Hello Hive, Wouldn't you know it, right smack in the middle of SOTW 3, my men decide Greek Mythology is the most fascinating thing they've ever heard of and how can we make a "family tree" explaining the lineage of the Greek gods. I wish they would want to learn what I want them to learn when I want them to learn it but I've given up on that dream . . . does anyone know of neat resources for Greek mythology. Maybe something like timeline figures . . . we've read the Odyssey and a stack of stories. The boys have read the Percy Jackson series (though I suspect it is a high sugar, low protein sorta read). I'd appreciate any leads that I could follow. Thank you, Tricia

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6075580-harry-potter-s-bookshelf I'm using this next year as a discussion guide for the HP series, in tandem with his other book (mentioned by the OP above) Finding God in Harry Potter. We're going to be digging out the HP series and using the LTofW to help us write proper essays. I think I should be excited but it all just seems like alot of work! T

My plan for my 8 year old daughter. Dr. Wright's Kitchen Table Math -- Vol 2. MEP 3 JUMP 3 I'm not doing all of these at once . . . JUMP is a solid, at grade level, workbooky type of math. I wouldn't feel comfortable using it as a stand-alone spine. I will have Pixie do certain sections when I feel it's necessary for review or extra practice. MEP 3 is smarty-pants math. Teacher-intensive but completely gets the job done. On the negative side, for a not-so-mathy kid, it can be overwhelming and long. I might teach a concept from MEP, have her do a portion of the questions and than use JUMP to come at in the most straight-forward method possible. MEP helps kids explore math and come to some conclusions about how numbers interact with each other. Dr W's KTM is a resource for games and ideas which teach mathematical concepts. I bought this while signing my oldest up for the AofPS Alegebra 1 course and I haven't sat down and had a really good look at it, but at first glance, it looks like a neat way to talk math and show math concepts without endless worksheets. Take all this with a large grain of salt b/c I am not a mathy Mama at all. Spycar is a great board resource for all questions math. Warmly, Tricia Edit: The choices above don't fit some of your criteria but I didn't see these curr. selections on your initial list so it's more research and food for thought more than a "use this" post.

Choosing curriculum is like a Wild Turkey Shoot around here. I press the Visa Trigger, cross my fingers and hope it wasn't a waste of money. I always check out what the Hive has to say about a particular curriculum and I'm forever googling siggy's. Some bits have stuck almost accidentally (like MEP), some came at the recommendation of a friend (CLE), MCT-LA came to our house because many of the people I like on the WTM board like MCT-LA . . . and I like it too, though the writing aspects in Island didn't fascinate my oldest. I like anything by Ellen McHenry because it suits our learning style. I enjoy SWB writing cd's for the different age-stages but I was three years late to the party. Two years ago, I purchased a vocab program b/c a Hiver "swooned" over it. Sounds like a flighty reason to buy a vocab program but the morphemic approach to words really helped my son's spelling. My one purchase this year . . . The Lost Tools of Writing. And I confess, I purchased it because a Hiver said it helped her become a better thinker and therefore a better teacher and it was well worth the slog to learn how to teach thinking skills. Ok. My one teacher treat for the upcoming year! There is no rhyme nor reason about why I buy what I do . . . we have a bit of flexibility with curriculum purchases and I enjoy self-educating, in some subjects, sometimes. Warmly, Tricia

Shock & Awe.

This corresponds with how I feel about HP et al. People who are so engaged with the "read this, don't read that, do this, not that, hang out with these families, but not this one because they play Pokemon and read HP and have a gaming system" . . . I don't have much time for that. These aren't "salvation issues" and they don't even blip on my radar of importance for day to day living. What blips on my radar is: have I loved on my neighbours, have I fed the poor, do I make noise about injustice, do I see the widows, the fatherless, motherless, addicted and do I do my part to lift them up out of their pain. These are issues worth talking about . . . or in this OP's situation, do I warmly my receive my Buddhist friend and have meaningful and respectful discussion about all sorts of important topics in our lives. Can I do that without driving a "salvation" agenda -- can she see genuine love in my eyes, even though we don't agree in our spiritual beliefs. These are situations which grab my attention. I believe these moments are close to the Father's Heart. This is a Friday afternoon soapbox rant. Stepping off and slinking to my next thing! :) Tricia

This question represents my current "growing edge" . . . I love our Church, I love teaching our children values which parallel bible teaching, I love loving people and enjoy relationship with all sorts of folks. Some people are naturally curious about the Spiritual, and so I sometimes try to draw people out, always taking their lead and when the conversation is done, it's done. So yes, I think proselytizing can be disrespectful. I think if someone opens the door and you step in, always following their lead and sensing their comfort level with the conversation, than I think speaking about faith can be a meaningful and rich experience for both. It can also be disastrous. Respect is key. T

I love talking to unschoolers about how they do school and I love talking to classical teachers and everything in between. What I don't love is people insinuating that their way is the only way to properly educate a child. So, if this friend is open-minded, genuine in her questions and thoughtful with her responses and you are the same, then I think it would be a marvelous time. I usually have a few opening questions that sorta "test the waters" with a new homeschooling friend . . . for ie: "tell me a bit about your day" or "what are your children intested in" or "how does learning impact your everyday" and then I'll know if this is going to be a back-and-forth conversation or if I'm dipping plantains in the beandip for the next hour. :) Hope for the best; expect the least and you might come out with a new friend! T

We use these for summer viewing pleasure in our Kid Min program -- they are wonderful resources! I learned alot of bible history while laughing along with the kids. T

My 12.5 year old will play RCube or lego -- the younger will draw. My middle tells me he simple "puts up" with our out-loud reading time but he's the first one snuggled on the couch, waiting. I've not always read aloud regularly but we recently stumbled over the E. Nesbit books and they seem to draw everyone in. At 14, if my oldest wasn't interested in "read aloud time" that's not a hill I'd be willing to die on. Warmly, Tricia

I would answer "middle of the road" -- some folks I orbit with are intensely rigourous, some teach skill subjects, some unschool. I find myself in the middle with the hope of taking a few steps towards more rigourous with my rising 7th grader. T

I control screens. (The neighbours think I'm crazy. I no longer care.) I control academic skills. (grammar, writing, math, vocab.) I am careful about putting my children in situations way above their ability to manage but certainly, I'm happy with situations that challenge them or "help" them make mistakes in judgement or character. Those are the best teaching moments. That's it. I like the free-range lifestyle . . . and I like the idea of working myself out of a job so that our children can morph into productive young adults who are living a meaningful life. Warmly Tricia

Well, seems I do have a kindred spirit on the WTM board after all. We get school done b/c I know we have to, not always because I want to or they want to. I've tried to find curriculums that we're all engaged in and we have lots of time to explore our own interests. This is why I couldn't wrap my head around so many of the WTM recs . . . they wrecked me. We've found a way to "do school" together without any of us losing our minds and curriculum that keeps us hopping along the trail towards higher education! Homeschooling Extroverts -- what a dichotomy. Warmly, Tricia

Right! Thank you. I'm not using MEP 7 - 8 - 9 but I had a friend with an advanced rising 5th grader who was using it and I couldn't exactly remember why people weren't keen on it. She asked for specifics and I could only give her a broad stroke answer of: "The Hive told me so." T

Howdy Hive, Who knows why MEP 7 8 9 wouldn't be the best choice for an academically motivated student. I think I remember a thread offering reviews of MEP middle years, but I can't find it. (Shocking) A friend would like the information. Thank you, Tricia

:thumbup: Hi Colleen, I don't fit the WTM-criteria enough to join your group but I have come across folks who are using classical curricula, studying along with SOTW and are "teaching" their children. I'll make sure I pass your info to the Classical hs'ers I meet along my travels. Good Luck! Tricia

I think "unschooling" demands tremendously confident parents. I'm currently watching two radically unschooling families do life and what I see are bright, well-rounded, interested, curious children. They seem like happy, well-adjusted children with all sorts of wide-open space to develop into who they truly are -- I like that. These parents are confidently watching their children and enjoying the surprise of seeing how they unfold. What I see as a potential "failure" of an unschooling situation (and they wouldn't see this as failure so it's a perspective issue and who am I to say that my perspective is somehow more or less flawed than theirs) is this: a solid foundation for some skills, like writing, spelling, grammar, mathematical concepts, languare study is built over time. If an unschooler decided at some point to attend university, I think they might be confronted with a pile of basic academic skills that they would need to sift through in a relatively short period of time. Some unschooling children who are naturally bright, gifted learners can pick up what they missed during a summer of intense study, will write the SAT and blow the scores out of the water, be accepted into a fine university and will carry on, thankful to have missed out on the doldrums of everyday daily learning. Not all children are bright and gifted; some find academic achievement after years of working and applying basic academic skills, and need parents to carefully and succintly lay down a foundation of basic skills which can support the weight of higher learning. Writing is important; there is no way around needing solid research and writing skills if a student wants to attend university. I'm not sure how unschooled children magically pick up the basics of writing without practicing a skill that can be tedious. Same with mathematics and language learning -- there are skills that need daily, repetitive interaction in order to attain mastery. (I can hear my unschooler mom-friends saying to me: if a child doesn't have a certain skill set and didn't find it on their own, than it wasn't meant to be.) The unschooling parents I know are very confident that their children will dig out a path that brings a meaningful and joyful life. As a parent, I don't have the confidence to allow my children that same luxury . . . if the perfect plan doesn't fall into place, I want to make sure they my children have some "back-up" skills (of the academic sort) which will ensure university admittance. Warmly, Tricia

My 2 cents on AAS . . . My son (10) couldn't spell his way out of wet paper bag and so AAS has been so productive. We don't use the tiles b/c I find it takes way too long -- we use the textbook, do all the lessons on paper, he does the 10 words plus a few extras if he's struggling and then we use the dictation sentences as a quiz. If he can finish 10 sentences with no spelling errors, than I call that mastery. The bonus with AAS is now I understand the ins and outs of SWR. I always laugh when folks lament about AAS's "slow-pace" because it's exactly what I needed to understand the ins and outs of a phonics program. I did find that AAS 1 & 2 was a bit slow-moving but my daugher (7) is challenged enough without becoming discouraged. AAS 3 & 4 does move a bit more quickly, but with my 10 year old, I usually chunk together 2 or 3 lessons so we can be more efficient with getting through the books. If you have a natural speller, I agree that AAS would be overkill. My oldest would not tolerate AAS so we flipped back to SWR for a few years and everyone was happy. Warmly, Tricia

MEP is a tough gig, especially for non-mathy mama's like me. I've almost graduated my oldest from MEP 6 and even though I'd love to throw in the towel and order a workbook approach math program for the other two, I'm not going to do it. I will persevere and conquer MEP two more times. It is that good. It does make me that crazy. Redsquirrel, our absolute worst ever math mornings are when I don't get it at all so I give my son the TM and tell him the lesson is over when he can make my brain "get it" -- hmmm, you can appreciate just how crazy that makes my 12 year old. :) Warmly, T

Thank you, Peela, for all the ways you lovingly express your parenting style on this board. Your ideas have tremendously influenced the dynamic in our home. I really agree with your statement above that the cost of obedience is too high. A meaningful life unfolds when young people want to do the right things while still living in the context of family of origin. I can't force that. It has to unfold. You just say it so much nicer than I do! Tricia

Uber-careful about a few slices of our life. Moderately careful about most things. Catch more flies with honey. Let it all hang out when screwdrivers are left on the kitchen counter, looners left in the bathroom or cans thrown in the garbage and not recycled. Hell hath no fury when the Mr doesn't recycle. :D

I've wondered about painting our exterior bricks as well. Another idea I had was exterior tiles? Or, doing a cement finish over the bricks -- like a staccato finish. (? not sure if that's the correct term). Anyone have any experience with either of these applications? T

I don't know that I 'avoid' letting people know I'm a 'Christian' . . . even the word many use to describe themselves as a Jesus-Follower sometimes feels outdated to me. 'Christian' or 'saved' . . . all that sort of Christianeeze lingo isn't part of my everyday vocabularly. Awhile ago, our pastor mentioned that the church is the only institution that doesn't truly exist for the church members but for those who haven't found Jesus, yet. I like that approach. So, no, I don't shout the name of Jesus while standing on my rooftop, though I would if I felt Jesus calling me to that. The best way for me to live the name of Jesus is to be proactively building non-agenda relationships with my friends and neighbours. Loving people well, being willing to seek first to understand before I try to be understood (Covey), wait to be asked, include and gather in people who may be looking for Someone that they don't really know even exists as a Friend. I love Jesus, I love our Church, I love loving people --- but I also try to remember that for many folks, as soon as they know I'm a God-Lover, their veil drops and they hold me at arms-length or more, so I carefully walk alongside people who have no God-Grid and try to hear from God if or when I should make a formal introduction. :) Sometimes, I think this 'come alongside' bit might offend the more outwardly spoken Christians in my community. We're all so different and what works for one person completely offends another. I want to be in relationship with people who don't know God and that can be messy. I'm excited to read Rob Bell's new book about loving people well. Warmly, Tricia

We take off the whole entire summer and some weeks on either end. June is light. July + August is paddling. September is vacation and finding our way back to school. Each to their own!