Thanks for the replies and helping me feel a little more comfortable going ahead with BA and Miquon. And thanks for sharing your experience with Miquon and RS. I already have RS A & B, so I may as well go ahead and use them for my little girl. She has actually already done some of A. I agree that RS gives a good foundation, which is why I decided to use it for my son originally, so this is a good reminder. And maybe by the time she finishes B AoPS will have BA 2 ready. It feels good to have a plan for math!

I'm thinking about trying out BA with my son, and we have to do standardized testing in our state. He has been through RS A & B, then MM 2 through 3A, along with LoF Apples through Goldfish, and he's done really well the past two years on the Iowa. I'm just wondering if BA will prepare him adequately for testing. He will still use the Flashmaster for facts and still continue through LoF. I'm also wondering the same about Miquon for my rising K daughter, who will also do Fred and use the Flashmaster. I know I will have MM to supplement if needed. TIA!

Well, I will be interested to see what he thinks of it. He's been through RS A & B, some of Miquon Orange, but I lost confidence with my ability to teach it, and we're in LoF Edgewood. I got the MM light blue download during the last HSBC sale. He's cruising through level 2 on our ipad. I think I'm going to do it mostly orally when we start back (we're on our way home from vacation), so that his handwriting doesn't slow him down, especially since he's using a stylus. So far it's all review, but I was afraid to skip ahead too far and miss something. He's my first, so we're pioneering this homeschool world together. I don't mind paying for BA since MM was so cheap. If he decides he really likes it, I'll still have MM to add in review if I feel like he needs it. There certainly isn't a shortage of options for math out there.

Thanks for all the advice. I guess I just need to think it over and print out some samples to try. I'd like to do BA, but I'm not sure I want another complete program. But we do school year round, so it might be good summer math.

Forgive me if this has already been addressed. I tried a search and didn't find an answer. I am using MM and LoF with DS7. I'm thinking of adding in a more challenging supplement because he seems to be fairly mathy, and I think he could use the challenge so that he doesn't get "lazy" because everything comes easily for him. So any opinions on which would be better out of BA, CWP, or IP? Maybe any one of them would work and I should just pick one? I'm leaning toward BA. TIA!

Great, thanks so much!

Can the LOE game book and cards and the IEW phonics games be used independently, kinda like the RS games? We use AAS and are going to start AAR pre level 1, and I'm not interested in switching, but this year I'm hoping to have a weekly game day for my first grader and preschooler. We'll be doing RS games, and I was wondering if the LOE games would work for spelling and IEW phonics games for the preschooler. I found out about these programs after I had already bought AAR and we used AAS last year. Thanks in advance!

A great ice cream substitute is a frozen peanut butter & banana smoothie. You can also change it up with a little coconut milk, cocoa, frozen fruit, etc. Good luck!

Thanks!

My ds is 4 & dd is 16 mo., so I have plenty of time. I had a little free time last week while visiting family, so I decided to obsess about our future! But I'm a planner & like to think ahead. I'd also like to pick something & stick with it, although I know that's unlikely. If I lean more toward MFW, them I'll probably start with their preschool in the fall. If I lean more toward Biblioplan &/or SCM (Simply Charlotte Mason), I might try Answers for Preschoolers or MFW K as pre-k & 1st as K. . . makes perfect sense, right? ;-) I really need to pray about this & give it to God. We're making plans to go to the HEAV convention in June, so I'll be obsessing again in a couple of months. For now, I'll seek advice & print off samples. Maybe dh will help if he has hard copies in hand. I just don't want to go to the convention without some preparation. I already have so many exhibitors I want to visit!

I've read great things about how MFW lines up history & Bible. Are there other programs that do this just as well? I know I need to print off samples of different programs, but I'd like some input from users, too. I've looked at TOG, SCM, Biblioplan, & TruthQuest. I know there are probably others I haven't even considered. I'd really like a chronological history curriculum that integrates biblical history & secular history with as much actual Bible reading as possible. Sounds like this is exactly what MFW does. But I'm not sure it will have enough flexibility, especially with science. I guess I could add or sub science. Anyone use MFW for history & Bible only? I've also thought about combining a couple of the others (SCM/Biblioplan/TruthQuest). And TOG looks great, but I'm not sure it has as much Bible integration throughout all years. But again, I could add in appropriate Bible studies. I don't want to waste time & money on a program then do lots of tweaking. And I'm afraid I'm going to be a tweaker. TIA for any input you can give.

My head is spinning! I'm very new to homeschooling with young dc (ds4 & dd 16 mo). We're part of a preschool co-op now that's working great, but I'm a planner & like to look ahead. I'm comparing MFW, TOG, SCM, Biblioplan, & TQ. I'm not sure TOG is really for us, but I keep reading a couple of great things about it that I'm not specifically seeing about other programs. 1. Parents are learning along with their dc. I had no idea that this was a goal for our family until after I'd made the decision to hs. 2. The teacher's notes give direction & lead to great discussions. I guess I'm hoping somebody will have insight into these other programs, especially with regard to the family learning (including mom). I thought I had settled on MFW, but as I get a tiny bit more experience, I'm wondering if I'll want more flexibility. TIA!