9th Grade Add-Ons and Deletes

Language Arts: I'm still looking for a spelling curriculum for Miss Green to review. I haven't had time to really research it yet though, so I'm putting it on hold. English is going great, though I need to add in the tests. She really likes tests, oddly enough.

History: She finally admitted she needs something more in depth than Mystery of History. I'm going to have her start History of the Ancient World. I think it will go well for her. 

Latin: I can't believe how well First Form Latin is going for all of them. I'm absolutely thrilled! 

Logic: She's enjoying Fallacy Detective, but again she wants tests to do. The Bluedorns offer a test, but it covers the whole book. I have recently discovered Quizlet and am loving it. Others have uploaded the lessons and you can print tests for each lesson there. I think this will work perfectly for her, especially since she likes to study on Quizlet. They even have an iOS app, so we have it on everyone's iPods. You don't have to be online to use it, as long as you load the lesson while online. Then you can use it anywhere. 

Everything else is going well. I think she's finally happy in her schooling, for the first time in, well forever. We have settled into a nice routine working with one another. It's nice to be able to have a less hostile relationship. I think a lot of this may stem from allowing her a little more choice in choosing curricula. I choose the subjects and then give her a variety of choices to work on that subject. It makes it easier for her to accept when I say we have to do something and why, since she has had a say in much of her schooling. 

Miss Green Starts High School. Ack!

I have been worrying about high school for years, but now that its here, I'm not worried. I had planned a more challenging year, a la Well Trained Mind, but she needs a different pace and that's fine.

Math: She has been asking for Teaching Textbooks Algebra for quite a while, and I finally found it for the right price on Homeschool Classifieds.  I'm so happy we did. She is loving it! This is working so well, I hate to say anything to jinx it.

Language Arts: I decided to give Rod and Staff another try for her and purchased Preparing for Usefulness. I was a mean mom when it came in the mail and teased her about how much she was going to love what was in the package. When she opened it, she literally cried. I felt horrible, but she's starting to come around a little. She has asked to start doing the tests, so I plan on starting them this week. She really learns more if she knows there's a test coming. I also need to get the next level of Vocabulary from Classical Roots, but I've dropped the ball. She also asked to get a spelling curriculum to review, but I don't know what to get yet. I had her do the Sequential Spelling placement test, and she only missed one in the uppermost level. I'd love suggestions!

History: She asked to use Mystery of History 1 instead of Susan Wise Bauer's History of the Ancient World. I've decided to roll with it, since she's planning to beef it up and write weekly papers. We'll see how that goes.

Science: I had planned on using Apologia's Biology, and when I found out our local homeschool group was having a science co-op using the same, it was a lock. Miss Green wasn't so sure about it, but she is loving it! Well, she loved it up to the Chemistry module. Hopefully it will go back to loving it now that we're done with that module. I bought her the audio as well, and it helps tremendously to get it done in the car.

Latin: She is doing First Form Latin with Mr. Blue and Miss Pink.

Logic: Together, we settled on Fallacy Detective combined with the Art of Argument. She really likes Fallacy Detective, but she doesn't think she's retaining what she learned. She liked the look of Art of Argument, so we'll try adding that in.

Rhetoric: This past year she discovered Public Speaking and fell in love. She won the county 4-H competition and went to state where she got the highest honors possible at her level. She wants to start a speech and debate club and really wants to develop her public speaking skills. She likes the look of Argument Builder, and we both think it will help develop her speech writing.

Art: Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain in our little co-op.

Electives: She has asked if she can independently study Soil & Water Conservation. I'm excited to see what she comes up with!