My dd just finished Wheelock's in 6th grade using Lukeion. She did do FFL in 5th. If I were teaching it, Wheelock's seems easier than Henle (ds did Henle in 7th). Laura

Mostly, I'm giving you a bump as I've considered this next year for my dd12 in 7th grade. I first read about here, so I know someone on this board has done this, but I don't know if they've done it for high school. You could post on the hs board on how to make it high school worthy. Laura

I apologize for not reading all the other posts, but I just had to say that I can't imagine how you could possibly be at fault for this. I can't imagine your terror for that brief period. I'm sure it will haunt you for a very long time. I'm also grateful that you've shared it here b/c even though I don't have little ones, I will pass along this story to my friends that do. I would never in a million years think to lock my car doors in the garage although only the driver seat stays unlocked b/c of my auto lock system. Blessings to you. Laura

I try to get in 3-7 hours/week. And I try to make it fun. LoF for math, dvds (history or science first thing), science experiments and educational games. It seems less like work, and I get in the stuff I mean to get in all year that typically gets pushed out of our schedule. And lots of free reading at night before bed. Laura

I pay $180 1x/month. It was $140 2x/month (cheaper the more frequently they come). That includes sales tax of $20. I only paid $80/month a few years ago, but had to file a 1099 for an independent contractor (and she of course had to claim the income--she eventually quit). I like paying a service rather than individual b/c of the tax issues (although of course I dislike paying the tax). They are also more reliable than when I had to find individuals. A team of four comes in and gets everything done in about 1.5 hours, which is important b/c I don't like having to be out of the house for the 4-6 hours it was taking when we had just 1 person. They do the basic deep cleaning that everyone here has mentioned. They are not perfect. I often notice large swaths that they have missed. And there is a cleaning frenzy that goes on b4 they get here--I'm still nagging my kids to p/u their rooms and elsewhere. I often debate whether it's worth it, but it's like doing an online class--it keeps me accountable. I know I will do the major clean b4 they come, and then their major clean gets done every month. Laura

. . . getting ready for a humongous First Communion party we're having tomorrow... Dh and ds are out all day at a fencing tournament and dd12 is out at a volleyball tournament, so it's just dd8 and me who will be doing all the last minute prep that must get done. And she has practice and a birthday party today. So, I'm just sitting here drinking coffee and reading the boards... Laura

Summer work occurs here first thing--not early, just first thing--at least one of the kids likes to sleep late. If I wait too long the neighbor kids are banging on the door. I keep math relatively light by doing LOF over the summer and some fun math activities. We watch a lot of science/history dvds over the summer and do reading before bed.

Funny, I was just looking at the General Board and saw that it had more than 2 million posts. This is a busy, busy place. Laura

Williamsburg area. In addition to Williamsburg, there's also Jamestown (our favorite) and Yorktown. I think we could spend 2 weeks there. There's also a Great Wolf Lodge and Busch Gardens. So much to do. Off season condo rentals and timeshares are really cheap and great for larger families. My kids loved going back to our timeshare every night--it had putt-putt, basketball, indoor/outdoor pool, tennis, etc. I think it cost $80/night for 2 bedroom/2 bath. They loved the whirlpool tub! You might be able to get a homeschool discount at Wmsburg. I ran into a Wmbsburg rep at the Cincy convention a couple of years ago--right after we returned from Wmsburg. I told I wished we had waited til homeschool days (in May) to go as it was fairly expensive otherwise. She said I should have just popped in to see her and she would have taken care of us. Not sure what that means... Great Wolf also has homeschool days in May. Laura

If you're happy with their choices for teachers next year, I'd keep them in at least one more year while you get a little more of a breather. They're happy and in a good place. Your other two are happy, and everything is calmer. I'd just supplement a little w/whatever subjects you think need a little more work. It's amazing how little time you need to put in at that age as long as you do a little bit most days of the week. Maybe an extra 10-15 mins/day/subject. Or some extra time on weekends. At their age, another year in school will not set them back academically. Then you can evaluate each year. I agree w/the pp who said that as your kids get older and you start to deal w/lots of homework that is non-productive, you might as well keep them home. I'm in awe of ppl who can homeschool with several littles hanging around the house--esp. toddlers. Laura

It looks interesting, and looks good. But, I haven't seen it in person. I was planning on looking at it at a conference, but the timing isn't going to work out for me to attend any this year. (Except the virtual one!) Thanks, Laura

I try to break it up into little pieces and start with the easiest first. I also think of the book "Bird by Bird" by Anne LaMott. She talks about her brother having a major paper about birds and struggling to write it the night before it was due. Whining to his father that he didn't know how to do such a big project in such a short time, is father advised him to just do it bird by bird. Whenever I'm looking at such a big task, I just try to knock out the first bird. It usually gets easier after the first few. (You could even name them--I just knocked out a blue jay, there goes my robin...). Laura

Fantastic. I'm marking my calendar. Laura BTW, Elizabeth, I'm curious about your take on the Logic of English.

Thanks for taking the time to write this out. Very helpful. Laura

I just found out about these from this board and how they were distributed during the Cincy convention. Ironically at nearly the same time on the Midwest Homeschool Convention FB they posted some quote about tolerance, etc. I mentioned the Chick Tracts and Bravewriter ban on their page. This is their response: As posted earlier today in response to a question on this page: "Our apologies! A 3rd party company does those hand-out bags, and does so for a lot of homeschool events. We've already had that material removed for our future conventions. We'll be more careful as we move forward. Again, please accept our sincere apologies!" I guess I can almost overlook this, but they don't address the Julie Bogart situation. Laura

I'm just flabbergasted. First the Julie Bogart flap, and now the Chick Tract. I had no idea what this was. I had a fellow Catholic ask me afterwards if I had received one in my bag. I hadn't. I didn't know what they were until now. They are VILE. As much as I and my kids love the Cincy Conference I can never go back unless GHC does something major to make amends. Ugh. BTW, Seton had a booth at the Conference. I have noticed in the past couple of years that most speakers interject some aspect of 'worldview' when it is not appropriate as if they have to check that box for the powers that be. I'm very sorry about all this b/c I thought that there were more educational opportunities this year than last. Maybe b/c I went to more RFWP and Zaccaro sessions. Laura

You can always tutor if you really want to participate. I tutored one year and it was almost a wash for my dc in Foundations. Same probably goes for Challenge. I enjoyed tutoring, but didn't like the commitment. We tried doing CC at home this year and it got done infrequently. I looked at Challenge I for my dd12, mostly for help in Algebra and Science. The price for Challenge is steep, but is about about what it would cost for 2-3 online courses. I do like the accountability, friendships, and consistent memorization. The tutors on our campus were fairly good (a little hit and miss), and we had a fabulous director. I've made long lasting relationships w/other moms who are rigorous when they are home (of course there were others that were not). The best part was that my kids thrived in the competitive nature of learning. They enjoy being challenged by their peers. Very hard for me to recreate at home. And the co-ops that we've been a part of are usually enrichment and very non-competititive. Laura

Beth, If you come across any other helpful sites, could you keep posting them? Thanks for sharing these, Laura

Hmm...I've always assumed gifted kids slept a lot less than others. When I was in a complete sleep deprived state, I read every sleep book out there. One doc (I forget which one) said that pediatricians often told parents that kids who slept very little were often quite brighter than those who didn't. He continued that this was not true, but it was a bit of consolation for the parents. But I always wondered if it were true. Based on the responses here, it appears that gifted kids are on both sides of the spectrum. Hmmm. Now I'm jealous again of all of you who had kids who slept. Between my oldest and youngest I didn't sleep through the night for 8 years. And forget about naps. Laura

DS has had great success w/Proactiv. If he uses it regularly. I buy it from Amazon b/c the Proactiv site is sort of a monthly club. Not sure if it's like that for everyone, but I signed up w/o knowing that we'd receive a new shipment every month. Laura

Dh went to a super-elite and knows many, many uber-successful folks. His connections and degrees have been enormously helpful in his career. I went to state schools and a good grad school (GU) and know a couple of successful folks. One of the most successful went to my high school (mediocre) and then to a state uni, now he's fairly high in government. Another friend went to Rutgers Law, then GU for an LLM and is also fairly high in the government totem pole. She's sort of a hybrid. Laura

I would offer to pay for one or two days of rental car if they really need it. My van was plowed into by a guy on a cell phone. Damaged my wheel. Some cosmetic work was needed and it only took 3 days to order parts, fix it, and do the paint job. Laura

Good point. I know some of those funds were private grants and that there are restrictions. But I can't imagine almost a half of billion dollars was grant money. And if it were, it could have gone to scholarships and tuition cuts rather than whirlpools and movie theaters and made a college degree more in reach for a lot of families. Laura

Our flagship state university (Ohio State) has been on a major spending spree. It is extremely aggravating to see the amount of $$ being spent on 'amenities' that drive up tuition. They recently spent $109,000,000 on the library, $118,000,000 for the new student union, and about $140,000,000 on the new student recreation center. I can't imagine they're the exception even if that's not the norm. This doesn't account for the construction throughout the campus (granted it's a large campus). Laura

Wish I could have made it to the get-together. It was just me and my dd12, and we had a great time. I loved being able to send her off to different sessions. I felt like I was finally able to clone myself. She took great notes and learned a lot from some of the sessions. What was were everyone's favorites? I've seen all of SWB's, so we didn't go to any of those. Ok, here was my take randomly (I don't remember the titles on all of them): I enjoyed Lukeion's college research talk, the Logic of English, Matthew Stephen's Grading Middle School writing, and Dr. Gallagher's gifted child session. Martin Cothrane's Great Books was decent. Nothing really new, however. And the Keeping Science fun was sort of fun, but I wish I had gone to a different session, which escapes me now. Maybe one of Pudewa's. Didn't really care for Angela Beddington's HS'ing the Gifted Child. I felt like she spent too much time talking about her dd. DD said Poston's Chemistry was a bit off. She really enjoyed all of Zaccaro's math sessions despite not winning any Einstein's (she was frustrated when he gave them out randomly). She also liked Dr. Reynold's session on the homeschooler and professor relationship. She thought MCT's vocab class was good and enjoyed his sense of humor. And she ended up leaving the ACT class because it was too crowded. Love to hear the other hits and misses. Laura