Henle Latin Year One is available on Amazon. It's about $25 + shipping for the Text, Grammar Book and Answer Key - you need all three. If you want a syllabus with weekly quizzes, tests and answers, then Mother of Divine Grace is outstanding for $35! IMO, it's worth every penny. However, be careful what you order as there's two "first year" versions: Latin I = 1st half of First Year Text Latin I + II = All of First Year Text

Does anyone have a code they're not going to use and could share with me? Thanks, Ann

I have the DIVE CD and the labs are excellent. For instance, you can see bacteria on a microscope setting of something like 1000x - much higher than most home microscopes. And having an instructor explaining what you're looking at on the slides is really helpful.

Assigning credits is on page 151 of the Challenge II Guide. It's probably in about the same spot in the Challenge I Guide.

I love my library! You've inspired me to tell them how outstanding they are! Keep in mind, we are in a smallish town (ie: 2 grocery stores and a WalMart). I just checked The Illiad and here's what we have: The Children's Homer by Padraic Colum The Illiad by Homer (464 pg, publisher: U of Mich) The Illiad by Homer on CD The Illiad and the Odyssey by Homer (Jr Non-fiction, publisher: Barnes & Noble) La Illiada by Homer - IN SPANISH! (495 pg, publisher: Biblioteca Edaf, Madrid, Spain) I personally think that's great, though I know others may disagree. Oh, and also this one: "The five-minute Iliad and other instant classics: great books for the short attention span" by Greg Nagan

I haven't read either book cover to cover (though I'm pretty close on TWEM), but I think they're pretty different. What are your goals? Both books teach Active Reading Skills and what to look for when reading. TWEM provides a summary of a wide selection of important literature and I don't believe "How to Read a Book" includes this. It makes TWEM much more of reference book with guidance about each main genre (how to read a play, how to read history, how to read literature, how to read poetry). I can see keeping TWEM handy on the bookshelf to pull out for reference. I enjoyed the 1st chapter of How to Read a Book, but I'm an auditory learner so I jumped on buying this set of DVDs when I saw someone else post about them on the forum: http://www.academybookstore.org/AngelicumStore/Detail.bok?no=2205 Hope this helps a little. Or consider it a bump so someone whose read both cover to cover can respond. :)

You may already know this, but just in case... If you choose Conceptual Chemistry, the author has a website with video tutorials for each chapter in the text. He suggests users send $15 to help support the costs of the website (seems fair to me). http://www.conceptualchemistry.com/index.php/tutorials

Do you think they teach logic thoroughly enough? It is a thorough course of critical thinking and teaches fallacies and how to recognize and develop a logical argument. Are they overly Christian? The Bible and being a Christian is mentioned several times, but could be skipped without losing the meaning of the material. Are they presented in an engaging way? Yes, the book includes graphics and engaging stories. Could the student do them alone? Yes, the format is a workbook that is written to the student. I used Critical Thinking by Anita Harndek with my older DD and have Art of Argument under consideration for younger DD. Both are good, solid texts, but CT cannot be used independently. As for objectionable info, nothing jumped out at me in the current edition of Art of Argument. Here's a previous thread with a couple quotes from Classical Academic Press (CAP) about updates they made in 2010: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=2135564

We are not reformed, not Calvinist, and I'm shocked to read on the General Forum about some of Douglas Wilson's quotes. That said, we used Omnibus II last year and will use Omnibus III this year. Other than the outright discussions about predestination, DD and I didn't take issue with any of the essays or assignments in Omnibus. DD had to write a paper on Predestination versus Free-will for her VPSA class and received an A even though her instructor believes in Predestination and she doesn't. We found some very slight difference of opinion; for instance, the essay on Tale of Two Cities says Dickens doesn't develop Lucie Manette's character and we didn't agree with that. No biggie, it was a good point for discussion. It's very beneficial to know where an author is coming from so you can put up your radar, and I'm glad to be aware of this now. But I wanted to add my two cents so people don't completely write off Omnibus in light of the current threads on the forum. There are very large samples of the texts available on Veritas Press' website so people can assess for themselves.

Michael Hague is an incredible illustrator and he has illustrated many classics. Most are in original language with a few updates (like removing some racist comments from Dr. Doolittle). http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=michael+hague&x=0&y=0 We have The Hobbit, The Wind in the Willows, Dr. Doolittle and Bill Bennett's books and they are all beautiful to look at and read.

We're using Omnibus and Classical Conversations. If we weren't using those programs, I'd probably use MFW. You already have some excellent suggestions. I just wanted to add this one.... I haven't used Illuminations, but we have used MOH 1 & 2 and enjoyed it: http://illuminations.brightideaspress.com/?page_id=186 As already mentioned, History Odyssey has a nice reading list. Here's a link: http://www.pandiapress.com/?page_id=105#level3 If you like TOG but only want history & lit, how about Sonlight? Their Core 200 Church History spends quite a bit of time in the Middle Ages.

Atelier's lessons last longer and are more project oriented. For instance, Feed My Sheep introduces topics in short, specific lessons. It focuses on one skill at a time. Are you using the DVD? The lecture is about 5-8 minutes and most lessons are completed in about 30 minutes unless the child gets really into it does more on his or her own. The lecture is just Stebbing speaking directly to the student. Atelier is like attending an art class with other children. The lesson lasts about an hour (maybe 20-30 min on video) The teacher speaks directly to the camera (your student) but other kids in the class are working on the same project. The camera follows their progress so your child can see other kids' completed work. I like them both. I enjoyed my DD's finished work from Atelier and she created a nice portfolio of lessons. But Stebbing does a good job of laying a foundation of drawing. I don't think Atelier focuses much on drawing. My DD completed Level 4 several years ago and she learned a lot about painting. At age 9 she could very confidently mix ANY color she wanted using red, yellow, blue, white and black. She learned this skill from Atelier and it's nice to not have to buy multiple bottles of paint - she can mix any shade of any color she wants.

DIVE Science CD's will provide video for labs and weekly lectures. There are schedules to coincide with Apologia, BJU and A Beka so you could choose a text. I have a good friend who just moved to Okinawa with teens. She was thrilled to find out there's a Classical Conversations Foundations program there for her younger son.

Why Omni III for that age group? I think Veritas Press recommends this sequence: 7th -Omni I 8th - Omni II 9th - Omni III 10th - Omni IV 11th - Omni V 12th - Omni VI How about have the co-op use Omni II instead? Or doing Omni III Secondary this year and Omni III Primary next year? That would save a bit of money on the text since you could use it for two years and really get your money's worth out of it.

What's your child's learning style? Mine prefers having a textbook in her hands and would not be happy with a computer-based "text." We're using Hewitt's high school book this year. The reason I went with HS instead of the college text is because the Teacher Edition was easier to find at the time. I'm using the following resources: Conceptual Physics Problem-Solving Exercises for Conceptual Physics (adds more math) TTC Physics in Your Life Khan Academy (for a few of the harder concepts) LabPaq labs

DD14 is using Omni III this year. I wouldn't personally have a 7th grader read Mein Kampff or 1984. DD is reading many of the books over the summer. She is working on Tale of Two Cities and just finished The Great Gatsby. She was totally offended by all of the adultery in GG and has struggled to hit her stride in Tale of Two Cities. I will say, VP planned the sequence of the books very well - the student generally reads an edgy book followed by something lower key. "1984" is cushioned by reading books of the Bible before and after, so the student is surrounded by God's Word before tackling "1984." Is there any way your 7th grader could do Omni III Secondary instead of Primary? The Secondary books are excellent and I don't think would present any issue for a 7th grader: Autobiography of Charles Finney Frankenstein Foxe's New Book of Martyrs Pride and Prejudice Benjamin Franklin Autobiography The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Gulliver's Travels Animal Farm Christianity and Liberalism Death of a Salesman Killer Angels Little Women The Old Man & the Sea Postmodern Times How Should We Then Live? Maybe your older student can do Omni III Primary with the co-op and you can do Omni III Secondary with both kids at home? The text includes a CD to help you with discussion.

DD14 does both. We tried CC Challenge and VPSA this past year to see how we liked them and both were a success. We will continue with both this fall.

Yes, if you do it with him/her and discuss it. I wouldn't expect a 5th grader to do it independently, not because s/he couldn't, but because I think some of the concepts will be lost on a child that age. How about BJU 6 as a good general science text for 5th grade and then do Rainbow in 6th so s/he is further into the logic stage. BF History of Science is also outstanding for a science & lit loving kid, and I think even my non-lit loving kid will like it when we get there. My older DD did Rainbow one-day per week (2 chapters, 1 lab all at once) with a friend and BF HOS the other days of the week. It was a great year! Your middle school sequence might look like this: 5th BJU 6 (or BF History of Science) 6th Rainbow Science 7th Life Science (we love BJU) 8th Physical Science (Apologia & A Beka 9 include Earth as well as Physics)

Yes. There are about 73 labs, so averaging 3 per chapter. My DD typically completed one lab each week and watched the other two on the Investigations DVD. There are lab reports (worksheets) to fill out for each lab. Each lab averages about 30 minutes to do/watch, clean up and fill out the worksheet. As you notice, this schedule is 4 days per week. If you schedule 5 days per week it would be about 1 hour each day.

What a resourceful child! I'm impressed!

I scheduled it like this, completing one chapter per week: day 1: read 1/2 chapter & complete Activities day 2: read 1/2 chapter & complete Activities day 3: Chapter Review & Lab(s) (2+ hours) day 4: finish Lab(s) and take chapter test The TE includes a schedule that stretches the 24 chapters over 36 weeks.

The text is very good. It's full color, "perfect" binding so it lays flat and is high quality printing. But IMO, it's not a complete curriculum without the labs. If you could find a used text for a good price, by all means buy it. But I personally wouldn't bother spending $80 on the text without going all the way to buy the labs too. For a Middle School Chemistry text and a Physics text to read through without accompanying labs I'd probably buy Exploring the World of Physics and Exploring the World of Chemistry by John Hudson Tiner. IMO, the huge advantage to using Rainbow Science are the excellent (and easy to implement) Labs.

Here's a review I wrote for Rainbow a while ago. I will add that it has been almost two years since DD used Rainbow and she still remembers the concepts. The text is a little light, but that's because half (or more) of the lesson is in the lab. It's ideal for a kinesthetic learner and s/he will have excellent retention. A visual child who learns through reading needs some extra discussion and/or do the extra quizzes which are available for free on the website. The topics covered and the labs are A++. I know my high school science classes would have been much easier for me if I had been introduced to Physics and Chemistry in this way during middle school. The lessons are written directly to the student, so can definitely be completed independently. Some labs (ie: butane lighter) need parental supervision and the student is instructed to get a parent. The teacher should also be checking for retention somewhere along the way. For a child who loves science I would add in some extra reading. We completed it alongside BF History of Science which has an awesome reading list. We also really like Basher Science books for my highly visual child. Your weekly lessons will look like this: Read a lesson & answer 2-3 questions (15-20 minutes) Read a lesson & answer 2-3 questions (15-20 minutes) Read Lab and do hands on lab (30-60 minutes) Or you can complete science all in 1 day in about 60-90 minutes. It is extremely easy to implement, so Rainbow is especially ideal for families who do not seem to get around to doing science.

If you're open to Physical Science (rather than just Physics) and you want meaty, how about BJU 9th Physical Science? It looks really rigorous. I notice your signature says Apologia PS. Are you changing your mind about using Apologia? I'd say the BJU is the most comparable, and maybe A Beka Physical Creation. Have you used BJU science before? We used their Life Science this year and really enjoyed it. We'll be going back to BJU for Biology and Chemistry in 10th & 11th.

Older DD used Rainbow Science in 7th for Physics/Chemistry. When younger DD's in 8th, I'm planning to use A Beka 9th Physical Creation along with Rainbow Science. Between the two of them she should have an excellent foundation in both chem & physics. For 9th, older DD is using Conceptual Physics. It's secular, but it's not anti-Christian. It refers to the Earth being millions of years old, but it doesn't bash Creationism either. I'm excited for our upcoming year with Conceptual Physics. It's a great book with very clear explanations and could be used by a motivated 8th grader. Hopefully others will chime in with specifically Christian Physics. The only two I know of are Christian Kids Explore Physics and Exploring the World of Physics by John Hudson Tiner. But they are both a bit light for 8th grade - maybe you could use them together with a lab kit like Castle Heights (also Christian)?