I am hoping someone answers this too---Noeoe Chem III looks like fun!

Hmmm---thanks. You both have expressed exactly the things I have heard that have made me pause---the whole issue of typing in EXACTLY the right answer. It just seems that maybe a lot of people just don't really use SOS?

Has anyone used these? I am sure they are nowhere near as rigorous as the preferred courses usually mentioned here :tongue_smilie:, but I am wondering if they are even worth considering. I am looking for something that is challenging, but not overly so, with the multimedia component and I don't really want to shell out for BJU, Abeka, etc DVDs. I am very swayed by the email advertisement with the testimonials I just got for the new 2009 version---but I think I would like to hear from "real" people about these. TIA!

GREAT suggestion! I have to say that I am SOOO glad that all of the TOO many curriculum options, catalogs, learning styles, companies were just not there when we started homeschooling! In fact, we never did art or science and our school only took us a couple of hours a day. We did a LOT of traveling and playing and exploring.

Mother of Divine Grace School puts out a GREAT syllabus available at Emmanuel Books! LOTS of hands on, uses lots of field guides and other books for student to do own research and then write essays. My dd is using and LOVING this study! Even though it is a syllabus from a Catholic school---there is nothing Catholic or doctrinal whatsoever in the studies or syllabus. :)

Wow. We really do live in the boonies! None of the hs'ers in our area that have graduated kids have ever done this---but then again it would probably be a $$$ in our neck of the woods. I see the logic in your reasons, though! ;)

Well, we used the new 8/7 for a bit, and I do like the mental math and facts practice at the beginning of each lesson. But as far as better problems and fully preparing for Algebra 1----that is what I read for years about 1/2 and why it was so superior. Also---I thought that the abstract nature of the concepts presented in Algebra 1/2 were more complex than 8/7-even the new one? Anyways, marketing by all these companies makes my head spin:willy_nilly: There are just WAY too many choices for "new and improved" these days................

Dave Ramsey has a program for homeschoolers https://www.daveramsey.com/store//for-schools/cYOUTH-cSCHOOL-p1.html scroll down the page and it is the $89.99 homeschool pack. We really like his methods.

Hmm...interesting! Can't wait to hear if anyone can answer this as we are going to use Core 300 next year.:bigear:

I am not being rude---but WHY are you having an 8th grader take an ACT test???? Isn't this for 11th graders? I guess I must be out of the loop in modern homeschooling, because i have never heard of a kid so young taking this test. :confused: My recommendation for grammar is Hake grammar---we LOVE it!! My dd 10th grade is doing the 8th grade book and it has done wonders for her grammar comprehension and retention. The constant review and incremental development of the Saxon method are GREAT for grammar. Unless I am missing something and your son is going to college very early, it seems that you have quite a few years to cement those grammar skills before ACT time. :tongue_smilie:

Why not "enjoy" a more understandable math course like LOF or MUS??? It is hotly debated whether these are as "rigorous' as others----but if he meets the requirements for math and actually understands and enjoys it----isn't that kind of more important than shoving a rigorous program down his throat so he 'hates' math? Just my 2 cents. BTDT with my own son----who now likes math...........

You can buy these lesson plans from http://www.rainbowresource.com for less than $6. ;) You could always get the schedule for Bio and Adv Bio and double up lessons to at least attempt completing as much as you could in one year. Another idea is the Dive Biology cd. They use both books to complete the program, including reading schedules. I don't think you go through every single module in both books----but it would allow for a complete bio program that includes anatomy.

Well, if your daughter is doing well with TT and LOF---why switch? There are plenty of good reviews for TT in the upper grades. If you just continued the TT sequence with LOF alongside, she would get all the way through Trig and Calc by 12th.

Don't YOU basically have to be a math whiz for your kids to use Singapore upper levels? Do they provide lesson plans, teacher manuals and solution keys?

:spam: Thanks. I can't believe there is a Spam smilie---sorry--just had to use it:tongue_smilie:

But weren't you just recently offering glowing reviews of and highly recommending use of MUS?? Aack! Isn't it possible to beef up the easy problems in MUS with something like a Zaccaro Real Life Algebra book?? What about the MUS honors books?

You are not alone! I have ordered at least twice each year for the past 6 also---and I NEVER get mine before they change the website and stop letting you buy an "old" core if the new one does not appeal! They don't send to current customers first either----they just send them out at random. I think this creates the ridiculously eager and frenzied anticipation of the annual catalog (yes, I am guilty of this :tongue_smilie:). I think they do this on purpose and enjoy the "celebrity" status of the Almight Sonlight Catalog Annual Wait....:glare:

Well, we actually have a chore chart, but in reality my kids do what they are asked to do when. It is just easier. They DO know, that ds unloads dishwasher and dd loads. DS empties trash and dd cleans cat box. They have decided that these are THEIR exclusive chores and although they usually do need to be asked daily to do them, they do them without complaint. As far as everything else, I find it less demanding for my time and patience if I just list out on my daily planner what I want accomplished in the house or yard each week, and then ask accordingly. Then again, we only have 2 kids and are a pretty relaxed family. Our friends, who have 4 kids, have always had a VERY detailed chore chart and envelopes filled with the "chores" and directions. Basically, mom and dad do nothing around the house but supervise while kids do everything from baking, cleaning and baseboard cleaning! :tongue_smilie: I think with more kids it works better to have a detailed system of chores. It makes me tired just to think about managing all that though :lol:

There is NO way a certain curriculum makes a child "smarter"! And what is the definition of "smart"? Book smart, math smart, science smart, practical living skills smart, street smart etc. etc. And I agree with pp's who say that tailoring a curriculum to learning style properly is what gives the impression that a certain curriculum is "better" than another. I can say that if I tried to use the WTM suggestions to the "T" with my kids----we would all be bored to tears!!! I can honestly say that intellectual intelligence certainly does not spill over into all other areas of life. And geniuses are definitely born that way----and when that innate genius is recognized it cannot be stopped and if it is nurtured it soars. For example, my dad is basically a genius. He sailed through all of his schooling with straight A's, getting a full ride to Stanford University where he sailed all the way through a PhD in Operations Research and has written over a dozen books on it. BUT----that is ALL he did. He worked---and wrote----and we never did things "normal" families did like skiiing or camping or fun trips! Education was ALL that my parents focused on. They have NO practical or fun living skills whatsoever!!! They can change a lighbulb and that is about it. Their house is literally falling apart around them because that is not their priority. I don't think my dad has EVER, EVER even worn a pair of jeans :001_huh: Thankfully---I did not inherit such intellectualism from them---and I consider that I have a better balance in my life. The WTM, fully classical method appeals to me based on my history of schooling and family life growing up----but REAL life dictates that that method just will not work. My kids are getting a good balance of academic and fun because they also will have to LIVE life in the real world one of these days----and interact with all kinds of human beings not all trained in the Classical Method. To this day, I still have trouble balancing a checkbook and living on a practical budget----and I blame it (well, partly) on the fact that my parents sent my brothers and I to the best private schools and focused solely on education and grades. We took advanced maths and english and sciences----but of course these schools never offered Home Ec or Shop or anything practical. It was all about higher and higher academics with no balance. My younger brother, my best friend and I have all had this conversation over the years about how our elite schooling really gave us a disadvantage because all three of us are basically "regular" people. We used curriculums and went to schools that shot for the "stars" but never gave practical skills if the rockets puttered out---KWIM? In fact, by the end of high school, I was so burned on books and learning and pushing so hard---I just wanted to have fun and be "regular" :tongue_smilie: Anyways---Hope I have not gotten too far off topic. Curriculum serves a purpose---and it takes you where you want it to take your kids. But it WILL NOT "create" a genius or make kids intellectually smarter---especially if it is not a good fit or kids end up burned out by high school graduation or they hate learning.

Why is it that if our kids are doing well with a program, it is not taking all day and they don't hate their math anymore----we want to change programs!!!! :confused: Not criticizing, just commiserating :glare: When my kids were doing awesome in Math U See---and finally getting math and accelerating---I felt it was the time to switch to Saxon........and made them detest math. DS is also doing very well with TT---no complaints, finishes quickly---and I want to switch him again based on bad reviews too!!! Since he is 7th and starting the TT Alg 1 next week---I think I am going to stick it out with the TT sequence and supplement with LOF. At this rate---he will still get to Calc by 12th, which what I am trying to accomplish. There are PLENTY of good reviews and LOTS of kids who have gone on to higher college maths with using TT too----so it may not be as rigorous as other programs, but it seemingly works too. As a matter of fact---I don't think I have read any threads (and correct me if I am wrong here--please!) that kids using the Chalkdust (just to name one popular program) are so far advanced by the end that they test THAT much higher into or out of college maths................

Probably, although I only looked through AG before I sent it back and settled on Hake. One idea is if you use Hake for 7th and 8th, you could then just use the AG review books for high school. I am using IEW instead of the Hake writing. I started out using it with our IEW, but the method is really different and it ended up being overkill--duh! I have my kids write in the book---otherwise there is SO much to copy and write down in a notebook. Besides, there seems to be enough room provided in the books to write---so it looks to me it is meant to be a worktext. With my kids---this program would have been a guaranteed complaining torture session if they had to do all those problems in a separate book :tongue_smilie:

Probably---but for us for ONE subject, it is way too much $$. If my kids were math whizzes, really advancing far faster than I could provide otherwise, I guess I could justify the cost, but I swear---my jaw hit the floor the first time I went to the CD site and looked at the prices :001_huh:

:iagree: No Winterpromise (ordered CATW last year), no SL---used 6 Cores already---very irritating!!! Mainly because we are going to use SL again next year----and the core we want to use is changing---and I will have NO chance to make a decision about 2008 or 2009 core because I have no catalog---and their online catalog goes up the day things change! :confused:

Very interesting thread! I have had the HARDEST time deciding math for my math intelligent son! I will not pay the exhorbitant fee for Chalkdust---it is just way too overpriced. VT was way too confusing---I have never seen Algebra taught that way. TT does use "baby talk"---there truly is no getting around that fact. DS is just finishing up TT Pre-alg and I thought I had decided to switch to Saxon for a more rigorous program through Calc. I have the Alg 1/2 book---and really, really took a good hard look at it and all the problem sets etc. Perhaps the problems "look" more complicated and there are certainly a few more per problems per set compared to TT---but honestly----except for the additional topics portion of Alg 1/2---ALL the same topics are covered in TT Pre-Alg compared to Alg 1/2! Well, except for integration of geometry. Yes---the scope and sequence then of TT Alg 1-2 is definitely slower and uses "baby talk" for mathematical terms. But then again, ds is going to use TT Alg 1 in 7th grade and I think it is fine, especially since we are going to supplement with Life of Fred that will really cement in the real mathematical terms and include lots of great practical applications and word problems. TT alg 1, though, did NOT work for dd in 10th. She really has had a tough time with math, and I really thought the TT method would work for her. But what I found is that she really needed clear cut, brief explanations and real mathematical terms to understand Algebra--and we have found that with Ace school of tomorrow Algebra 1. I don't understand, though, the allegation that TT through PreCalc would give solid Alg 1,2 and Geom and that's it. When comparing the TOC of TT PreCalc to MUS PreCalc---they are pretty much identical! So, I am now going to take the chance with ds who is set to finish Calc before ending high school that TT through PreCalc will prepare him for starting Calc in the middle of 11th grade. Especially supplementing with LOF. FWIW---I LOVED Algebra and math in high school and got all the way through PreCalc---but honestly never, ever understood uses for the math. It was just fun to use algorithms and solve problems---the problem solving was just a fun puzzle for me. Even in college. I think a math program that offers explanations of why algorithms work or where the math originated and then shows practical, real-life applications of that math---even if it takes an extra year to reach the topics of more rigorous programs---can't hurt. It certainly is interesting. I still have very mixed feelings about TT---but since I have the Alg 1 program (it is $$), I will go ahead and use it, but supplement with LOF and perhaps some Zaccaro books. At least ds will finish PreCalc by the end of 10th. I guess at that time when we will have to change to another program we will find out if it is seriously "behind" or not. I will bet at this time after researching my brains out for the last 2 weeks that he will be right on par to start any Calc program.

We used VCR A in 7th---including the Teachers Guide and lesson plans and tests from Covenant Home Curriculum. That was the only year we used it as dd seemed to have the same "no retention" problem, even though we were using it in a manner that I felt was pretty thorough. There are SO many better word root programs out there----I just don't get why VCR is so popular.