We use whatever size paper we have on hand. You definitely need some thick paper for painting though. Thin paper curls and isn't as pleasing. I bought a medium size, heavy-duty paper on sale and we use that for the paint-heavy projects. We use the Crayola model magic and love it. I've also purchased clay from the Dollar store, which was definitely a case of getting what you pay for. It was difficult to work with and took forever to harden. But...when it did harden, it was like rock...at which point the project was bumped, fell and broke into a dozen pieces. LOL

I would keep writing fun. Peak her interest and let her know it doesn't have to be an awful experience. Sign up for the Bravewriter daily email tips and give them a try. They are free, so you've got nothing to lose! :) It won't be a "curriculum" but they are activities that will get her writing and hopefully enjoying the process.

If I remember correctly, I think Dell will give student pricing to homeschoolers as well. Worth asking, anyways. :)

Geocaching! There are tons of sites for kids. Lots are free and some have memberships.

If BJU worked, I'd go back to that. Have you checked the TG cd for extra word problems? There's a wealth of info on those beauties. I've personally never found the program to be lacking. It is super time consuming, however.

The Peggy Kaye book is a wealth of easy to play games. Math war is also a great one to play with just a deck of cards.

Another vote for Dell. We've had really amazing service with them. My warranty had been up for over a year, but the customer service guy still spent over an hour on the phone with me walking me through the steps of how to wipe the computer after I got a virus on it. Our last system was bought at Best Buy. They are fantastic -- until you walk out the door with your shiny new purchase. Their tech team is not very knowledgeable - at all. I dropped my laptop off for warranty-covered repairs (it's a Lenovo) and they forgot to plug it in, decided to do some updates and drained the battery and still hadn't done the warranty work, so I had to come back to town (we are almost an hour out) another day to pick the system up. We've had other bone-head type issues like that. We've had that Lenovo in twice now, though it is working fine now. We've also had an Asus laptop in the past that needed two major repairs in the first year, but is now 4+ years old and still working.

I might have to give that a go. At least that way I won't feel so bad about spending money on yet another book that sits collecting dust! lol

I'm excited to try it. We were using Fix It! this year, but it wasn't a great fit. I think the cards are going to be really good for my oldest, but I can definitely see my middle kiddo not needing them as much.

I bit the bullet and just ordered everything. I figured I'd better be safe than sorry and I didn't want to get the order and then realize I needed extra items and have to pay shipping for a second order.

This isn't what you asked for at all, but I saw this awhile ago and though it was so cool. If you're working on the periodic table, it might be fun. :) http://teachbesideme.com/periodic-table-battleship/

I'm embarrassed to admit, I have the VP History cards sitting on a shelf and I kept thinking of using them for review, but it never occurred to me to actually use them for lessons. See? My brain is muddled when it comes to history! LOL I haven't heard of Greenleaf Press. Off to check it out! :)

I agree with others about seeking an evaluation. While you wait, I'd do copywork and lots of reading. Out of curiosity, how does she copy from dictation? If she can transfer what she hears to paper, you could try having her record her work and then copy it from dictation. We've used a few levels of Essentials in Writing, and it is a very gentle program, but it won't go back as far as you need to, unless you started at the very beginning grade levels. Writing Skills, as another poster suggested, may work well. Starting with the A level would probably be best.

I felt the same way, but didn't want to say so! I was sure I was somehow missing the point of the entire mapping process. LOL Glad I'm not the only one that skips it!

I am starting Winston Grammar next year with 2 kids. We are starting with the basic level. Do I need a extra student pack? Or can I make it work with just one set? And do I need the supplementary book and key?

We tried RS B with my middle kiddo and it bombed here. She was very bored and didn't like the hands on aspect like I had expected. In RS's defense, if I had been more familiar with the program I could have probably figured out how to jump ahead, but I found it jumped around so much that I wasn't really sure how to fast track it.

I would say her sentences are exactly what I'd expect from a 6 year old. :) You could try some "stretch the sentence" activities. If she struggles with it though, I'd just drop it. Her sentences will improve as she continues to become a stronger reader. I'm really more in the camp of copywork for that age. Producing original sentences can be very tough at that age.

We ditched SOTW as a spine because I didn't like how some topics were taught. I preferred MoH...which really brings us full circle. lol I can't put my finger on what exactly my issue is right now, to be honest, which could very likely mean that it's just a "February break-down" type of moment. I am prone to those....

We stumbled at clocks too (using Math Mammoth and other curriculums). I just set it aside and reintroduce it in a few months, or even a year. Once they are ready, it all comes together very quickly. :)

RS4K Physics & Chemistry would be great for those ages. I have used the Pre-Level 1 Physics & we will use the Chemistry this year. We did the Physics last year and the kids loved it. It definitely just skims the surface, but it's a fun, entry-level program. I usually suck at experiments, but these were easy to do and they fit well with the reading. It is very easy to tweak and make more "meaty" with extra books. Cons: It is pricey and short (I think we covered it in 9 weeks?) Oh, I only ordered one set and had the kids use notebooks for their lab work. It saves on the cost a bit.

The checklist is a good idea. I haven't heard of Guesthollow, so will have to check that out.

Trouble is, I have a love/hate with SOTW too. I'm very hard to please, apparently. LOL

Math games! Ones I can think of off the top of my head: Rightstart Games, 7 Ate 9 (I actually saw this mentioned recently and went to buy it when I realized we already have it.), All Hands on Deck dice games and Learning Wrap-Ups. I still think they are all great...we just never seem to get to them and they aren't games the kids pull out on their own, so they sit and collect dust. :( We also never use our Abacus. None of my kids have found it a useful manipulative. On the flip side, our counting bears, base 10 blocks and snap cubes get used all the time. Flashcards never get used here either. And all this talk has reminded me that I really want to get the Math U See Fraction overlays because I think they are pretty awesome.

Forgive me if this is scattered. :banghead: This is me and history right now. We are using MoH Vol 1, with a bit of reading from SOTW 1 thrown in. We are slogging through, but not really engaging. There is just so much with MoH. The tests, reviews, memory cards, maps... We skip most of it now, but that annoys me because it is such a pricey book to just be using the stories. I struggle to get books ordered in for when we need them, so our extra reading is very limited. We had the Usborne & Kingfisher books for awhile, but the kids didn't care for them. The kids enjoyed making Trojan horses and doing hieroglyphics, etc but these are things I found online for them. I can't say I am overly thrilled with the majority of the projects offered in MoH. I also really liked that MoH included so much of the bible in the history...but now I am finding that it's all bible and so little of everything else. Or that's how it feels anyways. I am not sure what I want to do! Help! I have debated about dropping MoH in favor of a thematic approach to the ancients -- but I don't have time to plan something like this right now. Does something like this already exist? A tried-and-true book list, some crafts and some notebooking and I'd be set... I have TFB, so would like to add in History Pockets... Or...I've considered slowing things down and taking 2 years to cover MoH vol.1 and adding in more fun stuff. But this seems like a lot of extra work. It really, really annoys me that MoH stomps on people who make things to accompany their books. I've considered jumping ship back to SOTW just for the ease of finding more "extras". There is so much to be gained by allowing the creativity of others to expand on your product, I think they are doing a disservice by squelching this...but that's another vent. Please, tell me what to do! My brain is mush. (Oh, I need something that will work for all three kids - 12, 10 and 6)

I second the recommendation for ETC. We don't start copywork selections until we have finished the first couple of ETC books. Basically, I wait to start copywork until writing each letter is automatic, however long that takes. If they are still concentrating on how to form each letter, a sentence can be very intimidating.