You also need to consider if the buyer will have to purchase consumables to go with the item. If so, you need to factor that in, because if your price plus consumables are nearing full price, they may decide to buy new.

They have a kit that contains all the parts that require building. It's a bit pricey at $85, but you can find it here. You can also purchase those items separately on their webpage. I purchased all the supplies for the first two lessons, and it is quite pricey. We haven't had time to do the labs, but hope to get them over the summer. HLS (the B&M school of Memoria Press) uses Novare, and I know the teacher improvises, so it can be done, but they have yet to provide any such guidelines with their core packages.

Love these articles by Cheryl Lowe: Is Learning Fun? Part 1 Is Learning Fun? Part 2

Here is a great article written by Cheryl Lowe of Memoria Press (whose background is actually in science) that might make you feel okay with less science in the early years. It made me feel better about my science failures in the early years even though I have a degree in science. When I was in search of the perfect science curriculum, MP was never on my list. However, I ordered a nearly complete core that contained MP Birds, and we loved it. It was fun, it was getting done and dd was learning. Even my children who haven't used Birds yet, can identify every bird at our feeder. I'm now at peace with laying a solid foundation in reading and math, while enjoying birds, insects, trees and stars. While the MP materials might not be as perfect for you as they are for me, know that it's okay to do less. Read books - spark their interest so that when it is time for serious science learning, they are actually looking forward to it.

This is my oldest dd's third year at MPOA, but she is only in 7th grade. She will enroll again next year and so will my middle child. We love it. She's had excellent teachers. Agree that MP"s customer service is excellent..

Pre-reading was the only level I did not love. If you think your kids need work on phonological awareness, you could skip the readers and the student book. The best parts of the program are contained in the teacher's guide and flash cards. For all the other levels, I loved the readers and recommend full sets.

I observed Reini's Algebra and thought he was excellent. The kids were very engaged, and class ran smoothly.

We used Standards, but my DD completed 6A/B and is now working through NEM in 7th grade. 6A/B Standards didn't have many new topics, but it covered previous topics in more depth. My daughter does well with math, but made a lot of careless errors, so I thought it best for her to work through 6. It was valuable for her and I really see the benefit as she works through NEM.

My daughter and I both loved Peter Pan. There's a fabulous Audible version read by Jim Dale that we really enjoyed. I loved Black Beauty, but it was a sad story and I didn't think my daughter would be able to handle it. Treasure Island was good, but it wasn't a favorite here. It would definitely be more appreciated by boys.

My son did the same thing. He struggled mightily through 1 and halfway through 2, then he flew through the lessons. I debated about 4, but I do think it was worthwhile. Even though he was reading Farmer Boy without issue, he was still learning complicated words in AAR 4 that he needed help with. We put 4 on the back burner, but made a goal to read one AAR story a week until we finished. This generally meant a single lesson (sometimes two) plus a story. It took very little time each week. I can't speak to OPGTR - it might work just fine for your situation, but even thought I waffled on 4, I am glad that we did it.

Memoria Press is far more flexible than it appears to be. You can customize packages on the website and if the website doesn't offer enough customization you can call and they will customize further. I started with CM aspirations, but in 4th grade my oldest used a couple of things from MP and we loved them. In 5th we ordered a customized package because it was only slightly more to get the package than to buy the items I wanted individually. I wasn't planning to use their science, but was quite surprised at how much I liked them (specifically the ones written in-house). I sometimes use the MP lesson plans as a guide to aid in my planning, but do not use them as they are written. I have chosen the parts of MP I like, and continue to use other items as I see fit. I in no way feel trapped by MP. I am getting what I wanted in an unexpected format that works very well for us.

Agreed - while the lessons specifically name base 10 and unifix, you can modify the lessons to use whatever you prefer.

Cuisinaire rods are never specifically called for in the SM lessons. Base 10 blocks are called for by name in the HIGs. If you prefer cuisinaire, I know people use them with SM successfully, but the lessons in the HIGs use base ten.

I like the quartet markers as well. The blue are my favorite as they erase the best.

Agreed. I have the TGs but think I would have been fine without them. Much of the material is review although covered at a deeper level. You can probably refer to the level 5 HIGs for any background information, and they do a sell an answer key that you might want.

I haven't seen the new LC DVDs but the Forms DVDs are fast. I play them on my PC because I have the option to play it back at a slower speed.

Check out Novare Earth Science. My DD is using Novare Physical Science in 7th and we plan to use Earth Science in 8th.

If you plan to use F&L daily, the teachers guide is good. We use it once weekly and have found the parent's guide works better for us. They are much cheaper and cover multiple grades. Each chapter is a single lesson in the parents guide where it is a 4 part lesson in the TG. We skip the activity books. We read the chapter and then the kids memorize selected questions from the BC that go along with the chapter. We also use MP Christian Studies and read saint stories.

Beautiful Feet has A Child's First Book of American History.

I don't believe that NEM is being phased out. They did discontinue NEM 3 & 4, but believe they plan to keep 1 and 2 because they are referenced in another book they sell. They have discontinued the Teacher's Manuals for NEM 1 and 2, but both can still be purchased at Rainbow Resource and Christian Book. The Teacher's Manual contains answers to the class activities and challengers. It also has a suggested lesson plan, but does not include teaching strategies. I think the reason most people don't use them is because there isn't a lot of help for the teacher and the sequence does not line up with the traditional US sequence. Also, 6th grade has a lot of review and many people don't want the review so they skip ahead to pre-algebra.

Home Instructor's Guide

Here's an article by Andrew Pudewa on using pens. http://www.iew.com/help-support/resources/articles/convert-pens

And not to slam you at all, but I disagree that these are not for science-oriented kids. While I am not a kid, I have a degree in microbiology and I find these books quite interesting. I have thoroughly enjoyed them alongside my daughter. I'm sure the workbook format is not pleasing to all kids, and they do lean heavily on the naturalist side of science, but I wouldn't discount them for all science-oriented kids.

I love Trees and Birds. Science was one part of MP I didn't think I would ever use, but Birds was included in my package and since BFSU wasn't getting done, I decided to give it a try with my oldest. We have absolutely loved it. Even my younger kids can identify every bird at our feeder, and if they can't, they look them up. We are finishing Trees this summer. It has been great as well although it is definitely a step up from birds in regard to content.