If you are looking for a Christian series, then Apologia! We used it last year and loved it, but left it for "greener pastures". After six weeks I knew I'd made a mistake. I decided to dump what we'd purchased and go back to Apologia and my boys were ecstatic.

Thanks to you all. Your comments were very helpful! I think LOF will be in addition to MUS. I'm hoping it will help my ds find the meaning and joy in math with MUS for additional "why's" and application. Warmly,

Do you use LOF in addition to another program or as your core program? I love the conversational style but I'm concerned that there is not enough written work. Would it be too much to do LOF with MUS?

Wow ladies! Thank you for the help. I am always amazed at the quick and thorough replies on these boards. Warmly,

First, are the flashcards considered essential? Also, I'm considering the instructional dvds. Would I need the audio cd in addition?

Great post Obi-Mom Kenobi! (BTW, My boys are Star Wars fanatics.) Just two for us: Shakespeare ~ Boys were tolerating it... maybe we'll try again later. Multiple History Periods ~ We were studying Ancient Greece & Rome as well as Westward Expansion with Charlotte Mason. Now we're back to the Classical, chronological way and focusing on one time period. I am implementing some delight-directed learning as well as unit studies via hands-on activities and notebooking and loving it! Science ~ Dumped the literature approach and went back to Apologia. We were missing the joy in our homeschool and this was the fix we needed. :)

Ya know Sagira, I actually own that book, but have read very little of it. I'll have to look through it some tonight. It's always nice to have help in the area of practical application. The Charlotte Mason Companion has helped me some, but I'm the type that can always use more. Thanks for the recommendation. :)

First let me say that I personally love the CM method. In hindsight though, I may have been a bit idealistic. I have four very boy boys. KWIM? I had visions of me in a long-flowing calico skirt with my hair in a bun walking through fields of flowers on an English hillside with my boys in tow. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little.:001_rolleyes: Suffice it to say, we are back to the latter year's more eclectic approach and there is more joy in our homeschool. Some elements that didn't work for us: Shakespeare ~ I loved it and maybe we'll try this again at some point, but my 11yo tolerated it and my 8yo's eyes glazed over. Studying two history periods - American & World (And I believe Ambleside studies English as well) ~ We all enjoy focusing on one time period so much more and I find their retention is higher as a result. The one element I've tweaked: Narrating ~ They were orally narrating nearly everything they read and it was becoming drudgery. I now have them narrate literature (my 11 yo only) and nature study daily. They do written narrations for science and history once a week via notebook pages. And I must mention the positive elements for us: Living books ~ This is what drew me to CM in the first place. Although we still use some textbooks, it has freed me from feeling we must use them in order to acquire a complete education. Copywork & Dictation ~ I have really seen the benefits of copywork and dictation after a few years. These will be a mainstay in our studies. I'm sure there are other points, but this is what comes immediately to mind. I'm just so thankful and privileged to be able to teach my own and have found after 10 years that I am still learning so much!:)

We purchased and used LBC Grade 3 for 7 weeks. I tried to combine my 8yo and 11yo. What I liked: the book selections the true to CM Method ease of use completeness (just add math) What I didn't like: I felt the books varied in difficulty and I wasn't sure what my child(ren) should read or what I should read. the true CM method (lol - I realized I like some elements, but I'm not a die-hard.) Honestly, if I weren't trying to combine, I think I would've liked it more. However, we missed reading together (especially SOTW!) and the cohesiveness of studying just one time period. In our case, my guys are "just the facts, ma'am" kind of fellas. It was just too much information for them. They want to get their studies done and work on catching critters and building projects. If you enjoy the CM method of teaching and learning, then it may be worth considering. The Carrolls have done a wonderful job of making it very easy to implement. Warmly,

You're welcome. And please feel free to ask any specific questions that you may have about LB. :)

This is exactly why it didn't work for us. I tried to "combine" my 11 and 8 yo's, but it just didn't work. It is a beautiful program that is true to Charlotte Mason. Sheila Carroll has done an excellent job of making the CM method easy to implement. Also, I did find that most of the books could be found at our local library. However, I purchased several as I wanted them for our personal library. And if you're interested, I have a Grade 3 TG & Resource cd available if you are interested. (It's posted somewhere on the For Sale Board along with several books.)

Another option... Dr Fry's Spelling Book: http://www.currclick.com/product_info.php?products_id=15683&it=1 or http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=31985&netp_id=200324&event=ESRCN&item_code=WW&view=covers

I have always loved the samples of TOG, but with a very active toddler, I need something less intensive. Maybe when he's a little older?? As a result, we use Biblioplan. It incoporates SOTW and so much more. We love it hear. However, it does not have the discussion and commentary like TOG or MFW. I need simplicity and we just discuss what comes naturally at the dinner table with dad and I have them narrate 2x a week. It's also very budget-friendly. :) http://biblioplan.net/

We love Biblioplan. http://www.biblioplan.net/

Thank you Alana. Our library has this!

We are enjoying our study of Ancient Greece and are presently studying Alexander the Great. I would love to find a movie or documentary to culminate our study of him.

We love SOTW and are using it for for our 8yo and 11yo via Biblioplan! I don't know if you're familiar with it, but the ladies who wrote Biblioplan followed WTM suggestions and help you implement additional sources to "beef it up" for the older children while still making writing, family read-aloud, and independent literature suggestions for all stages. I like that it's economical (about $25 for the ebook and $30 for the hard copy), very easy to implement, can be tailored for each family's needs, and has a wonderful annotated book list with many titles found at our library. Also, they have recently added timelines and maps and we are very happy with both. My edit: I forgot to add that it incorporates the Bible. For us, that's essential.

Thanks ladies! Your different perspectives help immensely and my lean is towards 7th. I also take a look at Word Roots Holly.:)

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Both my 8yo and 11yo guys have always preferred what they consider "real" books. They will say, "Is this true? Did this really happen?". They both enjoy biographies immensely as well as historical fiction. They are presently reading Theras and His Town (11yo) and Alexander the Great (8yo). They both remarked that Literature was their favorite subject today! This from boys who used to look for short cuts in reading. My 11yo even asked if he could read more than he was assigned. YAY!! [sorry, didn't mean to get so off track, but this is one of the many rewards of being at home!] Also, I do try to cater some to their interests. (They just don't know it. :)) My 8yo loves animals and my 11yo likes space and historical fiction. I highly recommend Christian Liberty Nature Readers. They are so rich but very economical. This is something they both have enjoyed this year and we plan to read the whole series. Just one section a day and nature study is complete. (With the exception of at least one weekly exploration outside.)

We love it too! (What we're using in my signature below.) I did add a "grammar notebook" for my 11yo. He writes down any new rules or parts of speech, dedicating a page or two for each in a composition notebook. Then I have him find an adverb or two (or other part of speech of my choosing) out of his copywork 2x a week and write it down in the corresponding section of his notebook. Simple, but effective. And I must give credit to Living Books Curriculum for the main idea of a grammar notebook.

My guys adhear to a "Just the facts ma'am." approach to education.;) This is my preference as well. We've tried a few programs, but found Dr. Fry's Spelling to be the best fit. He includes an assesment for placement and many other helpful appendices. He guides you as how to implement lessons according to your child's needs. no-fluff black and white non-consumable economical You can find samples at both Currclick.com (where I purchased it as a e-book) or cbd.com. Look for the one that covers grades 1-6 as you can purchase individual grades from Currclick as well.

In our 12th year of homeschooling and still tweaking... What didn't work for us: Sonlight TM's (as others have said), but love the books LLATL (sounded great...boys dreaded it) Saxon Math (worked for the oldest only) MFW 1st (loved MFW K, but 1st just moved too fast for my guys) Living Books Curriculum (beautiful, just not for my guys) Spelling Power (waaay too much information for me) As others have said though, I feel it's been a worthwhile investment to find out what does work. It's been (and continues to be) a wonderful journey. :)

We attempted a more in depth CM philosophy for about 6 weeks via more independent readings with daily written and oral narrations. We did this with Living Books Curriculum. It is a beautiful program, but not for us! After the 5-week mark, we were really longing for our former year where we used Biblioplan (finishing Ancients in a few weeks) with SOTW (adding MOH this year) and Apologia together. I wish I had listened to my gut, but fell prey to a case of grass-is-greener syndrome. [kicking self] We are back to our tried and true way of orally narrating their literature readings daily and written narrations for history and science once a week. We do this via notebooking from Jeanie Fulbright's site and our Notebooking Pages.com cd. Between this, reading-aloud as a family, and our science expirements the JOY has returned!:lol: We are very pleased with Math U See, Queen's Language Lessons Series, and Dr. Fry's Spelling. I did add a grammar notebook and Writing Strands (alternating weekly with Language Lessons) to beef up LA for my 11yo.

I know I'm chiming in a little late here, but as Heather noted above, this is exactly why WP worked for one of my ds's. I wanted the vertical phonics approach and he needed the variety. He really liked ETC and the Nora Gaydos Readers. I really appreciated that it is given in daily lesson plans as opposed to having to create my own. Also that they include penmanship and copywork that reinforce the phonics principle(s). We used one-year below grade level. (He was almost 7 and we used their Advanced K.) It's when he took off in reading. We both loved it. :)