I have used https://www.middleschoolchemistry.com/lessonplans/ with 2 kids at 2 different times, 7 years apart. Both enjoyed it.

Thanks you everyone for your help. I think I will order in Singapore 3A and Beast 3B and see what works out naturally. She does like Beast when I am doing it along side her, I just don't always have the time to do that.

Studies Weekly is a weekly newspaper kind of like a weekly reader, but for Social Studies. Most of the states have a fourth grade Studies Weekly that is a state study. They are very inexpensive - about $20 per year including shipping, shipped all at once - and could be great to cover state history or be something to guide a study that you could add to. Just put in your state and fourth grade on their web site. There are extensive samples.

My daughter had been doing Singapore Math though 2B and then I switched to Beast Academy. We are finishing 3A right now and I am deciding if we should continue with Beast or go back to Singapore. My daughter doesn't love doing the Beast problems. She can do them if she thinks, but she frequently doesn't want to think. She likes to do problems she knows how to do, get a nice little answer and put a nice little box around it. We also use a daily math practice book and she loves doing that. On one hand, I think she should struggle a little. I am pretty sure she would measure as gifted, though we haven't had any testing done. On her ITBS she scored 99%-tile in math. So I want her to learn to get over not knowing how to do something, and persist through it. But on the other hand, she was happy doing Singapore, and I guess I could add CWP or intensive practice or what ever would challenge her. I could wait until she is more ready to struggle through a problem and pick up there. I don't know. What do you think? Thanks.

Hi All! I really need help with my 2nd grader. It is November and we have barely done anything. She is a gifted little girl, but she isn't working too much past grade level at this point, maybe 3rd grade +, though her reading level is much higher. I also have a very globally delayed 3 year old at home. We drive her back and forth to services during the day and also have therapists coming into the house for her. It is very disruptive to my homeschool. I have always had a very hands on approach to my kids school work, but I need to give my daughter work that she can get done without me. We are re-looking at every subject here. Any ideas? I still need it to be engaging and challenging, just not all with me. Thanks, Tammie

Thanks, I will check out the standards version. Is there any problem switching from US edition to standards edition from 2A to 2B? Thanks!

My first grader just finished Singapore Primary Math 2A (US edition). She understood the concepts easily as I taught them, but now that we are at the end of the book doing a review, she is shaky on some of it. I think I need to build in some review as we go. My son's books (he is in school) have a section of "Mixed Review" at the bottom of each workbook page. Is this "spiraling"? I think that is what she needs. Is there an easy way to add this in with Singapore? I can currently review what she is shaky on, but ongoing, I think I want to have a more regular review. Or should I check out other curriculum? We don't need easier or slower, just built in or easy to add in regular review. As easy as it may be, I am not able to go hunting down worksheets to print myself or able to make up my own problems. I have a toddler with health/developmental issues and it takes up my time and energy. Thanks for your help, Tammie

Thanks to all for the suggestions. I am working on a plan. Baby girl gave me a few minutes this morning to do some looking. I am very interested in Beautiful Feet Books. I didn't know they were coming out with something for that timeframe. I also might go with a year long American history course. If I knock off the beginning up until 1800, it usually leaves about 26 weeks, so then we could add in some more world historyat appropriate times and/or have some weeks of watching dvds and topical reading. One of the problems I am finding is that many of the curricula are geared to 5th (or lower!) through 8th and they seem more appropriate for the lower levels than a bright 8th grader. American history for highschool is aimed at 11th graders, when it is traditionally taught in schools, and I don't know how that would work. Any more suggestions are welcome. Thank you, Tammie

Yes, I was thinking it might make sense to fine an american history program then just add in some world history where needed. I will check this out. I thank you all for the suggestions. I'll add that I am not too concerned about the starting date. I can catch him up to 1850 over the summer, or I can drop a few weeks at the beginning of a curriculum that starts earlier and add in. We never manage to complete a full 36 weeks anyway - more like 30. Thanks!

I think I might change my history plans. We have been doing tapestry of grace. I am in year 3 (1800s). I was going to do a condensed year of TOG over the next calendar year, completing a history cycle. My 20 month old has become ill and is requiring much more of my attention. She is also on a diet that is extremely time consuming to prepare. I think I need to streamline for next year. What are my options for American + some world history from about 1800 ( edit: I am flexible here as I can get up 1850 over the summer with resources I have or I can leave off some weeks of a curriculum that begins earlier) onward to present day, in about a year, or a year and a quarter? My son is starting 8th grade. He is an advanced reader, but he hates writing. I would like something easy to follow for me, but parent participation is fine. Preferably something with a schedule or at least something that is easy for me to schedule. I am having a hard time even sitting down to research as baby is very needy right now. Christian or secular. Ideas? Thanks, Tammie

OhElizabeth, thank you for your thoughtful reply. And thanks for learning a little about me. I'd love to hear how your ds5 is doing. On challenging me, I very much appreciate and hope for varying views. That's why I am here! So, what IS the rush? I guess there really isn't one except that I don't know what the plans are for high school. I would like to go through one full "cycle" of history before it is in someone else's hands. I want my son to first learn history without the bias that comes in our schools here (we are in NY). I do want him to form his own ideas and opinions, but I want him to hear a view our family believes first. That and the co-op we belong to has classes that go with a 4 year cycle and we are off! (Not really a big concern for me.) My first thought when deciding what to do next year was to finish up American History with another program but I didn't find one that I loved. Many are a full year course on American history starting before colonization and we just studied up through about 1800. I know I can just adjust, but none "spoke" to me. I use TOG because I like the discussions. My son is not a writer. Definitely dyslexic dysgraphia, so the discussions are his "output" and my input. We are slowly working on getting things down on paper, but public school caused damage that i have worked hard to repair. I need the discussion guides that TOG offers or it won't happen. It is hard enough with the guide! I have looked at what NY does for high school history. I suspect it is the norm as it follows the Common Core. For 9th and 10th grade, it is Global History and Geography, 11th is United States History and Government, and 12th is Civics and Economics. We didn't spend that much time the past few years on History, so it wasn't a matter of immersing ourselves in Ancients or anything. I just started homeschooling for 5th grade so we were slow starters, and then I had a baby and then she got very sick and hospitalized for a length of time with pertussis. I don't like saying we are behind, but we are not where I wanted to be! I think your advice to think about where we are going is important. I hadn't thought much about what our actual history courses for high school might be. I also don't want him doing the same thing in 9th grade that he did for eighth grade if he heads to school. My thought at this time is to continue using TOG unless I find something I prefer, and I think I will not worry about going quickly through it, but I will choose what we will study, and will concentrate on American History. I definitely do not want to slight American history. It is my favorite and I am pretty biased there! If he is home for 9th grade, we can go back and fill in the world history, if he goes to school he will get it there. So much to think about! Thanks again for the replies!

Thanks for getting me started on a plan! Well, I don't know what my son's high school plan will be - maybe home, maybe school - so I want a good foundation. What are the "country study" weeks? I like your mention of picking out the highlights, skimming in between. Most past posts I have found talk about combining weeks on things that are taught over multiple weeks but it didn't make sense to me to boil three weeks on the civil war down to one. Thanks!

I am not sure if this will work, but I am way behind where I want to be in my Tapestry years. I am just starting Year 3 when I should be finishing it. I want to be done with one full rotation by the end of next year when my son finishes 8th grade so we can either begin a new 4 year rotation or he can go off to high school having completed a full rotation of history through modern. So I will probably make it through Year 3, unit 1 by the end of this school year (the end of June). I will then have the next year to complete TOG year 3, unit 2 through the end of TOG year 4. (63 weeks!). This would put me into September 2015 even if week do a TOG week every week, year round. That's not going to happen!! He is working at the dialectic level. So, any suggestions? Thanks, Tammie

I know this post was from a while ago, but I imagine it is still relevent. I stumbled upon it and I just wanted to add that my 10 year old son is dyslexic and apraxic. He goes to a school specifically for language-based learning disabilities and it is fabulous. My other children are homeschooled. The tuition at is school is over $50,000 a year but we do not pay nearly that amount. At these schools, there is a lot of financial aid available. We are not poor, just a middle class family here in NY, and they have reduced the tuition to a managable amount for us. I absolutely believe that special needs can be taken care of at home, but sometimes a special needs private school is a great option. My son is in a language arts class with 8 students and 2 teachers. He has made fabulous progress and is so much more confident. If you at all think a school might be an option, visit it and talk to the admissions and financial aid people. For us, it would mave been more expensive to hire a tutor twice a week than to send my son to one of the top schools for dyslexia in the country. Don't look at the price first. So many people don't apply when they see the big tuition number, but in reality it could cost much less. Best to you, Tammie

Thanks for the ideas! Each class is 45 minutes to an hour long. 13 classes. Thanks for any more ideas! Tammie

I am teaching a class at our co-op next semester and I am looking for ideas. It will be for a group of 10 first graders. Their other classes will be gym and a FIAR type class with activities around literature. This semester they had US geography, gym and choir. It is my first time doing this and I need some inspiration. Help! Thanks, Tammie

This is extremely helpful. I am mulling this over for the moment.

Yes, and making decisions. I am feeling like I just want someone to tell me what to do! :drool: I "hear" you are good at that, Ruth.... I asked the boy what he is interested in and he said he didn't really know because he hasn't studied biology. I guess that would be a survey, then. We have a good handle on the math. I guess it is time to ramp up the textbook reading skills. He dislikes texts as the only source of his science - ala public school. So I have been reading many of your posts and feel like my head is swirling. From a post of yours: "Elementary age: 1) They need exposure to lots of different areas of science 2) They need to not fear science, and actually find it somewhat interesting. Middle school (7th and 8th grade): 1 and 2) from above and 3) They should be able to read and understand difficult text and diagrams/charts/graphs 4) They should be able to write clear, concise short answers to a variety of questions types 5) They should understand and have experience with the scientific method" This makes sense to me. I would add that I would like him learn to orally present information to others in a concise, logical way. He is very much a builder and a thinker and an explorer. He understands things easily. i want to tap into those strengths while building the weaknesses - organization, output, study skills. I think I am clarifying, but still muddled. Thanks so much for the help. Thoughts? Oh, and I was wondering, have you looked at the REAL Science Odyssey Level 2 that has been recommended? I was wondering if you had any thoughts on it. Ruth, you are a gem.

I have been looking at this. I sent it off to my biology major turned mechenical engineer brother and his teacher of gifted education wife to check out. I have seen this before - thanks for the reminder.

And this is where I get stuck. I am happy to use non-fiction science books. (We haven't really used a text in homeschooling yet. After being in PS through 4th grade, my son practically has panic attacks when he sees a text. Okay - not really panic, hatred and dread!) And I guess I can find the documentaries. But how do I tie this into something hands-on? He is interested in labs, microscope work, dissections. I just don't know how to get it all together. And I don't really know what my goals for science instruction should be at this time and what skills he should be working on. This is an area I want to get right for him.

We are on TOG year two, unit two. We started at the beginning of year one last year. So in two years of schooling we made it through a year and a half on TOG. One thing I recently started doing that I wish I would have done from the beginning, is to only spend a week on each TOG week. I would not get to things I wanted to get to and would stretch them into the next week. Then I wouldn't want to start a new TOG week mid-week so I would wait to the following Monday. Things ended up taking too long. Now every Monday we start a new week. The exception is the Literature. We won't stop reading a novel mid book! I also don't do the timeline weekly. We do it at the end of the unit - a great review. We use the homeschool in the woods figures.

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I am not sure of his high school plans - whether he will continue to homeschool or not. Our local PS is not an option so it would be private school or a move to a different district. But I am warming to the idea of high school at home. Two years ago I would have said "NO Way!" He wants to be an engineer so definitely a STEM track. The more labs/hands on, the better. Also, I forgot to mention that we would probably be looking for secular materials as I haven't found much in the way of theistic evolution curricula. Thanks!

Trying to figure out science for ds12 for 7th grade. He loves science - well, as long as he doesn't have to write about it! He mostly likes doing hands on exploring or watching videos. He doesn't mind reading. He has asked to do biology next year. For 5th grade we did ACS Middle School Chemistry. We loved the "inquiry" approach but it was 100% teacher participation. This year we did Exploration Education Advanced Physical Science. That was completely independent. He liked the hands on and building aspects of it. It was good that it was independent (I had a baby this year who got very sick and was hospitalized for a legnth of time) but I think it could have been more advanced for him. I have looked around at some middle school textbooks and wonder if they are too easy. Should I be looking at highschool at this point? He is very bright and motivated in science, but I also want to keep science FUN. I want hime to really learn and enjoy. Science is his field and I certainly don't want to kill his passion. He has had some life science before (up through 4th grade in PS) but not much. He will be doing Algebra next year. I am a biomedical engineer and am very comfortable teaching science, but I would like something with some independent work to it as I will have a toddler and a K'er as well. I don't mind trying to put something together from various resources if someone can give me guidance or a set curriculum would be good too. I am not even sure what my goals for learning in science should be at this point. Thoughts? Thanks, Tammie

Thank you for the suggestions so far. I will look at Biblioplan and also consider reworking how we do TOG. We have been homeschooling for a year and a half and for some reason get hung up on history. I think it is because there is a divide between what I would like to learn and what my son would like to learn. Thanks!