking geometry, chemistry, English, medieval history, German and psychology. 1:00/1:30 - usually finished his work, lunch Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 3:30-4:30 - cross-country practice 5:00-7:30 - swim coaching and practice Thursday - does his chemistry labs in the afternoon, with DD12 as his lab assistant 5:00-7:30 - swim coaching and practice Friday 4:30-6:00 - swim practice Saturday 8:00-10:30 - swim practice - cross-country and/or swim meets Sunday - spends an hour or two on assigned reading for the week For the amount of courses your son is taking, the timing doesn't seem unreasonable. The only thing I can think to get through the schoolwork a little quicker would be to do the subjects in larger chunks, to save some time on transitions and to get more "into" or focused on the subject. I know it takes my son a few minutes to wrap his brain around a new subject when he starts, so doing that 8 times a day would drive him crazy.

:iagree: If the essay questions are really essays, I'd drop the multiple choice to 1pt and make the essays 10pts.

I've never seen much bragging on Facebook, but I do love the brags on here!

9th grade - 5-6 hours per day, Monday to Friday, with some assigned reading on the weekend.

I don't think there's anything wrong with giving them all the same allowance. I've always given my two older children the same amount, even if my son had more responsibilities than my daughter. My much-younger son has always gotten less, because he just doesn't need as much money. Right now, my 12, 13 and 14 year olds get the same allowance, while my 7, 8 and 9 year olds get the same. If you're not tying it directly to certain "jobs" or chores, I think you could explain that their allowance is tied to doing their best, having a good attitude and doing their part for the family.

I'm not a big fan of Halloween, so I'm glad that my kids are old enough to go trick-or-treating without me and that my oldest is too old, so he can answer the doorbell. :D