Does anyone have a link to a website with maps to fill in on Election Day? Thanks! Lillian

I will talk to my dh this weekend. I'd really like to go back to MUS with dd. We'll see what he says. Thanks! Lillian

I changed programs on her too much last year and don't want to keep doing it. I use MUS with her brothers, and she did well with Primer and started Alpha last year. Should I plug away, go back to MUS, or switch to something else? It would need to be easy for me to use, as I don't have a lot of time to give to her math, but a good program. Also cheap. Would CLE Math work, and if so, what level? Whatever we do, I'd like her to stay with it through elementary. She is a very bright girl and good at math, but bored with Saxon. She does well with concrete things now but can do abstract too. What are your thoughts? Thanks! Lillian

Hi Ladies, My sweet dh gave me the go-ahead to purchase Year 1 now. I want to spend time with it when I can over the next months to see if we will use the teacher notes, etc. to help me study and continue with SL 6 next year, or if we will switch all dc to TOG and supplement with some SL books. Anyway, I am excited to have this huge resource on order. My question is, I believe I need 4 D 2-inch ring binders for the four units or page protectors and 4 D 3-inch ring binders if I want to protect the pages. How many of you use the page protectors, and if I use those, how many will I need to buy? All the threads on TOG have been very helpful to me. Thank you! Lillian

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How do you like TOG, and what did you use before? Also, what does a typical week look like using IEW? Thanks, Blessings, Lillian

How do you combine R&S English, IEW, and TOG for Language Arts? Those are things I am considering for next year. We're using R&S and Wordsmith now with Sonlight for ds 12 and 10. Thanks, Lillian

I think we'll keep on, but I may combine or skip some lessons. Then again, I may not. She does like the activities. I think she will learn a lot of new material later in the book. Thanks, Lillian

My dd, age 7, likes it okay. But 2nd grade math seems a bit too easy for her. She needs some review and likes variety, but she doesn't need THIS much! I find I'm skipping a lot since she already knows the lesson or we've already done it many times. We're only on Lesson 15. I spent a lot on this, and I think she will learn from it, but I think it might drive me up the wall. Should I stick it out this year, or is their something else similar but without as much review? I've jumped around with her too much on Math last year. She doesn't want to do MUS like her brothers because of the focus on one main topic. MUS works well for them, bu not dd. Thanks, Lillian

I can't help you, Megan, but I do have Core 5 (History, Read-Alouds, and Readers) plus Science on order. We are anxiously awaiting our boxes. Does anyone have ideas/ suggestions for us? Thanks, Lillian

I just ordered it (Science 5, that is). I did not add the Lyrical Life Science because the sample days look pretty full without it. My boys are 10 and 11. HTH, Lillian

Which other programs compare to CLE Math? Is it more like Saxon, Singapore, etc? I'm deciding between R&S and Saxon right now, as it seems dd would do well with their approaches, but I thought I should look at a couple of other options. Thanks! Lillian

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I'm considering changing my 5th and 6th graders from MUS. Thanks, Lillian

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I am thinking about doing this with my dds, age 7 and 4. I like the looks of Saxon better for the lower grades. At least it looks like more fun for the child. I like R&S better in the upper grades (after 3rd), I think. The length of a Saxon lesson concerns me, but maybe we could shorten it some. Any opinions on this idea? Thanks, Lillian

I see you use R&S English. Do you do their writing assignments, or just read through them and do your actual writing from a different source? I'm trying to decide how to handle this area for 5th and 6th. My boys used R&S English last year and I am very impressed with how much they truly learned, as are they. I was planning to use it again and add Wordsmith and Wordsmith Apprectice this next year. It might be easier to use Writing Aids. Any thoughts? I thought that if we didn't use the R&S writing, maybe I should switch them to Abeka for grammar, which they would like, and use TOG writing. Lillian

They are very helpful as I decide. Karen, I have thought about stretching out Year 2. I think Year 3 and 4 would be fine, especially with the older levels. I may just use the writing resources I'm familiar with and transition into Writing Aids, either later in the year or the following year. It does look like a great resource. I'm just not sure I'm ready to jump into everything at once. We probably wouldn't do a lot of projects, just lapbooks for the 7 and 8 year olds and/ or notebooks, plus timelines and maps. My oldest boy really would need to be Dialectic. I might just lighten up the required amount of work to transition into it. My next boy will be Upper Grammar except that he would also do the map work and timeline work with his brother. My next two would be UG with read-alouds, etc. I would probably get some LG books also for extra reading for my voracious 7 year old reader. Thanks so much! Any other thoughts? Lillian

We have always used Sonlight, from PK through Core 4, which we finished last week. I love SL, love my box, all the books, know how to use it, etc. I'm all set to do Core 5 next year, (supplementing down, plus PK, or with Core 1 and PK also), but for a number of reasons, I think TOG would be a better fit for my family overall. Our dc are 11, 10, 8, 7, and 4. I'm glad I have the background of SL, plus we did SOTW 1 and 2 with Cores 1 and 2. I also have most of the early Ambleside books, since I supplemented SL with AO for my oldest in the early years. I think I'm ready to plan what would be best for us, instead of following the Instructor's Guide. I think with SL, I tend to be more involved in finishing the books for the day/ week/ year instead of teaching and enjoying my children. I love learning along with them and want the learning and loving atmosphere of our home to grow. I also want a more integrated, reformed biblical worldview plus all the great critical thinking and discussions of TOG. And I want to challenge each child appropriately on their level while staying on the same topic. I still have some lingering TOG questions... One thing I love about SL is its international focus, where you learn about all parts of the world. TOG seems very heavily focused on the West, especially America. Is that a correct perception? I could just buy some SL books for them to read for fun from Core 5. Any thoughts? I'm not sure I like the yearly divisions of history. I prefer the WTM divisions for the 4 year cycle. Year 1 is fine, Year 2 covers a LOT, and Years 3 and 4 are only one century each. How do you compensate for that? I'm not sure if we would do TOG writing the first year. Either we'd do Abeka Grammar or R&S with the 5th and 6th grader with Writing Aids, or we'd do R&S with Wordsmith and WA and maybe move into Writing Aids the following year. Do you think TOG writing is thorough enough to follow Susan's recommendations? Is it easy to use? Also, how much time will it take to plan a week with 1 Dialectic, 1 UG/ Dialectic, 2 UG/ LG and one tag-along? How much time would a day of Tapestry take us? We would be doing Year 1. I looked at Karen's notebooks and felt very inspired. I think I could do this, maybe. I really need to decide, to consult with dh and promise I won't keep looking around, order, and start planning for next year. Please give me all helpful thoughts you have. Thanks so much!!! Blessings, Lillian

I'll take your suggestions. I'm excited about my boys using Wordsmith too. That is the way I was leaning. Have a great day! Blessings, Lillian

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If you have followed WTM recs for Logic stage, do you see that this method is helping your dc to develop a Christian Worldview? Do you add a resource or discussion, etc. to help with this, and if a specific resource, would you share what it is? Thanks! Lillian

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Hi, Are you doing WTM Ancient recs now for History and Science, or are you planning them for next year? Are you using all the WTM book suggestions? I'm wondering if you've done it yet or are finishing up the Grammar stage. Just curious. :) We are finishing Sonlight 4 next week and trying to decide what to do next. Lillian