I usually do a search for the book titles of some books they have read recently and "reading level" and get a general idea.

I would go with WWS. WWS expects students to start off writing narrations, but then adds every thing else incrementally. If your ds has any trouble with the narrations, you could step back and work on that aspect of his writing before continuing with WWS.

We love the Aesop series from Royal Firework Press. We use it as a supplement to our other language arts programs. Each lesson has a fable to read, vocabulary, and a picture to color with a place to write a very short narration. Then there are two more pages of writing activities to go with the fable. We have liked it because the activities are different with every story. To give you an idea of the level, I am using it with ds, who is a few lessons away from finishing WWE2 and Grammar Island. Aesop is pretty easy for him, which is probably why he likes it, but I don't think I will start it with my next ones until they can write a minimum or 2-3 sentences without too much effort. ETA: "Activities" makes them sound like the chapter suggestions on MCT's Island or Town. Aesop has things like writing a letter, writing a new ending to the story, doing a puppet show, drawing pictures for the beginning, middle and end, etc.

We are using Year 2 this year with a D and a LG. I love it. This is our first year homeschooling and TOG is one of the only thing that I started with in August and I am still using.

You could use WWS for writing. It can be student-led. As for math, it depends on what level he is working at. If he is working at 5th grade level at school but just needs some extra at home, you could get the Singapore IP and CWP books. If he is more advanced than that, you could try AoPS Pre-Algebra or another pre-algebra like Lial or Dociani. If you do go with pre-algebra, do a search on the logic boards, because there has been a lot of discussion of pre-algebra.

You can buy Bill Nye episodes in iTunes.

I was just searching on their forums for this. Marcia said that they are going to release Year 1 Unit 1 this spring and then they will release the others as they finish them. It doesn't sound like they are going to have all of the units finished very soon.

:bigear:

There was a thread recently about people who don't like MCT. You might search for it. My ds loves it and is doing great. DD doesn't like it at all, so I can't recommend it 100%, but I think that if it clicks with your ds, then it is a good program.

Thanks!

I have never used Sonlight, but I have used TOG and I love it. But I wouldn't use it with a 6-year-old. For me, it is too much money to spend for that age group. But if you do decided to buy TOG, here are the answers to some of your other questions. Planning is not that difficult, once you get into it. It takes time, though. I like having the print copy, but the DE is nice because you get the updates. It is a personal preference of whether you like to have everything on the computer or have a hard copy. Don't buy a used copy without the loom CD - it has a lot of helpful information. Have you looked at STOW? You might be able add lots of extra reading to STOW and get something similar to TOG or Sonlight.

I think it also depends on the child. DD did not like it and we have moved on. DS thinks it is fabulous. He loves the stories and he is (so far) retaining everything we have covered.

:iagree: I am using Apple with a preschooler and it is going very well. You don't need to start there with a 4th grader. Unless you have a very mathy child or an older child, you may also want to work through a 6th grade program before switching over to AoPS prealgebra.

We were combining for a while, but we quit and have only been doing WWS for the last couple of weeks. We were doing all of WWS and then focusing on dictation, word analysis and imitation, and sentence analysis in CW. I think that in some areas, like outlining and summary, WWS is more efficient and dd likes the samples better. But for word analysis and sentence analysis, CW has a lot of depth. I wish I could see the end picture for WWS and WWStyle to know if that is the direction we want to take.

Amazon has used copies for $15. http://www.amazon.com/Human-Odyssey-Vol-Prehistory-Through/dp/1931728534/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329521315&sr=8-1-spell

I can't recommend, because I haven't used it yet. I think that I will try WT1 when we need a break from WWE and MCT.

:bigear: - because I have a similar problem. Have you done MCT Town, yet? I have been looking at Writing Tales since it adds in some creative writing to the rewrites. I would like to save WWS until at least 4th, but I have a lot of time to fill before then.

That is a lot of great information Thank you!

Thanks for the help. I was afraid that it would be like that from looking at the info on the Tapestry site. I didn't use Y1 this year since they were updating. I guess I will just have to wait and see what they change.

I have been using TOG Y2 mostly secularly, and it is going well. Would I be able to do the same with Y1? Are there weeks when the majority of reading is from the bible or will I always have choices, like I do for Y2? I will have a D, UG, and LG. Thanks!

The first chapter of AoPS Pre-Algebra is basic operations, but not regular ol' basic operations. Remember that the people at AoPS have the ability to take something simple and make it very difficult.

We have used both. We alternated for a while, but at this point in the year, both of my dc have chosen to the one they like better, and they are only using one. DD prefers KISS and ds prefers MCT.

We do both WWE and MCT and it is working well. They work on different skills, so you won't really be repeating things between the two programs.

If I were to use TOG without the library, I would copy the whole list of books into excel and then go through them and look at reviews and cost and then decide which ones to use. You certainly don't need to buy all 60 of the books that they list. You will probably want a history book and a literature book for every week and then you can add in whatever extras you are doing, like the activity or worldview books. You could also buy the main books that are used week after week and then supplement with whatever books your library happens to have, even if they are not the recommended titles.

Are you planning to buy them all or get them from the library? I narrowed it down based upon what was available at my library and then bought a few the ones that were used a lot and had good reviews on Amazon. You can also just choose a booklist that only has the main books (history and literature) and start there and then add in other books that you like or think your kids will like. Also, if you are using the library, I found that my library had more of the alternate books or the books from past years than the ones on the current list.