Math - Finish SM 6b, start GP SYRWTL Math 2 & LOF Pre algebra English - continue with writing program used with ESL community college students History - Renaissance & Early Modern using OUP and History Portfolio Science - Continue biology with a combination of McHenry, CPO, etc... Latin - continue Latin prep 1 Continue piano, ballet and sewing class at co-op.

My kids used to go to PS, and at that time, we established a homework time following dinner. When we started homeschooling, I kept that time. So every day after dinner, the girls do math, handwriting , and vocab/spelling. So currently, we do SM during the day and LOF / BA in the evening.

I'd look into Hakim's Story of US. Human Odyssey would be fine for 6th, but isn't US History (if that's what you're looking for).

The Wee Free Men

We do get it on sale occasionally, but if it's not, I just use less beef. We eat smaller portions of meat, or I'll use bread crumbs in meatballs or hamburgers or meatloaf.

:iagree: That's the way it's been done in the three parishes I've been involved with. I love being able to focus on the sermon and readings and not have to worry about keeping them quiet. But I also want them to be there for the Eucharist, hymns, blessing... They like Godly Play (Sunday School program) and it's really much more accessible to them than the sermon anyway.

I don't have the two books in front of me, but my daughter is finishing 6a. SM6 does have many of the same topics as SM5, but they're reviewed in SM6 and then taken a step further. I read the posts about whether to do SM6 or not, but since I had the books already, I decided to go ahead. So far I'm glad I did because it's good review and isn't a huge step into algebra.

I haven't seen the brains unit, so I can't speak to that... Cells is aimed at middle school students -- probably 12 or 13 yr olds as an ideal. It's pretty awesome... and I have been using it with 10-11 yr old girls who are on the younger end of the age age range. It's not that you *couldn't* use it with an interested 8 yr old. It's more that I think your son (even if he's really advanced) would just get considerably more out of it if you waited a few years. The vocabulary and the questions and the activities are probably do-able with assistance... but I would hold off if you can.

I really like it... and I agree about the price. With the classic portfolios, the teacher's guide and maps are a pdf. There's no reason why you can't replicate it -- or at least replicate the idea with your other kids. A horizontal binder, text boxes photocopied onto card stock?

Our friend started her 10 yr old in level 2b last year and now at age 11 is working on 5a, so I think it's fairly easy to accelerate if you need. I wouldn't worry about which math program she's going to be using next year, just give her the best education you can for this year.

I'm interested in this as my 10 yr old daughter will start SM6b in a few weeks. Since she's young and we have time to fool around, I think we'll do a combination of different things I have around the house and have been meaning to get to... like Zaccaro and LOF Pre-Algebra and GP SYRWL Math and a few Keys to or maybe some of the free worksheets from MM. Then when we've exhausted that, I think we'll head for Jacobs. I wish I had a better plan. I'm kind of afraid to start Algebra with her. She's pretty good at math and it comes easy to her, but she doesn't actually like it... And I'd hate for her to be sitting in a therapists office years from now saying how her mother forced her to start learning algebra at age 10. Life was simpler when I could just order the next SM book.

I'd say 10 and up. I used it with a fairly advanced 9 yr old and a more typical 10 yr old. It wasn't easy -- but it was a good challenge for them.

Minimus is pretty fun, but not overly concerned with root words. For that, you might consider a vocab book. Lively Latin did have more root word focus, but my kids and I didn't think it was particularly fun (not bad at all... Just not "fun") Minimus would be good for both 10 & 7.

Kilgallon is awesome, but I would save it for a year or two unless you have a very strong writer.

I used to teach ESL at community colleges and universities and used a writing series by Ann Hogue, the first of which is called "First Steps in Academic Writing" Last year, I re-discovered the book and used it with my 10 yr old since I had it on my shelf. She liked it and so did I. I did skip a few exercises here and there that were not useful for a native speaker, but we did 95% of the book and I really saw improvement in paragraph organization and writing mechanics. It's aimed at young adults, so your teen won't find it childish or condescending in any way... and yet it is intended to lay out clearly how to construct sentences and paragraphs. The focus was academic writing, though there was a letter writing segment in the back. The older edition can be ordered on amazon for super cheap. http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?index=books&linkCode=qs&keywords=0201834103 so you might consider giving it a try.

I have a 3.5 yr old now, so I'm interested in what folks are doing with their little ones... but honestly, it's just wishful thinking. He's pretty far from being ready for even the earliest academics. He will be starting Headstart and special ed services in the fall, so that will allow my olders to get time to work. We've been fooling around on starfall with him, but our goal is more learning how to talk than how to read!

I think it's aim is definitely middle school, but it could be done younger with a motivated elementary aged kid as a read aloud. And a high schooler or adult could find it informative too. A central theme seems to be how science and culture interact in different historical contexts. It's a good logic stage topic.

We've only done the first few chapters of Vocab Workshop A, so I'm no expert... but I've found my daughter knows about half the words to start with, so it's not really 20 brand-new words -- it's more like 10 words she knows and 5 words she's heard but doesn't know precisely what they mean and 5 words she doesn't know. And so 10 new words per week is just fine.

At 5, it's still an issue of just language acquisition, not 'incorrect grammar'. Just like some sounds (like /r/) come later, it's totally normal for a 5 yr old to overgeneralize grammatical rules or get confused by the last remaining bits of the English case system. I'd let it go. He'll figure it out eventually.

I haven't done a formal curriculum because I think it would take such a backseat to everything else that I'd forget about it. But -- when sewing whims take my daughter, I have her embroider something or make a doll dress or use my sewing machine to make a pillow. It seems to satisfy her. One day I'll sign her up for a sewing class at Joanne's or our other local sewing shop.

Assuming you're in the U.S., it would be very rare that all the kids entering a grade had had the same science instruction (and retained the same information). Even within the same district or the same school, different teachers could be teaching wildly different topics. Keep in mind that high school and first year college biology/chemistry/physics are all introductory level and expect no previous exposure to a topic, so I think you're safe for 7th grade!

I do a spiral bind at my local office shop for like 2$. Sometimes I'll buy a fancy looking file folder and cut it to use as the front and back or the binder.

I've sold books on amazon off and on for years. There fees did increase at some point, but it is pretty convenient to buy/sell from them. I never have trouble.

That's very generous of you... but I would hesitate to spend that kind of money - it's not sustainable for the long run - and it's not your responsibility to do this. Is this your first year? If not, what did you use last year? At a district level, what math materials do you have access to? I am certain somewhere in your school or district are plenty of math textbooks. Is there a district math resource person? If you are dedicated to using a certain curriculum, do you have an overhead projector or projector connected to a laptop that you can use? If so, I would take the book you wish to use and photocopy onto transparencies each lesson page. Kids can work off of the overhead. If not, I would photocopy materials. Do you have unlimited photocopying? Copyright laws do allow for classroom teachers make photocopies. Keep in mind that a good math book is not as important as a good math teacher. Take ideas for how to present materials from your favorite math book, but give students problem sets from whatever materials are available to them. Lots of books will do a decent job of educating the kids... it's easy to get swayed by marketing material about how amazing a certain program is... but at the end of the day, they're not necessarily all that different.

Finish it up in the fall! Feeling like you need to finish a textbook in a certain time period is a very classroom-ish attitude. Your educational focus is your particular daughter's needs, not completing a book or a ticking off boxes on a syllabus. If there's more to do and she's getting a lot out of it... then you ought to keep working on it in the fall.