The Teaching Company, etc.

I finally gave in.  I bought The Teaching Company's Biology and Algebra I courses on DVD.  I've been trying to convince myself that I needed these for some time. ; )  And yes, they were on sale.  There is no way I would pay full price. (cough, splutter)


14yo and I started reading through Spielvogel's Western Civilization.  As we were reading about australopithecines, I remembered that we own DK's History: The Definitive Visual Guide (From the Dawn of Civilization to the Present Day).  The plan is to jump back and forth between the two.  For the next couple of weeks we'll be in DK's History.

If you've noticed our curriculum in the side bar, you'll see that BJU Biology has been on hold for quite some time.  A couple of reasons...it is rigorous and religious.  I have nothing against using religious textbooks.  Rod & Staff is a Mennonite publisher and we use their books for many subjects (math, grammar, science, history/geography, etc.).  But, BJU was in your face, cram it down your throat, with a cherry on top.  It wasn't bleh, it was Argh!  I encouraged dd to let it roll off her back but the rigor finally gave us a good excuse to push the pause button.

In the meantime...I made another $5 discovery at Goodwill - Prentice Hall's Biology by Miller and Levine (2002).  It is one heavy book with tons of beautiful photographs.  And so far, it seems a little too easy.  I guess I shouldn't make that judgment until we jump back into the chemistry section.  But my, it sure is purty to look at. : )

12yo spent several days with big sis, so math was pretty much the only thing she accomplished this week.

8yo is working hard on transferring the counting by 5's chant to paper.  She had bit of a time getting her numbers in the right place, but I know she'll get it.  That's the beauty of Rod and Staff math.  They will drill it until it is part of you. ; )