I'm in Texas. I have no idea how your local summer swim compares to ours. However, it sounds similar with lasting for two months. I have had some combination of my children on summer swim for the last five years. They start counting down until the start date in January. It completely changed one of my kid's lives. He literally was an extremely difficult, defiant kid until he became a swimmer. Now, he lives for the pool. He said at one point, "swim saved my life." Summer swim can be completely exhausting. We have 5-6 meets a summer that start no later than 5:45am. You are required to volunteer about 20 hours at meets. I have stood in the hot sun timing for hours. I've invested evenings in stroke judge training and head timer training. I've spent meets wrangling way too many 6 and under boys. I am at the pool a minimum of two hours a day for two months plus. It's the best extra curricular we've ever participated in. I enjoy the hangout time with other parents as much as my kids enjoy the water. We've had coaches who have mentored my children for years. We plan vacations around it. We have never missed a swim meet in five summers. A month off of kids would be tempting. But, I wouldn't trade summer swim for pretty much anything. I now have three kids in year round swim as well. Just consider how much you enjoy the smell of chlorine before getting sucked into swim!

So... we went. I'm not sure how interested you would be in engaging in a theological discussion, but... We moved to this city four years ago. We attended one PCA church that had no children over 2nd grade. Our youngest is in 2nd. It was also a bit of a drive from our house and was hard to be in community with the people there. We left a year ago to reconsider attending somewhere the kids could plug in more. We started visiting a different PCA church that had a small youth ministry and was closer to home. It is much more contemporary than any PCA church we've ever attended. And I don't enjoy that. Since we've started attending, the 15 person youth group has dropped to about 3 (two of them are mine). They are reducing what they offer for youth since there just aren't many youth. And, I'm like, well, that sucks... because we literally came here because we wanted our kids to have something. I was surprised by the Methodist church. It had more of the traditional, liturgical feel. The sermon was good. They have an active youth program. They have communion every week. It was small enough that I think you could know everyone, but large enough that there seemed to be a good mix of people of all ages. Our co-op meets there, so I know some of the staff and the kids are already familiar with the building. Heck, I have a set of keys, lol. Methodist has basically been on the rock bottom of my list of places I would consider because I've always considered them to be the antithesis of everything I believe. But, my husband and I walked out and stared at each other, and were like, uhh... that was unexpected. So, now I'm like, do we go again? They said trespass! Ha!

Argh... failing at posting... Terabith... do Methodists believe you can lose salvation? Do they baptize infants?

Lol. Good to know. I know Baptists can be sorta all of the map. And, even in PCA churches, I've run across some members who aren't really there for the reformed theology.

The Arminian thing has always completely scared me off of Methodists! I guess reformed Methodists aren't a thing?

We are actually PCA (one of the more conservative branches of presbyterian). Thanks for your help!

Our co-op meets in a Methodist church, and I am going to need to attend Sunday services there tomorrow to meet with a sound guy. I've never been in a Methodist church (grew up Baptist and now am Presbyterian). Anyone want to tell me what they are typically like? Or do they vary widely?

Royal Fireworks Press has a series of problem based learning courses. I’ve used Hull House and Ferret Ecology in a co-op setting. Lots of discussion, no outside prep required, they learn a lot. It’s also close to impossible to do these courses outside of a group setting, so it’s a great thing for a homeschool kid to get at co-op.

I have art scheduled for the whole year with a lot of time for art projects as well. She really loves art. But, the book only has 14 chapters and we could finish it in a semester.

Here is what we currently have scheduled for her: English 1 - Omnibus 3 (at home) and Windows to the World with the Jill Pyke Syllabus (at co-op) History - Omnibus 3 Bible - Omnibus 3 Biology - CK12 with Quality Science Lab Kit Art Appreciation - using a high school text I found Algebra 1 - Saxon So, that's 6 credits. I'm assuming 5 core credits and Bible will be an elective? She also will participate in 2 hours of choir with a group for the duration of the school year and an additional 40 minutes of choir in co-op weekly for the fall semester. There is also choir homework. Can I count that as a credit? She's also doing Fallacy Detective in co-op. I'm wondering if I should work to turn that into a half logic credit? Or not even worry about that? We are planning on starting foreign language next year at the community college. I'm wondering if I need to pick up a PE credit or something else this year. Sigh. I just looked at our local high school and their graduation plans require a minimum of 27 credits. Thanks for any help. It's a bit daunting to dive into high school.

Christianbook is my go to website. I'll order from Rainbow, but I had an issue with them a few years ago and still haven't quite forgiven them for it. So, I prefer Christianbook. I paid for rush shipping on an order with Rainbow because I needed it quickly. The item was backordered, but the website did not specify that. They did not ship the item for a month and refused to refund the rush shipping. I've never had an issue with Christianbook and I've ordered a lot of curriculum over the years!

I've used levels 1-4 twice. I think it sounds like it fits all the criteria you have listed. I'm a huge fan. I just wish it didn't cost so much money to replace the workbook pages for the next kid!

I need these two children to have something slightly independent from me. My plan would probably be to eventually move them into Analytical Grammar. Little guy did FLL 1 last year. Rising 5th grader has done FLL 1, CLE 2 and 3, and then nothing last year. Sometimes CLE seems like a bit overkill to me. I don't use their writing or handwriting. But, I would use the spelling and grammar, and it's still a pretty cheap program even just using the grammar. The 5th grade lessons look long and my 5th grader has historically needed to be dragged though school. Easy Grammar looks like it might be less time consuming. But then all the reviews seem to say it's not as thorough. Thoughts?

Great! I actually sent something in through the website already, so hopefully I get a response!

Does anyone know where on the internet I could find what an example of a QSL biology lab looks like? It says on their site that it's a 275 page manual... but there are zero sample pages! Or, if someone owns it, would you be willing to message me? Or give me a thorough review of how easy the directions are to follow?

Challenge A was a horrible fit for us. One of my biggest regrets is not withdrawing at semester. The Latin went WAY too fast. The writing was tedious. The geography and science was a ton of drawing and my daughter hated it (and she loves to draw for fun). We fell way behind in math because they didn't do anything with it in class, so I kept pushing it aside to try to stay on top of the rest of her work. I felt like we lost an entire school year, accomplished nothing, and killed my daughter's love for learning. Granted, part of the misery could have been the general misery of 7th grade and entering the teenage years, but I would never recommend the program. We had previously completed four years of Foundations/Essentials. So, my daughter did have a background on how CC works going into Challenge A. There were things I disliked about the lower levels, but I generally felt the pros outweighed the cons. I'm hard pressed to find any pros to challenge.

We are Reformed Protestant. He will probably get bogged down if it is very writing intensive. He has been in Sunday School his entire life, so I think he feels like he knows all the stories and wants something more. Any suggestions?

My 12 year old has had years of grammar: FLL 1, CLE 2 and 3, Classical Conv grammar, Shurley grammar. I'd like him to have something fairly independent. I just do not have enough bandwidth to sit with each of my four children start to finish on every single subject. I don't mind going over a lesson and then sending him off with a workbook page, but I don't want it to be a teacher question, student answer, teacher question, student answer scenario. We also need grammar only. We have a spelling program and writing program that is working. I don't mind paying for something like CLE and not doing the other portions, but I don't need something that contains those things. Diagramming is a plus but not a hill I will die on. Any suggestions? I've looked at Analytical Grammar (expensive and I keep reading it's drudgery), Rod and Staff (it looks like I'd have to walk him through entire lessons), GftWTM (I'm reading it's very parent intensive). Am I missing anything else?

Any suggestions for co-op art? We have a once per week 45 minute class. We don't have access to WiFi or ability to play DVDs during class. We used Artistic Pursuits this past year and I got a lot of complaints that the lessons didn't fill the time and were boring. However, I think we were using an older version, so maybe the newer version is better? Ideally, it would be a curriculum we could use for multiple years and not have to reinvent the wheel again next year. I'm also fine with using different art curriculum for different ages. I just need suggestions for the different ages.

Hmm... I'm not sure we will issue grades. if parents grade does that mean the teacher book is needed?

We are going to offer Windows to the World with the Jill Pike syllabus at my co-op in the fall. Do you think each parent needs to purchase a copy of the teacher guide? Or just the teacher of the class? I've never used the program before myself!

I messaged one of the admins and asked if the group has any connection to SWB or Peace Hill Press. I guess it's Well Trained Mind Press now. I forgot about that.

Hmmm. Okay, well if it's not even run by SWB, I can rapidly shut down the talk of her facebook dictatorship, then.

I am seeing the WTM facebook group discussed in another facebook group I am in. Is there an official reason for the ban on CC talk on the facebook page? I just thought I could provide it instead of the continued extrapolation on possible reasons why.

Yes, you are probably crazy. but, sometimes crazy people create really amazing things. I started a co-op last fall. We have just opened for registration for next fall. It's taken A LOT of my free time. I already have some horror stories. But, it's been really rewarding. Sometimes I look around and see other moms who have become great friends with one another and they met because of my effort. And, I see kids laughing and learning and playing basketball at lunch, and its worth all the blood, sweat, and tears. Try to create it with a long range plan. Don't do things that overwhelm you. Do what is manageable. It will still be unmanageable at times, but I try to constantly evaluate how I can make this sustainable for years. I've grown a lot this year. I've seen how I can rise to challenges and force myself to do uncomfortable things. It's definitely been a learning experience.