This is the book by Kathy DeVore from Barefoot Meanderings. I'm just wondering if anyone has read it and has any feedback. Thanks

How about Human Odyssey? My daughter really enjoys it.

Does anyone know what 'in production' means in terms of guessing a release date? I don't want to ask SWB because anything she says will be taken as gospel. But for those who have an idea of how this kind of thing works, does this mean it seems reasonable for it to be ready for 2017-2018? Sooner? Later? Guesses?

This is the BEST news!!

I haven't used them but this is what i've been told because I was wondering the same thing. The Medieval guides have been redone so they have different spines. Int/Jr. high uses the European World and High school uses National Geography Medieval World. Ancients hasn't been redone so it has a lot more of the same stuff.

Hey! We live in Vienna! I don't know about UAH, but UA actively recruits in Fairfax County and has lots of open house nights etc. in the area so you might want to keep your eye out for that.

We've had the same problem. Currently we are doing a human body study using the Manga Guide to Physiology. It's been great. My daughter loves it and it's sparked her interest and enthusiasm. There are several Manga science books. I'll probably check out the Physics one next. There is surprisingly advanced information in them.

This worries me. I really don't want to have to do two things, actually 3 since we already have a writing program, and she needs mechanics. What did you switch to when you left MCT?

They are smoking the 'ego weed' and we are all supposed to be partaking. No matter how many articles are published about the horrors of extreme college debt or how many countless people go on to fulfilling and excellent careers without the benefit of the uber-elite degree, we are all still supposed to drink the kool-aid that good parents sacrifice everything and incur any debt necessary to send their student off to that amazing university that everyone says is the 'best'.

Well I guess on the plus side, it's not just me :lol: Thanks for the tip on google. At least it's another option.

I do know that private schools can be cheaper because of merit aid. The packages both of my girls got from private schools were half-tuition or more. I've just never heard of kids going to somewhere like Rice on a full ride because of need. The OP was saying the "lesser" schools were financially out of reach but with the stats to get into Rice-type schools there would be plenty of excellent options who would offer full rides so 'full tuition' seems within reach. Also, does the full need stuff cover room and board? Those tend to be quite pricey at the more exclusive schools and the OP is saying that some schools she's talked to would cover everything but food and books. That's tough to beat so I'm not sure how that can be out of reach but Rice wouldn't be even with need covered. I don't think anyone has a 0 EFC. I was just confused by the different comments. Of course if she loves Rice, they can afford Rice, and she gets in - the more power to her. That's fantastic. The posts just seemed to me to say that a reason for avoiding having a safety school was that they couldn't find one they could afford and that confused me in light of the other posts.

I don't have an issue doing the actual search, it's the output that seems odd. Every time I search something the most recent post results are from back in late Feb or early March, nothing newer even if I see posts from just a few days ago that should have come up. Is this just happening to me?

Ok - I think I'm getting it. Just one more question, I think :-) . What about mechanics? Would I need something separate for that?

It's the bolded part I don't get. If I am reading this correctly you are saying that if she gets into Rice (or others like that) you will be able to afford if but if she gets into a more safety school you won't? How does that work? There will be little to no merit aid with these exclusive schools. But highly qualified students applying to state schools or other schools with more favorable admission rates are much more likely to get large merit aid packages and will have smaller initial price tags as well.

No - seriously - how do you use it LOL??? That's really all there is to it? And this works? With which book would you recommend starting? My daughter is 13. She is currently using Winston Grammar. We will be done in November. She isn't gifted. I know this is a gifted program, but she's a "different" learner for lack of a better term and I think she'd do well with this kind of approach. Winston has been very good but grammar programs before with a traditional 'do a bunch of sentences' were just pointless for her. Diagramming is frustrating for her so I prefer something that doesn't require lots of drawing of lines. My understanding is that MCT is more analysis and less (or no) diagramming.

I can't figure it out from the online samples. I've looked at it occasionally over the years but have never been able to wrap my mind around exactly how it works, day to day. I have seen people make comments about it being discussion-based/socratic which is good for my daughter so I'm trying to figure it out in my head. If my primary purpose in using it would be grammar, what would I need? How do the lessons look? Which book would I start with? Are there any written grammar lessons (like a workbook) or is it all discussion? Can you use it without all 5 books? Thanks!

Yes to what all of these lovely ladies said. And if I were you, I'd be just as brutally honest with your daughter. Tell her flat out that no matter how amazing she is, when the admissions stats are like they are at these schools there is absolutely no guarantee she will get into any of them. It's not a slam on her. It's the cold, hard truth. Tell her she needs to choose somewhere else to apply that is she can be comfortable with that has a more reasonable acceptance rate and good financial aid. I couldn't tell from the post if you will be able to afford to send her to Rice or Emory etc if she gets in, but if you are hoping for merit aid at those schools, they are very selective amongst the very select kids who were accepted. So even if money isn't an issue, she needs to apply somewhere much more guaranteed to get in. And if money is an issue, then she needs several options where both acceptance and merit aid are in the comfortable range.

Let me know what you think when you get the physics one. It's next on my list.

I agree with OneStep that I wouldn't just change her to another independent program without first figuring out what it is about math that is causing so much stress. Is she frustrated because she doesn't understand? Is she bored? Is it truly an attitude issue? Is she placed too high or too low? Does she need a program with less problems per day? There are lots of curriculum options with many approaches but you will have more success matching her to a program if you understand a little more about what is causing the stress.

Happy to help. I hope it can help your daughter.

I hope you like it. We've been using it as our main book/spine and sprouting off from there. Some of the stuff is really complex and beyond what she needs to know so for each chapter I create a worksheet that she fills in and it lets her know that is the information I want her to know and understand. Yesterday we found a video series that is free if you have Amazon Prime. It's called Anatomy for Beginners. We watched the episode called 'Circulation' because the first two chapters in the Manga book are the circulatory and respiratory systems. It was absolutely fascinating but I will warn you to look at it before you let your child watch. It is done by the same people who did the 'Body Exhibit' a while ago. In the video they cut open a real dead person and show you the heart and lungs. They introduce artificial blood so you can see the vascular nature of organs like the intestines (to appreciate the work the heart does) and they pump air into the lungs so you can see them breathe, the diaphragm contract and expand. It was amazing. They also have other specimens and a live person on whom an anatomical artist draws the circulatory system so you can see it move as she breathes. She is nude. It was done with respect and completely professionally. My daughter was fine with it but I know not everyone would be. But if your daughter can handle it, it was truly fascinating. Just be prepared that one of the doctors is Polish and his German accent is very thick :-).

This is my first year with just one to homeschool. We are doing well with just about everything. First a HUGE love - my daughter is in love with Manga Guide to Physiology as our spine for a human body study. It is packed with info. Like: Derek Owens Pre-Algebra - well I really like it - she says she hates it but it's the first math program that hasn't made her cry every day. In fact she doesn't cry at all so that's a win in my book Winston Grammar Biblioplan Ancients with Mills books Hand-made world geography W&R Narrative II (will do Chreia as well) Co-op - this is our first time doing a co-op. Mostly enrichment (cooking, cross-fit, and cellular biology). I don't adore it but it's nice and my daughter likes it. Miss - Cottage Press Bards and Poets - I put this under miss rather than hate because we both like this but she just wasn't ready. So it's on the shelf for later. She loved CP Fable and Song. We are doing W&R in the meantime.

I just wanted to say that my daughter and I are having a terrific time with The Manga Guide to Physiology as part of our human body study. I originally got it because I thought she'd find it fun fluff and spark her interest in the subject, but these books are not fluff at all. She is learning so much. Who knew??? Just wanted to share in case there are others out there with Manga loving kids.

I wonder if part of it is that SOTW 3 covers the time period with American history but isn't truly American history. I have seen lots of people end up down never ending rabbit trails trying to add full American history to SOTW 3 and it can end up taking forever. Maybe you would be better off with a program that combines World and US for you so you aren't feeling the need to keep adding. After all, you can always add something else when it comes to history. I use Biblioplan, but there are other options as well.

The practice problems answers are in the file called 'solutions' between videos and tests on the page you see when you log in.