The student pack is the student workbook and test book, so that is what you would purchase for any additional dc using the same level.

Thanks! I must admit, MUS was what came to mind first. I had ds take the placement test today and he would start in Epsilon. I guess that's not too bad. I do like the fact that MUS would be less teacher-intensive than BJU. I just worry about the higher levels not being strong enough.

:lurk5:

Would these work well together? I tried Singapore with my older two dc, but it just didn't have enough practice and review on it's own. My oldest used it through 4A, but always as a supplement to Rod & Staff. My 1st grader is now doing R & S, but he hates it. He seems to GET math better than my older two dc, but hates the drill of R & S. I'm wondering if Singapore with the BJU Reviews book (has drill on one side of the page and review problems on the other side) would be ideal. I just don't feel comfortable using Singapore without something else for more practice and drill work. Has anyone used these together? Thanks!

Could someone compare these two for me please? Academically are they pretty equal? I'd like to stick with either one through high school. Which has more constant review? My ds10 has mostly used spiral maths, as he needs lots of review or he forgets past concepts. However, he doesn't seem to really GET what he's doing. That's especially important because he wants to be an engineer. I need to find a mastery math program with plenty of review. Rod & Staff is definitely out! We started out with that for 1st grade and half of 2nd grade. We had tears every day. To this day he loathes the thought of R & S. Thanks!

Thank you! This sounds like it could work. I'm tempted to buy a copy of the TG before the convention so I have more time to look it over. Hmmm......

Anyone?

This would be for a 7th, 6th and tag-a-long 2nd grader. We've never used MFW before. I've been considering it for several years, as I love the Biblical and missions focus, and the fact that it is completely planned out (I love to plan but end up spending more time planning than teaching), except for readers so I can use what I want. I love older books and have collected a lot from used book stores and Amazon Marketplace. I'd hate to have to buy specific books and not be able to use what we have. I suppose the biggest thing that holds me back (besides the cost) is that I hate jumping around in books, which I hear MFW does a lot of. Also, I've heard 1850 to Modern doesn't flow as well as the other MFW years. What is The Last 500 Years book like? Is it absolutely necessary? How much direct teacher time will this MFW year take from me daily? I am not a crafty mom but my dc love them. Could they do the activities independently? What is the music, art and science like in this year? I'm mostly interested in the Bible and history, however, I worry about the memory verses. My dc already memorize Bible verses for AWANA. Will this be too much for them? I, personally, am terrible at memorizing! It would be wonderful if this works out for us. Then we could do ECC the following year when my oldest is in 8th grade, before she starts the MFW high school levels. My now 1st grader would be in 3rd when doing ECC and right on track to do the four history years, then repeat ECC before high school. My second child would have a bit of a "gap" year, but I'm not too concerned about that. He could even do a science-focused year before high school, as he LOVES science. Now, another little road-block is that dh isn't really impressed by MFW, at least not what he's seen from the website. He's a Christian, but seems to focus more on academics when it comes to homeschooling. He thinks MFW looks too "fluffy". He thinks projects and activities should be initiated by the dc and done mostly independently. Though he lets me make the curriculum decisions, when asked for an opinion he's big on the independent learning thing a la Robinson Curriculum. I would feel the same way if I were mainly concerned about academics, but my dc's spiritual growth and building loving family relationships is more important to me. Fortunately, dh is going to the homeschool convention with me in May and MFW will be there. I'm hoping a better look at it will convince him it's worth trying. As I said, he pretty much lets me make curriculum decisions, but I've never spent that much money on a curriculum before. I just wish David Hazell was going to be there and speaking at the convention.

Do you plan to use MUS all the way up? My oldest ds is not at all mathy, but he says he wants to be a mechanical engineer. I have thought about having him use MUS all the way up, but I worry that it won't be "enough" for him. Will you be switching to something else for higher maths or are you confident MUS is just as good in those levels? Thanks!

I understand. My two oldest are not mathy dc. I know my switching math programs a lot didn't help. I also need/needed something that isn't too teacher-intensive and is easy for a non-mathy mom to teach. My third dc is a first grader this year. I originally planned to use Rod & Staff through the 2nd or 3rd grade years (love the solid foundation in math facts), then use Saxon the rest of the way up. However, R & S is causing tears for my ds, just as it did for his older brother. I love it, but it is very dry and more writing than my dc can handle. I've tried to do a lot of it orally, but my ds still dreads it. Now I'm considering using MUS for the early years (Alpha - Delta), then switching to Saxon. Anyway, I've definitely decided on Saxon from about 5/4 up. It's just the early grades I need to figure out. I don't like the early levels of Saxon.

Any followers? How is it working out for you? Do you use the guides or make your own plans? Do you keep your dc together or have them each follow their own modules so they all start with Bible/Ancient Egypt? Thanks so much!

BP is Biblioplan.

Are these any good? What grade range would you use them for? http://www.amazon.com/Time-Kids-Harriet-Tubman-Courage/dp/0060576073/ref=pd_sim_b_4 Thanks!

I've only used BF's Early American for Primary and Intermediate Students Guides, but I combine my 6th, 5th and 1st graders with those. Basically I read the primary guide books aloud to my 1st grader, though the older ones usually listen in just because they like to. Some of the books in the intermediate guide I read aloud to my olders and some I have them read on their own. It's working out fine, except that I also add in books from my Truthquest Guide (can't pass up a recommendation for a good book) and now we are taking too long to get through this portion of the history cycle. I'll have to pick up the pace and drop some of the books. I've never used Sonlight, but have owned a couple of the IG's to take a look at. I prefer the books BF uses. SL has great books, but seem to use more historical fiction than nonfiction or biographies, as BF does. I like a few hf books thrown in, but prefer our history studies to be based mostly on nf and biographies. I think using BF with some extra read alouds from SL (or TQ) would be a good way to go. Sorry I couldn't be more help.

:lurk5:

Great!! Thanks so much!

My oldest wants to do a year of geography before starting the history cycle over for high school. Could she do ECC on her own, as I will still be going through the history cycle with my youngers?

:lurk5: I'd love to hear more about Notgrass vs BF for high school.

Abeka

You might like Beautiful Feet. The guides are only about $15 and most of the books can be found at the library. The guides give discussion question ideas, essay questions, vocabulary work, mapping, notebooking suggestions, etc. If you did most of the work in the guides and added a simple grammar program, maybe Easy Grammar, that would take care of your language arts and history. However, it is a Christian curriculum. I'm not sure if you prefer something secular. http://www.bfbooks.com/

No opinion, as I haven't used either. I just wanted to let you know that I have a SL Core 3 IG for sale (2007 edition) if you are interested. I am asking $35ppd.

I'm right there with you!

I like Rod & Staff and Modern Curriculum Press. R & S is a textbook for those grades and MCP is a workbook. R & S gives more review of past concepts , a small portion of each day's lesson, as opposed to the once-a-chapter cumulative review that MCP does. HTH!

TruthQuest

I'd follow something like the Robinson Curriculum, but using your own choice of books. It requires 2 hours of math, 2 hours of reading (history and science come in here) and 1 hour of writing (basically writing a one-page essay, rough draft and final draft) each day. I think you could even lessen the requirement to one lesson of math and 2 hours of reading a day, and one well-written essay of, say, 3 pages a week. This would allow plenty of time to pursue other interests.