Congratulations to you, too! We did go ahead and buy the Hexco Spelling Rules Book, and I've been amazed at how excited my son is by it. I'd love to hear more about your family's experiences -- both at past national bees and with the Hexco products you described. Also, if there is any chance your son would be interested in being a spelling buddy/pen pal with my son, please feel free to send a PM. Good luck, Tiffany

Thanks for your suggestion. I'll check it out. Tiffany

Thanks so much for your response. I was wondering about the Spelling Rules Book and whether it would be a useful tool. If you would like to share more about your experiences at the National Bee, I'd love to hear about them. We've been to D.C. many times as my husband's family lives in northern VA, but attending the actual Bee will be completely new for us. Thanks again, Tiffany

Anybody?

Have any of you used any of the Hexco National Spelling Bee prep products? I can't find any sample pages online or anything about their return policies, so I'm a bit wary about spending so much on the products. I have a 6th-grader going to the National Bee in a few months and just want to check out all the options. Of course, if he were just willing to read the M-W unabridged, then I wouldn't have to spend anything ...:) Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences, Tiffany

Thanks, ladies! This is excellent feedback. I do own some of the texts you've mentioned, so I'll have to check out some of the possible combinations. Tiffany

Just wondering if any of you have ever made the TOPS Science books the centerpiece of your science curriculum over the long haul. I am wondering how feasible this would be for my 12yo and 10yo going forward ... Would the books be self-sufficient, or do you feel I would need a supplemental text/spine? Thanks, Tiffany

bump

That looks complete to me. I guess my only suggestion would be to make sure your child's reading materials are truly interesting and attention-grabbing. Some "readers" can be boring and not very good at instilling a love of reading. Tiffany

I can't comment on WWE, but I do have experience with Math-U-See. I'd suggest you watch the video, but the level of the video will make a difference. It's an excellent program, but you'll definitely need the workbooks and teacher's manuals, not to mention the manipulatives. Have you figured out which levels each of your children will need? Let me know if I can answer other questions on MUS. Tiffany

I was just about to suggest these myself. They are wonderful! I'm reading one aloud to my 4yo each day ... Tiffany

Thanks to this forum, we love Busy Bee Bags too! My 4yo is a huge fan, and I've spent more money on them than I care to admit. Worth every penny though. Try to catch a special if you can, and order more than one set, if possible, to save on shipping. Tiffany

Since I've only used A Beka and Shurley very briefly, I'll just bump this for you. I can say that there is a huge difference in style and required teacher involvement in the two programs. I've known families that use A Beka basically without parent involvement, but I can't imagine Shurley without a parent being actively involved. It includes singing, chanting, interacting, ... and some kids do very well with it. We did Winston Grammar last year with a lot of success. And this year, we'll be doing Fix-It. Good luck with your choices, Tiffany

Personally, I think that would be perfectly fine. Generally, an A grade range would be 90-100, with the lower 90s showing up as an A- under some systems. Maybe you'll still hear from others on this forum ... Tiffany

I am not a medical doctor, so that's my first disclaimer! But I wanted to share that my husband once had a similar situation, in which he thought he might have broken his little toe (chasing a naughty toddler down a hall). He went to the ER because he knew he would need a strong painkiller and it was the weekend, so he couldn't visit his regular doctor. He received the painkiller, and that was it. Also, recently, a friend of mine (whose husband is an MD) seriously injured her toe. She opted not to see a doctor or visit a hospital because "they couldn't do anything anyway". Judging from those two anecdotes only, my guess would be that there is little to be done for a toe that is broken. But, of course, I have no idea if there are unusual situations that require special attention. Ice packs and elevation sound like just what I would do. Plus some kind of pain medicine. A 15yo dodging work? Sounds possible. But I love shelving books, so it's too bad I can't come help you. Tiffany

Wow! I'd forgotten that Plato and Aristotle were suggested that early. I haven't found any appropriate resources yet, but searching book lists (besides WTM, you could try Veritas Press, Paula's Archives, etc.) and my local library would be my first line of research. And if you don't find something appropriate, you can always come back to them later. Tiffany

I make report cards for my kids, but they are not required in my state, so I have a rather straightforward approach. I simply bought a homeschool report card from a local homeschooling conference for about $1.50. I just enter the basic subjects, rather than every single thing we do. Because I require mastery (meaning my kids have to go back and redo work that isn't up to standard), all grades are within an A range. Only very occasionally have I given a B+. Keep in mind, too, that my oldest child has only just finished 5th grade. My husband teaches at a high school for gifted juniors and seniors (and is a former university professor), and he is okay with this system. Under the law in my state (IN), I am running a private school, and this is the way my private school operates. :) I'm not sure if you would feel comfortable doing that under the guidelines of your state law, but I hope this sheds a little light on the topic for you. Tiffany

Welcome to the forums! SOTW is a wonderful program, but I don't think you would want to repeat it 3x over 12 years. In TWTM, the 4-year history sequence does get repeated like that, but generally, you would be using different books for the different ages. That said, I think you could adapt SOTW to the ages of your children. There are activity guides for each of the 4 books, but you won't find as much in the earlier guides for the older children. As far as testing goes, the way I look at testing of history (or what the standardized testers call social studies) is that it's a content area. If your child hasn't covered the exact topic that's geared to that particular grade level, then he/she won't do well on that test. I personally don't worry about it re. history because I know we are doing a LOT more with history than public schools do, and by the time my kids finish high school, they will have been exposed to the entire span of history. Hope this helps, Tiffany

I've used both LC and LFC, and our strong preference is for LFC. There have been several discussions on this topic in other threads, so you may want to do a search to get a variety of opinions. My kids found the LFC DVDs very entertaining and engaging, and that made a huge difference. Tiffany

You may also want to check out this option: http://scotthochberg.com/taas.html These tests cover only reading and math, but they are free, so they might help you get started right away. Tiffany

These are excellent questions, and I'm not sure I have time to do justice to answering them completely. I have used IEW for a few years, and it works very well for my kids. I'd definitely look at your friend's DVD as soon as possible, but even they might be overwhelming. Basically, there are 9 units: I. Note making & outlines II. Summarizing from notes III. Summarizing narrative stories IV. Summarizing a reference V. Writing from pictures VI. Library research projects VII. Creative writing (with structure) VIII. Formal essay IX. Formal critique Within those units, students learn "dress-ups" and stylistic devices to improve their writing. Of course, you wouldn't want to cover all the units with 3rd-5th graders. Depending on how long your class meets, you might do the first four or so units ... Once you understand the system, lessons are very straightforward. Have you looked at the IEW catalog? It probably has a better description than what I've provided: http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/index.php?q=start Does this help at all? Tiffany

I purchased the previous two editions, but managed to convince my local library to buy the latest edition. I have not read the new ed. from cover to cover, but it does have a fair amount of new material, particularly in the area of middle school science (if I remember correctly). Tiffany

My kids have done 4-H, and I think they've learned a lot from the experience. We haven't done animals -- just Foods (Preparation and Preservation), Cake Decorating, and Shooting Sports. I basically just consider it a supplement to what we are doing in school, but that is in part because of the topics we've chosen. In our area, the workshops are an outstanding learning experience for the money. Hope this helps, Tiffany

Perhaps you could borrow TWTM from the library until you find your own copy? Not sure if this will help, but my 5th grader will be doing the following this year: Sonlight Core 6 - History & Literature MUS Delta (close to finished), then Epsilon Life of Fred: Fractions (as a supplement) Phonetic Zoo A Fix-It IEW (Ancient History-Based Lessons), supplemented with SL LA 6 Poetry Memorization (IEW) Maps, Charts, & Graphs E Sonlight Science 6 & Story of Science First Start French (taking a break from Latin) Violin lessons Story of Painting & Drawing Basics Ballet Critical Thinking Activities Religious education (both at church and home) Well, at least that's the plan for now. We'll see how it all works out. Does that help at all? Tiffany

100 Easy Lessons starts at the beginning in terms of teaching sounds and sounding out words. If you think she's using more of a sight word approach and needs a dose of phonics, it might be a good fit. If she already has a good grasp of basic phonics, you'd have to skip several lessons. I'm using 100 Easy Lessons now for my third child, but we are still in the early lessons (around Lesson 10). I do highly recommend it. Tiffany