I think it depends on what you mean by "spine" and what you will use it for. I'm new to logic stage history so hopefully others with more experience will chime in. I would use Kingfisher or Usborne as a guide as for as topics and the chronology of those topics. Then find living books on those topics for further research, outlining, summarizing, etc. There just isn't enough info in Kingfisher or Usborne for an 8th grader, IMHO (and never having BTDT - oh boy I'm getting in deep trouble here :lol:). I like the K12 books for additional info and for outlining and summarizing. I also have Nat'l Geographic but we haven't used it much although my younger son enjoyed reading about the American Revolution. I found it a nice read and not encyclopedic at all.

I found not one but TWO ratteries just 20min away! now I have to think about rat vs. gerbil based on a prior post.

I'm a bit foggy on this but I asked my boys and they said Frindle. They said that the main character (the boy) was the antagonist and his teacher was the protagonist. The teacher was pushing the action of order forward but the main character was inhibiting that action. That was in Decon Penguins I think.

If you don't get them from pet stores, where would you get them from? I edited my earlier post b/c I didn't know how the Hive would take experimenting on animals. But I'll just say that I had rats in the lab that were over 3yrs old. Now I was told that was a bit elderly for a rat but they were quite healthy and very, very lovable. And while I realize it's hard on the kids, I like the idea of a pet w/ a finite life span just in case the novelty wears off. We had a tadpole. The darn thing NEVEr changed into a frog. That darn thing lived for well over a year! And they make a lot of mess and need frequent changing. We even had to bring the darn thing on vacation with us....not easy let me tell you. Especially when we stopped for lunch and I was afraid the car would be too hot for it so we had to bring it in Burger King. :lol:

HHmm a rat for a pet.... really? People have rats for pets? So tell me about having a rat for a pet....details please. Which breed of rat?

Tammie, did you see the schedule of talks I posted? That might help you determine if it's good for you to attend.

8FilltheHeart - Thank you for reposting that here! :001_smile:

Again, I've only read through AoPS so I'd love to hear from others that have used it.

I posted my thoughts on CPO in another thread. I don't recall which one but maybe a search w/ CPO and my username will pull it up. I think one or two others agreed with me. I don't know where we'll be going in the future. I like the look so CPO PHysical science so we'll be doing that along w/ Exploration Education Advanced kit. The biology left me scratching my head. I gave examples in the post I mentioned above. I think it's just too shallow. But for a kid that has had no biology, it might be good for a quick and dirty introduction and then decide what DC wants to go deeper in. There just wasn't enough information on any of the topics I felt. And b/c I've struggled w/ this, we've not moved as far as I would have liked. B/c I'm a finisher, we'll likely finish it this summer. Then next year, we'll pick 3-4 topics to go deeper on....likely cell biology and human physiology, to go deeper on using Hoagland's Exploring the Way Life Work and Macaulay's The Way We Work. I'd like to see the high school level physics. I like the looks of the student textbooks.

From what I recall, folks feel that CPO Life is the easiest of the three. I think you're fine w/ CPO Life this year and Earth Sci the next.

We have the same problem. Just not enough time. We'll be doing a lot of science and history over the summer. This year was especially hard as we had a large Language arts focus to get those writing skills more automatic so that the writing in science and history doesn't take as much time. I'm thinking about PP schedule of 2weeks of daily history and 2 weeks of daily science. We actually do better w/ blocks like that for science.

We've only done about half of CPO Life Sci but there isn't much math in it. It's very easy for my 5th grader. My 2nd grader is also doing it but he and I read it together sometimes and I let him answer the questions orally.

:hurray::hurray::party::party::cheers2::cheers2: CONGRATS to you and your son Lori!!! And thank you for all your support and advice! Capt Uhura

I'm still reading but I might need an interpreter. :lol:

I know! I've been wondering it was about and finally had a second to take a peek.

I'm glad I opened up this thread!!!! Thanks for the discussion!

My son is a dawdler. So if he has dragged his pencil an inordinate amount of time, he still gets to have his daily playdate from 4ish-7ish pm, but he has to finish up his work either afterwards or first thing in the AM when he'd like to be watching TV. Dh is only home from 8-10pm when the kids are awake so I keep that time free for them. Now if we just don't get everything accomplished b/c of a phone call or an impromptu nature walk or we decide to play Ticket to Ride, the work just rolls over to the next day. However, I think if you like/need to take breaks during the day (I know many days I needed to nap w/ the baby), I see nothing wrong w/ having your DS do some "homework" at night, especially if you and your DH are sitting their working as well. What works for your lifestyle may not work for others but that doesn't matter, it just has to work for you. A friend of mine can't believe that we often do work on the weekends. It would only be an hour or so but it works well for us, especially for science. I've been doing separate science experiments for the boys and it works out well to have DS8 do his experiment while DS10 is at soccer practice. DS8 focuses better and is more engaged. It works for us.

There are now several books to go along w/ TtC that gives you the questions and the answers and things to discuss. You can get a package deal called Ready Readers. You can also by videos for about 5 books to help you get started.

Aubry, based on a question I had, someone started a "Day in the Life" thread a couple of months back. Take a look at that. I think it gives a more realistic picture of what days look like in various homeschools. When people start talking hours in the day, the thread gets derailed easily You really have to look at the individual kid and what his/her needs are. And some people include 1hr of music practice and 1hr of gymnastics as part of school so their day looks long but it is what that DC wants/needs. Others don't include read alouds and art and music and their day looks short. Hence, my question about a "Day in the Life." I often feel like we are working. all. day. long. We often don't finish until 4-5pm. But we don't start until 10am. So my oldest has 2.5hrs freetime in the AM. Then, my boys want 1-1.5hrs for lunch. Then then want a 30min break between hefty subjects. During that break time I spend time w/ my 4yr old. So yep we're going until 4-5pm but the day goes in fits and starts. A few times I attempted to add up the time spent on actual, focused work and it was about 4-4.5hrs depending on if it's a writing day but it's spread out over 6-7hrs. Even given that long day, they have more time to be a kid than if they were in PS all day.

OH sending all my thoughts and prayers to 8Filltheheart and her family. Come on Sarah, you can do it!!!!

Yes, we will!

:lol: :iagree: My Dh leaves about 7:30am and returns about 8:30pm. He also works about an hour at home once he's home. For about a year he was also working on the weekends as well so I had all the yard work to do. Now he's not working on the weekend as much. For about 8 months, he was gone a week almost out of every month as well. it's tough. I did get used to it. It no longer bothers me when he's not here when I go to bed. :glare:

Royal Fireworks Press (RFWP) has organized a mini-conference for us in Valley Forge, PA in lieu of the canceled Northeastern Homeschool Convention. It will be held at Valley Forge Christian College on June 24,25. Susan Wise Bauer will be giving 3 talks on Friday and 3 talks on Saturday. MCT will be giving 3 talks each day as well. In addition, our very own Kalmia, Laurel Dodge, will be giving a talk about Nature Study for the Whole Family (also the title of her book newly published by RFWP). Also, Dr. Shelagh Gallagher will be giving a talk on her RFWP curriculum, problem solving for high schoolers. There will be ample coffee breaks to talk to SWB and MCT. We have accommodations at the college for $30/night. There is the option of buying meals in the cafeteria for $25 for Friday and $16.50 on Saturday since there isn't much near the college. You can register here: http://www.rfwp.com/valley-forge-convention.php There is a RFWP social group. Please check it out if you'd like to attend the WTM Thursday night dinner out. Also, if you'd like to see specific curriculum or want to see if there is something you can bring to show others, check out the social group. Capt Uhura

Royal Fireworks Press (RFWP) has organized a mini-conference for us in Valley Forge, PA in lieu of the canceled Northeastern Homeschool Convention. It will be held at Valley Forge Christian College on June 24,25. Susan Wise Bauer will be giving 3 talks on Friday and 3 talks on Saturday. MCT will be giving 3 talks each day as well. In addition, our very own Kalmia, Laurel Dodge, will be giving a talk about Nature Study for the Whole Family (also the title of her book newly published by RFWP). Also, Dr. Shelagh Gallagher will be giving a talk on her RFWP curriculum, problem solving for high schoolers. There will be ample coffee breaks to talk to SWB and MCT. We have accommodations at the college for $30/night. There is the option of buying meals in the cafeteria for $25 for Friday and $16.50 on Saturday since there isn't much near the college. You can register here: http://www.rfwp.com/valley-forge-convention.php There is a RFWP social group. Please check it out if you'd like to attend the WTM Thursday night dinner out. Also, if you'd like to see specific curriculum or want to see if there is something you can bring to show others, check out the social group. Capt Uhura

Bumping to catch those who may have missed it. Oh darn I bumped the wrong thread. Royal Fireworks Press (RFWP) has organized a mini-conference for us in Valley Forge, PA in lieu of the canceled Northeastern Homeschool Convention. It will be held at Valley Forge Christian College on June 24,25. Susan Wise Bauer will be giving 3 talks on Friday and 3 talks on Saturday. MCT will be giving 3 talks each day as well. In addition, our very own Kalmia, Laurel Dodge, will be giving a talk about Nature Study for the Whole Family (also the title of her book newly published by RFWP). Also, Dr. Shelagh Gallagher will be giving a talk on her RFWP curriculum, problem solving for high schoolers. There will be ample coffee breaks to talk to SWB and MCT. We have accommodations at the college for $30/night. There is the option of buying meals in the cafeteria for $25 for Friday and $16.50 on Saturday since there isn't much near the college. You can register here: http://www.rfwp.com/valley-forge-convention.php There is a RFWP social group. Please check it out if you'd like to attend the WTM Thursday night dinner out. Also, if you'd like to see specific curriculum or want to see if there is something you can bring to show others, check out the social group. Capt Uhura