My ds placed into algebra 1/2 in 5th grade (also late September birthday). He has almost completed Saxon Algebra. He's doing just fine and having no problems with understanding. You ds may do just as well. They can always take college level math classes in high school. Beth

When my ds was 7, "I love having an imagination. You can take it with you wherever you go and you never get bored!" My 5 year old dd last week was going around the house saying, "I'm a powerful woman!!!" which made me a dh snicker because most likely, when she grows up, she will be just that. Well, this week she added some armor and said it again, "I'm a powerful woman!!!" I figured it out. Due to her speech issues, her "r's" come out like "w's" and she was really saying, "I'm a powerful Roman!!!" Beth

It's easy enough to schedule. For 4 days do one excercise (don't skip problems), with a test on the 5th day. Easy peasy. Beth

Anyone know if there is a nice medium between Apologia and BJU? I'd rather not go down the public school textbook route because just trying to get all the pieces together overwhelms me. I also don't have the time or energy to teach my ds science. He's really got to learn it on his own. I feel like there's only one self teaching option and I'm concerned that it will kill my son's interest in science. Granted, this is a boy who doesn't get excited about much, but I'd at least like to challenge him. Beth

You can find them here. My hesitancy with this program is that the DVD option is a rental. You can't actually buy the DVD's. I have 2 more children past my 7th grader and I don't think it's unreasonable to want to buy the DVD's for that price. The cost of this program every year is making me reconsider it. Beth

My ds has been doing General Science this year and I am considering BJU earth science next year (or physical science?). Ds is finding General Science boring and easy. For tests, he basically memorizes the module review questions and writes the answer on the test. The experiments are a big "why bother" so I'm using them to teach him how to do a lab report. Most of them, you already know what is going to happen or he's done them before in another science program. For example, last week, they had the students blowing out a jug filled with water to find out lung volume. He did that in 2nd grade. We looked briefly at Physical Science for next year and felt the same. Not challenging enough and the experiments are lousy. My current second grader has done some of them this year with Apologia astronomy. We're either jumping ship and going to BJU (with the DVD's because I don't have the time to teach it) or advancing him to the high school series (such as Chemistry for 7th grade) just to try to get him a little challenged. Beth

This is a wild idea for me, but could I give Apologia Chemistry to my 8th grader? He will have completed Saxon Algebra 1 with a great measure of success. He did the Rainbow Chemistry easily in 6th grade. General Science has been too easy for him and I'm not at all thrilled with Physical Science. He needs a bigger challenge. Would this be too big a challenge? In high school, he could complete a BJU chemistry or Apologia advanced Chemistry. Beth

My #2 son has been doing IEW for 4 years now. I was beginning to think he was getting into a rut and needed to branch out. So, I started giving him assignments from our TOG pages. His writing is soooo much more sophisticated and thoughtful than I thought him capable of. He has a real depth to his writing that was stifled with the dress ups. I am very impressed with what he can write now. IEW helped me teach him the mechanics of writing, but if we had stayed with it through high school, I would have never known the depths of his writing ability. So, while I still use IEW for my #3 ds, I will, at some point with leave it behind. I do like IEW, but just realize that it may become like a corset stifling the natural beauty of your child's writing ability. Beth

I am following this because I want to like Apologia, but the labs in general science right now and Physical science next year are BAD! I've looked through some of them and more than a few my 2nd grader has done with ease and skill understanding why it works. And I'm supposed to give this to my 7th grader and consider it science with a lab component? I'm saddened that it doesn't get better. My husband wants to jump ship on Apologia simply because of the labs. Beth

Here's a different thought. Just use most of TOG, even year one, as is. As we've been studying the Greek gods, I am finding that understanding Ancient Greece and Rome leads to understanding other nuances in our culture. The same applies to Biblical knowledge. There are classic books that will refer to a bible story/ passage. Understanding the bible helps with understanding other literature and culture. There are undertones of the bible woven throughout our culture and a good student should at least have an understanding if it. Beth

I started in second with my 3rd ds. I have done units 1-4 with him and I have not had him do much in the area if stylistic techniques. He dictated to me at first but us now writing them on his own. Beth

I second Tapestry of Grace. For example, this year, ds studied an annotated version if the Odyssey. While he was reading that, he was learning about the Greeks in general while writing about the Greeks. He was also learning about the geography of Greece at the same time. Overall, it sounds similar to what you want. Beth

My friend went to the library today (MN) with a short sleeve shirt -no jacket. I think it was 42 degrees. She did admit it was a little nippy after being outside a while. It sure feels warm! Beth

I'm having trouble deciding science next year. Dh and I have figured Apologia science stinks in that some experiments are too simple (a few if the labs I saw were done by my 2nd grader this year), and ds has breezed through General Science with no enthusiasm. Dive ICP is too much and I'm not impressed with the teaching video segment. We thought BJU with a teacher would be good, but at this time, my dh is underemployed. It would be nice to do a rigorous middle school chemistry followed by physics the next year but I am hesitant using secular texts due to us being a strong young earth mindset. I need something ds can teach himself. Am I stuck with only two choices? Beth

And only the people on a classical education site would actually understand what he meant by that. Beth

I think the bigger question is "Why are you teaching your kids history?" If you are just wanting them to know historical fact, then TOG may not be a good fit for you. On the other hand, if you want them to understand themselves and their relation to God by using history and the faults and successes of others, it is worth the time and money. Here's my example from year 1. My ds who is in dialectic will be studying the Romans. Around week 33 or so, he will be studying how the Romans started to persecute the Christians. He answers why they did it, which emperors persecuted Christians and which did not and what does the word martyr mean. The final question he will answer is this, "Do you struggle with the fact that God requires Christians to suffer for the faith?" He then has to search his Bible to find the grace in the midst of that and who God is despite our struggles. To me, getting a 12 year old boy to think about questions like that is worth the money and time put into a "simple" history curriculum. Beth

I use them without the CC community to match up with what we're learning. If you're going to have them as background "music", just realize not all of the sections are put to song. Some of the math and science doesn't. It certainly can't hurt. The songs they do have are annoyingly catchy and if you're not careful, you'll be unable to go to sleep because the history timeline is replaying over and over in your mind. ;-) Beth

This is making me laugh. I too have one stinky boy. EVERY DAY I tell him "brush teeth, deoderant, wash face!!!" EVERY DAY! If he doesn't, I know immediately that he only said he did all that I asked. It's a hard road to tell him that just because a shirt looks clean does not make it clean. His brain is also mushy and I'm re-thinking next year's curriculum because of it. I figure that when the girl issue starts happening, he may get better, but I totally forgot about cologne. Big Sigh... Beth

Can anyone recommend this? What do I need to make it a successful program? Is the lab equipment very expensive? Beth

Can anyone recommend this? What do I need to make it a successful program? Is the lab equipment very expensive? Beth

What about Veritas Press? I always thought their program looked so great but I knew I could never do it with more than one child. Beth

If you're not concerned about matching up with CC, I think year 1 is a great place to start mostly because the pace is a little less hectic and year 1 has a lot of Bible reading in it which is familiar. Year 2 covers a large span of history that has a lot of great books and I hate to see anyone get overwhelmed thinking they should do everything. It's hard to choose to let go of some of TOG because it all looks interesting! That being said, you can really start anywhere. We started with year 3 and are now doing year 1. Children are a lot more flexible in their learning than we are as adults. Beth

It really depends on the tutor. A good tutor will really enhance the program and bring all the scattered pieces together. It's a lot to figure out and the manual is not set up to work well without a good tutor. We had an excellent tutor when ds did EEL and we learned a lot. I did keep up with Rod and Staff just because I too wondered if the program could really work. Both wasn't hard to do and it made me realize how really excellent Rod and Staff really is. Beth

I have thought about my ds doing dive integrated chemistry and physics next year instead of Apologia physical science. I'm starting to question that decision. He'll be doing Algebra 2, a TOG online history class and a Potters school English class. Currently, his brain is in adolescent mush stage and he's been battling with me lately when he has trouble with something. I'm concerned that a rigorous science will put him over the edge. On the other hand, apologia just doesnt interest him or make him think science is cool. He's finding apologia general science easy and boring. Any suggestions for those with the early teen boy set? I really need something independent since I'm sure those other classes will require all my cheer leading/ coaching skills. Beth

Congratulations! We too have 3 boys and our youngest is a girl from China. We are the 2nd family in our church to have the 3 boys, China princess family makeup. The 3rd family with the same 3 boys, youngest daughter from China is waiting to travel to pick up their daughter. It's a wild trip - that's for sure. She looks happy. Beth