We have 2 homeschool bookstores near us. Yes, we're in TX. I didn't realize they were uncommon in other states. I feel very fortunate. It really helps to see the books in person!

I believe the TWSS DVDs are essential. I watched TWSS and took lots of notes. Then I watched the SWI-A DVDs along with my son. It took awhile for me to feel comfortable teaching it, but my son has had great success with the IEW method so it's been worth the struggle.

Thanks for the reply. Supercharged Science looks interesting. Anyone else?

We still have a couple years, but I think I will need to outsource science at some point. Science is not my favorite subject and I feel like someone else will teach it better than me at the middle and high school level. The problem... there seems to be nowhere that offers secular science classes. The classes in our area use BJU, Apologia and Abeka. We believe in an old Earth so I think using those curricula would be confusing for my kids. Anyone else had this issue and how did you solve it?

I don't think the grammar in TLP is enough. I prefer a more thorough program like FLL in elementary. It might be enough as your child gets older and only needs review. The spelling and vocabulary is plenty and there is review throughout. The writing might be enough for your child. Each chapter has comprehension questions. Some are short answer and one or two can be used as writing assignments. My son struggles with writing and needs the step by step process in IEW for now. The best part for my son has been the vocabulary retention. We have tried other vocab resources and he hasn't retained nearly as much as TLP. I also like that he can work mostly independently. We get together each day to talk about the comprehension questions and for the spelling test each week. Otherwise, he does it all on his own now.

We used TLP last year and loved it. We completed 3 guides in 4th grade (Shiloh, Sign of the Beaver and The Whipping Boy). The first took longer than the other two because we were trying to figure out a schedule that worked for us. The other two took about 8 weeks to complete. The comprehension questions helped my son really think about what he was reading. He's had difficulty in the past getting his thoughts on paper so answering the questions after we went over them orally has helped. He retained the vocabulary words since they were learned in context and had no trouble with the spelling. We used FLL 4 as our grammar but the grammar in TLP was a nice review for him. We also use IEW for writing because he needs more help in that area. Overall, TLP has been a great success. We plan to do 3 more guides in 5th grade. We haven't used Bravewriter so I can't compare.

Another Time Travelers fan here. The kids loved it!

I looked at it at our homeschool convention and really wanted to buy it but didn't have that much in my budget. I was really excited to find the student book at a used book sale today but don't have the dvds. I think my kids will get a lot out of it even without the dvds but I'm interested in what everyone has to say about it.

What's the difference between red and white Kingfisher encyclopedias?

Luckily, we have a great library network so we have access to books from several city's libraries. My son loves to read so I think I'd go broke if I had to buy everything.

Looking at my last post, it does seem like a lot, but we still finish in 2 hours every day except for science and history. Since she has an older brother, we tag along with what he's doing in science and history usually but only because she's interested. If she's not one day, I don't push it. She also loves our art program and her music and PE classes. We have a pretty busy schedule most days but it fits our family.

Math - Singapore 2A / B, Life of Fred as a supplement Language Arts - McRuffy 2nd Grade Grammar - FLL 2 Spelling - AAS 3 Geography - Evan Moor Daily Geography 2 Logic - Lollipop Logic Book 2 History (we combine with older brother) - Finish SOTW 2 Begin SOTW 3 Time Travelers CDs Science - Sassafras Science Zoology Older brother is doing Elemental Science Chemistry so we will tag along for some of it Writing - PAL Writing Art - Home Art Studio Music - outside class PE - outside class

Thank you for posting about this deal! Perfect timing as we will be starting SOTW 3 in the fall. I just couldn't bring myself to pay $70.

Another bump... I have the same question.

Hits: Singapore Math All About Spelling IEW SWI-A and just started All Things Fun and Fascinating (love it even more and will probably start my next child with it now that I know how to teach the IEW way) Story of the World 2 Time Travelers New World Explorers First Language Lessons - so sad we are finishing the last book. We will try Junior Analytical Grammar for 5th Total Language Plus - BIG HIT with me and my 4th grader enjoys it too Getting Started with Spanish Home Art Studio - Art is finally getting done McRuffy Language Arts - I don't love it as much as FLL/AAS combo but dd does and is doing much better Misses: Mr Q Earth and Space - I felt like I had to supplement too much. We liked REAL Science Life experiments better last year but was too easy for ds. We will try Elemental Science next year. Hopefully, third curricula choice is a charm. :) Critical Thinking Co Word Roots - very little retention Wordly Wise 3000 Online - very little retention Overall, a successful year!

We have only done New World Explorers so far but we all love it. It is a lot of prep work. I spent several hours printing everything and we assemble the lapbook as we go. Not sure about the others but the lapbook and "cut and paste stuff" are a significant part of New World Explorers. I don't think I would have bought it if my kids didn't like that sort of thing.

We used McRuffy for 1st and plan to buy for 2nd. My daughter was bored with FLL 1 but she really loves McRuffy, especially the crosswords and other puzzles. The readers and grammar are just right for her but the spelling lists have been challenging at times. I prefer AAS for spelling because I believe it does a better job of teaching spelling rules. So we use McRuffy as our main language arts program, add in AAS and occasionally use FLL 1 & 2 (since I have it) to complement the grammar in McRuffy. We usually skip the writing in McRuffy because we get that in other areas. Like someone else said, I like more about McRuffy than I don't like. There isn't any all in one program I've found that is a perfect fit.

We use Total Language Plus. It incorporates those things plus reading comprehension, vocabulary, grammar. We are reading The Whipping Boy right now and my son has learned how to analyze how a character changes throughout the book. This study also teaches simile, metaphor and foreshadowing. The grammar section teaches adjectives and adverbs. Each book focuses on different "reading" topics. We try to do 3 studies per year. http://site.totallanguageplus.com/the-program/novel-groupings/ Click on the book you are interested in and it will show you what topics are covered.

We started homeschooling when my son was entering 3rd grade as well. We began with SOTW Ancients in 3rd, Middle Ages this year for 4th and I plan to spread out books 3 and 4 over 3 years so that I can add in more American history as it comes up in SOTW. We will use the Time Travelers CDs from Homeschool in the Woods for that along with lots of extra library books. After that, we will have time to do another complete history cycle through high school. I love the SOTW Activity Guide and there are also tests that we use for review. HTH and Good Luck!

We have done 2 books so far for 4th grade. We supplement grammar and writing but feel like the spelling and vocabulary are plenty. For some, the writing in TLP might be sufficient but it is one of the areas in which my son struggles so we use IEW as well.

Great resource! Thank you!

Here are our plans for next year: Math: Singapore Math 5A/B Grammar: Probably Hake 5 Writing: IEW SICC-A or theme based Total Language Plus Literature Guides History: Story of the World 3, Time Travelers to add in more US History Science: Chemistry - trying to decide between Ellen McHenry, Elemental Science and REAL Science Latin: Lively Latin or GSWL Geography: Evan Moor Daily Geography Art: Home Art Studio Thanks for this thread! It has shown me that I still have several decisions to make!

We received our DVDs today too! So excited to get started. Also got that email about the kits and wondering if it's worth it.

Thank you! I missed the last sale on Magic School Bus and the Carmen Sandiego series looks cool too!

We haven't used AAR but, my daughter is using McRuffy 1st grade now. I really like some aspects but the spelling is pretty challenging for my first grader. So we are continuing with AAS Level 2 because I think it gives a better explanation of spelling rules. She did AAS Level 1 last year. The reading and workbook exercises in McRuffy have been a big hit. Just wish the spelling lists were more like AAS.