Anyone know what is going on with the IEW site? It seems like almost everything on the IEW site is backordered! It makes me wonder if something is up with IEW in general? I am much celebrating my dyslexic daughter's FINAL graduation from Level A three quarters of the way through 5th grade. We've used several spelling programs and it's the ONLY one that has been effective for her. Anyone know what's up with IEW? How much if a wait is there on backordered items? We're eager to get started on Level B. Been checking eBay but most listings are asking full price or more - I hate to pay those prices for used CDs because of how easy it is for a CD's data to be compromised with a few scratches. The eBay prices make me wonder if they are not going to make PZ anymore?

I have my daughter write book reviews instead of book reports.

I've tried a couple curricula and honestly found them unnecessary for elementary. Read books. Be curious about the world. Have conversations. Go to science museums. Watch cool documentaries on TV with your kids. Take hikes. Done.

Update: We ordered this. I think it's odd, but I think LoF math is odd, too. My 8-yr-old gifted LoF fan is just reading it cover-to-cover and enjoys it and seems to remember the content. I think it works like memory tricks work - you hear something in the context of a zany story and you remember it. As language arts content it's... meh. But as a family we've basically given up on grammar as every grammar program we've tried ends up evaluated as tedious is abandoned. I guess it's just a intuitive subject for my kids. I guess LoF seems like an adequate crash course in that regard. I'm all for self-driven learning so any books that tackle core concepts that my kids are inclined to read on their own works for me. But I have no idea what Stanley Schmit is smokin' to claim this is high school language arts. Maybe as a quick readthrough for teens who never learned the stuff or totally forgot it? But in no way, shape, or form would I call this high school material. On my invoice for the books there was even a hand-written note indicating the language arts material was recommended for grades 9-12. (I guess since I ordered it concurrent with some middle grade math books, he was bothered that I'd order the "high school" language arts at the same time?) I haven't read all four books cover-to-cover yet, but the religious content appears minimal. Fred goes to Sunday school but.. whatever.

LoF is a really weird thing to me. I bought the Fractions book just to try it. I thought it was random and weird. But my 8 yr old just likes the way he's random and throws in strange facts and things, and she seems to take away fundamental concepts from the books. She doesn't do the lessons though - it's like an extra thing. She already uses another math curriculum. I think the author may be a bit *off* but he has a way of getting through to my weirdo kid. She's very academically independent and finishes her required work in 2-3 hours, so I love having extra things like this around for her to look at the rest of the school day. She is a self-proclaimed atheist though, so if it's religiously preachy or anything it would annoy her. But she has a Jewish education so... it's not like the worldview is foreign to her.

Oh no, are they? Can you elaborate? I just have it on pre-order. I don't mind references to God and such but if it's Jesusy I'm out. All I saw in the sample chapters was a reference to Sunday school. Is there more?

MM works very well for mathy kids.

Dang - I JUST bought Gr 5 MM two days ago! Oh well. Fortunately MM's prices are pretty good to start.

Yeah, reading the table of contents I was a little perplexed by the HS designation. I could see it as a refresher course for afterschooling use though. A lot of teens these days can't write. I have a 8 yr old and 11 yr old and the books looked about perfect for them. Especially my gifted 8 yr old - the LoF stuff seems to really resonate with her. Some of it they know, some of it they don't, but if it's like usual LoF it will be an entertaining mash-up that makes certain topics memorable. I went ahead and ordered them for fun. I'm not rich, but well off enough to have a generous amount of cash in the school budget. I think they'll be worth having around as a resource. I'll post about our experiences later... We've never used LoF as a main curriculum either. But my daughters enjoy reading through them and it's a fun way to reinforce and introduce concepts.

I just went to LoF web site to order some more LoF math books and I see Life of Fred Language Arts is a thing and shipping starts this month. WHOA! Anyone know anything about this? Has anyone had a sneak peak? I have one kid who will sit riveted reading LoF books. She's doing WWE right now and while she's progressing through the assignments, she is not engaged...MCT wasn't a hit either. Hmm.

Mr. Q Science looks like it has potential, but holy mack, what IS it with homeschool science curricula and Comic Sans? I'm a graphic designer by trade and it really makes my eyes bleed!

I need to preface this by saying we do no formal science. None. I used to do a little, but I rapidly came to the conclusion that seldom did my kids learn anything new from any curriculum I tried. This is just due to the fact that they are voracious readers, and have two parents (especially their physicist father) who can't take two steps anywhere without bothering to launch into scientific explanations about everything they see and do. They've always scored perfect or near-perfect on standardized test science sections, so I've never worried about it. I don't unschool everything, but for science it has worked. However, "let curiosity be their guide" philosophy has failed in the human biology department. This is because my girls, especially my oldest, are repulsed by all things related to guts, organs, blood, etc. This has been to the point where my kids actively even avoid the human bio sections of the children's museum. But, DD#1 is now 11 yrs old. Time to force feed the biology/human biology information, whether she likes it or not. It's stuff she needs to know. She is still a good self-learner, so I am looking for some excellent resources and materials I can provide her with in the spring semester to study human biology. Books, videos, etc. She's also at a point where a lot of the elementary stuff looks babyish to her, so I'm looking for materials that are middle-school level explanation of all functions of the human body - up into and including human reproduction (without any non-scientific commentary on sexual relations), presented in a way that is mature (no emphasis on 'grossology', etc), and interesting. General bio is fine, but I am mostly looking for an emphasis on organisms (mostly human body but other non-human body systems as well.) She is already very well-read in more macro biology in terms of ecosystems, animal behaviors, and the like. Any recommendations?

I am writing a middle-grade novel right now. Of course, all middle-grade novels are written by adults, but I can't help but feel a little embarrassed/dorky when I talk about it to other adults. I mean, if I were published or something I'd probably be proud of it, but since I'm a nobody, it feels kind of dorky. But I love it. :D

I did not read all the responses - but I have lived in Huntsville, Alabama for 6 years now after living the first 31 years of my life in Southern California (Los Angeles and Orange County). The husband (also a native Californian) and I couldn't be happier. Huntsville is a great community with a lot of highly educated people and quite a bit of culture for a city of its size, but also small enough not to come with the negative aspects of a big city. I feel like I escaped all the negatives of So Cal without giving up many of the positives. (Even the weather - where we could afford to live was so far inland it was blistering hot in the summer and times of freezing in the winter. Frankly, northern Alabama is about the same all things considered.) Yes, you get into the rural areas in Alabama and you can observe some of the stereotypes come alive, but I don't think in most areas it's as bad as some people say, and it really doesn't impact my life. Great homeschooling community here, too. We are in easy driving distance of Nashville, Birmingham, and Chattanooga, and I while I like to visit all of those cities, I am glad I live in Huntsville! While it's primarily Baptist here, there are several Catholic churches. I'm Jewish and the small size of the Jewish community is probably my biggest criticism of the area. But as a Catholic you'd be fine.

I'm glad this has been helpful! I'm into my 5th year of homeschooling now, and I well remember agonizing about math curricula, especially in regards to TT. My takeway is - yes. Everything almost everyone says about TT is true. It is behind other curricula in many ways, and not quite as in-depth. It is also fabulous and it helps kids succeed in math. What is left out of this analysis is that if you give a more 'advanced' and 'conceptual' math curriculum to a student who doesn't have the mental resources to absorb the information, it doesn't matter that it's more 'advanced'. They'll still probably take away about the same as they'd take away from TT (maybe even less), and their experience with math will be peppered with frustration. True, it is probably not the best curriculum for a gifted math student, but a gifted math student will probably let you know pretty quick that they need something more. (And at least with my daughter, it didn't really matter that TT was less advanced.. the 'mental math' and other conceptual early-arithmetic concepts were intuitive to her anyways, without ever having to have been taught, or in response to simple casual questions.) I think this applies to other subjects, too. For example, some advocate very young kids reading classic literature with outdated language. Others prefer to use children's classics that are updated and/or abridged. Reading the original is fabulous for kids who can process the outdated language - for others, their eyes will glaze over and they will just hate literature time. For the latter group, a modified classic that makes the literature accessible and enjoyable may actually accomplish more in terms of enriching the student, even if it is 'simpler'.

What's wrong with using the terms "carrying" or "regrouping"? Anyways, what worked best for me was to use manipulatives (or graphical representatives of manipulatives). Dollars, dimes, and pennies work too. Physically lay it out in front of them with the money/manipulatives where numbers would normally be in a problem, and show how it works.

I just thought I'd share... Background - both my kids did Math Mammoth 1, and then went to TT3 (so my experience is MM is a little 'advanced' if you will, TT is a little 'behind', but that's just semantics.) I primarily started using Teaching Textbooks for my older one who is dyslexic and really benefits from the audio/visual aspect. MM2 was getting frustrating for her, frankly, and TT was great. The youngest (3rd grader) is very mathy, and I did not feel TT was the best curriculum for her because it spirals way too much for her needs and she learns way more from reading than from audio/visual. But, she is also very computer-oriented and REALLY wanted to do it, so I let her. For years. Because it was interest-driven. Even though I really didn't think it stretched her abstract mathy-mind. Occasionally I'd try to sell her on Math Mammoth a little, but no, she wanted to use the computer. I'd always back off, wondering whether I was really doing her a service, but she is young and I wanted her to continue to think math was fun, that she wasn't being punished with more "boring" math compared to her sister, etc. I just had her do more and more lessons, and read Life of Fred books in her spare time (which there was a lot of, because she zoomed through TT lessons). She accelerated TT to 2 1/2 grade levels ahead, and increasingly complained that it is too repetitive and easy. She finally made a decision (on her own!) a few days ago to use Math Mammoth. Making the switch, this third grader switched from halfway through TT5, to Math Mammoth 4b, so the "1 year apart" assessment seems to translate. MM is definitely more conceptual and requires more critical thinking - BUT - it's clear that she is no worse for wear for having done used TT for 2 1/2 years. She still learned the core of what she needed to know, even though it wasn't challenging to her. The transition to MM4b has been seamless. "How are you liking Math Mammoth?" I asked today. "It's more work, but it's better for me." I think it would have been fine if she continued with TT too, but it would have been a little boring. TT continues to work well for my dyslexic 5th grader who I know would be driven into stressed-out mental fits by some of the abstract problems in MM. More abstract and challenging is not necessarily better for every kid, and TT still gets you where you need to go. I just thought I'd share the comparison and experience making the switch.

n/t

My kids 8 and 11 play it but they have not finished yet.

I almost would like to see a separate thread for each week. Is that nuts? I like seeing the other assignments that are currently being done by my daughter. Here is daughter's Week 7 Writing assignment. 5th grade, just turned 11 yrs old, after about 3 revisions. There is still more I'd fix, but I think three iterations of revision is where I'm stopping for now, just to keep her from getting discouraged. The Sinking of the Titanic Once there was a ship called the Titanic. People called it unsinkable, but they were wrong. Before the sinking of the ship, an iceberg was sighted ahead at 11:40 PM. The ship crashed into the iceberg thirty-seven seconds after sighting. Soon the ship began to flood. 24,000 tons of water flooded in per hour. The officer on the ship told passengers that there was nothing to worry about. Then an officer named Charles Light asked the captain if he could start filling lifeboats with women and children. Lifeboats started getting filled with women and children at 12:25 AM. After that distress signals were sent out at 12:50 AM. Other ships got the signal, but were too far away to help. One boat called the Carpathia replied, but it was four hours away. Afterwards lifeboats started getting sent out at 1:10 AM. Many passengers did not want to leave the ship. The boat began to tilt, and more people left the ship. Afterwards the lifeboats were too full. The last lifeboats were sent out. Shortly after that the ship started sinking between 2:05 and 2:20 AM. Water broke the windows and started flooding in. the ship sank at 2:20 AM. Only one lifeboat came back for the people in the water. Finally the Carpathia came at 4:10 AM. The Carpathia picked up people until 8:50. The Carpathia set course to New York at 8:50 AM.

I don't think it would hurt, but I'd be very, very 'on it' in terms of monitoring *yourself* into falling into a 'teaching routine'. With a child that young, back off if there is anything less than self-driven curiosity and enthusiasm for learning. (And with a child that young, it is more than likely there will be phases of interest that wax and wane as other curiosities arise. Go child-led.)

I'm going to give you my 10-year-old's picks, which are not all going to be amazing works of literature. She is a voracious, independent reader,and these are HER favorites. The stuff I MAKE her read for school include some of the above classics, and she likes some of them, but they are distant behind her true favorites. 1. Harry Potter (entire series) 2. Fablehaven (entire series) 3. Percy Jackson (entire series) and Riordan's derivative other work (the Egypt and Roman books.) 4. The Books of Elsewhere (entire series) 5. The Lemonade War (entire series) 6. The City of Ember (she has read the first 2 books, but I suspect 'entire series' will be the case here, too.) 7. The Egypt Game 8. The Hunger Games Trilogy (I know this is controversial to let kids read, but I recently let her read it. She is almost 11.) 9. The Graveyard Book 10. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

This is why all of elementary history is, for us, read-aloud time. Everything study for history is done together, so I can filter and explain. I do think SWB does a good job of filtering, though you can filter more as you see fit. With a 5th grader and somewhat stoic 3rd grader, I feel there's not much I need to filter anymore. But regardless, you can certainly tell the basic narrative. For example, with SotW 1, the biggest takeaway is basically "This is history. This is why we study it. Here is the basic narrative of how humans went from random hunters and gatherers to robust civilization, here is how/what civilizations did it. Let's find those places on a map/globe. Let's look at the evidence of their civilization that they left behind. Let's learn about how language and technology developed. Let's tell the myths and stories they left behind." There is MORE than enough history to cover without getting into any of the violent and gory stuff.

My mother was an elementary teacher for 20 years and had a concern about the 'social studies' aspect that we were leaving out. Here's the thing; in public school, you get a segment of the student population that comes into school very ignorant about very basic things. It is imperative to get them up to speed on very basic things before you can even begin to tackle World History, even at a simple level. Just about anyone who is making the choices and sacrifices necessary to homeschool does not (assuming developmental normalcy) have a child that does not know about community helpers and such by the time they start formal schooling. Seriously, anyone THAT involved in their child's education has probably visited The Busy World of Richard Scarry with their child innumerable times during the preschool years. That being the case, do they really need a formal lesson about police officers and fire fighters? That said, at the early grades, part of what you are doing is introducing "social studies" in the context of the history narrative. So, with a 1st grader starting with ancient history (which I have done), you are often stopping and and doing social studies in the context of history. With my youngest I remember going over the continents over and over again as part of our study. And some of the more contemporary social studies stuff comes up outside of formal schooling. A police officer visits the Girl Scout troop. We go to the library regularly. We go to the Veterans Day parade and wave to the soldiers.Etc. I have a child that as a 3rd grader, is only just now really starting to follow some of the gritty details of world history. We just started Volume 3. But, I am also surprised at how much she retained from 1st and 2nd grade. Not the gritty details, but enough of the narrative that there is actually some context for what she is learning now - it is a continuation of what she learned before. Contrast to the public school here - they are *supposed* to do a fairly intensive state history study in 4th grade. *I* remember learning about state history in 4th grade, and frankly, I remember it being very random. My takeaway of it (it was California) was that "there were Missions and there was a gold rush." That's it. I look at my kids now and think "Wow, if I taught them about California Missions, they would understand a HECK of a lot more than I did in 4th grade, because they would understand the whole story arc of Christianity that came before it." I am not a Christian, so I had never heard of missions or missionaries and in 4th grade, it was like "oh, some people came and built these old buildings and stuff." I think I vaguely knew it was a religious thing, but of course, being a California public school, no one was going to explain anything about what that religion believed or why they built missions. It was really horribly vague and useless. My kids, on the other hand, have learned how Christianity began in Ancient history. They learned how it spread in the Middle Ages. They have learned about people coming from Europe to the New World. I had learned *NONE* of that when I was taught about California Missions in 4th grade. I knew none of that. None. I'm sure they taught me about police officers and fire fighters and how to find north on a map ad nauseam, though.

They are both good programs. I use both, actually. We use TT for our primary program because the kids really enjoy working on the computer because for whatever reason, me interacting with the kids on a daily basis with math causes upset and friction. The neutral friendly voice of TT that can be played and replayed as often as necessary just avoids friction. If there's a topic we need more review on I take out MM - it's so affordable and such high quality there's no reason not to have it on hand. TT is about a year "behind" MM (and a reason a lot of people criticize it, but this is very arbitrary. Don't get caught up on what grade level appears on the cover.) I have one child using it a year above her stated grade level and another (gifted child) using it 2.5 years ahead at a rate now of 1-2 lessons a day. TT needs additional supplementation for math fact practice for any kid that doesn't pick them up extremely easily. (That's probably true of MM, too.) For the gifted child, we enrich with Life of Fred, Khan Academy, and Problemoids. I think the main criticism with TT is there is just a temptation to pop in the CD and walk away. Parents still need to watch progress and intervene (whether for enrichment or supplementation) as necessary.