This looks like what I might be looking for. Checking out the blog now :) Thanks!

I only live 30 minutes from there and will be out of town that weekend :( I really want to go to the vendor hall. I have a few things I want to see. So bummed!

I was looking at this but was afraid to buy before I knew that it would be what I wanted. Thanks :)

Haha, yes, that's what I need. I'm terrible in the kitchen. Only the basics please :) Do you have one in particular that you liked?

I'm trying to change up my families eating habits. I want to go with more natural/health health foods (no additives, preservatives, no cows milk). I had some cookbooks from years ago that I got rid of when I went through my house and purged about a year ago :banghead: . Now I'm needing to go this route again and need help with ways to feed my family. Any ideas on good cookbooks that will help me out? I don't want to just buy some without knowing they will be what I need.

Thanks for all these ideas :) I'll definitely look into them. I'm just afraid that "I" can't teach it and they need someone who knows writing to teach them the skills. I love HSing but this is my weak area.

I've seen alot of threads talk about supplementing with Life of Fred. How do you do this? I'm switching over curriculum next year to CLE from Abeka for my next year 3rd and 4th grader. I'm also bringing home my next year 5th grader from PS who struggles in Math. I think LOF could be fun for them. How do you use it and what levels should I be doing?

My DS will in in 5th grade and has trouble focusing and struggles with spending alot of time one any subject. I'm a terrible writer so I'm not much help. I'm planning on doing CLE LA but I heard their writing/composition needs supplementation. I'm bringing home from PS next year. What are some suggestions that might be good for us. I do want him to learn how to write just nervous about my ability to teach him. I believe he has some some instruction at school.

Where did you get the tests?

I recently realized that the reading programs were more than just reading books which I've done up til now. I want to include this in my curriculum next year. When I went through a little bit of the 5th gr. CLE and noticed that it still included alot of the diagraphs which was quite a struggle with my kids back in 2nd grade. I switched over LA at that time. I'm thinking of going back to CLE in math and LA and now want to incorporate a reading program. How are these 2 reading programs alike/different. My kids really don't know the diagraph symbols so I'm concerned with doing the CLE although I've heard it was a great program. Is R&S like CLE? Is it a good program also? Thanks :)

Following because I'm thinking about buying the CDs this year.

I have used Saxon, Abeka and CLE. All are spiral which I like because of the constant review. Saxon is a very good Math which put my kids ahead when I put them in PS and taught them well. It teaches to your child but you have to write all problem out on a separate piece of paper. I used graph paper. You may or may not like this. I does have alot of problems which you could cross out some of the review. Abeka is also good. I like it best for the younger grades. It's colorful and also does a great job of preparing the kids. I usually changed from Abeka when my kids got older because it is more teacher intensive because it doesn't explain as well the concepts to the kids. I'm not good at math so in order for me to help with the older grades I needed more explaination. Also, I think it it helps if my older students begin to learn to be more independent. CLE is more like Saxon in that it teaches to the student. You have small workbooks called light units so you can work right in the book. I have used different levels of this and am considering sticking with this one for the upper grades. I don't think the upper grades needs quite the color that Abeka gives. It is indepenent and is a good Math program. I haven't used any of the other programs you mentioned. I hope this helps with these.

3rd, 4th, and 5th. How often do I use it? I noticed 4th and 5th only have 5 light units.

I just went to their website and there was so much per grade. What is needed? Are there duplicates like the teachers manual vs just answer sheets? Do I need everything per grade?

Next year I will have a 3rd, 4th and 5th grader. If I begin a program I would probably do IEW and have them all do it. Since they are still learning grammar should I wait a year or 2? I'm on a budget and at some point will need something like IEW with DVD's to help teach writing but I don't want to get it before we need it. When is a good age to start formal writing compared to just learning grammar? Thanks :)

Bumping! I would really like these same answers as well :)

Honestly for your Kinder I would mostly worry about doing Math, Language (phonics), handwriting. Have them watch some Magic School Bus for Science and Leap Frog videos for phonics to give you a break for the older kids. I've done Sonlight and STOW. I like them both. Do whatever History and Science you plan to use for your older child and have the younger ones listen in. That's what I did when I was homeschooling a 5th & 6th grader along with K, 1st and 2nd. They will pick up stuff. History and Science is all about the same info just builds from year to year so they won't be hurt. I have never done everything the curriculum's have suggested. You could get the audio CD for SOTW and have them color while listening. I might try that next year.This year I read each lesson myself. I also make sure to do the map part with my kids. Next year I will have a 5th, 4th, 3rd grader so I will have them all do Science and History together. I've never been great at Science. Just reading old Science books to them that I have laying around. I'm planning on getting a more organized Science next year since I'll have a 5th grader. Your 5th grader should be getting a little more independent in subjects like Math, LA so during that time spend time focusing on your younger. For example: First thing in the morning we do any "all together" subjects so that everyone can move at their pace after and no one has to come back later if they are done with their work. Then maybe work with your younger child while the older child does their independent work.

My current 8th grader is considering coming home to homeschool next year. He has been HSed in the past but really likes having a teacher teach the material like PS. It helps him alot. I also am not confident in my ability to do high school. I would like a program that keeps track of transcrips, scores etc. I would prefer Christian but not necessary. What are some ideas and what did you like and dislike about the programs? Thanks :) Ok, I just saw the pinned thread about high school which I'm about to read. If you have suggestions for me though, I would really appreciate it :)

How do you like Phonetic Zoo? Do you have a natural speller or one that struggles? Is it helping?

Ok, I'm trying to decided between just one English book which has things lined up for me like CLE or pulling together my own by buying things like Winston Grammar, Wordly Wise, IEW, (which I'm using anyway) and a Spelling program (maybe phonetic zoo). If I split it up and use several things I just want to be sure I'm covering everything. I've used CLE before. I like it's simplicity but concerned the number of pages will be overwhelming to my son. I also like how it teaches right to him. I think he might do better with the cards for Winston Grammar (It seems to be something that has helped my kids) other than drawing a bunch of arrows. With one of my older kids I did CLE along with Winston Grammar but it will be too much for my upcoming 5th grader. Thanks for any idea :) I do need to keep it as simple as possible because he has attention issues.

Thank you :) I realized that I put this years grades. Next year they will be in 5th, 4th. and 3rd. So maybe It would work. Thanks so much for your input :)

I've been really liking this thread as I've been looking for a program for my struggling speller. The regular workbooks just don't seem to help. Here's my question. Next year I will have a 5th gr. (struggling speller), 4th gr. (struggling speller) 3rd gr. (natural speller). Is this a program I could do with all 3 and only order 1? I've never done AAS. I saw a video by the author and it made so much sense that I've been hoping this could be our answer.

Off the top of my head: 100 easy Lessons to teach your child to read FLL 1 & 2 Rod & Staff English - to be fair, I bought it and looked at it and ended up selling immediately because I knew it wouldn't work. Rod & Staff Spelling - I used the 3rd grade book but didn't see any better result with it than anything else.

Having done both, am I understanding that your kids learned better with IEW? If so, why do you think this was? Do you think the teacher videos are necessary?

This is exactly what I needed! Thank you so much for taking the time to tell me :)