I think the biggest issue I have is trying to facilitate discussion that doesn't feel forced. I want it to happen organically, but not sure how to make that happen.

Thank you all, there are some great ideas here. I am trying not to let my own negative experience color the way I approach things in our homeschool TOO much, but it is a challenge, that's why I am asking about it here :) Twenty years later, I am still annoyed by the way my teacher harped on Jim Conklin = J.C. = Jesus Christ. I remember him picking the entire Red Badge of Courage apart like that and it made me want to drive toothpicks into my eyeballs.

I wouldn't say we never discuss it, but I don't make a point of doing so. We still read aloud every day as well, so there is inevitably some informal discussion, but I don't sit down with discussion questions and pepper her with them.

As a kid I HATED doing book reports, comprehension exercises, and book discussions. I was a voracious reader, but I just wanted to enjoy the book. Now that I have a rising eighth grader, I am wondering if I am doing her a disservice by not requiring any narrations, reports, discussion, etc. on literature. We do those things for history and science occasionally, but not for lit. She is just as voracious a reader as I was, and has zero problem with comprehension or retention, but as we get into tougher books I wonder if I need to start doing *something*. What do you say? Should I be doing more than just requiring her to read quality books?

Lots of good info here, thanks! I did email Saxon, and got a response from the author, Mary Hake. She says, "We recommend that capable students, those who read at grade level, begin the Grammar and Writing program at grade level because each level reviews all the basic concepts. However, we recommend that 8th graders who are new to the program start with the 7th grade book to give them two years in the program."

I have been woefully inadequate in the grammar department. We've gone over the very basic basics but not much else. My focus has just been elsewhere, but I suddenly realized I have an almost 12 year old on my hands! I have been looking at R&S, CLE and Hake, and I think Hake's will be the best fit for her. I can't find a placement test anywhere for it though. I am looking for recommendations on which level to place her in. After looking at the table of contents for levels 5-7, it seems like each level covers the same topics. Is there enough review built in to just start her in 7? Can anyone who has used the program speak to this? Thanks!

Thanks, that's helpful. Perhaps I should get 8/7 now, and start working through it when we finish Singapore. That way we have the extra time to work through things that we may have missed. Can I safely assume there is a fair amount of review of the 7/6 material in the beginning of 8/7? Wish I knew someone that had these books so I could look at them. Boy, nothing stresses me out half as much as math!

My daughter (sixth grade) is currently using Singapore 5B. She is pretty great with mental math skills, but is just not retaining the things that don't get daily practice (and she really is a pretty bright kid). In addition, I am NOT a mathy person, and sometimes I have trouble explaining the lesson to her. I have the Home Instructor guides but for the most part they don't speak my language. After struggling through various math programs over the years, I am really feeling like I need to pick one I can stick with that is easy for BOTH of us to understand, especially as we are coming up on the high school years. I feel suddenly very behind. My friend, a former PS teacher, thinks really highly of Saxon. It does seem very open and go, cut and dried, and easy for me to understand. I have looked at the middle school placement test online, and I think she would place in 76 based on the few things we haven't covered, but when I look at the scope and sequence I feel like we would be wasting a lot of time going over things we've already covered. I guess my question is, how much review is there in each level? Is there enough review in the 87 level that we could safely jump to it? Should I go ahead and order 76 and try to work through it at a fast pace this summer, skimming over what we've already covered with Singapore? I'm concerned mostly that if I don't start her in 87 this coming year (7th grade) that we won't get to Advanced Mathematics before she would need to take the SAT in 11th grade. Why is it that in Spring I always get freaked out about being behind??

Wow, thanks for the heads up on the MSB!

Elizabeth Goudge. She wrote Linnets and Valerians, The Little White Horse. Very lovely, descriptive writing. Hilda Van Stockum's books, starting with The Cottage At Bantry Bay.

D'oh! CLP. I was searching CLE. :D Thanks!

Can someone link to the online CAT? I've been googling to no avail. Thanks. :)

Can you expand on that? We'll be doing core 3 this year and I am *this* close to ordering the science 3 as well. The only thing that looks like it would be young earth to me is possibly the Incredible Creatures DVD. Is the REAL science book young earth also? It would be great if Sonlight would address this in their product descriptions, like Rainbow Resource does.

We'd love to play, too. We're in northern NY.:001_smile:

My DD used it when she was 5 1/2-6 y/o. I agree w/ the PP, she was not at a second grade level when we finished. I think it was really good for her, because she could do it independently, which is important to her, and there was no writing. We had tried Explode the Code and it was a major bomb b/c she was not into written work. DS, who will be 5 this month is ready to learn to read. I will not be using Headsprout with him. I think Click N Read looks just as good, if not better, and is waaaay cheaper ($40 through the Homeschool Buyer's Co-op). So I'm going to try that with him. It doesn't have the readers though, as far as I can tell, which was one thing I really liked about Headsprout. So, while Headsprout served us well and I would recommend it, we're trying something different this time around.