MFW has its own set of lesson plans for MM that includes Randy Alcorn's book Money, Possessions and Eternity. I'm not sure what the lessons entail, but I do trust MFW that it would be enough for .5 credits if that is what they recommend. I do think that doing both would be beneficial. Thanks!

I'll have to look through my material, I guess, and compare it to Money Matters. At least with MM, MFW has lessons plans that accompany the workbook and probably other projects, etc. to do. Thanks, Lori! They only suggest .5 credits as well.

Thank you! I saw the Student program (for $99!) and that's what got me thinking about it. I wondered how "different" the student version was from FPU and since we already had it if we could just use that. Was the co-op course for 1 credit or half? Do you know?

Help me figure this out? I wan't dd to take a personal finance class next year. MFW has the Money Matters materials on their website. $20. Not a lot of $, I know. BUT, I was thinking. We already have Dave Ramsey's FPU materials from when dh and I took his classes a few years back. Could a high school student get credit for listening to the CDs and doing the workbook exercises? Would FPU be too much for an 11th grader? I don't want this to be over her head...but I do like DR. Any thoughts?

I believe that is only to borrow, though. But as there is no "due date", one could potentially just "borrow" it all year. :D Thanks for posting!

WHL was a hit with dd15 this year as well (she enjoyed AHL last year as well...perhaps more so b/c she is a HUGE fan of Ancient History). Funny you mention your son wanting to do all the History and Lit in 1 or 2 days. Dd fell a bit "behind" this year and to catch her up, that is what I am having her do. She seems to like that better. Stays more focused that way. Enjoy your year with WHL!

Have you read this thread?: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=263107 Read through it b/c Ruth (lewelma) has some incredible insight into how to "do" science with your kids and said that science is the focus of their homeschool (instead of History or something else). It was inspiring to me. :001_smile:

Wow. Thanks for posting "Ruth's Thread"! I think you (and she) have just saved me a ton of money on new science curriculum for my elementary and middle school ages children. Seriously. I had been pondering doing the WTM method of Science with them and this just solidified my decision. :) I just wish I had done this sooner with my older dc.

My boys like Apologia Astronomy. They used it as part of HOD's RtR Guide this year (1st half). I kept it b/c I plan to use it with my younger dc as well (who might not get to HOD RtR anytime soon). If I had the book handy, I could check and see just how creation-based it is...but I can assure you that anything from Apologia is going to be young-earth creation focused. For us, that wasn't a problem b/c we share that POV. If you like the look of it, I would go ahead and use it. We have used more secular material for science and history in the past and in some areas I have had to "correct" information that we felt was not correct. In your case, you could do the same thing. Something like, "This author believes in God and that He created the world and everything in it in 7 literal days, but another POV is...." KWIM? My children, for instance, know "about" the theory of evolution but are TAUGHT the Truth of God's Word (our belief). Does that make sense? You could just use the opposite approach. :D I think your son would enjoy Apologia Astronomy FWIW.

Part 1 of The American Testimony is under the Revival to Revolution tab. It is listed under the Extension readers section, last resource listed. http://www.heartofdakota.com/revival-to-revolution-packages.php Part 2 of The American Testimony is listed under the new guide Missions to Modern Marvels and is also under the Extension category, last resource listed. HTH :) http://www.heartofdakota.com/missions-to-modern-marvels-packages.php

I did notice the lack of mental math and word problems. I could add in some of Singapores CWP. Perhaps I'll just ditch Horizons and go back to Singapore. :tongue_smilie: Trying to save a few pennies isn't always the way to go, lol.

Maggie Hogan just posted this on her FB today: http://thehomeschoolscientist.com/developing-a-love-of-science-in-our-children/ I love Maggie and always find her advice inspiring. :) And I came across this neat little resource for Nature Study: http://www.amazon.com/The-Nature-Connection-Workbook-Classrooms/dp/1603425314/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339540292&sr=8-1 I forget how old your kiddos are, but this is for a wide variety of ages. :)

Temporarily. :) My 3rd grader has used Singapore through 2B. We love Singapore here. I was able to get a copy of Horizons 3 Books 1 and 2 at a yard sale for pennies. Just glancing through, it looks like it covers much of what Singapore 3A/B would cover...and some. Horizons is much more "standardized" than SM US Ed. (from the looks of it anyway). Would it be detrimental to my son to use these books next year and then go back to Singapore? It wouldn't be THAT much of an expense to just buy the SM workbooks (we already have the TBs) but we ARE trying to cut costs wherever we can. Thanks!

Instead of a book, perhaps he could take a look at this DVD set: http://www.history2u.com/ HOD uses it in their last 2 Guides and I'm looking forward to seeing it! It's not a book, so if you wanted a book specifically...lots of good suggestions already posted!

Kind, good-hearted Tina let me borrow her LRTEG 1 and sadly, we haven't used it yet...BUT we plan to this year. :001_smile: Unless my dear friend needs it back, lol. In which case...well...my children will be thrilled! I've looked at it and I'm rather excited to start myself. I've always wanted to learn Latin...dh had a year in his private high school. Tina does give a good review!

Crystal...:lol: I didn't faint (almost) but my jaw DID drop to the floor! :lol: To the OP...I didn't realize you had tried and not preferred HOD. Sorry. You can disregard my advice, then! LOL. Good luck finding a good "fit".

Congrats! I have 7, will turn 40 at the end of July and am still very hopeful that we will have another before I am too old. :)

I second, or third, or fourth (or whatever!) HOD. :) From what say of your student, he might very well place into HOD's Preparing Hearts Guide which is an overview of World History, before jumping into their 4 year cycle. Perfect after a year of American History. I also like and have used MOH. In fact, HOD uses MOH Vol. 3 in it's RtR Guide. MoH1 would also be a good fit. The lessons are short and an 8yo could do very well with it. Of course, with MOH, you would need to add in everything that you are now used to having included (like science, bible, etc.). Another option would be to take a year for Geography (which you would be doing with MFW anyway). IMHO, an 8yo would not get a ton out of MFW ECC (we used that a few years ago). There are very repetitive worksheets like the state sheets in ADV. Just think countries instead of states. ;) There are some fun aspects (cooking, map activities, projects, etc) and some MFW users say ECC was their favorite year. For us? Not so much.

Thank you, Jean! DS should finish 6A/B by mid year next year so I'll just move him into Lial's Intro Alg.

I've been grandfathered in to the unlimited data plan for some time now. Truth is, I don't even USE my smart phone for data very often! When I am home (which is most of the time), I use the Kindle or laptop for internet. When I am out and about, the ONLY time I MIGHT use internet on my phone is to check email or look up directions on Mapquest. My husband, JUST got a new phone (a "dumb" phone) and my 2 older kids have "dumb" phones, too. Neither are allowed to get smart phones. Dd has an iPod Touch and ds has restricted internet use. This new plan would cost us $180! That is insane! I see that we don't have to switch to the new plan. But, if we ever do...bye-bye Verizon!

Àndrea has posted some wise advice. I second it. I tend to prefer diving in head first, going full speed ahead. Not the best course of action for a new homeschool Mom or child. First, cover the basics. Sounds like you have that and I would second Rod and Staff. We used it in the beginning, tried other programs and eventually came back to it. :) Read lots of books together. Assess where he really is with reading. Get a copy of The Well Trained Mind. Read it through. Its a valuable resource. Take things slow this year and have fun. :)

Could a strong math student go right from 6B to an Algebra program? We would likely use Lials since we own it. Thanks!

I'll have a PreK (4yo), 2nd, 4th, 6th, 7th, 9th and 11th. Fun times! :)

Thanks Crystal! And thanks for your review at MFW as well! :)

I have used HST Basic in the past...mainly for attendance. I never wanted to pay the money to use the Plus version (especially since we have a Mac as our main computer, lol). I just went to the website and saw that the Basic version is not available??? Now there is HST Online or Plus. I'm intrigued by the Online version as I can use it on my Mac. The features look a bit more diverse than on the Basic version. Does anyone use the Online version? Could you tell me your opinion? I would ask for a comparison of Plus and Online but since I can't use Plus anyway, it wouldn't make a difference, lol! Thanks!