Same here! What other science will you use with it? I am pulling that together now. One thing I am thinking about is to use CPO Earth Science but spreading that book out over two years. I am also looking at some Ellen McHenry and living books. But at the absolute minimum, if he completes two lessons per week (4 pages) from the text, he will not get "behind." As a newbie homeschool mom, there is ample peace in that alone:) I don't know if the Cambridge exams are important to you or not, but they are important to us. I am going to teach my son how to use Anki, and have him input relevant science facts from the text (e.g., types of joints). Anki uses spaced repetition and that should help him with long-term retention. I have the workbook and Teacher's Guide on order and can report later on those.

Laura, How does a homeschooler take an IGCSE exam? IF we stay in Denmark long enough and IF homeschooling works out for us, I would like my son to eventually take the IGCSE exams. Sorry if this is off-topic...feel free to PM me.

Just a few more thoughts on the books for Cambridge International Science (specifically Secondary 1): For Galore Park, you would just need to buy one text (So You Really Want to Learn Science Book 2). Roughly, the first third of the book is Biology, second third is Chemistry and the final third is Physics. For the Cambridge University Press Series, you would need to purchase three texts: Year 7, Year 8, and Year 9. The whole series is new. Year 9 has not been released. I was not able to look at its table of contents. I am thinking that the Cambridge U series is more appealing if you like a spiral approach. Year 7 covers a few systems of the human body then Year 8 covers some different systems. Galore Park certainly seems to have A LOT more detail in its text, but Cambridge U does match up beautifully with the Cambridge Secondary curriculum. The Cambridge U books are endorsed by the exam board, and I do not see Galore Park on the list. Galore Park says that it goes with the UK Key Stage 3 and they are probably not the exact same thing. Maybe someone from the UK would know the difference. I am only familiar with the Cambridge International, and that is the curriculum we plan to follow - heading for the IGCSE exams eventually. If you go here you can look at the Cambridge curriculum as well as the recommended texts (Resource List). You might want to also look at this Cambridge Checkpoint series ; it is also listed as an endorsed series. Personally, I would like to add quite a bit of Earth Science to the curriculum. HTH. I am leaning toward using the Year 7 book from Cambridge. I think it will allow my son to follow the curriculum while still allowing for ample supplemental science reading time. And I like the spiral approach.

A thousand thanks! (That would be tusind tak in Danish, LOL). I am equal parts excited and nervous. For those who are interested in the Cambridge International Curriculum, you might want to look at this recent thread. FWIW, I think that the content of Galore Park science is solid. I just don't like the busy layout or the illustrations.

Many of the students who take the Cambridge International curriculum through school are not native English speakers. The back of the book notes that the language is "accessible to students of a wide range of abilities." That may account for the perception that the book is written to a younger student. I have this book and the Galore Park books. I am really planning to go through both and make a comparison, but it might take me some days until I can post it.

The Cambridge International Primary Curriculum takes you through to about age 11 / 5th grade. Here is the link . I *really* wish that I could warm up to the Galore Park Books, as they do follow the syllabus quite well. I also bought this Cambridge Coursebooks for Year 7. It is new. And it is thin. Thin=nice if I want to ensure that he gets the Cambridge content but would prefer to round out the year with non-textbook supplements. My dilemma is that I love,love,love the CPO books but they don't really line up with Cambridge. ETA: Cambridge Year 7 is equivalent to American Grade 6. HTH

Next year will be our first year at home, and I would love to have a critique of our plan. We did A LOT of afterschooling this year, so some of what I have planned is already mid-stream. DS11 is a rising 6th grader. He is a strong (but not voracious) reader. Math: Math Mammoth and LOF. We have been usiing these already, and the combo is working for him. Vocabulary: MCT Caesar's English is planned, but I am tempted by the Salier Oxford series. DS18 used that series beginning in 6th grade and it served him quite well. But the MCT book looks like such a great program! Spelling: DS is a natural speller. We have been doing studied dictation twice per week, and we will continue doing it. I think that this is enough for him for spelling. Writing: I would like to do WWS, but I think that DS will need more variety. I think that WWS will appropriately challenge him, so I am still mulling this over. I would like to figure out a way to use WWS without it taking over ALL of his writing time. Literature: Read and discuss. Perhaps some written narration. Grammar: Currently working through R & S5. We will just keep going! History: WTM method using the white Kingfisher and...still mulling over the booklist. Science: I want to continue with the Cambridge International sequence, which means that the year will be divided into thirds: biology, chemistry and physics. Earth science gets woven into these three categories. I already own the CPO Science books and I LOVE them. I also own Galore Park's So You Want to Learn Science 2. Galore Park follows the Cambridge curriculum, but I really don't care for it :( Logic: Prufrock Press series Music: Piano Art: Creek Edge Task Cards + Drawing (his choice). For drawing, I am looking into Artistic Pursuits, Draw Squad, Drawing with Children, Draw and Write Through History, Mapping the World through Art. Undecided. Foreign Language: Lots and lots of Danish :) Oh, and I am only ready to homeschool because I have spent COUNTLESS hours reading these forums for the last six months. All of you have done so much for me already!!!

Cosmos, YES!!!!! That is the thread that I remembered, and I will subscribe to it. Thank you so much.

I vaguely recall a thread that discussed topic preparation for WWS. I have searched for the thread...but I give up :( If you provide or assign background material for the WWS assignments, how do you do it? I think that my son would benefit from the readings more if he were prepped a bit with the relevant history or science topic. But we will be taking a very slow pace through WWS, and I am cautious about adding even MORE to the program.

Your answers are very helpful. Thank you!

Inspired by a post about reading stamina on the K-8 board, I want to ask a similar question here. I am wondering how long I should expect a logic-age child to read in a single sitting. DS11 is a strong reader. His comprehension and vocabulary are fine. I think that he needs more stamina. By this, I am meaning the ability to sit with a book for X amount of time without losing focus. What would you consider a normal amount of sitting time with a meaty science or history book? How about fiction, assuming that the fiction is challenging rather than a page-turner-can't-I-stay-up-later-and-finish type of fiction?

I have the same issue with my DS11. He is a very strong reader but he needs to build his stamina. I like fairy4mama's suggestion to gradually increase the amount of time at one sitting. I am going to try something similar with my logic-aged fellow. In fact, you are inspiring me to hop over to the middle grades board to post a similar question :) And while I think that stamina (referring to time spent with the book in a single sitting) is important, I am not bothered that my son balks at THICK books as long as he has no problem with DIFFICULT books. It isn't too hard to find relatively thin, challenging books. After all, some picture books have a very high reading level. And the right short stories or thin novels can provide the same rich language experience as a longer work. This is true all the way through - William Faulkner comes to mind:)

sierramv1, Yes, it is a Memoria Press product. It's a bit tricky to find, because you have to know to look in the American/Modern section. Here is the link. You have to scroll down to get to it.

I just got MP "Middle East, North Africa & Europe" Geography book. Is that the one that you mean? I like the student text but not the workbook. I think that the student text would be a great supplement to any history or geography program. Each country has a "History's Headlines" section and a "Tour of Today" section. For most entries, the History's Headlines portion is at least 50% of the text. One reason that I wanted it is because each European country has its own page. This is not so easy to find. For example, I also own Evan-Moor's Europe (The 7 Continents series) and while it covers some great topics it doesn't get any narrower than region (Norther Europe, Southern Europe, etc.). But the workbook looks like a snore to me and I'm not going to use it! On top of that, I don't think that the outline maps are very good and they are kind of small. Often only 1/2 the page. There are much better ones available out there IMO. I'll glean some ideas from it, but I will have my son do map work from a different source. If you decide to purchase, take a look at the MP forum for errata. The series was recently in beta and some corrections were noted there. HTH!

I am considering HSing for my rising 6th grader next year. In this case, the socialization issue IS an obstacle and I would welcome suggestions for overcoming it. Our other sons are grown, so this fantastic child is like an only in many ways. We live overseas, and the language barrier limits the availability of extracurricular activities. He is part of a sports team and we are looking for other possibilities. Ideas?

We are using MM topics (the ones that fall in line with 5th/6th grade). Most of the time I do some supplemental instruction on our white board and we have used Maria's videos. The problems are the reason that I love,love,love MM. Their sequential nature is instructive, too.

I am trying to choose between Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia 3rd edition and 2006 edition. I wish that I could look inside the newer edition - I like the format of the 2006 edition. Can anyone compare the formats of the two editions? Or tell me a little bit about the format of the 3rd edition?

desertmum, I used to get VERY frustrated trying to help my children with math. I am "mathy," and but my way of doing or explaining was inevitably met with "But that is not how my teacher showed us!" The best thing that I ever did for our afterschooling was to just let the teacher do his or her thing...and I do mine. For my 5th grader, we are oh-so-happily using Math Mammoth. We just move through as we please and I never try to sync up with the classwork/homework. I tend toward being hands-off with homework. For the most part, I consider homework to be an entity best left between the student and the teacher. Years ago, I read John Rosemond's "Ending the Homework Hassle" and adopted much (but not all) of his philosophy. That being said, it is not all-or-nothing. My son had to take a standardized test earlier this year and I tutored him through some problem solving methodologies that were important for that particular test. The other day I showed him a way to work with percents that is different from the way the teacher is doing percents. And then I showed him how some problems are easier to do one way and others are easier to do the other way. Wow, that was a long answer...and that is just for math, LOL. I think that it is easier for older children to understand that afterschooling adds to their toolbox. The issue is bigger with younger children. Hopefully your little guy will get a teacher who communicates clear expectations. If not - ask. Where should his name go? Upper right hand corner or left? What style of handwriting do you teach? Etc. ETA: I agree with Roadrunner. I have rarely had the need or occasion to discuss afterschooling with anyone at school. On those occasions, I describe what we do as tutoring. And I do think of myself as a tutor.

Deee, Do you have an other recommended resources for Set Theory? Glad you liked the site!

I like Maps, Charts, Graphs from Modern Curriculum Press. There are eight levels to the series (A to H). You can see samples on the Christian Book Distributors website.

My son took American Government (not the AP version) through Aventa. I really wasn't involved in the course, but I do remember that he liked it well enough and that communication with the teacher was easy and replies were prompt.

My son enjoyed doing these logic puzzles, especially the ones with Venn Diagrams and Set Notation. Lots of good math on the site, actually. Units 1 and 13 are the logic puzzles. Just thought that I would share!

nd293, I got the new, expanded version and I also had to take the leap of faith that international shipping requires! I feel your $$$ pain. PM me if you have any specific questions about this edition. I have only skimmed through it, but I am excited about it. Each lesson can be seems subdivided. In the Implementation section, MCT writes about the power of "just" reading and discussing. I read that and felt so...validated! I try to harness the power of oral work whenever possible:)

We are using the Key To series for review. At the beginning of math time, my son does a single sheet from a Key To book and it is always review. I also bring them when we travel - they are so easy to pack! I feel the same way about LOF. It works great for my son after he has learned the core content elsewhere. He tried to do LOF fractions before he knew much about fractions and it was quite frustrating. But once he knew more about fractions, he returned to LOF Fractions and discovered that it really opened up this thinking on the subject.

I remember reading somewhere that Minn of the Mississippi has a higher reading level than the others, but I am not sure if that is true. So far we have just done Paddle to the Sea. My son really enjoyed it and he learned a lot, too.