I have used this program and I made a mistake that I don't want anyone else to make. First your child that is struggling to read needs a systematic approach to learning to read. This is from advice I was given after my daughter was at her lowest point emotionally over the struggle. There is so much I could add to explain but I am trying to keep it short. I am very passionate about not letting another child experience the same. I chose 7-9 because I wanted to engage my daughter in science and SS where she was so strong. Like a grade level or two above. I ignored the company's advice to choose based on reading level. I figured I could read the books for her but I felt like I was the one doing school. Plus I had a small child among other commitments. The other challenge is the work pages. These are not worksheets but pages to record data from the lesson. Sometimes it is one word. Sometimes it is a sentence. My struggling reader stressed out when she had to take her complex idea and write it in sentence form. I did some for her but it is important for a struggling student to have opportunities for pencil on paper. That is per a dyslexic specialist. My daughter loved learning about Helen Keller and making weather instruments. She had no problem with the concepts but the reading/writing was stressful. We started in September and both were burned out and in tears by December. In hind sight I would have ordered 6-8. The lessons in this curriculum offer a few different options for activities so all your children will be challenged. The most important thing for a struggling reader is learning to read. Because so much energy is spent on that the other subjects should be enjoyed so that learning is still fun. There will be time to catch up with science and SS. My daughter hates the mention of MBTP and I know it is my fault. I still have some of the elements in my pile of things to sale. My advice is to pick one or two concepts from the 6-8 level and work through them. Then YOU will know best. There are yahoo groups if you search where you can find the curriculum used. eBay too. Keep checking.

Moving Beyond The Page is secular but easy to add Christian studies or Bible to it. We used it as Christians and it does tie in character traits in a non-invasive way. It is pricey but can be purchased used on ebay or there is a yahoo group for it. It is literature based but does have a "student book" in which the worksheets are more like forms that are filled out for many of the activities. The student keeps a notebook to journal in for the LA but we were not good about this. I liked a lot of things about it but it wasn't a good fit for my dd.

I'm glad things are working out for your son and for your family. My daughter issues with 1st grade caused by similar things. I pulled her out to homeschool her and it has been a blessing for her and our family. It has been hard because she is still emotionally sensitive and if she feels like I'm pressuring her with a worksheet or lesson she crumbles into despair and spends the day crying and telling me bits and pieces of the horrible things that went on at school. Its taken us months to get through and try to undo what 6 weeks of problems caused. I'm very proud of you for sticking to your guns and taking care of your son.

My "2 cents" would be to wait until you are at least 1/2 way through Kindergarten before you decide on First grade. I have a PreK/K ds and a 1st grade (going into 2nd grade) dd that I pulled from public school to homeschool. That has posed some challenges to find a "fit" for her. I started with TWTM schedule as our base and used a mish-mash of various resources to get through this year. I purchased several different versions of teaching kids to read books (1st grader needed remediation) but "Pathway Phonics" is what clicked for both kids. I have the Abeka readers as well as a LOT of other books for reading practice. I started with copywork (Complete Writer for the Well Trained Mind) and journaling, then moved to workbook pages (like Abeka letters & sounds) and it only caused stress for my dd (too much like her public school class) so we went back to copywork/journaling and she is very happy. My son is even now asking for his own writing supplies. I'm just using cheap letter copy books and lined paper for my ds's practice. The kids have really liked SOTW Vol. 1 and I highly recommend the workbook. Makes the lessons easier for me and more fun for them. We will be using it for 2nd grade. My daughter liked Abeka's cutsie arithmatic workbooks and she loves math so she enjoys the repetition. We will continue that into 2nd grade. For my ds I purchased MUS Primer but to get him started we are just using living math practice and books. We have been using 1st language lessons for 1st grade and have enjoyed it. We will continue for 2nd grade and use the recommended Abeka Oral languages when the time comes (see 1st language lessons book) unless I come across something better. For science we used TWTM schedule for Life Sciences and have made lap books and done some experiments to go with some of the topics (free on the internet or books I already had) I had purchased all of the Abeka Science, Amer. Hist, Health, Language, phonics book, etc for 2nd grade (at deep discount) thinking that was the route we would take only to discover that I was not happy with the science (seemed too far below my kid's interest) and my dd didn't want the "workbook" feel. So, I'll be posting all of that for sale soon. After looking at many of the curriculum's mentioned including Sonlinght, Oak Meadows, MFW, Simply Charlotte Mason, Moving Beyond the Page (a goodie but still not right for us) Apologia Science, Memoria Press and Purposeful Design Science only to decide that "Five In A Row" would be our pick. We LOVE books and as I go through this I realize that we really enjoy the unit study type feel. We will still use the items mentioned above and I'll throw in some American History lessons around each holiday. My ds is a little ahead academically and my daughter is a little behind so conducting most of our lessons together works for us. For Science I've chosen "Christian Kids Explore Earth and Science", again, following TWTM schedule for Earth Sciences for 2nd grade. The activities in this book list a younger and older kid version of each project. My K will follow along with time for his own phonics, math and writing practice. There are so many directions to go and so many wonderful resources out there. The beauty of homeschooling is we can tailor our children's curriculum to best meet their learning style or needs. Best of luck!

true...if it was copied and sold as a WTM support document. I'm trying to get us organized for the coming year and my philosophy is not to reinvent the wheel. If someone has put together an outline of how they have organized their studies and kids I'd like to see it to get and idea for myself.

I pulled my 1st grader out 6 weeks into the school year. I had read a few homeschooling books with the intent to homeschool my ds when he was ready for Kindergarten. I was not in a position to purchase a curriculum. To get us started I gave her a couple weeks detox and let her participate in the activities I was doing with my ds (letter of the week type theme). We also took trips to museums and parks. When we started getting into "lessons" I used 1st grade level workbooks I had purchased or had been given (such as Kumon, etc). That started us doing something until I could figure out what we were doing. I read TWTM a couple times and I also downloaded my state's standards Framework which got us started on some science activities. Here is how we are finishing out the year... Reading: I had to re mediate my ds so we are using Phonics Pathways and read aloud books (Abeka readers, BOB books, etc.) Writing: Writing with Ease Language: First Language Lessons Science: TWTM reccomendation: Plant life, human body (earlier this year) and animal life Math: Abeka Arithmatic (hands on manipulatives, folder games and living math activities) History: SOTW Vol. 1 with workbook activities (we also talk about American History and Federal Holiday traditions) Abeka Health, Safety and Manners This sounds like a lot but I'm taking a low key approach this year. Pulling a child out of public school definitely requires a detox period and my daughter has been struggling as we discover where her weaknesses are. there are lots of resources online you can find for free as well as pick up curriculum items at thrift stores like Goodwill. I shopped our local book sales where I found some great library science experiment books for a few cents. Reading all of the options will make your head spin (I'm there with you). Make sure you are meeting your state requirements for record keeping and reporting but otherwise I'd take a low key, low cost approach. Be sure to read TWTM a couple times it will help A LOT.

I am SO glad you posted this question. I was wondering the same thing! I haven't had any luck googling the topic.

I was recently introduced to http://www.movingbeyondthepage.com/ which seemed to work good for a friend of mine. For my ds 3 to 4 age range I used http://www.letteroftheweek.com except I exchanged books on her list with ones we already owned. I also changed some of the letter activities to relate to his interests. (C for CAR instead of COW). I want to really stress what another poster had said. Do what works for YOUR family. When my dd was little (birth to age 4) I worked a full-time job and I heard a lot of comments that I "should" be staying home with her. Then after my ds was born I started saying home and now I'm hearing "why aren't you working?". My point is no matter what you choose there will be others (family, friends, strangers, etc) that will tell you what you "should" be doing. My ds is ahead of kids his age (per his preschool teacher last year). Preschool isn't cheap and he was getting as much and more from our weekly outings and daily activities than he would have gotten in preK. Plus, even though his is ahead he is still a little boy prone to mischief when Idle or bored. I can do better to keep him busy (like playing in the mud outside) than a teacher that has 7 other kids the same age. Google preK lessons and you should find additional web sites were people have put together a "curriculum" for your age group. Good luck!

We have been using STOW Vol. 1 with workbook for my 1st grader and plan to use Vol. 2 for next year (2nd grade). The workbook has just the right amount of activities and lists additional resources. My 1st grader liked the narrative style history and asked me to read it to her even on days I don't have history scheduled. My 4 year old will usually listen nearby and "help" with the projects. I looked over the TOG and even downloaded their free 3 week sample. I really liked how it noted the use of STOW as an option and the Usborne Ancient History reference but I can't justify the cost of the teacher's book when I have the STOW workbook which has has activities to do related to each story.

I did buy the workbook and Usborne Ancient History internet linked book. We've done just fine with those. I can also find short videos on historychannel.com. My kids love audio books so maybe I'll go back and get those eventually.