Thanks. I was figuring about 2 weeks per chapter. dancer67 - If you google CPO science you will find it. We are talking about their Middle School Programs. CPO isn't one of our homeschool board acronyms. I'm not even sure what it stands for.

I ordered the latest edition Earth Science Books used and just got them. I am curious about how much time to schedule for each chapter. I usually only do science 2x per week but we could make them longer sessions. I was also wondering if I should have my children write the answers to all the end chapter assessments or did just discuss some orally? I am not sure how to approach this with both a 5th and 7th grader. I really like the layout of the books and they are definitely more reader friendly than the Prentice Hall books. I got the TM, SB and investigations (although I see they are on the website). Now I am trying to wrap my brain around making it work. I am also curious which lab materials are most useful to buy. I am thinking I could engineer a sand table using a long underbed storage tote with a drain added. This would be a summer project. The geobox is really cool but is it worth it? It seems like it is used for several investigations. Thanks

I am trying to get my oldest two to be able to look up information in references and take notes. We cannot get to the library very often so I thought it would be handy to either get something like a World Book subscription or buy the DVD. I have noticed that TOG references tons of World Book information and I was wondering if we could do something similar but on our own. Has anyone done this and do you think it is worth it? I am pretty sure our library doesn't even have encyclopedias anymore and I know our school district used to give out the password for their encyclopedia subscription (I think it was Grolier) but they changed it. I know you can just google information but there is a bigger risk of either information overload or misinformation.

I have been considering using one of my old Kmart farmhouse tables and cutting the wooden legs down. My only hesitation is that I will not be able to sit at it also.

I am not a techie but I have burned mp3 downloads to cds in Media Player. There is a button that says "burn to cd" and it works.

Just going to add that we have been listening to them through Librovox. My voice has been messed up for several weeks and this really helps. We have been just listening to the Famous Men of Greece, but when we get to Rome I want to try the Greenleaf guide I picked up used. My only problem with Librovox is that some of the readers accents are challenging to follow.

I switched my 1st grader from ETC 3 to CLE learning to Read a few months ago. It has worked very well for my ds. ETC was great for my very reluctant writer oldest child, but this guy loves workbooks and writing. I think it also has really helped him retain rules and phonograms. I am planning on having him do some ETC over the summer to keep him going. I haven't decided if I will start LTR with my youngest in K or 1st.

student book - ISBN-10: 1-58892-476-9 ISBN-13: 978-1-58892-476-6 TEACHER GUIDE ISBN-10: 1-58892-479-3 ISBN-13: 978-1-58892-479-7 HTH

I can understand your convictions. I have had to do a lot of explaining with our children especially in studying Greek myths and gods. I also believe a strong military is necessary so we will see how that goes. I do have to admit I wanted to have a problem with CLE when I received a newsletter for their homeschool workshop and all female attendees HAD to wear a head covering and modest skirt. I can easily respect someone else's convictions and it is their convention and dress modestly (which may or may not be in a skirt), but I don't see the point in making someone where a head-covering when that is not their conviction. That is the reason I choose R&S for bible because they stick with learning what is in the Bible and insert very little of their own philosophy. Hopefully, I am not hijacking my thread again and turning it into controversy - I stink at it.

That's good to know because I am also thinking of placing my upcoming 5th grader in CLE reading and he may benefit by jumping back a grade. He has been doing BJU reading up till this year because he really likes the stories but he hates the skill station days and the busywork in the workbook. He will be a young 5th grader (10 in August) and his reading is just starting to take off. I also like how CLE focuses on the vocabulary and elements. I did bargain with 2nd ds that if he does do CLE reading next year I will still try to find a cheap copy of the readers from BJU. He really likes the short stories.

I was interested in CLE LA/reading for 7th because it doesn't add writing. We have been using IEW. I have read all the rave reviews about Lightning Lit and had originally planned to use it but when I look at the samples it just doesn't look like it will work with oldest ds. Also the scope of the elements learned in CLE looks much broader than LL but, on the other hand, I don't want a lot of busy work related to reading. Oldest ds would also be reading many full length books based on our Medieval history studies no matter which reading program he uses. Up till this year he has not used any program but I feel he is lacking in understanding of several literary elements because of that. He is also a speed reader and although he shows good comprehension I think he tends to fly over difficult passages and vocabulary without trying to stop and understand them. OK, I've hijacked my own thread from english to reading.

My laptop is a Mac which I got last year and absolutely love. I love that after a software update .... it still works. Our other computer is a 2003 Dell Desktop which kids use for school. It was getting really slow so I spent New Years Day completely reformatting the disk and reinstalling XP. It was a chore but the computer runs so much better now. If I had to replace it I would probably get another PC to stay compatible with our software. I put as little that has to do with Windows as possible on my Mac.

We have a Central Boiler outdoor furnace. I really like it, but I am not the one who has to get the wood and load it everyday. We are not strangers to heating with wood as our previous house was heated with just a woodstove. It was so messy and there was always the concern of a chimney fire, but I do miss curling up in front of it. I don't know anything about insurance discounts but ours was about $8000 to install and dh and I put the underground pipe in ourselves. Installation would be a lot more if you had to add hot water piping to the house. Our house was already set up with hot water baseboard heat which works wonderfully with the boiler. There is a heat exchanger in the basement which transfers the heat from the outside (boiler) water with the pressurized system inside. The house stays comfortable warm all day with no fluctuations. This past summer, we (a term I use very loosely) installed a 50 gallon hot water tank with another heat exchanger so that the boiler also provides our hot water. In addition DH had underfloor heat put in our new study (schoolroom) which is wonderful. We do burn all year using free amish slabwood in the summer just for heating our water. Overall. I love our wood furnace but they are not for everyone. You definitely don't want it close to neighbors unless you plan on lengthening the chimney quite a bit. Also they do use a lot of wood, which is in ample supply where we live. Cutting, splitting, and stacking wood is our exercise program. I would do choose it again but only because the circumstances made it a good choice for us.

Thanks. I forgot about the TM. I know it says it's optional but in general I find them useful. I do plan on giving him the placement test just to see how he does with that style of work. He really needs help with reading directions carefully and doing the work correctly. His last English test he got a 70 not because he didn't know the material but because he didn't read all of the instructions.

We have been using R&S English since 3rd grade and it has worked fine. I am a little nervous this upcoming year about how much time I want to devote to my oldest ds's grammar instruction. CLE seems like it would be more independent because we do a majority of R&S orally. Yes, I could start making him write out all the answers but writing for him is a big chore and I would rather have him put his energy towards real writing instead. I realize that there are several pages for each CLE lesson but they seem to be varied quite a bit. One reason I am hesitant to switch is because CLE would be harder to go back and look up a topic. I don't think there is an index. Does anyone feel strongly one way or another for 7th grade english?

I was born in the seventies but .......conceived in the sixties.

Second grade (Round 3) ETC Book 4 SWR spelling FLL - lessons 50 - 200 BJU Reading 2 - only because I already own it. Sonlight Readers 2 schedule RightStart Math Level C SOTW 2 Artistic Pursuits K-3 Book 2 Handwriting W/O Tears 3rd grade book - he REALLY wants to learn cursive. Earth Science with older brothers or whatever he is interested in including the book How The Earth Works (loved this 1st time around) Not sure about music. Not doing Latin but maybe he we will memorize some spanish words

Thanks. I will add those to my homeschool wishlist. I do like the example from Sentence Town. I might get get that when my younger guy hits 3rd or 4th grade.

I was wondering if these make sense without using MCT grammar? I like the idea of teaching succinct writing but I am happy with our grammar choices right now. We are doing IEW Ancient Writing this year an although it is working I am sometimes frustrated at how my boys will kill a perfectly good sentence by adding decorations. For example, my ds wrote a sentence that said something about a messenger, who was tired, entered the room. This was done because he HAD to add a who/which to his paragraph. To me, it seems that to just say "a weary messenger entered the room" would be more effective and readable. I understand that the point of forcing dress-ups and decorations is to get them to use them, but I also want them to understand how to write clearly. This is my weakness also. I hate correcting writing. There are too many gray areas. (3 Short Sentences)

I choose SWR because it made the WRTR easier for home-schoolers to implement. AAS wasn't around when I was looking for a spelling program 6 years ago.

I have been using SWR with all my children, and the oldest is in 6th and started in K. I decided with my current 1st grade ds that I will wait on the spelling lists until next year when he is a better reader. He has been learning the phonograms since he was 4 and the rules since last year. I am currently using CLE Learning to Read and LA100 with him and it has some spelling in it. Since I have used SWR for years I am now very comfortable explaining rules and phonograms to him the SWR way instead of the way other programs do it. If you have the SWR program it wouldn't hurt to show him the coordinating phonograms and rules as they come up in his reading program but I also think that you could "start from scratch" in 2nd grade. I still get the pre made SWR note book for 2nd grade just because it lays everything out nicely.

I am not sure I would buy the games just to learn math facts. My oldest has completed RS levels B-E, Second DS is in level E, third is in lev B so I am familiar with the whole program. RS emphasizes learning the skip counting patterns as a precedent to memorizing multiplication facts. The games seem to help some but I just could not get the time to do them enough. The scope of the games is also much larger than that so it may be overkill. RS does have practice drills built into many of the daily lessons so I don't think they use the games to learn facts. I will say that all of my children loved the game called "Go to the Dump" (go fish) and learned how to make ten. You may want to google for some math game ideas 1st.

I would love to know too. I was an engineer and english grammar has never come easy for me. I do have to say that I have learned a lot just teaching it.

I am doing those 2 levels right now and it is doable. The teacher books are laid out to be pick up and go. Somedays I have both boys at the table at once and we will do the warm up reviews and lesson introductions together (I alternate asking each their question) and then they each go off to read their respective lessons. Many times while they are reading I will skim the lesson and see what we need to do together (teacher and child), if there is a worksheet, and what they should write out. Usually when the first is done reading we do the class / oral review of the lesson together and we will also do parts of the written review together that I feel they might be struggling with. I also always give them the worksheet to do if there is one. The only writing I have them do is where spelling, sentence structure or diagramming really needs to be done by them. I also have them write out their lesson if they drag their feet too much and Mom has run out of time (and patience). Hope this makes sense. I am rushing this morning.

The decision has been made. Sign ups were tonight and we didn't go. DH is going to let them know he will not be coaching either. It is kind of sad because they both had such fun as part of a team last year and this year my 7yo and 9yo would have been on the same team. On the other hand, it will free up our spring a lot. We did inform the children that they need to do something and if nothing else they will be doing summer soccer. I do like the idea of more individual sports and we may also look into track at one of the neighboring communities. There are also many trails near our house to try hiking but Mom is going to have to get in shape.