Can anyone suggest where might be a good place to purchase a used high school level textbook? My child it taking WTMA Biology next year. I'm familiar with ebay, amazon, and abebooks. I also just posted in the WTM forum, wanted-to-buy, but I wasn't sure how much traffic that got. I've already discovered the publisher has it for less money new than folks are selling it used on ebay and amazon. I didn't know if there was another good option to check out before planning to buy it new. Thank you for your suggestions!

We were once members. We absolutely loved it. We are taking a break for the summer. I also canceled Netflix. I found I had a lot of subscription services and I just wanted to temporarily drop them all and evaluate what we wanted to keep. We not only watched the Live author access streams, but I would also gather the kids around to watch previous author/illustrator interviews (with membership you can watch all previous interviews). I did my best to make it special. Some days I would announce that we would skip grammar/writing and watch an author video. We had fun w/the suggested activities, for instance: drinking a really cold Coke as fast as possible for Okay For Now by Gary Schmidt, for example. I even printed out the sheets and have them in a file so that I can do them w/my little kids when they get older. We read authors I don't think we would have read if not for the RAR author events. Like Brandon Mull. He is now one of our favorites and two of my kids have read everything he has written. I definitely got very into it. Which probably helped create a lot of excitement for my kids. I am enjoying the break, but I plan to join again in the fall, perhaps. I should add that I have ages 1-14. My big kids enjoyed the little kids books, and my big kids enjoy occasionally reading to a preschool sibling. When an author access was coming up, or shortly after, I would go onto the library website and check out a variety of books by that author. I would then display the books on .99 cent stands I picked up from Wal-Mart around the home. I didn't count it as any kind of curriculum. It was just fun. And I had a lot of fun. I would read aloud as much as I could. When we read Okay for Now, my husband even joined in after the story was well underway. We were all so taken with the story I read for hours into the night. That book spurred us into a brief study and fascination with Audubon. I also love listening to the RAR podcast. I have only listened to about 8 episodes, but I have really enjoyed them. I think through RAR I have learned to relax and have more fun w/books. Even for myself.

I purchased, The Top 100 Poems, by Columbia University Press. It has Geoffrey Chaucer to one by Sylvia Plath. The kids and myself have been going through it together. Well, I've been reading aloud one a day. I don't even know where to look for more modern poets, but I'd love a list of more modern-day poems to read aloud to the kids in the morning. I'd love to hear poets you like or an anthology or publisher that puts out a collection of modern day poems. I have tried googling, but I am not necessarily looking for a certain genre, "modern", as much as more recent collections of poems. I remember reading of a woman who recently passed that wrote poetry. I couldn't remember her name. Could someone help me out? I believe she frequently wrote about nature (very vague, sorry). And, I'd love to hear any poets/anthologies/collections, etc that you enjoy. Thank you!

So then "are being" is a state of being verb? And then when the predicate adjective is added, both words, making up the progressive present tense, become linking verbs? In the book the word "being" doesn't appear to be labeled as a verb, but I feel like I kind of grasp what you are saying.... Thank you, by the way!

Does this make sense: 1. They are being. They: subject are: helping verb being: state of being verb 2. They are being loud. They: Subject are: helping verb being: becomes a linking verb b/c of addition of the predicate adjective loud: predicate adjective To note: this is all ME. The kids have long given up caring. I'm just trying to "get" our lessons as we go through them. And, thank you all so much for your help, and to any who offer suggestions.

The student must only label the linking verbs and the predicate adjectives in this section. In the first sentence: "They are being" the book says that "are" is a state of being verb. Then, in the following sentence: "They are being loud" is says that "are" has become a linking verb as "loud" is a predicate adjective. The book is demonstrating to the student that by add a predicate adjective the state of being verb becomes a linking verb. During our lesson one of my kids asked me about the word "being" in the sentences, like what part of speech they are, and I wasn't sure what to tell them. I must admit, I am learning some of these things along with them! Okay, I'm learning a LOT along with them. 🙂

I am so sorry! Yes, the instructor text. In my defense I did have a couple kids trying to speak to me as I typed. 🙂 I just thought if I didn't ask the question when I was thinking of it I might forget!

In the sentences: 1. They are being. and 2. They are being loud. The book states "are" is a state of being verb. Is "being" also a state of being verb? If so, do they both become linking verbs in the second sentence? (I don't know if it just wasn't labeled or if it is another part of speech) This is not necessary information to complete the lesson, but I am curious. I hope you folks don't mind as I might have other questions as we go through the book! Thank you!

Thank you so much!! My son and I read through what you wrote and did the same in our thesaurus. I think we both got it! Many thanks again!

I don't want to tell you how little I know about using the Thesaurus, but it might become evident as I am not sure how to help my son with his Copia Exercise for today! In the Step One: Review portion, my son couldn't find how to change the descriptive adjective, masterful, into a noun (answer: mastery). The book encourages you to have your child look the adjective up in the thesaurus and then to look in the noun subgroup of the entry. My question: are we finding the answer to the problem in the back of the thesaurus or do we look up one of the entries where the word "masterful" is used? If so, how do we choose which entry word will have the answer we are looking for? I ended up giving him the previous answer as I couldn't figure out how to do it myself. Now we are stuck on needing to change the noun "war" into an adjective. I don't want to feed him another answer. I'd love to figure this out so I can teach him. I'm sure the answer is literally right in front of my face! :) We have a Roget's International Thesaurus, Seventh Edition. Thank you to anyone who takes the time to help me. I appreciate it so much.

I recommend The Well Educated Mind by Susan Wise Bauer. I am only a few chapter in, but I am so thankful I purchased the book! The subtitle is: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had. And, it indeed walks you through the classical education process: Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric stages. My oldest will be high school age in a few years and my inspiration for going through this book is so that I will be better equipped to guide his education in his high school years. It is a very encouraging and inspiring book. Also, incredibly practical. I glanced through a copy I got through an inter library loan before I purchased my own copy. I highly recommend you check it out!

We are using WTM's Writing with Skill. They use a passage from the story The Hounds of Baskervilles. My son became so interested in the story from the writing lesson that he checked the book out from the library. He really enjoyed it! Audible had a special on all the Sherlock Holmes stories. I was able to get them all for $4.95. However, my son said he enjoyed reading it as he said it gave him the chance to read over the story carefully. I also must say that particular story sounds fascinating. I had to check his work, and I too want to read that story now!

Just read this book to the kids. It was my first time reading it. So, youngest daughter of the family in the story. Polar bear comes in and sheds his coat and lies next to her each night. Kind of got weirded out and chuckled at that part of the story while reading it aloud to the kids. Does anyone else feel like pausing and having "awkward talks with Mom" in the middle of the school day? Lesson Today: Norwegian folk tale AND let's discuss sexuality and that you should 1. Never allow a grown man in your bed, kids 2. You have the right to say NO anytime when it comes to your body Anyone else on the poorly read side of things, and struggling through wanting to read a wide range of content w/your kids.... and just don't know what to say about young girls sleeping with grown up man polar bears? Being a little silly, but also, lacking knowledge of the cultural and historical practices of the day when it was written, feeling quite at a loss on how to discuss adequately w/the kids. Feeling quite unqualified! I'd love to hear books you might have read aloud to your kids, challenging content you read, and how you navigate conversations w/your kids. Especially if you have a range of ages. So many times I feel like I'm just kind of stumbling through this home school endeavor!

Thank you so very, very much. Truly! I feel like I should add a hundred hearts to my thank you. :)

Science was my favorite subject in school, and here I am, hardly ever getting to it during our school week with my kids! I have a 6th grader, 4th grader, and a 3rd grader. After assessing our year so far, I think we are right on track with our grammar, writing, spelling, literature, reading, math, Latin, piano, and history. (whew! haha) BUT, I really want to do science with the kids. If only because I find it a fascinating subject. I read TWTM chapter on science, and was SO INSPIRED. I almost stood up and shouted: "We will be just like Aristotle!" I purchased the Great Science Adventures, Discovering the Ocean, as per the recommendation in The Well Trained Mind, fourth edition. But, ... I'm not crazy about it. It feels awkward, and I thought we'd love all the cutting, gluing, etc, but I'm finding the sheets awkward to photocopy successfully. And, again, I just want to open to each day's "to do" for the lesson. I want it clearly laid out. If there are worksheets, I want to buy the additional copies needed and not have to perform photocopying gymnastics. I would love to hear if anyone has science curriculum suggestions that work well with multiple ages, and helps to incorporate the methodology in TWTM. I personally love FLL, WWE, WWS, and such that are completely scripted/laid out day by day! I cannot stress enough how much I love that type of curriculum. :) I would even be willing to spend more money in this area than I have for our other subjects. I feel like I lack the time to create successful lesson plans on my own (we also have a toddler and are looking into fostering a newborn). Any ideas fellow homeschoolers? Something you use that might fit our needs? OR, you use Discovering the Ocean and can tell me how you successfully implement it (the first experiment didn't make sense to me and so I think that combined w/the amount of paper manipulating caused me to lose heart)? Maybe I should give Discovering the Ocean another go? I just bought a couple science encyclopedias off Amazon about the Ocean so that we'd have some color photos. So, maybe I just need to be told to suck it up and finish the curriculum. ;)

Thank you both very much!

I am going through the recommended books in The Well Trained Mind and making an Amazon purchase list. I never read many classics, but I am endeavoring to do better by my children! As I scroll through the recommended books for the Ancient Times, they seem like they might cover the same "story"? Am I correct? The Tale of Troy The Trojan Wars The Children's Homer Black Ships before Troy

Today is our first day, too. Hope I don't sound like too much of a Debbie Downer, but .... I am so overhwhelmed! It is noon and we are having some time for lunch. We did math and spelling so far. That's it! And, the kids did thier fun reading. But, we have structured reading, writing, cursive, Italian, latin, logic, grammar, and history to do still. Well, that is what is on our schedule...

I have been homeschooling for several years now. I just recently discovered The Well Trained Mind book. I feel inspired and challenged and a reinvigorated in regards to home education. And completely overwhelmed! I didn't receive the best education myself and also am dealing with some sleep deprivation (newborn baby) as I try to read through and plan executing the ideas in The Well Trained Mind book. I have a 5th grader, 4th grader, and 2nd grader. I'm going through the book for the 3rd time now and find that when I read most of the info goes in one ear and out the other. Maybe more hours of consective sleep would help me, but I was also hoping listening to audio lectures might help me to comprehend a classical approach to education as well as practical steps to execute it. Which audio lecture do you recommend purchasing and listening to? I notice there are some for sale on Peace HIll Press website as well as some on Well Trained Mind Conference Series.