:grouphug: We are going into our second year homeschooling. Last year I had only one dd to worry about during the planning stage. Then I had to suddenly remove two others from school after only two weeks and had no time to stress about planning because I just had to jump in. This year's planning is very different. I also have a little one so I'm like you with four dc's to plan and make time for. We're about to start the school year and I'm still questioning dd13's curriculum. I chose Calvert for two other dds, having decided on that because I was worrying that too much was falling through the cracks with those two. Now, after looking at it, I really wonder how I can do it because it's all so parent intensive. Enough about me ;).... If you're worried about too many activities but they really make dd happy, you can just try it and see how it goes. If it becomes unmanageable you could then, between the two of you, decide what might be dropped. I know plenty of good activities are important for my very social dds' emotional equilibrium so I do try to do what we can manage in terms of time and money. I can sympathize with how you feel about dropping anything. Do you have to do 3 languages? Perhaps you could cut back there. Again, I can sympathize, having dh as a latin teacher AND also a native speaker of another language AND a mother-in-law who doesn't speak English AND two of our dc were born overseas and spent their early years speaking yet another language. But, as far as that goes, I know I really can't do it all. We decided to focus on Latin for the mental training and to facilitate the understanding of grammar which, we hope, will help them learn the other languages more easily at some point in the future. I'm sorry that I can't be more helpful, but I do think your schedule looks very good otherwise. :grouphug:

so I bought the eighth grade level and will try it this year. When I decided on the purchase I didn't know how ridiculously expensive the TM is, but then I decided to go ahead with it anyway. I guess I'll see if it is worth the price. I wonder if we'll ever get around to using the online component. I remember reading that Kolbe has found that the students who go through their program using S-O Vocabulary Workshop do amazingly well on their SAT verbal scores...

That's great news. Dd enjoys reading only it tends to be the same books over and over and over again.:banghead:

Is Megawords sufficient for the study of vocabulary (if dd is also studying Latin and reading good books)? I'm thinking of adding it becase dd may need systematic spelling help and I'm wondering if I could drop Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Workshop without losing something important. :confused:

Thank you, Sue! I have always found your posts so helpful. (I'm mulling over Megawords as well, something else your've written about. I may start another thread about that....)

:D :D :D :D :D :D I wish there were an emoticon for a big kiss! I cannot believe all the wonderful--and thoughtful!--suggestions you have all made for our literature study this year. I am very touched about how much time you have put into making your lists and reviews of different guides. Wow! Lori, Kathleen, and yslek really outdid yourselves! Thank you, Lori, for giving me an understanding of what the different guides are like and what books they are good for. Do you think the Glencoe online guides are thorough enough? I've been wondering about them after taking a peek. I just really want to thank you all. I love your ideas! It's reassuring to see that some of my choices were among your picks.

I like all the good things I read here about Analytical Grammar and am rethinking my plans to use Easy Grammar. I'm wondering if EG covers all that a complete grammar program should. I was looking at a CLE catalog and it looks like they cover much more, as does Voyages in English. Now I'm wondering if AG might be better. (I happily sold VIE 7 and dd wants a workbook format.) I wish I could give you some example of what I mean....does AG cover participles? participial phrases? I know this level of grammar may not be necessary for real life, and I'm still wondering if I should take dh's suggestion and drop a specific grammar study if the Latin Road to English Grammar will give dd all she needs.

On another post, love 2 read made the suggestion of four books a year to be studied in depth at this level, and I love that idea. Something like that is what I've been looking for but couldn't put my finger on it. Dd13 will be doing EPGY writing and that may wind up being a challenge for her. She'll get some literature there already but I think we need something more, something in depth but not too much. Please suggest 4 books for us and the others who must also be interested. We're doing American History this year so suggestions that correlate with that would be welcome, but any good literature would be appreciated. Also, if there are any guides that you have found to be particularly good to go with certain books, please let us know.:) Thanks!

I heard that people love this book so I bought it but it always seemed like the author's techniques would require me to be mentally clear enough and have sufficient energy to think up some "creative" response and implement it at just the right time to deal with my children's bad behavior. It just isn't going to happen here. :confused: I do much better if I can establish situations that naturally avoid opportunities for acting out to occur. That's not always possible though. I find myself making threats out of frustration even though I know positive reinforcement is much more effective.

Thank you Laurel and Cedar Mom for sharing your ideas. I've heard great things about Sequential Spelling but am leaning towards Megawords because it seems like it would incorporate more vocabulary study and because it seems less mom-intensive. I guess I don't really know enough about Sequential Spelling to know if it would cover the same bases. I kind of like the idea of working on grammar and spelling in spurts. It could be done with more focus that way, without spreading ourselves so thin at any given time. Interesting possibilities...

Thanks for such a helpful review of this resource. Since we love Foerster's Algebra I and it's working well so far, it's reassuring to know there's something to turn to if the going gets rough!

This is a question regarding dd13. Excuse me for posting it on this board, but I thought your experience could be helpful...once again! Any day now, I'm expecting to get those CAT scores in the mail telling me my otherwise bright daughter is a poor speller. I could ignore that information and, in this technological age, just have her rely on a spell checker for the rest of her life, but dh is convincingly taking the position that it's important we do something about it. If I were to add a spelling program to dd's day, it could cause overload for this child who tends work slowly. So... I'm wondering if I should ditch Sadlier-Oxford's Vocabulary Workshop for Megawords instead of just adding Megawords on top of that program. Will what we gain by streamlining make up for what we might lose? Also, Dh, the latin teacher, is suggesting that we drop the Easy Grammar Plus that I was planning to use and put all our energy into doing the Latin Road to English Grammar 2 and 3. He did not chose that series--he's a LL fan--but we started it at coop and will continue. Dh grew up in Europe studying multiple languages and thinks that's the best way to really learn grammar. He's looked at the books and is pretty confident LRTEG will be sufficient. I love dh's ideas but I'm afraid to take the plunge into "multum non multa." Care to discuss this and share your views? Kelli

in those FILES, but I'm really hoping to find something like a sheet of animal pictures that I can photocopy so the children can cut them out and glue them on to the maps. I see the empty maps and the maps already beautifully completed but how do I have the students complete the maps without nice pictures to give them? I could have them draw their own but that would really overwhelm them, I think.

I'm still hoping to find the person with the animal pics....

for the great links. I had not known of them so I'm very grateful. I also joined the Yahoo group. It looks like it will be very helpful. And, yes, this is the Zoology 3 book of the elementary Apologia series. Thank you! Kelli

I will be teaching a coop science class for ages 9-11 this year using Zoology 3. I have some reservations about the text but have decided to proceed because the parents and kids have enjoyed using this series. I would love some suggestions on how to make this work in a coop setting for a first-timer. What length of assignments are realistic for this age group on the days we don't meet? Should there be homework everyday? Who is the lovely person who offered to share the animal pics? I would love to have them! (I tried to search for this but had no luck.) I thought of using blank books for the kids to use for the notebook assigments, recording the animal tracks, and including maps for the animal pics. Would that be effective? Any other comments or thoughts would be helpful. Thank you all!

It's funny that we are in a similar situation. I was using Horizon K with dd5 but bought a used Calvert set for first grade that included a minimally used set of math books. I was debating about using Calvert for her and also for my dd8, but the feedback I got from these boards made me reconsider. We will continue in the fall with Horizons 1 but now she is using Calvert 1 for fun. I actually wound up using Abeka for dd8 because I heard it's heavy on drill and she really needed that. She loves the color, and Abeka has done it's job. Her skills have really improved. Having no more experience then this myself and relying on what I've read on this board, for you I would consider if you think your dc does better with: spiral or mastery. If it's spiral, CLE math might fit the bill. It's supposedly advanced but you can get a placement test and just jump in. Because there are no grade levels, even if you have to start out lower, there's less of a chance it will be an issue. The teacher's guides are really supposed to be excellent. Now, if mastery is preferable, Rod and Staff is also supposed to be excellent and have great teacher's guides. We may need to move to one of these programs in the future, but right now my dc's really like color and, for whatever reason, it really helps them get engaged in the text. We do supplement with Singapore a little here and there because it makes them think but I've found it a bit harder to teach. HTH Kelli

I'm still debating....

I still have doubts about dd and math and am curious to see her CAT results. And, I still have doubts about myself and my ability to educate well (new hser syndrome?). Dd does have a hormone thing going on, in addition to being somewhat ditzy and unmotivated. This clouds my perception of her ability. But, she REALLY is a lovely child, REALLY!:001_smile:

and, as I've said before, I do find Jacobs wordy, but whether this is a help or a hindrance depends on who is using the book. Yes, for me it's the stories that make me feel it's wordy. They can be rather long. Explanations between points are also expressed in short paragraphs rather than a simple line or two. For me personally, it doesn't add interest or assist in developing understanding. I prefer Foerster's for getting right to the point. I can immediately and clearly see what to do and how to do it. I think we're blessed that we have such excellent texts that are suited to different learning styles.

I've been eagerly reading the posts about CLE reading, Mosdos, and LL. Thank you to all who have contributed to all of those interesting and informative threads. Now my question... Dd 13 will potentially have a pretty heavy schedule this year with EPGY writing. I'm still debating what to do about literature since EPGY includes some literature readings. I really don't want to overwhelm her but she needs some structure and guidance because last year she kept dodging my literature choices for fluff or multiple re-readings of her favorites. Since she's doing American history I would like her to read some relevant novels and am thinking about using some free online guides from Glencoe but the questions they have seem more geared to reading comprehension than analysis. I'm considering supplementing these with a Seton text called Reading-Thinking Skills 7 or 8 which includes short stories and some excerpts from longer pieces of literature. These are interspersed with an on-going story of a saint. The questions in each section focus on characterization, plot and theme. This workbook is only about 100 pages and may be meant to be used once a week. And, it's only $10!!! I like the idea of CLE reading but I'm not crazy about the idea of readers. Mosdos also looks good but it could be an expensive experiment in overkill. Has anyone used this Seton book for 7th or 8th grades? Or, do you have any other ideas to painlessly slip in some basic literary analysis? Thank you!

This was our first year homeschooling. Dd 13 was in Everyday Math through 5th grade in ps. She placed into Algebra 1/2 on the Saxon placement test, but it was recommended that we do Saxon 8/7 so we started with that. The concepts came easily and so much was review but dd just hated it. I finally decided to stop at just over half of the book. Then we did Math U See Pre-algebra which was a breeze for her and we finished the book in less than three months. Then we did the first two chapters of Foerster's Algebra 1 before stopping for standardized testing at the end of the year. Foerster's Algebra 1 went extremely well and I will continue with it but I keep wondering if we're missing something or if we have a strong enough foundation because we moved through some things so quickly and didn't finish Saxon 8/7. I've thought about Lial's BCM but looking at the scope and sequence on Amazon, it seems like we've covered that already. Will I ruin dd forever if we've missed something? Is there a magic way to tell if there's something more we need to do before continuing with Algebra? Kelli

With MUS, you are able to move through levels quickly. I only have the pre-algebra level, but I think the other levels may have the same format. With each lesson (concept), there are three pages of practice of that specific concept and then three pages that review that and previous concepts. If your dc shows mastery of a concept on the practice pages (I would do at least 2), you have the option of perhaps doing one review page and then moving on to the next lesson. We moved through the pre-algebra book in less than three months by going through sections dd knew quickly, but we also spent more time on concepts that were new. There is a placement test on the MUS website. The blocks are pricey, but you may find those and the non-consumable teacher materials used for a good price.

I think Jacob's must be an excellent text based on the all the reviews I've seen, but it was not our choice. I agree the formatting of Jacob's is really off-putting, especially because it's very wordy. All those words are small and densely-packed. We liked Lial's after looking at that, but chose Foerster's because of the reviews I read here and looking closely at it ourselves. It's very clear, straightforward and easier on the eye.

I haven't used this because I just couldn't find time to fit it in this year, and next year is dd will be taking an online writing class so that won't work either. I do like the writing samples it incorporates, the helpful rubric, the concrete and mangeable fully-planned daily lessons, and that it can be used for a span of ages. I've been debating about saving this until my younger ones would be ready for it or passing it on. PM me if you are interested.