It isn't a neutral curriculum... It's Intelligent Design. See many, many threads on this topic.

We don't get the book switching frustration... We don't do a lot of book switching. I teach from the text, make a note of which workbook exercises were relevant, then he does the workbook exercises on his own. Voila-- no switching. If we use the IP book, we use it on a different day, so again, no switching involved. There are already way too many problems and too much review in the US Edition anyway, so we don't bother with the CWP or EP books, and I've never yet needed the HIG; if I did, I would read it ahead to teach the concrete portion, and not use it at the same time as the text, so again, no switching involved. Just store them together with a sticky bookmark in place and easy-peasy.

The only thing to consider regarding start dates is when they get older and you start rolling into those final four years and you have to think about transcripts and testing. Certain scholarships may only be qualified for if applications are filed in a particular "year" or tests taken in a particular "year." At the end, when preparing to graduate, if you are gunning for fall admission, it old be awkward to only complete half of your senior year courses (or you could plan for half a year of volunteering or work experience or travel or early admission or...). There is room for flexibility and doing your own thing; just be aware of the need to plan ahead for how it will impact your student.

When it's a continuation, I just start the next when we finish the last (sometimes we take a break or do a short unit study first for interest). For starting a new subject as they grow older, I look at age, maturity, and scheduling (do we have time for this right now vs other activities-- I don't want to cause frustration? Is the attention span ability there to add in more work yet? Is there a need to have any "down time" (ie a lighter schedule for nice weather or a holiday approaching, or a sense of moving up a stage in life in another month or two)? Otherwise, just start it when it comes in the mail all shiny and new if you're both ready to go :)

I don't teach to any standard, and yet, I anticipate my kids will have zero difficulty exceeding the standards of the Scholastic Aptitude Test/SAT for college admissions. We just shoot for solid learning across the board, and that should satisfy any testing. For now, my kids take the Stanford Achievement Test and blow it out f the water, even considering there are topics we have not yet covered with them at each grade level because we do not pay attention to standards or test prep. It is about quality of education, not specific metrics. A solid education will see you through.

I would never do my kids the disservice of teaching down to the disorganization and low bar set by our state standards. Grab a copy of The Well Trained Mind and get Story of the World or History Odyssey (essentially a calendar of coordinating reading, discussion, maps, crafts, activities, etc) for history year by year, that you can still customize as you gain confidence.

Don't try to read the "whole thing." Pick one or two sections-- start with the text, and read it-- really read it. Read the thought bubbles. Read the hints. Work through the examples and do the initial exercises. Don't even crack open the HIG until you have done this-- it will start to make sense, and you will realize, "Oh, okay, I can do this." Then you can open the HIG if you wish-- most people do seem to benefit from it. But just remember, you don't have to teach the entire program at once; focus on the concepts being presented. Singapore is pretty incremental, and I haven't seen it make any big leaps anywhere; we've used it from 2A through 5A so far; I'm a pretty math person, but this style of presentation is light-years away from the way I was taught any of these concepts, and when I take the time to look at it, I can kind of look it over and think, "Oh, right, that does make sense." Different does not have to mean scary :) It can be good, and in this case, it generally is.

Singapore and LoF elementary. Surprisingly, he often learns things in LoF before we get to them thoroughly in Singapore. They both get into topics more deeply than the other, just from different directions. (Note: I do not let him sped through LoF the way he would love to; we take our time with it and really drill the math that is in there out of it. NO WAY can you really "do" one of these books in two weeks and truly absorb all of the available math, ESP later in the series). DS9 is blasting his way through Singapore 5A with no problem, and we are finding Jellybeans to be a nice companion at this level. I am thinking that over the summer we'll do LoF Fractions and maybe start Decimals and Percents, taking the summer off from Singapore if he finishes 5B around May, and then in August we'll figure out if we want to start NEM or just run straight LoF like big brother.

These are very popular kits... Surely somebody knows?

I have been reading the descriptions of Thames and Kosmos Physics Workshop and Physics Pro on both Amazon and on the T&K website, since the price on Amazon today seems pretty good, and we are doing physics next year. What I cannot get clarity on, however is this-- Is the Physics Pro just a bigger version of Physics Workshop, or is it more of an "extension set?" ie, does buying Physics Pro negate the need to buy Physics Workshop, or should you get both? (in the Chem series, you would not buy the C2000 and C3000, as everything in C2000 can be found in the larger set). No guesses, please-- I can guess and peer at the photos on the website too-- does anybody have actual experience with these sets and can tell me? Thanks!

The answer will change over time and even with each individual topic. Right now we are studying Modern Africa in SoTW4 for this week, and DS9 is loving reading a geography book, a book about elephants, a fact book, a book of African folk tales, listening to African music and seeing African art. We may look for a biography of Livingstone in the library tomorrow (this week we only go up to 1900). Even in high school we were taught that there wasn't much to know about African history :( My 9YO is getting a better education than I had in what was regarded as one of the top public school systems in the country. But I digress... We will stop reading when he no longer finds it enjoyable. We tossed in some geography, and plenty of discussion as well. I have not uncovered much in the way of science or herbalism to show him yet, though such things may simply not have been well recorded. So my answer is... Pick a variety of topics and read to the extent that you have time and they have interest. The stories are what they will remember. It's fine to include fiction.

The entire program is loaded with review, just in the way that it is designed; it just doesn't have pages labeled "review." If you start in Fractions, then move on to Decimals and Percents, the D&P book will constantly use what they learned in Fractions. A few of the Bridge questions that test knowledge at the end of each section will even ask questions that require recall and use of things taught earlier in the series. Then if you move through the Pre-Algebra books, those books continuously use problems involving Fractions, Decimals, and Percents. You simply cannot solve the problems asked of you without using the skills you have already acquired, hence the built in review; you will be constantly using fractions, decimals, and percents (and other related skills learned in the first three books, such as introductory geometry and some measures). When you get to Beginning Algebra . . . well, you cannot really do algebra without continuously using fractions, and all of the stuff you learned about fractions (reducing, factoring, common denominators . . . ). Relating fractions to decimal equivalents and computing in decimals is also in constant use, so a separate review is not really needed-- you are already using it and doing it with each lesson; the "review" is that you see the stuff in the problems you work every single day. If you are using factoring and finding the LCM and GCF to solve problems daily, you probably won't need to go back to review it as a special topic all by itself. I went through and counted once-- the Fractions book is the smallest book in the upper series, and for a one topic book, it alone has over 700 problems. The remaining books get progressively larger (and Beginning Algebra has optional Home Companion and Zillions of Problems books with additional problems). It is still an unusual series, with a set up that looks very different from the math we grew up with, but it's working great for us as a standalone. It is teaching DS12 more than just math though-- he is learning (sometimes the hard way) the difference between just reading a text and *really reading* a text for information. He's learning that the "Yup, okay, I got that!" method of reading will not always cut it, and sometimes he has to actually go back and question what he is reading. When he does that and takes his time, he finds he gets it quite well and is very successful. When he tries to rush it, it catches up with him and he knows he has to go back and read it again, a phenomenon he is not accustomed to having to do!! I'm pretty glad he's learning that at home at age 12 instead of at 18 as a college freshman :)

I will double check, but the stuff in my son's Magic Lens book looks like all the other diagramming we've ever done...

See above. MCT does cover diagramming, but in the Magic Lens level. It just isn't the central focus of the program, but it is there.

For science, our week looks like this: Monday, introduce the topic with Mom-led white board discussion/overview of topic. Tuesday, individual reading/outlining/note taking /drawing assignments at ability level on topic Wednesday, lab day. Labs aimed at different ages, but they usually do them all together... labs are fun :) Thursday, additional reading day, notes optional. Use library books, videos, Internet resources, house source books, etc. Friday, individual projects and presentations (coincides with library day). They pick one thing or ask one question related to the topic, research it, and by the end of the day, present it to the family. This project really extends the scope of what we can cover in a year since we only have "science week" every other week! (Up to 2 hrs/day 5 days/week). This way we work and discuss quite a lot together, yet everyone gets customized reading, presentation, note taking, and writing work, but the planning is still super easy from my end!

From my perspective, and my kids may have a very different learning style than yours: 1. I think MCT helps enormously with spelling, more than many traditional spelling programs. The grammar stage vocabulary books focus on Latin word roots, which will be found throughout the English language, and as you learn to recognize and hear/spot those roots, you learn to spell those words with less effort instead of memorizing them as "exceptions" in spelling lists. It makes English spelling make a lot more sense! In the upper levels, it includes Greek, Old English, German, and other roots as well, making vocabulary and spelling an integrated study, and is quite effective. 2. Diagramming is introduced in logic stage rather than in grammar stage (Magic Lens level). It just isn't given central focus in the program. 3. I find the grammar teaching to be extremely thorough. I grew up as the daughter of a highly talented English teacher, and one of my degrees is in linguistics, and I have no complaints about how thorough the program is thus far. I have DS9 using Town level (after a year of Rod and Staff) and DS12 using the first Magic Lens level (after a year of GWG and Grammarlogues). I find MCT not only does a fantastic job of teaching grammar, but of illuminating or the student how the sentence structures and parts of speech and poetics all work together (or against each other, in poorly crafted work) so they can see WHY grammar matters. Very few programs ever get to the level of demonstrating the relatedness of all those structures we simply use without thought when speaking! My 9YO with language difficulties can now explain clearly where and why nominative and predicate pronouns are used. The practice books are essential as a part of the program, and are part of the teaching of the grammar; the grammar instruction is not all in just the main introductory book-- skip the workbook, skip the heart of the program where the learning takes place. 4. Many people don't like the writing instruction. I am working through Paragraph Town with DS9, and so far, so good. However, we have enjoyed WWE and IEW and Unjournaling in the past and don't want to ditch them. I have no opinion on the writing component, good or bad, other than the book is a delight to read. Sooooo... I don't find a lot that is lacking or needs supplementation. There isn't a lot about punctuation, but punctuation is not rocket science; just teach them the rules and consistently make them correct errors. MCT does teach the trickier stuff such as punctuating clauses correctly. I love the way the poetry, vocabulary/spelling, grammar, and practice books all reinforce each other's concepts. I love how it makes grammar less intimidating, and make sense. I love how it isn't at all scripted, yet gives you what you need to discuss everything with your kiddo without a bunch of prep work-- it is open and go. I love that the writing books are funny and that my 9YO begs to do grammar and vocabulary, subjects that "should" be onerously difficult for him, but at which he now excels. It is parent intensive, but that's okay-- I signed up for that when I chose to homeschool!

How solid are they in Fractions and Decimals and Percents? If they are solid, maybe sigh, figure Singapore might have been nice, but that ship has perhaps sailed, and the kids are ready for a pre-algebra program? Ditch the state textbook and get a good solid program and move on. If you teach them well and solidly, the test will take care of itself. (Or, as a PP suggested, get the Spectrum test prep book and spend a couple of weeks with that before testing).

My kids and I all have the Nook Simple Touch (mine has the glow-lite, so even though it is still e-ink and not backlit-- easier on the eyes-- no separate book light is needed). Adjusting the font is simple, and you can borrow from the library as well as everything else. These things are rugged, and the B&N customer service was superb when TSA made a concerted effort to deliberately shatter my original Nook.

SOTW Story of the World, written by Susan Wise Bauer (SWB-- she gets her own abbreviation) hostess of this Forum and author of The Well Trained Mind (TWTM). If you want to give SWB a monster headache and cause her to bang her head on her desk repeatedly, go ahead and start commenting on whether SOTW is secular or non-secular. (*Please do not actually do this. I think SWB is a rather neat person ** and don't want her to hurt herself) (**blatant suck-up). AG-- often refers to the activity guide that goes with SOTW. HO can get confusing: commonly, History Odyssey, a curriculum plan by Pandia Press that follows the 4-year cycle proposed in TWTM and also follows classical schooling structure, in organizing learning around the grammar, logic, and rhetoric stages of learning (some people confuse the four year cycle with classical learning, but that is simply one method of implementing it). This HO uses SOTW in its grammar stage level history program (often equal to grades 1--4 if your child were in school). HO, or Hum.Od is also Human Odyssey, a 3-part textbook used by many during logic stage years for its clear writing and secular approach, not to be confused with the Spielvogel book of the same name, which is a denser volume for a slightly older audience. MFW is My Father's World-- someone else can correct me, but I think this one is non-secular HofAC is Hands of A Child-- a series of unit studies across several subjects and age ranges, some secular, some not. MOH -- Mystery of History. I could tell you, but then I would have to kill you. It IS a mystery after all. Maybe I should limit my posting when running a high fever....

Hands of a Child has nice lap book units.

Biology by Campbell and Reese is a classic for a good reason. (High school) Human Molecular Genetics by Strachan and Reade is ambitious, but outstanding if you have a budding geneticist in the house. (High school). I will update if I can recall my favorite micro book, but the Campbell book should cover micro for the high school level.

It's a nice idea, and you can do this, but with maybe just a bit of an expansion of US history during years 3 and 4. I don't recall much coverage of some fascinating (and fairly important) people in SOTW3 such as Benjamin Franklin; be a shame to leave him out (forgive me if I picked on the wrong oversight as I do not have the book in front of me). But in proportion to is not some magical mathematical formula in the case of history; the idea is to keep some balance. It is, however, not all that abnormal for a child to have a good foundation in their own history and not have it glossed over, either. What many of us hope to avoid is the totally Americentric, me-centric teaching of history that makes the rest of the world a mere footnote. However, one must not tip too far in other direction, either. It is neither embarrassing nor rude to obtain an excellent grasp of one's own history alongside world history-- it is, in fact, good civics. Some of the silliest political argument we see on the news and in coffee shops (by people who share our right to vote!!) happens thanks to people who fail to grasp both US and world history. PS. I am not suggesting SOTW is light on US history-- it actually has a fair amount. I just also sympathize with people who want to extend it a bit. Just as if you live in Germany or England, it would be quite natural to extend those units.

Okay, for anybody who has a kiddo who loves both history and hairdressing-- who knew that was a thing? http://www.openculture.com/2013/02/how_a_baltimore_hairdresser_became_a_world-renowned_hair_archaeologist_of_ancient_rome.html <Baltimore hairdresser challenges dogma that fancy hairstyles on Roman busts and sculptures must be wigs, studies texts and decides they were translated incorrectly, discovers how to recreate the hairstyles. Includes video.>

If you stick with SOTW for years 1--4 you will get plenty of American history. Even in ancients and medieval times, we meet early native Americans and the Vikings. During early modern and modern, you can expand the America chapters as needed to include time to explore more deeply or read more. We have used History Odyssey (which includes SOTW) but I tossed in America units from Hands of A Child to expand it a bit, and we checked a pile of books out of the library-- everything from Paul Revere and Ben Franklin (he LOVED "Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia) to Daniel Boone and Annie Oakley as well as fiction. I am thinking of condensing history to a three year cycle in logic stage, with year four dedicated to just American History. Then in High School, my plan is two years of world history, one year of American government and economics (semester each) with a final year of student choice-- AP course, college course, or some focused course of his own design and choosing, such as Tudor Enlgland or WWII or whatever. Many colleges I have skimmed for admissions seem to specify a year of American studies of some type.

Your child is 7. Place value will come up again ... And again... And again. Seriously, it comes up again in Singapore 5A. I don't mean to trivialize understanding concepts, but if this child has just done MM1A, then the topic is just being introduced at this point, not mastered. My gifted child (yes, gifted with a specific strength in mathematics!) was still reversing digits in early third grade-- writing 31 for 13, for example (no, he's not dyslexic, either-- and now at age 9 he's buzzing through Singapore PM 5 and no longer reversing anything), at about age 8. Some of it at that age can be simply developmental. Can he tell you the answers verbally? Draw a picture or show you with manipulatives? If so, then it isn't a place value problem; it's a writing thing. If that's it, let him keep going on math and work on the writing separately (and support the math by helping him write for now, or putting a dot under reversals and having him fx them without making it an issue). But he will see place value again and again and again. He will get more chances to develop his understanding.