We used it with a 4th and 6th grader and it was perfect fit. As for the younger one, most of the books are great read alouds for all ages. I can't think of any with themes that may disturb a very sensitive child.

I did a lot of research at the beginning of our journey and knew I wanted a very literature rich curriculum. After careful consideration, and noting that many of the same books were used in the best known programs, I decided on Sonlight and have never looked back. We have done every core in order and are now just finishing up core 4 and I can honestly say that I personally have not yet read a book in the curriculum that I absolutely hated, and in fact have become acquainted with dozens of "new" favorites. Now, language arts has been another story, but I keep reminding myself that even if we are "in between" LA programs, just listening to great literature like that in Sonlight has it's value. I must say, I *love* the SL books and am really looking forward to core 5.

I agree with all the previous posts plus Ginger Pye and Pinky Pye were very well loved. As was the Cricket in Times Square series. Also the Five Little Peppers books...

The lessons are scripted and very easy to teach and the getting the items needed to teach only takes a minute or two. I agree with the above post that A & B are wonderful for helping a child understand math...not just memorize it. Just teaching it helped me with my own mental math capabilities! I would have continued with it, but our life situation changed and I needed something less teacher intensive.

Thank you Adrianne and Lee! I will definitely look into Jump In and Home2teach...It looks like a great program and affordable too! Blessings!

Thank you for the suggestions. Jump In was one item I had earmarked in my Rainbow Resource catalog. I'll definitely look into it. Is it something they can do independently, or do I need to teach it first? What's the difference between Wordsmith and Wordsmith Apprentice?

I feel your frustration. I went though this with my son who attended PS kindergarten and came out of there convinced he'd never learn to read. We did tons of phonics work and I did a lot of skipping around trying to find our "fit" and it frustrated both of us. Finally we just took a break. Completely. We did our family read alouds, but other than that, reading was not mentioned. He relaxed, I took the time to find a program I liked and after several months we started up slowly. Very slowly... It didn't really click for him until a couple years ago. I think he just needed time to mature a bit more...or rather his eyesight needed to mature. He still gets frustrated occasionally...especially by his little sister who inhales huge volumes on a daily basis, but he can read. Yours will too.:)

Oh, I forgot... The games that reinforce skip counting were also well received and really helped once they hit multiplication...

We used RS for several years and played some of the games mostly when the kids were younger, say 8 or 9, but interest petered out after a while. The one game that did go over very well was corners for which you need a special square deck. I sold all my RS stuff last year, but I suspect that if I'd kept the corners cards, we'd still be playing it today.

30-45 minutes

I'm so confused right now. I really need to find a middle school writing program (not a full LA curriculum as we have other parts covered) that will engage a very reluctant 12 yo boy, but must also be mostly independent. Something on the computer like Teaching Textbooks for math would be ideal, but I don't think there is anything out there like that...is there? FYI, this is a boy who thinks its ok to copy the inside of a book jacket for his book report...arrgghhh!! He was a late reader and still struggles a bit. Any suggestions with an overview of what the program looks like will be much appreciated... Thanks in advance!

I don't think this is new, but it is definitely more in your face...that's why I have taken great pains to build up our library at home. If we ever do get something from the library or bookstore it's usually done online and then picked up or mailed to us...sad, but that's what it has come to. I read Twilight after I had 3 of my very close friends recommend it, and I couldn't believe that they were going to have their daughters read it... I thought it was most degrading...true there was no s*x in it, but it represented love as being based entirely upon looks and physical response to looks...no thanks, I don't want my daughter growing up thinking that that is what love is...just my 2 cents...

I love being surrounded by my favorite books, and there was a time when I'd spend every weekend at local book sales. Now I seem to have gotten my "fill" though and seem to be using the library more and more. We are lucky to have a great one and rather than go browse, I usually search online and put what I want on hold and then just pick them up in passing. We are extremely fortunate to have a book swap at our local dump. M-F-S mornings you can drop off unwanted books and browse the shelves and boxes there, and can walk away with a limit of 10 new books for FREE...gotta love it! I have found many a great book there and just recently picked up 6 like new audiobooks which we will/are definitely going to listen to!

I spoke with someone at TT a few weeks ago and they said it's no problem to resell your discs, just have the new owner call them.

I've used Vitacost but more recently luckyvitamin.com. Both are great. I highly recommend Nordic Naturals for Omegas and Metagenics Ultra Flora Plus for probiotics--any other probiotic is a waste of time and money IMHO.

I trust Solgar Supps...not all vitamins are the same and I am very wary of the cheap stuff...lots of garbage in there.

We love TT and it has been a huge help for me since the kids can be more independent. Right now we are using TT5 and TT6...my son is about to go into TT7. They both love it and are eager to get their work done...not so before! The repetition seems to be helpful to them both and I love the fact that I can go look at their scores, see if they have been looking at the solutions to the problems they got wrong, and find what their problem areas are so we can follow up one-on-one. It's worked for us so far...

We are just finishing studying WWI with the Usborne book The World Wars (got mine on Amazon) as our spine and it has been a great resource. I second really covering WWI so you can understand what led to WWII. Since we are of Polish heritage, I have been stressing some Polish history as we go and plan to use a book called The Other Victims by Ina R. Friedman. It is a compilation of first person stories of non-Jews persecuted by the Nazis. I'm not diminishing the persecution of the Jews, but rather am stressing that there were millions of non-Jews persecuted as well. We may not cover all the stories in this book, but it seems to be written in a style understandable by children. In helping to teach this other side of the holocaust, I have as my personal aid the book Forgotten Holocaust by Richard C. Lukas and Norman Davies, which goes into this in depth. As for films, we will watch the Hallmark movie about Irena Sendler, which is much more watchable by children than say Schindler's list or The Pianist. I hope this helps...

We LOVED Right Start in the early books, but after my son finished D we bailed. I had to have something more independent, so we moved to Teaching Textbooks, which has been wonderful for us all...in fact my daughter wanted her own "computer math" and so we switched her after she finished Level C. Sorry I'm not much help, but I do believe that Right Start gave a wonderful foundation in helping them "get" math and not just memorize it... Renata in CT

I third Phonetic Zoo, but 7 may be too young for it...

We read The Silver Mace: A Story of Williamsburg by Maud and Miska Petersham, 1956. It's a picture book that traces the history of Williamsburg--well worth trying to find. Wonderful illustrations, engaging writing...excellent!! Also The City of Once Upon a Time: A Children's True Story of Williamsburg Virginia by Gilchrist Waring. Another picture book (much shorter) recounting the history of Williamsburg. Hope this helps! Renata in CT

I have to give a vote to TOPS for science. We used to get very frustrated by the Usborne experiments books, but TOPS we loved because it went in depth into the subject, built on the previous lessons, needed easy to find materials which really illustrated the point. Another science book we like but which is no longer in print is Sciencewise book 1 by Critical Thinking Co. Puts the scientific process in a fun and manageable context. We just now started Usbornes How things Work and are really enjoying it too. Surprisingly Sonlight replaced it this year... Renata in CT

I second the audio book idea!! That's how we did it and it was one of our favorites of the whole year!! Renata in CT

Around here I'm one of the younger moms...now 38 with DS 12 and DD 10. I think it's a regional thing... Renata in CT

I don't know really what I am, but I know I'm not very conservative, except maybe when it comes to some moral issues. I research all the alternatives and then choose what works best for myself and my family. Basically I "walk my talk." This is how I arrived at homeschooling, homeopathy and a whole multitude of lifestyle options that work for us. I believe in the importance of local community, honesty, and hard work and don't believe in government regulation of the nuclear family, but most definitely do of industry and those things which affect the country or planet as a whole. So what does that make me? Renata in CT