TOG user here--6 years with kids who just finished 5th, 8th, and 12th grades. I prefer digital and haven't had any major issues with it. Once you become familiar with the curriculum, you'll see that there's a pattern to the assignments, and once you get into a groove, it's not as hard to use. The first year or so can be pretty confusing, though! Also, although your kids would be studying the same time period, they would not be on the same level. You would only one year's curriculum, but (based on their ages, anyway), you would have one Lower Grammar, one Upper Grammar, and one Dialectic student. Before using TOG, we used My Father's World. You would be able to group them more with it. I don't remember how comprehension questions and all that worked, but I remember that I loved it when we used it!

For teaching sentence variety and a formulaic approach, I highly recommend IEW. I have never used the student intensives. Instead, I worked through the teacher materials and then developed my own courses. I've also used their thematic books. All this to say that I'm not sure which types of essays are covered in which materials. I do know that it's helpful to have a strong understanding of essay structure before taking "The Elegant Essay." "Windows to the World" covers literary analysis essay. From time to time, IEW does include Christian content.

I actually felt pretty confident in my Algebra skills until I started using AoPS, lol. I had no problem understanding CLE Algebra I for my older child. I didn't like its sequence, though. I am really leaning toward Foerster with the video lessons. Today I watched a video lesson from Chapter 3 and kept fast forwarding because I already understood it & didn't really want to listen to a drawn-out explanation. I think it will be great for dd, though. I'll probably oversee her studies through Geometry and then outsource Algebra II when the time comes.

I've been looking at the same thing all day today. I'm 99% sure that's what we're going to do, but I've decided that I should probably sleep on it instead of buying today. I watched one of the sample lessons and thought, "That's the Algebra I remember!"

We are limiting Internet access for her for awhile--issues unrelated to math, but I really don't want to get into that on this thread. Just For now, we have to find something that will work without the Internet. Sigh.

Thank you. Now I'm leaning towards dropping Alcumus & only working in the book for the next few weeks. I want to still look at other programs, though, in case this doesn't work for us. I would like to do my investigating now so that I'm not making a decision too quickly.

I really needed to know this. Thank you!

Dd is 14. She completes the reading & exercises on her own, and then I check the exercises. If she has trouble with any of them, I go back and work her through them. She really didn't have any trouble with the first lesson in the book. It was when we started working through Alcumus that we started having problems. I'm starting to think that I need to just drop it.

I'm not doing every last problem with her. However, when she does the exercises, I go over them with her, and if she has trouble with a problem on Alcumus, I work it with her. Lately I've had to help her with every problem on Alcumus, and I can't find good sample problems in the book to guide me through them.

Does this happen in Algebra I?

Thank you. I knew I was asking a broad question, but I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking for. Your questions are helping me think through it more clearly. 1) Type of learner--loves to read, does not really like academics. She complains about math, but I think it's because it requires her to think. She likes to answer questions and move on. 2) I think should could learn a lot independently with some extra help here and there. The problem is that Algebra is not my strength, so if she gets stuck, she needs some good example problems and explanations that can also help me! 3) She cannot take an online class at this time, although I believe she & I both would love it! 4) Problems with AoPS: The problems in Alcumus take great leaps from the problems in the book. We need more explicit teaching, I think. 5) Her math background: She did RightStart Math through Level E and Singapore Math through Level 6. Then we did AoPS Pre-Algebra. That was difficult, but I had read that the Algebra was easier. She did well in the first lesson in the book, but Alcumus has really thrown us for a loop.

I'm pretty sure we need to change. The book doesn't provide enough info for this non-mathy mom. We did work through Pre-Algebra, but Alcumus in Algebra I keeps throwing us for a loop. Recommendations?

All these items are sold at The Mast General Store(https://www.mastgeneralstore.com/candy/old-fashioned-favorites#Page=All|). There are real-life stores in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. I always get candy from there for my kids' stockings. :thumbup1:

Yes, it's a terrible mess. Nobody wins.

I dropped out because I don't think it's going to help my family's situation. Bottom line: Students can take classes for $249 instead of $310 next semester. Next year, $50 can be discounted from a year-long class if you hold any Landry generics.

I selected "Undecided." We always wait to see how well the shot seems to be matched with the current flu strains before actually getting the shot. Ds, dd1, and I all got the flu in 2008, and we had all been vaccinated. A nurse friend told me that we could have gotten the vaccine too early--we got it in October & got sick in February. This year, we're getting a little antsy because the grandmother of a child I tutor was diagnosed with it last week, so we know it's in the area & among our friends.

We drive at least 45 minutes one way for almost everything we do. We drive an hour for ds to go to baseball practice at least twice/week.

I am interested in 2 of them. Sent you a pm.

I don't guess this really helps your situation, but I know of a district in NC that has been experimenting with shared public/homeschooling. They're currently only doing it at the high school level, but it has gone so well that they are thinking about expanding it to the middle school level. I love to see public and homeschools acting more like partners and less like enemies. I hope it works out for you.

Big Mac, Filet of Fish, Quarter Pounder, french fries Icy Coke, thick shakes, Sundaes and apple pie! Quack, quack, waddle, waddle, quack, quack, waddle, waddle

We've used elementary Apologia books, but we've not followed that schedule at all! Last year for 4th grade, ds & I worked through the Astronomy book and used a lapbook I found that went along with it. We did most of the experiments. We rotate subjects and don't usually do all subjects every day, but I would say we probably spent 30-45 minutes on it 2 or 3 times per week. We did several experiments or projects, but we skipped some. It was a really good year of science for us. :-)

Nestles Crunch is music, swee-eet music to your mouth! Picky people pick Peter Pan Peanut butter, It's the peanut butter picky people pick!

To pick up the pace here, my ds works on math for 45 minutes to an hour at a time. He can usually finish 1 1/2 or 2 RS lessons in that amount of time. Have you tried something like that? My ds is doing math through the summer, but not every day.

I am so excited for you all, and I'm very glad that you shared about your experiences. Congratulations!!! :hurray: :hurray: :hurray:

My kids listen to soundtracks from Doctor Who, Star Wars, the Avengers, etc. Dd (16) loves songs from musicals. We also listen to contemporary Christian music. The kids like radio stations that play "harder?" groups like Reliant K, while I like stuff that's a little easier to follow. They have to put up with my music while we exercise every morning, but after that they can listen to their own music on their devices. Every now and then I make them listen to country music in the car--especially if they're fighting. ;-) Oh, I just noticed the ages of your kids. I highly recommend "Themes to Remember" (http://www.singnlearn.com/Item/themes1) if you would like to expose them to classical music. My kids loved those CDs. I remember when I was pregnant with my middle dd, I took naps while oldest dd looked at the book and listened to the CD. Sweet memories!