Thank you! This looks like exactly what we are looking for. How would you compare Derek Owens to Thinkwell? K

Hi everyone, I need a new math solution for my current 8th grader. I have never used an online course, but I think that might be a perfect option for us for the rest of the school year. He is feeling done with homeschooling in general--big sister left after 8th grade and is now a sophomore in high school, and he is planning on heading to high school in the fall too. We've been using Singapore since 1st grade, but he is struggling with NEM 8th grade. Mostly though, he is just struggling these days with ME as his teacher. :) Do you have any recommendations? He responds very well to structure. I'm OK with rigorous, would prefer something he can do at his own pace (which would probably be fast, but flexibility would be nice). I would like him to be ready to start Geometry in the fall, so would love a course that offers a complete Algebra. He might be able to skip large sections, but something that tests his level would be great too. Thank you! Kristin

HI there, This year, I've been teaching chemistry to 3 6th grade boys. We started with Ellen McHenry's "The Elements" and then did the Real Science 4 Kids Chemistry book (middle school level). We are ready to move on to something new, any suggestions? Would Real Science 4 Kids high school be too much? Thanks for any suggestions. Kristin

I have an 8th grader who will be going to high school next year. All of a sudden I looked up and realized that we are 1/2 way through the school year and haven't been keeping up with grammar. We do Vocab Classical Roots, she has a Literature class (outside the home) that includes writing and reading. She has finished the entire Spelling Workout series and we went all the way through First Language Lessons and the portion of Advanced Language Lessons that SWB didn't finish publishing. She also did Voyages in English 6, and some of Rod and Staff 7. The problem for me is that FLL and ALL was so comprehensive, easy to use and great, that everything we've used since has just not been great for us. I'm so bummed that there is no curriculum for kids older than 6th grade from SWB. Does anyone have any suggestions for something we could try? Looking for 8th grade level, prefer something that includes diagramming and not too repetitive--she gets grammar pretty well and a lot of what I see seems just not advanced enough for this age. Rod and Staff is OK, but kind of overkill, seems better suited for a class, and is just too much. Thanks! Kristin in NYC (dd-13, ds-11, ds-5)

What about a different approach for science...like hiring a tutor, finding a few more kids to do a class together? My daughter has done this for several years now and she very much enjoys it. The class meets for 2 hours once a week, there are 8 girls in it. The teacher is not me, so totally different dynamic. They use a Smithsonian curriculum that has been very good. There is usually a homework assignment and reading that happens outside the class. Inside the class there is a small lecture, hands on experiment that the kids do together and the nice part is that they compare results, work as teams etc. They write a paper or two a year and work with partners to do a presentation once a year. It has been a really nice format. Or, would it be possible to find a mentor and your son could do something that seems more worthwhile to him while still learning? If money is an issue, could you invite a few of his friends over and you be the teacher? I am doing this with Real Science 4 Kids with another child of mine and it is working great. Or what if you pursue offbeat topics in science that he finds more interesting...like ummmm Genetics or Astronomy or Semiconductor design? Most schools put technology into the same category as other STEM subjects--so I wouldn't worry too much if he is that into computers. :) Kristin (Maya-13, Jonah-10, Simon-5)

Hi, I'd love to have my 6th and 8th graders take typing this fall. What are some typing programs you like? Thanks, Kristin

In NYC we are supposed to cover "health" as a separate subject for middle school kids. I'm thinking of handing my daughter this book "Cycle Savvy" by the woman who wrote the amazing book "Taking Charge of Your Fertility". Has anyone used this for a middle school aged kid? Any suggestions on how to sort of beef it up as a school subject? Thanks! kristin

We are on our 2nd cycle of SOTW. My kids are 6th and 8th grade this fall and we'll be using V. 4. Here is how we do it: I read the chapter out loud then ask them the questions in the activity book. We do the map and any activities they want from activity book. At this point they don't do many of the activities, since they seem to be mostly for younger kids. Then they outline the pages recommended in the KHE. On Fridays they take the test from the test book. In addition we use Joy Hakim's Story of US. Sometimes we use Jackdaw Portfolios. We read any books we can find that are related to the history. It feels pretty comprehensive to me...I think this totally works for middle school students. :) Kristin

My daughter is nearly done with SWB's Writing With Skill. I know, it is supposed to be for 5th graders, but we just didn't manage to switch to another curricula while waiting for the new book books in this series to be published. My general feeling is that WWS is pretty advanced, and it isn't that far off that a 7th grader has only just finished this book. Am I wrong, btw, in this thought? Over the years my dd has done a lot of outlining, narrations, summaries, and I'm finding that her writing is quite good. She has courses outside the home that have required reports--most commonly on a specific topic that she researches. I'm very happy with her work along these lines. But, where she is lacking is just being able to write a regular old 5 paragraph type essay about non-researched topics. Like what she did last summer or compare two books that she just read. We live in NYC and she is applying to high schools next school year. That process is going to require a lot of essays during application interviews and testing. Does anyone have a suggestion about a book that would teach her how to decide what to write, organize it in a cohesive way and give me plenty of essay topics to assign to her over the next 6 months? Thanks for your ideas! Kristin (Maya-13, Jonah-10, Simon-4)

Wow! Thanks everyone for so many great ideas. I'll definitely try some of these. I never thought to have my big 2 wear headphones while doing schoolwork. Since I usually end up doing schoolwork alone with my other son, I had forgotten about making sure kid #3 gets some run around time first thing in the morning...that might really help. Love the doing the dishes idea, and have totally forgotten about Starfall since my big two kids have been great readers for years. Yay--new ideas. I'm excited to try them. Thank you so much. Kristin

My kids are 12, 9 and 4. Lately, the 4 year old will just not be engaged in anything besides being disruptive. He is loud, the things he likes to play and do involve someone else to do it with. How on earth do you moms with more kids get any work done while still meeting the needs of your younger ones? Part if the problem is that we live in NYC in a small apartment. It is hard for us to spread out. I hate to create the dynamic that my older two kids and I are engaged in important activies and we always want #3 to go away, and be quiet. Lately my middle son tries to wake up early to get his schoolwork done because he says he can't concentrate while my youngest is awake. I'm not doing a very good job of managing this. I'd love to hear any of your ideas. Cheers! Kristin

I can't decide what to do for Singapore 7th grade math! I purchased NEM, and we've tried it this week. Ummm, it feels like a leap from Singapore 6. But my real question is what is the difference between New Elementary Math and Discovering Math. Which is more challenging? Are there holes in one that the other program addresses? Why did Singapore make 2 programs? I've tried posting this before, but I think it was in the wrong forum. I did see a couple of replies, thanks so much to those of you who answered, but I'm still confused. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated. Cheers, Kristin

I'm so confused about Singapore Math for 7th grade. Which series is better? New Elementary Math? Discovering Mathematics? New Syllabus Math? What is the difference? Why are some being discontinued? Reading about it on the Singapore site is even more confusing. Thanks! K

Wow, thanks everyone...that isn't what I expected the response to be. I guess I thought you all would tell me the name of the perfect science curriculum...but I actually probably already have that one sitting on my shelf. Thanks for giving me permission to not feel guilty about outsourcing! This fall is the first year that I'll likely do science as an outsourced thing for TWO kids instead of one--so there is a little hesitation about the increased cost, and just this vague feeling that I should be able to do it at home. Cheers- Kristin (dd-12, ds-9, ds-3)

Anyone else have this problem? For a couple of years it was OK...then it felt forced, then we started just skipping science. It felt like homeschooling science was perfectly designed to show me how disorganized I really am. :) My kids now are 6th and 4th graders. They enjoy science, but I have to confess I've been using a science tutor for my daughter for this year and last--6 girls, one 2 hour class a week following a pretty good Smithsonian curriculum. They have projects, papers, assessments, lots of lab time, microscopes...it's a great class. She loves it. I actually have a pretty good background in science and very much enjoy it, I just feel like elementary school science is, well, boring. Most things I've seen are just not in depth enough, narrating things or writing definitions feels forced, and well, we are always missing like 1 thing for the experiment, so whatever good intentions I have always seem to fizzle. The class with tutor is $30 per class. We live in Manhattan, so that isn't an unreasonable rate for a 2 hour class here...but I hate feeling like I don't do it well at home so I have to hire a tutor. Thoughts?

Hi... So, I'm confused--is there going to be Middle School versions of BOTH FLL and WWE? I've searched the archives and found conflicting threads--in some it looks like manuscripts are nearly done and soon to be available for presale, but I can't find anything on Peace Hill Press or Amazon about it. I've also seen posts that indicate FLL is not going to continue into the Middle School years. I've got a 5th grader who is doing OK in Voyages and Writing Strands, but we sure miss our SWB language arts materials, and would love to see them continue on through Middle School. Cheers Kristin

Can't seem to figure out this hive mind analogy or find any place where all the bee stuff is detailed... Kristin

I'm planning our 5th grade year for my daughter who just finished WWE Level 4 and FLL 4. After reviewing my copy of TWTM, I'm not really sure what to do! I would happily try Writing Strands, but am bummed to discover that my best choice for Grammar seems to be Voyages in English--I'd rather not buy an expensive curricula that includes a large component (writing) that I'm not going to use, just to get to the Grammar. Any suggestions? Is SWB planning on continuing the FLL and WWE books to 5th grade and beyond? I haven't seen anything to suggest this is the case, but there must be a bunch of kids now who have used these two...what are you all doing for 5th grade? Thanks! Kristin in NYC with 3 kids

I highly recommend the book Deconstructing Penguins for help with running/facilitating a book club for children.

Hi... Somehow Science is not working for us using the methods outlined in TWTM. I have a 4th grade daughter who is supposed to be doing Physics this year and a 2nd grade son who is doing Earth Science and Space. I'm not sure why, but both seem uninspired by science. They don't seem to remember anything or to be able to look at it from a different perspective or apply something they learned in an experiment to a different situation. Lately I have been getting Eyewitness videos from the library and letting them watch and then write a page of notes of what they have learned...there seems to be more retention going on and they enjoy them, but it is such a lame and disorganized way to do science I am not happy with that either. Does anyone have a curriculum they love or other science tips they can share? I am an engineer by schooling, and am definitely not science phobic--and my kids are otherwise doing great in their schoolwork and are at or above grade level in everything else. Last year when I tested them science was their lowest area (not terrible, but not great). I think I need a separate science curriculum and just not use TWTM methods on this subject. Thanks! Kristin