Proverbs for Parenting -- it's not just for parents! It categorizes character traits into chapters, i.e., anger, contentment, bitterness, honesty, etc., and then lists individual verses, including the references, that pertain to the particular topic. It has helped me find verses on the spot for certain issues I have dealt with regarding training the kids. It's great for individual verses. It might be of help in digging deeper during your study, in other words, it might be a good complement. My guess is that you would want a whole-book study as well, and I don't have much help there, but I thought of the Doorposts company's materials, they have a lot to do with Proverbs. Judy Rogers has some wonderful songs from the Proverbs, and I think the title of the CD is "Go to the Ant". She writes excellent music, and the songs are rather catchy.

Hey, Robin!! Thanks so much. I will definitely pm you with specific questions! You do live in a very beautiful part of the country. We are leaving for Brevard this weekend; he's on the cross-country/track and field teams, and he has to be there early. Yes, it looks like a super college, we feel blessed to have found it. And the outdoors is going to be a large part of our son's program -- his major is "Wilderness Leadership and Experiential Education". So, being right next to the national forest is key. They will do a lot of trips there, and his track coach has them training by running on trails in the forest. Anyway, we are very excited for the possibilities at Brevard. I just wanted to mention it here b/c there may be others looking for colleges in the future -- keep this on in mind, it's a gem. Blessings,

Wow, Kathy, we have similar stories! My folks lived nearby, and that's one reason I was out a lot, helping out over there. Yes, this past year was probably the worst as far as the amount of school accomplished, but I guess we did learn an awful lot about loving one another and honoring one's parents. But even now my brains are not totally in order, so I need to plan in some helps for me. Anything I accomplish, God gets the glory!! Blessings to you as well this coming year!!

Super! That looks great. Thanks so much for sharing. And what a nice blog you have. Blessings,

Your 2nd grade son is comprehending "only" at a 3rd grade level? I wouldn't worry about that! Just my opinion.

You will quickly notice that the first several lessons in the book are way too easy, and after that it speeds up pretty fast. So, I always skipped the first section of lessons, say, up to the first test. Didn't need them. That made my kids think they were getting a super deal, they felt good about it. (I also didn't get to the last 20 or so lessons either, but only b/c we never finish any books, but the last several lessons, imo, are unnecessary for the average kid, so I felt fine skipping those. But your question is about the TM. You are right, at the beginning of the book it's more like busy work. She probably knows all the stuff already. If you want to do those lessons, just let her do what she can of them and don't worry about "teaching" it. Fairly soon you will have to do some teaching, so that's when I would follow the TM more closely. Also, I never followed it verbatim, but I used their sequence, and sort of did my own thing. I was glad to have the TM, I thought it was helpful. And, there is a lot of oral stuff in the TM that you wouldn't get if you didn't have it. So, imo, it's useful, but there's no need to be shackled by it. Make it work for you. Have a great year!

I live nowhere near Asheville, but next week we are going through there, taking our son to Brevard College (a great little college btw, the best kept secret in the entire country imo!), so I will be very interested to find out if there is a curriculum store in the area! Sorry no help, but thanks for asking the question!

I agree with the poster who said you really do need all that drill (or almost all). We really liked ABeka and used it for K-4th with all the kids. In the earlier grades the book is really cute looking, which my kids liked; the look of the student book was actually motivating to them. And, the teacher manual is easy to follow, really easy. That is always a factor for me in whatever I choose. The program is very thorough. Some don't like it because it is "advanced", and others have said that it's not advanced, it's "rushed". But this was not an issue for us -- we never get to the end of anything, lol! So, out of 170 lessons, in a good year we might get to maybe 140 or 150, and that has been just fine. They have all done well in their standardized testing. Whatever program you use, you shouldn't skip the drill. The daily drill work is what will cement those facts; I learned that the hard way.

Thanks for your replies. I appreciate all your thoughts and comments. Here's a good quote from Henry Ford that I heard recently: "Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." (I must remember that!) I think the key is for me to get my own act together and make myself do what I know I need to do to be successful. I love the planning; it's the execution that I have trouble with. I can get bogged down easily. I want to be able to make a reasonable plan and stick to it; I'll have to make myself do that. He's beginning his middle years, and I need to use these years to get him ready for high school, wherever he will be for high school. I've got four years to do this (hmm, a four-year rotation would fit nicely in there). We need to buckle down and get some building blocks taken care of that we missed along the way, learn some discipline, just do the work. He also has a couple of special needs that I didn't mention, the most challenging being that he has fine motor issues that affect his handwriting especially. I have been allowing him NOT to write much, because it's tedious and time consuming, plus his handwriting is horrible. We are having an OT evaluation and I expect he will be getting OT soon. That should help a lot, because my biggest hesitation with sending him to school is that they have kids writing all the time at this age, and his writing slows him down so much that it would certainly bring his grades down in school; they would never compensate like I have been. But I think I have compensated too much. Yet, a school won't take care of the habits and character issues that I know need work at this time in his life. He does have groups he can go to such as a home school day at the local YMCA, and some field trips. I am looking into getting some groups together, although I really don't want to be the one who does the teaching. I will continue to look for opportunities like that. And, the one giant thing I didn't say is that I need to PRAY about it. I'm sure God will guide me. Thank you all. Really. I do appreciate what you all said. Thanks so much!

Anyone else out there have 3 or 4 horrible years in a row and attempting to home school again? Do I really think I can do this, or am I deluded? Can I muster the self discipline I need to make it work? Can I MAKE myself do school instead of being tossed about....by life? That's what I am working through right now. This spring my mom died of cancer; that was a year after her diagnosis, and two years after my dad died of cancer, and 4 years after his diagnosis. I have had a rough several years and home schooling has not gone well. I am not anticipating any more major disasters, I think life is going to calm down, so that's why I am even thinking of hs'ing again. But wondering if I will need some time to get myself back together, some "me" time. Sending everyone to school sounds like a great way to get some time for myself during the day, but oh, the nights....that can be really draining helping with homework, going to the school for this or that, doing projects, etc. I don't relish that at all. This will be for my 5th grade ds who really wants to go to school. My two high school girls are going to high school. That's decided, and I'm okay with that. For the most part. The one who has ld's will need to get some help, we are going to find help for her. But my ds going in to 5th can be a tough kid at times. He has always wanted to go to school and mentions it a lot. But I feel like this is my one big last chance to make some progress with him. And, I myself want to learn the stuff! I thought maybe a fun learning program (like Sonlight says it is) might be just the ticket so we would both love learning. I want to learn all the world history and geography, and even the science, and even the literature. I feel like if I let him go to school our relationship as I've known it will be over when I hand him over to the school. Then I'll just be the homework helper wondering what the teacher wants instead of directing the learning. Can I choose something fun that we will both love to do? Is there such a thing? And can I make myself do it? Does anyone else wonder about this? I even thought I'd like to get into some sort of co-op situation for the accountability; there isn't anything in place so I'd have to start it, and that seems beyond my ability and energy level right now. Seems like it's up to me to make it happen. I really want to do it, but can it be an engaging time rather than drudgery? I remember when my big kids were little, I was really into it and from my perspective we had a great time (if I selectively forget some of the tough discipline issues). We still remember what we studied of ancient history. I want that love of learning back! That's what I'm afraid of, that I'll start my year and not enjoy it. I know it's work, I think I just need to make myself do the preparation and follow up. What else do I need? What do you successful hs moms do to make it a success? From what I read here, you dive right in, have a plan, do the preparation, have some sort of order, and discipline, etc. I feel like I'm starting all over again. Thanks! (Sorry this got so long.)

Okay, I confess!! After several kids, most of whom are teens now, I can honestly say that I have learned that there is no substitute for drill. I don't mean tests, but practice, practice, practice, every day, in a variety of formats and styles, games, real-life situations, etc. And, as much as I never wanted to admit it, those math fact sheets on paper are part of that, along with that problem set that seems too much to do. Lots of that kind of stuff going on every day makes for more solid memorization. Even my dd with working memory issues was able to improve greatly doing all that mental exercising. Not glamourous in the least, but it works.

Wow, that's very cool. I'd let her get all the science she and you can do, without overloading the schedule or yourself or her. I think that's great, go for it. It's a nice variety, doesn't sound redundant.

I used CHC a few years ago, one of my kids was in 6th. That's the year I learned to love the BJ textbooks (compared to what I had been using prior). You get a lot more than just a day by day planner when you sign up with CHC. Among other things, you get tests written by CHC instead of the BJ tests, and I think they are on a higher thinking level with more analysis required of the student. There were additional history books included with the 6th grade history, I think it was the Famous Men series. Oh, maybe they used Famous Men instead of the BJ history text? (I forget.) I liked their English, too. The whole program was well put together, I thought. Oh, and I loved their Bible courses! But I had a hard time getting it done. It was too much. And I had 3 other kids doing school at the same time, one of whom was an 8th grader doing CHC as well. So the whole thing was too much for me. I posted a message for them askng for help, and their response was that I don't have to do everything they list to do. But somehow that wasn't much of a help. The following year we just did the BJ books without spending the extra $ on CHC. I had wished we could have had the discipline to stick with it. If we were a family who was good at doing school work, we would have done fine with it. I just couldn't get my act together, and also the kids weren't that good at working independently, so, no matter what textbook program we used we might not have done well... Add to that the pressure of getting it all done to send in for grading, and the fun kind of goes out of the whole thing.

Well, I can't really say what program would be good for you, but just a thought about the standardized tests. I would put more stock in your own assessment of what he knows than I would in test results. I think any program that works for you should produce some results over time. I'd relax a bit and see how it goes. And, some kids only get so far with grammar! Maybe keep searching for something that works for both of you... Great job home schooling your first year!!! Blessings,

BJU Geography (2nd edition, a few years ago), and ABeka this year. By far, I liked BJ more. There was something just, well, I'm not sure, just vaguely annoying about the ABeka, not sure why. I kept wishing I had not sold my BJ. I've used ABeka curriculum in the elementary grades and liked it; their Geography was the first high school level course from them that I've used. I would do the BJ next time without hesitation. I don't think I'd use the videos; they take up a lot of time.

Thanks everyone. I guess I got blindsided with the fact that this is her last year (duh, she's a junior this year). There has been too much going on in my family, and here I am with her a senior in the fall. Well, I guess my first choice would be to look into the Notgrass American History plus the Government; I will talk to them and see what they say. I do like the idea of getting the credit for English, Bible, and History with Notgrass. DD likes the idea of that too. But I will look into the Bennett book as well, and of course, there are always textbooks we could do, and Teaching Company videos, etc. Hey, speaking of videos, there are probably enough Ken Burns films for a whole American History course! Now there's an idea for enrichment. I gotta get all my catalogs out now. Thanks for the thoughts!!

Thanks April -- I thought I would contact Notgrass and find out what they think about doing the American plus the Gov't the same year. I guess it might depend on the total amount of course work she will have to work on. We have not done economics. Okay, there's something else to add. Uh oh. But thanks, I will look at your suggestions. Also, yes, the SL Civics did look good to me too.

My dd is going to be a senior (!), and we need to to American History and Government with her. What recommendations do you have for this? I'd think about Sonlight Civics, but that's a whole year course and she needs the history too. Their American History is on too low a level for her. What about Notgrass? Is there anythng that has the history and the civics/government? in one? We could do a textbook I suppose. This year she did Sonlight's 20th Century course and loves the reading. I am coming up short on ideas, and I'm saying to myself, after all these years home schooling, how is this the case?! But it is. Any guidance would be appreciated. Thanks so much!

My son does the same kind of thing when he's overwhelmed and feels the work is more than he can handle. He just shuts down, and I can tell. I have to help him through it. He's not the kind of kid who will say, "Hey, I'm overwhelmed here, and I need help!" Well, I guess there's a fine line between encouraging and enabling. For the most part I have chosen to come alongside and walk him through the steps of how to get it all done. YMMV.

Any chance you can sit in an air conditioned room and put your feet up this last leg of pregnancy? That would help me out a lot. I can totally relate about 80 degree weather being too hot when you're pregnant. I get the same problem with the chafing, so I started wearing bike shorts under a skirt (because I hate wearing hose), and that helps me out tremendously. Usually I will wear capri's in summer, those are my shorts b/c I won't wear shorts any more, mostly for the reason you are having issues with. But if I need to wear a skirt or dress I will put the bike shorts under it. It works great. And if I get too sweaty, I change the undies and the shorts, and I'm good to go. I do hope you get some relief.

My son was a boy who NEEDED to MOVE. I used ABeka in the early grades. Not too hands on. But he loved it. I had him running around the room when working on his facts -- I would say a combination, he would run across the room and touch the wall (more like slap it), yell out the answer, then run back and touch his desk. We'd do that for a while, then he'd sit and do a few problems. Then back up on his feet for more action. It doesn't matter really what math program you use, you can have them moving around easily. They do have to sit and write sometimes, though, so break it up; do a little activity, then a little sitting. Also, standing to use a white board to work some problems would help. Any activity will do -- jumping jacks, toe touching, running like I had mentioned, anything. Just keep them moving when you can.

The ABeka Language Curriculum/Lesson Plans books for 1st and 2nd grades (and maybe 3rd if I'm not mistaken) have at the beginning some teacher resource pages, and part of those teacher helps is a listing of all the "special sounds" as they call them, titled, "Phonics Words Lists". They are listed by sound, so under the "oi" is a whole list of "oi" words, there's also "oy" with its own list of words. It's really a great resource. I photocopied that section of my (grade 2) Language Curriculum/Lesson Plans book before I sold it.

Back to your original question, "Why should my children take piano?" Another reason piano is so important is that it is foundational to instruction in other instruments, so says my dh who has a bachelor degree in music. I'm not sure why this is the case, but to hear him tell it, it's pretty much universally assumed that piano instruction somehow will help with other additional instruments taken later on. That's what HE says, anyway. Best to you, from the non-musician in our family,

For myself, I'd probably get the newer edition. It has some extras that the previous edition didn't have (can't exactly remember, it's been a while since I gave it a look). And yes, I do think it has more cultural stuff, another plus, I think. It's still organized according to continents just like the earlier one, if I'm remembering correctly, and that's why I thought it might harmonize with MFW ECC for the most part. Their newer editions are more visually appealing as well in my opinion.

I used BJ Geography a few years ago; the newer one you reference, Cultural Geography, isn't all too different from the previous edition in terms of the way it's set up structurally. I've used MFW ECC as well and liked it. The BJ geography goes continent by continent, and as such, would compliment the MFW nicely, I think. You might have to re-arrange the sequencing of one or the other, of course. So, in terms of just topics, I bet you could do both together.