I am in the same boat with an older child. I did alot of research and decided to go with Analytical Grammar ( the DVD's are a must have IMO ) and IEW ( which also has DVD's). The beauty of AG is that you can use it for the next 3 years so it will cover all of middle school and go into high school and is a nice savings. As someone suggested on here, We are going to work on AG and spelling First and only after we are Done with that will we start on IEW The first year teaching AG ( Season One ) is designed to last 10 weeks. I decided to stretch that to an even 12 weeks or 3 months. So first 3 months of school is working on grammar and spelling, the last 6 months we will be working on writing. That took the pressure off, to be trying to study both of these at the same time was a little daunting. And it made sense to work on the grammar before we started using it in the writing.

I am so glad that I bought the DVD's! She follows what is written in the book but also adds some helpful teaching along with it. The first DVD begins with teaching the first lesson. I like that she is a no-nonsense, lets learn what we need to know from this lesson and we are done for the day. I always ask that question too, do I really need this to teach it well? For AG the answer IMO is yes! I just found out that there is a Yahoo group for AG as well for added support. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AnalyticalGrammar/

Wow, that would only happen in my imagination! I'm sure it was beautiful though in its original language.

Thank you for the correction. I should mention that this was over 20 years ago so it seems things have changed. I'm glad to hear that they are teaching it and certainly wouldn't want to mislead anyone. The important thing is to grow those talents. thanks again

I'm not sure of the translation but I remember the book cover looking like the one here.. http://talesuntangled.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/the-love-of-a-swashbuckling-tale/ (scroll down to see it). At the bottom of the page are some reviews written by Teens if that helps with your book club. I would recommend reading just the first chapter if nothing else. Some great themes for discussion in this book.

I discovered that my daughter, now grown up, had a musical ear at the age of 4. She could pick out notes on our piano by just listening as she tried each one. I wanted to get her into lessons early so she wouldn't form any bad habits with fingering. Yamaha and Suzuki were available but they didn't teach fingering until after 2 years of lessons. So on the advice of others, I waited until she was 7 1/2 to start lessons with a teacher. The idea being that then she would be mature enough to practice every day. No sense in getting lessons if they don't practice often. This worked out wonderfully. We included piano practice as part of our home-schooling day. While we waited for her to start we would play games that taught rhythm and generally just had fun with music. I allowed her to "play" on the piano whenever she wanted and it worked out fine with her fingering later. The timing was right for her and she quickly learned alot and really enjoyed it. She took lessons for 5 years and her teacher was wonderful about having contests etc to make the learning fun. She still plays beautifully to this day. Best money ever spent!

Mark Twain definitely counts! There are so many wonderful books to explore. One of my favorites was The Count of Monte Cristo. After reading the first couple of paragraphs, I was blown away by his grasp of the English language. Whenever I find a book like that, I try to slow down in my reading and let it soak in. Not always easy to do but I guess I would just say to take your time and enjoy the books, there's no rush. Thanks so much for the songwriting tips! I liked the master class one especially. I have said before that YouTube is an amazing place where you can learn almost anything and for free. You have inspired me too.

I would learn basic world Geography and to start reading the Classics - two areas where I have self-educated myself over a number of years to fill in the gaps in my own education. The song writing sounds great! Do you have any recommendations for getting started in that interest?

My ds loves Science experiments books. The best ones use things you already have around the house.. Janice Vancleave has some great ones. Also check out Steve Spangler's website or books. Make slime or a marble run out of paper towel tubes. If he likes photography have him take pictures of his favorite toy in different settings then write a story to go along with the pictures. Or document a day in the life of your family with pictures. I'll add my recommendation to The Dangerous Book for Boys - great book with lots of inspiration!

Thanks, I entered. As long as I'm up late scouring TWTM for ideas it was nice to find something fun!

I was interested in this too and ended up getting just the Family Guide based on these suggestions given here. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/457271-biblioplan-which-books-in-the-set-are-the-most-important/ Hope that is helpful

Minecraft is the best video game there is IMO. It is like virtual Lego's. If they want to build something out of wood they chop down a tree which turns into brown blocks, they can mine for stones which turn into gray blocks....I like that this is showing them where these materials come from. .They use these blocks to build houses, rooms and whole little towns. There is water, rain, snow, dessert, night and day so it is very realistic. If they play in "creative" mode they are just building. There are zombies, spiders.. ( not scary as they too are made out of blocks) but they do have to attack these to get rid of them (no blood and gore) so it just adds a little excitement to the game as they are defending their homes. There are animals they can get to make little farms. The wild wolves can be tamed and made into pets. The main idea is to make buildings and landscapes that they design so I like it for it's creative focus. You can purchase something extra ( small monthly payment) where they can go "online" and play with others. This is fun if your dc have friends who also own that service because they can "play" together and talk to each other while at home. This would be the only area that I think has to be supervised so they are only playing with people they know. And that is only if you get the extra service, otherwise they are just playing by themselves. This post http://homeschoolmus...g-curriculum/�� has idea's on how to use it for homeschooling. All that being said it can be a time sucker because there is so much to do that my ds wants to play whenever he gets the chance...so you need to set your own limits.

Thank you so much for these sites. I have a Pinterest history board for organizing these type of resources in one place. I ordered the SOTW activity book ( good price on Amazon) and will take your suggestion and use it for the maps.

It is because I want them lined up together. I should have mentioned that the SOTW and MOH I have are the CD's and not the books. I was hoping to use BP as the lesson plan book to organize it for me. So far BP is the only resource I have heard about that connects them but if there is another one I would be very interested in learning about it. Thank you.

Hello, I have SOTW and MOH for Ancients and wanted to use them both. Biblioplan (upper middle grades 6-8) includes both of these for spines and I like the Christian approach. The cost for the set is more than I was planning on. My ds wouldn't like the coloring book and we have a timeline that could be used. My question for those of you who have used Biblioplan is which books are the most important if you purchased them separately ? Family Guide Companion Discussion guide Cool History Cool History Classic? Hands-on Maps This is for one student, my youngest. Thanks for your help.

I would gladly post of a pic of her, how do you do it? I don't see an upload button here.

Thank you everyone! Being a Grandma is wonderful!

I have been dealing with this for years with my MIL. She doesn't mean to be unkind, she just says things before she thinks how that may come across. She does have a sense of humor though, so I can tease her about some. For instance one day after she had lost weight she said ,"I have some clothes for you. They are WAY too big for me but I think they will fit you." :001_rolleyes: And when I repeated it back to her, she realized it didn't come out right and laughed. Other times it is not so easy and I have to either quietly stick up for myself / family or just let it slide. I don't have the energy to tackle every thing she says. For my dc I have talked with them about how Grandma is getting old and not to take to heart the way she says some things and to just try to be kind. I realize that I will be in the same boat someday and hope they remember that.

I am floating on clouds since the arrival of my first grandchild on November 16th. She is a beautiful baby girl named Everly and is healthy,so tiny and precious. Our daughter and son-in-law are so happy she is here and will be good parents. My wonderful dh (aka Papa) drove our ds (an uncle at 12) and me (Nana) the 7 hours to MN this weekend so we could meet her in person. I am forever in love with Everly!! The 16th was also the day that our ds (21) graduated from broadcasting school. He rec'd two special awards at the graduation and we are so proud of him! His internship at a recording studio turned into a job - yay!! He will meet his little niece later as he was working this weekend and that's a good thing. It is a very happy time at our home and we are so thankful to the Lord for all these special blessings!

Thank you! I entered :001_smile:

What a great idea! Thanks for sharing. :001_smile:

Sharing this with you. There is a giveaway for "The Logic of English" Curriculum pack. You have to enter your name, address, email and phone number. A winner will be selected Friday 11/9/12. here is the link: http://family.yourway.net/giveaway-logic-of-english-essentials-curriculum/ Good luck!:001_smile:

oops ...shouldn't have hit the back button.

Thank you for this, I laughed because it so true! :lol: