I'm totally agreeing with this. I love MP, however, not every piece is for every kid. I asked lots of questions about Introductory Physics for my 9th grader and decided to go with it, but it turned out to be a disaster for my son. Had I known how much math was in it, I never would have chosen it for this year. I love the mastery idea, but my kid just detested the book and assignments. He is also in MPOA High School Comp I as was suggested to me. He took two years of the progym with Schole Academy (Classical Academic Press) and their head writing teacher didn't think my son's writing was far enough along from his Schole classes and recommended HSCI, which he is sailing through. Now I wish I had picked something else for him because the course is mostly review. My other issue is that there is no interaction between the students and teacher. The students can't even see each other. They communicate with the teacher and each other by chatting, which I don't like. Schole was very interactive, and was more like a regular class, and a better fit. Since they are small there were no class times that would work with our schedule this year. Now I don't know what to do for next year. I was hoping MPOA was going to take us through high school writing, but I don't see it working out. I'll have to look into these other options.

You might want to look at Master Books science courses. The texts are quite interesting and they have General Science I (Ocean, Astronomy, Weather, and Mineral) and General Science II (Geology, Cave, Fossil, Archaelogy). Since the workbook/teacher guides with quizzes and tests are pretty inexpensive, you can mix and match which books you would like to do. We switched to this after a dismal eight weeks struggling through Novare Introductory Physics. If you want labs, they have suggestions on the website.

I really like Memoria Press literature. For 9th grade they read Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Canterbury Tales, Henry V, and poetry. The literature analysis is intertwined with the readings and student guide questions.

Thanks so much for answering! I did go ahead and buy the Shormann subscription and my son is two weeks into it. I'm not so sure if it was the right choice or not, so only time will tell. He really needs someone to hold his hand through math, but I'm not the one to do it and my husband is too busy, so this seemed like the next best thing after going through CLE math. A friend of mine uses it with her son and has been very happy with the results, so I'm sure hoping for the best for my kid. I will go ahead and look into Unlock Math, though. I've never heard of that program.

So good to hear. Thanks for responding.

Thank you! This is the kind of information I'm looking for.

Yes, we are doing exactly what you suggested, except for skipping quizzes and tests. I am just pretty confused about how much is absolutely necessary to begin algebra because some say getting to 804 is enough and some say getting through 710 is enough to be ready. We are trying to squish two years of pre-algebra into one so I would like to eliminate whatever we can.

My son is going to begin Shormann Algebra I in the fall for 9th grade. He did CLE 700 and is in 805 right now. Is it necessary to finish the 800 series to begin Algebra 1? I've read both 700 and 800 are considered pre-algebra and the student needs to do both, I've read 800 isn't necessary, and I've read doing part of 800 is enough? I'm confused. Is 700 pre-algebra? Is 800 a mix of algebra 1, geometry, and consumer math? Can someone help me with this?

I would look into Lyme disease and its related illnesses because of the returning fevers.

This will be my first high schooler and I hope this goes well! Math- Shormann Algebra I??? English/ Composition- Fix It Grammar Book 4, Vocab from Classical Roots books B and C, and MPOA High School Composition I Literature- MP Middle Ages Literature and Poetry History- MP Middle Ages and Roman Roads Christendom videos and hopefully MP Renaissance if they get it published Science- Novare Introductory Physics Foreign language- French I with a local teacher and Duolingo Elective- MP Geography III Fine Arts- Homeschool Orchestra and Choir Extracurriculuar- Basketball and Bible Quiz Team

Has anyone used Shormann Algebra? I'm very interested in this for my rising 9th grader next year.

Thanks! I did email RR over the weekend and asked if the Christendom program should really be done as a whole and I was told the lectures give a good overview of the books that are read and I can use them with another curriculum. Maybe the unit you are doing is a little different? I am still trying to figure out what to do. I wish they had more samples videos up than just the introduction. That would help me decide.

No problem! I will ask over there. 😊

I'm not planning on doing everything MP has listed for 9th grade, like American and Roman history, Christian studies, their Logic, or Latin. Does that make a difference?

Yes, so would it work to watch the lectures, but do MP history and literature from the same time period? I'm sure the most ideal thing would be to do OWC as a whole, but I'm just trying to figure out all my options. I've only looked at the one video they have for Christendom, which is the introduction, so I can't tell if what I'm proposing will work or not.