We did the year long class through Currclick and covered the theme book All Things Fun and Fascinating for grades 4/5--we had to buy the book also and received the student guides with that purchase which was great. My kids learned a lot. The teacher is very nice and grades the papers as well. The kids can take it live or watch the recording. My kids enjoyed it live. Kids can also share their papers week to week. I know IEW has classes too but we haven't done those. We plan to do the next class--Ancients Based lessons for 5/6th grade. We also do other writing, but this worked well for us. HTH, Jen

we buy meats, 'natural' chips, quinoa(very cheap there), rice, yogurt, butter, organic salad, veggies, eggs, cheese, bulk baking items--oils, spices etc(we make all of our own sauces due to allergies) ... Then I choose 10-15 meals from my menu service and make two batches of each one and freeze them. I prep several extra for the week ahead. I complete one month of meals in a few hours and I'm done. we don't eat prepared foods and I am not a cook, so the menu service is great for us. My daughter is gluten free, so we had to elimante most processed and/or prepared foods from our diet. I like costco's prices and bulk items work well for us. My hubby typically shops for me and then brgins it home where I prep all of the meals. I am now no longer overwhelmed by cooking and meal planning and find Costco's basics to be pretty good. They have the cheapest meat prices on organic in our area as well. If anyone is interested in the meal service, it is 5 dollars a month, comes with the whole menu and shopping list for the month and has 3 menu options--we choose the gluten free option. So far, my kids have not complained about one meal, and we have been doing it for about 4 months. It works for us--5dinners1hour.com is the site. They have samples there and do have substitutions for some things.

You put words into the orignal poster's mouth and made assumptions that were not true--I'd say that is was is not fair actually. There is nothing wrong with asking an honest question. You don't need to read into it, and project your assumptions regarding one's motive. For goodness sake, people should be able to ask a sincere question wihtout being condemned or having accusations thrown at them. She nowhere near said what you accused her of. Sorry, but that is not very gracious.

I did Bigger last year with 3rd and 4th graders. I think the writing is doable--cursive practice and notebooking pages. The notebooking can be adapted--you can have your child write more or less if you choose. There is no creative writing at this level. I like HOD, because it is complete, integrated and gentle. It is a good foundation that you can easily modify, add to, pare down ..if you want. I would do DITHOR level 2/3 in your position for reading--that would be less writing than 4/5. Could you combine both in Beyond and just adjust for the kids? You can also go to HOD's website and join their forum/board(listed at top of page) and then you can ask the creator's of the curriculum themselves for their thoughts. They are very helpful and kind. We love HOD--Preparing and Little Hearts are great for our family. Hope you find a good fit for you all. Jen

I see Sam Readers FREE for reading or listening with colorful illustrations at the link below: You can sign up your child to be evaluated also. Quizzes are provided at the end of each book if you like. There are 52 books there. There is also 47 pages of free printable sight word cards for the lessons--listed by lesson and sound(these are very nice), and 27 sound/symbol color photo cards---super nice!! http://readingteacher.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3&Itemid=14 Blessings, Jen

I did not read all of the answers--but I have done this: Go to the donotcall website and file a complaint. You will be asked to enter the number and time/date of call. You will be asked if it is an automated call also. It is also my understanding that companies who are not nonprofit can call you if you have asked to be removed from their list or they are subject to a fine. Hope it gets resolved.:)

Wow...that is so great!! When moms loves it too, it must be good. I inquired about it on another thread also, and I must say I am sold based on all of these reviews. My daughter is very literary also so it sounds like LOF will be a hit with her. Thanks for the encouragement--it is so great when your kids are excited about school and you enjoy it also.

Thank you so much for the replies--they have been a huge help. I think I will start with fraction then and go from there. My son is in 4th grade and working on other things, so I may try an earlier book for him. It looks like fun, and my daughter LOVES to read, read and read some more. It looks like something she will enjoy. Thanks!

Hello, For those of you who know about LOF, can you tell me which books would make a good supplement to Singapore 4B-level 5? I was thinking of the last 4 in the elementary level but if there is a better insight out there--please fill me in. Many thanks, Jen

We love HOD here, but we drop things from time to time --especially extensions we don't have time for and when things are covered in co-op. Sometimes, I just want to do it all and yet there is only so much time, so something has to give and we don't want that something to be our sanity;) Hope you get things smoothed out nicely.

Hello, I have never seen LOF but am very curious. We have been through a few math programs. Who would you recommend LOF to-what type of learner and personality--what are the pros? Any cons?

This is an interesting thread. My kids are seemingly natural spellers. I think they could benefit from some work on prefixes, suffixes etc...but other than that, they always ace spelling tests without much effort. So, I have wondered if spelling is not necessary any longer for my 4th and 5th graders. It is good to see other people's thoughts.

I will look into it again. I looked at a few years ago but ended up in CLE and then Singapore. My son does CLE and it is fine, but I think he actually prefers a public school type textbook the best. He is in 4th grade and the pretest/review system of CLE is good for him. My daughter just doesn't need as much review, so your idea of assigning fewer problems is good. Singapore is just perfect for her right now except for when she needs that little extra lesson and goes into perfectionist mode and gets mad when she can't do a problem right away. Ughhh!

My 10 year old daughter is working in Singapore now, book 4b. She'll move on to 5a and 5b after that possibly...I need to see what these books cover first. She likes Singapore--quick lessons and some review but not overkill. We tried CLE--too much review for her. Singapore is really lacking in a lot of instruction, so I am doubtful about going on to level 6 next year. We had some setback with her because we tried Saxon 5/4, then 6/5 then 7/6--none of it worked--again too much review for her. I think she would like something that gives a short review then practice but again not a zillion problems to do. Singapore's style works well, but when she comes across something she doesn't remember, she gets easily frustrated and does not want to ask me for help unless she has to. She'd prefer to have a clear explanation and go on her own. Anyone know of something like Singapore but with some clear instruction included with the review pages. I am thinking of going with something traditional otherwise--but the 6thgrade texts I have seen look too easy for her. So going the traditional route, is there a good text for an advanced 6th grader anyone knows of? Save me from math insanity:tongue_smilie:

I did TOG year one. I felt it was too demanding on my planning(and I taught professionally for years). I did not find the books easily and they were very costly. I did not care for the writing. There were some good projects, but again, too much pulling together to suit us. The lapbooks were good, but there are only so many of those we want to do in a year. It didn't feel cohesive to me...just too much here and there. I found the notes fine, but I prefer not to use them and didn't love the worksheets. I love that living books were used and overall, the material is good; however, I wanted more of a heart emphasis as well. We switched to HOD and I much prefer it. You can go deeper as much as you like--read more books do more research, take an extra week to cover something in more detail. I love the Christ centered approach--it isn't an add on, it is woven throughout. We have great discussions and conversations about the books we read for every subject--we have grown as a family and enjoy the time together. TOG tired us all out and felt too impersonal to us. HOD has lots of fun activities, engaging books, and my kids love it. I am also grateful that my time outside of school isn't spent thinking about lesson plans, pulling things together etc...instead my brain can relax and we can enjoy one another. TOG just did not fit any of us very well. BUt it is a great fit for a lot of people and does have a lot of pros. Sometimes it is just dependent on personality. Hope you find the perfect fir for your family whatever it may be. My experience works for us, but it may not for you.

The children vision site is a good one to look into. They include a quiz/checklist to see if your child has any of the symptoms. I know of 3 children who have problems with their vision that requires vision therapy. I know two of them have a convergence/ teaming problem. The oldest, now 3rd grade, has finally graduated from the vision therapy program and is able to read now after several years struggling undiagnosed. These problems are not well known and are worth looking into if reading issues persist.

When some of you refer to Daily Grammar in 5 minutes, are you referring to Stamper's book or Evan Moor's Daily Language Review?? I am not sure which book yo are referring to? Thanks, Jen

:lol: Oh my, wow...those are some doozies for sure. Pantyliner, buck naked....not good, not good at all. I pulled out of my driveway in the minivan one day and thought something was 'off' but didn't know what. It was a nice day in the suburban neighborhood and a bunch of people were outside that day. Everyone stopped in their tracks and stared at me. Hmm, I thought, that's weird. Why is everyone staring. I keep going and begin pulling into town, people still frozen staring at us, and I begin hearing an odd sound. So I look out the back window and see something behind may van--trailing about 30 ft back. I pull over and see that I had run over my garden hose which began coiling around my wheel... which was towing my sprinkler, which had ripped off of the outside spigot, which has crashed to bits many large ceramic garden pots along the way. I looked back in horror to my home to see a large stream of water shooting out the side of my house and into my neighbor's yard, broken pots everywhere, and my sprinkler in the middle of the street at the end of the hose. I then called AAA to see if they had any service available for idiots who run over their garden hose and coil it around their wheel and then proceed to drive to town towing a sprinkler 30 ft behind their car while water is shooting out the side of their house at full blast. He put me on hold and then returned to say 'no' and 'they have never received that request before'.

Interesting ideas posted. The Sentence Family looks very clever. Is it similar to GrammarLand but with pictures added by the students??? Best to you in finding contentment with what you have or being led to something better for all.

HI all, We are currently doing Preparing and LHTH. We did Bigger last year with my older two. It has been a blessing for us. The books are really great--they enjoy all of them. The projects, draw and write, literature, and history are fun. The Bible memorization has blessed our family over and over. The DITHOR character traits and skills emphasized with each genre has been great for my kids to learn and discuss. This year my kiddos are also really enjoying the poetry. Someone in the HOD yahoo group made pages for poetry which simplified things a bit for us also. Of course, there are Preparing pages for history and science this year in the files also. Someone else made prayer cards which are wonderful for Wednesdays when the kids are learning to apply the verses and have quiet time. I used to feel frazzled all the time, not it is a relief to know they are enjoying learning and getting a lot of good work done at a reasonable rate. I no longer feel like I might be missing something and trust where we are headed. It has been a blessing for us in many ways.

Where is the online class?

Now you all have me off on a bunny trail...Love the boards I have seen. And wow according to these, I am super disorganized...ughh!:tongue_smilie:

Hello--Baltimore area here!

So I am reading all of these posts on math and wondering how close I am to insanity--I am thinking seriously close. I wish I saw this thread before... I have ordered Singapore to give it a go. My daughter is just bored to tears in Saxon 6/5--just way too much repetition of old stuff and not enough drilling of new stuff. Frankly, I am bored of it myself. She doesn't love math, but it comes easily to her. I am wondering how CLE differs from Saxon and what level she'd be on...since you all do CLE, what level do you think would be best for an advanced 4th grader? I had not even considered CLE until you all shared your thoughts. I am still unclear how it is different from Singapore also...if anyone wants to expound on that in this thread or a different one..I am all :bigear: Thanks!

Well for us it is a great fit. My 3rd and 4th grader are doing Bigger this year. My kids do all of the extensions, do grade 4 dictation(from egoogle Day by Day) and are moving up to R&S 4 in a month or so. I love the Bible/hymns/interwoven biblical character traits study--woven through storytime/read alouds/DITHOR pages and discussed from the history readings. Previously we did Tapestry, and I spent every moment wondering if I was doing enough and planning, planning, planning, creating materials etc..The only thing I kept from lat year was our devotions books which my kids adore and beg for and those were not part of Tapestry--just something I found that help them apply Scripture. We are ALL much happier now and learning a lot. My kids enjoy the science too--they like the experiments and they retain a ton. At this grade level, very little science is done in the public schools, because the focus is on other skills first, and so I think they are getting more from HOD science than public school(where they were until part way through last year). Some dislike the science--it is a matter of preference too. I think smaller chunks of info is MUCH better for retention over the long haul. The readings in history etc..also help with retention due to the reinforcement that goes on throughout the guide. My kids have great memories and are above grade level but they did not retain from the Abeka science book we used or other books where they are inundated with tons of useless vocabulary words etc...in a short amount of time from a textbook. Why in the world would a child in 4th grade need to know the word for the breathing tubes of a bug--for goodness sakes--what a waste of brain power(in my opinion). I realized my time was previously spent cramming their brains with too much info( and a lot of useless info too), but now we are enjoying the time, settling in on different topics and discussing things more deeply. They 'get' the ways things operate, can think critically, and reason, and experience life hands-on, and much of the time is spent on cultivating their hearts and giving them a thirst for more information and God. I have also added a book basket for down time with some extra great books we have on hand or from the library...some are novels, others are picture books, short stories, or magazines...Also, I purchased HOD's booklist for other books to add to each level from Beyond on up. I find a lot of these books at the library and thrift shops. I think if someone is ready for Beyond books but one does not want to use the ones in the curriculum, that purchasing the book list is an option and worth the cost. I have tried different things over this last year sticking mainly with Tapestry but adding in for other subjects. I used to teach middle and high school, and I have decided that this program is what we need on all levels. It is where the Lord led us, too. My observation is that a lot of moms(including myself) get stuck in the 'grass is greener' mentality or compare themselves to other families or overload their kids unnecessarily thinking they are doing a good thing. I have found that I need to seek the Lord and see where He leads and then be content in that and walk by faith. One cannot go wrong when He is in control. I have decided NOT to read certain forums, because for me, it leads to dissatisfaction etc...when I need to trust God and not look back, but still be seeking Him all along the way. Only He knows what my kids need at any given time.