Just now I was out in my garage cutting up a Lego piece with a hacksaw, to replace a missing piece that was essential for a Mindstorms robot. Has homeschooling led you to do things you never expected?

Same. James Mason is a wonderful Brutus, too. Also check him out as Rommel in The Desert Fox--another honorable soldier seeking to remove an overreaching leader. As an aside, the Teaching Co. course on Dante's Inferno had an interesting discussion on how Dante's view of Brutus as a traitor is different from the Shakespearian, anti-tyranny view we're used to.

In my area, the public high schools and the way fancy prep school have blown us off, while several church-affiliated schools have been willing to accommodate an extra. Anyone else had the same experience?

My dad blows me away with stories about traveling from Queens to Manhattan with a buddy at age 10 (yes, 10!) to go to kiddie matinees at the Met. Make you feel better about the big boys?

And keep us posted, just so we can take some voyeuristic pleasure in your adventures!

My kids bought hand-held transceivers for $28 each (a group buy on Amazon). Their instructor suggested supplementing these with better antennas, which would bring the total cost to about $40 but not take up much more room. They did a class and the certification exam through a local club, so I don't have a website to direct you to, but a quick search should get you to resources including practice tests.

Woo-hoo! You'll be fine--just hang out here from time to time.

WWS3? I'm not seeing it on the Peace Hill Press website.

I like reading detective stories for foreign language study--lots of dialogue.

Another vote for Turning Points in American History. This year we've used the lectures from both this and Turning Points in Modern History that fall in the period 1600-1850.

There are two kinds of TC codes: priority codes, and coupon codes. You use one of each to get discounts, free shipping, etc. Besides the ones they e-mail you, you can check www.retailmenot.com to see if you're missing anything good.

Funny thing, my oldest ds liked Cardulla's Chemistry. He was just 12 at the time, though, and the somewhat goofy humor worked for him then. He did every problem along with Cardulla, and rounded out the course with a ton of labs from a Thames and Kosmos kit.

We generally write about the ones we love. Are there any that just didn't work for you?

My two oldest sons (14 and 12) have just taken a two-day class offered by a local amateur radio club, and will take the licensing test later this week. So far, so good--they've learned a fair bit about electronics, and met some nice, community service-oriented folks (several of the members of this particular club are also involved in Scouting, which is how we found out about it). It's cheaper than I expected, too--the licensing fee is about $15, and you can get a low-end, handheld transceiver for somewhere in the $30-$40 range. Any other homeschooling hams out there?

Rosetta Stone can be helpful as a supplement to practice pronunciation, but you need grammar, reading and writing instruction too. The worksheets that come with the homeschool edition could be one component of that, but would be very difficult to use without someone who already speaks the language to give instructions in their use. We've used Breaking the Barrier with some success, but intend to find a native speaker for weekly tutoring sessions to make our Spanish study better.

My guys have enjoyed The Art of Argument and The Discovery of Deduction.

Oh my gosh, I've just been to the Zometool website for the first time. Christmas and birthdays are now covered for years to come. Thanks!

Anything by Art Benjamin, the Mathemagician

Kareni, What was the other one?

Have you looked at BYU? They have a mix of self-study and interactive classes for lots of languages. www.is.byu.edu.

The PA Homeschoolers AP Human Geography looks great, though we haven't done it yet.

I corresponded with the teacher at PA Homeschoolers about AP Bio, and she said students younger than 11th grade were having a tough time with the course requirements. Of course, you know your kid best....

I just wanted to say how grateful I am for the spirit of generosity I've found on this board. I love your kindness and willingness to share your time and experience. In the year or so I've been here, I haven't said much, but I've benefited tremendously from what I've learned--curriculum recommendations, perspective on what has and has not worked for different kids, and just general encouragement. Thank you! Stephanie

My boys have loved this course. The lecturer (Filippenko) has his own textbook--recommended readings are keyed to the lectures.

re: Penrod. These are classic boys' stories, but will require some discussion of early-20th century racial attitudes and language. The portrayal of Penrod's black playmates is seriously out of line with modern sensibilities.