I find this alot in elementary curriculum in general. For a child who wants more info (like mine), I have to look to a middle school course and tweak the amount of written output to fit the age. For reading, if you're just looking to check a box that says he's comprehending, there are several simple workbook programs that should fit the bill. Comprehension Plus and The Reading Detective come to mind. I looked into both before realizing they are Secular. Something that helps me weed through it all is my Rainbow Resources Catalog. The newer ones don't have a full inventory listed but are so well organized with little icons to let you know at a glance what worldview it supports, teacher intensity, learning style, and whether more books are needed to make it a complete curriculum. I LOVE the new catalogs 😍 FWIW, DS10 struggles with writing and spelling even though he reads like crazy, too. His comprehension is way above grade level according to his standardized test scores so I don't worry. But I regularly ask questions about what he reads to guage comprehension and vocabulary.

DS10 is a bookworm. He loved Holes, By the Great Horned Spoon, Summer of the Monkeys, and My Side of the Mountain (all mentioned above). Also The Captain's Dog, The Great Turkey Walk, Rascal, and Ginger Pye.

Nope. I'm mean like that. Good Friday is all we're taking off. Well, unless the principal (ahem, DH) trumps me.

I probably shouldn't try to think so hard with so little sleep. Newbie has reverted back to newborn sleep status. He has been waking every 1.5-2hrs all night long for so many days in a row now that time is a blur. One word: Teething.

EdPo: I'm just thinking out loud here... I've been trying to figure out our curriculum for next year. Oldest really messed up my overall plan by reading ahead this year in history. Lol I'm thinking US geography plus review of this year's US history on a timeline so he can really SEE it. I also want to include our bible curriculum and just keep adding to it as we progress through world history later on. I just have to decide if I want to make my own pictures/figures or buy HITW. Also, do I want to do a timeline in a book or on the wall? I think I'm going to buy the olde world US and World maps combo pack (HITW). I wonder if studying national parks and wildlife in addition to each states flower, tree, and bird is enough to qualify as science? Reading is up in the air. I still plan on him reading reading reading as his interests lead, but I do want SOMETHING tangible next year. Novel Ties are an option, but I'm considering Reading Detective because it would give him ideas of other books he might enjoy reading. I'm a bit confused about it, though. Is it meant to be a full curriculum or a supplement? And is it used for one year or two? (Says 3-4, 5-6, 7-8). I really can't believe I'm considering winging it in so many subjects without a physical curriculum with tests. This is sooo not like me. Last year, this type of thought process would've induced heart palpitations.

@Slache Thankyou! IT WORKED! I haven't been able to get on ITT in FOREVER because my phone has to think too hard and freezes up trying to get to the last page. Slachie just taught me what that little icon (unread content) button is. It took me to the first page of ITT so I really didn't think I'd get in, but I clicked forward to the last page AND IT WORKED!

Just the person I was thinking of this morning! I can't get on ITT these days without confusing my phone and having to shut it off and do a reset. 😞 Anyway, I'm thinking of doing US geography with states and capitals next year. Maybe real books of interest such as military vessels, WW2, ect for reading, and looking up more info about state birds, trees, flowers, national parks, and wildlife for science. I want to create a timeline that includes a review of this year's American history along with next year's studies and Bible. I thought I'd use TGUS but then I stumbled onto Homeschool in the Woods Olde World Maps and timeline figures. 😍 DH did give me extra money in our curriculum budget this year thanks to our stimulus check. 😉

No 😞

Yes, we have a local museum that has an amazing civil war reenactment every year but I'm not sure if they'll have it this year due to Covid. Same with the airshow I had hoped to go to. Our library, unfortunately, is small and very limited on good resources. They pretty much teach the children to play kid friendly computer games and Google everything so the books barely get a glance. I usually research and if they have decent books that we want to read, I place a hold on them and pick them up instead of going in. Our library only recently reopened and only for checking stuff out in this manner. No browsing and/or reading on site (or unnecessary computer use 😁). DH is high risk due to pre-existing health conditions, so we isolate as much as possible.

After some research, I think I'm just going to have him do US Geography in the order of statehood and memorize the states and capitals. I'll check out nonfiction books from the library as his interests lead and find historical/military/engineering type documentaries on YouTube.

Mostly reading level and content. DS is a bookworm. I don't want something he'll read in an hour, kwim? But also not something too mature for his age. I've returned 2 books this year that said they were appropriate for ages 8-12 but definitely were not, IMO.

We have World Book. Older edition, though.

Thanks. I'll look into it. I'm thinking about using R&S Bible grades 5-8 for a full Bible overview. I need structure and I really want the culture and geography that goes alongside reading and discussing. I'm ordering the TMs for myself to go through "devotional style" so I can make notes and edit any parts where we interpret the scriptures differently.

Yeah, the more I looked, the more I realized it isn't what I'm looking for. Would be fun for the littles, not what I'm looking for for Oldest

Does anyone know the difference or have a preference between the DK Eyewitness series vs DK Smithsonian series?

Boy! Oops 😂

Thanks. I'll check these out. Has anyone used/read the Great Battles for Boys books?

For upcoming 5th grade, Oldest wants to learn more about wars and battles. Mostly about the strategies, weapons, tools, boats, submarines, planes, ect used. Is there a good curriculum out there for this? If this helps, we've already done world geography/cultures (Trailguide to World Geography) in 3rd and are in the middle of American history (Notgrass AtB 2011) for 4th. My plan is tentatively world history (Notgrass From Adam to Us) in 6th/7th and government/civics (Uncle Sam and You) in 8th.

R&S and CLE are both great companies. I guess I should've specified more than just nonresistance in my original post, because I look for more than just conscientious objection to war. I look specifically for Armenian doctrine because we interpret the scriptures differently in more than just that one area. Head coverings and jewelry are 2 other examples. Thankfully, none of these are salvation issues thus we use and enjoy many of their products. Nonresistance (not always specifically labeled but regularly alluded to) shows up mostly in History and Reading so I've found other curriculum to better fit our needs for these subjects. The no jewelry thing is actually in R&S grade 4 health. Nothing we've encountered has been offensive, but can be confusing for younger children so I research thoroughly. Older children are more capable of appreciating/understanding our doctrinal differences.

I detest the new age ball and stick letters in most handwriting curriculum. Oldest DS struggled so much with it that I printed a copy of the D'Nealian alphabet and cut/pasted the letters over the ball and stick letters in his CLE workbooks. I taught him how to use the directional arrows and then taped a copy of the alphabet (with arrows) on his desk as a reference. He thought it was so cool that the letters I taught had tails 😂

I agree about CLE not really giving enough practice or the why behind things. I haven't used Saxon because we switched to R&S which is mastery and works way better, IMO. There is a LOT more practice, plenty of review (in the TM) and you can pick and choose how many problems to have your child do in each section. DS10 could do CLE and pass all the tests but it took FOREVER and he lacked the confidence of knowing what he was doing.

@Slache I'm looking at this now and bumping your thread. Did you try it?

Still investigating.... I received a call back from CLE and was told that some (not a lot) of nonresistance is taught specifically beginning in 700. I may order the TMs to see just how much and if I can maybe edit the content ahead of time.

I spoke to a very helpful gentleman from R&S who, much to my surprise, literally pulled out the TMs for grades 5-8 and started going through them for me. Lol. He said if nonresistance is brought up it would be mostly in the TMs, not the student workbooks so it can be omitted easily enough. He cannot promise it won't show up briefly at some point, but IF it does it would most likely in grade 8 from what he could see. With this new info, I started checking the upper grade samples of CLE and found nonresistance brought up in grade 7. 😞

Thankyou. I think I'll buy the TMs and go through them since there are copies of the workbook pages inside, too. If I like it, I can purchase workbooks and tests later.