I use the letter tiles to teach new material, but the only time I have the kids use them is for syllable division. I have mine spell on the whiteboard. They seem fairly durable to me in that I have been using them for 6 years and they are in great shape. However, as stated above, my kids don't handle them all that often.

Do you think this is true even through level 7 or is it that is progresses slowly and you work on lower level words for too long before getting to higher level words?

We plan to use this next year. I purchased the TGs. I haven't really looked at them yet to compare them to the HIGs, but I've heard there is a fair amount of review in 6 and that most of it is a deepening of concepts already learned. If you want answers you could just buy the answer key: http://www.singaporemath.com/Pri_Math_Answer_Key_Booklet_1A_3B_p/pmstdak4-6.htm

Memoria Press because their core packages are customizable.

Famous Men of Rome and Greece are in color. I do not have Famous Men of Modern Times so can not verify, but believe the illustrations are also in color.

My oldest was an early reader, but my younger two have not been. My son was a reluctant reader and even starting in first grade, moved at a snail's pace through AAR 1. He picked up speed part way through level 2 and now we are moving through level 3 at a brisk pace. My youngest is in first and we are hoping to finish level 1 in the next couple of weeks. It was more important to me that they enjoy reading than to force them through the process when they weren't ready. I wouldn't worry about it one bit.

If he knows his sounds and is starting to blend, get AAR 1. Pre-reading is definitely not worth it for him.

I've not used Level 3, but my 10 YO dd has not minded doing Level 1 or 2 with her younger siblings. Have you checked out the galleries on the Atelier website to see the Level 3 projects? That might give you an idea.

CAM looks much more advanced even at level 1. Do you happen to know the recommended age? Which levels are meant for elementary age. Is it all subscription service?

Rainbow is the best price I have found lately. Homeschool Buyers Coop used to have better deals, but not since they released the online version. I still buy the DVDs because I don't like paying all that money for something I don't own. I like that I can gift or sell what I have when I am done.

Thanks everyone! I'm thinking we should give it a try.

Thoughts on AAR 4? My oldest was a natural at reading. When she started AAR was not out but some of the Level 1 and 2 readers were. She completed those with ease and moved into reading just about anything. My son is a different story. He was a reluctant reader and I didn't push until he turned 7. He's part way through level 3 and doing much better. I had planned to stop after level 3, but now I am starting to wonder if it wouldn't be good for him to continue with level 4. He is currently reading 'I Can Read' Level 2 books with relative ease, alongside the AAR readers. Can those who have used level 4 tell me whether you think it was worth it?

You may have better luck posting on the MP forum since they publish these books. They include them in their core packages and use them at their school. We are using Narrative, so I have only previewed Chreia. How old is the student using this course? Are there sayings with which you do agree? MP schedules a lesson every other week, so they only schedule 16 lessons per year. When they accelerate a class they generally complete two levels in a year so they complete even fewer lessons per level. Could you pick out the sayings you most agree with, and then move on to the next stage?

I find it pretty easy to use. I read over the lesson, gather supplies and any books I want to use. Most of the supplies are pretty easy to gather - especially in volume 1. My biggest obstacle has always been time. For me making sure I carve out time for the lesson is the most important factor in my getting the lesson done.

I didn't mention that I was speaking of Essentials. It does appear 'workbooky', but it's actually quite hands on. Each page details hands-on activities although the pages can easily be completed without the activities. I did them with my oldest, but my son wanted nothing to do with them. You will likely fly through Book A, but Book B will usually take longer. I really wanted to try RS so I bought it to try on my youngest. She wanted nothing to do with it, and I wasn't crazy about it either. It's hard to know without trying. I should also mention that I am not into heavy academics for K. I like to keep K short and sweet. So while some may be consider it easy for K, I found it to be a fun, gentle intro.

I absolutely love it, and as Slash said, if it doesn't work out, K is cheap. I assumed going in that my middle child would do best with Singapore, but to my surprise my oldest much preferred it. It's hard to know sometimes until you try.

Yes - the length of the guide varies based on the length of the book. In their lesson plans for K-8, they typically schedule about 33-34 weeks. For example, in the sixth grade plans Trojan War takes 10 weeks, Anne of Green Gables 10 weeks, Bronze Bow 6 weeks, and The Hobbit 7 weeks. In 5th grade the guides vary from 3 weeks to 12 weeks. They do believe in a deep and thorough study, so I think the guides could easily be completed in less time. For example, my daughter is reading King Arthur at a pace of 2 chapters per week per the MP schedule. The nice thing is that it leaves plenty of time for pleasure reading. Some of the books listed above for 9th grade would be read concurrently. Greek Drama would be read for their Classical Studies, not Literature. The Iliad and the Odyssey are also studies as part of their Classical Studies, so they too would be read at the same time as other literature selections.

My 5th grader is taking Narrative and Grammar School Lit III. We are very pleased with the instruction as well as the feedback on assignments. I am not a writer so I knew this was something I wanted to farm out. She really struggles with completing work on time and this has been a big help. I've already enrolled her for additional classes next year. Hopefully someone will chime in with feedback on the middle school classes.

They also have an accelerated option which has some additional literature selections that should be released this summer. Henry V Julius Caesar The Scarlet Letter or Pride & Prejudice A Midsummer Night's Dream British Lit. Poetry Anthology II Robinson Crusoe or Great Expectations Algebra II Greek Drama: Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides The Early Church (Chadwick) & Eusebius Modern Biology Traditional Logic I & II A Concise History of the American Republic (Yr. 1) Henle II (Part 2) ETA: Good luck to your daughter! My oldest is working on her double loop :)

There is no HIG for Standards 6, but you can purchase the teachers guide.

The high school curriculum is a work in progress. I believe they plan to release a 9th grade package this summer and another grade each summer. They do however already have some of the guides for the upper grades although the level may not be complete. When they complete a grade level they typically have 3-5 literature selections with guides. They are in the process of adding alternate selections, but I think the push is to complete all the grade levels first. The Iliad and the Odyssey are a part of their Classical Studies. I believe their lesson plans use the Story of the Greeks, The Iliad and the Odyssey over a year. ETA: MP schedules the Iliad and Odyssey in 7th or 8th grade. An older student may be able to complete them in less time.

Jenny posted this on the Singapore Forum yesterday: "We do not have plans to discontinue any editions for the next 2-3 years. If we do, we will announce it plenty ahead of time. We hope to have HIGs for all editions by then." There has been a bit of conflicting information. When originally asked if the plan was to discontinue within the year she agreed that was the plan. She later removed that post and responded with what I quoted above. There is another thread similar to this one in which the poster received an email stating the plan was to discontinue within the year, but later received a corrected email in line with what is quoted above.

I explained in an earlier post why I like HWT. Here is the rest of what I used for K: Math: Singapore Essential Math - easy to use, lots of hands-on activities. Book A is easy and you will likely fly through it. Book B will take more time, so don't judge it based on book A. We move from this to Singapore Primary Math which I love for the challenge as well as the level of understanding they achieve. Reading: AAR is great for kids who like hands-on activities and for struggling readers. It may not be as good a fit for more natural readers because it progresses pretty slowly. My oldest was a very natural reader and AAR wasn't around when we started so she used AAS with the readers they had at the time. All of my kids moved or will move to MP Literature. Art: Atelier - love that there are DVDs and that they are learning art - not just making crafts. Read Alouds - I love the MP read aloud lists as well as Mater Amabilis, Ambleside and Sonlight I love Memoria Press, but I have never used it before grade 3. I already had resources I liked for the early years and I saw no need to make the change. Many people rave about their PK-2nd grade curriculum so it's worth checking out. I use a lot of their materials starting in grade 3. I avoided MP at first because I didn't think I wanted workbooks. I gradually started using their materials and loved them, and now I purchase the better part of a core. I love how they are organized and I love the predictability. They are known for depth and not breadth, and they believe in teaching to mastery. They are a wonderful company to work with and will customize packages for you which is nice if your child ends up being ahead in some areas or behind in others. They are very

There is so much more to HWT than the workbook. The early grades of the program are the best part to me. They have so many hands-on activities in PK and K which is one of the reasons there may not seem to be a lot of practice. The teachers guide also gives additional activities/exercises to be completed including some done on paper. The other thing I like is the developmental order in which they present letters. Like letters are grouped together and if you get the CD each grouping has a cute little song.

Jenny posted this on the Singapore Forum today: We do not have plans to discontinue any editions for the next 2-3 years. If we do, we will announce it plenty ahead of time. We hope to have HIGs for all editions by then.