point well taken. I did leave out that I used Spell to Write and Read and all that to teach the rules. I would mention the rules, like the 1-1-1 rule when I noticed it.

Ok, but I consider the time on computer games doing math games, cooking with me, watching an ed. IMAX, and even Sesame Street (at certain ages) as school at our house. Oh, and time playing on the playground as well as swimming lessons. Don't forget that! I also count camps in the summer towards their hours during the year. And, in Colorado it's 4 hours a day...but I do that on an average in some cases. For example, my HS student goes to tech camp and spends 12 hours a day or more on computer science. So...when I am counting carnegie hours for high school credit I count that. And, I count time on the TECH team at our church where he is running lights, cameras and computers and time learning that stuff too.

I think TOG has it all right there in combining ages. Sonlight would require you to buy the program for the different ages that covered basically the same thing. I think with either program you have to think of it as a menu. Like picking and choosing. And, I said on another post, sometimes it's worth it to spend a year and a half on some of these programs. You'll cover everything again when they are older, and my kids don't even remember doing some of the things we did 10 years ago! So, if nothing else, make learnin g fun, so they remember that it was fun to learn. They will still want to learn when they are older.

I will say that I really like those TOPS books. Especially the ones on electricity and magnetism.

I love SOTW. It works so well even all the way up til 8th or 9th grade for a kid who loves stories more than just facts. I have been using it in my enrichment classes. I teach it for my 13 year old who has learning disabilities, but who retains so much from this. Anyhow, when he was little, I allowed him to draw pictures of what I was reading. This helped him remember some of it. Also, in the student pages and IG there are some outlines and questions. The maps are great too because they review the story and the kids get to do hands- on color coded mapping. this allows them to see where these events occurred. And remember, history is repeated three times before you get out of school in 12th grade. At age 6, it's great to just love learning and get what you can out of it, I think.

I didn't use this exact program, but I do know that the teacher's guides also sometimes have cute little ways to remember certain strokes and like Kristin said, how to hold your pencil. When I learned about teaching handwriting at Baylor, it seems that demonstration with verbal cues was important. It gives the kids another way to use right and left brain.

I guess I kinda did a combo of prep school...we worked hard...but we played a lot too. I had my boys watching good videos, playing on park days, going on a gob of field trips and doing a bunch of camps and programs at the library. I think they were learning all the time. In fact for christmas, their gifts were usually somehow educational. A map shower curtain, books, science kits, rockets, solar powered cars, and potato bomb books. So, even though we worked hard from 8-12, we knew how to do lots of fun and educational stuff. Now that I have two little girls and two big boys, I am becoming more of an unschooler and focusing mostly on reading and math and having my girls in lots of enrichment stuff. It's pretty hard to teach high school, middle school , elementary and preschool. Hmmm.

I did sl 4 and 5 science with my boys. I actually sat with them and went through these. We loved the level on electricity and magnetism. It was so fun.

Well, during a time of extended exhaustion, I resorted to this program. First mistake: lack of supervision. My boys either didn't watch the teacher, or they cheated. I had to have them repeat the entire year. Not a fault of the curriculum, but I learned that I can't just turn them loose to try to learn on their own just because there is a teacher. I regret it.

I got mine a couple of days ago...in Co. Yeah, that's funny. Need a sitter. I noticed that they used a lot lighter, or recycled paper. I use this thing all year...like all the time. I've done every year of sonlight from pre-k through 300 this year. :) love it. So, anyhow, I sure hope that those pages hold up.

dhudson, we have almost completed God and the History of Art :) . I love....love...love it. I have actually learned so much doing it along with my kids. And I agree, the history is amazing and it incorporates the Bible and Christian World View. I have been doing the section that goes along with the time period we are doing with history. I have written to Sonlight and suggested that they offer it. What I do is have my kids (and my enrichment students) do light research to go along with it. I love it...did I already say that?

Hey one other thought. In my 11 years of homeschooling...(not as many as many of you, but still...) I have often taken two years, or a year and a half to complete a program. We just took it slower and this allowed me more time to read itwith my child and spend more time. Also, I sometimes skip harder sections with apologia and do them more near the end of the year,. I teach Biology to an enrichment group, and I just put the easiest modules during the christmas and spring break times for them to do on their own.

I agree with MamaT. If you think that's the track you are on for math. Also, I have used the audio versions of this to help my kids. It is all written in a conversational tone.

I have taught this two times to my sons and their friends. I love it. The books are great. It covers Jesus Freak, Adventure of Faith and Finances and those are superb. The stories about finances relate mostly to YWam missionaries. I teach this at our enrichment classes and call it Jesus Freaks. It's not too much reading. We don't do the Bible passages too though. That would be a little much for enrichment.

oops, I meant AVKO.

If you do end up going with a spelling program, I love Sequential spelling. As a past special ed teacher, I love programs that work! This one does.

I voted that I wanted it. I use it all the time when I am buying and selling. I keep it right there over my desk. But, of course, I could use another tab and go online to it like you said.