Have you looked at BJU for 7th. They explain the new concepts very well as well as give ample examples for the child to follow, which helps. My so had used Abeka from 4th-6th, but we switched to BJU for 7th and 8th and he was much happier. If I remember correctly, Abeka's explanations are all on one page or page and a half, BJU will have 2 or more pages of explanations and samples.

We took a year of of grammar last year (7th grade) and spent the year focusing on teaching writing (IEW). However, even if you take a year off of formal grammar, you will still be teaching him some grammar when you correct his writing. I noticed I would have to remind my ds about capitalization rules, comma rules, and other grammar type rules when we edited his papers. FWIW: DS is doing WS3 this year even though he is in 8th grade because it was a good starting place for him. IEW did not work. Just like your son, he is progressing through it fast and doing well.

Wonderful idea, thank you!!:thumbup: We are going to be moving at the end of the month so all school stopped...this is torture for my 6yr old who has done school work everyday since she was 30 months. She keeps asking me for work....this will interest her. The poster idea will have her memorizing this passage by Christmas.

I am not sure this counts, but I have all the SL books listed on my want list at PBSwap. I pck up any SL book at garage sales and library sales. So far I have cores 3, 6, and 100 almost complete...we will not need the core 3 and 100 for 3 yrs.

I got a reply back from Lulu about the canceled book. They said usually when this happens a letter goes out, but since there was a high volume of orders they did not send out the letter. I let them know I was upset they canceled the book with no notice and they still charged me shipping for it. They gave me some story line about the book not being available from the publisher. However, they did refund me some of the $11.

For sure, get it! My at the time 4 yr old boy wanted a baby doll and a stroller...all he wanted one year for Christmas. (Try to find a stroller that is boyish...extremely hard) This was his favorite thing that Christmas and played with it for months.

I ordered two books and paid $11+ but only one is shipping. The Klutz book was canceled. I wrote them a very wordy email letting them know they are charging me too much for mailing the one book and I want a refund on the difference.

I know I shouldn't say this but.....High School Apologia books. One of my sons, who was thinking a future in science got turned off science completely after doing one of their book. I tried to help another son with Apologia General Science and abandoned him with words to the effect of, "You're on your own this year for science if you want to stick with that book". He dropped it so fast. This is funny because we love the elementary books.

Thanks everyone for the prayers and the advice. I am going to lower the price Wed. by about $4000. The problem is we only have a little to play around with, factoring in paying off the mortgage, realator fees, and improvements we made and put on credit cards....these need to be included in the price.

My husband has been offered a new job out of state (answer to prayer) and we need to sell our house by the end of the year. Financially we are not in a position to rent the house or pay the mortgage on this house and rent on the new house (we are going to rent for a year or two before buying a new house). I know this whole thing is of God and trust in him to get all the details worked out, but additional prayer will not hurt. We have had our house on the market for a week now and no one has looked at it. It is priced equal to those in the neighborhood so I am not asking too much. I also know it only takes one person to look at the house and buy it...but still, that one person needs to get here and look. I am trying to keep from getting nervous, but the days are flying and we are packing and the house is still ours. Prayers for peace, selling the house, and just keeping our trust in God in this will be much appreciated.

We are similar except dd uses the BJU Reading and workpages as 'homework'....her idea. She is learning things I forget to cover in our day to day talks. We do so much reading during the day (science books, historical books, her rreading book) and discuss these reading that sometimes she just wants to read something small and fill in some blanks. Also I think some kids just like workpages, my dd does. It doesn't mean the workpages are better then just reading and discussing or even replacing reading and discussing. It is just an alternative or an addition to the reading and discussing.

The Nintendo DS has many logic and educational games available. Some are just pick a specific logic game and do it, others incorporate the logic game within an actual game with story line and all. I have often used the DS for school time. From making my child practice chess to spending 30 mins doing Brain games or math work. It adds some extra fun and breaks up the monotony of doing the same type of learning.

We just finished the Rainbow kit. I was very surprised at the quality of the supplies they sent, as well as how much was in the box. All the experiments worked which is amazing, I don't know how many times I would do science experiments curriculums suggested that fizzled out. Dd really enjoyed this kit, she would do the experiment as suggested then she would try different things to see if it helped or made it not work. This was our first Magic School Bus kit and I was not disappointed. We will be purchasing the Dinosaurs kit next. I am using these as out Science this year (K).

Thanks so much, I was able to get me a knitting book I have wanted and my dd a Klutz book for a stocking stuffer.

The placement test at Calvert is hard to judge where you really need to put that child who is slightly advanced in some areas. I would put her in 1st and take it slow. Calvert is a good curriculum if you are looking for an all there for you program. I used for a year when our lives were turned upside down and the year went great (school wise). I would use it again if we are ever in a situation like that again.

First grade is when I start them with spelling. Usually it is BJU. I find this to be a gentle approach to spelling and they get dictionary skills added in.

This is our special girl time. We do a special tea time on Fridays. Antique napkins and special tea cups and a tea pot are set out. A dish with cookies I found called Tea Cookies are placed on a handmade doily my grandma made. Dd pretends she is another mother and we have conversations about our kids and husbands, house work and such. Sometimes she brings a baby doll to join us. On pretty days, we do this in the garden. The other members of my family are welcome, but they need to get into character and participate in the conversation if they want tea and cookies. We also have tea daily, but this is nothing special.

I would grade this program with a C. My son used it but had a slight interest in learning to draw (he was not able to but had an interest in it). It did not excite him, but he did do the lessons with no complaint. It did get him to look at things a little differently before drawing them. His work was acceptable, better then what he would normally do, but not a wow factor. I would not purchase it again, but not upset I purchased it in the first place (if this makes sense).

I think this is a great idea. It has the child think some on what he read. It is sort of what WWE level 1 is doing (after reading a passage and ask a few questions, I then ask my dd to tell me one thing she remembers from the passage). A 5-8th grader should be able to do this. For next year I am letting my ds and dd pick out a very special notebook/journal each and keep a reading log, something similar to what you are doing.

Have they read the Peter books? http://www.amazon.com/Peter-Starcatchers-Dave-Barry/dp/078684907X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1290355749&sr=1-1

Has anyone read this book? It is by Katherine Neville. I found a copy I had bought years ago and never got around to reading it. I am in the process of a major cleaning and will get rid of it if it isn't worth reading, but will keep it if it is. It sounds like it could be a very good read.

Maybe this one isn't hard enough or high brow enough, but what about The Count of Monte Cristo?

What exactly will you be using? For my first grader I am going to use: Story of the World Vol. 1 (Ancients) STOW Activity Guide REAL Science Odyssey (Life) Abeka Math Writing With Ease First Language Lessons BJU Spelling Song School Latin Sonlight Readers 2 Advanced Artistic Pursuits K-3 and we will do one day a week Nature Study What does your son mean by "fun things"?The SOTW Activity book has lots of things to do to add fun to the day, Just the first week they will make a family tree and do an archeological dig. First grade does not take a whole school day, usually just about 3 hours to 3 and a half, so make sure he has lots of breaks. There is nothing wrong with doing the read-a-loud part at bedtime or during breakfast or even sitting under a tree on a blanket. Also, not everything will be done every day. For us, switching to TWTM way actually made the day lighter and less tense and box check-y. Maybe you and your son will find the same thing.

Has anyone had this type of garage sale? Where everything being sold is a make-an-offer item, or even bring what you want to the table and make an offer on the whole lot? I am thinking of doing this. I was going to just give it all to Good Will but thought why not try and sell it first (I can always use school money) I can always give the rest to Good Will. If you did this...was it worth it? Any draw backs? Thanks in advance.

My dd learned to read as an older 3, and read anything at the age of 4. As for pitfalls, you have to find reading material with a 4 yr old in mind without it being a "See Dick run" type. Another pitfall is finding your 4 year old reading out loud the back of your latest romance book you forgot to put away and then a few a days later asking you questions about the book. I think if a child is ready, then it doesn't matter how young they are. I think if they are young, 2-4, and want to read...then they are going to read with or without help from you.