Thank you for all your hard work, your book notes look great!

My husband picked up the 3rd edition at a garage sale. I have looked through it, but honestly, haven't used it yet.

Thank you all for your responses. I do have Phonetic Zoo A on my shelf...we tried it years ago, but found that we had to back up, maybe I will have to revisit it. I have looked through your review, Northwest_Mama, it is very thorough. Thank you. Any other options out there that I don't know about, or might have forgotten about?

I am having a really hard time choosing the right spelling program for my DD13 and one of my twin DSs10. They both learn in a similar way and Teaching Textbooks seems to be working for math, but just about everything we have used for spelling over the years has flopped. Any recommendations?

:iagree: We use the Sonlight Readers with the schedule, for our reading progression. I really prefer to use 'real' books, and the Sonlight lists are done so well that the progression is pretty seamless.

:iagree:This is the format we use now. At first my DC balked at using graph paper, but now they can't imagine using anything else. The reduction in simple computation mistakes has been amazing.

:iagree:

We have had a subscription to supercharged science, but I did not get the high school subscription. I may look into it.

Thank you for this link. I will check it out.

Thank you, I will look into this.

One of my twins has always loved anything to do with science and crafts. I have done mainly self-directed science up to this point and it has worked well for this science-loving kid. The only problem with it is that we are now working through AIG's Physical Science books and he has already done all of the experiments in the books, on his own, a few times. He has worked through all of the Van Cleave books on his own, as well as the 20-30 science experiment books we have on our shelves. You could name almost any chemistry/physics experiment for middleschoolers and he would have done it over and over. Bottom line is - he is getting bored. What do I do with a 10 year old who needs more advanced experiments. He could probably be doing some high school level physics/chemistry, but I am afraid to just let him go. Wouldn't that be a little dangerous?:tongue_smilie:Any thoughts on how to bridge the gap between late grammar-aged science and high school science with this child?

I do think that she has gotten older and more mature. I am not sure about the word problems. I will have to go back and check. I do remember thinking that the word problems were definitely for an older audience. Yes, I am wondering where my son should go after Saxon 6/5. I am leaning towards finishing up Saxon 7/6, and then making a decision from there. I really like the looks of the Pre-Algebra by Derek Owens, but I am not purchasing anything new right now, as my math shelves are overflowing at this point. If things go well with CD Pre-Algebra, I may switch him over after 7/6, although he may be ready after 6/5(which he will be finished just after Christmas). I will make that decision after the CD arrives, although having my DS11 and DD13 in the same math won't go over too well here, so I may have to chose something else.

Since no one is posting, I will tell you my experience. I purchased the cheaper edition of the CD Basic College Math books and DVDs through the ISBN numbers that were posted here last year. My DD, then 12, found the text overwhelming, and the video lessons too long(she was used to MUS, and they have 5 minute lessons), although she like the way Dana Mosley was teaching. It is written for an older audience with really dense pages. We didn't get very far. Fast forward to this year...we struggled through last year with various things, because I wanted 7th grade to be a review of basic math, before hitting pre-algebra. We started this year doing a little more review, then hit a spot in decimals that she wasn't getting. I pulled out the BCM book and the DVDs and looked for the corresponding lesson. She watched the lesson, then did the odd numbers in the BCM book. She did great, and afterwards I asked how it went. She said that she always did understand things better when Mr. Mosley taught them. Huh?! We had a long talk and I explained to her that she needed to have a teacher that taught in a way that she understands. It seems like Dana Mosley is that teacher. She agreed, so I have ordered the cheaper versions of CD Pre-Algebra and DVDs and we will be starting that as soon as they arrive. I will try to post back to let you know how it goes.

Thank you, Crimson Wife. I will look at the Kumon books as well.

Thank you, Fractalgal. I think I may try to view both of these to decide which would work best. Would you recommend doing the books a year behind, since we are not following the Singapore method?

We have not used Singapore Math, but I am interested in adding some word problems to my DC's math. Would I start out with Challenging Word Problems, or would I use the Fan-Math Process Skills in Problem Solving series from Singapore to introduce my DC to the method that Singapore uses? Would I use them a year behind?

I will look at Russian Math...I have heard of it, but honestly don't know much about it. And to the PP, my DS was finishing Epsilon when we switched. MUS was too easy for him, and we had other issues with MUS, and didn't want to pursue it into the higher levels.

Thank you for your responses. I am starting to feel like we should be switching. I think I will let my DS finish out Saxon 6/5, then I will move him into MM6. I am hoping we can accelerate through most of it, then I think we will move on to AoPS Pre-Algebra.

Thanks, Wapiti. My DS definitely hasn't covered negative numbers, but I think I could cover that from other sources, but I am starting to lean towards 7/6 first, then I will decide whether or not I do Saxon 8/7 or Pre-Algebra. I really do wonder if I should switch sooner than later, because they are totally different in style.:glare: Anyone else have any thoughts?

Thank you for your input, Ellie. I am leaning towards having him go through 7/6 first. As to the unspoken question as to why I am thinking about switching, I guess I am looking for something that makes him think a little more. Saxon doesn't seem to challenge him, but maybe it is this particular level.

My oldest son, who is 11, is going to be through with Saxon 6/5 around Christmas. We switched to Saxon from MUS last Christmas, and I placed him in 6/5, because I was unsure as to exactly where he should be. He does not have any problem with the lessons and gets very few, if any, questions wrong on the tests. I am wondering if he could switch directly to AoPS Pre-Algebra after he is through with 6/5, or should I wait, and switch after 7/6? :bigear:

One of our twins had a huge struggle with severe stuttering. We did seek therapy and it gave me the tools that I needed to help him at home. I would make sure that you can be there if he does do therapy, so you understand how to model ssslllllooooowww speech etc. for him at home. Our DS is now almost ten and pretty much is stutter-free(he did therapy at around 5 years old). Beyond that, I want to offer a :grouphug:, from someone who has BTDT!

We tried R&S, and we have switched to GWG. It covers similar topics with lots of diagramming, in an independent workbook format. I tried to do AG with my oldest last year in 7th after a couple of levels of GWG, but we switched back to the next level in GWG half-way through the year. Grammar gets done and it is not painful for anyone.

I would probably use the Dorothy Mills books for Medieval, Renaissance and Reformation if I was having my 8th grader work on history by themselves and if they were strong readers. I do history with all of my children together at this point, so I use things that are accessible for everyone.

I just wanted to offer a :grouphug:! It sounds like you have done an awesome job so far! I don't have as many kids as you do, but I know how it feels to be stretched thin between what you 'want' to do and what actually gets completed.