What she said. :)

I just finished teaching 4 & 6 this year, so they're fresh in my mind. There's quite a big jump between the two of them. I'd have her do 5 this year.

I haven't used it, though. It's not a workbook. The student makes notecards with the roots on them (three a week). There are games suggested for reinforcement. Like I said, I haven't used it, so my opinion is just based on looking over the program. Here is a post where I compared Vocabulary Vine with Roots and Fruits: Comparison of Vocabulary Vine with Roots & Fruits

Trusting God by Jerry Bridges changed my life. I struggled a lot with worry and fear, and this book was a balm to my soul. There's a study guide that goes with it. Another book I've enjoyed is Disciplines of a Godly Woman by Barbara Hughes. I'm not sure if there's a study guide for it, though. And your post reminded me that a friend left Age of Opportunity in my dh's mailbox at church for me to borrow. Need to drive over there and get it!

:lurk5:

The Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan The Eragon series The Inkheart series Harry Potter You might want to preview, as most of these have elements of magic and fantasy. We're pretty conservative, but I know some families have objections to these things.

My ds is going to do Dolciani pre-algebra this fall. In some of my searches for used Algebra I texts, I have discovered that I used the 1981 Dolciani in high school (I recognize the cover). My high school math teacher is one of those once-in-a-lifetime teachers that you just kill yourself to do well for. It was an accelerated class, full of really smart people that loved math. I was not one of those people. I held my own, but I had to work harder than they did, and my teacher knew it. Because it was a small high school, we all stayed together with the same teacher all four years. Anyway, this teacher required us to do all our homework in a spiral notebook. She checked to make sure we were doing our homework, but it was up to us to make sure we understood how to do all the problems when she went over them in class. I took a lot of pride in this notebook. I always made sure it was very neat and very detailed. And because I worked so hard on them, I could never bear to throw them away. So today it finally dawns on me that I basically have the solutions to Dolciani Algebra I & II, (along Geometry, Pre-Calc, and Calc - but I don't know what books we used) sitting in a box my garage. :D I'm also feeling a little sad. This teacher passed away about six months ago. I owe her so much. She really stretched me. Me, from little podunk high school was so much better prepared for college math than some of my classmates from renowned private schools. My high school education was far from perfect, and was certainly lacking in many ways, but not in math.

When you figure it out, let me know. I'm pretty sure I discovered Megawords thanks to your recommendation. :D

My oldest is mildly dyslexic, and it's really improved his spelling. I've always been a fairly good speller, and I've had a few "a-ha" moments about spelling rules as he's done this. My dd is a good speller, but I'm going to have her start this in the fall, because I like it so well. It's independent for the most part, but you will occasionally need to dictate words to them. Nothing like the parent involvement of Spelling Power.

There are a lot of ways to look at this. Home is where my dc are safe and loved unconditionally. No one is going to tease them if they don't do well at something. They're not going to be called a baby if they burst into tears of frustration. So, yes, their guards are down when they're home. My ds who struggles at handwriting is going to try super hard for others because he knows he's not good at it and he doesn't want them to see that. My dd who gets emotional when she's hungry is going to be more forthright at home than a friends house about asking if dinner's ready. That's slightly different than misbehaving. But I would imagine if they were in school having to hold it together all day long, there would be more letting off steam when they got home...where it's safe. On a related note, most dc in public schools are exhausted. Dc in my neighborhood get on the bus at 7am and get home at 4pm. They're in school all day long, not to mention the emotional minefield that is middle school and junior high. Then they have to face a mountain of homework, go to soccer, they're not in bed until after ten... just to get up and start all over again. I think the pace at which most families today live their lives is physically and emotionally unhealthy. When friends with dc in ps complain about how moody their dc are, I'm not surprised. I'd be moody, too, if I had to keep their schedule. I also think as a parent I sometimes forget to focus on the positive. Last night dh and I were at the golf course without the dc. Another man stopped us and complimented us on our oldest. He had apparently been very kind to this man's young son a while back and he wanted to let us know. It made me realize that while I'm busy barking at my ds over picking up his messes and being more responsible with his time, I'm forgetting to recognize that he's really a great kid in a lot of ways. :blushing: So maybe the dc aren't acting that much better for others, but the others are pointing out things that the parents might forget about it the hubbub of daily living.

Math: Horizons Math, grade 2 Spelling/Phonics: Explode the Code book 4, 5, & 6. I also think I'll do All About Spelling. I think he's dyslexic like his dad and brother, so I'm hitting all this early and often. Grammar: First Language Lessons, 2 Writing: Writing With Ease 2 Handwriting: HWOT Cursive Latin: Song School Latin History: TOG Year 3. We'll also work on the Veritas Press cards Science: BJU Science 2 Music: Piano lessons Memorization: Awana, IEW's Developing Linguistic Patterns Through Poetry Memorization Art: Developing Motor Skills in Art (R&S) PE: Homeschool Jumprope team, soccer, swimming, and golf with Dad

I usually avoid digital products like the plague, but I adore TOG and will buy digital for them. I'll probably buy the digital print combo, just because I like a hard copy, and I can't print everything as inexpensively as they sell it.

Grammar: R&S 5 Science: BJU Science 5 Math: Horizons 5 Spelling: Megawords 1 & 2 Logic: Mind Benders Books Latin: She did Latina Christiana a couple of years ago. We're either going to do a quick review using LfCA then go to LfC B, or she'll do Latin Alive with her brother. Writing: Outlining book from Remedia publications, and narration and dictation. I may pull in some things from Write with the Best. Bible: haven't decided yet Literature: TOG Year 3 History: TOG Year 3 Art: Artpac 6 or 7 with her brother. Art appreciation with TOG Music: piano lessons. Her mother is also supposed to be teaching her the flute. Music history from TOG PE Homeschool jumprope group, golf, swimming, and soccer

I posted one of these earlier, but I've changed my mind since then. :) Bible: Haven't decided yet. Math: (Insert big, heavy sigh.) He knows all the pre-algebra stuff, but neither of us think he's ready for algebra. I struggled with math at his age, and then woke up one day after my 14th birthday and suddenly math made perfect sense. I suspect he'll be the same way. Maybe the new LOF book if it's ready. I also own Lial's BCM, I have Dolciani Pre-algebra on order, or some of the Key to... books. In other words, killing time till his brain grows up. Grammar: R&S 7 (If you would have asked me at Christmas, I never would have believed he would be ready for 7, but sometime in early spring grammar started to "click" with him and he started acing the exercises and tests. Hope the same thing happens with math.) Vocabulary: Vocabulary Vine Spelling: Megawords 3 & 4 Literature: TOG Year 3 Handwriting: Can-do Cursive (HWOT). THIS is the year he'll switch over from print to cursive, even if it kills me. Science: BJU Life Science Logic: Art of Argument then either Argument Builder or Discovery of Deduction. Really looking forward to Art of Argument with him. He's a born debater, so it's going to be fun to study something he's naturally good at. History: TOG Year 3 Geography: TOG Year 3 Latin: Latin Alive Writing: Lost Tools of Writing Art: Artpac (either 6 or 7 - he's doing it with his younger sister). Also art appreciation in TOG Music: Piano and guitar lessons. There's also music history in TOG PE: We have a homeschool jumprope team, and he also plays soccer. Also swimming and golf. He golfs with his dad a lot. Wow! That's a lot! I think it's going to be a fun year, though.

As for ordering, yes, you can get all the books through their "Bookshelf" site, but it's different than Sonlight. There's no set package, like buying an entire Sonlight Core. Even when you buy through their site, you have to pick out which individual books you buy. It's not as convenient as Sonlight, but once you've seen TOG, you'll realize that there's really no other way they can do it. TOG reading assignments are broken up by the week, not the day. Also, there's much more to their Teacher's notes. They have several pages of background info, so you can talk intelligently with your dc about their reading without having to read all the books yourself. All the literature selections have worksheets for each week as well. They're in the teacher's notes, but they give you a disc so you can print them out for each child. I've used TOG and SL. There's a lot more to TOG than there is to Sonlight. But, with SL you can "open and go." You can't do that with TOG. There's too much there, so you have to decide what you do and don't want to do. You need to read the teacher's notes, and for your older dc (dialectic age and up) to really get the most out of the program, you need to be prepared to discuss the weekly questions with them (it's not as scary as it sounds - the teacher's guide provides all the answers. :) ) The good news is, once you've done the planning, it's easy to implement. TOG puts an emphasis in the older grades for the dc to learn to plan their own weeks. I think this is an important skill that's easy to be overlooked in the homeschool environment. HTH!

:iagree: I have an advanced 10-year-old that has basically done R&S independently. She reads it on her own, and has still done very well on the tests. That is NOT the case with my older ds, but that's another story. :D R&S is very rigorous, but if your dd is advanced and enjoys LA, I doubt R&S would be teacher intensive for you.

There's been some discussion about this in the past.

You should do whatever you think will be best for your ds. Only you can decide that. But my oldest made a HUGE leap in ability during his 3rd grade year. I wouldn't be terribly surprised if by this time next year he's right on track. I never felt the need to "hold back." I called him the correct grade for his age and worked at his level. All my dc have certain things that they struggle with, and certain things that they are do well.

Telling someone to chill usually doesn't go over well, but that's probably the best option. :) I'm on my second year of the history cycle. At the end of every year there has been a period when I had to cover, ahem, several chapters quickly to finish the book. :blushing: Getting them done in three years could be accomplished without breaking a sweat. Once she gets started with the books, it will be pretty easy to see how it would work best for her. I would probably double up here and there and then read a few chapters over the summer.

So he would have missed the cut-off here by less than a month. So he would be a very young 8th grader, here. My ds will be 13 in November, and he's in 7th.

I was once in a McDonald's Playland with my dc and mil, and another little girl (probably 5 - barely school age), came and sat at the same table as my dc. The girl's grandmother came and got the girl, and explained that "because my dil homeschools, granddaughter doesn't know how to play with other kids." :confused: I had overheard this lady and the girl's mother "discussing" homeschooling at the next table, so I knew the mil was looking to find fault. The dil had been more than holding her own, so I kept my mouth shut, but it really bothers me that I didn't speak up and put that sour woman in her place.

Ah, man! I'll have to cross that off my list of possible things to do when done homeschooling.

My grandmother had a wonderful covered front porch. We played there for hours in the summer, and it was always some sort of pirate ship or castle (usually pirate ship). There were many executions. I even remember one day when they found a rope and tied an actual noose ( :eek: :svengo: We knew better than to actually put someone's head in it, but Grandpa confiscated that pretty quickly nonetheless). When we played inside, they used to smash my Baby Alive doll's head just to make me mad. They are all mild-mannered husbands and fathers in white-collar careers such as banking, law, public relations, insurance, etc. Not one of them has a violent streak. I would be thrilled if my boys turned out like any one of them.

But I don't know I'll be much help, either. I create 3 different lesson plans: TOG history, TOG literature, TOG geography. We only do geography once a week, but in history and literature I will divide it up as Week 1, Day 1, etc. I put the pages to read in the notes. I have to track hours spent, so I have HS Tracker set up to do that, too.

I didn't make them memorize them when we came across it in FLL in 2nd grade, but now that they're older, I can see how it would be helpful. I wouldn't hold them back, but I would continually review them until they do have them down.