I schedule a reading-heavy weak when DS12 appears spent. He finds it rejuvenating. Chrysalis, we do what you describe but on a weekly basis. I give him a list of 25 chunks of work on Monday. A "chunk" might be a chapter of Story of Science, or three chapters of Fred. He decides when to do what, but he has to at least keep to a 5/day pace. This week he decided he wanted Friday off, so he is doing 6-7 tasks a day! I agree, it gives him a sense of control and ownership.

Horrible Histories are disgusting. She might like them!

Note that at PLATO there is both a middle school physical science class (chemistry + physics) as well as a high school chemistry class. The first might be a nice way to build his confidence, and it is fewer than 20 lessons. Several posters have said their middle schoolers completed that course in less than a semester.

TimeZAttack is a very effective and fun way to get math facts up to speed.

I see. So, you can watch the videos for free online but they will not give you answers? Then PLATO is sounding more attractive. It is $50 for a course right now at Homeschool Buyers" Coop. Automatically graded quizzes, lots of visual and auditory content.

PLATO Science is visual and auditory.

Thanks for posting this! The article is right on, as are your comments. It's all about betting the odds. There are high school dropouts who are very successul - but I won't let my kid bet on that. The odds look a lot better for college.

Registration is now open for spring clases. Note that I post this AFTER I got DS12 registered for his class! :-) We will be taking Kids Write Basic. He is doing well with Writing with Skill, but he really is a freewriting kinda guy. I am hoping we can marry the two approaches to produce one super-duper writing dude.

DH got me this one for Christmas, and it is a very fun read! The Joy of x: A Guided Tour of Math, from One to Infinity

We are ACS refugees, too! So dry. We just bought Mr. Q. We are also using McHenry's Elements, and like it fine, but since DS is advanced 7th grade it sometimes feels a little young. We look forward to a bit more of a challenge from Mr. Q. They are both pretty short curricula so I think we can get them both done this year.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Baccalaureate International Baccalaureate. A structured, traditional curriculum that is certified by an international body. Student work (perhaps just major projects and tests?) is graded centrally. A school can be certified as an IB school only after a rigorous vetting process. We have a new (free!) IB school in our county and I am considering it for DS, now 7th grade. But they are just admitting their third class of freshmen (the first entering students are now juniors) and have not yet received their final certification - or graduated anyone. Fingers crossed it turns out well!

The "Key to Algebra" series has some targeted topic workbooks. But I second Khan - that is where I send my LOF-reading DS when he needs to practice a topic.

Paging through this now, but not quite sure what it is. Teacher resource? Not-quite-complete textbook? Are you using it?

We just started using them. They make DS think and work, so he does not like them. :-)

We are following the same scheme as Red Squirrel: ACS and McHenry. DS became bored with ACS, which is all I had planned to use. It spends a loooong time hammering in just a few concepts. So I picked up McHenry, and a few entertaining companion books (Mysteries of the Periodic Table, Fizz). He is liking those fine. It does feel a bit formless at times, but I think enough is sinking in that this will all feel familiar in HS.

Take a look at these lesson plans. Looks like at least enough for a few interesting weeks of economics. http://www.philadelphiafed.org/education/teachers/lesson-plans/

I have a PhD in economics and am now teaching in an econ PhD program at a university that sends its graduates into these jobs. IMF (and World Bank) recruit PhDs in economics for those positions. Employees of IMF and World Bank do not pay taxes in their host countries or home countries. Not bad! To get into a good PhD program in economics, a BA in math, applied math or econ would be a good foundation. Very high GRE quant and math scores are absolutely required.

My mom did not go to college when she was young and struggled to support us on her income. She sent me to Catholic school on what little she had. She knew painfully well how important a good education was for having a secure and independent life as a woman. She took night classes at the local college when I was a teenager, to try to earn enough credits to move up the pay scale at her government job. Lord, she worked hard. Her life and example taught me that with an education you are free.

Murrayshire, thanks for that link to Learning through History. I quickly wandered away from timelines and ogled their magazines. Have you used them? (OP: you appear to have your answer so I don't feel so guilty about hijacking!)

Sounds like a wonderful time for the kids to do a documentary film fest. Get a huge pile of DVDs from the library, or spring for netflix? Some online classes that they pick? TimezAttack? To be clear, I agree with you taking a break! But in my experience bored, unoccupied kids bug mom, so set them up with something absorbing enough that you have the space to rest.

Lively Latin. Open and go, lots of online drill (games, flashcards), test provided for every four chapters. Tons of practice and the emphasis is on grammar.

We just muddled along doing them in parallel. DS annotated his timeline to keep in perspective where we were located in time. I do not know of a schedule that aligns them precisely.

Ancient history is the most fun, and it lays a great foundation for medieval history.

This is the OUP book. It is part of a series on ancient history. They also have a medieval history series that we plan to use next year.

Still loving Zaccaro. We just finished the third chapter. The word problems are very challenging, but the books provides tactics that let DS defeat them. He is so proud to be doing algebra!