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DD (15) is using TT Alg 1 this year. Next year she switches to an integrated math program. I'd like to find a math to use over the summer that will give her a refresher and prep her for grade 10 math in the fall. I'm thinking mastery, so she can easily test out of topics she knows well, and something that also includes easy-to-follow teaching. Suggestions?

Same in our house. Another thing we've done is to keep reading instruction as fun and interesting as we can. I have 2 dyslexics, so they spent a LOT of time learning to read. Keeping them from getting discouraged has been key.

I didn't read through all the replies, so forgive me if this has been mentioned - but for missing number problems, we used the MUS blocks. They are amazing, because it's a visual of those problems and helped everything click.

Middle kiddo isn't dyslexic. I kept feeling like we needed to be doing MORE. It just seemed too easy and I was constantly thinking "she can't know this! We've only done it once!" lol

I prefer the upper grades. They do seem to sit better for the videos once they are older. The lessons are all on the DVD's, so I don't think it would work without them. I do not like the grammar portions at all, and we have always skipped them. I also dislike that they no longer offer the workbook on PDF. 😞

Oldest and youngest are dyslexic. Until middle child learnt to read, I thought people were making stuff up about kids "just knowing how to read." lol I feel like I have done nothing but teach phonics for years and years. Someone asked me what I was going to do when my kids graduated, if I'd go into teaching - I laughed and then wanted to cry. I can not teach another child to read. I can't. It's not in me. I don't know how teachers do it. Youngest finally took a jump this year and stopped sounding out every.single.word. It might have been the best single moment of my entire life. LOL

I just realized that this thread applies to me. Tentative plan for next year: Math: TT Alg 1 Not decided on this now... LA: Finishing AAS, EiW, EiL or Lightning Lit, possibly Vocab from Classical Roots Science: No idea God's Design series (as I already have them) and will add in some library books, etc. History: No idea I think we've decided to try out Notgrass From Adam to Us. Language: She isn't decided on this yet Art: basically whatever suits her fancy. She loves anything art, so we basically just scour the internet for ideas, borrow books from the library and go through a ton of art supplies. PE: Swimming, curling, golf and possibly soccer... And now I'm slightly panicked regarding science and history. lol Feeling better about Science & History, but rethinking math. It just never ends....

For my oldest (also dyslexic) we use a combo of things - AAS (at the pace of one lesson per week), Spelling City and she uses an app called Spell Better. It was free when we got it, but not sure if it still is. It's great though, as it is very good at deciphering phonetic spelling. There is also a built in pronunciation and dictionary, which is very helpful. Even then, it has taken a long time for her spelling to improve and she's better spelling in isolation than in her other writing, where she's got more thoughts and such going through her head. Teaching her to carefully proof read her work has been essential. Having her type finished work into the computer has been very helpful, as the spell check picks up what she misses.

...and now I want to buy another math program....lol

I'd love to hear what you think of the grading service. We are looking at adding it on next year.

We started using SWI B this spring, having never used IEW writing before. I didn't watch the TWSS videos and never plan to. The SWI B videos are lengthy and honestly, soooo much dribble could be edited out! We did enjoy his teaching and I like how he addresses certain skills. I made sure to watch the videos with my daughter so that I knew what was going on. We started off the year really loving the program, but I've kind of lost the love now. I have trouble seeing the big picture with this program. After a semester of work we have several re-worded paragraphs. I *know* there is more at work in those paragraphs...but it does bother me a bit. I'd like it to move at a bit of a quicker pace. I am really wishing we'd went with a theme book instead. I haven't found the concepts difficult to understand and have heard that the theme books stream-line things...but take this with a grain of salt, as I haven't used one.

We are looking at trying from Adam to Us next year (with an 8th grader and 5th grader). What do I *need* to buy for 2 students? And does anyone skip the extra literature? Would I be missing something vital from the program if we didn't add these in?

This is good to know. I may need to adjust my expectations/budget. We've never done an outside class like this, so I wasn't sure what cost should be...

I am looking for recommendations on a creative writing class for my 12 year old. She loves to write and we're looking for something fun and encouraging that will help her grow her writing skills. I've googled and found several, but I'd love some feedback on classes/teachers. I also need this to be cost effective. This is just an add on for us, so under $100 would be ideal.

I'd love to know a break down of how you use Megawords! I don't know why I am having issues wrapping my mind around how to use it, but I just always seem to be at a loss.

Same thing here. We started this in the fall, but it just never got done and their eyes just seemed to glaze over when we read. Hoping it will be better 2nd semester...

My oldest has dyslexia and took a lot of time to become fluent. Youngest has been the same, so we've been slooooowly and consistently moving forward. A few weeks ago he had a "click" moment and he picked up his sisters Warriors book and started reading it. He still needs a little help with some of the words, but he's been telling me back what is happening and he's loving it! Only trouble is , with his excitement, he has very little follow through on books now. He keeps picking up every book he finds and reading a few pages and then switching. lol Santa brought him the first book in the Hank series (which has dyslexia font, which I didn't realize when I ordered) and he's reading that now. It is just so encouraging and heart-warming to see him so excited. He's put in a lot of hard work and really needed this break through.

Rewards is very easy to implement. I looked over it when I got it and we started the next day. I used it as a remedial program with my oldest though, so I can't comment on readers to use alongside. I did tear the binding off of the student book and put the pages in page protectors. This way she could mark on the pages and erase if needed for extra practice.

https://jackrispublishing.com/collections/growing-with-grammar

We're in Canada also. We ended up doing testing through a local university and it was $500. Not sure if that's an option for you or not. In our case, the testing itself didn't actually tell us anything we didn't already know, but I'm glad we had it done so that we have accommodations, if needed. Creating a paper trail in elementary school AND in high school is important. I've heard that the school system really starts to buck accommodations if they haven't been tested in elementary. I imagine this varies from school to school, but we decided to make sure we had things in place now. As our tester pointed out, even if she doesn't need many accommodations in school, having them in place ensures she gets them in university too - and seriously - being allowed extra time (for example) on a uni exam is a huge game changer!