For Upcoming 7th grader: -Omnibus III (with my own substitutions for some of the heavily Reformed/Protestant books) -Art of Argument -She has decided to start French (in lieu of trying Greek again)...yay! Probably will use a mix of GSWF/The Learnables/Tell Me More For youngers: -VP Self-Paced History -possibly CAP W&R? -guiding them through WTM Early Modern Reading lists (reading, writing and discussing...fun!!)

It sounds like MFW high school would be a great option for you. I've never used it but doesn't it have a spine + readers like you're looking for? They could do BF for 7th and 8th just as you have it listed above and then just jump right into MFW for 9th. Or you could combine all your kiddos in the 1850 to Modern Times next year and keep your youngers going on that cycle (skip ECC since they're doing it this year and go right into CTG) and your 9th graders would use the high school ancients. All your kids would all be on the same time period then, too, which makes my OCD brain happy. :) Hope you come up with something that works for you and brings you peace!!

:bigear: I was hoping to find something lighter for grammar than the typical complete curricula I've used in the past if I were to use W&R next year... In searching the boards last night, I came across this: http://sfreading.com/resources/ghb.html I don't know if it's quite what I was looking for, but it might work. I was trying to think of some Charlotte Mason resources maybe???

Thanks for posting! I've bookmarked it to check out later.

We've been in the process of moving and renovating our new house for the last six weeks, and I totally forgot my dd was going into 7th(!!!) next year until yesterday and decided I might ought to finalize planning. So, I spent about 6 hours digging through boxes trying to find my planning notebook in which I planned out dd's next few years. But alas, I could not find it. Here is what I have come up with and/or remembered: Lit/Great Books: Omnibus II + LLftLotR for Lit, not sure if I'll do some separate writing instruction Math: DM 8 Foreign Language: Finish Latin in the New Millennium 1 and move onto 2 She is really wanting to try Greek (for the third year in a row--EG is just not clicking with her for some reason--wondering if we should just try jumping into Athanaze, which I already own, together??) History/Geography: She loves reading & history and wants to do geography, so I've thought about pulling the material from just the Geography box in the HOD World Geo course Logic: If I ordered the HoD guide for Geog, I would also use the plans for Logic for The Fallacy Detective and The Art of Argument since i was planning on using AoA anyway. Grammar: She wants to continue with R&S, so R&S 6. Vocab: ?? Where can I see samples of Sadlier-Oxford? Otherwise, I guess Worldly Wise or Vocab from Classical Roots are my options? Science: possibly Exploration Education Advanced with some Tiner and living books/biographies. She's enjoyed science for the first time this year using HoD's science so I may take their suggestions for next year also. Continue with flute and cello. Wanting to take up swimming, to take some more formal courses in sewing, and to continue planning & learning skills for her future homestead/B&B.

DM definitely is a step up from PM, but with some flexibility in assigning the problems, it's become more doable. And the second chapter has been (seemed?) easier than the first chapter. We don't worry about the BrainWorks problems so much. Dd is not required to do them anymore, so now they've become a challenge for her to try to do on her own. Sometimes she and her dad (a HS math teacher) will work through them together. In the workbook, the plan is for her to spend just two days working through some of the problems, mostly from the further practice and challenging sections. I also read the textbook through with her thoroughly, "teaching" it along the way on a white board, having her do all the Try It! Problems. I probably go overboard on the time spent on reading the text, but I want to make sure she's really got it to try to minimize errors in her independent work (getting corrections done has been a frustration for us in the past). I'm going to add in some Khan videos for a different way of looking at it, too. But boy, I definitely feel like I'm learning it all over again (and better!).

Yes. I'm trying to deal with some underlying attitude issues with ds9 and I think a lot of it is due to his little sister (by 2.5 years) being very bright, reading better than him, and working about 1.5 years ahead, so I had been teaching them together. Therefore, I'm switching dd6 over to CLE for math (well, she still wants to keep doing her MM, too) and LA so that they will be on different tracks. It allows her to get her workbook fix (she loves them!) and work independently, and it also allows me to work one on one with ds more, which he needs and enjoys. Ds will also start using GWG, since baby brother is now taking much longer to go to sleep at naptime (and I sit with him until he's asleep), which is when we had been doing an extended LOE session. I will now be able to skip the grammar sections in LOE and hopefully we'll still complete the program this year. I'm also ditching our current reading program after this unit (DITHOR) and switching everyone to CLE. This will give dd11 and I time to work through some of the WTM 6th grade reading list the TTC way. Still loving our new Latin and Math choices for dd11! This is actually an unusually small amount of tweaking for me. But, the even better news is that I think I have most of 7th grade (NEXT year) planned out. Haha!

We went from Singapore 5B (well, we almost finished 5B) into Singapore DM 7 this year with my 6th grader. I was a little surprised to find how little teaching helps there were, but I am like you in that I rarely used the the HIG for teaching. I have found, though, the teaching in the textbook for DM is excellent, and it's so easy to teach from that anyway, if you wanted to. But of course, it's written to the student, and if your son is good at self-teaching, you may not need to help him much anyway. The answers in the TM are fully worked out, which is really what I needed anyway. I was unsure about making the jump to DM, but so far both my dd and I are loving it. Before you said it, I was thinking that MM would be another good option for you, too. It's cheap and very independent.

Thanks, Michelle, for popping back in and giving us an update! It's really helpful to hear about how your year went on the backside of it. I hope we have a similar report in a year! :) It sounds like everything is going great...Congrats!

Yes, even though my dd is not using the program anymore, it has given us a good common vocabulary to use in her writing and spelling. We'll continue to practice the phonograms and I have her play the games with my younger set (I bill it as 'they need another player' :D but it gives her continued focused practice).

I used it with my dd 5th last year (and separately with my 8yo and 6yo together). There is a great help in the front of the teacher's manual where she lays out how to use it for different ages. We weren't able to get through the whole book in the year, but I didn't use it as faithfully as I should have. However, we did get through most of the 70 basic phonograms (or however many it is). Make sure you get the advanced spelling lists off the Logic of English website...the ones in the book are way too easy for this age. The great thing about LOE is you can do as little or as much from each lesson as you want. As you work through it, you'll figure out which sections (if any) you can skip. I didn't do the grammar portions with dd unless it was something I know she needed a little work on. LOE is truly open and go...very easy to skip sections, or add to sections with the Extra Practices and games. It is a real pleasure to use. I'm continuing it with my younger set this year, but I'm still not sure if we'll be able to finish, since we'll be doing it on top of HOD.

Evanthe, Yes, I was talking about Discovering Mathematics. I found myself deciding between DM and Jousting Armadillos. I went with DM because in looking at the samples, I really liked that it continued with the bar diagrams that we've done in Singapore (even though dd hates them!). If I can come up with the money, I hope to buy JA as well for the whys and theory and very explicit explanations of things. It's really quite wordy, but I love WHAT it says... For Geometry, have you seen Understanding Geometry that's mentioned in this thread? http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/474232-critical-thinking-co-understanding-geometry/ It looks fantastic...if I had gone with JA, I was thinking about using it as supplement over two years since JA doesn't cover Geometry. Julie, My dd assures me that she would not like a book that makes her figure out how to do problems on her own first. :eyeroll: She says this in spite of my thinking that she would actually do really well with this type of learning, since this is how she treats SM anyway...I can't get her to look at the textbook before diving into the WB, ever. Grrr...

OK, I think after looking over TOC's for my different options, I've decided to move into DM 7. Not exactly the direction I was thinking of going, but I love the clear layout and explicit instruction (and lots of white space!). I really worry about the conceptual leaps I hear about SM 6, as I already felt like there were some made in 5 that I found difficult to teach. I think I'll schedule it 4 days a week, and then leave one day for HOE/LOF. Dd is ready to move on from the cartoonish-feel of SM, but as much as she would love to use LOF alone, I think she loses a lot of the math in the storyline--as evidenced by her problems passing the bridges. :001_rolleyes: Anyway, we'll see how it goes as I already have 6A here if we need it. And you know I'm serious about using DM because I've added it to my signature. :lol: Jousting Armadillos looks cool! I wonder how much review it contains? :D

Thanks for your response. Yes, I agree there are some links between the two, at least in my dd, and I suspect some dysgraphia as well. No, she cannot take multi-step directions (in anything)...her eyes glaze over by about the second step. She has great conceptual understanding and did wonderful with RS in the younger years. She never wants to write anything down, but now that she is starting to do multi-step problems, her error rate has shot up (although it was never great to begin with). We work corrections together, and I am continuously trying to get her to talk me through what she did step by step, using math language. She cannot do it...I'm not sure why (part of the big picture thinking, I suspect), but we just keep working on it. She's been working on Timez Attack over the summer to try to get her multiplication recall quicker since she usually does skip counting for the bigger numbers. She can't memorize random information to save her life, poor girl. She enjoys LOF, which we use as a supplement. She'll start D&P and HOE this fall alongside possibly Singapore 6A, although I'm open to going a different direction, if needed. She's very bright, working above her level in many other subjects, and she understands the math concepts easily, although she forgets them easily if they are not continually used. I think something where the math is used in context, and then continually used and built upon would be ideal. I'm not sure if AoPS is like that, but I worry about LOF not having enough practice for her to be used as anything other than a supplement.

Does anyone have anything further to add to this older thread? I'm in almost the same position as the OP, and while I'm planning on continuing through SM 6 this year, I'm also looking ahead. Or maybe Michelle has an update? :001_smile:

I haven't posted yet in this thread. I find I do better (aka 'spend less money') when I don't frequent the boards while planning. :D And for the first time in 7 years of homeschooling, I'm going to go with a mostly boxed curriculum--HOD RTR, but 'Orthodoxized.' :) More importantly than the curriculum this year is some particular skills that I'm going to work side by side with dd on. 1. Neatness to reduce errors in math and typos in writing. 2. Logical and systematic thinking in math, Latin, and logic to prepare for Algebra and upper level work. 3. Doing careful work, using HOD's notebooking and dictation and a commonplace book, to combat her typically rushed, 'get-er-done' mentality. *Math: Singapore 6 with LOF Decimals, LOF Pre-Alg I, HOE *Latin: Latin for the New Millennium, plus continuing VL 2 and Lingua Latina *Greek: EG I Logic: Prufrock Press books, logic problems from OTC mags, possibly AofA or Fallacy Detective Fine Arts: Harmony Fine Arts 6 w/ Draw Squad History: HOD RTR (medieval) w/ Shakespeare *Reading: RTR Extensions + WTM 6th Formal Reading list (she is a voracious reader) Lit: DITHR with my own titles Grammar: R&S 5 Spelling and Cursive: Studied Dictation Writing: Medieval History Based Writing Lessons (IEW)-not an IEW fan, so we'll see... Science: HOD Science (Apologia Astronomy-modified for OE, A Child's Geog: Vol. 1, Exploring Planet Earth, etc.) Bible: some of HOD, family morning prayers and scripture reading, The Incarnate God Music: flute, piano Extras she does for fun: Keepers of the Faith for handicrafts and personal enrichment, typing, CNN Student News *subjects done 5xs/wk HOD is a four day plan, so our fifth day will only be our homeschool band day + LOF/HOE, Latin, Greek, and art. I'm estimating it will take 5.5 hours a day...

If you haven't checked it out yet, Reasons.org has an Educator's Help Desk section ( http://www.reasons.org/education/educators-help-desk/overview ) on their website that lists suitable curriculum for OE. I am currently taking an online course through their Reasons Institute that will help prepare me to better discuss all the issues with my kiddos. I've ended up ditching the textbooks for the elementary years and went with interest-led studies. I'll probably use Prentice Hall's Science Explorer series starting in 7th, and I'll definitely be using Reasons to Believe's "Good Science, Good Faith" course for my dc at some point in high school.

Sorry, just able to get back to this thread. Loving the discussion... Candid, thanks for the recs; I've put both of them in my amazon cart. The second one looks intriguing! OhE, I didn't realize that wikipedia had the "category" section. That will be super helpful. Thanks for posting! Julie, I, too, came across that book in my initial research. That's one I definitely am adding to the list. My husband suggested A Tale of Two Cities as a fiction add-on, but he was thinking that the historical accuracy had been questioned? Anyway, it IS fiction, one of dh's favorite books, plus I've read it before, but like so many of my HS and college required books, I can't remember it. :/ Thanks for all the help! Any definitive Napoleon or Marie Antoinette biographies that you've loved or found helpful?

What are your favorite HS/adult level resources on the French Revolution? I'm completely ignorant on anything having to do with the French Revolution so I'm planning on reading a couple of JUV/YA non-fiction books from the library to start and then jump into the upper level stuff. I'd like to find at least one great overview resource, and then go more in depth on certain topics/people. I'm especially interested in non-fiction books and documentaries (I love narrative style non-fiction). Thanks!

We also use CNN Student News daily and receive God's World News and World magazine. There are two other websites that we use as well that I don't believe have been mentioned: studentnewsdaily.com and hmcurrentevents.com. Also, my dd loves to watch the videos on The Weather Channel app which are mostly current events-type videos. On Fridays, she picks one story from the week and writes a one paragraph summary in her own words.

Thank you!

When I've searched for a topic, click on one of the threads and then hit my browser's back button to get back to the list of threads in my search, I get sent to the advanced search page with these two errors: "The following search terms are not allowed and were removed from your query: One or all of your search keywords were below 3 characters or you searched for words which are not allowed, such as 'html', 'img', etc, please increase the length of these search keywords or choose different keywords." Which means I have to re-search for the topic after every thread looked at...which basically means it's more time and hassle than it's worth... Any suggestions? I'm on an iPad, if that makes any difference... (And is there any way to use emoticons and all the other posting options we had on the previous boards, like block quoting, bolding, etc. on the iPad?)

Are you asking if I have both 5 and 6 of Math Mammoth? Yes, I do. I guess I could always use the summer to go over concepts that we needed to cover before jumping into 6. I'll have to compare the scope and sequences and see what we'd need to cover. Thanks for your help. I was hoping that someone else had already attempted it and could share how their experience went. You know, to save me some grief if it's a really bad idea. :p

Dd10 has used Singapore (TB, WB, IP and some CWP) for 4th and 5th grade. I'm thinking of switching her over to Math Mammoth for 6th next year just because I already own it, am trying to save money, and my younger kids are starting out with MM and will hopefully use it all the way through. But I'm concerned that it might be too late in the game to switch. Has anyone switched from SM to MM for 6th? Thanks!

I'm feeling a little lost on these forums so forgive me if this has already been discussed. When I search a topic and click on the title of any thread in that search, it automatically takes me to the last post in the thread, even if I've never opened the thread before. It doesn't do this when I'm just browsing the forums, but only on a search. Any ideas how I can go the first post instead? Do I have something in my settings wrong? Thanks for your help.