This is exactly what I'm intending to do. BRIDGE seems to be more about the spelling, according to it's scope and sequence. It's not as complete a Lang. Arts as Phonics Road. IEW is about the writing process, and we've had success with my older son starting on the Intensive level B. By my reckoning, they should work okay together, but may up the hours of Lang. Art done in your homeschool, unless you alternate the days on which each are done. So ... I'd love to hear what others say.

I'll second Speekee. I reviewed it for the TOS crew last year. Very good for young learners. We also have 'The Easy Spanish' which is quite thorough. However, as I'm learning this as we go, we've been moving through it very slowly. Still, it's quite thorough and worth a look. It's written so it can be used slowly with younger learners, or self-teaching with older learners. The Easy Spanish: http://www.theeasyspanish.com/reviews.htm

I have AAS right through to level 6. My DD had a lot of trouble with spelling, which is what brought me to that program. I've logged into the Latin Road site and requested the free dvd samples, so hopefully that will give me a better overview. From what I've seen, I'm kind of wishing I'd started on Phonics Road instead, but didn't know about this until just recently. Ah well! We keep working things through to find what works in our circumstances, don't we? :)

LOL! Now I'm bunny trailing through google! Just found this: Pizza, Pigs, and Poetry: How to Write a Poem http://www.amazon.com/Pizza-Pigs-Poetry-Write-Poem/dp/0061434485/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333974797&sr=8-1 Again, no experience with this book, but maybe your library has it?

I've recently acquired some of the Michael Clay Thomas poetry books. http://www.rfwp.com/series/poetics-program-by-michael-clay-thompson These books are really about exposure to many different styles of poetry, but there are activity suggestions at the back of the Teacher's Manual for creating your own poems based on the style you've just learnt about. You'd have to have a look at the sample pages to see if this is the sort of in-depth approach you want, or if you'd prefer something simpler. ** I've noted that Sonlight recommend 'Painless Poetry', but I've not used it. http://www.sonlight.com/search.html?search=poetry

Thank you for your responses. So, as an AAS user atm, do you recommend us using the Bridge to the Latin Road as our starting place with this curriculum? I'm thinking that if we've already covered phonics, then Bridge... would be the link with grammar. Am I correct? Thank you in advance. Catherine

Hello! :) I found this thread via google, as I'm looking for something to link from All About Spelling into a reliable Grammar course. From what I've read, I'm really happy to learn that it leads to a thorough course in Latin. Are there any long-term users of the "Latin Road" products who could share their experiences? How well do you think this would work after finishing "All About Spelling"? Thank you in advance! Catherine

Great list! Just adding: steam! If you can manage to steam up the bathroom, or the old head over a basin with towel covering you, then that will also help relax the vocal chords and hopefully clear that congestion also.

Ahhh .... just found your blog post and have had a read. :) Thanks. http://wildoakacademy.blogspot.com/2009/02/beginners-guide-to-constructing.html

Fabulous! Thanks for bumping this up. This is just the sort of thing we're looking for. :)

Oh, I wished I'd come by here and read this earlier. I knew about the 70% off and free shipping, but none of the other perks, and have already ordered. Ah well! :) We're enjoying some basic dvds, one which has my DH very excited: "The Joy of Mathematics". We'll have to put some of those science ones on a wishlist for next time, I think!

On a side note .. If anyone is interested in trying ALEKS before buying, they're offering a 1 month free subscription through TOS: http://thehomeschoolmagazine.com/freebiedirectory/2010/2010FD.html

We actually do use both, having found them through ebay. It helped us especially recently when we were setting DD up to do mental arithmetic to add to 100, or subtract from 100. (We've just started Singapore Maths 2B).

A couple of other suggestions: From your description, The Corporation came to mind. There is also Affluenza, by John De Graaf or another by Clive Hamilton.

Have you had a look at "The Easy Spanish"? It can be tailored down quite easily for the younger member, whilst the older one gets more 'meat'. http://www.theeasyspanish.com/ reviews: http://www.theeasyspanish.com/reviews.htm Personally, it's the better program I've found, but it's not under $100, sorry.I'm using it with my 8 and 11 yr old children. The other books I've used for Spanish is the "Teach Me" series: http://books.google.com.au/books?id=u-DFX0T8oGAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=teach+me+more+spanish&source=bl&ots=dk_CPrgIc5&sig=Mkz6FDKM14JkBHkRqA0249SGPLM&hl=en&ei=ut0gTOr9MtOkcf-fgCk&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false These are cheaper, but we found the songs to difficult to learn. For younger children, the colouring pages are great. The teacher's book does have some of the vocab., but I wouldn't rate this series as high as "The Easy Spanish". Another program I've heard of (and seen for FRENCH) is from Galore Park. http://www.galorepark.co.uk/product/parents/46/so-you-really-want-to-learn-spanish-book-1.html Also looks very good, broken into managable lessons, but the site says Spanish is a little harder than the French.

Great thread! Thanks everyone. We'll be using Apologia General Science next year, so all this info. helps. :)

I like that answer. It's very similar to that which I usually give, only I usually end my answer with "and when I can't feed my children enough information any more, then I'll pass them on." .. I actually like your ending better. :)