My dd who is in 7th grade started to become like this at the end of 6th grade. She was very diligent before. Part of me thinks it's only natural. Would I want to sit at a desk all day working when I know my Legos are in the other room? I would try to make learning as engaging as possible with lots of hands on opportunities as well as dvds, audiobooks etc. We start our day with an educational dvd and that helps us transition into our work day. BTW, Apologia and Saxon are two of the most difficult texts to plod through. And Saxon ends up taking a very long time as the level goes up. I also read somewhere that Maria Montessori didn't think kids should be in school during the junior high years b/c of their hormones. She thought it was better that they spend that time burning energy working on the farm. Laura

Wow, I'm amazed at your campus' reaction. I am Catholic, and it was never an issue--even when I tutored. I have Catholic friends who won't go near CC, but our campus is very warm and welcoming as well.

Serendipitous, with gifted kids, it is very easy to keep up w/the CC material. My kids mostly listened to the cd in the car on the way to class and then again on the way home. Aside from geography, they really didn't need to 'study' any more than that to keep up w/the class and do Memory Master (we did a bit of cramming right before the testing). It was a bit off putting to not have the context behind the things they were learning, but that does come in time. To see them recite something about the Anasazi, but not have any clue who they were bothered me in the beginning. But then I realized that these are pegs and later they will fill in knowledge as they get older and it will mean more to them because it is 'familiar.' Some of the science is lame. Some of it is not. We paid for a highly regarded science teacher to come to another of our co-ops, and she did similar science experiments to the ones that CC does---such as building a rocket, dissecting owl pellets. It was more than we were doing at home on a consistent basis. And like everything else, it's always more fun with friends. Last week we put a peppermint candy in a container of water to illustrate the different eroding effects of a lake vs. a river. Easy, yes. But not something I've done before. So much depends on the campus atmosphere (some are very rigid, others have a looser feel--some are uber conservative Christian, others much more welcoming to non-evangelicals). Also, the tutor is key. I love our tutor. I am amazed at the stuff she comes up with to make this stuff stick (I tutored one year and put so much more effort into what we did, but she accomplishes more w/less complexity). And you can tell how much she enjoys teaching. There are several pluses and minuses. For us, the social was good and the materials were a bonus. Laura

We do CC here. All of my dc have enjoyed it though we are not YE'ers (We are also Catholic). The math is a bit behind, but this year they picked it up a bit (including metric measurements, etc). The memorization is very helpful. We don't spend a lot of time outside the class on CC b/c my dc picked up the material very quickly. The Latin chants are particularly helpful. It also ensured that science and usually art got done every week, as did a weekly presesntation. We just really enjoy all the families in our group. And my kids thrived in the competitive arena.

Percy Jackson series. I had a very hard time getting her to read. And now I can't get her to stop! She started with the Red Pyramid. She's now almost finished with the Roman Mysteries series. Series seem to work best as they get hooked on them. An odd, off the wall book, is "Wonder." It's great for adults and middle schoolers. Laura

Jann in Texas teaches an online pre-algebra class that you could look into. She's very responsive to questions. http://myhomeschoolm...es-offered.html We are using her next year for geometry. Around here taking Alg. 1 in 9th grade is the norm. It's taking my dd two years to get through Saxon Alg. 1. She's also doing AoPS number theory and it's killing her. Laura

Have you considered looking at the Classical Conversations material? You could just purchase whatever materials you wanted--either the flash cards or the cds. My kids know their history facts from the history songs. They have science facts, but not put to music. There's also Lyrical Science for more science facts.

I do regret our lack of rigor in our early years. I was in the middle of several major projects and didn't give homeschooling the attention it deserved. We did do math, Latin and language arts most days, but we also spent a good chunk of our time out of the house. We still do. In part I feel a tension for academic excellence and the need to have fun. My oldest returned to a very demanding school this year. Part of me regrets not having him do more high level work, but another part of me is thrilled that we had so much fun together. He is doing extremely well academically, but I feel like he wouldn't have to work so hard if I had done a better job of preparing him. I still have a hard time juggling everything and often schooling seems the one of the first things to go. Fortunately, my kids pick up things very quickly and we don't need to spend a lot of time on any subject. I also justified our lack of science study on the ideas of the Latin Centered Curriculum. I greatly regret that (not the curriculum's fault--all mine) . I think science and writing are the two biggest areas that I should have spent more time on. Laura

What do you think the effect will be? I was just getting started on Goodreads. http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/retailing/article/56575-amazon-buys-goodreads.html Laura

Thanks everyone. I finally got a hold of someone and they did verify that it was perfectly legal as long as we didn't hold ourselves out as a CC group. Aaplank, we will have one or two new folks (two of us used to be tutors) and several currently enrolled families who will be using it as a review day. We're adding lots of non-CC stuff to the co-op--including SOTW. Laura

Thanks Emily. I will go check the online catalog. Laura

The worst part is when I hate to let something go and try to use all three at once. You know MM, on top of Saxon, and MUS. Laura

Candid, makes sense, but I'm always afraid of some quirk, such as the curriculum companies who won't let you resell your materials. Thanks, Laura

Turns out it wasn't a toy, but a brand name--Volvo.

Lego. A know it all friend just quizzed me on this, and I can't think of one. Thanks, Laura

Christie, do you have any other CC friends who feel the same way? That's what we're doing, but we're adding two new families who wanted to try, but were hesitant. Paula, thanks. That's what I was looking for. I still haven't heard back from the company. They'd sell at least two more curriculum sets if they'd let us do this. Laura

Samiam, I wanted to make sure that I wasn't violating some sort of use agreeement. G5052, I remember reading the statement in the early Foundations guide, and I wanted to make sure that it hadn't changed. They seem to be getting more commercial. THanks, Laura

I vaguely remember reading in one of the earlier Classical Conversations manuals that this was an acceptable practice. I want to get together with some currently enrolled CC friends and a couple of others who aren't enrolled and have a mini-CC co-op. We would do other stuff as well. I've contacted the company, but haven't heard back. Does anyone have experience with this? Thanks, Laura

Not sure if anyone else has mentioned online classes, but I know that my dd13 really enjoys them and takes away a bit of that feeling of working independently. She's in Lukeion's Latin II class and just finished their Roman Mysteries class, which she really enjoyed. She's now begging me to let her do Greek next year w/Lukeion. We'll see. For your ds, I think it would help break up his day to be in an online class. There is the free online homeschool co-op that you could use as well. It will probably help if you can call/text him throughout the day to let him know you're thinking about him. Like everything else, it will get easier as you move on. Laura

I tried to use this with my ds in 8th grade, but I'm weak at science, and it was too difficult for us. We switched to Rainbow. He's now in a rigorous IPC class and says he learned a lot with PH. I will try to teach it to my dd based on his recommendations. We gave up too early as I was looking for something easier and more independent. Laura

My dd got halfway through FF before starting Lukeion's Latin 1. She disliked FF, but really likes Lukeion's classes. She'd had LCI before FF.

Thanks Mumto2. We've hit several presidential homes in our travels, so I might try to squeeze the Hermitage in. Charcat, thanks for the info on the Opry Mills parking. Sounds very doable.

My dd is in the same class, and she alternates between saying it is too easy/boring to saying that they are going too fast and she doesn't understand some things. I do like that she can go back over the transcript b/c frankly I'm no help. And I agree that the time of the class doesn't make things easier. Just wanted to let you know we're facing similar issues. Laura

Thanks Jenny and Redhead. That's exactly the kind of info I was looking for. The hotels downtown almost all charge for parking (w/o telling me how much online--the Millennium is the exception). So, it makes more sense for me to stay further out if I can park at our destinations. I might just drive through Vanderbilt to get a feel. Not sure what we see anyway. Redhead, I'm looking for something organic to Nashville--something I can't find elsewhere. We've seen plantations, etc, but something like the Parthenon is very cool. So, we should probably go to the Grand Ole Opry as well. I did see the Opryland Hotel with a good deal on Expedia. I'll go back and see what their deal was. Also thanks for the info on Franklin. That's where our volleyball tournament is; so I'll check out hotels there as well. Our team is staying south of there for two nights, but we're staying an extra day just so we can tour a bit. Thanks again for your help. Laura

Thanks Charcat ;). I 'figgered,' but hate typos. Any suggestion about parking?