Can anyone give reviews of the Academy at Bright Ideas Press? I'm looking at an Equine Studies course there.

This is exactly what I needed to hear --- because I have ZERO experience in what makes up a course, etc. I spoke with her current science teacher, and she felt like Physical Science would be the logical progression for her. We will see. I need to sit down and hash some things out with my husband. We will likely look into these courses over the summer. I appreciate your help, Lori.

Next fall, I'm planning equine science as my daughter's science selection. She'll be in 8th grade, and has been riding for 7 years; works at the barn, shows, etc. Horses are her passion, so I want to allow her to be able to dive in deeper and enjoy a science class learning about something she loves. I PROMISE, I have looked through loads of posts already and came up with some wonderful options. Now, I'm trying to narrow them down, with help from y'all. Winter Promise: I'll be honest. The sales page here doesn't impress me. #picky Is this meaty enough for eighth grade? Coursera: This looks like it would fit our needs well. Can someone chime in and tell me if this is a self paced course? I couldn't figure that out from the website. Once again, is it meaty enough for eighth grade? The Academy at Bright Ideas Press: Equine Science --- this looks like an excellent course. Anyone here taken the course before, or something similar? I'm interested in the size of the classes, how they are ran, etc. She's experienced with the MPOA, but those classes are small, and well organized.

A HA! I meant self paced in --- you can start any time. Thank you for that clarification. Now this makes sense. I'm looking at TWO actually: The Horse Course and/or Equine Welfare and Management. I wasn't sure if I could call a six week course good enough for a year of science. Of course, let's be frank. I'm in KY, so we're not highly regulated. I could have her take the two courses, add in shows, barn work, trips to the farrier, vet, equine dentist, etc. I appreciate the hand holding. Like I said -- I've never forged out on my own, so I'm second guessing myself. I like the 4H stuff as well. Will take a closer look when I get home.

Rambling thoughts are fine and dandy! ❤️ I'm over here just spinning in circles --- "Look at ALL the things!" So, does that mean that Coursera is self paced? I'm totally down with that --- AND it saves some costs. (very important with show season coming my way) They had a suggested schedule, if I remember correctly.

Sounds like your daughter and mine would get along beautifully. She has multiple books about drawing horses --- and notebooks filled with drawings as well. Without much help from a non horse loving mom --- I'm right there with you. I think horses are beautiful, but I don't want to hang out with them all day like my daughter does. I appreciate your input! I think I'll cross WP off my potential list.

bahahahahaaha! Right? I poured over old posts here. I've always followed the MP scope and sequence, so I'm a bit weirded out by stepping outside the box. I'm also NOT skilled at devising lesson plans, etc. I'm used to opening and going with MP texts and lesson plans. In other words, I'm leaning heavily toward something where the framework is already there, and we can add to it, or delete things we don't need.

I'm glad to read a followup, Quark. This marks our eighth year of homeschooling, and instead of being MORE confident, I spend more time wringing my hands about decisions than ever before. I think it's because we're knocking on the door of eighth grade and I feel like we're in the "S&^%'s getting REAL" phase. You know, like now the decisions I make really matter, and I could be screwing this up royally. Basically, I just need reassurance. It's hard to get it from my husband --- he is completely supportive of homeschooling, but really doesn't know our ins and outs. I made a decision a few weeks ago to veer away from our recommended path (We are a MP family) for science, and I'm thinking it will pay BIG dividends for us. We'll be back to our 'school is amazing' days, instead of it being a slog --- because we're going to be doing something that my daughter LOVES, and I'm interested in learning more about. (equine studies) Thank you again for listing these. You're exactly right ---- your kids THANKING you for homeschooling makes this marathon so worthwhile.

This is a hard one for me. I tend to ask around in private forums re: teachers, instead of in the official MP forums. I don't want to sound like I'm bad mouthing people. But --- classes aren't cheap, and I have a certain level of expectations. For the most part, I think you can email them and ask to watch a sample class of a teacher you're considering. Unless they are brand spanking new, they should have one. Go ahead and email him! I've already sent him a handful of emails for next year. I feel like he says, "Oh! There's another email from Dianna"

From a parent's perspective -- fairly well independent. I would go in and check grades, assignments, etc, because my daughter is at that stage where one day, she's a rock star, and other days, will whiff on assignments. I'm paying for this, so I'm not going to be completely hands off. :)

Do you mind sharing your daughter's instructor? We may consider these classes for the future.

adding more --- I'm a registered nurse, so my science background is more life science --- biology, A&P, microbiology. Having the MPOA helped me because it kept us on a schedule, and exposed my daughter to someone who loves science and can teach it well. Even this rudimentary physics is kicking my butt --- no way am I going to tackle that at home. My daughter is leaning toward equine studies, and seems to enjoy the biology based science much more than physics.

We've done MPOA Middle School Science for two years now and loved it. MS Science I, MS Science II, with Mrs Peterson. They use the Tiner books as a spine, and have 6 experiments at home over the course of the year. We DID NOT do any formal science until 6th grade, when we started these classes. It was just something I never seemed to be able to have time for. Rachel did fab last year. This year is a bit more of a struggle (working on physics now - holy heck), but I think she will do fine with more prep work. She has a couple of preview classes that you can watch, I think. Please let me know if you have any more specific questions. We've been VERY pleased.

I had to laugh at this one. I've been shooting messages to Mr Piland (MPOA director) for a few weeks now, regarding classes for 19-20. Planners gotta plan. ;) We've only done the summer reviews for Latin, but I asked in a group of MP friends and got the following recs: Dr Dray (which you already knew) Susan Francino Cody King Mr Josyln Hope that helps a bit.

Totally agree --- my daughter did Fable in 4th grade, Narrative last year in 5th grade, and will be doing Chreia/Maxim this fall.

My twin boys will be starting Prima Latina this fall, and my oldest daughter began her Latin journey with PL years ago. Very gentle, and easy for moms without a Latin background.

This fall, I'm diving into actually studying Latin with my boys. I also read my daughter's literature and history selections.

Oh, my gosh, THIS ^^^^ My daughter is a rising 6th grader, and she really grappled with this developmental stage this year. She's always been a FANTASTIC reader, but this year, literature study moved from simply recalling facts into inference, and that caused a LOT of wailing and gnashing of teeth. I worked on hand holding with her, trying to build her confidence and show her she DID know the answers, but she had to connect the dots.

We follow the Memoria Press sequence as well, starting in 2nd grade. 2nd- Prima Latina 3rd - Latina Christiana 4th - First Form Latin 5th - Second Form Latin 6th (this fall) Third Form Our plans are to continue Latin all the way through high school.

My kids are THRILLED to start cross country in a few weeks. I don't think it's unusual for kids to enjoy running, especially if they grow up with parents who are runners. One of my sons gets crabby when he doesn't get enough exercise, so CC is going to be great.

THIS --- one of my husband's cardinal rules is that the activity needs to be close. I tend to draw the line about things that overlap. (two sports in the same season, for example) With a big family (5 kids still at home), it's hard. I used to put my identical twin boys in the same sports always, but as they are getting older (9), they're veering off into different interests. This fall --- we're doing the following: All three 'big kids' (11,9,9) running cross country (practice and meets-3x week) My oldest rides at the barn once a week My girls are in AHG (twice monthly) The little kids go to a weekly nature class - hikes+science class for preschoolers All of us go to a monthly Catholic co-op - enrichment only Just typing this out makes me tired. I insisted that the boys take a break from soccer this fall, then pick it back up in the spring. It's a challenge --- my kids are interested in lots of sports and activities, and I have to fight my extrovert tendencies in order to keep white space in my calendar. I also have to keep blinders on, as so not to compare our families with others.

We're diving into Greek Alphabet (Memoria Press) this year, then First Form Greek next year. (also MP) I don't have a plan following FFG. :huh:

I only visit 2 homeschooling forums -- MP and WTM. :) On the MP forums, there are plenty of moms who don't use the entire package of MP materials. Everyone is very helpful - moms and staff alike.

As I look ahead for planning for this summer/fall, I'm trying to simplify our homeschool a bit. I'm wondering if I actually need spelling for my rising 6th grader. She's a fabulous reader, and an adequate speller. We've been using Spelling Workout, but I'm really not TEACHING it, per se. She's working through the books on her own. She's in her 3rd year of Latin (finishing up Second Form now), and we'll be doing English grammar review this summer. How do you know if a student really needs formal spelling or not? How do you evaluate them? We don't do regular testing at home, but she's taking classes at our local cottage school, with plenty of writing (Classical Studies, literature, composition). Thoughts? When did you ditch the formal spelling? Would you just encourage her to continue on, independently? Thanks for your help!