The exact reasons that J-rap gave.

Sent my dd to eighth grade. I second all of the advice given. We made her complete 12 weeks of full time public school. She was so far ahead academicly that was literally bored to tears. So, we ended up having her only going to the last two periods of the day. That was the perfect amount of time for us to complete home school work at home in the morning, a nice lunch at home, and she had her friends and social time at public school in the afternoon. She rode the school bus home so I was not driving back and forth all day. This work out so well for my dd that we are continuing this for high school. Three credits in public and four credits at home.

It is true that you would not be able to use the questions that are directly related to the novels assigned. But, you can easily replace those questions with her own written journal entry. Beautiful Feet can be quite time consuming. I sometimes have to whittle away some of the work off the lessons. So, not having to answer every question in the lesson may be a blessing in disguise. About the unit study of horse breeds. It would easy to assign new novels. For instance, The King of the Wind focus on the breed, Arabian. That horse was brought to England and became one of the founding horses that became the breed called the Thoroughbred. So, I would replace that book with Seabiscuit or Secretariat. I I would replace Brighty with the novel Captain which is also about a donkey. But, I would not kill my self trying to match the books. Having the drawing and breed study separate from the novels would not harm the study. If horses are truly her passion, this study would be off the chain.

I would in a heartbeat. But, I would exchange the fiction titles with higher reading level novels. For example, Sea Biscuit: An American Legend, War Horse, The Eighty Dollar Champion: Snowman, Captain, and lots of books on Secretariat. There is a ton of great horse novels.

Well, my idea of having my Dd schedule her own curriculum is working out beautifully. She has taken full ownership for her own education. She has joy, interest, and pride in her work. She writes down her daily lesson plan, I read and approve it, and then she completes it. I do require her to complete one math lesson daily, one lesson in Writing & Rhetoric completed each week, and she works on one of her core books; right now she is completing her Spectrum Science. Her typical day looks like this: Her and I read our daily devotions, read alouds are read, and any other "teacher mom" thing I need to do. She completes her math lesson. Works on Writing & Rhetoric for 30 minutes. Completes on lesson in Spectrum Science. Lunch 1-3 pm. She reads poetry, classical literature, Bulfinch's Mythology, Shakespeare, Latin, and Spanish. Her afternoons are very literature rich. I would never assign her such difficult works or the quantity she assigns herself. But she is thriving on it. I have to be honest that it has been very hard for me to let go of the scheduling; I'm a very type A person. But, it also has been very freeing when the panic and self doubt of not being in "total" control isn't fluttering in my brain. It kind of scary to see your child totally rise to the occasion and not really need you. I'm seeing a glimpse of what she will be like as an adult and I'm very proud of her. She is organized, fully invested in what she is learning, and she has a strong work ethic. But, she is still a teenager. So, I will be lurking in the shadows, waiting to be there when she needs me.

My experiment with Monkey letting her write her own schedule is mostly a success. But, I've noticed the small amount of work that I want done(Tiner's Exploring Earth, Writing & Rhetoric, and math) are not getting done. I think I need to have these subjects completed first before she starts her own schedule.

Bzymama- I am on the camp that says let him just read books. If it's a book he is excited about it; ask him questions. Not teacher mom questions; but, genuine questions. Make sure you go on weekly library trips and let him pick his books. I have done a lot of research to find for my child good books based on her own picks; but don't get offended if they still don't want to read them because mom picked them out. Another way I have got her to read a book, is by me reading the first few chapters aloud. Then I hand her the book and it's her choice to finish it. About 12, my daughter was ready to begin to learn foreshadowing, allusion, and all those other literature devices. Now, at 13, she is shifting it in high gear and is enjoying getting to the meat of a good book. But, I don't think she would be where she is today if I would of pushed comprehension questions and book reports. That is what has work in our home.

Unfortunately, those Peanut Butter Cups were not mini's; but, full sized cups.

We love using Victor's Journey Through the Bible, Concordia self-study Bible, and an Atlas during Bible times. Perfect amount to read, it's divided into small lessons, and we are both learning and gaining new insights. Most kids 10 or up could easily do this on their own. If I had my Dd do this on her own I would require her to write a summary, or a verse which stood out, or a picture, or a narration.

Thanks to daylight savings, we were starving at 11am. I also ate eight Peanut Butter Cups. Did you know that Disney's Lion King was loosely modeled after Hamlet? A small discussion if it is morally right or wrong to be killed by a Roman god or goddess if you are more skilled than that god or goddess. SQUIRREL!

For school this week, I am only requiring Dd five lessons of CLE Math, finish the last five chapters of Tiner's Exploring Planet Earth( she loved his one on medicine, but almost hated this one??), and one lesson of Writing & Rhetoric. The rest she has to fill in from the curriculum on our shelves. This worked beautifully for both her and me last week. We still do Bible together and our couch time in the morning. That reminds me that I need to switch out our book basket to a more thanksgiving theme.

Jean- that's crazy. I always wonder why people do what they do.

Problem solved. Told dd that it was teacher's in service and she was responsible for the rest of the week. She sat down and planned a three day schedule and it is Momma approved. She has a bounce in her step and I'm going to try and get that guest room painted and completed.

Today was good, not great. School got done. Attitudes were acceptable for both her and I. But, I feel something missing. I can't put my finger on it. I don't know. She is learning and gaining new skills. She is happy; I should be content. Maybe, for the rest of the week I'll let her unschooled. Maybe, I need a short week. Teacher's in service. I need another cup of coffee.

Got to go wake up my sleeping beauty, or school will never get started.