This is helpful, thanks so much. I appreciate it!

Oh, I will have to look into that. I bet ds would connect with an active, fun guy-teacher. What was the $99 deal? [i'm going to have to check back later tonight -- today is my baking day, and I have to get off the computer now :leaving: ]

Excellent information, ladies, thanks. Yes, he is a kid who needs video, so I would want those, and, I totally forgot about DIVE as an additional option. Good thoughts, thanks a bunch!

I have BJU Physical World, the physical science course for 9th grade that came out maybe 8 - 10 years ago, with the small hardcover book.... I have the whole set. Never used it -- all my older kids ended up going to 9th grade outside the home. There's now a newer edition out, Physical Science 4th edition. I have not seen it in person but have looked at pages online. Is the 3rd edition okay? Is the 4th edition any better? I learned on this forum that BJU's 8th grade Space & Earth was a really tough course and that their newer Earth Science was a great improvement. Would that be the same case with physical science??? Has anyone used either of these courses? I'm considering this for 9th grade and looking for input from users. If I end up going with BJU, is Physical World a good course? or would you recommend ditching it and getting the 4th edition Physical Science? Thanks :)

We just went chapter by chapter, reading the sections, doing section review questions, activities, and the video demonstrations. At the beginning of the year I had mapped out how much we needed to do per week in order to get it done by June. There is a lot to it, and I didn't push when it seemed like it was getting too much. But I'm very glad we did this program, it was great, and Mrs. Vick doing the experiments on video was fabulous. He did get Bob Jones'd out, though, since it was so intense, so I'm doing a different publisher's science this year. No worries! All the best to you!

ABeka's 7th grade science is, if I remember correctly, a general science course, where BJU's 7th grade is pre-biology. You could choose between the two based on what you want to cover. I chose the BJU, because I wanted to follow their progression -- general through 6th grade, then specializing in life, earth/space, physical in 7th through 9th, then biology and chemistry in 10th and 11th. If I had wanted to do a general course in 7th I would have chosen the ABeka.

I agree, and this was my experience with ds. We switched from ABeka to MUS when he was around 11, backing up two full grades at the recommendation of the MUS rep. She was right! The result is that he GETS it. It's much easier for him now. He's catching up but still behind right now. It's fine. Here's a bit of wisdom from Linda Kane, a neurodevelopmental person I heard at the convention one year. In order to make the learning stick, you need three components: FREQUENCY, INTENSITY, and DURATION. Frequency is: The number of times you are exposed to the same information. Over and over. Repetition is key. Precise and specific. Frequency is giving highlights of the information -- the meat, the important things, over and over again. Intensity is: How strong the information is presented. Find something in the subject that will turn on the interest of the student — increased interest level will increase the strength of the learning. Make it short and sweet, then stop – they will crave more. Duration is: How long you keep trying over time. Staying at something long enough so that it “gets in there.†Input is key. Keep on inputting -- building that pathway, and finally, one day, it will connect; the brain will finally “get it.†And don't let up then, keep reviewing from time to time. She also suggested doing a problem on the whiteboard for your child as a demonstration if he doesn't get it. Do it enough times that he will get tired of watching you and want to grab the marker and do it himself. This works great. We're teaching, not testing, she said, and so teach him how to do it as often as he needs to be taught. That's a strategy or two that you can use now, and go from there. All the best!!

Thanks, I'll go take a closer look.

Is MM a supplement or a curriculum?

Here are a few suggestions: Math -- Math U See hands down. History -- Home School in the Woods; check out their website and see all the photos of the wonderful lap books. Even project/craft-challenged moms like me can do those. And the kids definitely learn. Spelling -- All About Spelling Grammar -- Winston Grammar Science -- Usborne books with experiments in them Don't forget to add in physical activity! When he was younger I used to have my son running around the room while he was doing his math drills orally, and I'd have him doing jumping jacks for spelling, each jump was one letter in the word. Maybe your child is a little older? Nevertheless, activity is a good thing no matter the age. And, lots of physical breaks between subjects. Also, alternate between active and non-active subjects. All the best!

NOW they tell me!

Given the above, and reading all that you did, I would say you did GREAT!!!!! I lost both my parents in about 2-1/2 years -- what a whirlwind of a whole bunch of emotions and activity, and stress on many levels. Last to go was Mom, 3 years ago. It does get easier, you do normalize, you do recover, you do become more able to do the things you used to do, but the emotions do come back in waves, and sometimes you just don't function as well. It's good to know those tough times are fewer and further between the more time-distance goes by. Still, it's hard sometimes. Continue to give yourself time and space when needed. All the best to you!!!

I have always liked paper rather than computer planning. In the past I used blank teacher planning books from the teacher store; those worked well for me when I had multiple children in elementary grades. More recently I've printed forms from Donna Young, whatever ones hit me at the time, and I always make up my own forms for things like our daily schedule and such. I'm about to start using The Ultimate Homeschool Planner by Debra Bell, and I'm hoping it is going to be just what I need this year. Loved everything she said at our convention, it all made so much sense to me. I'm going to take her advice and give myself a planning retreat in a couple of weeks. I never plan more than one week at a time, because life happens. And I always write in pencil ;). So, my planning retreat will consist of figuring out everything I'm using, what I want my pace to (sort of) be; i.e., roughly how much I need to do per week in order to finish the book. I also want to give considerable thought to goals -- academic, spiritual, personal -- for my son and for myself. One thing I really like about Debra Bell's approach is how she recommends a Monday morning meeting between parent and student, and then a Friday check-up on what they accomplished during the week. I'm also getting Debra's student planner for ds, as I really need to move him to working independently. I don't know if anyone else's last-born had to be yanked away from mom to work independently, but mine sure does. With some LDs, it hasn't been easy to get him to do his own thing, although we are making progress, and that's one of my major priorities for this year. I always get a kick out of some of you wtm-ers who have whiz kids performing way above grade level, working almost totally independently and reading kajillions of books at young ages, lol. Well, that's great. I have a regular kid with challenges, and we are plodding along. It is what it is. All the best to you,

Sounds like my ds would need to do that too. Good info, that's helpful, thanks.

If you used BJU Fundamentals of Math 7 as a review of mathematics, did you feel the need to do pre-algebra following that, or were you able to go right to algebra 1? The end of the BJU 7 seems to be pre-algebra, so if you complete that, is it enough preparation to jump right into algebra 1? Not talking about a math-intuitive kid here, just an average kid math-wise who doesn't enjoy math and feels he's not very good at it (he's better than he thinks he is). (same with the mom, he he) Many thanks.