I also own the Story of the Middle Ages. It is a slimmer book and also a good read-- it has blackline drawings which the story of Europe does not. But The Story of Europe has some maps and graphs. The writing style is pretty engaging and there are years printed in the margins of the books so the reader understands when each thing is happening, because they don't complicate the story-like telling with artificial insertions of dates always--. My only concern with substituting the UG selection would be that in the D level you are trying to get the connections and themes--- how one thing affected/ led to another and in UG they are really concerned with facts only. So the focus in the chosen bookds is different and your son might be missing this , for not a whole lot of difference in reading level , if you substitute. You can look at the book yourself-- the text is online here http://www.mainlesson.com/display.php?author=marshall&book=sketches&story=_contents oh, and they have the story of the middle ages as well, so you can decide easily :) here it is http://www.mainlesson.com/display.php?author=harding&book=middle&story=_contents HTH J

Hi, I thought i would reply since no one else had. We have had no problems with this. and in fact it is FABULOUS! even my 7 yo son learned all the countries in Europe working a few minutes per day/3 days per week for a few weeks-- We love it.. God Bless, Julie

did a little digging around - which I should have done earlier :) and found a good thread on this with some suggestions. I will post in case anyone else is seeking this info http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=78667&highlight=dante%27s+inferno

I am wondering if anyone has used a version of this classic to "get their feet wet" so that they understand the story in preparation for reading it at the high school level later on. Thank you in advance Julie

Again, thank you so much for investing the time in sharing with me. It has been insightful God Bless, Julie

Heather, thank you for taking the time to reply. I appreciate the glimpse into your home school and how you approach TOG with a CM flavor. It is always good to hear that you don't have to do 'everything' and still get a rich education.. I like the idea of doing the timeline figures a few at a time.. I also read at lunch, and would spend most of the rest of the time reading if my dc had their way! :001_smile: And sometimes I do! so other things slide.. God Bless, Julie

Thank you ladies so much for replying.. Angelina, thank you for posting the link to Harmony Art Mom's blog--it looks like a treasure trove of information for me!! Can't wait to dig in.. Wendy, thanks for sharing. I just have a few quesitons for you.. you said:

I am considering this method for my rising 8th grader because I think it will ease her frustration and build greater attention to detail and quality work. However, I am unsure if it would work with TOG. We are currently going slowly through TOG year 2 and I do not plan to change curriculum. If anyone has done this, I would greatly appreciate your sharing your experiences.. Julie

Just popping in to say-- check out Vision Forum They have a great resource for learning this as a family and it includes music. I think you can buy just the music, but there is instructional material to learn all the parts as well..And today is the last day that they have a free shipping and many free gifts depending on how much you might find to buy :)

a 2nd grader.. BIG HIT! we have memorized the first 4 poems in only 1 or 2 days each and my kids even spontaneously quoted them all to my parents when we were over for dinner---big surprise to me, who would brace myself for gearing them up to "perform" this way any ther time... enjoy!

that mini-books are the things you put into the lapbooks. You would not necessarily have to put them into the lapbooks (which are folders that are re-folded into a 'book' that opens in the middle and then cntain different types of mini-books). You could just make the mini-books and attach them to notebook paper and keep them in a binder... Howver, there are many places that can reduce YOUR learning curve and time as the teacher. Hands of a Child and Knowledgebox Central are a few places that sell ready to use lapbooks in e-book or CD format that you can print out the mini-books and your child fills them in and puts them in a lapbok. I think Knowledgebox even sells pre-made ones , which are lapbooks with all the mini-books ready for you in the lapbook your child just fills them out.. hope that helps :)

I think it is true that they can understand and appreciate more at a younger age. I never really shielded my oldest child (who is now 12)from literature, but my youngest (who just turned 7) has DEFINATELY been exposed to a LOT more older literature earlier. I just include him mostly with what the rest of us are doing, and have been amazed at what he understands andpicks up... last fall we were reading Men of Iron by Howard Pyle, which has some very complicated and "Old English" turns of phrase. and my children begged for it and really understood it. I have read Swiss Family Robinson to them and while we batted not an eye at it, I have a homeschooling friend who asked if we had a "modern" translation, because her children didn't understand it and they quit reading it. So I think it is like most things and if you stretch yourself you grow in understanding and appreciation..and if you don't you get flabby...:)

Hello, I just thought i would chime in since I spent about 45 minutes having the couple who designed it explain it to me. It looks WONDERFUL (and I was only stopping at their booth because I needed them to stamp my card so I could enter a drawing for a door prize :) The lady who wrote it had 25 years of working with children with special needs and learning disabilities and also 14 yrs homeschooling her own children..As explained before it covers grades 1-8 and comes from a more hands-on/ applying approach to then expecing the child to cover it on paper. LOTS of experiential things offered. The checklist is AMAZING and very easy to implement and see where each child is and what concepts you have covered. They also have an organized way to make sure you are reviewing all the concepts regularly while still only requiring 5 problems per day... HTH

. Anne, Thank you thank you...my kids will be so glad to try these. God Bless

Bible: Digging Deeper By Deeper Roots Tog Yr 2 Apologia General Science Videotext Algebra Introductory Logic Jenney's 1st Yr Latin Art:un Decided Music; Violin And Piano Study Rod And Staff English 6 Spelling Power In Think That Is It! :)

Hi, Ladies, I led a writing class in co-op this year for dialextic age kids and they produced some really g reat short stories. Several indicated interest in finding a place to submit them to be published. I don't have access to hi-speed internet and, while willing to put in the time to research, I thought I would try out the amazing wisdom on this board and see if anyone could point me in the right direction.... Thank you so much

Hello, I wasn't clear from your message exactly what you want to know. I do not use the problem , but the creators of this program were at a convention I attended a few weeks ago and I spent about 45 minutes talking to the husband and wife. I was EXTREMEly impressed, although I was not in any way looking to switch math programs whenI went. I just stopped at their booth because I needed them to punch my card for the drawing! The program does only go up to the 8th grade, but it is all inclusive--meaning the books you purchase work for k-8th grade..I thought they were very well laid out and I loved the conept of going from real life application/learning to paper and pencil after instead of the other way around...and their idea for retention was great.. I would be glad to answer any specific questions if I can , although, again, I have not used the program--but I have recommended it to 2 friends--1 with a learning challenged son and one who is just starting ot in k...

we also loved Men of Iron by Pyle. Cat of Bubastes by henty. Also the Knight of the White Cross by Henty. The God King and The Hittite Warrior were great and Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne was a BIG surprise to me who did not expect to like it! Loved it!.. We are now reading Swiss Family RObinson and it is good as well...

I appreciate the knowledge each of you have shared on accepted tracks and your personal experience... Laura K, if you check again, what were you considering when you said basic maths should be down cold--basic math facts and functions-or more? Suzanne, I would love to hear what you think when you have looked at the Dolciani book. You bring up a great point about negative #s and probability/statistics being lacking in Singapore.. Again, I thank each one who replied..

Hello, all.. I have not posted many times, but have lurked for a long time. I am looking for advice from those who have gone before me . I have a rising 7th grade dd who is finishing up Singapore 6b and we are contemplating going right into Videotext next year in 7th. I understand that she may be finished with pre-, algebra I and algebra II by then end of 8th grade. Is there any problem with finishing what are usually high school maths early. I was intending to progress on to geometry in 9th. any thoughts? Thank you so much for your opinions...

hello, Jennifer! I am coming out of my mostly lurking state to answer your question as i see you have few responses so far. I am sure you will receive more--the wisdom on this board is amazing! I used TOG for the first time this year after 7 previous yrs with Sonlight. I will try to answer your questions.Oh, and I utilized the lower grammar, upper grammar and dialectic portions, except the philosophy for D level. 1. yes, you would start bth of your students in unit one at their appropriate level, which will probably be LG and UG for 1st and 5th, and then move them through together. If you have not done so look at your materials in the LOOM, there is some great scheduling advice by Dana Caywood and other hints. The following is what I did and refined over the year to a good rhythem that works well for me. --I looked over the entire unit and made a plan for what I wanted each student to cover--a weekly list (except for my 1st grader, i just marked in my IG --page protector-- what he was going to do). This helped me to pick and choose as I considered which arts activities we would do so i did not load up too much as is my habit. it also helped me when someone reminded me that this is th FIRST time through and if I did not leave SOME material there would be nothing to cover later...... --the weekly list then enabled me to have a book list to check my library and start purchasing materials. --it also let me see which student activity pages i needed and which maps, etc. I tried to print off the whole 9 weeks-- and found this to be tremendously helpful as it really cut my planning time down and I was able to pretty much pick up and go each week. 2. I love TOG! I have really appreciated the depth of info for the teacher and the discussion outlines. I love the student activity pages and the activity suggestions--just everything. My children are really seeing how history is really HIS story and learning everything in that context...Anything I don't like?...hmmm. well , since I came from Sonlight, it was an adjustment to get the weekly schedule in mind instead of a daily schedule, but it has really been a freeing thing, I did not feel like I was "behind" if we did not check off a box on a certain day. so I guess no negatives here.. 3. The lapbooks-- I had the CD's by Knowledge Box Central and they included the printouts of the different booklets to make with graphics, a schedule for which booklets to do which weeks and instructions for folding the books and a tentative layout. Then you were expected to fill in the information how you chose. So it does not come with that-- your student is to fill it in with what you are studying-- no big deal. For instance, one week in YR 1 unit 1 we were to make a booklet with flora and fauna of Egypt-- but you had to decide what to put in there and find the info or pics, etc. My kids really enjoyed them. I printed them out on colored paper for my ds who does no like to color and he just cut them out and we put info in them, I printed on white for my dd who loves to use colored pencils and she di d that as well. I believe they have pre-made ones you can buy which eliminates the need to print out , color and cut etc. Your dc just put in the info. Well, that was really long, but hope it helps and if i can answer any more specific questions , i ill try.. Best wishes on your new journey!!!

well as The Roman Ransom both by henry Winterfield....

That takes you from simply being able to trace straight and diagonal lines with a ruler on up. Starts VERY basic, nt sure how far it goes, but it seems there are several workbook levels LINE DESIGN is the name of them , I think. They also have a computer drafting program which guides you through computer drafting work, similar to the CAD program my husband uses as a land surveryor.Again, they are both available at TimberdoodleHTHJulie