We are dual-enrolled with the ps this year. The first time that we have done so. DS is in an honors math class (9th grade) and if this goes well, we are considering math next year, along with a chem lab. The experience thus far has been excellent. He is getting acquainted with different teacher style, strict deadlines, neatness counts...some of the things I have not pushed quite as hard. The value has been worth it. After hearing the perspective of some area history and lit teachers, I would not put ds in ps for history, literature...any of the humanities. I'm considering science, math and perhaps language. That's about the end of my comfort zone. I kept him home for 9th grade bio because I thought this might be the one chance to learn a Christian apologetic for bio. With chem and physics I am not so concerned (but maybe just incredibly naive.) FYI, I went to the high school in April the year before and began the ball rolling. It takes a long time to get phone calls returned. Finally I went to the school and met with people in person. Overall, they have been responsive and helpful, after finally meeting face to face. Oh, and we did have to take a placement exam for the math. . . Hope this helps!

For anyone who can help, I would be so appreciative! My sweet little 3 yo did something she never has done before! Wrote with light pink crayon on a brand new ottoman that is in cotton fabric--light-colored~~! I was beside myself! After first panicking, I looked online and found that I should iron it with a cloth on top..but it didn't work. Then I saw that I should scrub it with some baking soda. Well, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that the baking soda took the crayon mark away. The bad news is that now I have a big circle where the baking soda is, and it now looks even worse! What do I do now??? Very sad.....

My kids and I listened to UTC on tape in the car and it was by far one of the most intellectually challenging books I have experienced on the slavery issue. I agree wholeheartedly that this book should be read by everyone! First, it is a book that shaped the viewpoints of a whole nation. Lincoln himself acknowledged the power of this prose when he made that famous comment to HBS. For this reason alone, I believe it is important to read the book. Second, the book represents the pluralistic voices that contributed to the issue of slavery. HBS represents just about every type of voice and position and this offers a far more complex picture of the times and the issues than most other books on slavery I have read (including those mentioned in other posts.) The pluralistic voices really make the reader (or listener in my case) understand how so many people from different contexts could think so diametrically opposed on the subject--it transports us back to the complexity of the times. Third, the book was a great read/listen. My kids--at that time, 9 and 11--were on the edge of their seats as the story unfolded. Fourth, as a Christian, it opened up a lot of discussion on how faith was being used to support both sides of the slavery argument. It challenged us to look at scripture and figure out what scripture actually said (as opposed to how people wanted to interpret it.) For this last reason alone, it was worth it! It was a great lesson in discernment....don't take other people's word for it...check it out and test it to see if it really is backed up by scripture. I never read UTC in high school or college. I don't know many who did. But I am now very much feeling that I missed out on a critically important piece of literature that stirred our nation's heart, mind, and soul--probably one of the most seminal books in our entire nation's history! Okay, sorry for getting so passionate about UTC!:lol: I was an intellectual history concentration in college and I am feeling a bit cheated and totally dismayed that not one class, not one syllabus ever included it! I really missed out! Having said all this, as noted above, I wimped out and did a books on tape. I didn't think my kids would get through it! But they were young, and I am thinking of having them really read it the next time we get to the time period! :) Probably next year when ds is in 10th grade.

I should clarify that it was a great study on the conflict of enlightened rationalism (and the dangers thereof) and nostalgic romanticism....a great study for Victorian/early 20th century studies.... You might want to start very simple, and also prioritize by worldviews you want to teach. You keep the "worldview answer" a secret, and see if your students get it right. You could combine the movie with an actual lesson (post movie viewing and analysis) on that one particular worldview.:lurk5:

I always find Disney movies fascinating to analyze for worldview. Amazing how much they convey. It also always wows my junior high/high school students at how the movies so clearly communicate very strong worldviews, and yet we see them superficially as very basic and simple. Our kids recently did an analysis of Mary Poppins....wow....it floored us!

I have used the IEW Teaching the Classics along with Stobaugh's Literary Analysis. The IEW is good, teaching the basic key literary elements up front and then covering each one of those in more detail following. It starts by teaching the element and then having the students read an easy sample (usually a child's story) to grasp the concept....and then moves to more difficult pieces of literature to survey. The structure is based on the literary elements, and the readings are to exemplify one particular element that is covered in that specific lesson. The readings move into higher high school classics. It is not a comprehensive literature reading list, nor a comprehensive literature analysis curriculum. However, it does offer framework by which one can analyze any piece of literature. As far as being the homeschool mom, I struggle with the same issues noted above. Some TOG'ers I have interviewed rave about the lit analysis part of TOG. I do agree that the questions in TOG lit analysis are very good ( and extremely, extremely helpful.) However, I think with any book, it is a completely better experience to discuss it with the student after having had the teacher herself/himself read the book. My analogy for this is a bit like getting a Mapquest set of directions to find out how to go somewhere vs. looking at the whole map of a state, conceptually understanding how everything fits together, and then looking up the specific directions. Unless you have the macro picture and familiarity with the geography and context, you are simply driving blindly, step one to step two and so forth. IMO, this cannot be as rich of a literature analysis discussion. Do I personally read every book I require my kids to read? No. And it pains me! I guess I need a chill pill! But I have cut back on the number of books we read, so that there is more chance that I can read them too.... I am concluding that more is not better....that quality of analysis and depth of study to some degree is better. Particularly if training up a mind, building analytical skills, and motivating the reader are all more closely aligned to our educational objectives than a long list of completed reads..... Stobaugh's does not give an overall framework upfront. The IEW (for a visual or framework-type of mind) is more useful for rubric purposes to analyze literature. Stobaugh's chapters are somewhat helpful--some more than others. The Stobaugh summaries in the worldview chapter are good, but somewhat confusing (he mixes a bunch of them together and does not lay out this content particularly clearly.) He has some sample lit that exemplifies the particular element that lesson covers, but oftentimes supplements with his own little essay. I haven't been particularly impressed with several of his essays thus far. And the sample literary analysis essays (from his daughter) in the text were unhelpful models for the kids I was teaching. We also had the additional problem of matching the literature reading list with our TOG/WTM curriculum. I really wanted to stay with chronological literature, to match our history time-period. Perhaps I will have to give this up sometime in the future. Overall, I would give Stobaugh's curriculum in terms of conceptual value-added, an A. Actual execution, a C. User-friendliness, a C-. I fell in love with the Stobaugh stuff at a homeschool conference, bought it on the spot, and was excited to use it. Somehow, actually using it has been a tougher challenge. I still use the book (I don't have a better option) but it is not as turnkey as one would initially think. Sorry for the mixed review :(

We have been using Rosetta Stone since my kids were in 4th or 5th grade. They are now going to home school hs. Mine like the change from books/print/audio stuff to Rosetta Stone on the computer. It is very easy, painless for them. We set a time limit of 20-30 minutes per day. So I don't make them finish a specific lesson. It is done by time (to help not be in front of the computer all the time and because it DOES sometimes seem way too repetitious.) For a long time I was more lenient on the time....3x/wk for 20 minutes, etc. and we did not make much progress. So if you want to pursue and finish high school level, you might need to bump it up. I have the homeschool version, which has a teacher software, that records all the work my kids have done....all in a spreadsheet. It records all their "homework" scores automatically and "test" scores. You can set the rigor of the work, per student, which cuts down on the repetition in the exercises. I discovered that after a few years of doing it without reading the manual. :tongue_smilie: But it is still somewhat repetitious...and that is why it is effective. There are 5 settings that are exposed to the student....after they have shown you a picture, said the word phrase and shown you the written, and done this several times....mixing up the visuals, you become immersed inthe correct link between visual and word... listening and reading....and picking the right picture reading...and picking the right picture listening alone...and picking the right picture you have to type the phrase that corresponds to the picture you have a phrase that needs to be properly word-ordered, corresponding to the picture You also have a speaking component, where you speak into your microphone and are graded on intervals with how correct your pronunciation is. There is a student textbook (could be improved, personally...but the emphasis is on immersion...) There is a student workbook, where you write out the exercises with pen and paper.....good practice for any foreign language exam... Minimal teaching time required. Good checking up and accountability. We did pay $100's to $1000's of dollars ---yikes---for foreign language tutors when we lived abroad---and for us, it was a huge waste. Not enough accountability. Really dependent on the tutor.....but even good ones not fantastic....not as organized and systematic...for us. Perhaps others have had better experiences... No curriculum is perfect, but for us, Rosetta Stone works. Home school version is best to hold them accountable, though! Also, you can choose really fun languages like Swahili, Mandarin, etc.....If he likes computers, he might like the logic of German or Russian.....I am very left-brained and I found these great for a logical mind.... We personally are taking Spanish...but I would consider switching to another language, since we have been studying it for awhile now. You can use RS for Latin or Greek as well... I don't think I would do 2 languages both with Rosetta Stone...system/brain overload, IMO. Hope this helps! Hope you find a curriculum that works well for you and your family!

Since he really likes computers, you might want to consider Rosetta Stone. We have been using this for several years now. It records how much he has done (so you don't have to babysit it) and it also grades him objectively. The only thing you would need to prompt is workbook time. It is very turnkey. You can continue Latin, or perhaps try something a bit less classical...maybe have him pick the language...

Sorry I cannot specifically speak to chemistry, but we have thoroughly enjoyed BJU Earth and Space. I was very surprised, having been skeptical about BJU in general. I wanted a Christian curriculum but one that did not compromise rigor, quality, critical thinking, content. In fact, we have been extremely impressed with the quality of BJU science....my son now so excited about astronomy that we are pursuing further enrichment programs for the summer! Having said this, I know each teacher is different--but Mrs. Vick in Earth and Space was exceptional. Also, the labs are well done, the tests/quizzes well constructed and all was relatively easy to administer as a busy hs mom.... Hope you find what you need!

Good point about redesign...no, I didn't go for the redesign with TOG 2. I am too cheap. I used the old TOG 2 last go around and couldn't really justify coughing up the extra....I do have redesign for 3 and 4. So that should help (and has helped in the past! Yr 1 was excellent in redesign.) Thanks to others for the clarity on Windows on the World...that makes me want to go ahead with that as a supplement. I am so happy to hear such positive feedback about TOG lit analysis. Makes me think that sometimes I look at grass being much greener on other curriculum lawns. Sometimes I need a :chillpill: (okay no laughing or spitting your coffee all over the keyboard, Liz in Ma!) I do think that because we are studying lit chronologically in TOG that we don't go through lit elements in a logical, systematic way. But it probably all gets covered eventually. Supplementing with Windows on the World will make me chill, though, so I will go ahead with that. I was also remiss in doing a lot of the lit type questions in the LG stage. Too time intensive, in combination with keeping up with all the reading. But have changed now that we are in dialectic. I certainly have not done TOG in the full prescribed way every time. The buffet has had to be hand-picked.... Thanks all, for your help, and look forward to even more suggestions...

Looking for thoughts from those who have journeyed through this one (and for those in the same leaky boat I am in!:D) I am continuing TOG through high school, (I am pretty sure) and have been making up my own literature analysis to augment TOG's (since I am not sure TOG's is the very best, to be honest.) This past year, for 8th grade ds and then 6th dd, we read 6-7 big classic books matching our time period and did our own study of them, augmenting with Teaching the Classics IEW, Stobaugh's book (very hard to use...ugggh...) and Spark notes. Very time consuming exercise.... Has anyone found a better way? Or is it all just as time consuming? I would love to find a book that takes one literary element at a time--character development, for example, and then has a sample of short stories that you work through to understand how character development is critical and how different authors work through it. We could then apply this to our TOG book we are reading. Then next chapter might be "setting" and there would be short stories to work through that. I could then have them apply this mini lesson to the TOG book we are reading for that time... I am looking for a relatively analytical, rigorous literary analysis textbook/curriculum....one that would prepare well for SAT's and perhaps an AP. College-bound, LAC type of prep. This year we are 9th grade, TOG year 2 (the second half--I always break yr 2 into two parts because there is so much to cover.) Any suggestions? Really would love to find something easier for me as a teacher (with a 2 year old and a dd age 11 who both need lots of time), but not giving up on quality. Suggestions? I am thinking about IEW Windows on the World, but I doubt it covers the basics of literary analysis. Does it? We incorporate our writing assignments into lit analysis by having one week assignment as a literary analysis essay, the next one a creative one which incorporates that element. [i probably should go back and also refresh us all on persuasive, descriptive since we haven't done lots of that for awhile, but that's almost a parenthetical reminder to myself...because I am so forgetful:lol:]

Just a thought from my experience... Saxon 87 in seventh grade is fine. Lots of repeat from previous year. I am told by many that Algebra 1/2 was even more confusing that just jumping right into Algebra 1 during 8th grade. Have heard this A LOT! We have jumped in Algebra 1. It hasn't been the easiest year in math. I am now moving to Chalkdust. Algebra 1 is a huge switch from 87, because it is all theoretical for the most part. This is a big switch at a difficult (puberty) time. It would have helped to have had DVD series to really go through the thinking. I am spending 5 hours and more, working side by side with my ds to make sure he understands. Up until this year, math has been a breeze and he scores in 99th percentiles in math in IOWA's.... Just one perspective.....hope you receive many more. Hope this helps!

If you are also okay with Christian books, I would add Elsie Dinsmore, book 1 and 2 to the list. After that, romance is more central, although very old-fashioned. The book series takes Elsie through grandmotherhood. My daughter and I laughed and cried over books 1 and 2. Can't read book 1 without 2 because it is left with a hanger..... I will have my dd add her own list later. She reads 4-5 books a week and has read practically everything acceptable in our local library! And we have now had to go beyond, looking at regional libraries! :lol:

Not regarding SWB, because I have not seen her recent reviews of IEW. I have heard college board examiners disparagingly talking about IEW, because it is "format" writing, which reduces creativity and often can make writing appear programmatic instead of being an authentic form of communication, if that makes sense. I took this feedback and listened, despite the fact that I had fully embraced IEW at the time with my own kids and teaching some others as well. I don't necessarily disagree with the assessment, but IEW played an important role in my ds and dd schooling. Pudewa made writing fun and engaging...something I had dreams that I could do, but it never happened. Likewise, the process of writing took a lot of the pain out during those first few years, and made my ds and dd much more comfortable with writing. Now both love it. DS is considering journalism and writes creatively for fun. I have moved away from the programmatic aspects and legalism of IEW as we progress to high school. However, we still say, "Let's do some IEW stuff to this paper." And the kids know what that means....stylistic dress-ups here and there, check openers, etc. I am very interested in knowing what SWB says....so do let us know! Thanks!:bigear:

I am thinking about doing the same course! Would have to pick titles. Never used a TC video series before, so this would be new for me. Typically TOG and other curricula.... however, here are some that I have very strong opinions about.... 5. Uncle Tom's Cabin---We LOVED listening to this as books on tape!!! my dd 8 and ds 10 were captivated.... 7. Little Women-Appropriate for all middle school--great read... and can cover transcendentalism and other topics through this 14. The Good Earth- Is this Pearl Buck's???? 16. How to Win Friends and Influence People--worth understanding..huge business and cultural influence.. 18. Native Son- I read this in 9th grade and had HORRIBLE nightmares for a long time. About an African American chauffeur young boy who was innocent, but to hide something that might have looked inappropriate,kills his boss's daughter and gets rid of the body in an absolutely gruesome, detailed, horrid way. Very gorey and graphic. 19. The Catcher in the Rye-Lots of bad language--agree 20. To Kill a Mockingbird-Tough topic, but with the right parenting discussions, could be appropriate and is a good book.....recommended. 23. John Adams--excellent. McCullough, I think. Superb. Looking forward to what you decide!