Might sound silly, but what about LOF apples for all 3?

TT is a good program. We really like it. There is a temptation to be really hands of with math if you switch, so you would still need to monitor and check. My advice is to have them both do the placement test and then the online sample for their levels. My son did the sample and started leaping around begging me to get it. If they like it and want it, that makes a HUGE difference in math. Math went from tears and our least favorite subject to my sons favorite subject overnight. After a year I snuck in some supplements here and there, and he has done really well with them. We really like the TT and LOF combo we have going on here. So, hopping for us was a huge success. Do some searches and you will get a lot of the pros and cons of TT.

Just to throw something out there. We are doing science the English way. Instead of a whole year of Biology and then not seeing it again for four years, you do a combo of the three main sciences every year. Gradually getting more advanced. That way not as much is forgotten. We are doing So you really want to learn science from Galore park. Then we just get fun science kits from home science tools or other places. We get the books from horrible Ray, and it really is not very spendy. DS enjoys them, and dh thinks they are really well written. (Dh is a Phd drug discovery chemist with an honors degree from Bristol, so a super geek :001_smile: )

We tried Latina Christiana and my son just could not get into it. We switched at 5th grade to Latin Prep. It is a much meatier course, and some people say 5th grade is to early, but we are just going slowly. We are about at the halfway point now. The layout and style of Latin Prep appealed to my son. The teacher support was more in Latina Christiana, but all the teacher support in the world did not help when the student just was not into it. One thing I had to get MY head around with Latin Prep is the way they present the material. Instead of learning 10 words at a time and just working on that vocab, they give passages with a lot of vocab. Some will be the vocab, some is not, and you have never come across it before. You will come across it, but right from the start they want the students to look at Latin as a whole language, not a list of 10 words a week. It amazed me how much ds could just figure out and get the gist of a passage. The workbook is what you use to test knowledge. Each test is pretty hefty and the first one took 90 minutes for him to complete. I was really bummed when he only got 70%. Then I read ahead in the test book. After chapter 5 (halfway point) is says that by now your student should be getting at least 80%. So, they expect a low score to start. So, for me this was very different. They have a teacher's key, flashcards, cd of the passages, and a computer game that we are looking at giving a try after we finish chapter 5. Laura can tell you more if she is lurking around. We are very happy with it (as are a lot of people around here), but it does take a shift for mom to get used to it.

Character meals are fun for the kids, but I would just do one or two. The food isn't as good as else where. The Liberty Tree was my favorite regular meal there. Now, I don't know how many dining credits it takes, but if you can, splurge and go to Victoria and Albert on your date night. It is still the best meal I have ever had,,,ever! Such a romantic night. My kids LOVED the Coral Reef as we were sitting right next to the aquarium and they both love fish. Don't miss the beignets at Port Orleans.

I would not do CC without the group. I have no experience with the group, but I did buy the foundations manual. It lacks a lot of what is needed to implement the program. When I contacted CC to get something simple like the map blackline they informed me you could only get that through the group. At the time there was no group within 50 miles of me. CC's answer, start a group. It was a wasted $50 for me. What age is ds? TWTM materials really are open and go. Very scripted. Others have mentioned Memoria Press. They have both packaged curriculum by grade, and individual resources. Veritas Press has a lot of interesting material too. CC uses a lot of their curriculum. Or at least they did 3 years ago when I was looking at them. My advice is always just to start with Reading and Math, then add things in. We here can help you put together a good plan, but we really need to know what level ds is at, and what you are already using or have tried.

I think it is a very Christian thing for them to do. There are more and more people choosing to homeschool. Some states are doing what they can to make resources available to families that want to homeschool. As a Christian program it can not be funded by the state. Secular it can. Christians can still add religion into their homeschool programs. They can also look online and add the non secular books from Sonlight in. I am a Christian, but I use a lot of secular programs. Having secular learning materials to work from does not remove God from my heart. It sounds like Sonlight is working toward being and inclusive company, loving and helping their neighbor. What is wrong with that?

I was lucky, I went to a conference last Spring and got to hear SWB give this lecture. WONDERFUL. It really explains TWTM way of doing Lit. http://peacehillpress.com/what-is-literary-analysis-mp3.html and it is only $3.99 Here are the handouts to take notes on while you listen. http://www.welltrainedmind.com/what-is-literary-analysis-and-when-to-teach-it/

I love protecting the gift, it really has changed what I teach my kids. We have always drilled in the stay with the adult mom and dad have trusted you with. If someone you knows shows up and says they are taking you to mom, go to the adult you came with. We have a "game" we play in the car. I say different scenarios and the kids tell me what to do. We started easy with "Hey little boy, I have lost my dog can you help me find him." Then when he was in school and going on his first field trip I did a security guard comes up to you and says "your mom has been in a car accident and I need to take you to the hospital." I try to make it different everytime. Sometimes it is a stranger, sometimes people they know. I have also drilled into them that if someone ever tells them not to tell their parents something as we will be mad at them or stop loving them, to agree with them until they are back with us. That someone saying that is a sign they are with a bad guy, and that is a lie as they know there is nothing they can say or do that will ever make us stop loving them. They get safe, and then they tell us.

deschooling for him while you research. It is very tempting to skip this. I did, and I really wish I hadn't. Giving the child some time to adjust to being home and get school further removed is great. Projects, field trips, local science museum and the library. Maybe find a class like drama or something so he can meet some other homeschooled kids. Then, don't buy and start everything at once. Do lots of reading. Aloud and on his own. Then just find your math program. Pick it, and start teaching it. This will teach you so much about your teaching style and your son's learning style. It will make picking out the rest of the curriculum easier. Breath, he is only 8 and you have a lot of time to figure this out.

:grouphug:

Happens to us all. Sometimes the words start to blur together. :001_smile:

We sometimes get pranksters, and sometimes we get nice leprechauns. Last year the wrote all over the bathroom mirror and ds opened his door to find a wall of green wrapping paper. Whatever mood they are in they seem to leave gold coins. This year, I have a feeling we are getting a nice set. Clover necklaces, tshirts, and they might be making breakfast. I saw something that I thought was cute. Rainbow cupcake liners on the plate in a rainbow arch. Strawberries in red, sliced cheese in orange, annie's bunnies in yellow. green grapes in green, blueberries in blue and red grapes in the purple.

It is confusing. Try this.

I love TT, but the OP stated that her dd did not want anything computer based and TT is all about the computer.

I really would give IEW a second look. I went to a conference last Spring and was able to hear Andrew Pudewa talk. I went to the first, just to see who he was and what he was about. I ended up going to every one of his sessions. I came away feeling so confident in my ability to teach writing. The DVD course is not for the kids (although some people have their kids watch with them). It is all about teaching you how to teach writing. The best thing is, IEW has one of the best return policies out there. If you get it and just really don't like it, send it back. After going to the conference I didn't get the writing program as I felt I had learnt enough to attack WWS (5th grade), but I did end up with 2 of their other products. Phonetic Zoo (a spelling course for after AAS3) and The Linguistic Development through poem memorization. If I was doing it again I would have done IEW 3-4 then switched to WWS at grade 5. (that is what I am thinking about doing next year with DD. Another one to look at, and what I am doing with dd(k) is the Phonetic Road to Reading and Writing. It is also a DVD course for mom, although not nearly as much fun to listen to as IEW.

Both my kids started it this year. I like it as my kindy girl who isn't reading yet can still work on memorizing poems. We keep it in a workbox with the book, cds, and a portable cd player with headphones. They love putting the headphones on and working on their poems.

We kept trying to squeeze it in. FLL just never took. We read MCT grammar Island, Mad libs, schoolhouse rock etc... This is our first year really diving in at 5th grade. We are doing R & S this year and it has enough built in review that we are having no problem keeping up with it.

It is heavier on the grammar, but it also has a lot more vocab right from the start than Latina Christiana (that program was an utter fail with us). Latin Prep is a hefty program, but something about it makes it seem lighter. My ds started in 5th grade and he loves it. He laughs at the characters and their conversations.

The home instructors guide really is a must if you are a non mathy person. I also really like these videos (and for the most part they just use c-rods) I like seeing how it works. http://www.educationunboxed.com/ khan academy also has great videos. You can do it, just breath in and out. :grouphug:

Just a thought. Have you thought about a Kumon center? Rather than the whole yellow school bus thing, you might try out sourcing. Sometimes a change in voice and teacher can help. I don't think Kumon does much with word problems, but it is daily and she would be accountable to someone other than you. Then you could get a workbook of word problems to do with her at home.

Well, I live in Bugerville country. No matter how good I am most of the time, when Blackberry Milkshakes season, or Rosemary String Season hit, we do the drive through!

In all this talk of hot guys in Once, you seemed to have forgotten the mad hatter. I really like him! His eyes make me swoon.