I was going to make this same suggestion for your 6th grade/UG student. We combined both the Usborne and SOTW for YR-1 in 6th grade, and my dd did very well. Many moms really enjoy the ease and format of TOG for multi-aged children once they gain some experience. I hope you find it fits the same for you and your dear family. Blessings, Lucinda

Faith Love Grace I would have said honesty/integrity, but I believe that love covers that because if we truly love others, we are bound to integrity in all our dealings. I would have also said forgiveness, but love and grace cover that one too. Blessings, Lucinda

We're moving over to The Learnables next year. I did a lot of research on foreign language programs this past year, even came very close to getting RS, but I finally chose TL because: 1. I want my dd to learn to think in the foreign language she is learning, 2. Because TL has been successfully used by homeschool families for over 30 years and has really great reviews, and 3. I could not beat the quality for the price. Best to you as you continue exploring! Blessings, Lucinda

I can offer some input on what postmodernism is when it comes to the fine arts, and since art is a reflection of what is going on within a culture perhaps it will help simplify or clarify things a bit. Postmodern art originated in the 80's. It is a compilation of the styles of multiple eras merged together into one piece. It is most often a combination of new ideas with traditional/classical ones that result in something that is all together different. A very good example of this is the architecture of the Portland Building by famous architect, Michael Graves. If you google this, you will pull up a number of images to see exactly what I mean. (Be sure to view it from different sides if you do this because it has to be seen as a whole to truly appreciate.) While originally the response to Grave's design was quite positive and glowing, over time viewpoints have changed. Today most people consider the Portland Building to be an ugly monster. It is even listed as #1 on Travel & Leisure's list of the World's Ugliest Buildings. The point here is that the style that emerged from combining multiple styles ended up being less than lovely. I personally believe that when conflicts like this emerge in art, it indicates a great deal of confusion in society. For instance, someone's philosophy might say, "There are so many points of view passed on to us from the past, let's take some of this and some of that, but then let's just throw the main points away because it's just too hard to buy into any one of them." In ways that are too deep for me to write further about in this post, postmodernism seems to say that there is a tremendous struggle for identity and truth going on due to an overload of information and ideas. Blessings, Lucinda

:iagree: There is great diversity here, and because of that I have learned more about homeschooling during the past four years than anywhere else I could have gone. This drama will settle and pass, and we will continue on with our journey of home educating our dear children. Blessings, Lucinda

I was so enthused about the Runkle recommendation that I left out a lot of what I meant to say in response to your question. What I'd be looking for in a good geography curriculum would be something that is engaging, visually appealing, and full of fascinating facts that go beyond mere memorization of materials. I'd like to have it explain more about our planet's physical features in a way that fills in what a physical science course does not teach. I'd like it to cover both basic and more advanced geography terms and vocabulary, and a good amount of map work each week. I've always thought it would be fun to dig a little bit into the history of cartography. Maybe there could be a little side road in that area somewhere in the mix. Blessings, Lucinda

I was very seriously considering Runkle's Welcome to the Wonderful World of Geography for dd in 7th grade next year, but I am going to have to save it for later in 8th or 9th grade instead. It looks like a solid program from what I can tell, and Cathy Duffy gave it a very positive review if that means anything to you personally. I still can't wait to get my hands on the set to see in person.Blessings, Lucinda

I also use SOTW with TOG, which works out well. We do use other history core books along with it because my dd is a beginning D level student and needs to be challenged more. Yet I think it would be perfect to use TOG with SOTW as the main history text for the younger students in a family and the more in-depth TOG books for the older D and R level. TOG is wonderful in that way in that it makes things much more simple for moms with multiple aged children. If I had more than one student, that would be exactly what I'd do. As to the OP's point of repeating a study of the ancients, I would be very inclined to say no. Why not start on YR-2 instead, then repeat the ancients at a higher level? I think another year of the ancients, even with an awesome curriculum like TOG, would drag on and on for your students and make them lose interest. Just my opinion FWIW. I agree with the other poster that said TOG helps her flesh out TWTM plan. That is exactly how I feel. Blessings, Lucinda

I could have written this myself. It's exactly the same at our house! And I love it that we have a teacher built in to the program because although I am a great teacher of a number of subjects, I am not a good math teacher. TT was a real godsend for us! It has been a win/win situation. Blessings, Lucinda

Here you go! I will list more later in the spring too. Blessings, Lucinda

We needed a means to communicate with our daughter when we were apart, and since we don't have a landline any longer we got phones for each family member. Dd was 11 at the time and since she's had it she does very well with the phone. I did pay extra to have parental controls added to her phone service, which means I have the ability to block service during certain times of the day and also restrict calls to a certain group of numbers, etc. Blessings, Lucinda P.S. Dh, dd and I also text each other frequently in order to send quick and to-the-point information.

I'm on both sites as well. My inventory is a bit dwindled down right now, but I'll list some more later in the spring. I use the same username on both Bookmooch and PaperbackSwap as I do here on this forum. It seems lately that there are hardly any of the hs books available on Bookmooch that I have on my wishlists. In fact it's been quite a while since I've been able to find any of the books I'm keeping my eye on. (I'm a TOG user, so this is one way I've been able to cut costs down.) Blessings, Lucinda

We tried Saxon and then MUS, both great programs, but not the right fit for my dd or for me as the teacher. We switched to TT6 in 5th grade last year and it worked beautifully. Now she is on TT7 and I have to say that Dd is getting it - and she is right on track with where she should be for her grade level. We do supplement with LOF, but it's only for fun and variety once per week rather than because TT needs more. (A WTM recommendation.) Please, don't let the opinions of others deter you from what you are doing if what your doing is working and your child is happy. TT is one of the math curriculums recommended by SWB in the updated edition of TWTM. Do you really think she would include something that is not a solid curriculum? Of course not! TT is an excellent option for hs families that need a tutor and/or an interactive, engaging math program with a proven track record. Blessings, Lucinda

Hi Michelle. Since your ds has been using Shurley and it seems to be working for grammar, my suggestion would be to stay with it. Shurely is a really good program. I think you are right, if you go back to 5th grade level R&S it would be repetitive and boring. My take on TWTM suggestion for R&S 5 was for students that either need remedial grammar or have had no grammar at all. I've hopped around with grammar programs and found it to be hard on both my dd and I. It would have been so much better to start with a good, solid curriculum and see it through. I did start her on R&S 5 this year after having tried three different curriculums and having her flounder around and get behind, but my plan is for us to stay with R&S from now on. Your idea to supplement Shurley with a good writing program sounds really smart. I think that is what I'd do if I were in your shoes. Blessings, Lucinda

Off the top of my head: 3-hole punch printer/copier/scanner and LOTS of paper paper cutter variety of colored pencils and pens art supplies reward stickers index cards White Out wall map of the world iPod and dock good lighting Blessings as you begin a great adventure! Lucinda

I'm so glad I read this thread tonight! Why in the world didn't i ever think of using the Wii for P.E.? We have the Wii already, so now I'm going to have to add Wii Fit to the curriculum list for next year. Hot dang!! :laugh: Blessings, Lucinda

We do school from mid-August through the end of June each year, taking a summer break of 6 weeks with relatively no lessons. We also take two weeks off in Dec. and another 2 in the spring. This year I may have dd work on LOF and lots of fun reading during our time off, but mostly I want her to have a break and enjoy summer. Blessings, Lucinda

I took TWTM's recommendation to partner Vocabulary from Classical Roots (VFCR) with our Spelling Power. We've been using VFCR for the past year and it has been great! Like a program listed previously on another post, VFCR uses basic roots and numerous derivatives for each week's lesson. The roots are Latin and Greek in origin, so it helps enforce a solid language understanding that goes beyond the words themselves. VFCR then goes beyond that with additional words using a newly introduced suffix. This is all paired up with exercises using synonyms, sentence usage, related/familiar words, etc. We will stick with VFCR probably through 8th grade, then dd will go back to learning Latin again. Blessings, Lucinda

We just purchased their French 1 program through the co-op, and I am looking forward to taking a close look. In having numerous conversations here about foreign language curriculum, I read with interest that some folks had used TL and liked it. The person you may consider asking would be RoughCollie. She has successfully used TL Spanish with her dc and had great things to say about it awhile back. Blessings, Lucinda

My son finished a year of university in Tokyo last summer, but travels back and forth because he is on a contract as an actor and model for a Japanese agency. I am so relieved that he arrived home from his last gig last month! It will be interesting to see if he gets called back for more work in the next months. We have a very close friend who lives and works in the Tokyo area. She and her family are fine and has been e-mailing me every day. I'm relieved beyond words about this too. Saying lots of prayers for Japan. Lots of prayers. :grouphug: Blessings, Lucinda

We have been going strong with school since mid August, with the exception of our two week break for the holidays. Dd and I are just exhausted and in need of recharging. We are soooo enjoying some time off! Last year we took two weeks off in the spring and it was wonderful. We then worked hard with studies through the end of June and took a six week break for summer. This seems to be the best way for us to go. I think we'll stay with this cycle ongoing. What about you? Do you break in the spring, and for how long? Blessings, Lucinda

I buy from Staples by the box. Since I'm in their Rewards program, I get lots of points stacked up by doing that. Last month there was even a deal where I was eligible for a $25 rebate on top of the sale price. I think I got the whole box for about $15 after the rebate. BTW, Staples also has an ink cartridge return program where you earn some money. Last month I also had a $10 off coupon from the return of 5 cartridges during that quarter. I like Staples. Blessings, Lucinda P.S. I am not affiliated in any way with the company I'm raving about, and I receive no compensation at all for this endorsement. :)

Thanks for this, SaDonna. I took a look at the toc and felt it would be best to wait until dd is much older. I'm not ready to go into birth control with her at this point. She's only just barely 12 yo. But the book looks great for women of child bearing years especially. These are awesome ideas! I'll check on your book recommendation for sure. The points about healthy relationships and body image/self esteem are so critical for young girls and women. As someone that received wrong messages from a loving, but damaged mother, I fully recognize the need to have some talks about these topics. It may even possibly dovetail into a study of Captivating by John & Staci Eldredge. Thank you for your input! As to a general girls health course, aren't there any good textbooks out there that are Christian based? If not, then someone really needs to write one! Blessings, Lucinda

Oh, I agree! cooking and keeping house, etc. are all part of the training. I like the point about nutrition being learned as they learn to cook, pour over recipes, etc. And thank you for the reading suggestions. I'll check them out! I took a quick peak at this book and it looks really good! Thanks for the suggestion as I think I will order it for sure. I seem to remember seeing this book on the Sonlight site with girls' health for 5th grade, but it is still perfect for girls up to maybe 12 or so. Blessings, Lucinda

I've been considering the need for a good health and nutrition study for dd for 7th grade next year. We need to cover girls' health issues specifically (body changes, reproduction, etc.), but I think we should go over healthy lifestyle topics as well. Has anyone discovered a thorough, wholesome, sensitive program of study for girls? I have poured over several websites, but can't seem to find the right thing. My older children were all boys, and this is a new adventure for me. Dd and I have had a number of talks and I've shared some basic sex education books with her. She isn't totally uninformed about things, but I think we need to delve in to the whole aspect of being female. Ideas? :bigear: Blessings, Lucinda