I switched from sonlight to TOG one year when my older boys where in middle school for fear sonlight wasn't hard enough. I hated TOG and so did my kids. We switched back to sonlight which is a good fit for us. I never understand why people say it isn't hard we find it very challenging and interesting. We found TOG to be dry. My son will be a senior this year and we have mostly used Sonlight.

O.K. so my netbook broke so I am in the market for a tablet. I am leaning towards an ipad but my husband wants me to get an android because he feels they can do everything an ipad can do for cheaper. If this is not the case can you tell me what apps I can get on an ipad but not an android? Thanks

I love sonlight but I am trying to combine kids and it is taking sooo long each day to do school. I combine my 5th and 3rd grader but it didn't work to combine my 1st grader. I have an 8th grader and a high schooler but they are pretty independent. I have tried other programs such as TOG and Winter's Promise but I have not liked them as much as Sonlight so I always end up going back. Does MFW take less time then 2 cores? I see it still has supplimentary work for younger kids so I am just not sure. Thanks

How teacher intensive is this program? I am looking to use this with my 8th grader. Thanks.

Is anyone familiar with this type of microscope? Thanks

Does anyone know where I can get handmade civil war or colonial costumes for a male child. My 7 year old would like getting one for Christmas but I can only find the store bought kind right now that don't look like they would hold up with a lot of play. Thanks

Alright, my 8th grade son has great difficulty with math. We have done decimals and fractions using MUS and he did not do well on the tests. So this year we did LOF and Keys to fractions and percents. He does fine if I was sitting with him and reminding him of things but he did not do well by himself. I was thinking of having him do pre algebra over the summer so he would be ready for algebra for 9th grade. I just had him take the placement test for pre algebra for TT and he did not pass so now I don't know what to do. If I have him do level 7 over the summer he will only be ready for prealgebra in the fall not algebra. I am really frustrated. Plus he has done 7th grade math now for 2 years and is not seeming to progress. He knows his basic facts he just has trouble with word problems and remembering how to add, sub, divide and multiply fractions.

We loved SL and I listened to others this past year and did TOG with my whole family. I think it is a great program but we hated it. I am switching back to SL and that includes my highschooler. I have learned way more history than all my years in high school and college. We enjoyed the reading and I don't care what others are saying we liked it. My kids are lousy writers but that is more my fault than SL's because I never made them do any writing. I will be working on that but TOG didn't really give me any great instruction on writing either IMO. Do what works for your family. Obviously someone is having success with SL or they wouldn't continue selling their highschool cores. I think those of us who use Sonlight through Highschool are quiet because those who think it is too easy are too vocal.

I am going to use 200 next year with my 9th grader. I listened to others and switched to TOG this past year and hated it. I am going back to what my kids and I loved. My kids aren't going to ivy league schools and will mostly likely go to state schools (for college) for money reasons. My kids know way more history then I every did with my public school education and have been exposed to way more literature than I was. I have never used SL LA and I plan to not do all the literature and use some literature guides to go along with some of the books.

I cook breakfast from scratch at least once a week but we eat it for lunch or dinner.

Yes. We bought this for my 11 yo son for Christmas. Our Camera was broken but they replaced it. My son has read the book himself and has made stop motion movies on the computer himself. We were really happy with it. He was able to use our regular camera until the new one came.

I see your kids are all little. At this point I would not buy TOG. I bought it this year for my 2 D students and thought I would use it for everyone. I didn't really like it at all for my little ones. There just wasn't much there for that level. I have used both SOTW and SL cores 1 and 2 with different sets of younger kids and have enjoyed both of those with my younger kids. I don't even think I am going to do TOG with my older kids next year. I bought the newest and greatest and it just wasn't one of my favorite years. Some discussions we would get to and the kids would say we didn't read about that this week. It would be in my notes and in the discussion questions but the info wouldn't be in the primary sources listed. Plus I still think it is a bit costly for what you get which is a list of books, notes and suggested weekly readings. I am sure it took a long time to come up with those things but other curriculum you get books with notes, and lists. It works great for some families and the service is great so it may work for you all. I would look at the 3 week plans and try them out.

I was a SL user and I loved their cores. I did not like core 5 which we did the year before this one. I also have a large family and was not sure how to fit everyone in. So I research TOG and looked at the samples and decided to move in that direction this year. I have an 8th grader so after much reading I felt that maybe it would be the best academic choice as well. I have to admit I am not that happy with it. We did year one and while I have learned a lot I am not happy with the younger years. They did not have much literature in any grades. A lot of bible reading. I am a christian and like how they tie the bible into history but I would like more literature. I guess I would like more balance. I really liked sonlight and I miss it. I am thinking of switching back. I know I am suppose to like the academics of TOG but I wasn't unhappy with our level of knowledge with Sonlight. My kids know way more history then I ever did growing up and I love the literature they are reading. Anyone else feel this way? Maybe I just have a lower academic standard than everyone else.

We are planning a trip to Williamsburg in the fall. We have 6 kids ranging in age from 14 to 2 in the fall. Does anyone know of an inexpensive place to stay? Thanks

I knew someone who had this and had a healthy baby and no health problems later. She did decide not to have more.