CC=Classical Composition

:iagree: with 8FilltheHeart. I felt like I needed more hand holding which is why I'm also using WWS. We can use the details provided by SWB and the big picture provided by MCT to hopefully get a whole. I supplement with the Killgallon books and Daily Paragraph Editing. In DPE, we also discuss the paragraphs, not just the grammar and punctuation.

Middle Grades writing High school writing Great Books Literary analysis HSing the Real Child The Joy of Classical Education wait....I have them all! :lol: I'd start w/ the writing ones however and Great Books.

This may be a stupid question, and I've spent the past hour exercising at 170bpm so my brain isn't functioning right now :lol: but can you define or give some examples of what you mean by "writing mechanics?"

That's my problem - I don't have enough kids to figure it all out! :lol: I forget how the conversations such as Swimmermom posted are part of educating our kids. I think we fall into the trap of thinking we need a curriculum for everything. I laughed tonight when DH asked if there was a first aid class the kids could take. I said, "No, not that I know of. Why?" N doesn't know first aid. The back story is that DS cut his leg and when I saw it, it looked like a scratch so I went to bed. :001_huh: It was the kind where the skin gets scraped off so it doesn't clot and just bleeds and bleeds. When Dh found DS in the bathroom some time later, it looked like a crime scene. Anyhow, I told DH, "Can't we just teach him first aid?" :lol: DH said, "Well, yes, but I just thought there might be a class somewhere."

I have never seen RS5 so I can't answer that question.

THe samples of ALL are very misleading. I wish SWB would post the TOC. It very quickly got to conjugation of verbs, present tense, perfect tense, future perfect, etc. The review was quick and could easily be skipped. Unfortunately, SWB was reading the TOC to me at the RFWP mini-convention so I can't remember what all was covered.

Here's the link. http://quarksandquirks.wordpress.com/biology-hs-level/

Most people have Focus b/c it's easier to find on the used market. There is a great site for schedules for the Hoagland book. Darn, let me see if I can remember it. The mom actually posted at the K-8 forum.

CPO Life Science for an 8th grader? I think it depends on the 8th grader and how much science he's done. Honestly, CPO Life Sci was a bit light for my 5th grader but we're a science family...... I would use CPO Life Sci as a framework and then beef it up w/ other texts such as The Way We Work by McCaulay and the Hoagland book. I also felt that CPO Life was very broad and shallow. I would prefer to do fewer topics and go deeper. But you may be looking for a survey course. That's what I was looking for, but decided what I was looking for wasn't what I needed. Honestly, now, take this w/ a grain of salt or two, I haven't BTDT, don't even have an 8th grader....but if it were me, if you want to do Life Sci for half the year, I'd ask him what life science topics he wanted to cover. Does he need some cell biology? Use Hoagland's book or McCaulay's book, outline, rewrite, find some experiments, borrow someone's microscope etc. Does he want to do human body? Which organ systems? That will bring in chemistry for sure....diffusion, proteins, etc. Does he want more biochemistry? WAnt do some anatomy? Do comparison of various anatomies. Does he want to learn some immunology? You can do several of those, say do one each month and I think have a nice life science course. But then again, what do I know? I honestly don't know what an 8th grade life science course looks like. But those Hoagland and MacCaulay books covers things I didn't have until college and some topics not until graduate school.

No it's written for 4 days/week.

CPO Earth and Focus on are pretty similar. Some of the topics were moved around. I know someone had emailed me w/ the specific differences...what was moved where....maybe Matroyshka? Which Life Science are you referring to? CPO Life Sci or just Life Science in general?

Ah I get it now. And from observing my kids, :iagree: with you.

That's why I steered someone away from Notetaking and OUtlining, OUtlining Skills by Remedia.....they got the job done for that very limited content but it didn't transfer to our content in history and science. SWB's WTM 2009 was very helpful and WWS even more so. We haven't actually done any writing programs other than WWE b/c I didn't see a point to many of the writing prompts. Doing writing in the content areas just makes sense to me. I find that it slows the content but I'm trying to focus on what someone said...the content is a vehicle for teaching the skills. I think the quality content makes learning the skills more relevant and palatable. argh blood sugar is low....can't think....

:001_smile: Sorry for the tangent. I didn't think you were implying we should give that up to model it for our kids...I was just thinking of things that I do to model for my kids that aren't academic....then my brain went to the dentist saying that I should model this for my kids :001_huh: That day sticks in my mind b/c I was tortured....as stated by the dentist. "I've tortured you enough for one day." I'm just mulling over this thread and several of the posts....nothing is gelling in my head...except thinking about exercising. :lol: I have my first 5K in a few weeks. My first one in oh, 20yrs.

I was talking to my dentist about exercising. She mentioned what a great role model for the kids. I then remarked..."OH no, I exercise at 5:30am. That's my time. Every other minute is devoted to them. I need something for me." She then explained how I should include them. Now they do know I do it, and they know that I'm fit. I've tried to include them but it never ends well. :001_huh: I've tried taking DS to the track and running with him. He moans the entire time. He requested to take a Speed and Agility class. I reminded him that that class was taught by THE hardest coach that ever lived. :lol: He still wanted to do it. He has stuck w/ it even doing it after 1.5hrs of a tennis class which he also elected to take. Now I understand when folks say, "I just can't teach my kids." Sometimes, for some things, it seems that others are better able to get them to push themselves to the limit whereas DS just will not do it for me. They regularly see me push myself to my limits...physically and mentally. Actually, I just got the big lecture from Dh last night about pacing myself and not pushing myself so hard. :glare: It was funny b/c the Speed and Agility Coach gave all of the kids a talk about pushing themselves to their limit, gradually pushing that limit further back, but knowing when injury is possible and backing off...I just looked at DS and smiled. :tongue_smilie: So I'm hoping that eventually some of these lessons rub off on his academics.

I"m copying that to my binder! THanks!

I sent you a PM but I didn't get your email. :001_smile:

That's what I've been struggling with. We focused on skills so we're "behind" on content. I'm trying not to stress about it and just go from where we are and try our best to move forward. I don't want to skip ahead but sometimes it's that little man or woman on your shoulder whispering, "You're behind!" As SWB says, "Knock him off your shoulder!"

:iagree: about exercise. It's my life saver. I get up at 5:30am so I can exercise for an hour-1.5hrs. On the weeks where I don't exercise (break weeks are built into the program I do) I feel the tension building. I've never gone more than 2days on a rest week before exercising. :001_huh:

I was thinking on a much simpler level. The things I have him check himself are daily edits, daily math practice, MM worksheets, Sentence Composing, CE quizzes,.....and I mean check it immediately after it's completed and then bring to me. So I'm not talking daily but checking hourly. I would never, ever leave it to the next day w/out checking. That's just asking for trouble in my household. But it does save me time when he mostly gets it all correct and it's a good tool to have him be able to explain why he got it wrong.

HHMm have you tried a different browser? I'd give them a call if a different browser doesn't work.

WOW! I love it! That may be my new motto! Something to keep in mind for perfectionists like myself.

ALso, one thing I remember from SWB's independent MP3. DC should be checking his/her own work. If you keep checking it over, then it's your work. They need to take ownership and check their own work then come tell you what they got wrong and explain why. I'm transitioning my 6th grader to this and I think it does make a big difference. Having to explain why he got something wrong helps to cement it and it's less time for me.

:grouphug: I"m burnt out and we haven't really started....not a good sign. Are you eating regularly? How are you sleeping? Do you feel rested? What can you do during the day to rejuvenate? A cup of tea and a cookie on the porch alone? Sitting in a cozy chair reading for 30min? I do know starting back is hard for me but after about a month, I'm used to the new routine and energy output.