I had previously done Sonlight and then designed my own history program. With Sonlight, I felt terrible if I didn't keep up with the schedule. I had a baby then so I often got off the schedule. LOL Of course, I was a fan of my own history program but it was a lot of work. I switched to WP AS1 and it was a great year. Great book choices! Also, I felt like the schedule was more do-able. When I did Sonlight, I sometimes felt like I was treading water just to keep my head above water; that if I relaxed for a minute then I'd drown. That's just my personality though; I feel like I need to be on schedule. With WP, it was easier to remain on schedule. My kids also loved, loved, loved the hands on activities. I am sooo not crafty but the activities were easy and they gave me "permission" to include what I wanted to include and skip what I wanted to skip. I liked the internet links, as well. AS1 and AS2 were two of my best home schooling years. CATW was a little less successful but still good. I had planned on moving right into the Quest series but my customer service experience was so unpleasant that I am leaving WP for MOH, along with books of my choosing. I had problems the first year I ordered with them (missing some books, duplicates of others, waiting on backorders) which were resolved fairly quickly (and Don is so nice). I only ordered the IG and WP exclusives (and any books I couldn't find elsewhere) the second year, buying all the AS2 books for less using other vendors. That year wasn't too bad. I had to wait for some books from WP but not too long and there were no mistakes, at least. My experience ordering CATW was not fun. I ordered really early in the spring to avoid the rush and give them plenty of time and I still had to wait months. What bothered me the most was that I would call and be told,"Oh, that is shipping tomorrow" and then a few weeks would pass and nothing would arrive. After three or four times of being specifically told your box is shipping the next day, or that afternoon, or next week only to receive nothing.... well, it starts to feel like you are being lied to. I stopped caring how "nice" everyone seemed; I just wanted my stuff. I paid for CATW and the extension package and that is a lot of money to spend only to have poor customer service!! I don't want to be told that a certain book isn't needed in the program until week 22 - if I order a complete package then I want the complete package delivered not too long after I order it. In the end, I had to call WP every single day to check on my order (and sometimes twice a day. If they told me something was shipping in the afternoon, I'd call back in the afternoon to check). I think they finally sent everything just to get rid of me! And I still was missing a map, which I just blew off. I had recommended WP to two of my friends. Both ordered from them and BOTH had bad experiences with trying to get their books. I felt terrible about it! One of my friends ordered 2 programs and 2 LA programs .... in other words she spent a large sum of money; only to have to wait several months to receive everything! Ugh! I'd love to keep using them but I just cannot. Furthermore, I am NOT discouraging anyone from using WP, if that is what they desire using. I just think that people should go into this transaction knowing that shipping problems are not uncommon with WP so that they can avoid being surprised and make plans to order in time to receive their items. Order WP exclusives and get your books elsewhere. Or order early so that you have time to wait.

Yes, Don is a very sweet man. And while I'm happy to read about people who have never had shipping problems, do a search on these boards (and the home school review boards) and, sadly, it is apparent that shipping issues are common. I loved their programs but think that people who order a full package need to do so with their eyes open that delays (even delays that last months) frequently occur. If one knows that up front, they are less likely to be frustrated when it occurs.

The Bob Jones TMs are very detailed in telling you how to teach but BJU is not a spiral program. I know how you feel about the Horizons TM. One of my children used Horizons through 5th (and then went to public school for 6th). Most of the time, I could handle the teaching on my own. But every once in a while I would want some help in how to teach a concept and the Horizons TM was useless. This was the primary reason I switched my other daughter from Horizons to CLE. Unfortunately, my dd HATED CLE with a passion so now I'm either going to use Bob Jones or go back to Horizons and put up with the lousy TM. My 6th grader is acing public school math and her teacher has recommended she be in pre-AP math next year. She never was a "math-y" kid so I guess Horizons gets the credit for preparing her well. But I feel your pain. The dreaded "math decision" is always a hard one! LOL

My catalog hasn't arrived yet but I'm going to put it away until I've ordered everything for next year and it's too late to change my mind! LOL I've used WP for three years but I've sworn off getting a complete program from them because of customer service problems. Last year was a nightmare. Still, I've loved using their programs (never used their LA, just the history). The years we did AS1 and AS2 were some of my favorite home schooling years.

I'm actually changing quite a bit next year: * going from Growing with Grammar and IEW to BJU Writing and Grammar. I've loved GWG but I think that the way BJU approaches writing will be a better fit for my dd * I will probably be switching from Horizons to BJU math for 5th grade (but I'm not entirely sure about this) * I usually switch science every year so.... I still am undecided on science. * After 3 years of using Winter Promise for history, we will be using Mystery of History, vol. 1. along with Evan Moor History Pockets and literature next year. I've loved WP's programs but I can't deal with their crazy shipping problems any more. I still drool over their catalog, however.

Thanks for your reply. That makes me feel better. I am just second guessing my decision (par for the course when it comes to math ).

I've narrowed down math to these two programs. Background: my dd did MUS and Horizons through 3rd. This year, for 4th grade, we switched to CLE. My daughter HATED it so much that I ended up ditching it and just using Time4Learning math (we use Time4Learning to supplement our regular curriculum in all subjects). She liked Time4Learning but there isn't enough review. My dd will be in 5th next year and I'm trying to decide whether or not to return to Horizons or go with BJU 5th grade math. My dd says she likes focusing on one topic at a time but that she is fine either way. She likes the puzzles they have in Horizons. She has fine motor difficulties so normally the fact that BJU is a textbook would knock it from consideration. However, I found a Spring Into Action book at our local home school store and because it corresponds perfectly, I could use that for assignments. My dd likes that there are far fewer problems in BJU than in Horizons. Horizons took a long time to complete every day. Also, I am wondering if she is truly understanding the "whys" of math. She tests very well but I still question her conceptual understanding. I'm thinking BJU is stronger in this area. Also, I find the Horizons TM vague, although most of the time this isn't a problem. However, my other daughter used Horizons through 5th and went on to public school where math has been a breeze for her. She is making straight As and her teacher has recommended she take pre-AP math next year. This child was never very "math-y" but I guess Horizons prepared her well. So, arrrrrrgggggghhhhhh! Which to choose? Do I just flip a coin?

I'm still working on my 5th grade plans for next year but here is what I have so far: Math: BJU 5th grade math and Life of Fred Fractions English: BJU Writing and Grammar (this is new for us. I've always used GWG and IEW). Lit: BJU Reading and several novels. I use Teaching the Classics and Deconstructing Penguins to cover the novels. History: Mystery of History, vol. 1 Starting the 4 year history cycle. Using Evan Moor History Pockets and WP MYO notebooking pages, too. Logic: Lift Off With Logic Handwriting: Can Do Cursive (a HWT book for older kids). My dd still struggles with her handwriting Art Draw Squad, Lambs Book of Art, The Usborne Introduction to Art Music piano lessons, Stories of the Great Composers Geography: Stuff I have left over from CATW and Rand McNally's Intermediate Geography and Map Activities Bible: Apologia's Who is God What I am still undecided on is science and whether or not to do Latin or another foreign language.

Perhaps they are waiting for the new one to come out before they send any. New RR catalogs come out in June. I'd give them a call.

First some quick background: My daughter is in 1st grade. In Kinder, she used Bob Jones math and MUS primer and did fine. During the 1st half of 1st grade, we were using CLE which wasn't a good fit. I ended up using part of CLE and also doing my own thing. I also taught her all her addition facts 0+0 thru 10 + 10 using MUS tricks (the vacuum cleaner 9 that wants to be a 10, doubles, doubles +1, etc.). By December she did not have instant recall of the answers to the addition facts but could always figure them out using the tricks. We had just started subtraction. Well, it's been a difficult year ( I had a cancer scare, both my parents had died and I had to deal with estate issues and fixing up their house, etc.). My daughter was curious about public school so I enrolled her in January. What a complete mistake. She has regressed. They spend most of math class learning standardized test taking strategies. Yes... in 1st grade. My daughter is really struggling, especially in subtraction. The school expects these to be taught at home. So now I have to teach her subtraction at home during my already busy afternoons because they don't do it in school. She is really struggling. I've tried straight memorization; I've tried fact families. She just can't seem to remember them and guesses randomly. For example, I'll show her the 6-2 flashcard and she'll say,"Seven?" I have to explain that if you have 6 and you take away, you can't possibly end up with a number larger than with which you started. Next school year my daughter will be back home. What math curriculum is best for students who struggle with math? Thanks so very much for any help or advice!!

I read this today and loved it so much. http://www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com/2010/04/public-school-parents-guide-to.html I especially love number 5 and number 7.

http://www.amazon.com/OASIS-Guide-Asperger-Syndrome-Inspiration/dp/1400081521/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257367748&sr=8-1 The OASIS Guide to Asperger Syndrome: Completely Revised and Updated: Advice, Support, Insight, and Inspiration This book is not about home schooling but it was so very, very helpful when my daughter was diagnosed with Aspergers. :grouphug:

I've used WP for three years. The first time I ordered a complete package. I received duplicates of some books and was missing others. They dealt with the problem in a timely manner. The next year I only ordered the guide and exclusives, purchasing my books elsewhere. This was fairly painless and less expensive. This year I decided to get the entire package and it was an exercise in regret and frustration. I will never order a full package from them again. I always try to order my curricula off season. I received my package, without a packing slip and with nearly half of the books missing, as well as some exclusives. It still took months to receive my full order. I would call and, yes, they were very, very nice on the phone. However, I was promised time and time again that my missing books would be shipping "tomorrow" or "next week" and then tomorrow and next week would come and go with no books! I was not a happy camper after this had happened three of four different times. Being a family business doesn't excuse dishonesty or consistently poor business practices. And what else can you call it when you are repeatedly promised that your order will ship the next day, only to have weeks pass and that hasn't happened?? I've enjoyed using WP but I will never, ever purchase a full package from them again nor will I recommend them to others, unless they plan on only using the exclusives. Recalling my second year of using WP, when I only ordered the guide and exclusives, It was a cheaper and much more pleasant experience. I wish I had done that again this year.

anyone?

I will be using DIHOR next year with my 4th and 6th grade girls. Does anyone have book suggestions for the various genres? Thanks! It is fine if the 4th and 6th graders are reading different books.

I recently purchased CATW to use next year with my kids: ages 11,9, and 6. It looks wonderful. I've used WP AS1 and AS2 but this looks like the best yet. I will have to simplify thing for my 6 year old but that shouldn't be too difficult. FWIW, I peviously purchased KONOS Obedience. It looked terrific but it requires more planning and prep work than I was desiring. I ended up selling it. As I said, it looked great, however. I like that WP is all laid out and ready for me to go. I can easily tweak it if I desire or just do it "as is." Good luck. It is great that great choices abound but it sure makes it hard to choose!

Most of my purchasing experiences, thankfully, have been good. Great: Rainbow Resource, Timberdoodle, Sonlight, Growing with Grammar, Amazon Problems: Milestone Ministries - a R&S book/TM I ordered never arrived. I called and the man said I had to wait six weeks to make sure it didn't arrive before they'd send another. He acted like he thought I was making it up. Eventually, they sent out another book and it arrived quickly . I am cuurently hoping that WP doesn't get added to the list!

6th grade: Growing with Grammar 6 Meaningful Composition Apples Daily Spelling Drills CLE Reading w/ DIHOR (I'll also utilize what I've learned from TTC) CLE Math 6 Christian Kids Explore Earth and Space Winter Promise Children Around the World Rosetta Stone Orbiting with Logic 4th grade Growing with Grammar 4 Meaningful Composition HWT cursive Simply Spelling CLE Reading w/ DIHOR CLE Math 4 Christian Kids Explore Earth and Space Winter Promise Children Around the World Rosetta Stone Logic Countdown 1st grade TATRAS phonics, with ETC workbooks and Click n Kids on the computer HWT FLL WWE 1 workbook Literature Pockets... Fairy Tales CLE Math 1 Christian Kids Explore Earth and Space Around the World ( to accompany her older sister's CATW study) I still don't know about art/music and a few other things. I'm leaning toward the Lamb's Book of Art but we'll see.

Rainbow does sell the light units for reading...that's where I got mine earlier this year when I switched from Mosdos. As a matter of fact, today I ordered a bunch of stuff from RR for next year, including CLE reading ( book, TG, light units and answer key). I wish they sold CLE math!

:iagree: I really like the theme based books. I have and like TWSS but I prefer the structure and hand holding I get from using a theme based book. If not for the theme books, I doubt I'd use IEW effectively.

I switched from R&S two years ago to GWG. I love it. I think grade 7 is coming out this summer.

Teachin the Classics is another thing you could easily use. It is used with whatever books, short stories or poetry you choose. I love it! It gives me a structure to teach literary elements and analysis but with the freedom to choose my own reading material.

I will be switching from Horizons to CLE next year. I like that CLE has better explanations and more hand holding for the teacher.

I home schooled my dd in K and 1st grade. Last year she attended public school. This year - 3rd grade - she is home again. During K and 1st, I always struggled with her to get her to hold her pencil properly. I bought a certain type of pencil grip and made her use them, as this was the only way to get her to hold her pencil in the correct manner. I sent some of these grips to school with her last year but she never used them. As a result, she is firmly used to holding her pencil in her own way...... the pencil is being held almost like a fist. The pencil rests on her ring finger with the index and middle fingers curved over the pencil and the thumb curved around the pencil, resting on the index finger. It is strange, people! Her handwriting is not bad but she writes slowly. Do I insist on proper placement of the fingers or is it a big deal? She'll use the grip if I tell her to use it but always reverts to her way if there is no pencil grip. Thanks!!!

Yes, I remember you from the hayride! It's a small (cyber) world. I am a curricula junkie and I promised that I'd clear some stuff out. So, thanks for buying it! I didn't get to make it to the sale itself (probably a good thing since my goal was to clear out my homeschool closet).