My son is 10, will be 11 in November. And he loves FLL. He has gone through all the FLL books. Level 4 does have alot of review. So it should be okay to start with. I like that it has the diagram lines drawn for you, then they are dotted, then you draw your own. So it is a gradual process. There are times that I don't make him do all the writing that is called for, one because it is so much review, and two, his hand gets tired. For example, if it says to write out the sentence and add the comma where it belongs. I will just have him write the comma in the sentence already given. Or if there are three sentences to write, I have him choose one to do. I also really like the definitions included for the parts of speech. We made a sing-song tune to go with them. So even my 14dd (who didn't get to use FLL) has learned the definitions. She goes to a one day a week enrichment program and the writing teacher was trying to tell them what a preposition was. None of the kids were understanding what he was saying. And she started singing the definition from FLL under her breath. And the teacher heard and liked it so well, he had her teach it to the whole class, he said it was a much better definition than he had.

My dd turned 14 last month, and sometimes I swear she is a different person. She just doesn't seem to care anymore. It makes no difference to her if she can spell or not. It doesn't matter if she gets math problems right or wrong. It doesn't matter if she has to rewrite a history paper 5 times because she didn't listen to instructions the first 4 times. She thinks that she knows everything and is too prideful to admit that she needs help or doesn't know something. She is like this with everything, not just school. When ever I point out that things would have been done simpler and quicker had she just listened or asked for help, she gets angry at me. Is this normal? Is this something she might outgrow? Is this something I can help her outgrow? It is getting to the point where it is really interferring with out homeschooling. Her attitude and lack of care are starting to rub off on my boys (10 and 7). I don't want to public school her, and she says she doesn't want that either. But I just don't know what to do with her. Any help or even just know to that this is a phase that they all go through, would help tremendously. Oh, and she hasn't started her period yet. Don't know if it could be related to that. She has also been extra tired lately. Amy

Kingfisher was listed as the spine to use in the previous editions. Since it is out of print, SWB included other books as options. But if you already have Kingfisher, you can still use it.

I would choose the 3rd edition as well, for most of the reasons mentioned already. I have the other two editions, and each one, in my opinion, has gotten better. For the newest book, I like how history is explained in the logic and rhetoric stages much better than how it is explained in the previous editions. It just seems more doable. I also like how as time went on, SWB included more options for each subject, and how to use them.

Thanks, I thought that might be a worst case scenario for the time estimate, but wasn't sure. I have been reading through the program for the last week and just didn't think that it would take that long to do. Amy

:lurk5: Anyone?

Does the time estimate for CW older beginner of 1-1 1/2 hours a day include the grammar time? I am thinking of using AG, and wondered if I would need more time scheduled, or if time for Harvey's Grammar is included in that time estimate. Thanks. Amy

Something you might mention to your daughter about not writing essays because she plans to major in biochem... My dh was a physics major, and for physics had a to write a daily essay. It could be on any topic, minimum one page. His physics teacher didn't feel that the students had enough opportunity to practice their English skills, so he provided more.

Thank you for the advice. I am looking forward to trying out the program. Amy

Where would you start Classical Writing with a 9th grader (next year)? I have been looking at their site and samples today. It looks like it might be summary type lessons for the Aesop and Homer levels. My dd has gotten pretty good at that with history and reading narrations. Is there anything else in these levels that she might "miss" if she doesn't do them. I know she is behind in writing, but wondered if the first two levels, or the combined for older beginners, might be too basic. Would it be too hard to jump right into the Diogenes: Maxim level? Amy

My daughter will be in 9th grade next year and wants to learn American History. We will be using Lightning Literature for American Literature to match our history work. Next she wants to do the Ancients using the LLftLotR. I have seen the LOTR book mentioned as an introductory literature book. If she has already done LL 7, 8, and both American Lit sets, would the LOTR book be too repetitive? Or since she is interested in it, can you just gloss over the repetitive things and go a little deeper. The next year she wants to do Middle Ages with the LL Medieval Lit and one Shakespeare. On the LL site, it says that these are more difficult and that you should do at least 2 other high school level LL before attempting them. Do you find that to be true? I ask before my next child wants to do LOTR in 9th, and Medieval Lit and Shakespeare in 10th. So is LOTR enough of an intro to be able to handle Medieval LL and Shakespeare? Thanks for any help. Amy

Thanks. That is what I kind of thought.

Is Life of Fred Beginning Algebra considered pre-algebra or algebra? Thanks Amy

Thank you

I am looking at using this program in the coming year. I have read through the board and have seen all the negative and positive comments about the program. So please don't get into that. My question is, how many problems are there per lesson. Not the practice ones or anything, just the ones they are expected to do on their own. I am looking at doing Algebra 1 and about 1/3 to 1/2 of Algebra 2. Thanks so much. Amy

thank you for the tips and curriculum suggestions. I will look into them. Amy

I need some advice for spelling. My daughter is 13, will be 14 in May, and starting high school in September. She was a late reader. She didn't really get it until she was about 8 1/2. She struggles with reading still, vocabulary is a struggle, and her spelling is horrible. I have tried Spelling Power and Spelling Workout, we've tried Wordly Wise and the earlier Vocabulary from Classical Roots (4-6). The main problem is that she has convinced herself that she can't spell, so why bother trying. She has decided that even if she does try, she will still get it wrong. I am at my wit's end. I don't know what to do. I have suggested writing the word in the air, covering the word and trying to spell it without looking, writing it 5 times correctly, saying the word and then saying the spelling out loud, etc. In other words, I have tried to incorporate tactile, auditory, visual, and motor memory learning. I've given her examples of famous people with handwriting and spelling difficulties and showed her how they overcame them. It did not make a difference to her. Have any of you had a child so determined to not spell? How do you overcome it? Her goal is to be an author. I have tried to point out the importance of grammar, vocabulary, spelling, etc if that is truly her goal, but it just makes no difference. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Amy

Thanks for your opinions. I'll have to check our library for them. Amy

Has anyone used this particular TTC video? It sounds really neat in the description, but I have never used anyone of their videos and was looking for someone who has actually seen it. Is it something that we can just integrate into our lessons whenever we come to the person or time frame we are discussing? Amy

Thank you everyone. I think I will try Fallacy Detective, and the Orbiting with Logic book looks great too. I am definitely beginning to see that my daughter just isn't ready for the more formal logic. I guess I was just afraid of "hurting" her if I didn't get it in soon enough. But it is better to wait a few years, than to push it and never understand it at all. Thanks again everyone.

Thanks for the suggestions. Do you use Thinking Toolbox first or is Fallacy Detective first, or does it not matter?

I know there have been alot of logic questions lately, but I would like to add another one. My daughter, 8th grade, just isn't getting logic. She did alright with the warmup, Mind Benders. But we tried Critical Thinking next. She just didn't get it. So I took a short break, letting her mature a bit, then tried again. I just don't know what to do with her. At this age would it be tooo late to try some of the other suggestions. Should we just move to Intoductory Logic? I don't know. I am just lost. Amy

Wow Nan, that was amazing advice. We are right at the beginning of this age. My dd had a brief time back when she was about 9 and we had moved, and there were just alot of changes in her life, that she resented school. And now it is starting again as the hormones are kicking in. Some days, she loves school and works hard to finish, other days she cries the whole day it seems. Since she is my oldest, I do tend to push her more.

That is why I wanted to get the Castle Heights experiment books with it because the experiments they showed were not my idea of experiments, especially not for high school. Thanks for the thoughts.

Thank you for all the advice. We did find the Donna Young info, and I found a lapbook cd that went along with it that I thought might help her grasp the concepts since she is more of a hands on learner and crafty. My dd's troubles with vocabulary are not limited to science. It will show up in other subjects too, like history, math, well, pretty much everything. If she comes across a word she doesn't know, she just skips it. I have told her that she can look it up, use context clues, or ask me. But she gets in a hurry and assumes that it isn't important. We do not currently have the Apologia biology book, I am just planning for the coming year. We were using the general science book, and I was trying to decide if I should skip physical science and go to biology, or do physical first. While I was trying to figure all of this out is when I realized that Apologia is just not the book for her. The conversational style used in the General Sci book at least, is too confusing for her when added to a vocabulary she already is struggling with.