Thanks, I never would have thought to use both simultaneously - that's why I love this board!

My dd9 is about 2/3 of the way through Writing Tales I. I plan to continue on with volume II after that. My question is: where would that put us in the Rod and Staff sequence? TWTM recommends Rod and Staff so I'd like to use it, but from their brief description on the website, it appears some of it would be review?? Does anyone of strong opinions on Rod and Staff English? Thanks, any insight would be appreciated...

We're just starting Saxon 5/4 for my 8 year old (we're on lesson 14) and it seems to take quite a bit more time than Saxon 3 did. How long does it normally take your student to complete a lesson? Thanks!

How does this look for 4th grade (dd is a young 4th grader, turning 9 in Oct)? Saxon 5/4 Latin Christiana I Writing Tales (second half of I, moving on to II) Spelling Workout D Apologia Zoology 3: Land Animals of the Sixth Day Sonlight's suggestions for American History - both the read-a-louds and the independent readers. (We're taking a break from SOTW - we're at the beginning of vol 3, when the explorers come to America, so I figured it would be a great place to pick up US history). I feel as if I'm missing something? When do most people start typing/keyboarding? Thanks for help/suggestions!

Thanks guys, I think you've sold me!

I see the whole set of games, abacus, etc is $50. I hear people talking about these all the time. Would you say it's a good investment?

Any opinions on this? Also wondering the best age to start it... I'm hoping there's something out there that teaches one to type and also has the student actually typing things of worth - sort of like the Memoria Press copybooks that teach writing while having them write Scriptures, poems, etc... Thanks!

And thanks for the quick reply!

Anyone know how long (how many problems) the math computation portion of Iowa Test of Basic Standards is for grade 3? Also is it included in the composite score? I noticed that for the first grade test, math computation is not included in the composite score. Thanks for any info/help!

I've used it now for Astronomy and Zoology 2. We generally just read it out loud and sometimes I "quiz" them a little on past things to make sure they're remembering. So far, we haven't done any notebooking with it. But this year, we do meet with a group to discuss one chapter every two weeks. The host family assigns topics from the chapter for the children to write a short report on. I have my daughters (8 and 6) narrate their report to me and I type it at this point. This has been fun for them and very helpful.

I grew up being taught 4 oceans, but now you often see the Southern Ocean listed as well. Can someone tell me if I should be asking my children to name 4 or 5 oceans??? Thanks!

Anyone do Saxon without the stuff in the teacher manual (coin cup, date, extra counting etc?) We were missing ours for some time after moving (we're in Saxon 3 and 1 with two girls) and so we just did the worksheets. It seems that eventually they get it all anyway in the worksheets... is this just wishful thinking or does anyone do this successfully?

I have two daughters 8 and 6 and then two little boys 4 and almost 2 (with a third boy due in March). So I think we're on the same page! My boys have gotten pretty good at playing in their room during school time. Pretty good is the key - not perfect for sure. I have the older girls do math, copywork (cursive for the older one), out loud reading to me, and spelling during this time. It takes probably an hour. We do history and science as read alouds later, sometimes in the evening when Hubby is home to entertain boys, sometimes in the afternoon when one is napping etc. I do Latin over lunch. Some days are better than others! All the curriculum we're using is posted at my blog http://michellejoywaters.blogspot.com Good luck!

I'm soon to start on a writing program with my DD8. Writing Tales looks really interesting to me. Anyone have opinions on this or their favorite writing program? Thanks!

Which do you prefer? I'd like to purchase one but would like to know what others think first. Thanks!

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Which one is better value or more worth the membership fee?

Anyone know what reading levels the McGuffey books are? I'm specifically interested in knowing what the 4th Eclectic Reader would qualify as... Thanks in advance!

Ladies, thanks a lot. It really helps to have others to talk things out with - I greatly appreciate it!

My girls (1st and 2nd grade) finish their main assignments (math, spelling, oral reading, and copywork) in about an hour. The second grader does some nature reading later in the day and creates a notebook page for it. We do Latin together over lunch or snack. We're in a group that is doing Apologia science together once a week. We do SOTW one or two evenings a week, usually when my boys are asleep. They also have to practice their instruments daily. We still have tons of time on our hands. I don't have "I'm bored" type kids, they're happy to play all day outside etc, but sometimes I feel like I should be filling up their time more. We're not signed up for a ton of extra curriculars this year due to gas prices and expenses. I'm not sure what my question is - other than constantly feeling like we MUST be missing something since our neighborhood friends are gone from 8 til 3:30 pm. Any advice or am I just being paranoid?

Everyone, thanks so much! Now I have some serious research to do! It was great to show all your responses to dh so he could finally see how helpful this board really is! I truly appreciate all the help with this...

Anyone have any advice on vehicles for families with 5+ kids? We're in the market for a new van/vehicle and wondered what people think... I've heard the Sienna and the Odyssey have 8 seat options. Anyone have these? All info is helpful! Thanks

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You all really helped. Thanks for taking the time!

I'm making plans for the fall and wondered how necessary - or how much success - you've had with spelling programs. We've been using SW, as recommended by WTM. I really don't see too much value in it. The words chosen for each lesson seem so random and I'm not sure how much retention takes place. It seems like busy work to me... Am I missing something? Does anyone not do formal spelling - maybe concentrating more on frequently misspelled words? Thanks!