thank you, everyone! peterpan, thanks for sharing all those resources, will look into them.

not free, but I love Typetastic. typingclub is free and good but layout is more dry.

Hi, I was wondering if anyone could recommend a workbook with brief exercises on reading comprehension, particularly inferences? I've been looking at Reading Detective by Critical Thinking Co. and CAP Reasoning & Reading - has anyone used either of these? For upper elementary and middle school grades, thanks in advance.

this doesn’t check all the boxes (no textbook) but my 7th grader is going through crash course biology along with a worksheet packet I got through TpT.

Hi, is anyone familiar with English Lessons Through Literature and Learning Lang Arts Through Literature? Can anyone share how they’re different? I’m very drawn to how integrated they are. My 4th grader is currently doing CAP Writing & Rhetoric - Fable along with Well-Ordered Language, and doing novel studies separately. Definitely nothing to complain about, but I love the idea of making everything more organic.

My 12yo is doing AoPS prealgebra. He doesn’t do any reading in the textbook. We watch the corresponding lesson videos on the website then work through all the practice problems in the book.

hi, I'm looking for a writing curriculum for my 4th grader that starts out with learning how to write good sentences, then paragraphs, then ending the year having written a few essays? writing strands looks like it might work but I was wondering if there was a secular curriculum out there with a similar approach.

thanks so much for the demo link, I had no idea that was there! very interesting. I wonder if anyone who's done the self paced has felt it was worthwhile. I wish there were daytime slots for the live classes. then again, I'd worry about whether my son could keep up.

anyone's child do this course? how is it and how does it compare to just doing Alcumus and the textbook? the live classes start too late in the day to be an option for us. thanks in advance.

new to homeschooling but as of now, Math - Rightstart Math supplemented with Beast Academy online. (if RS ends up being too time consuming, will use Math Mammoth) Reading - will pick ~10 read alouds and do some unit studies, read independently at least 30 min daily Writing - CAP W&R Fable Grammar - Well Ordered Language Social Studies - probably Zinn Education Project, researching picture book read alouds on various topics Music - piano lessons and music appreciation with me Art - picture study, YouTube art projects Science - undecided, maybe Mystery Science and some Outschool classes Coding - play on Scratch website

Thank you, sounds like I need to just purchase the full program to learn how to execute it well. I'm not sure what other education programs teach, but I received mine from Northwestern Univ and they didn't focus on any specific methodology. They were very heavy on teaching the history, progression and range of philosophic thought and pedagogy in education, so I can, in general, understand the approach and views of each program and where it's coming from.

Does IEW ever have sales on their main curriculum?

Thanks so much for your feedback. I'm mainly worried about purchasing TWSS and finding it unnecessary (already having received training in writing instruction) while still wanting to use/try their curriculum. It would be weird to return TWSS while continuing to use the program?

Hi, anyone use IEW having only purchased student materials without TWSS? I'm really interested in trying out level B with my son but have some reservations due to the upfront cost of IEW. I'm already uncertain about whether my son will be willing to watch all the lesson videos, but I'd like to try. I also have training in teaching writing as I have an education degree and am a former teacher so am reluctant to purchase TWSS until I decide to go all in. I'm new to homeschooling and IEW is the opposite of the kind of approach I initially wanted to use with my son. But in considering my son I think he'd feel more empowered by this kind of instruction than one that is more fluid. Appreciate any advice, thanks in advance.

My daughter is about the same age and read alouds she really enjoyed were Wonder, Tale of Despereaux, The One and Only Ivan, Little House and the Narnia series. She LOVED The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane and really likes Kate DiCamillo in general. She's also enjoyed Pippi Longstocking, Mrs. Piggle Wiggle and Roald Dahl books. There's a cute book we read called Toys Go Out - one of the toys doesn't know what she is and I always loved seeing my kids' reactions at the part when the toy finds out. I also bought a collection of Hans Christian Anderson fairy tales that she's been enjoying (I have older boys and never bought fairy tales before lol) - we discussed similarities/differences of the Snow Queen with Frozen and Lion, Witch and Wardrobe. Your daughter sounds a little advanced - my boys were more advanced readers at this age than my daughter. They enjoyed the Percy Jackson, Gregor the Overlander and Harry Potter series. Not sure if any of these suggestions are acceptable for Classical education but I wanted to contribute to this forum since I've only asked questions and been given help so far.

Just ordered Fallacy Detective! First of a string of purchases, thanks for all the recommendations. 🙂

Thank you everyone!! I'm not ready to commit to homeschooling long term, so I don't think I can totally revamp an ideal path for becoming a strong thinker from where he is right now. He's been having to make many CPR grids - Claim/Proof/Response on Google slides based on articles they've read, which they're supposed to use for body paragraphs for a 5 paragraph argument essay. It's been a stretch for him. I'm hoping I can teach him an alternate way to write an argument essay that feels more approachable for him. He didn't like me helping him 1:1 before, especially if I tried to have him do anything different from what his teacher said (even if that involved breaking up steps). But since WWS1 is exclusively through me, it's made a huge difference to use really good material and work with him 1:1. I think we can go through it a little more quickly than one school year. He's academically advanced, the lessons haven't been challenging at all, but definitely sharpening skills that were slipping through the cracks due to lack of tailored feedback.

Hi, I've done a few lessons with my son in WWS1 and *really* like it. Only three lessons and he was writing better summaries than he did writing them all last year in public. I'd like to stick through it, but I've read that this series doesn't teach argument writing. I was wondering if anyone can suggest something to use in between WWS1 and WWS2 for teaching argument writing in preparation for high school? I thought maybe CAP W&R 5 Refutation and Confirmation? (having never done the series) I bought book 3 Narrative II but it is way too babyish. New to homeschooling so there's a lot of material I don't know and would like to explore any well-loved curriculum. Looking for rich material but with good direction for someone who's new to anything outside of Common Core. Thanks in advance! (I'm still in shock - how do people in the public school world have no idea of how strong homeschool curriculum is? I had no idea.)

There's too much wonderful curricula out there, I want to use them all!

It's fascinating. We did learn about shortcomings of a primarily phonics-based approach and the different pedagogical philosophy behind classical education but not at the length of studying it entirely as a course itself. I find it interesting that it stuck with homeschooling yet changed as dramatically as it did in public schools. As I learn more about this approach I am coming to really appreciate it and wish more elements were preserved. At the same time, it's a scary jump because it's so different!

I'm curious to understand why this is almost standard in homeschooling curriculum but not in schools. I never heard of this approach when I was in grad school for education in any of my classes on teaching literacy.

Oh thank you this is exactly how I needed it explained without realizing it!

perfect, thank you!

Can anyone help me explain what these are in a nutshell? I have a teaching background so am familiar with the workshop model used in schools, but language arts material for homeschooling is very different! Thanks in advance. Narration Dictation Recitation Copywork

Oh, maybe it's not a good idea to start this curriculum with a middle schooler for just a year. I'm not sure if he'll homeschool for more than that. I'd need him to be able to go back in a year with no problem.