There's this series http://www.amazon.com/This-London-Miroslav-Sasek/dp/0789310627/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415416215&sr=8-1&keywords=this+is+london http://www.amazon.com/This-Britain-Miroslav-Sasek/dp/0789317532/ref=pd_sim_b_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=0T6XNQQ1Z822R14AFJC3 But what about some guidebooks with pictures? The library probably has tons.

That's a good idea - I never looked at their adult courses.

Seconding the Merlin books - Also LLoyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain And what about Sci Fi - It's a good age to get into DUNE or Assimov books.

How old is dd? I'm using ss with my 6yo but Megawords with my older (who is a very intuitive speller.) IMO Megawords is a far superior program and less boring - but I would think you wouldn't want to start it before gr. 3 (or a really advanced gr. 2.) SS is a bit boring and doesn't give much in the way of actual spelling instruction (it's based on word families.) Megawords teaches spelling rules and syllabication (breaking words down.) It is based on reading fluency and rules. That said, I'm not totally unhappy with SS. It's quick and independent and my dd is learning from it.

Does he like writing/ drawing/ coloring? You can make some mini-books - even if he copies the words. Maybe he'll be more excited about reading his own writing.

There's this free trial offer from supercharge science. http://www.superchargedscience.com/affiliate/401_science_activity_manual1.htm I don't know exactly how it works - I think you have some time to try the video program and pay like 100$ if you decide to keep it. But it's worth poking around on the site. A couple of weeks ago I downloaded a pdf with like 10 experiments (all of which look good) for free.

I'd say if he gets it - just skip some. We're doing BJU 3 and I don't find it's too many problems per lesson but when we were using CLE I used to go through each lesson and cross off the ones that I knew would be easy. - Sometimes I skipped whole lessons if he could do the first 3 problems.

Sign up for the mailing list to get PDF minecraft lessons (including building a mod) and 10% off on classes. Haven't used it yet but I'm downloading now ;) http://www.homeschoolprogramming.com/minecraft/?a_aid=53b972948e7c7

Are you using the videos? - I ask b/c we are and I find that the time suck is actually in the review part of the video (and also the wrap up sometimes.) Now we just FF through those parts.

Maybe check out CAP Fable. It really looks like more fun to me than WWE - and there's a bit of a creative component which is nice.

So I have a mathy dd who is beginning multiplication. I want to get her LOF to see if it clicks so that she can use it as a supplement. (She's totally the type to work out the problems for fun.) I'm fine with her doing review in concepts - I just wish I could save some $. Does she really need to start with Apples? If not then where should she start?

I agree - it's a supplement - but it will build up math skills so that Xtra math etc... won't be so painful. You can also look into the CLE Flashcard system - which is Cheap and VERY VERY spiral. The +/- cards are letter coded and there are instructions that tell you which days to do which cards so that you gradually build up facts while repeating old ones. It's very effective if a bit... old fashioned. But it doesn't take long each day and it's not timed.

Zeus on the Loose is a game game ;) not a video game - It's a card game the object is to "catch" Zeus - There are a bunch of rules - but the whole game is basically doing addition facts http://www.amazon.com/Gamewright-233-Zeus-the-Loose/dp/B000GKD470/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414549553&sr=8-1&keywords=zeus+on+the+loose There's also Muggins http://www.amazon.com/Muggins-Knock-Out-Wooden-Math-Games/dp/B001HTBOSK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414549601&sr=8-1&keywords=Muggins and Shut the Box (which is pretty easy to make) http://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-4377-Shut-the-Box/dp/B000Y0K6RI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1414549710&sr=8-2&keywords=shut+the+box

THIS THIS THIS Anamaniacs States and Capitals song https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=animaniacs+states+and+capitals I taught legions of inner-city 4th graders w/ this song. It drove me crazy, but they learned it.

What about a game like Zeus on the Loose?

Apparently you can adjust the time on Xtra math to make it longer. Somebody posted about it on here a couple of months ago. I'll dig around and see if I can't find the thread but maybe in the meantime someone else can chime in to give details - I've never actually done it. ETA - here it is -- http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/526436-getting-additionsubtraction-facts-down-xtra-math-not-working/?p=5897318

Supercharged Science Veritas Press Latin Online Beast Academy K12 Online World History Calvert Music Elective Calvert Spelling CAP Fable IEW

Since he's reading on his own anyway you might just do a CM style Reading journal. Let him narrate and you scribe - then he can copy a sentence or 2 and draw a picture for his book. It's a really nice, gentle and easy project - very educational (teaches comprehension, convention of language, analysis etc... really as little as much as you want to get into) and it makes a lovely keepsake. I used a large black blank-page sketchbook. You can glue in half a piece of handwriting paper if you want him to use lines when writing. ETA - You can do it with both read alouds and independent reading books - even audiobooks if you're so inclined.

I think the OP wanted OTAE Old Testament and Ancient Egypt.

Creation Fall in the Garden Cain and Abel The Flood Tower of Babel Unification of Upper and Lower Egypt Old Kingdom in Egypt First Intermediate Period Call of Abram Covenant with Abraham Haggar and Ishmael Gommorah Sacrifice of Issac Middle Kingdom in Egypt Joseph as a Slave Famine in Egypt 12 Tribes of Israel 2nd Intermediate Period Hammurabi Hyksos Early New Kingdom in Egypt Moses' Birth Plagues Exodus 10 Commandments Amenhotep IV Tutankhoman Later New Kingdom Davidic Kingdom Solomon's Reign Alexander the Great Conquers Egypt Egypt Falls - It's about 5 Lessons on each topic. Hope that helps.

Following :bigear:

My 8yo is working very independently these days - I see you're using SM for math so I won't suggest CLE but it is very independent. I will however suggest it for LA - esp Grammar. I have always used it only for grammar and penmanship. My dc do the exercises with the spelling words but do not do the tests. The CLE spelling is a bit lite for my strong speller and the writing does not have enough instruction imo. That said, CLE grammar is very thorough and very independent. We're using VP self paced history - which is fantastic and includes some assigned reading. Just starting (day 2) Lively Latin - which looks like it will be a big hit and is very independent. BJU science with the DVD instruction My dd is doing sequential spelling - which is almost entirely independent (we have the CD ROM) MP Lit guides are fairly independent and I looked at CAP Fable and thought it would be a more independent/ creative version of WWE. I think the mini lessons are shorter and the excerpts are more readable for a student. Also the format is more accessible and the final writing assignments allow for more creativity and a venue to teach the "writing process." We also use TT as a supplement and that's both fun and independent. RS4K science could be about 60-70% indepndent -You still have experiments. I've noticed that my DS works much better on his own - esp if it means he doesn't have to share a curriculum or a lesson w/ his sister :glare:. Any way - cutting him loose a bit has really increases his productivity and his interest level.

Art Tango is a free art curriculum that talks about the elements of art (line, color, texture etc...) www.arttango.com Or else, just pinterest some projects. Last year I found a bunch of artist imitation projects on Pinterest and we read a little about the artist, looked at pictures online and then did the imitation projects like these. The products were great and they remember the artists. They also learned a lot about mixing media and technique. http://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=van%20gogh%20kids%20projects&term_meta%5B%5D=van%7Ctyped&term_meta%5B%5D=gogh%7Ctyped&term_meta%5B%5D=kids%7Ctyped&term_meta%5B%5D=projects%7Ctyped

Seconding MP lit guides - though I think the OP wants a "program" In addition to the 2nd grade ones, the 1st grade MP Storytime treasures guides are fantastic (in some ways better than the later ones - esp. if you have a young but advanced reader/writer.)

Don't know if it's been posted yet http://www.theoldschoolhouse.com/product/curiosity-files-the-series/