This is how we did it first time through with DD because SOTW wasn't out yet. We used CHOW and Usborne & Kingfisher history books as spines and dug up other stuff on our own and used Sonlight's old Basic 1 & 2. We did that first "cycle" in 2 years, then did another cycle using SOTW 1 & 2 and then adding in 3 & 4 with Sonlight's Cores 3 & 4. Ds is now doing Sonlight Core 6 (uses SOTW 1 & 2) and dd is in her 3rd cycle through history with VP's Omnibus I. So dd's first and second time through have not involved SOTW in any way, and Ds is using SOTW in SL only because I work full time, have older children who NEED to be at their own levels in History/Lit, and I just don't have time to do anything more teacher-intensive (as far as lesson planning goes) than SL. I don't have time to dig for books online & at the library anymore! But when I did have time, we had fun doing it, and it was quite do-able. I mostly bought encyclopedias, anthologies (eg The Bronze Cauldron), and a few choice books, and then used to library for everything else. If the kids showed an interest in a particular time period, I looked online for project ideas or splurged on a Treasure Chest. I also tried to find Bellerophon and Dover coloring books that covered a larger period/area (eg North American Indians or all of the Middle Ages) rather than the too-specific ones. Many of the Dover coloring books are NOT aimed at early elem. age kids, are rather detailed, and include very informative captions that are great for review. Doing what you want to do is very time-intensive, but it is also very fun to pull together, and can be a family project with older children.

Life. You might also consider a children's book on etiquette, library books about nutrition, etc.

My son only copied the verses in the books, then re-copied them (for more practice) into a spiral notebook. This also helped him transition from special handwriting paper lines to regular lined notebook paper. He never used them for memory work as we use different stuff for memory work. The books are consumable in my house, though they would not have been when we first started because I had to be *way* more miserly. IMO they are worth the purchase price to use *only* as copy-books even if you never use those suggestions in the front of the book.

I have used all 4 volumes once, and have re-used Volume I and part of II once more so far. We are Christian, but I shy away from overtly Christian texts as many are too dogmatic or preachy for my taste. I will use Christian texts, but am always ready to refute points where we disagree, and to point out bias in the text lest my children mistake it as simple statement of fact when it is not. I have no qualms about using SOTW and honestly don't 'get' the idea that it's biased. The only thing I can think is that some don't like references to the bible as a historical document (in Vol. I), but I think this is only defensible if one also rejects all other religious texts from antiquity as being illegitimate sources of historical information.

Isn't it funny how our children often perceive themselves to be differently abled and gifted than they are? I have seen this a lot over the years where a child will proclaim dislike for a subject (always temporarily except with dd and writing) even though you have to tell them to stop listening in on their sibling's lesson in that subject and get back to their own work, or often catch them doing *that subject* just for fun! Great topic!

Dd: Writing. I didn't pick English simply because she loves reading, literature, and even deep discussions of literature and the nitty-gritty of analyzing literature for its elements and style. But she hates everything about writing: The expectation of legibility, the tediousness of it, the painful mechanics of pushing a pencil across a page, the sloooowwww care one must take to pick just the right words and to think of how to express something clearly. She also hates hates hates having to research, outline, revise and rewrite and all the varied tortures that are involved in each of these activities. There are no sweeter words in the english language as far as she is concerned as "let's do it orally." Ds: Doesn't dislike anything particularly, but is a bit of a daydreamer, so hates any particular assignment, no matter what subject, that is either too easy or too boring to hold his attention because it means his mind will drift and he will get fussed at to stay on task. I must always be careful to teach and assign to him within his narrow optimal range of difficulty. Too hard or too easy = wandering mind. He may get frustrated with hard stuff, and whine about boring, easy stuff, but he never complains that he just doesn't like this or that subject in general. They all contain information and knowledge and skills for him to acquire and master, and these are all things he loves! (Lest you envy me for having such an enthusiastic learner, re-read the part about the daydreaming and mind-wandering! LOL!)

Actively work hard to remember to relax and not stress so much all day every day. Your tension will take away from your homeschool, not contribute to it. Tears and learning don't mix. If either of you has progressed to the point of tears, then learning has ceased to take place, so it is time to immediately put the books away and do something else. Persevering through tears is futile at best. If your kid doesn't get something, they need it taught to them differently, not to have it repeated to them the same way again. They might need to read it for themselves, or see it drawn out in pictures, or to hear it read to them, or to be able to build it with their hands to really get it. You'll need to figure that out and teach them in a way that helps them understand. It's tough at first, but once you get the hang of his style of learning, you'll know how to "go there" for him again in the future when things don't click right away. If your kid doesn't get something, it's not because she's being bad, naughty, inatttentive, lazy, stubborn or rebelious usually. She probably just doesn't get it. Actively work hard at remembering that when they make mistakes so you can keep your cool 'cause losing your cool leads to them losing their cool, and tears and learning don't mix. If your kid doesn't get something, and you know they really just don't get it in spite of trying hard to get it, and you've taught them every different way you can think of, then you need to realize that they may just not be ready yet to understand it, and no amount of trying is going to succeed in bringing about understanding just now. It's time to put it away for a month or 6 months or a year because persevering would be futile, and lead to frustration, which eventually may lead to tears, and tears and learning don't mix. Some kids are incapable of staying on task for even 2 minutes strait. Don't let those kids work anywhere other than right. under. your. nose. Keep one eye on them at all times, and at the first sign their minds are wandering, gently and kindly redirect them to their assigned task. Do this diligently and always kindly. The more diligent and kind you are in the early years, the more success those children will have in working better when they are older.

THanks for asking. Yes, I do. I feel guilty about it, but sometimes I actively fantasize about it. I work full time, homeschool full time, and am the only adult capable of grocery shopping or cooking around here. My wifely duties remain unattended to because I have so. much. stuff. on my plate otherwise, kwim? Ditto that other post about not walking around naked, too!

I work full-time as an ER RN and we do not leave people to die who cannot pay. Look up EMTALA and you will see that those who cannot pay cannot be turned away for real emergencies. There are many people getting free care at ERs, even though they have insurance and don't want to wait 2 weeks for a doc appt., but let me tell you -- NO ONE at my hospital dies because of lack of insurance or ability to pay. In fact, we even treat hundreds of non-emergencies every day even though, legally, we are not required to render services for non-emergencies. THIS is the rule and norm, not the exeption in ERs across the country because too many docs are afraid of accidentally violating EMTALA. We don't even know what their funding is when we triage them, prioritize them on the waiting list, give them their EMTALA-mandated screening exam, and treat them. Their priority in being seen is based on how seriously ill they are, how great the danger is to their lives, not in any way, shape, or form on how much money they have. I know a lot of doctors, and MOST of them are willing to see patients even when they cannot afford their co-pay if they really need to be seen, or to give them huge discounts, free samples, and free exams and tests when their limited gov't insurance runs out before the end of the year, and to see indigents for absolutely nothing, on their own time, gratis. And I know what it is like to have crappy or no insurance--I have only had good insurance starting in the last 3 years. Before that we either had none, or what we had was only for major medical, so didn't help us at all in covering routine doc and dentist and optometry visits. I know what it's like when a $4 prescription is a financial hit. I've btdt MOST of my life. But I also remember a certain doctor who was my PCP from age 11 until I left home even though we had no $ to pay him and no insurance. He saw me for free all those years whenever I needed a doctor, and NEVER asked my poor mother for a dime in compensation. Doctors like that really are plentiful, not rare. It is a myth that people are literally "being left to die" in this country for lack of insurance or means to pay for healthcare. Perhaps at one time, but to whatever *very* small extent that might still happen today, it will not be LESS often after passage of this health care bill.

Week 20 of 36, and we're on day 2 of 5 of that week. I'm *praying* we finish by August.

Suggest a one-year trial, and remind him you can't completely screw up a kid in one year, especially when that year is K or 1st grade. But commit to the entire year in order to reassure him the kid won't be bouncing around too much. There are people who only ever commit to one more year of HSing at a time, even though they are into the high school years.

My 8th grader is doing Omnibus I, and works mostly independently on that. We do some session orally, and I check her written work. For essays, I still guide her through research, help her with MLA formatting, and of course act as her copy-editor between drafts. For simpler essays and creative writing assignments, I only get to be editor. She has worked through most of SWI-C already and will do more in the next couple of weeks. Science (Apologia Phys Sci) she does alone, with only occasional help from me or dad. Math is a struggle for her at times (She is using LOF and Jacob's for Algebra I) and she needs additional teaching from me, but mostly she works alone. We are working through Fallacy Detectives one chapter a week together. All other subjects (Japanese, Vocabulary including Book of Roots, Geography, Analogies, etc.) she does completely alone, and I only check her work and review corrections with her only when needed. We have worked hard to get this intelligent but ADD child to this point of independence, and I am always gradually moving her towards doing more writing, working more independently, and working through rough spots on her own. I think where you are is a very good point to be with an 8th grader, and their independence should continue to steadily increase from now until they are on their own. You should pat yourself on your back for raising such a self-sufficient child, not fret that you aren't doing enough ;-) Just make sure you are checking work and checking comprehension in some way on a regular basis in all subjects and you should be fine.

When I was a public school student, those of us in the Pre-IB program (and then IB in high school) received high school credit, that remained on my high school transcript through high school, if we took certain Pre-IB courses, including Algebra, French & Spanish. I did French, and I had to take two years in 7th & 8th grade to get the equivalent of one year of high school credit, and we had to get a B or better, I think, to remain in the Pre-IB then IB program. But it was a full year of study using the same materials that the IB high school kids used in order to get that credit.

All that and a bag of chips. I used to use SL without the IGs (bought a program used, then changed stuff, added stuff in, until IG schedule wasn't useful, so never used notes either), but since Core 3 (we're on 6 now with ds) I've used it as-is out of the box, and I can't live without it. But I'm a very busy person, I work full time and hs 2 kids full time (one in Core 6 and one in Omnibus I) and I NEED that IG to get by! LOL!

Just some encouragement: though I'm not single, I now work full time and prior to that was a truly full-time student (nursing - not easy even part-time) and have homeschooled all the while. My husband is able to work a normal schedule now, in the midst of me being a student, he worked offshore for days at a time, and sometimes for a week or more at a time, and was home very little, so I had to pretty much run things on my own. I was amazed at how much my children stepped up to the plate and really managed to do more on their own than I would have thought possible. Programs I love that are inexpensive and easily done by a student working alone: Life of Fred for math (though we've only done the first two plus Beginning Algebra so far). They teach directly to the child, and are fun for my kids, yet they provide a solid math education (so says my math-loving dh). On average, each week, they need me to help them figure out one question or problem, and then also need help understanding one lesson explanation. That's pretty good IMO. Apologia Science. We're not young-earthers, but these programs have many advantages in spite of this, so much so that we're more than happy to use them in spite of the young-earth language so far. They self-teach directly to the child, include plenty of labs, and require only general household items. Many publishers (including homesciencetools.com and sonlight.com and others) offer "kits" that include the few harder-to-find items you might need. Breaking the Spanish Barrier. It is very reasonably priced, and it offers 2 high school years equivalent each for Spanish and French. It is easy to learn on your own, comes with a pronunciation CD, and is comprehensive, including reading, writing, and speaking the languge, as well as grammar. It is a serious program, not a conversation-only program. While I love Veritas Press' Omnibus program, it is rather parent-intensive in many ways, and it is rather expensive. You might want to consider something already pre-scheduled such as Sonlight (the schedule I think is usable by the student in the high school years even) as it is more geared towards independent work and drops read-alouds in the high school years. It is also available used. Rod & Staff English books are solid, inexpensive, readily available used, and quite good with clear explanations for all concepts. They only go up to 10th grade, but it would not be unreasonable (or insulting - they are solid) to go a grade level under for each. More emphasis on composition and less on grammar in the last 2 books. I wouldn't consider them the "ideal" texts for many people, but I think they are your best value for cost + lack of prep time for mom + do-able independently by children. Hope these ideas help some.

I did something very similar. I just drug 2 years out to take 3 years instead (about 1.5 yrs each) so the kids didn't notice. Now ds is 11-12 in 6th (Jan birthday) and dd is 14 in 8th (mid-August b-day). But this is more for the reasons you listed. We don't have testing requirements in our state and kids are homeschooled only, so this is just for me. Now, when dd 14 started K (private school) she only made birthday cut-off by a couple of days, and after finishing K the teachers wanted to hold her back because of her size (totally didn't get that one) and to help her mature emotionally though she was doing well enough academically when she wasn't daydreaming, singing, etc. I did not hold her back at that time, and I still feel I made the right decision at that time for her as she did really well in 1st grade at the same school. The following year we brought her home, so I didn't have to worry about what grade I called her anymore ;-) I only assigned them a grade level recently (after stretching a couple of years out) so that family/friends can know when to expect them to be "finished" with school, and to help me plan out dd's last 4 years.

Dd (8th gr) was told to write a Herodotus-style history of an insignificant event. Being a fan of WoW (she plays with dh) she decided to describe an MMORPG battle. If you know Herodotus and also know anything about MMOs or even if you merely hold stereotypes in your mind about people who play online computer games, you will get it... (please keep in mind this is a hastily posted 2nd draft LOL) Book II In the Eastern Kingdoms of Azr-roth, Telaron the Army General woke up from a deep sleep in his camp tent, slightly woozy from the Rumsey Rum Light he had consumed the night before. Rumsey Rum Light, I am told, is a frothy alcoholic drink that can be very good unless you have a lot of it. Telaron walked out of the tent and called out, “Oh, mages, shamans, and other magical beings, lay your hands on me that I may be blessed with the mana you hold at your finger tips.†Sarah Springwater, Leader of the Mages, Tra-mek, Wise Woman of the Shamans, Mashti the Abbot of the Priesthood, and Dinele, Head Paladin, stood up from their eating and complied. “Oh, great warrior and leader,†asked Sarah as her mottled undead fingers literally worked their magic, “In what position shall the sun be at the start of the battle?†“…†said Telaron, staring off into the air above. Dinele looked up but saw nothing. After meditating on the event taking place, Mashti came to a conclusion and promptly said, “oh @$#%&!†* * * * * Now in a far away land that many people call heyoostonteksus, a boy of sixteen years called Taylor turned around from his computer. Sweat poured down his adolesant face despite the three fans pointed at him. “Oh mother of mine, why must you turn off my monitor at such a crucial time as this? Come now, let me stay on the computer for a half hour longer.†I must say I was at first confused at being told that he was on the computer until learning that “on†was often used to describe the using of. Taylor’s mother, who went by the name of Suuzie Berkins, looked at Taylor warily “Oh son of mine, look here and listen to my words. Your chores are not done and you know of the laws of this land. While your father is away you act lazily, but when he is home you work and he praises you. Ah but see I am not fooled by your treachery! So I tell you to get to work now.†Taylor sighed and got up from his velvet throne. Ten minutes after this he came back, readjusted his fans, and sat back down. * * * * * The Mana Leaders were sitting in a circle around Telaron chanting. “Are you sure this will work?†asked Tra-mek to Mashti, who answered, “SHUT-IT!†Mashti was in a bad temper because of how often Telaron would “ayefkay†as they called it. “I am back my fellows,†said Telaron, standing up from his previous sitting position. “Shall you all be ready for the fight?†They all glared at him, got up and went to their battle formations. The battle went well for the Horde—as Telaron and his men called themselves—Telaron killed 30 men, 20 others with the help of Dinele, and even a Rouge who was sneaking up on one of his men. Telaron knew he would receive many honor points which can only be guessed to be a second currency. Suddenly, in the heat of battle there was a blinding flash and the earth broke open. Lava seeped up through the crack and out came a dragon bigger than even Tra-mek had seen in her many years. “Feast your eyes on my glory and fear me!†the dragon roared, “I am Darkwing! Master of Fire, and Slayer of the Living.†Darkwing lifted his, head opened his mouth, and shot fire at them all. That last thing Telaron saw was Mashti raising his arms followed by a blue flash. Only five people survived the Battle of Iron and Fire as it was later called. Mashti had cast a shield around himself, Telaron, Dinele, Sarah, and Tra-mek. The years that followed were hard as the dragon Darkwing destroyed near all of Azr-roth. Even the Lich King of Northrend soiled his undead pants. But the people of Azr-roth still have hope, for they believe in the prophesy of a young rogue by the name of Dinmordon who, after years of training, will smite Darkwing and take back the land.

Life of Fred. You could start right where you are with Algebra, no sweat!

Okay, so first: Was my original punishment fair? It was entirely too soft if you really don't want her to hit her brother. Cleaning her room should be done daily as a matter of course, so her punishment should be, IMO, *more* than the minimum that should already be expected of her. If so: What should I do about her behavior NOW? Do. Not. Tolerate it. For screaming and disrespecting you: she must write lines. For banging the window: she must clean all the windows in the house (indoors and out). For hitting her sibling: she must apologize, do something nice for them (give them a gift or spend time playing what *they* want to play). That sort of thing--be creative and make the punishment fit the crime. If not: What would you have done taking into consideration that dd11 has a bad habit of hitting her younger siblings out of anger AND screaming at me as well. Hit her where it hurts, wherever that is for her. Ground her, take away privileges, take away material posessions, require her to do acts of service to others (especially for the person she harmed), require her to take on additional responsibilities around the house, or require her to give away something dear to her (especially to the person she harmed), or even make her write lines (writing lines works miracles in my home where my 10 and 12 year olds are too old for many former disciplines to work anymore).

I'd recommend English 4 since it gives more detailed instructions in diagramming and reviews it more than 5 does. If 4 seems too easy after you start, simply give the chapter review *first* and then only do the lessons that cover topics she didn't get right in the chapter reviews.

I don't schedule daily reading amounts for these books. I simply hand the book to my oldest (faster reader) and let her read at her own pace (always faster than that suggested by schedules) and when she's done, I hand it over to her younger brother. To me, as long as they read them in order and don't get too far ahead, I'm happy.

We're starting dd w/Fractions now and hope to do it in 1/2 year, then do Percents & Decimals in another 1/2 year so she can begin Beginning Algebra after that. She just crossed her first bridge and couldn't be more pleased. I had dh (who tutored Texas A&M Engineering major Calculus students when he was in college) to look over the series to tell me if they really did teach enough stuff and weren't just full of fluff and fun. He was muy impressed. Dd started Fractions after finishing Singapore Math 4B (she is 12.5 right now--she had some serious math delays early on due to switching from Saxon to Singapore after 1st grade and not learning anything in 2 years of Saxon in CS and **hating** math and thinking she was really bad at it even though she wasn't). So it seems the author is dead-on about when a child is ready for the Fractions book! (Dd is a wiz at long division and can do multiplication blindfolded, backwards, with one hand tied behind her back)

Coastal Bend N of Corpus Christi Too far from Rockport to make their park days too often ;-)

Are you from Texas? Let us know! Tell us at least what region (West, Central, Panhandle, South, Coastal Bend, GHA, DFW, Eastern, North), and also city (or closest major city) if you are comfortable. I can't believe that in this big 'ole state, noone has posted yet! (Or maybe I just couldn't find y'all searching for TX or Texas??)

Actually, I think you did the right thing to call the police--this way, if he's legit (really needs help), and *noone* feels okay letting him in to use the phone, the police will arrive and he will get the help he needs. I think you did the right thing. It's just not safe to let a strange man into your home to use your phone (or even to open your door a little to pass one out to him) at 11:00 pm, even if your dh *were* home (even more so since he wasn't). Dh used to work 4 days offshore at a time, and we had many nights all alone, so I had lots of time to think of various scary situations and how I would handle them. Now that my kids are old enough to stay alone for short periods while I run up the street to the grocery store (2 min drive, small town with VERY low crime rate, 4 neighbors we know well on our block), we've drilled them on what to do if strangers knock when mom & dad aren't home. We would have been *very* pleased if our kids had thought to do just what you did--call one of us, and also call the police.