Thanks for the link, Tina!

Any opinions on this program? I have read about it, but don't have any experience with it / have never looked through it. Could I use it with an 8 yo and a 11 yo? Do you need the book and the flashcards? Thanks in advance for your help!

Where can you look at/get this program?

Grace, I had not heard of them and the books look like something we could use (I am also thinking of using SOTW with my 6/7th grader, along with my younger ones). If you do a search of "suzanne strauss-art" on Amazon it pulls up all of her books. (At first I thought they were ART books by Suzanne Strauss, but I figured it out :001_smile:). Thanks for the info, Jenny!

I felt the exact same way as a kid...and now I cry everytime!

Meredith, Thanks for responding -- it sounds like your situation describes where we are right now and it is good to know that TT produced a good result for you. I think that is the route we will take...TT7 with some other workbooks for more practice. Thanks!

:iagree:

This is where we are, too! (And in VA, too.)

One of the things that I like is that they use a lot of interesting books, rather than one, thick textbook. The books became part of our regular library. I also liked that all of the things needed for the experiments come with it.

:iagree:

We used Calvert 4, 5 & 6 (finishing it now) with my older dd and K and 3rd (now) with my younger dd. K: I think it was a waste of time. At least for us -- my dd was 4 at the time, but was very verbal and flew through the program in a few months. 3rd: my younger dd is doing this now (after doing other programs once the K didn't work, she wanted to do Calvert again to be like her big sister) I like this grade -- she particularly likes mythology and history. They could probably do with more grammar, imo. The Math is not great -- again, imo. I liked Singapore better -- but you can buy Calvert without math. 4th: this was one of my least favorite years. I did not like the history program included, so we did SOTW. The grammar program is a bit boring, so we supplemented with Ridgewood Grammar workbooks. 5th: I was pregnant and then moved cross-country, so I don't remember a whole lot about this one. lol My daughter likes the structure/daily schedule of Calvert, though, and she enjoyed the history (US). 6th: dd really likes this grade because the whole thing (lesson manual, etc.) is written to the student. She does the majority of the work on her own, self-directed, as she would in college, which is cool for her. She really likes the history text -- she likes the way it is set up. And she has enjoyed King Arthur stories in reading. One thing she struggles with is the grammar -- they use a textbook and she does not like it. It may be that Calvert does not do a good job preparing the students for the big jump from what is expected in 5 to 6 as far as grammar. We are having to relearn some stuff. Overall, Calvert is a good program. And if you are looking for a school in a box it is a good choice. For me, it was nice to have everything planned out. It saved me hours (and hours) of planning. That said, we are not going to do Calvert next year. Calvert is structured and you can fall behind. We just moved to an area that provides the opportunity for lots of field trips and day trips to historical places, etc., that we could not do where we used to live and we are probably going to be working well into August to finish. No big deal -- part of the reason we homeschool is the flexible schedule, but we want to do things a bit differently next year. We started with a mix of programs and we are going back to that for a while. We will likely look to Calvert again, though, maybe when my younger ones get to the middle grades. Hope that helps.

While I tried to provide information on both sides, I, too, let my dh make the ultimate decision for the same reason -- he was, shall we say, better equipped to make the call. ;)

:iagree:

Thanks! I looked at the samples they have and I think she may like this style better -- although I agree that it is not as "pretty" as Z-B. :001_smile:

Stacia - Thanks for the recommendation! I will look into HWT -- I have always heard about it, just went with Z-B for some reason with my older dd and figured it would work with dd #2. Nope! lol One question: Do you have to start from the beginning with HWT? If she already knows manuscript, can she just jump into HWT cursive? Thanks, Deborah

My dd (almost 8) has yet to learn cursive. Her manuscript *can* be neat, if she tries. She knows the Zaner-Bloser style of manuscript, and has not shown much, if any, interest in moving on to cursive. She has done a few pages here and there, but I she finds handwriting (including manuscript sometimes) to be a bit stressful because she wants to write faster. I don't want to shove it in her face...any ideas for alternative programs that could spark her interest? Thanks!

My kids love them. :) Great for car rides, too! -Deborah Enjoying our homeschooling journey. Along for the ride: dd (11) dd (8 in Aug) ds (5 in Aug) ds (1)

Thanks for all your insight! -Deborah

lol Thanks! :001_smile: -Deborah

My dd (11) reads way above grade-level and is a fairly strong writer. The one thing she is lacking a bit is the "nuts and bolts" of grammar. While she can write beautiful sentences, etc., she has a hard time if you ask her the parts of speech of the words she just wrote. Do any of you know of a program that would review the basics (she is familiar with a lot of it, having done grammar in Calvert and Ridgewood grammar) but not make her feel like a 2nd-grader doing it? :) Thanks so much. -Deborah Enjoying our homeschooling journey. Along for the ride: dd (11) dd (8 in Aug) ds (5 in Aug) ds (1)

Anita, I have not yet looked at R&S, but I will now! Most of the negative reviews I have read about TT is that there is not enough review, or "rigor" -- but right now I think my dd has to solidify her base and I am thinking maybe TT, along with some supplementing from another program (or even just workbooks like "Key to") may do the trick. I just want to do the right thing (or the best thing I can!) to help her have a bit more love for math than I ever did! Thanks for your thoughts. -Deborah

Brindee - Glad to hear that it is possible to like math! :) There is hope for my kids. I wanted to ask -- if your dd is doing 5B along with the TT Pre-Algebra, does that mean that the TT levels are a bit "slower"? If that makes sense? I did notice that 6 and 7 go over pretty much the same things. I showed the TT samples to my daughter and she seemed to really get excited that there would be a way for her to "see" the problems being worked out. (A skill that I often lack. lol) She likes the idea of Singapore and TT, so that is one option I am looking at. Thanks for your insight! -Deborah

If any of you have experience with either/both...would it be too much to try to do Saxon math (6/5) and Teaching Textbook (grade 6) together? Thanks! - Deborah Enjoying our homeschooling journey. Along for the ride: dd (11) dd (8 in Aug) ds (5 in Aug) ds (1)

Thanks, Michelle. I will check out Life of Fred. -Deborah in VA Enjoying our homeschooling journey. Along for the ride... dd (11) dd (8 in Aug) ds (5 in Aug) ds (1)