I totally agree!

My DD will be starting her 7th grade year. We have done HOD the last year and I really love it. She was so independent with it and just needed me to guide her with Math, check her work, etc. She has decided that she doesn't want to do HOD again because, although she really enjoyed CTC last year, she doesn't like the topics for the one to follow. I want her to enjoy what she's studying and she loved it last year because she learned a lot about animals (which is one of the reasons we chose HOD last year along with some of the wonderful book titles). I am driving myself crazy looking for something for History and Science for her since she loves to learn through reading and that's what HOD provided for us. I am looking for a History and Science where she is still learning through literature where it is not a lot of "busy work". I would love suggestions for something similar. It must also be independent (requiring little time/involvement from me). TIA!

I will give her the placement test before i move her to Algebra 1/2. I looked through the books today thoroughly and went over them with her and it looks like the perfect place to start without "holes", but will definitely do a placement test. I'm just wondering about the transition from one curriculum to another.

Has anyone transitioned from CLE 6 to Saxon? If so, how was the transition? I'm thinking I'd like to use Saxon throughout high school so I'm thinking of doing the transition now rather than moving onto CLE 7. I'm looking at moving to Algebra 1/2. Thoughts?

I love DITHOR (most days), but we've used it for the past couple years and it tends to get bit repetitive. Sometimes it will have a "pre-reading lesson" when we're still in the middle of a book because it's so generalized and you're able to choose your own books. I have my dd doing it anyway and it's just silly and redundant. We are on Year 2 of DITHOR and ready to move onto something else. She is a reader and so she really needs a program like this. Where should we go now? (7th grade)

I'm looking for a writing curriculum (or maybe not an actual curriculum) for my son who is a rising 6th grader. He has ADHD and struggles to get words down on paper, spelled correctly, with proper punctuation. He literally can absolutely not do all these skills at once. I just brought him home from public school after spending 2 years there and being victim of a horrible bullying situation so we are still "deschooling" at this point. He has only been back home (he was homeschooled previously) now for about 4 weeks. To this point, other than using CLE math to try and catch him back up and fill in the holes, I haven't done anything other than have him journal and do things of interest to him. I have even used a free Spelling word list that I found online and have him write the words 3 times and put them into sentences just so that he is writing something and practicing punctuation and spelling. When we homeschooled previously, we used GWG and WWE with success, but unfortunately, after almost 3 years in the public school, he has lost all of that. He does not even know what a noun, verb, or adjective is at this point. We are starting from the beginning. :( I would love any suggestions you may have. We really need to work on spelling. He has the foundation and can spell when he takes his time, but taking is time is something he just doesn't do. We need to work on getting things from his brain onto the paper, all while keeping him less frustrated. If I do go with an actual writing curriculum, it would need to be "the beginning" and I would prefer one that doesn't show a grade on it as to not hurt his self-esteem. Levels are fine, but grade levels are definitely not. It's all a mental thing. I'm sure some of you can relate.

Is there a link to find this? I don't see it on their site.

I really love the look of this! Thank you!

I'm looking for a history curriculum that can be used independently (for the most part) or with very little guidance from me other than instructing for a few minutes, then checking work when it's completed. I loved Story of the World just for the reading and questions in the lower grades, although when I used it, I had time to sit with my kids and be crafty. I don't have that luxury any longer and had to bring my son back home from public school because he was being bullied horribly. I now have so many other things on my plate (running two businesses and homeschooling two children) and so I need curriculum that is going to take maybe an hour of my time each day (for everything). My daughter is using HOD which is working wonderfully, but I don't think it would be a great fit for my son as he does not enjoy reading. If I used Story of the World and the questions in the activity guide, would this work for a 6th grader? If not, what other suggestions do you have? Bringing him home after this horrible experience with the public school, I want him to have some time to "deschool", but then I don't want him to have absolutely no structure at all either. We are going to start with some devotionals, journaling, history, and science all while slowly trying to catch up on math. History and Science will play a huge part in his reading and writing as well (for now). I don't want to overwhelm him with anything.

We are doing CTC this year with my 12 year old daughter (6th grade) and we absolutely love it. We also did Bigger a few years ago which all my children loved. She had gone to public school for a couple years and came back home this year. She begged for HOD. I love it because, it took about half the year after coming back home, at the age of 12, and she is pretty much mostly independent. She just follows box by box and if she has questions, she comes to me. I check all her work when she is finished. We do sit down and do the narrations together and discuss all the books she's currently reading. It's brought up some wonderful topics for us as mom/daughter. It is not only a great curriculum in so many ways, it teaches values/morals/respect every single day. She has loved all the book choices so far (some much more than others). She just finished The Doll People and it was her favorite of all (one of the DITHOR recommendations). We pick and choose the boxes we will do each day and it leads to such a relaxing day. We don't use Singapore for Math as suggested, but use CLE instead which we love. Rod & Staff English is a fantastic program, but it was taking a lot of time out of our day so we switched to Easy Grammar. That's the one thing that I love about it....that you can do HOD the way you want to do it. If you feel like skipping boxes, then so be it. If you feel like skipping an entire section, then so be it. You make the rules. It's your homeschool....and HOD is perfect for that. I homeschool because I want to live an easy life rather than an overstressed by curriculum and stressed out children kind of life. I'm already on their site now looking to buy for the coming year, reviewing book choices, etc. I love HOD!

I'm looking to put together my own inventor/scientist study for my son who is 11. Have any of you done this? I would love for it to be in chronological order so I've been scouring the Internet looking for a list such as this. I want to add interesting books as he is ADHD and really needs to be interested in something to be able to focus. He is not the best reader (mostly comprehension is where his issues lies even with all the narrating we've worked on). He learns best with videos and the self-guided approach to learning so that he doesn't feel overwhelmed. I would love links for Netflix movies, YouTube videos, websites, or anything else that you've found helpful. I would like to incorporate all his spelling/vocabulary/grammar with this as well. I guess I'm looking at putting together sort of a Unit Study (I'm sorta just thinking out loud at this point). I would love any ideas you may have.

I can not watch her. Ugh! My favorite is Cathe Friedrich. She is awesome and most all her workouts are "advanced" which is what I need. She really really works you! I also love Kelly Coffey Meyer, but use her on lighter days since most of hers are not as intense as Cathe's workouts.

I was on the GWG website the other day and I noticed they had something calling Digging into Diagramming I think. You might want to check it out. :)

Thank you for all your replies. I ended up just purchasing CLE 5TH grade last night. It's what we've used in the past and what we're used to. I love that I'm be able to sit right with her if she should need me too and also that it will have some review to help boost her confidence. We will take our time with it and do the things we feel she needs to review and be just fine. :)

I found the group when I searched on FaceBook! Thank you so much!

Oh, how excited I was to see a workout post here on WTM! I haven't visited here in almost two years because I took a break from homeschooling to work on ME. I've since lost over 150 pounds, have become a certified personal trainer, certified health coach, and lifestlyle modification coach (all online and from home). I will be bringing my DD12 home again after accomplishing all this. I will definitely be posting my workouts here! When do you all fit your workouts in in between homeschooling time? Do you get up extra early, get it done, and then homeschool time? I'm trying to figure out when to work it in. I completed Meso 2 of Cathe's STS yesterday. I did Chest, Shoulders & Tris. Today I was my scheduled rest day as is every Friday. :)

We are in the process of doing the Saxon placement test. It's nothing but tears. I'm not sure I'll be able to give her another placement test after doing TT and Saxon. I'm at a loss honestly. When doing the placement 6/5 on Saxon, the question states: Use digits to write eight hundred eighteen thousand, eighty. Her answer reads, "8,018.80". Then another further down the page, "What are the next three terms in this couting sequence?" 2,700, 2,800, 2,900.... Her response is "21000, 21100, 21200". It's looking like she needs to go back to 5th grade math. I'm really not happy with myself at this point for ever thinking she would be okay in the public school. I knew what they were doing, but I didn't think it was this bad. They have just kept pushing her ahead even though she was not getting the concepts because she puts her entire heart and soul into everything she does. Her teachers have expressed this for the past two years, but I had no idea how much they were just letting slide. She had been tested and considered to have a "math disablity" by the public school. She has struggled since very young, but I can't imagine having to back all the way back up to the 5th grade. I really love CLE math and just may go ahead and start her all the way back to the 5th grade light units. In a perfect world, she could just sit around and read and draw all day long. She is such a happy girl when she is doing something creative, but put a math book in front of her and it's nothing but tears. I'm now working from home and was looking for something she could do more independently. I'm now realizing this isn't going to happen and I'm going to have to set 2 hours aside each day to sit with her and be very hands on, as well as hire a tutor.

My DD12 is an upcoming 6th grader. My lineup so far is: Heart of Dakota CTC (History, Science, & DITHOR) R&S English 5 Math will be either TT6 or Saxon (taking the placement test now) I'm not sure if I need a formal writing curriculum. I'm thinking she will get enough already with her other subjects for now. I'm wondering if I should be using a Spelling curriclum (she is a natural speller) or Vocabulary this year. Either way, what would you suggest for Spelling or Vocabulary at this age?

Do you have a link to the Facebook group? This would be so helpful.

Yes, she's taken the placement for TT6. She got a few wrong, but according to the test she isn't far behind. I may pick up a couple CLE books to get some extra practice or find some worksheets online to work with her over the Summer. I've also thought about some Summer Tutoring.

I had previously homeschooled my children for thirteen years. I have even graduated my oldest child who is now 21. Six weeks into our homeschool year close to two years ago, I decided to put my children in the public school. I do truly believe that every child is different and does well in different environments, although, between all the bullying as well as not much social interaction, I'm not a happy mama! It's funny the biggest question I got for YEARS is, "Don't you worry about social interaction?" In the public school, my children don't get to speak to one another. Even in the cafeteria at lunch time, they turn music on and every child must be quiet or gets disiplinary action (sticks pulled until they've had enough pulled to be sent to the office just for speaking). After two years in the public school, not one meaningful relationship was made for any of my three children. My daughter is going to be in 6th and is coming home again this year because we just went through a redistricting and I can not let her go to the middle school we are now districted for. After looking at what she was learning in math, she was doing the same thing we were doing when I sent her to school two years ago. I'm now struggling to find math curriculum that won't kill her self-esteem. As for Grammar...none!ziltch!nada!I want to go with R&S, but it's so rigorous that I'm afraid it will overwhelm her after forgetting everything she had previously learned as a homeschooler. I did end up going with R&S 5th grade and going to start some review during what we have left of the Summer time. I'm hoping this works out. She has begged to go back to HOD so I chose CTC instead of RTR or higher so we have the chance to read and spend some quality time together without it being too overwhelming. If I had known, I probably would had kept my DD12 home and sent my boys to school (who are doing fine). I'm really stumped on Math thought. I'm looking at TT6. I wanted to go back to CLE, but the 6th grade is way beyond her. She showed me her math last night and was only doing some word problems, as well as long division and multiplying three digit numbers by two digit numbers. I think CLE is way beyond that. The first book that is just review was going over trillions and billions with place value and she hasnt even been introduced to this yet. I'm at a loss. So, she has basically wasted two years in PS reviewing and I'll spend a year trying to play "catch up". So disappointed.

I think I've finally narrowed down most of what we are going to do for 6th grade after having my DD in the public school for the last 2 years. I was able to find most all of HOD CTC used today at the Homeschool used book store. Yay for me! I just ordered the guide from HOD as well which was about the only thing I couldn't find used. I figure this will be easier than trying to put together my own literature study and she just loved the HOD books when we did Bigger a few years ago. She has so many fond memories of HOD. Anyawy, I'm only going to use HOD for History and Science. I will not be using their R&S Grammar and will probably go with Easy Grammar or GWG. I will be using Artistic Pursuits for art since she is a drawer and a very creative type. My problem is with MATH! :crying: I was sure I was going to go with TT6 which I probably still will since math is not her strong point. I'm beside myself. She just brought me her math notebooks from PS because I asked for them as I was looking at CLE samples. She was clueless while looking with me which is why I asked her to bring me what she was doing when school finished. She was doing long division and multiplying 3 numbers by 2 numbers. They were doing a lot of word problems. They were learning gallons, liters, etc. This is what we were working on when I put her in school TWO YEARS AGO!!!! I'm completely beside myself. I can't purchase CLE 4th grade as this would just kill her self-esteem. She definitely struggles with math. She was pulled out in PS in a special class and had an IEP set while in school since she is considered to have a "math disability" (labeled by the PS, of course). She played around with the samples for TT6 online and absolutely loved it, felt confident, etc. I'm thinking this is going to be my safest bet at this point until we can get her caught up. I really dislike playing catch up after having my children in the PS. I hadn't planned on bringing her back home and didn't tink I would have to worry about this. We just went through a huge redistricting and I'm now in a very low income horrible PS district. There is no way I'll allow her to attend this middle school. She was already being hounded by bullies for most of the end of the year last year. :cursing: What would you do? I love CLE math and have used it in the past. It's always been wonderful and worked very well with all of my children. I do need something that is more indepdent though and will have a math tutor for her once per week for one hour. TT6 is going to be so expensive (especially if it doesn't work out). I know that TT6 is behind a bit (from what I've read on these boards), but I'm thinking, if this is the case, then this would be good for her. She is definitely not a math girl. She would be happy if she could sit all day with some great literature, an art pad, pencils, or her beading.

We have just recently come off a break from homeschooling. I had put my children in school for the last two years to work on myself after homeschooling for thirteen years. When I had decided to put them in school, my children were doing HOD Bigger. There was a lot of involvement from me and it was almost overwhelming, but my children continulously talk about the things they learned, the literature and biographies they were able to read, etc. (specifically my daughter who I'm bringing back home this year for 6th). I have been searching high and low trying to figure out what to do for History and Science that is going to free up some time for me since I now have my own business and work from home. I'm looking at going to CTC for her, but the only thing that stands out in the placement is that the child needs to be able to copy cursive passages. Of course, she learned cursive when she was homeschooled, but after being in school for two years, they no longer teach cursive. I'm afraid she has forgotten most everything she learned when she was homeschooled previously. They didn't even teach any grammar in the public school so she has since forgotten everything grammar related. I'm so disappointed in the public school system and glad she is coming home, but I don't want to put her in an HOD level that is too low age wise and I know that starting with CTC, they are more indpendent (which I really need her to be). If you have used HOD (specifically CTC), can you tell me what age your child was and how much they actually had to be able to write in cursive? How much of it is independent and how much time is it going to take from me each day? I love that it is four days per week because this really helps, but I'm worried I'll end up in a situation where I need to sit right next to her for hours each day and this is what I'm trying to avoid. We are probably going to use TT6 for Math and R&S6 for Grammar as well as R&S spelling as we always have before. If I add in HOD, I have everything else covered, but I want to make sure I'm not going to overwhelm myself. I'm not sure if I should back up all the way to Preparing or even if Preparing is independent.

Thank you! I'm not sure I'll use it, but just ordered a "used" copy for only $7.00. Figured I don't have much to lose for only $7.00. :)

We used it when my children were younger and we loved it. I've used K, 1, and 2.