Right before ds turned 10 we began regular Analytical Grammar. He is an advanced student and has done very well with the first season of AG. Next year, in "5th grade" he'll complete seasons II & III. While this is earlier than they recommend, he has absorbed it all and done quite well w/it. It's *just rules and that make sense to him. You can use it alongside another program, but bear in mind AG takes a bit of time. DS completes a lesson in 30-45 minutes. Another option would be to do a season of grammar then a season with another focus such as literature, poetry or vocabulary. I've been extremely happy w/this program. HTH,

Use an enzyme cleaner. They are the most effective for pee smell.

I'm re-reading TWTM so my choices may not reflect its philosophy. DD 12--ps DS 10 Math--L of Fred Adv Alg then Geo LA--SL 4 + Analytical Grammar (LOVE AG!), MCT Poetry History--1850 to Present (created by me :blush:) Science--Noeo Bio II Latin for Children Art, music, gym, science, drama, choir, chess club, etc--our co-op Sports out the wazoo! rugby (summer), football, basketball, soccer DD 7 Math--Horizons 3 LA--lots of stuff...maybe llatl, vocab connections, reading detective, MCT Poetry Science--tag along Noeo Bio History--1850 to present Handwriting--Cheerful Cursive then Pictures in Cursive Art, music, Irish dance, recitation, choir, chess club--our co-op soccer DD (almost) 4 I'll be trying to keep her productively occupied while everyone else does his or her work! LLATL Blue fun math Why does it not look like that much when I type it, but I just know I'll be swamped trying to get it all together??? lol

I wanted to second Noeo www.noeoscience.com. It's been fabulous! I felt that level II Chem was quite above level I Physics, but we've enjoyed the books, experiments and we actually get it done.

Fay, Thanks for the great list! We have 'trouble' keeping books to read, too. We often have close to 100 checked out and I hear "Mom, there's nothing to read!" If that's so, why do I need more bookcases??!? People have told me my kids are 'weird' for reading so much and ask me what I did to 'make' them that way. lol

I shop there quite a bit, but I would say it's not worth the membership cost. Most items are less expensive, but many food items are about the same at getting them on sale at the grocery. Most toiletries & cleaning products are cheaper at Costco, but you often have to buy a large bottle/box/package of it. Diapers and wipes are a lot cheapers (or were a few years ago when I used them.) The photo processing is GREAT and cheap. They offer good prices on appliances, but they don't offer a wide variety. If you don't care what kind of fridge you get, you can save a few hundred dollars. If you want specific features, you might be out of luck. Same goes for electronics, although they have a wider selection. Books and video games are cheaper, but you might be tempted to buy more than you need. ;) There are some good buys on clothing, especially for younger kids, but you may not find what you want and it may not be there the next time you go. You can order items online now--mostly larger ticket items. Their bakery is very good. I like Costco, but I don't get there as often as I'd like and I'm not as far away as you'll be. One drawback for us, I can't get EVERYTHING I want there, so I still have to stop at Target or the supermarket at some point. HTH,

I'm curious what other "quick learners" use for acquiring a foreign language. Ds is 10 and analytical. I would love to get something that dd 7 could also use, but he is the main reason I am interested in getting a Spanish or French program. Thanks!

www.rainbowresource.com is my favorite. Their prices are great and they have free shipping if you spend over $150 (it's easier to do than you might think as a first timer. lol) They sell a lot of educational games, crafts, office supplies that hs'ers enjoy and parent/homeschool help books, too. Remember, buying new isn't always a huge waste of money as you can re-sell it when you are done and it will be in great shape. One more tip for trying to find it used...do a google search. Oftentimes, people make a listing and then don't sell everything. So the listing might be a few months old, the item is still sitting on someone's bookshelf. Some people like ebay. Overstock.com has some items and might be worth checking. Oh, and you can get a homeschoolers discount from Barnes and Noble. The problem is that they are not a great bargain so the discount may not be as good as amazon. Best of luck!

I know this wasn't one of your choices, but we have been pleased w/the pace of Horizons math. The workbooks are self explanatory. That's good because I only use the TM to correct work, not as a teaching aid. The workbooks are colorful and often approach math slightly differently than I would. Ds and dd do well w/spiral approach. There is not too much practice each day, but it seems to be just enough. The TM has extra worksheets to photocopy for students who need a bit more practice, but we have not needed them. One drawback for your child is that they only go up to grade 6. However, as w/any curric, I believe if you can get 1, 2, or more good/great years it's worth doing. Ds used it for 2 years then moved on and I feel he's been well prepared through Horizons. There are placement tests on the Sonlight website.

Thanks, Siloam! I think TOG needs to re-do their website. :confused: Thank you for the explanation. I am a tweaker, too. It's rough being us.

Hello from another art-challenged individual! I have an art-oriented child so I know how you feel. Because these people see things differently, I think that "How to Draw" books are a bad idea for these kids. I like to encourage their perspective. We've used Artistic Pursuits. It's an art program where the student is told about elements of art (color, line, shading, etc.), sees a piece of art where thie element is evident, then the child is to create his/her own art, paying special attention to the topic just covered. One lesson was about line used in art. The assignment was to draw something that had "lines" like our hardwood floor. I feel focusing on these topics has enhanced my daughter's ability and enjoyment of creating art. She loves looking at the pictures of famous (or not-so-famous) art.

We use Bible Study for All Ages. They have various levels. I am using just the worksheets (not the tm) for ages 10, 7 and 3. The kids love the pictures and the questions are good. RR sells them.

Good question! Have you read this?? http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/Resources/AoPS_R_A_Calculus.php You are right to be concerned. I believe that there are going to be topics in math that my ds may not be devlopmentally ready to tackle such as proofs in geometry or calculus itself. This year we spent some time working on problem solving, statistics & probability, as well as reinforcing basic manipulation of fractions and decimals. I felt that we should slow down. However, while ds enjoyed the work he did, he was eager to get started with algebra and is tearing through that curric as well. There may be a plateau year or season when things don't proceed as quickly, but now I'm just feeding him. He's really enjoying the challenge and appears to have a full understanding of the concepts. I believe as long as we continue to consider the child's interest, ability and well being, we can proceed either forward or outward (it's a bit harder to find engaging materials outward, but it's possible.) Enjoy the article!

Noeo science might be useful. THis is the link for their Chem III program. http://www.noeoscience.com/chemIII.html It's geared for grades 7-9 which should be a good match for someone who hasn't had a lot of science. What we LOVE about the curric is that there are many living books and lots of experiments (perfect for my ADD daughter). I have not used this level, but in levels I and II almost everything you need for the experiments are included in kits. I would imagine that the kit for this level is also designed to make your life easy. There is 'required' notebooking and documenting of experiments, but the beauty of that component is that your daughter can write as much or little as you see fit and still be fully participating in the program (easy modifications.) One drawback for your family is that Chem is the only level III program. I know they are working on making a Physics III and a Bio III, but I'm not sure when those will be completed. HTH,

Yea, that's what I thought until I had to "go back" to 8th grade Algebra this year! lol I do remember, it just takes a minute... Any way, we decided to use Life of Fred. When he's finished, he'll take an Algebra 1 final or two (I got them off the internet) to see if there is full mastery of the concepts. He is more than half-way done after just a few weeks with this book. He *seems* to be truly understanding the way Fred presents the material so I didnt' want to cloud it w/another program (unless it turns out that we need to.) I've found that LofF goes quickly and that might be beneficial if one wants to get to proofs in geometry. LofF recommends Advanced Algebra after Begining Algebra, then continuing on to Geometry. You might want to try Life of Fred alone to see if it works. It's fun and economical.

As someone who was bored, bored, bored with most of school I am so pleased to see this report. I hope it helps some of the children out there who are bound to lose interest in school because it isn't at their level.

I don't have an answer, but we've used this and LOVED it. The pictures are great examples of the lesson theme. We used this is K & 1st and 3rd & 4th grades and both kids really enjoyed the lessons and produced some nice pieces of art. We have used the 1-3 level and the 4-6 level w/no or nominal adjustments. I HIGHLY recommend it.

My early readers enjoyed Great Illustrated Classics. These are abridged books w/ink sketches every so often.

I tested ds when he was that age so we started SAxon 3. I wrote most of the work because his little hands couldn't write at the level he could compute. I tested him ahead and skipped much of the review. I still think of Saxon as a thorough course, but I'm glad I switched to Horizons. It moves quickly, I think there is enough review and there isn't as much writing. Once you get to Saxon 5/4 (the one after 3), there isn't a workbook. All problems need to be written out on paper. So my advice is not to expect too much writing. Completing the pages orally or having you write the answers is not bad (as long as you have the time.) I still do oral work w/my 1st grader. Why let weak motor skills slow down their brainwork? JMO.