Just an FYI... so many of us wonder what is good. We downloaded Typing Instructor for Kids from Amazon for ~$19.xx. My kids love it. It plays pachabel's canon so I am not completely annoyed during the lesson part. There are games and challenges to keep them going. I have a ds6 and a dd9. I hope this helps someone who wants to add the elective of typing in an easy, cost effective, and fun manner. I noticed there are Windows versions and Mac versions.

I agree with the previous posters. I wanted to encourage you. There is a mom on the board who used WT1 this year with her reluctant writer 4th grader. He SOARED using this program. He is writing full pages now and does great. It was a great success for them. My dd wanted more creative freedom so we bowed out. Good luck!

We just finished Elemental Science Biology for the grammar stage and LOVED it. We did purchase the Draw Write Now books to correspond to the animals unit and had my kids draw their pictures instead of using the provided drawings. My kids loved this part. The experiments were super doable... except recording the ground temperature when we had 4' of snow on the ground here in Connecticut. :001_smile::001_smile: We invested and purchased the Elemental Science Earth Science & Astronomy for next year. You'll learn that homeschoolers must really like something if they do the same thiing 2 years in a row. :lol:

:iagree: We did WT1 with an average 3rd grade girl. She did fine with the work. I say go for it.

My thought is, while they may be able to do them on their own, this falls under "best done with a parent"... kind of like bible, s*x and politics. If your child reads an essay on egyptian mummies and doesn't get everything, it isn't going to harm them down the road. If your child doesn't fully grasp how to handle money, that can be very detrimental. Everyone has different attitudes toward money, how much to save, spend, tithe, etc. If you want your kids to GET IT and do it the way your family thinks is best, this is the time to sit down and talk about it. Just my opinion...

I agree with Colleen. We use WWE3 with my dd and it has been a big help and SO easy to implement and do. I have already seen improvement. I grabbed WWE2 for my ds for the fall. Now, my dd has expressed an interest in writing creative stories. I grabbed the TM for BJU4 (cheap, used off Amazon) to help me teach her how to plan a story, develop a character, etc. But I ONLY did this because SHE expressed an interest in doing it. Her BFF uses Abeka and writes stories a lot so they are starting to write together (apparently the Littlest Pet Shop characters have been up to a lot of fun lately :D). Anyway, I wanted to give her the tools to do this effectively. For those wondering how I am pulling off 2 writing programs, with very different goals, this is how I did it: Since WWE is scheduled 4 days a week, I took the BJU process and scheduled 1 step every Friday. A piece will take about 5 weeks or so to do.

:cheers2:

I opted not to mess with the LP Schedule function. Instead, when I select some lessons, right click, submit to assignment grid, the wizard comes up. I select the student(s), and select "Use the following days and times". I got into trouble too many times with the darn LP schedule. Sometimes we did history 4 days a week, other times I needed to do it 5 days a week because we had to catch up or work ahead. If you are rescheduling, select the last option on the wizard that says manual. Skipping the LP schedule was best for me but there are plenty of users who live by that tool.

All this talk of waffles.... maybe I should go grab some Vermont maple syrup, some delicious coffee and we all sit down and figure this out! :lol: I hope everyone reads that I am teasing. My heart goes out to each of you. I waffle every spring too. I simply am past this phase (this year anyway). Hollar if you want some syrup. :D

Well, I can't make heads or tails of either recommendation. UILEWH is not outlining friendly (what was I thinking buying it?). Kingfisher is available but not listed as recommended. Does not appear outlining friendly for a 5th grader learning how to outline. The recommded DK History of the World is not being sold on Amazon. The National Geographic Almanac of World Histoyr and History: The Definitive Guide are too far past my dd's reading level. One of the posters on the referenced thread suggested the Oxford Children's History of the World. It looks promising?

I like this one! Thank you for the recommendation!

:cheers2: :thumbup: First, bravo for recognizing your situation. I adore BJU myself. Cost prohibits me from doing what I want, but we are still using Bible and the writing portion of english this year. Second, in case you don't already realize, I wouldn't stress about your kids being behind from your bouncing around. Remember they HAVE been learning stuff during the years in the bounce house. Remember they have matured during these years. Because of both of these things, they will catch up in no time and go soaring ahead. I am going on a limb here: you are a Christian (you chose and love BJU - it is a safe bet). Remember God has great plans for you and your kids. Nothing YOU do can change that - I guarantee HE is bigger than the bounce house. ;) And consider for a moment that He allowed you in the bounce house so that you could come to this exact conclusion and give your children academic stability and a solid Christian education from here on out. What if you did the bounce house in high school? What if you were still in the bounce house? Maybe the experience He allowed. Maybe not. Regardless, He will get YOU and your CHILDREN to where He wants and needs you all. Rest in His grace. Give it all back to Him. He's got your back. :D Blessings,

I created lined paper with boxes for pictures at the top using Power Point. I have it for different line sizes. This has worked well for us - super flexible. I just print off what I need. My oldest uses wide lined notebook paper. I slip that write up in with the map and coloring pages from the AG. We use Elemental Science for science and her program comes with notebook pages ready to be written on. She has a K level science program.

We actually use SOTW2 this coming fall. I am trying to figure out my budget for next year.

I am considering doing SOTW3 without the AG. By that time, my ds will be 8 and will not care to color. My dd will 10-11 and will have other things she needs to do with her time. The mapwork is okay but surely I can find alternate mapwork? Do any of you skip the AG for SOTW3 and grab other supplemental hands on? If so, how did this work for you? What did you really like?

Done. My lists are getting too long! :D

Just remember that Lesson Plans are not necessarily related to courses. So I have a BJU Math 2 lesson plan, a Singapore 2 lesson plan, and a Horizons 2 lesson plan (my poor kids! :lol:). ALL have the course of 2nd grade math. I would create the lesson plans for sure and just archive them if you don't want to look at them. You never know when the youngers grow and you think, "Well, that math program might work really well for this child." How convenient that the lesson plan is already there. You deselect archive and submit it to that child when you are ready. Be sure to learn the copy function and the copy -> auto-sequence page/lesson/ etc function (huge time savers). Get comfortable with rescheduling. Not a big deal with 1 kid... a big help for me with 2 kids as school grew to be more structured at our house. My final suggestion: run every report it offers and just look at them. Look at the data it is reporting and how it reporting it. You may realize that you don't like how you titled your courses (easy to change under the Maintenance tab), or whatever. You'll also learn about data that it can track that you might not realize. Example: when I ran the reports, I discovered there is one that reports a student's activities and awards. Really? I went hunting and pecking until I found it. Hint: it is under the Maintenance tab -> Students -> double-click. Then I discovered it will also track standardized tests and a bunch of other stuff should I ever want a place to put that stuff. I hope this helps and doesn't scare.

Elemental Science is popular amongst TWTM followers with elementary kids. It does a VERY nice job of following TWTM model and suggestions and uses many of the suggested books. The curriculum is neutral but the author points out where the teacher can and should discuss family beliefs on new earth / old earth / etc. HTH

I loved the Castle sf, NCIS sf, NCIS LA sf and I am staying tuned for American Idol. For the record, this is my FIRST AI season and I am addicted to both country cuties - they should both win and go be a duo team. :D I am not excited at the trailers for Greys... Nothing else jumps to mind. NCIS LA left my jaw on the ground. That show makes my head spin. It is on so late compared to when my brain is functioning. OH! House. My morbid interest keeps bringing me back. I heard his girlfriend did not renew her contract.

Jenn, it has been almost a year now. Hard to believe, huh? In fact, we closed on the house a year ago today.

I think $87 for SCS as a summer camp is totally reasonable, especially given we also get access to all her e-classes for those three months, which is cheaper than paying the $37 per month. $87 for 2 elementary kids for a whole summer of science camp for them to study the topic of their choice? I think $87 is more than reasonable. Yes, there are experiments out there with abnormal materials. There are tons of experiments out there with stuff I have around the house or will cost me a few dollars at Walmart. We're giving it a try With a 100% money back guarantee, what do we have to lose?

Jennefer@SSA told me it is introduced in the AG of SOTW4. It starts off where the kids fill in a blank here and there and progresses to them doing most of the outline by the end of the year.

Colleen, This makes great sense. Thank you. I now have some very practical ideas on how to implement 5th grade. It helps to read 5th grade is the transition, not 4th grade. With the way I am doing things now, and understanding what you wrote, I have a clear idea of what 4th needs to look like and I am in very good shape. Thank you so much for taking time to post such a thoughtful response. Laurie Beth

My last name is Kell(er) and I LOVE HST+. I have been using it for 5 years. It helps my kids to have a weekly assignment sheet which is easily generated from HST+. The only subjects that take a bit to enter are history and science. It calculates our school year, tells me if I need to take a few days or more off of school and reschedule, this is our impact to our "last day of school". It prints transcripts, etc. I fear that if I didn't enter it into HST+, I wouldn't feel accountable to do everything. I am checkbox kind of gal. If you want to love it and don't, tell me why you hate it and maybe I can help you. The online videos help show it off nicely too. Great suggestion from the other poster.

Jen, For whatever its worth, Ainsley will start Vocab from the Classical Roots Up in the fall. I spoke at length with JJ at HEP and this is what she strongly recommended. I like how it is laid out. I like that I can pick it and not have to change later. A final thought: in the end, it doesn't matter which program you picked. What matters is how well YOU implemented it - did you stick with it? Did you find a way to review? etc. Good luck with your decision. LB