I found it to be very hands-on, you just have to choose your activities from the books they suggest and plan accordingly. I used it for 3 years with a child about the age of your son and two others. We really enjoyed it!

We have bought Macs for the last 2 years on tax free weekend in NC. We haven't had any problems getting our free ipod (8G) and even got the free wireless printer last year, too. They have been very quick to send the checks after you complete the online rebate. I had to show my card from the DNPE at the store the first year, but when I purchased online the 2nd year, they took my word for it. The educator discount was even better than my husband's work discount. :0) I have a 21" screen and find it sufficient. I will say that my husband has used a "pc" screen for his macbook pro and the graphics are just NOT the same. HTH

I taught a co-op using LFC and a number of the children did not use shurley. those who did not use shurley, were able to keep up, although i had to make sure they understood the parts of speech more thoroughly.

they recommend LG--k-3 UG--3-6 so i think your 5th grader should probably start in UG. hth.

we switched from saxon to mus and have had pretty good success. we have combined mus and singapore, but i think doing saxon and mus would be difficult.

reading level and maturity level are two different things. keep in mind that content is not always appropriate for 2nd graders...we use some of both w/2nd grader, which is the great thing w/tog!

We used it for 4 years and LOVED IT! It worked well w/my younger children. We did notebooking and narration using Hold That Thought. As my children have gotten older, we switched to Tapestry of Grace b/c I needed something that streamlined a number of subjects. I DON'T regret using TQ for those 4 years, though. Michelle Miller has such wonderful commentary in there! hth.

We have used Shurley for 4 years and love it! You will either love it or hate, but my kids can classify every word in a sentence! If you got it, I would look at the Scope and Sequence and decide bt. Level 2 or 3. hth.

How about checking out http://www.classicalacademicpress.com.

Tapestry of Grace

Have you looked at Tapestry of Grace? http://www.lampstandbookshelf.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=RD03&AFFIL=TOGTRACI Please feel free to send me private message if you have any questions.

I have used TOG for 1 year and while I struggle to keep the weeks going, I find this very helpful. It has just enough structure to keep me going, but not so much that it overwhelms me. I find it very flexible. feel free to send me a private message if you have more questions. hth.

could you and your husband make the 1st conf a trip together? we both love hs stuff and enjoy doing that together! just a thought!

we used the idea of breaking their crayons and pencils to be very small, so they had to hold it the proper way. this cured my two children w/grip problems after awhile.