Yes, this place has some awesome folks. I personally wouldn't/couldn't homeschool without them! ðŸ˜

Dance Mat typing is cartoony, bright colors, etc, but I can't remember about minimum WPM. Might be worth a look since it is free. My DS loved it when he was younger. http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/z3c6tfr

Lots of great suggestions already. I'll add a few docus I haven't seen mentioned yet that my DS13 and I watched recently. DS was really absorbed in them and we had some really good discussions about them. The Abolitionists (American Experience) Whispers of Angels: A Story of the Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad (produced by the History Channel) The first two were on Amazon streaming and the last one was on YouTube. We also watched Glory (with Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman) but it may be too violent/bloody for some kids, YMMV. (Mr. Shelby Foote, one of the historical advisors for Ken Burns' The Civil War, was an advisor for Glory as well.)

This is what I was going to suggest as well. DS used MM and is now working successfully through Foerster Algebra I, with Math Without Borders videos. http://mathwithoutborders.com/?page_id=4 Mr. Foerster was an engineer, and it shows in his text . . . straight-forward, real-world applications, challenging word problems, and concise. The text is written well for self-teaching, but DS seems to get a lot out of seeing & hearing the examples on the video worked out by Mr. Chandler. Plus the videos are good practice for note-taking.

Yes, thank you for sharing this story and for the encouragement. Thank you also for caring about those kids.

Reading Roadmaps guides you in how to create your own lit program, as a supplement to Teaching the Classics. http://www.centerforlit.com/Materials/RRM.aspx Ready Readers provides more hand-holding "cheat-sheets". http://www.centerforlit.com/Materials/RR.aspx They're both offered for sale by IEW, but actually written by the folks at Center for Lit (which sells them directly as well).

Power Basics Biology? No personal experience, but it's apparently remedial high school level content in workbook format, targeted to a lower reading level. https://www.rainbowresource.com/prodlist.php?subject=Science/11&category=Science+Power+Basics/2736

You can buy Type to Learn as a set of CD-ROMs to load onto a single computer (no multi-user license). Here's a link to it on Amazon: http://smile.amazon.com/Type-Learn-Agents-Information-Version/dp/B004LC3VCW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1440973763&sr=8-2&keywords=type+to+learn+cd+rom If that one doesn't appeal, try just searching something like "typing CD-Rom" and look for ones with good reviews. ETA - since your computer is older, you might try looking for the older versions listed, not the latest editions, i.e., Type to Learn edition 3, instead of the latest edition 4. Perhaps more likely to be compatible with your computer's older operating system.

Wow! Amazing list. So very nice of you to share. Thank you!

We enjoy doing these and looking back at them too. Some that we've included that I didn't see mentioned yet are: favorite place, 3 words that describe me, this year I am looking forward to ______ .

Thank you, Carla and Twigs, for the links!

I've found that the Algebra I course on schoolyourself.org is very well done. And free. I like it much better than Khan, even. Self-paced, interactive video lessons. I think it would be a great Algebra review prior to or concurrent with Geometry. http://schoolyourself.org/

Karen, THANK YOU for posting those course descriptions for what your boys did. Immensely helpful and much appreciated!

Currently, you can buy individual episodes/lectures of this series and several others from The Great Courses on Amazon's streaming video. Just FYI for others and in case a series you want isn't in the Plus beta. :)

This is the response I got when I signed up via the OP link. Signing up did not gain me access. I'm waitlisted at #335. Quote: "Thank you for your interest in The Great Courses Plus Beta. We have received your Beta invitation request and have reserved a spot for you on the waiting list for Beta access. You can move up the list and receive access even faster by inviting others to The Great Courses Plus Beta! Just give this link to your friends and you'll get referral credit: (REFERRAL LINK NOT POSTED, REMOVED BY ME) The more friends you invite, the sooner you will get access!" Not your fault. That's just how some companies do marketing, I guess. Thanks for posting it, though. It looks like a nice opportunity and I hope I get a chance to try it. 😃

Have you read this recent thread for ideas? http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/545395-what-is-your-favourite-open-and-go-grammar/

I have no personal experience with it, but our local co-op uses IEW's Speech Boot Camp as a base curriculum in their Speech class. http://iew.com/shop/products/speech-boot-camp

Did you check with Kolbe to see if perhaps your son could be exempted from any assignments using the Catholic text? I wonder how integral to the course it is. Might be worth at least asking. The worst they can say is no.

We split each grammar lesson into two days. DS would read the instruction (vocab + grammar examples/solutions) and do the grammar practice set on the first day, and spend around 15 to 20 minutes total. Then on the second day, he would do only the evens or the odds in the review set and that would take around 15 minutes. (We skipped half of every review set and I found that he never needed more review than that. But if a student needs more review, it sure is nice to have it there.) So a total of approx 30 to 35 minutes per grammar lesson, spread over two days. I let DS write in the book, rather than copying his answers onto separate paper. Copying onto separate paper would, I think, add quite a bit more time to each lesson. We didn't use the writing portion of Hake. But if I were doing it with a 5th grader, I don't think I'd want to spend more than 30 minutes a day on the writing assignments. I'd probably just work for half an hour max on writing and then stop until the next day.

Getting Started With Spanish: http://www.gettingstartedwithspanish.com/index.php

Besides K12, my state also offers online public school through Epic and Connections Academy. So you might check to see if they are offered in your state as well. I don't know about part-time enrollment, though. Here they are all or nothing. As I understand it, Epic allows quite a bit of latitude in choosing your curriculum, at least where I live. Or just google something like 'your state' + free online public school.

Also look at Daily Grams, by the same author as Easy Grammar. It is light, not a full program, but perhaps just right for keeping things fresh. Analytical Grammar is a full, rigorous program. Here's a link to grade 6 Daily Grams for samples: http://www.easygrammar.com/daily-grams---grade-6.html

We used Writing Skills for a time before DS was really ready for WWS1. I agree with what Tara said and I have recommended it to others as well.

8th grade: finish 2nd half of Foerster Algebra 1, then an intro to geometry (TBD) 3-4 days/week and keep doing challenging algebra extras 1-2 days/week (this way he won't officially start geometry till 9th grade) Intro to Lit and Comp (including Essential Literary Terms, The Elements of Style, and a book list) Physical Science: Concepts in Action The American Odyssey Intro to Socratic Discussion with WTMA finish The Art of Argument (informal logic), then The Argument Builder (blend of logic & rhetoric) keep Spanish fresh using Memrise.com and Duolingo outsourced piano and art lessons

My DS liked Splash Math the best out of several apps that we used for math facts.