Help! We are a week into 9th grade now, and I still don't have math figured out!! My daughter has done mostly Math-u-see (elementary) and Teaching Textbooks (middle school) along with some of the Key To . . books. To say she dislikes math is an understatement. I need something that is easy to teach (video-based preferably) and not overwhelming. The two I am looking at are Teaching Textbooks and Math Relief. Which would you recommend under these circumstances? Or is there something else out there I don't know about? TIA!

I saw at Barnes & Noble today that she has also written a memoir about her experiences. I think it's called Off Balance or something like that. I thought it sounded interesting.

Good point, but it seems that most of the teachings at the VBS programs I've been involved in are very light and basic--more geared to those who are hearing it all for the first time. Having said that, though, I can't say it isn't worth it. We do have several visitors, including a few day care centers who bring most of their children for the week. Like someone else said, who knows what seed is being planted in those kids. And my kids LOVE VBS--they look forward to it every year. My dd, who has outgrown it, enjoys volunteering now. I just served at my 12th VBS in a row, though--and I won't be sad when we are done with it! ;) It is exhausting!

I agree with the other poster who said Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod). We attend one and it is very, very similar to what you just described.

That's what I was just thinking! My kids used to love that show. Now the theme song is going to be going through my head all day. :)

Very well said!! I just finished volunteering at my 12th VBS in a row. My dd has attended since she was three; when she aged out of it last year she started volunteering. It is a LOT of work to put on a VBS and every year, I'm so tired at the end of the week, I say it's going to be my last. But I keep on doing it for just this reason. VBS has been one of the highlights of my kids' summer for years. And as for paying to attend VBS--I had never heard of that until I read it on this board a couple of years ago. Our church doesn't charge, although it does cost money and I can see why churches would charge a small fee. We do usually sell T-shirts and music CD's but there is no fee to attend.

Me too!! How funny, I was *just* thinking about her this morning. Her kids were close in age to mine (I have a girl and boy as well), and I always enjoyed her school planning posts so much. Also hope all is well with her.

This was our experience too. I thought that the second book was HORRIBLE. We couldn't even get halfway through it. Had no idea he was Douglas Wilson's son though--interesting!

I think they are coming out with notebooks for Physical & General Science, but they won't be out until summer so I haven't seen them yet. I'm anxious to see what it's like as we'll be doing Physical next year too. When we did General, my dd just used a couple of spiral-bound notebooks--one she used as a lab notebook and the other she kept vocabulary and the on-your-own questions/answers in. I'm hoping to be more organized next year, though. ;)

I probably won't either. I don't want to travel to OKC, and since Tulsa's is during the week this year, I would have to take time off from school (and we are behind anyway). I would kind of like to hear Andrew Pudewa speak, but . . maybe another year.

:iagree: Adventures is such a fun year--I wouldn't have wanted to miss it. I haven't done CtG but we are doing RtR this year and I can't really imagine doing it with a 3rd grader. It is really full and a lot of reading. We are enjoying it, but my youngest is in 5th grade. I do understand why you don't want to do American History right now though, but I just think CtG might be a bit much if your oldest is only 2nd grade. Just my .02.

Could she have been joking? It is hard for 'tone' to come through on the internet. BTW your kids are adorable!

We are loving MFW here this year. I used Adventures WAY back when my dd was a 2nd grader. We loved it then but for various reasons moved on to other things. Last year, when my children were 4th/7th graders, we started the history cycle with Mystery of History. We enjoyed it and learned a lot, but for this year I wanted something more pullled together for me. I'm not great about adding in things like hands-on activities, classical music, etc. So we came back to MFW and are doing Rome to Reformation. I love, love, love having everything planned out for me. Even if I tweak it here and there, I like having the schedule to keep me on track and moving forward. I personally feel it has been plenty for my 8th grader, especially compared with MoH. In fact, we are moving on to MFW's high school program for her next year, while continuing the younger cycle with ds. I love having my kids combined for history and Bible--next year will be the first year they'll be split up for that and I'm kind of sad--but I know they are both ready. Anyway just rambling here, but that is how it's worked out at our house.

I have never used Notgrass (but will be using it along with MFW AHL next year) so I can't comment on that. But I did use MOH vol. 1 last year with my 4th/7th graders. I used the newer version. From what I understand, many of the lessons were rewritten to make them longer, map activities were expanded/clarified, and more resources were added to the appendix. I would personally want to use the new edition, especially using it for high school. I would think you would be able to do this if you wanted, especially adding in the appropriate level of literature/extras. Have you looked at Illuminations? Even if you didn't want to purchase the full program, it might give you some ideas of resources to add.

:iagree: I just tried to check the supply list (downloaded from donnayoung.org) each week before my grocery shopping trip. A lot of the items are basic things that you probably have lying around anyway.

This has been my experience too. I wish I could be one of those people who do things cheaply. In fact next year is probably going to be our most expensive yet, since I have a dd starting high school which means I will be using two MFW programs. :tongue_smilie: But I am planning on finding as much as I can used, and utilize the library as much as possible.

Well, my situation is different than yours so not sure how much help I'll be, but I'm doing RtR this year with a 5th grader and an 8th grader. What is 'enough' is different for everyone but I definitely feel it is enough for my 8th grader. She is doing LA and math on her own level, of course, and I expect more from her on the notebooking summaries than I do from ds. They do seem to be enjoying it (as much as they enjoy any school anyway, LOL), and we are all learning a lot. I'm planning to move her into AHL next year while continuing with the history cycle with my ds. HTH a bit.

That is a great deal! I'm hoping to get our tax $$ by then. :)

Wow, thanks for all the great ideas and encouragement! My first plan was to go with AHL; sounds like I should probably just stick with that. I appreciate the reminder to make the curriculum work for you--I tend to be an "all-or-nothing" kind of person and have a hard time doing that sometimes--I want to check off ALL the boxes. :) Now to start saving up the $$ for AHL!

Yikes! That is a lot. High school is really starting to scare me. LOL

I'm trying to figure out a plan for high school next year. (How did it get here so quickly? :eek:) I really like the looks of MFW AHL but it looks like a LOT--lot of $$ and lot of work. Of course, it is high school and it's going to be a lot of work, but I'm wondering if it would be simpler to just go with Notgrass and use their recommendations with Bible/Literature and call it good? Which would you say is more challenging, AHL or Notgrass on its own? Is MFW doable for a child that doesn't *love* school and has to be pushed a bit?

He definitely doesn't have long division down yet. That is part of what is killing us with Horizons! Hmm, maybe I should just take a break from Horizons, start working on multiplication facts, then get him ready for Fractions by the fall?

Thanks for the info! That's kind of what I was afraid of, that I would miss something if I didn't go all the way back. He's my youngest, so I wouldn't be using them with another child--OTOH, it probably wouldn't hurt dd 13 to go through them as well. Oh well--maybe I could resell them, right?? :tongue_smilie:

Where would you start an 11yo in Life of Fred, if he is not ready for the Fractions book? The website says if they don't have their multiplication facts down cold you should start at the very beginning, but that seems a long way to go back for a 5th grader--not to mention a lot of $$! We are using Horizons right now and would probably continue it to some degree, but we need to make a change. It is taking him literally HOURS to do it every day and it is torture for both of us. I happened to read about LoF in another post and it sounds like something he might like. Thoughts? :bigear:

No, you are not the only one. :glare: