Just FYI... I have the WinterPromise 2013 catalog (which I received several weeks ago). On p. 13 under "WinterPromise Notebooking" paragraph 3 says: "Note that our notebooks can be printed in color with the ebook version, but when WP prints them, they are black and white copies, except for a few color pages in the back." It probably ought to be stated more prominently, but it is there.

It can be done, especially if the student gets math concepts quickly. I believe all the upper level math that is needed in the physics is taught in the Physics book. However students who need more time and practice to master the math may struggle with applying it in the Physics book. For these students the opportunity to learn and practice the math in the Advanced Math book makes getting through the Physics book easier. Saxon Physics really is math based, so those who struggle with math will struggle all the more with Saxon Physics.

What are the advantages of OneNote compared to Evernote? I only know a little bit about Evernote and nothing about OneNote. Thanks,

Mine are a similar age span 3 years, but about 4 grades apart. I also did not really combine, but we studied the same topic using different age appropriate resources. We often did the same or similar projects and experiments though. God's Design Science works well for teaching on 2 or 3 levels. Younger dd used SotW with very few added resources, while older ds listened to SotW in the car but used on-level resources on similar topics at home. Tapestry of Grace also works well for multilevel teaching. At about 7th grade ds became so much more independent that combining anything at all was no longer necessary or practical.

I can't answer the OP question but I can elaborate a little on how Lost Tools of Writing (LToW) teaches students to say something worthwhile. Each LToW lesson takes three weeks: 1 week each for the classical rhetoric cannons of invention, arrangement, and elocution. During the invention weeks it helps students develop a good thesis statement and then teaches students a series of questions (adapted from classical rhetoric) designed to help the student extract what he does know and evaluate its relevance and usefulness to the purpose of the paper. In contrast the levels of IEW that I have used (Ancient History based, Medieval History based & Bible based with 4-6 grades and A, B, & C levels) focus primarily on elocution, include some arrangement and pretty much ignore the invention aspect of writing. I found LToW to be good follow on to a couple of years of IEW instruction. I, too, would be interested in knowing more about the advanced levels of IEW.

Dd used HoD CtC this year. There are a lot of things I really like about HoD. I like having everything laid out for me and most of the book choices. We had already been using Singapore Math and R&S grammar, so we knew those choices would work for us. I liked having doable History Projects, Art Instruction and Science Experiments every week. I liked that it encouraged independence. So why did we abandon it about 6 weeks before the end of our school year and about 23 units into CtC? Despite that fact that it seemed like a great fit for dd (she liked the art and and hands on activities), she didn't like all the little pieces. "Too many boxes," she said. She'd rather spend more time on fewer subjects. After the most difficult school year we've had so far, at least in terms of finding curriculum that inspired them to want to learn, we've decided to spend the remainder of our school year on a trial run of something more similar to LCC and Robinson Curriculum, more depth and work on skills in fewer subjects. We switched about two weeks ago and she's enjoying school again and working more independently than ever. Even though I really liked HoD there were a few things I didn't care for: DITHOR: I only ever saw the samples, but I just didn't care for what I saw in them. Too much history: For my ds who loves history the "Learning Through History" would have been great; for dd it was too much history. Lite Science & Math: The suggested amount of time for the Science Box and the Math box was 30 minutes each. I think 45 min to an hour is more appropriate for 4th and 5th grade Math, and my science loving dd would have been happier with more science and less history. We did not do the Geography box because we were also doing Classical Conversations which has a lot of Geography in it. We did not do the Bible Study Box because we simply didn't have time. We did add Latin for Children A and Spelling Workout.

We've been in CC for several years and I've been to several practicums, including this year's. This year's theme is mathematics in the trivium (last year's was Latin) The morning session is mostly about the trivium, what it is and how it applies across subjects. It also included some basic math instruction for mathematically-challenged moms. If you are already comfortable with your understanding and application of the trivium you probably won't get as much out of it. If you want to know more about CC's interpretation of the trivium and how they use it in their program, then you should go. The afternoon session included Q&A about CC's programs with experienced directors, tutors and parents, a demonstration of a Foundations class and some a recorded interview with Leigh Bortins and Andrew Kern about the quadrivium. We've had great experiences with the kids camps; they have been both fun and academically worthwhile for us. This year there were a few teens studying quietly in the back, but the rest of the kids were either in camps or had other arrangements made. If you the camps are not a good fit for you then you'll probably want to make other arrangements. If you go you won't necessarily need to stay all day. If you are more interested in classical education and the trivium in general, then you can just stay for the morning. If you are considering enrolling in any of CC's programs and want to know more about how they work you'll want to stay for the afternoon session. Hope this helps you decide. Maryanne

I live in an area with many homeschoolers and there are different kinds of graduations. Some are large efforts put on by an organization such as a support group. These graduations usually already have requirements in place regarding who may participate. If this is the type of graduation in question then generally one must abide by the rules of the organization unless there is a compelling reason for an exception. However it is also common around here for a small groups of parents to get together and put on a small joint graduation ceremony for their students, especially when the students have all been close friends for several years. Some students may participate with a large group graduation and graduate with a small group of friends as well. If this is the type of graduation you are asking about and the now public schooled student has been friends with the homeschool graduates for several years and if he/she continues to hang out with their homeschooled friends, then it would seem odd to me to exclude this friend simply because they choose a different educational option for the last couple of years of their schooling. I guess around here it's just not that odd to participate in more than one graduation, especially if the large group graduation places limits on the number of invited guests (common for public schools around here). I would expect a small homeschool graduation that included a public schooled student to be much more personal and acknowledge both the homeschool and public school contribution to this person's education.

Grammar Experts: In this sentence what do I do with the word run: I watched the boys run. I think boys is the direct object of watched or maybe the entire phrase the boys run is? How do I diagram this sentence? Thanks so much, Maryanne

The main lesson content is almost identical in the old and new versions. The older editions have all of the answers to the discussion questions right with the questions; in the new edition the answers are in the teachers book. Also the worksheets in the older editions are on a CD in the new editions. The new editions have more extensions for grades 6-8, and the new editions of the Life Science and Earth & Space series have a beginner section targeted to grades K-2. Whether or not these changes represent improvement depends on individual families usage patterns.

My thoughts on pegs ... First let me say up front that we're on our 7th year of CC; ds is in Challenge A and dd is in Foundations and Essentials. My dc love CC. I like parts of it and other parts not so much. Based on my observations it seems like a lot of people can be described as either whole-to-parts learners or parts-to-whole learners, and the two styles often cannot relate to how the other style learns. The whole-to-parts learners are the "big picture" people; they need to see the big picture of where they're going in order to have a place in their memory to put what they are learning. These are often the people who see CC as a random collection of disjointed facts that have no point. CC often doesn't work well for them unless the mom is able to provide the big picture. These are the ones who, if they are able use CC at all, are using it as their spine and providing the necessary context at home. On the other hand the parts-to-whole learners are often overwhelmed if they are given the big picture first, but they can take the little bits of information that seem random to the whole-to-parts learners and over time assemble them into the big picture. These learners are often the ones that can just do CC as a memory work supplement while completing other curricula that may or may not tie in directly. For these learners the pegs that CC creates really help them build the framework in their minds for the rest of the information they will need to store. Some times I wonder if the moms who have real trouble settling on curriculum that really works for their children are the opposite learning style from their children, so that the curriculum that would work best for the children doesn't make sense or seems too overwhelming to the mom and the curriculum that looks great to the mom doesn't make sense or is overwhelming to the children. Anyway my dc are "fact junkies." They love collecting facts about all sorts of topics. Often times 1-2 facts will become the springboard for learning more about that subject, like the magnet analogy a PP used. So.. yeah... I believe in pegs, but I think the whole-to-parts learners need different pegs from the parts-to-whole learners. Neither is better than the other, but recognizing the differences helps me understand others experiences with some curricula and helps me pick curricula for us.

Thanks for taking the time to correct that for me. I typed it right out of WTM even though I had the 5th grade book Following the Plan sitting right by me.

I've read so much in so many different places I can't remember where all I've read this, but one place I can point to right now is in WTM. On p. 343 (3rd ed.) it says "If you're just beginning formal grammar with an older student, you can simply start right at grade level, with one exception: Seventh- or eighth- grade students just beginning in Rod & Staff should start with the fifth grade book, Progressing with Courage." (bolded mine). Of course on p. 57 of the same book it says third or fourth graders can start at grade level, so it's easy to misremember what it says. If it's too frustrating for your student you might consider backing up 1-2 grade levels and see how that goes. I think I've also read that some people consider the 8th grade book to be high school level work.

Yes, I imagine it would be pretty difficult to start with R&S at level 8. I think they assume a lot of knowledge from previous levels. My ds who's 12 and 7th grade isn't having any trouble with 8, but he's already done 2-7 so he has a lot of foundational knowledge. Most of the recommendations I have read suggest starting no higher than level 5 as books 6-8 assume significant previous knowledge.

They are covered at least as early as book 5 Lesson 98 and probably in each subsequent book, but I don't have 4 or 6 and 7 handy to check right now.

Yes, the preposition, in this case for, goes on the diagonal line, and the object of the preposition, example, goes on a horizontal line at the bottom of the diagonal line.

Mmmmm.... Actually on p. 46 under the heading Independent Elements it says, "Words that are not grammatically related to the rest of the sentence are called independent elements. They are usually set off with commas or other punctuation, and are diagrammed on separate lines to the left of the main diagram." It then proceeds to list 5 different kinds of independent elements and give examples showing how to diagram them. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding what you are saying the book doesn't cover? I have it in front of me, so I can help.

The instructions for this lesson say: "Diagram the skeletons and complements of these sentences, as well as all the words that make up appositives and independent elements" In the first sentence "of shade" is not part of the sentence skeleton or a complement or part of an appositive or part of an independent element. It's an adjectival prepositional phrase modifying plenty. If you were going to diagram it you would put it under plenty: \of shade, but it is not necessary because the instruction don't require that everything be diagrammed. In the second sentence the prepositional phrase "For example" is an independent element and therefore required to be diagrammed as per the instructions for that section.

Some concepts in Algebra I are directly useful in real life. Some concepts are building skills needed for upper level maths and sciences. Some exercises develop logical thinking skills which are directly or indirectly useful in wide variety of applications. I tell my students that working math problems is kind of like a cardio workout. A cardio workout strengthens your cardiovascular system which is beneficial to a wide variety of sports, activities, and life in general, but doesn't necessarily improve specific skills needed for a specific sport or activity. Math problems strengthen your logical thinking skills which are applicable to a wide variety of fields and real life even if you aren't using a specific algebra concept that you learned. Showing your work in math also develops discipline and organizational skills.

I've made low sugar strawberry, peach, raspberry, and blueberry freezer jams (using the low sugar pectins). After I made the first batch of low sugar strawberry jam, I was amazed at how much the original strawberry jam tasted like sugar instead of strawberries. We've never gone back to the full sugar jams. We find that if you start with good tasting fruit the low sugar jam tastes more like fruit, but that you need more of it on your biscuit or toast. I now make all my jams with 1/4 the original amount of sugar and we really like them. I also don't mind as much when the kids put too much on because it's mostly fruit instead of mostly sugar.

And in my local school district growing up we always got Easter Monday off instead of Good Friday. The reason: Easter Monday was a state holiday because the legislature always took the day off to go watch local rival colleges play baseball, except that Easter Monday lasted far longer as a state and school holiday than the rivalry did. :001_huh:

After a fall a few months ago we took our dd to the ER and she was diagnosed with a concussion (she had a headache and vomited 3x). After reading the instructions from ER here's how we interpreted them for her: School work was allowed but not required--she could do some if she wanted but she could stop anytime. She was told to stop if her head began to hurt. She did do some of the easier subjects, but substantially less than normal and for only short periods of time. TV/Videos were allowed Board games & card games were allowed--she doesn't choose strategy games so very little thinking was required. Athletic and active activities were not allowed. Crafts were allowed. Thinking puzzles (brain teasers, logic puzzles etc.) were not allowed Reading was discouraged, but not forbidden. In retrospect having continued to learn more about concussions since then I might have disallowed the schoolwork and reading, but the instructions we received from the ER did not really indicated that they should be forbidden only that they might be more difficult and shouldn't be pushed.

I think context for memory work is a learning style thing. What I mean is that there are some learners who have got to have context in order to have a place to put the facts. They need to see the big picture and then fill in the details. If this is the way your learner works then to use CC the parent would need to commit to providing the context each week by using the CC memory work as the spine and fleshing out the topics with other resources. On the other hand there are also learners that are totally fine with random facts that become the memory pegs on which to build the big pictures as more details are filled in later on over time. This is the type of learner that I think Ms. Bortins has in mind in her design of the CC program. Some of these learners are even overwhelmed if they get the big picture at the beginning rather than creating it piece by piece over time. Of course, there will also be people will fall in between these two extremes or be able to flex in between them depending on circumstances. We are more the second type, so CC works really well as a supplemental memory program along side our chosen curriculum. While I couldn't imagine us using CC as the spine and filling in the context each week from other resources, I know that there are plenty of other families who do it successfully for them.

At that age CC was more about the discipline and habit of working on memory work for us. In the beginning we set it as a goal work on the memory work for 15 minutes per school day. Whatever got learned in that time got learned and we didn't worry about the rest. We use CC as a memory work supplement along side other curriculum, but whenever we come across something in the other curriculum that related to memory work I would point it out.

Our List: Used 3 years or more: Saxon Math (1-87, ds) Singapore Math (Earlybird-4A, dd) R&S English (2-7,ds; 2-4, dd) ETC (Ready-6, both) Building Thinking Skills (2-3, both; 4-6, ds) Handwriting with Tears (K-3, both, 4-6, ds) Sonlight Readers (1-3, ds) On our 3rd year: Sequential Spelling (1-3, ds)