Still listening in .... ðŸ‘ðŸ»

Following up and adding to my previous comments up thread: Miss (hate is too strong): Analytical Grammar. Dropped for 6th. Will keep for 8th. I can't explain this yet but it isn't clicking for me. Not enough explanation? So expensive. America the Beautiful- lovely text and interesting topics but it lacks flow. Too much tedium for my taste. Maps are too easy. My 6th grader who dislikes school tells me that the text is too detailed but the work is way too simplistic. SO SAD. I was excited to use this and sure it would work well for us. I don't know what I'll do.

Thanks Keri. Did you drop it then?

Can this be done without a teacher? Can the student do this independently by reading the text and working in the book?

My oldest is also taking Fundamentals of Expository Writing with WHA and it is a challenging course for him. He still needs a lot of support from me and I think he'll need it all the way through the next two essays on the Odyssey. Wowsers! *I* am slightly panicked over the Odyssey and trying to nudge him through. Mrs. Lange is wonderful and I am exceedingly pleased with this course. She is kicking 8th grade booty! I'm with Root Ann -- it may be more freshman comp. And this class would kill my second born. No way ever will he be able to handle it at 13/14. OP, your son likely needs more help from you AND I have seen that my kid doesn't want to do the hard work. It IS a challenge but it is also within reach. He'd rather it was easy .... But he's having to think, re-read, think again, pay attention to details ..... One cannot wing it in this class or you'll sink within a week. It is fierce 😀 and I've had to give him extra time to focus on this course than I was planning. Puberty is also a player here. I don't know about you but I have boys who handle school one day and stare/flip out the next OR a child who stares at me blankly and says they don't know what a paragraph is and they are sure we've never discussed it 😳. Hang in there.

Thanks ya'll! Sticking with 5 was my plan and my instinct (and I thought parts of it were tricky :) ).

Yes! Algebra I has to be on the high school transcript and it counts for your DD. It is not uncommon for Algebra I to be completed before high school although it doesn't have to be. I urge you to research that a bit in your state and consider how you are teaching and grading this course. I do think the Solutions manual is worthwhile. You have several kids to use it with who are coming up the ranks. If you need review then you have solutions at your fingertips as well as answers to the oral exercises and tests. 😀

I agree that you need the solutions manual. It is part of the program and it is incomplete without it. It's just what is necessary to properly oversee this for your DD. The Solutions Manual has answers for the Oral work as well as all of the problems for each section, including tests. For what it's worth, Algebra is a hugely important course and it's being done for credit with a grade. It's absolutely worth it to have the Solutions Manual; you need it and I believe you can't properly grade or facilitate this course of study without it. :grouphug: It will really help you.

Is there any compelling reason to buy 6 if I own 5? I want to do a thorough R&S year with DS12. Analytical Grammar is proving to be a poor fit for him and so we're heading back to R&S (tried & true). He IS a 6th grader though grammar is tough for him; I'm leaning toward using 5 since it is here. In looking at the samples I see that the topics are the same and likely delve a bit deeper. But, I only have experience with levels 2-5 so I just don't know where R&S might change its approach, if it does at all. Thanks so much.

Okay. Deep breath. Keep going. Adjust expectations. Stay the course. Thanks for the input. 🙂

AWESOME. :hurray:

After completing 2 Units I am disappointed in how little practice there is. We just finished Unit 2 on Pronouns and there was so little explanation or practice. It is inadequate for DS12 (who has a strong start in grammar). It is adequate for DS13 who is building on the foundation laid by Rod & Staff. If this was our FIRST and ONLY exposure to grammar we would be lost and unprepared. Did you find AG provided enough explanation and practice? Will it build on these first 2 units and get better/go deeper?

Haven't used some of our resources for long yet so I'll share where we're at so far: LOVE: CLE Math, LA, Reading Phonics Pathways Treasured Conversations & WWE3 Science resources Morning Time (Simply Charlotte Mason resources are excellent!) Ember Falls :001_wub: Student Logbooks (simple, effective, 3 oldest use them) Bite Size Theology LIKE so far (haven't used for long enough to say love): Notgrass America the Beautiful MFW First Grade (modified; he's a reader so I am using it for Bible, phonics/spelling, writing) On-line writing classes (There hasn't been a lot of output yet though I expect things to pick up now that we're finishing up week 2. The teachers have been patient in helping the students learn the on-line course format and we're about through the learning curve.) Just Started but Making Me Nervous: Analytical Grammar

Double Post - sorry.

Hardcover. :hurray: 4th edition just arrived a few days ago. I love it more than my trusty 3rd edition. Though I've only perused it I can see that it has more practical helps which I NEED a lot more than curriculum lists. This is an improvement over the 3rd edition that makes it worth the $$. SWB never fails to deliver excellent literature lists as well, though I don't know how 3rd and 4th editions compare on that front. With 1st, 4/5th, 6th and 8th graders I have no doubt this 4th edition will be utilized extensively. I will read it from cover to cover this fall ....

Sword Studies, yes! We'll use 2 Timothy next summer. My 8th grader is using an Explorer's Study called Quest and he will be studying Romans, Galatians & James. He will begin this Monday. What about Starr Meade's The Most Important Thing You'll Ever Study? You could choose the Old Testament and it will give her a thorough survey to follow her NT studies. I can't speak to the depth but it's worth a peek.

No foreign language. He'd like to study Latin but it isn't feasible time wise as far as I can tell. If my times are off for other subjects I'd let him study it. It's impossible to say for sure. I will likely LIMIT him time wise too and allow classes to run more weeks if needed (except for the outsourced writing course). It is my intention to say that he has ONE HOUR to work on science; close book; start there tomorrow. We'll streamline all we can because I want him to have free time and down time and plenty of time to exercise and read. I haven't made a literature list yet but I will include classics, biographies and historical fiction to fit with his studies. It will be trim. He reads plenty on his own and he reads everything. I don't have any intention of even giving him a reading schedule. I'll stack the books and he'll tear through them faster than I'd like him to :). I'm tentatively planning to use Notgrass ATB with my 5th and 6th grader. :) Oh, there isn't map work with Changing Frontiers so you may consider adding that in if it is important to you. I'm using Map Trek U.S.

Well, I can tell you one way 5 hours might be doable. NO languages! :) If you're studying TWO languages that seriously then it's going to really up the time commitment. :thumbup1: I wonder if Science should take 7 hours? I'm planning on 1 hour per day TOPS for Apologia Biology and allowing it to flow out longer into summer if I find that too little. It is my desire to limit my son to one hour blocks for most subjects, if possible. With what I am thinking is a pretty trim schedule his school days will take 6-7 hours with no dawdling. And that is with no foreign language. I don't see how we can do a 5 hour school day (I was dreaming of this :) ). Math 1 hour Writing 1 hour (more on class days) Science 1 hour History 1 hour (this may be high; it's a streamlined program we're doing) Other LA 1 hour (trim back on class days; I'm not counting literature reading here) Bible/Morning Meeting 30m/30m (may do Morning Meeting 3x a week only on non-writing class days) I think that is a long day and I've not included long blocks for reading or for any extras. I can see that 7 hours of school work is a more realistic number if we're doing Algebra and Biology and a full writing course. I may need to re-think a few things. :smash:

Listening in. The time gets used up so quickly.

Thanks for saying it. It does not sound harsh; it's meant to encourage. :001_smile: I deleted some of my ramblings thinking I could ask the question more concisely. I didn't see these responses before I did so or I would've left my silly ramblings for the world to read :thumbup1: .

I want to ask my question in a different way but haven't figured it out yet. 8th grade composition needs to be excellent and outsourced and I simply don't know where to turn ... :001_smile:

Tentatively planning for DD10 and DS12 (6th): The website makes it sound like I want Intermediate for my DD10 and DS12. However, random threads imply that it's easier than it looks and I should choose Advanced. I understand that Advanced adds two days a week of content (i.e. more models to build, lab sheet write up) but that the lesson presentation is the same the other three days. Thoughts, opinions or advice? :willy_nilly:

Thanks for clearing this up. (It would be so nice to have a co-op to do labs with :thumbup1: .)

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I will go have a look :).

Semester or full year? How many days per week? Approximate time commitment? Is it okay to use orally rather than write in that student workbook? Thanks. :thumbup1: