I'm interested in knowing more about this as well. Thanks for starting the thread. :-)

Well, I wouldn't supplement with another writing other than what's already in the R&S grade 3 English. The writing concepts are meant to be built over time. In grade 5 the writing instruction increases and is very thorough and understandable to a child. I like their writing instructions, and prefer it over many others for elementary. As for your dictation question, that can be taken directly out of whatever resource you choose from, whether it is from Bible readings, a living book that you are reading, a textbook, or from wherever you like. It's up to you. My first thoughts were, if you are a Christian you might like to add the R&S Bible Reading program to your curricula list, choosing dictation selections directly from the BNRS student readers. :-) HTH!

Thanks for taking the time to pm me, Jann. It sounds interesting! :-)

Please post your fave here and why it worked for you. Also if you have any lit programs that you disliked, please let me hear about those, too. Thanks in advance!

Not a sonlighter, but don't throw the book at me just yet! :D Could you color the outside edges of the pages with highlighters? I've done this with other books... ran the highlighter down the edge about 1/4" in. I used pink, yellow, orange and green, and it worked perfectly to help me figure out where things were in my binder. Other than that, you could make paper dividers out of cardstock or colored copy paper. Just 3-hole punch the 8.5x11" colored papers and place a post-it flag on the edges for easy identification. Not sure if that helps, but hopefully it gave you something to think about. :-)

Well, I don't think ebay was mentioned. And then there are the Goodwill stores. They occasionally get used college texts on donation. HTH!

Oh, I hear you on the math dilemma that is sitting on your shoulders... that weight has been on my shoulders, too. It's difficult to figure out, but hopefully you will get your answers by hearing many replies to your post (wisdom in numbers). We are grade 11 now, and have homeschooled since K. I don't have the the perfect math solution though I have sought it for years. Saxon nearly ruined my ds on math when he was lower grades. I don't have the multiple child dilemma that you have, so I don't have that perspective. But I do have some wisdom on the matter because I have been on the hs forums for years reading threads about math woes, and trying to console my internet friends through their tears and frustrations with math (it was pretty bad when all of us were crying about math woes, lol). My advice to you is, whatever you choose, stick with it at least through grade 6 (most publishers' scopes even out at grade 6 because they begin preparing the child in 7 for Algebra I-- this may or may not be true for MUS which has quite a different scope than most of the rest of them). Here's the warning: If you do flip-flop around in math curricula too often like I did, things will only grow worse, not better. My ideas for you of programs I'm familiar with... Saxon Math: K-3 totally different format and writer than 4th grade and above Spirals aggressively; sometimes must be heavily tweaked by the teacher decreasing the amount of spiraling, and word problems student does daily Student work must be monitored even more closely when the curriculum has been tweaked to make sure they are understanding the materials as they are presented (understanding is necessary because much like building a foundation upon layers and it matters down the road) Horizons Math, K-6: Somewhat advanced scope, yet gentler than ABeka's Spirals, but not aggressively, or excessively like Saxon Workbook curriculum for all six grade levels (some do better with workbooks than writing out problems) ABeka Math, K-12: Advanced scope, spirals but in a gentler way than Saxon Workbook curriculum with lively colors and good dialogue in student explanations BJU: Solid math, sort of finds a balance between mastery and spiraling (in review terms); some say too many manipulatives and materials, and too teacher intensive Rod and Staff: Mastery-based with built in review; relies on rote memorization of math facts and drills, some say drilling to the point of being excessive; somewhat teacher intensive, though maybe not quite so much as BJU; no workbooks in upper elementary grade levels MUS: Focuses on certain aspects of math in certain years with a non-traditional scope and sequence, which might lead to problems being able to place student easily into another math program down the road; some say there are leveling off points where the child can't get things solidified to go on into the next lesson or level There are a few more math curricula that I've heard good things about, but never tried... MCP David Quine's Making Math Meaningful Developmental Math Life of Fred (must know the 4 operations first) McRuffy Miquon Singapore (mixed feelings about this one -- it sounds good in some ways, but bad in others) Gee, I hope I have clarified things instead of muddying the waters. I sure wish I could solve your math woes for you, but I can't. Having that dilemma is definitely not a fun place to be. Hugs!!!

Okay, not a TOG user 'yet.' I have done the research, though. But I wanted to say that all books that I print out go in page protectors. It's just a preference with me that I can't get away from. I have bought several boxes of pp's (page protectors) through the years at Office Depot (their own brand), but now it has been a while back, and it has slipped my mind as to how much they are. I buy the standard weight clear protectors that are archival-safe, 100 pp's per box. They were reasonably priced, I do know that much. Also, Walmart has pp's that are Avery brand in standard weight. I believe it is 50 for $5 or something like that. The link someone above sounds reasonable with 200 for $10. My only hesitation on that would be figuring in how much shipping costs will add to the total.

Yes, I'm 100% committed to home schooling our ds. It is for religious convictions that we chose this path. We began our home schooling in K and he is now going to be in 11th grade very soon. We have sacrificed a lot through the years to get to this point, and I really want to see it through. It has not been easy sometimes. But each year we are one step closer to finishing the race and gaining the prize (meaning the diploma). :-) What keeps me focused during difficulties is knowing that God led me to homeschool. No question about it. And I've had many struggles over the years from physical illness to financial woes to other issues, too many to mention here. At one point I realized that what I was going through was not uncommon. In fact many, many people on the forums I visited expressed the exact same problems, some of them had been attacked in their minds with depression, in their bodies with pain and fatigue, in their finances by loss of income, in their relationships with family members having discord, many ways people expressed that they struggled and faced difficulties that made them question their decision to home school. One day it was like a light bulb went off and it was then that I knew that all the adversity was simply an attack of Satan trying to keep me from doing God's will for my life (not speaking for anyone but myself here regarding our choices to home school). I knew then that there was a higher purpose in all this than I could ever see. And I chose to face adversity head on by trusting in the Lord to help me overcome. And he continues to do that for me. So yes, I'm fully committed to home schooling. And yes, though I have had many struggles I would do it again, all over again exactly the same (except there would be changes if I could go back, mostly with scheduling or curriculum choices. lol). JMHO

This is what I was thinking as well. Ty would be easily pronounced and still let him keep his same identity. Hugs!!!

My favorite salad ever... Main ingredient: Chopped iceburg lettuce (I do substitute spinach or leaf lettuce if I have that) To the lettuce add: Chopped slaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots) Chopped Broccoli or Cauliflower (I don't like both together) Chopped tomatoes Shredded cheddar cheese A meat (shredded chicken, or roast beef, or ham or crumbled bacon) Sprinkle very lightly with salt, then top w/ Light Zesty Italian and Light Ranch dressings (Kraft is my fave brand). Mmmm. It's very late, and I should be in the bed. But now I'm craving a salad. lol

Are you saying three isn't right? I actually thought the answer should have been three. But then again... maybe it should have been twenty (double ten). LOL ;-)

Used book pricing is arbitrary, as someone else stated. I like to keep my prices on the low side because I want the stuff to move as quickly as possible. In contrast, some people keep their prices high, and wait it out. Money is tight right now for me, and I need all the dollars I can get so I can purchase next season's books. Generally speaking, most of my books are in excellent condition because I tried very hard to keep them that way. I price curriculum sets around 50 - 60% of new prices, but if it is an older, previous edition, some of those I price at around 40% of what it sells for new. This is a general rule for me, not set stone. lol I discount for some single workbooks, running some of those at about 30% of new price. But I do have shipping figured in, so that actually makes the prices seem a little higher (a little rabbit trail, here... prices on media shipping have gone out the roof lately!). There are always exceptions to my pricing standard. I do check around on the 'for sale' forums here and there to try and get a general idea on what seems to be selling quickly, and for how much. I've noticed that there are always trendy items going quickly in used home school book ads. The trends vary by year, and change every couple of years. I haven't sold a lot of my books until lately because when I tried before, apparently my prices were too high at first, which is why I decided to lower them to move the books quicker (hopefully!). :-) HTH! ~Cocoa

Thanks so much for the review and typing all of that out. It was very helpful. I have a question. How does MFW differ in high school than in the lower grades as for implementing the program? ~Cocoa

I'd like them, please. That is if the answer is yes you can transfer them to me. Thank you!!! I would like to use them as a spine for a unit study that I'm planning. :-) Please pm me with the details. Thx!!! ~Cocoa ETA: Oh, now I realize you are giving them to whomever buys the books. Sorry for that, but I misunderstood you to mean you were planning on giving away just the e-books.

I have no experience with the OPG program. However, we did use one ETC workbook for remediation in grade 2 or 3 (sorry I'm fuzzy on the year). It went well and worked like I expected it to. When we began school, I taught ds how to read with HOP. Then we moved right into a workbook curriculum that had readers. Alongside that, we used CLP's Adventures in Phonics book B, and that seemed to be enough phonics practice. After he finished that, I had him start in the BJU Spelling 2 workbook to finish out that year. Ds is an excellent reader, which may or may not be attributed to the curriculum I used. Maybe it just came natural to him. I don't know for sure? lol Actually, I wanted to give out a holler for teaching reading with ETC alone. One of my best friends used it SOLELY to teach her 5yo how to read. It worked perfectly! She moved him through all the books and levels, except they did skip most of the .5 workbooks. He is an EXCELLENT reader! I saw that someone said ETC would only work if the child was already writing. But if I'm recalling correctly ETC now has an online version of ETC which I do not think requires writing (not 100% sure on that, though, you'd have to check). HTH! ~Cocoa

Horizons is using the number line as the manipulative. So, covering it up is like taking it away, which caused the confusion. As she continues to work with the number line, and as she matures, the relationship to concrete numbers in her thought process will move more and more into the abstract. Manipulatives are for the purpose of showing number relationship in a concrete way; whether you are using a base ten rod, or something else (in our homeschool, we used pop bottle caps), the manipulative represents a number of somethings. Seeing the group concretely is the way for a child to understand the whole concept of math, and relationships of groups of items. I understand math frustration! Been there many times. If you want to switch her math, do it now while she is young. It is from experience (the hard way!) that I would advise sticking with one publisher in math if.at.all.possible through grade 6, because in grade 7 almost all of the publishers start again at the same place in their scope, their goal then being to prepare the child for taking Algebra I in high school. HTH! ~Cocoa

Please pm the link. Or maybe you could post it for all of us to see. :-)

Thank you for posting this link. I signed up and am looking forward to getting the free dvd. :-) ~Cocoa

Quote: " "I think that you are "putting the cart before the horse" and asking your DC to understand a concept she isn't ready for. She will learn to do what you're wanting her to . . . I linked the scope & sequences for Horizons K and 1st. Carrying is taught in first grade with Horizons. Place value (beyond introducing it), adding columns, and carrying are not typical Kindergarten math skills! Let the program do its work and follow the progression. She will be taught to do those things you are looking for . . . it's just not time yet!!!" " I have to agree with this. Horizons is teaching your dd to "count up" on a number line. It is not cause for alarm that they are teaching addition in this manner at that age. As some of the others have said, Horizons grade one will address columnar addition with regrouping. Horizons has a very solid program, it just takes time to build the concepts across the grade levels as children mature. :-) HTH!

This is exactly what I meant, and why I suggested using lit guides w/ Notgrass. Well said. :-) -------------- Brindee, you mentioned that MFW AHL & WHL splits Notgrass into two years. I know that AHL uses it, but wasn't aware that WHL uses it. Thanks for the head's up. ~Cocoa

On Saxon Math... Long ago I loved it, then I grew to hate it for many years. :glare: Now I'm indifferent, warming up ever so slightly to it because... I can barely believe I'm saying this, but... I'm actually planning on using it again for review, though I swore to myself I would never, ever use it again. (Note to self: Never say never :D ). Actually, I wouldn't even be considering using Saxon again if I hadn't thought that I may have figured out a way to use it that will work for our homeschool and my student. What's best for our homeschool, and what's best for my student is what matters the most to me. KWIM? :-)

I agree, the prices of some co-ops are ridiculous! My friend paid $2K each for her 3 children to have a co-op class in one subject. I told her she might as well place them in private school where they would get more benefit for her money, by being taught all subjects instead of just one subject.

Megawords only takes about 10 minutes if that. It's not your standard spelling book of lists. It is geared toward decoding and helping with multi-syllable words. It isn't cumbersome or expensive, either. IMHO, it would be beneficial if one added Megawords to LLATL. JMHO

I would stick with the ABeka. Your dd already likes it, and it is thorough and colorful. My motto is: Never fix something that isn't broken. :-)