We began the year with BJU 7th, but ran into the same problems you described. It would have taken me sitting with her every second to do it properly and that is just not possible with 3 other kids to teach. I have her doing "The Usborne Illustrated Encyclopedia - The Natural World" which is very similar in content to the BJU. She reads 2 two page spreads per week and is required to outline the bold topics and then tell me what she outlined so that I make sure she understood the content. Then, she does the experiments out of Apologia General Science. I do have to help with this a bit, but she writes it up herself. The experiments do not match the reading, but that is OK with me.

Winston Grammar is a quick way to keep up those grammar skills so you can spend more time writing. We finished R&S 9 and felt we were ready for something less intense, but not ready to completely drop it. We do two lessons a week and spend about 15 minutes on each lesson.

Our experience is with the BJU DVD's, but I have friends who have had similar experiences with Abeka. It is a much longer day than we were used to, and I am responsible for making sure she (dd 13 - 7th grade) gets the correct handouts on the correct days, grading tests/homework/projects, making sure she has what she needs for experiments, etc. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it is a different kind of busy. We have had mixed results and are currently only using 2 of the DVD classes (we bought the whole package). I had not planned on using the math to begin with (we wanted to stick with Math-u-see), the Bible and English classes were somewhat tedious, and the science just wasn't a good fit for dd. We do enjoy the World Studies and Spanish. Also, it just goes better if I watch at least some of the class each day in order to know what the teacher says in addition to what is in the book. Sometimes the DVD and syllabus do not match. I've heard the best results with families with one child and the parent and child watch the DVD's together.

This is hardly classic literature, but we love A Charlie Brown Christmas.

FWIW, we use it without manipulatives without any problems.

We enjoyed How Nature Works as recommended in the original WTM. It has nice pictures to copy, experiments, and is easy to open and do one or two 2 page spreads per week.

I tutored a kindergartener last year who was the proverbial "handful". He had gone to the preschool at our church and they couldn't do anything with him unless he was in the mood to work. His mother is a friend of mine and always said she would send him at my house! I thought she was kidding until two weeks before school started she seriously asked if she could. She knew (and I did as well), that he would never make it in PS. I agreed ( I am a nurse practitioner as well - so I have had a little training with LD issues), but refused to take any money because I wasn't sure if I would make any progress either. The little boy is incredibly gifted in math and on target in reading, but had funny quirks that totally interfered with learning. He had invented spelling and there was no talking him out of it if he spelled something wrong. He would drop a pencil on purpose and we would waste an hour waiting for him to pick it up. I was totally at a loss of what to do with him. His mother came early to pick him up one day and while he couldn't see her, she witnessed one of the pencil events. She took him to a center and had him tested and they diagnosed him with Asperger's syndrome. He is a different child today. They knew exactly what to do with him and counseled his family as well. Today, he is the "good kid" at church, sits and does his work at school (he went to PS for the intensive therapy he could get there) - a joy to be around. No one can believe the difference in him. Don't lose hope and keep an open mind with options for your son.

I owned Shurley 1 and thought it was too much for our 1st graders anyway, so I would not be too disappointed that it was cancelled. I've never used FLL, but it looks good. We enjoy Winston Grammar, which reminds me very much of Shurley - except for the jingles. I would invest in some grammar songs - kids really pick up on those. If you use Winston, you will need something else for punctuation and writing. Dictation and copywork would probably be fine.

We are using Math-U-See along with the Honors book and it is going well with my math hating/easily frustrated dd. I watch the DVD with her and I also let her use the teacher's manual (not the answer key section!) for a little backup through the week. She is a visual learner and not having a textbook was hard for her, so this arrangement really helps. (The student book is just the daily problems, not an explanation of the lesson.) I know some think there are not enough proofs, but I just know my dd would sink with a program too heavy with them - I sent back TT just for that reason. She will get two semesters of logic and that hopefully will fill in any gaps.

I was looking for the same thing this year. We are using Janice Van Cleave's "Science around the Year" book. My dd reads the experiment and background info, looks up any words in bold print, does the experiment and writes it up. She does almost all of it independently and it has been a great experience for her.

We began using Winston for the first time this year. In the past we have used Shurley, Rod and Staff, and Abeka, which are all good, but after such rigorous courses I wanted to slow down and spend a year just cementing what my 3 dd's knew (10th, 7th, and 5th). I knew the younger two still did not "get" some things. So far, I am very pleased. It is kind of like "Grammar You See" because of the parts of speech cards that come with it. The girls line up the cards and classify the sentences with an ease and orderliness they never had before. Just know that this program is only grammar. We do dictation and editing for punctuation and usage practice and use Writing Strands/IEW for compositon.

When we began homeschooling 6 years ago, I tried the recommendations in the WTM. I wasn't very confident in my skills, so I ditched it and tried Christian Liberty Press, Abeka, Rod and Staff, and BJU. Guess what, the WTM way is best for us and we are back to stay through the 8th grade. I do like Apologia and Abeka in the high school years. (We have 10th, 7th and 5th grade dd's).

My 7th grade dd asked for BJU dvd's this year because she wanted to work more independently. It has not gone as we had hoped. The Teacher's tips that come with the package are helpful, but it still generated a lot of work for me as far as checking papers, making sure she has all the handouts, etc. We are down to using just two of the DVD's as well as Math U See (we never planned to use the BJU math). The Math U see is great because it is just once a week, but the daily DVD's are a drag and take longer than we are used to doing school. I had put a lot of effort in making school more user friendly for me this year because my MIL has been ill, and I am a major care giver for her. My other two dd's are doing Math U See, Winston Grammar, WTM style science and history for the younger, Abeka science and Streams of Civ for the older. Those have been very helpful and give us more time for Bible and language arts - areas where I want to spend more individual time with them. I will do this again for all 3 next year.

We found that most of the microscope slides can be found free online. Just Google the cell, organism, etc. We have a cheapie microscope ($20) from JC Penney Christmas catalog that we used to practice preparing slides. The Cd that Apologia offers was helpful as well and the price was right! I did spring for a dissection kit from Rainbow Resource and we enjoyed doing those.

After using Apologia two years and BJU one year, we are finding Abeka Physical Science a breath of fresh air. My dd would never say it is interesting, but she isn't complaining either! I find it a little more matter of fact than the others, but for us that is a good thing. We also are enjoying the color text after Apologia and the teacher's guide is very helpful. Some of the labs are quite elaborate, so we just read those and answer the questions. I plan to use Abeka again next year.

We did the first page together and the back on their own - I did sometimes pick and choose if it was something they understood well.

Pain quality. When the contractions started to sting (instead of just hurting) it was time to be there! Also, if I had waited for the contractions to be 5 minutes apart I would have never gone. I fooled the nurses every time. Twice they "guessed" I was 2-3 cm dilated as they checked me in and panicked when they discovered I was 6cm. I had no idea either! It took the third child to figure that out.

We aren't "large" per se, but I totally agree that Mom's commitment makes a difference. When I am tempted to work part time or volunteer for something, I have to remind myself that this is for just a season, and Lord willing, there will be time for those things when I launch my youngest! The "work" I am doing now will influence our family for generations. I try treat homekeeping/homeschool as my "job". We keep regular hours, take vacations, and have a definite quitting time! We have organization charts, short term/long term goals and plans, just like the outside job I used to have and the paycheck is priceless! Above all, working to keep God first and then my husband next keeps things in perspective. We have 3 dd's (10th, 7th, and 5th) and tutor one more dear girl (9th), and I have found that using a variety of types of curriculum works best for us. We use Math-u-see, which helps me so much in teaching the high school girls. Winston Grammar (new for us) is great because there are only two levels and I plan on repeating each level at least twice - Basic twice before high school and Advanced twice in high school. It only needs to be taught once or twice a week. Dictation and editing teach punctuation to all at once. We will review grammar in the off years with various resources. Keeping them all in the same historical time period is helpful. We use workbooks for spelling/vocabulary and writing that don't require much help from me. Traditional science (BJU/Abeka) after 7th grade is what I chose for the area that gets the most attention from me. (The beauty of homeschool is you can tailor things to meet your specific needs!)

I don't have any magic answers, but I teach a 10th, 9th, 7th, and 5th. I really tried to simplify this year so I would have more time to concentrate on the "biggies". Winston Grammar has been great. I plan on repeating the Basic Program twice with the younger two and the Advanced Program twice with the older two. Math-u-see all around keeps me sane. Abeka science in the high school years is completely planned and IMHO "idiot proofed" for teachers. I just open the teacher's guide and go. WTM methods for science and history for the 5th grader (and maybe 9th and 10th - not happy with Streams of Civ. 2). Doing as much together, as you know, helps as well. I also like Christian Liberty Press Bible for the youngers and Spelling Workout.

I too, have a 7th grade dd doing BJU Life Science and a 5th grader dd not doing it! I didn't plan on them doing it together and good thing - Life Science is almost as detailed as my 10th grade dd's Apologia Biology was last year! We are slogging through mitosis now, but knowing she will see it again in high school helps me not stress to much. The 5th grader is doing Janice VanCleaves's "Science around the Year". She does one or two experiments per week. Each experiment has several vocabulary words that she looks up and I have her write up the experiment ala WTM. She also checks out a library book about the experiment, reads it and tells me about it. She loves it and needs very little help.

We have used 6th grade and physical science. I really enjoy the physical science. I was surprised how much I like it. (I bought it used for next to nothing thinking I could trash it if I didn't like it!) The teacher's guide is wonderful and it does add some thinking questions. I usually throw in a few more of my own as well and we also use the text as a launch pad to research areas of interest more deeply. The guide also takes you step by step through a formal research paper and science project - very handy! I also liked the 6th grade, but the teacher's edition is not as helpful as the high school level. My favorite cheap elementary science is Rod and Staff - I found it very thorough and easy to use. BTW, we have used Bob Jones and Apologia for middle school - they were fine as well, I just found the Abeka high school teacher's guide so helpful.

Math-U-See for my non-mathy dd who does not plan on being a math major! I think it will give her a good basic foundation. She is also doing the honors book as well. So far she actually likes it! We have used Saxon, Lials, and Bob Jones in the past for elementary, prealgebra, and Algebra 1 (in that order).

Well, we have not done chemistry, but we did use BJU Earth Science DVD's and are just starting the Life Science DVD's. If the labs were feasible, we did them along with the DVD or later on our own. Otherwise we just watched them. I prefer BJU DVD's because they are made just for your student instead of a taped class full of kids. I can't compare Abeka or BJU DVD's, but we enjoy both in book form. I'm not sure about DIVE - you can check the DIVE website. I know they have some science cd's, but not sure specifically about chemistry. We have never tried them.

We have 3 dd's - two do better with textbooks, one does better with WTM style learning. In the end, we use a mix with all 3 - Mom's sanity counts too!

10th grade dd: Bible - How to Study the Bible for Yourself, What's in the Bible for Teens Math - Math U See Geometry Grammar - Winston Grammar Advanced/Word Works/Editing practice Literature - Skills for Literary Analysis/Abeka World Literature Writing - Writing Strands 7 History - Streams of Civilization 2 Science - Abeka Physical Science French - Rosetta Stone/French in Action PE - Homeschool Family Fitness Music - Piano Lessons, The Gift of Music