I have love, love, love, loved Video Text. I cannot praise it enough. My dd is not mathy, and she is going to hate whatever program we do--but at the end of module C, she is GETTING it! I have never really praised a math program before, but I love this one.

We are completing Module C right now and my dd is in 8th grade. She did Bob Jones PreAlgebra last year and was really struggling with the concepts. We switched to Video Text and although she still hates it--she does GET it! I have loved the way that the videos explain the material. I have always considered myself a good math person, but this series explains it to ME better than anything else i've ever seen. I know that different kids need different programs to fit their styles, but I really cannot imagine a more perfect program than this one has been so far. I have never done a math program that I really could say that about before now. hth, amber

I can't remember.

Right now it looks like this: Omnibus I (history/lit/bible) Spielvogel's Western Civ (history) Videotext DEF (finishing Algebra I and II) Switched on Schoolhouse Science (this is the subject that I am completely giving up on) Switched on Schoolhouse Spanish I Home2 Teach writing classes At this point, I may add English from the Roots Up for extra vocab. and I haven't decided if we will do another year of grammar or if I will just count the grammar that we cover in the writing class.

When we first started homeschooling, we were using Covenant Home Curriculum and this was what came with the kit. It worked very well with my elementary age daughter and so we continued to use it with her through the 6th grade. What can I say about the curriculum? It is basically a mastery-type workbook. Covers one subject for several weeks, gives a test, moves on. For some kids, this works well. If you have a kid that loves workbooks then you will run the risk of letting them just do the work each day without much hands-on learning or deeper thinking skills. In hindsight, I probably would not use this again because it made it to easy for me to be hands-off. But this is my fault, not the texts! Probably if I had used the TM a little more, it would have been more beneficial. It is a basic math program, with no holes that I could see. The biggest drawback is that it does not challenge a child to think, like some other programs, by mixing up the way that problems are presented, etc. hope that helps a little! amber

is loving Nate the Great and Henry and Mudge series books right now ...my daughters loved Amelia Bedelia books at this age. a

i would rather plan it than do it, usually, but it wouldn't get done if it wasn't planned, therefore i plan religiously. Yearly, monthly, weekly, daily, hourly.

hoping that it will help me guide my high schooler through the Great Books. I found this book review pretty helpful: http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/education/ed0014.html maybe it will help you too... amber

A few things: First of all, this is written for high schoolers, so it takes some adjustments for younger grades. I used it with my 8th and 5th graders who had already completed LC I and II and we still were spending 2 weeks on most lessons to make it doable. One thing that I did really like about it was that it had them read long paragraphs of text just using common sense-forcing them to figure it out based on the context of the words that they did know instead of translating every single word that they have memorized. I had a hard time getting the teachers manual because it is commonly used in ps (they won't allow you to order it unless you are a school). Also, it was tricky buying used because there are so many different versions of this book out there. In the end, I ended up buying just the students edition (Ecce Romani I-which had A and B combined in a hard cover text) from the publisher and just didn't have a TM. I really don't recommend this for a student younger than 8th grade unless you have time to adjust the lessons significantly. Otherwise, it is a good program for an older student who already has had some exposure to Latin. Hope that helps! (By the way, I have my used copy of this listed on Amazon) Amber

MOH was one that I was looking into...But I was wondering how much I would have to adapt it for my youngest? I saw that it is recommended for middle school kids--which is great because my 11yo dd will be doing it along with, BUT I don't want it to be a struggle for my youngest to understand.

My older children completed the first 4 years with SOTW...but now that my youngest is needing to start over, i'm wondering what else is out there? Any suggestions for a good alternative? amber

Can't find any on the web....but need to place an order :(

My oldest child will be starting 9th grade next year and I am really scared of doing high school.. The transcripts! The Chemistry! The Calculus! How can I ever do this? I have 3 other younger children who I am homeschooling also and I think that I've finally reached the breaking point as far as time goes (I also work part-time). Are there any online schools that are really worth considering? amber

I can't help you much except to say that I understand. My son is 14 and just has a low iq. He sounds about the same as your daughter in math and reading. He also has problems with fine motor skills that make him unable to tie his shoes and write very well. What does his future hold? I don't think he'll be able to do vocational school. I have wanted to teach him some specific skill, but have yet to find anything that he can do that will be applicable in the "real world". His skills will probably be limited to grocery bagger, or something similar. This is very hard for me to accept. Although his life will always be of value to me, it hurts me to think that he will not be valued by the world. Will he be able to marry? Will he be able to function independently? It's hard for me to see right now. Does your daughter have any skills that you can work with? Can she follow instructions or think independently? amber

I was trying to think of ways that I might could get my 13yodd to practice writing that would be fun for her. Do any of you let your kids do a blog? I thought that the idea of someone else in this world reading it might inspire her to work a little harder at being creative and perfecting her little writing snip-its. (of course I would make sure that she didn't post any personal info or pics) Have any of you tried this with your kids? Any ideas for a theme that might be fun and get her creative juices going? Also, what platform do you find the most protective? Thanks! amber

I was trying to think of ways that I might could get my 13yodd to practice writing that would be fun for her. Do any of you let your kids do a blog? I thought that the idea of someone else in this world reading it might inspire her to work a little harder at being creative and perfecting her little writing snip-its. (of course I would make sure that she didn't post any personal info or pics) Have any of you tried this with your kids? Any ideas for a theme that might be fun and get her creative juices going? Thanks! amber cross posted to highschool board also...

My kids range in age from 14 to 6 and finding a read-aloud for the group is difficult, but I would love any suggestions for great books that might capture their attention to start out our Modern Era year. Any ideas? amber

MCP with my oldest (mainly because she was coming out of the PS and this flowed into what she was already doing better than anything else) and then she switched to BJU. My second child used Saxon My youngest child is using Singapore Oh, and my special needs son used Math-U-See for some of his years. We've been around the block when it comes to math, it seems! amber

I think that Rewards was worth every penny! My dd was in the same boat at that age, and Rewards brought her up to speed quickly. We never needed to use the Secondary book. By the way, I sold my Rewards book a few weeks ago on Amazon...so I know that it occasionally you can find one used :) amber

I have no other advice to offer besides what these ladies have already offered....BUT I would like to encourage you to hang in there and relax! My son is a 14yo in the same boat as your child and bringing him home in the 7th grade was the best thing that I ever did for him. Just having him here in this environment lifted his self-esteem tremendously and keeps him from constantly being "compared" to other kids. Does he have an area of interest that you could focus on? Can you think of a simple job that he might could do that you could begin to train him on? (My son is very unrealistic when it comes to things like this, so it is difficult. If you ask him what he would like to be when he grows up, he would answer an archeologist like Indiana Jones or a spy!) A friend of his, who is also low iq, told me that he was training to detail cars. I wish that I could get my son motivated in an area that was realistic like that. Preparing for real life is really just DOING it for my son. I have 3 other children to do school with, so I have to have him do workbooks and sit down work occasionally, but he really learns by doing. Be encouraged! It's worth it! amber

stick right with the public school schedule. I just find it easier to use their schedule and that way all of our holidays fall at the same time as the other kids in the neighborhood and church and sports teams. So that means we start on August 4th this year. amber

nope

I found it!! Joyce Herzog makes a program called "Luke's List" which helps you create an IEP. http://teach4mastery.com/lukeslist.html

Do any of you create an "IEP" of sorts to set goals for the year? If so, what do you use to creat this? Is there a program out there that would help me to help me to plan out our educational goals AND set daily living type goals? I had looked at something called "__________'s List" and it was for making these types of goals--but I have no idea who publishes this and I can't remember the name? Anyone know the name of this by chance? Thanks Amber

I have a 14yo whom I took out of ps after 5th grade and have been homeschooling ever since. He is mildly mentally retarded, low iq. A lot of days are really hard, but I'm glad to know there are others out there in the same boat! amber