If your children are sensitive, I would postpone doing church history. It is very violent in many areas. Have you considered reading some biographies about famous Christians instead? There are many good children's versions that you could work through. That would give them a good base for church history later. R&S also publishes a very good Bible workbook set for 5th- 8th graders. It will give them a strong, thorough study of the Bible. You could do both R&S and biographies together and then cover Church history later using Sonlight 200 history. Hope you find something that works.

We are finishing Sonlight A with 3 children grades K, 1 and 2 together. I agree with what the others have posted about Sonlight A, nice gentle over view. It uses Usborne Children's Encyclopedia, and is meant to be a taste of history, geography, cultures, and science if you get the science kit (uses the same book). I have enjoyed it, and my little ones have enjoyed the simple lessons. I needed the ready to go lessons. If you don't want to buy anything, you could work your way through the children's history section of the library. Reading all the lovely picture books and simple biographies that are of interest to you and your child. A few books and series that we have really enjoyed at k-1st grade are: Usborne Time Traveler Book A Picture Book of...... (lots of famous people)- one author is David A. Adler ..If You Grew Up With..... (lots of famous people) - by Ann McGovern The You Wouldn't Want to series - by David Salariya -you may want to look through these first if your son is sensitive- some of the material can get a little gross- but my boys love them. Lots of easy readers have History topics - The Trojan Horse - Tut's mummy lost and found - Pompeii -buried alive UBOWH is very good, my older kids liked it, but it will need edited for nudes. You could use it as a spring board to find other picture books about a topic he enjoys. You don't have to read everything in the book either. Just flip through and chose the major topics you want to cover for the year. It has lots of illustrations and usually covers a specific topic on a 1-2 page spread. So you won't spend a long time reading the material in the book. It also has simple activities you can do if you wish. If your son can sit for 10-15 min. and listen well, he should be fine with this book. One last note that may or may not affect your family- there are references to human evolution and the book not accurate in portraying Biblical history. I simply adjusted the wording or clarified to meet my family's views on these points. It made for good discussion on why we believe as we do. Hope this helps some! :001_smile:

You could replace both with R&S, but you may not get as much in depth writing instruction as the WWE series offers nor the benefits of ready to go copy work/ narration. I've used R&S for years and love it for my older ones, but am using FLL 2 & WWE 1 with my younger son. He has problems transferring work over from a book, so FLL has been a good fit. We haven't gotten to FLL3 yet. What don't you like about it? My DS is doing so well with FLL, I am hesitant to switch, but I was wondering how it was set up compared to our R&S 3 book. I'm looking forward to replies to your thread.

We have one more year to go with our oldest and 7 kids to go. I've never regretted the choice to Homeschool, made before our 1st was born. After working in the PS system as an aide and seeing so many kids get passed up through not knowing how to read well or do basic math, I knew that was not what I wanted for my future children. I've made some bad curriculum choices, have had some bad days, but have never regretted it. I am sad to see our oldest finishing up, wishing we had a few more years- never got all of our to-do list done! Looking forward to our youngest starting school in 2-3 yrs.! I'll be homeschooling till I'm old and gray, Lord willing! :001_smile: Thank you so much for bringing this old thread back for others to be encouraged!

Have used TT Pre-Alg., Alg.1, Alg. 2, and Geometry. We used Saxon from grades 3 up for my 1st and had no problems till Alg 1, that's when we switched to TT. Looking back we should have stuck with Saxon. TT is a good program for a child who is struggling in math or not college bound, but I can no longer recommend it as a good strong math program. My daughter is finding LOTS of holes in her Algebra skills. She had decided to switched to Saxon Advanced math after comparing her math to her other homeschool friend's work. She has brought her SAT practice score up a lot since starting the new book. TT runs behind other rigorous programs. Saxon is my 1st choice for HS math- using the DVD's from Art Reed. My 2nd DD is finishing TT Pre-Alg., she struggles with math. I am considering putting her back in Saxon though, after what her sister has noticed.

What a good thread! I have used Barton with 3 of mine and parts of Barton with the others. Very helpful. Love the spelling rules and the syllable division rules! My 9 yr. old is finally able to read an easy reader without sounding out every word! Happy day! :hurray: Hope the lady who originally started the post was able to find something that helped her son.

I would not suggest R&S if she is having problems. It is good for drilling facts, but poor on explanations. I have never used MUS- but am interested in what everyone is posting. We hit the same place value block with some of mine. We spent extra time reviewing concepts and trouble spots before moving on. I agree with the post that she may simply not be ready to move on. Here are some things that worked for us if you have a little extra time. I used homemade manipulatives as well as the dollars, dimes and pennies suggested in Saxon. -I made a place value pocket chart out of a sheet of construction paper folded horizontally and stapled (one pocket for each place up to 1000's or higher). Then little rectangular papers with single digit numbers 0-9 written on the tops of the cards, several of each #. Say a number and have her build the number using the chart and # cards. Do a lot of these till she doesn't have to think where each # should go. -I also used square pieces of craft foam to make # tiles and sign tiles. these we used to "write" out problems on another sheet of construction paper held vertically( simple marker lines divided it into ones, tens, hundreds,... the same width as your tiles, so only one tile fits. Then put a line across for the = sign about 1/4 of the way down). Put one digit in each slot for the problem with the appropriate sign tile. Then she has to solve the problem using only single digit tiles in slots that only one tile will fit. she will be able to see why she needs to carry. This can be used for addition or mult., it can be altered a little to work with long division. We also do the "go next door and borrow" using problems made from stacks of unifix blocks. That helped my son know why he added ten separated blocks to the ones column, but only took one stack from the tens pile. Worked with carrying too, can't have 10 blocks in the ones column. :) Just another approach. Hope you find something that works! :001_smile:

I also agree about reading lots. We are using Writing with Ease 1, 1st Language Lessons 1, reading lots of books at proper level, beginning cursive, and MCP Spelling A with our happy 1st grade DD. Plus read alouds for everyone to enjoy! 1st LL will cover a good intro to grammar, poetry memorization, and picture narration. It is gentle and does almost everything orally. It only takes about 15 min. or less and you are done! We liked the CD for the songs, they take a few times to learn but really help. My dyslexic 9yr old son (just starting LV 2) can rattle off the lists of pronouns and "be" verbs! You only need to do lessons 3 times a week, but we are doing 4 lessons a week. You can go as fast as needed- we skimmed over a few lessons when the concept was already known. You might be able to skip up to level 2, but really knowing the nouns, pronouns and verbs taught in lv 1 may be helpful. WWE 1 is great too. If he already knows how to write well in printing, then don't be afraid to start him on cursive. You can read library books about science and history topics to cover that in a fun way, and listen to beautiful classical music during the day. With a 1st grader keep it fun and don't burn them out.

The black lines sets come with an answer packet (not sure about the new 1st gr. program- I don't have the new one). They are a good supplement for your other program. Hope that helps. :001_smile:

I am not allowed to post the Barton rules for these, but if you know someone who uses Barton they have great rules to help with this sort of trouble. One thing I can say is make sure he is pronouncing them correctly. That is usually the main problem with digraphs. Tch is also only ever used after short vowels. Sometimes if you over pronounce the word he may hear the difference.

This fall will be my 4th child using R&S 5. I have the worksheets and have used them many times. No, they are not necessary for most kids, but they are for some. I use them as an extra review before the test for mine who have retention problems. Between the book review and the worksheets (several days of review), they usually do better on the tests. I have also used them as take- along work in the car, over the summer for review, and for review of more difficult topics. The 5th grade book is one of the more difficult books that they make. It covers a lot of material. I have bought the worksheets for all of our books (up through 9th), they are cheap and can be recopied as many times as you need.

No, she isn't taking any online classes. She is on Khan academy, and has met a few homeschoolers there. It's not so much the friend issue, as the wanting someone at her reading level to discuss books. :001_smile:

Yes, we definitely need to have someone else evaluate her writing. Thanks everyone for the continued suggestions.

Rod & Staff has early chapter books that are well done and very age appropriate.

This is all given gently. :grouphug: I agree with getting him tested and the extra year, especially if his birthday is in the summer. We are struggling with many of the same issues with our 13 yr. old son (mild dyslexic). If your son has struggles reading, Barton is a great resource for struggling readers and spellers. It will take him back to square 1 to fill in holes, but he can progress at his own speed. We have used it, and it has really helped. Be sure those basics are down pat. Other things that seem to help motivate him are: extra time with Dad working outside, shorter lessons, and more one-on-one time with me. We have done school at weird times just so he gets that extra time. I also backed him WAY up in English (went back to 4th gr.) and spelling (reviewing those Barton rules). I kept pushing him- hoping it would click, but it never did. We review a lot and try to do as much as possible hands on and orally. Your son just may have needed this extra time to mature, now he's ready to go! Reevaluate his curriculum- get his opinion. What does he like/ dislike about his math book/ lit./ history/ ect.. Sometimes a change in teaching methods can help. You won't be able to fix everything, but a little may help. Look into Teaching Textbooks math or one of the other really great maths suggested on this site if yours doesn't seem to be working. Have him read books he chooses, not just the classics.I wouldn't suggest cramming subjects just to cover them. He may burn out and get frustrated. Slow and steady is my advice. Try to find a writing program that fits him. Writing With Skill is said to be good for the basics, as well as Writing Strands. I help my son with most of his writing assignments by having him tell me his ideas, then he can rework them into a sentence. It is a struggle, he doesn't write a lot of papers, but he's trying! Maybe you can use something here to help. :001_smile:

We also use Sonlight. Their book list for F is very good, and we've purchased many of them already. But I'm not sure about spending the $ on a brand new IG.( I have 2 that could go into F or G. We have all of G, but one really wants to do F. :confused1: ) I have not seen the new Eastern Hemisphere spine yet. We love the books, but have not been impressed with Sonlight's discussion questions in the previous cores we've done. I plan to use book guides for better discussion questions ( free ones are available on line for some of the books) and our own narrations for the others, no matter which we do. I like what Sabastiancat did - study the countries more in depth. So part mom made, part Sonlight would be my vote.

Look at Sonlight's 3rd gr. readers and their grade 4/5 readers. Very good books. Cores P4/5 read alouds & Core A up through Core D read alouds and history readers are all very good books to try also. My son loved: -Gooney Bird books -Dolphin Adventure books -Wheel on the School -The B is for Betsy series -A Grain of Rice - Here's a Penny ( same author as Betsy books), we read the whole set of these -Little Pear -No children, No pets - some very mild suspense, there's a hurricane, no one hurt. Written in the 1950's, my 4 yr. old really enjoyed it. - My Father's Dragon books - Rod & Staff have quite a few chapter books for children. All are very gentle and teach/ reinforce good morals and family life.

We also had problems with R&S spelling with a few of ours, many of the same problems you are saying about. We have used Barton's spelling rules & Spelling Power as well. If you can get ahold of the Barton Spelling Rules they really help. Other options for practicing words that have worked for my crew: -make a rule chart/ list (also mentioned in a post above) -use letter tiles to review words, just spell words, flip tiles upside down and try to spell words by flipping tiles over (need 2 players), make crossword puzzle out of words - use markers to write rule and all that week's words in lots of colors and different writing. -have a spelling bee -write the words in sentences - take more than 1 week to cover a hard list. - Spelling Power has a lot more options for review of words and rules. - finger write the words on the table top as spelling out loud -correct each section as soon as it is done, only 1 section per day -one of mine liked to form words out of play dough ropes and also draw words in shaving cream I recently started using MCP spelling with my youngest son, since I know copying answers over to paper will be difficult for him later. He is doing very well with that. Maybe you will find something helpful.

My daughter recently tried Duolingo. She has been using Rosetta Stone for 3 years, and she didn't like the way Duo was set up. She was on a mission trip earlier this year, and she was complimented on her pronunciation and vocabulary by some of the native speakers. She recommends Rosetta Stone over Duolingo. You will need to supplement RS to boost the grammar though.

I agree, they are not needed. There is more than enough work in the workbooks for a little one.

We use the Sonlight books with other things too. There are a lot of books assigned in Core D- especially if you are using one of the older programs. I would not assign as many narrations, maybe just have them read a few without narrating after each section. Some of the books can be read during their free time too. Since you won't be doing the whole core, it shouldn't be too much if you don't narrate everything. They have some really good books in D. It's one of my favorite cores! You could give your schedule a try and if it's too much, cut out some of the books. Hope this helps. :001_smile:

If your child has difficulties transferring problems to paper, R&S may not be a good fit. Otherwise it is a good program.

Thought I'd refresh this post to see if anyone had any thoughts.

We love our Ford Econoline Van. Gets good gas mileage. We seat ten, but they make larger ones. Wish we would have gotten the size up- teenagers have long legs! Suggest the rubber floor matting instead of carpet- easy to hose all the mud and mess out.

Yes, Messiah has a dedicated Homeschool Advisor. Her name is Rachel. She is very nice and really wants to help families feel comfortable. There is also a man soon joining her as an advisor. He and his wife homeschool. That made it much easier when we visited, both answered a lot of our questions.