Galore Park Latin Prep is so much fun! We also love the RSO Chemistry (Pandia Press). This is an old thread, but a good one! Thanks for bumping it up.

CW Aesop B: I liked this, but DS did not. We'll do the writing in R & S 5 next year, and our usual writing in other subjects. Latin Christiana: It was so dry! We replaced it with Latin Prep, and now we both love Latin. I think that's all. We use everything else that I have bought.

This is my "plan" so far: I am using Level 2 Ancients, and I purchased Core 6 IG. I love the writing/ timeline components of HO, but I felt it lacked in reading material. DS was complaining that there wasn't enough to it, as well. My youngest 2 are using SOTW, and oldest DS is always listening in. So, I felt that the easiest way to give oldest DS more was to supplement with Core 6. It means we move faster through some of the components of SOTW/HO, but he really wanted to spend more time with Greece and Rome anyway, and less with Shamshi Adad, the Hanging Gardens, and Ashurbanipal... that sort of thing. So, I am going to do Core 6 at about 1/2 pace, starting with week 5. We are also going to go through HO, but we probably won't do every assignment. I'll cull the ones I don't want. We'll still read TSOM, because *I* like it and find it lends itself to great discussion. We'll not take the summer off from Sonlight. It'll be done from now (the end of his 4th grade year) until around the beginning of 6th grade (maybe sooner, if he pushes forward on his own). I will try to keep the lessons together, but since HO doesn't have that much to it, I won't stress over it. Did I mention this is just a "plan?" I feel good about it, but may tweak it later. I never mind changing things up as long as we're still making forward progress, and my changes are usually subtle enough that DS doesn't much notice. :) He's pretty excited about Core 6, though!

Oh wow. Nice. Thanks for taking the time to share!

I'm working on incorporating Sonlight Core 6 with History Odyssey Ancients 2. Core 1 uses CHOW doesn't it? Or maybe I'm wrong. I thought HO 1 used SOTW. It could work to combine, if you have a child who likes History that much! My oldest would have enjoyed that, perhaps, though we found SOTW 1 and the reading recs to be a great fit for us. My middle son would not be a good fit for it, as it is very hard to keep his interest in History. I'll be watching this thread, too, just because I really like both programs. Pandia Press Science is probably my favorite curriculum right now. Or maybe Latin Prep... I like them both. :)

5th Grade Sonlight Core 6/ History Odyssey R.E.A.L. Science : Chemistry (and tagging along with Life Science) R&S English 5 Singapore 5/ LOF Fractions/Decimals Latin Prep (LOVE this!) SWO F and maybe G Grid Perplexors 2nd grade SOTW 1/2 Singapore 2b/3a (in 2A now) SWO C R.E.A.L. Science: Life FLL WWE (no workbooks) Lots of board games! Kindergarten ETC Online Bob Books SOTW with his brother Miquon/ Minicomputer math Evan Moore printouts from teacherfilebox.com I think that's all. I also want the boys to work on their Chess skills this year. The 5 year old can beat both of his brothers in checkers, and I think he's almost ready to start learning Chess. Fun stuff!

I'm about 75 miles E of Nashville. Is anyone going to the curriculum fair in Nashville May 15-17th?

We use HO, and I agree with much of what Sue said above. We've been using it for about 2 months now, and my son is really wanting MORE content. He does the writing fine, but he needs more History. So, we're *adding* Sonlight 6. :) I ordered the IG yesterday, and we already have most of the books. I think incorporating Sonlight/HO will make a very well-rounded program that's meaty on the writing/studying and it'll satisfy his appetite for more.

DS will be doing the following: Math: Sing. 2B with IP, and then 3A History: SOTW 2/Some Sonlight readers, History Pockets Science: REAL Science Odyssey: Life Spelling: Finish SWO B and start C Grammar: FLL Writing: CW Primer or WWE (haven't decided yet) Art/Music: Guitar and freestyle art lessons... That's all!

She's adorable! We have two corgis. A red/white girl and tri boy. Great dogs! Clever sure is cute, too. Black headed tri's are so pretty, but rare to see!

I just started Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire series. It's Twilight for adults. Good stuff! Not as gripping from a romantic standpoint, but it's still a fun read. I just started book 3. I read "Outlander", but I got stuck on Fiery Cross. Maybe I'll pick it up again soon... Nothing has affected me like Twilight did, and I'm so glad! I was so...depressed that those books were over when I was done. I read them twice, just to get over myself! Ugh.

My DS and I were beginning to think the same of HO2, but once I started adding some extra literature and taking time to do History WITH him, we really started to enjoy it more. HO2 lays a great foundation for outlining and cataloging information, but I think it takes just a bit of modification to make it a *great* program. We read TSOM as a read-aloud and mark up the book. We underline terms and facts and spend time discussing the information. I sometimes skip the summary sentences for Kingfisher, and we just discuss or write an actual summary. I love that HO2 has such a comprehensive list of topics, and I think most of the assignments are very good. If you can't find something else, maybe you'll find HO2 workable...

DS was in PS 4th, but we're more or less doing things on a 5th grade level and will be following this schedule for the rest of this calendar year. We are using: History Odyssey Ancients, Level 2: M,W,F with daily reading time R.E.A.L. Science- Chemistry: W, Th Life of Fred- Fractions: M-F Ds usually does one lesson a day, sometimes 2. He will finish Singapore 4B and 5A after this book. We may also do LOF Decimals & Percents. Spelling Workout E: M,T,Th,F Ds is covering 2 lessons a week. CW-Aesop B: One unit a week, but only every other week or so. Mindbenders: He finished A1 in 2 weeks. Moving on to Grid Perplexors soon. Grammar: Right now, using some of KISS grammar, but may move on to Rod and Staff soon.

I use HO Level 2: Ancients with DS who is 10. I love that it encourages him to attempt to work independently, and teaches him how to record information and stay organized. He takes a great deal of pride in the way I've set up his notebook, and he works hard to keep it neat and orderly. I think the program is very good at covering the important topics for this time period. I like the way it presents a rounded view of each topic every week. He learns about the people, the culture, the events. Having said all of that, I also quickly figured out that I needed MORE. He asked for MORE. So, we simply go to the library every other week, and check out lots of books. I pick books from Sonlight and other popular reading lists, too. He always has several good nonfiction books laying around, and he's always reading some historical fiction. This part is simple, and makes the program truly complete for us. Sometimes, I don't make him write the summary sentences for Kingfisher, unless it is asking for something specific. I have the red Kingfisher, and I sometimes don't even know what the correct answer would be, so we focus on the more direct questions: Write a few sentences about this specific topic or person... that kind of thing. We read "The Story of Mankind" together. It's fun, and it gives us some things to discuss together. Amazon accidentally sent us two copies, and so I read aloud and he follows along in his book. I'll post again and tell a bit more about how my first grader fits in to this puzzle... I am no expert. I have been back at this for only about 7 weeks now (DS was in public school for a year), but HO is a great program that works perfectly for us. We do history MWF for about 45 min- 1 hour, and read daily. We're enjoying it and learning so much. Hope this helps!

Thank you for posting this! This article can be accessed online through the Nat'l Geographic website.

I used some of PL with my oldest a few years ago. We just started homeschooling again after Christmas, and we began using LC 1. It was NOT a good fit for us. We loved the idea of learning Latin, but LC constantly left us waiting for results. It was also really dry. I looked at Lively Latin, but it was a bit too much for us, and I heard it had many grammatical errors. So, we downloaded the sample chapter of Latin Prep. We LOVED it, and continue to love it. I bought the books. We had to redo the first chapter again, since the book was actually a bit different (updated, perhaps) than the sample chapter we were using. It's a GREAT program. So, anyway, just thought I'd toss another fish in the sea :) Definitely take a look. There are several great minds on this board who use Latin Prep.

I used Mirena for 5 years and LOVED it. I had it removed at the end of the recommended term and have not replaced it. We'd love to have another baby! I know that some people have had problems with it, but for me it was perfect. I only spotted a day or two a month, and never had cramps. PMS did increase in the last year, but I think it is because my Mirena was nearly "expired."

You most likely don't have to sautee the onion. I just do because I always have. I bet it would be just as good to toss it in with the greens. :)

We are using Pandia Press HO Ancients 2, and we love it. I do add literature, and DS still asks that we have plenty of library books on hand. However, the course is helping him learn how to outline and catalog information. He's enjoying it very much!

I loved this movie growing up! A few weeks ago it came on TV and um....yeah. It was so campy :D It was fun to watch for old times sake, but geesh. It was bad. :) I loved the Twilight books (especially Eclipse), and thought the movie was okay.

I just cooked a huge pot of greens yesterday, and used only a teaspoon or so of oil to get my onion a little sauteed. Here is what I did: Briefly sauteed 3/4 of a large sweet onion. Added 3 bunches of cleaned, trimmed collard greens, about 4 cups of water, 2 chicken bullion cubes, a TBSP or two of vinegar, and a good sprinkling of sugar. Oh, I also threw in a turnip peeled and cut, because I love turnips in my greens. Simmer all. After they were tender (about 45 min-1hr), I added a little salt, but not much. The boullion really flavored the greens nicely. These were really really good and very easy! My boys finished them off for a snack yesterday.

If your 5th grader hasn't had any science, I would recommend considering a program that covers a broader base than the Apologia books. Perhaps, you could attempt to do more than one book, or supplement with some other unit studies of some sort. I think total immersion has it's strong suits, but only if it's consistently done. My oldest DS (finishing 4th) was in PS for a year and a half, and he did have quite a bit of exposure to different topics. With that in mind, I was comfortable with choosing to do R.E.A.L. Science Chemistry (Pandia Press), and we're supplementing with lots of library books. As for writing, I use CW Aesop, and I have had no exposure to WWE. I love CW, and I'm very excited about the new Primer book coming out. However, SWB wrote WWE, and that alone tells me that it must be an awesome program. I hope others chime in!

Wow! This gets me excited about CW all over again! I *love* how this looks! I think I'll still do dictation if it isn't covered, but it still looks to be a perfect fit for us. When does it come out?

I would love to read it!

We are using R.E.A.L. Science (Life) here, and we love it! It was a bit pricey, but I love that I can print out what I need and the materials are all things I have around the house. I also get supplementary books from the library, but I've not bought any other books. To me, it was worth it. Science gets done in our home now, and we all enjoy it together. Oldest DS is doing the Chem. one, and so we all sit in on his lessons, too. :) It's been great so far! I'm sure you'll find what fits for your family, and I hope you have as much fun as we do. :)