Well, I'm no expert as I am in the same position you are, with a student entering 9th next year. I think what you have listed would be good for a 9th grade English credit. Just the thought of calling it high school scares me, but as others before us have said you have 4 years to prepare them for college work. They do not have to walk into 9th grade doing college level. What you have looks good. Good luck on your planning! Blessings, Pat

The middle of the book was a bit difficult for my ds. I almost abandoned it too, but am very glad we stuck with it. He has a great understanding of fractions. We worked slowly through the lessons sometimes doing a half lesson only. My ds very much dislikes math, so I say if he can make it through anyone can with hard work. Blessings, Pat

The VP guides have worked very well with my 3rd grade dd. We do most of the questions orally and the projects that look good. I just wanted something to make her think a little bit more about the books and this has been a very low stress way of doing it. HTH Blessings, Pat

He used to endorse Lively Latin which you printed off from their site. HTH Blessings, Pat

We are doing ECC this year and loving it. This will be my second time through also. We did it several years ago when ds was in 2nd grade and now again with him as an 8th grader and dd as a 3rd grader. I agree the science seemed light the first time through, but now with the Ecosystems book it is much improved. Except dd likes more experiments than we have so far encountered in the program. So I added a Magic School Bus kit to the mix. I'm glad I came back to this program after a few years away from it. I just would like to note the first few weeks of the program are very, very full and you may want to plan extra time to get through them. We were not able to get the basics and the program all done each day. We are just in Week 5 and are now hitting our stride and able to complete a whole days work each day. I have done other programs and came back to MFW because it was the one program that has worked the best for my children and me. The schedule is awesome, the program is well thought out and very complete. Good luck! Blessings, Pat

:grouphug: I'm not sure I would give up on Epsilon. I admit this is a harder book especially when you get to the lessons towards the end. My ds has had a harder time in this book too, but he is learning fractions quite well. I know how you feel though I was asking the same questions back at the beginning of the year and the advice I received was to finish out the sequence through Zeta. I'm glad we are plugging along and almost through Epsilon. I had to slow down, take more time, and give more help. Sometimes taking two days just to complete one of the review lessons, but I am feeling like he is understanding and really knowing fractions. It would be easier to just jump ship, ( that's what I wanted to do too) but you are just going to encounter these same kinds of fraction problems in another text. I don't think it can be explained any better somewhere else than what Mr. Demme can do. Good Luck on your decision and know you are not alone, this is a tougher book, but as I am finding out well worth trudging on to the end. Blessings, Pat

My vote would be MFW, but would depend on how well you and your children do with reading. The year we used Sonlight (not core 5) , I felt as though we were on a reading tread mill. It was hard to keep up even with the read alouds. Sonlight has very good books, but too many in my opinion. I would just add the ones you like to MFW in the book basket. I agree with Crystal on the use of Maps and Globes, Wee Sing, and Geography A to Z. While they may look simplistic they are packed with a lot of information. HTH Blessings, Pat Currently using ECC with 8th grader and 3rd grader.

Thank you ladies. I will check out Lively Latin. Blessings, Pat

Latin was a bust with older ds so we stopped doing it. We tried Prima Latina did alright with this, but LC I was were we stopped. We just couldn't stay motivated and ds hated doing Latin. Is there a program that you feel is easier, (maybe more fun ;) that you would recommend. I want to try Latin again with Dd. She will be in 4th grade when we begin. Blessings, Pat

My Father's World because it is not all text books, but is very solid and provides an excellent education. Blessings, Pat

I agree with Sue, I don't think it is terribly important in first, but a fun something for 1st is the Grammar Rock CD. My dd ended up watching these because older brother was using this and she loved it. I don't know how much she retained, but she at least became familiar with the terms. HTH Blessings, Pat

Thank you Angela. I went ahead and ordered the spelling and LA 3A. I wonder if they plan on splitting up the later years into A and B too? I can't wait for them to come. Blessings, Pat

I was also going to suggest Ray's Arithmetic. Blessings, Pat

I have been looking at the spelling, which looks very good. The other programs look good too. Anyone use these? Pros/Cons? Thank you. Blessings, Pat

Nope, your 3rd grader isn't behind. She will still get all of the history in before high school. :) Blessings, Pat

I'm not sure I would call it essential, but it does certainly help to understand areas and peoples of the world. Personally, I prefer ECC over CTG so my plug would be to do ECC and read other books about the Greeks along side ECC. Just my opinion though. Blessings, Pat

I had wonderful plans of using BJU Reading 2 after MFW 1st, but dd hated it and she really didn't need it. So I had her read aloud to me out of a McGuffery reader and she had a separate reading time where she chose from a selection of books that I had set aside. She has done fine and is still progressing. HTH Blessings, Pat

I bought my Teachers book fairly cheap used, so I cover the answer and let ds write in the TM. It was a cheaper option for me this way. I didn't have to buy two books. HTH Blessings, Pat

I am now a loyal fan of MFW. I have used ECC, CTG, with older son. 1st and Adventures with younger dd. We returned this year to ECC for both and I am loving it. I wish I had never left! Blessings, Pat

Thank you Michelle for all of your help. I think I may try the Book 1 since I already have it. Blessings, Pat

Michelle, Did your student work through it rather quickly? How do you use it? Do you give any kind of spelling type test or just work through the pages of the book? Blessings, Pat

I'm thinking of this for a 13 yr. old. Would they begin at Level 1? or should it be a higher level? I have level one but it seems pretty simple. Blessings, Pat

A mom on MFW site said a regular meat thermometer worked for this one. Good luck! Blessings, Pat

Thank you, that does help. After my panic of yesterday and a lot of sleep, I have decided to finish out MUS with him and move on from there. Thanks so much for your post it is very helpful. Blessings, Pat

Jean, I see your point. I was trying to keep him on the new MI Graduation standards which is : Alg 1, Alg. 2, Geometry and another math in his senior year. Schools near us are pushing Alg. 1 in 7th grade and while I don't agree, I was hoping to keep dc at least on the MI Standards track. I don't know how they handle ones that fall short of that. You are very right, however, take them where they are. So I guess after some thought I should stay on the track we are on. Finish out MUS and move from there whether that lands him in Alg. in 9th or not. Thank you for your post, it made me see I was just having a panic attack!:blush: Blessings, Pat