Double post

Btw--she is a VERY determined child. She is a great gymnast and works very hard to master those skills. She does really well at math and is super crafty/creative. She has been starting to make comments, however, about being dumb because she can't read as well as other children (she especially notices this at church, because they are grouped together by grade).

She reads at an end of 1st grade level. She slowly sounds each individual word, struggles to remember rules, reverses letters as well as words. We have not tried an O-G program yet--we have used MFW, Sonlight, CLE Learning to Read, as well as various "supplemental" programs, such as Reading Eggs and Explode the Code. She wants to read (which has only happened within he last year) and did make slow improvement this past year (when we were using Sonlight).

My dd (8) was just diagnosed. The evaluator (at Scottish Rite) recommended SPIRE. But as I research, I see so many other Orton-Gillingham programs that look promising for my kinesthetic learner. AAR looks very doable, but is it enough? Barton seems to be the gold standard, but it is very pricey. According to what I have read, the Herman method is great for kinesthetic learners. So many choices...any advice or opinions would be appreciated.

Tapestry of Grace looks very overwhelming for me, texasmom33. How do you narrow down what to do?

I am looking for curriculum to use with my 2 youngest (girls, 6th and 3rd grades next year). I want to be able to combine several topics (history, science, and read-alouds) and use related real books on their appropriate levels. I am considering Sonlight and My Father's World, but wondered if you all know of a great curriculum that I have overlooked. Any suggestions would be great!

My 7th grade son is currently doing CLE 700 and doing very well with it :) For his 8th grade year, I want to start Algebra. I would like for it to be a curriculum we can stick to throughout high school math (not jumping from say, Saxon to Teaching Textbooks, etc). Also, the spiral approach has really worked well for him, so I would love to find a similar approach. Which programs have you used and would recommend?

I am really just in the information gathering stage. I am also looking at Konos and Trail Guide for Learning. I will definitely be checking out the others listed here.

The website says the appropriate age is 8-12 for Beyond FIAR. But I was concerned that it wouldn't be rigorous enough for 7th grade and was hoping someone had used it and found it to be good for that level. Free Indeed, thru what grade did you use it?

My ds will be in 7th next year and I am considering doing a unit studies approach so he can dig in and learn the topics in depth. I am looking at Beyond FIAR. Any opinions on doing unit studies in middle school, and specifically, Beyond FIAR?

Dancing Bears looks very interesting. I haven't looked at Abeka, but I will check it out.

I need suggestions for a good reading/phonics program for a very creative, visual learner.

Thank you, ladies. Most of the responses have been very helpful. I am considering all advice. Thanks again!

She has anxiety about grade levels because her older brother and sister both went to public school, she has family and friends that go to public school and refer to grade levels. She knows that 2nd grade comes after 1st grade--I have NOT mentioned to her that I would hold her back--those are my thoughts and I am concerned about her reaction if I had her "repeat" 1st grade. We have homeschooled for 4 years and I was a public school teacher before having children. Children do not all read at the same time, and aren't ready to read at the same time! She IS progressing and functioning, she just has had more of a struggle than both of my other children so I am looking to other moms that may have had similar late-bloomers!

Yes, she is 6.5 and very immature in many ways--just showed interest in learning to tie her shoes, hasn't lost any baby teeth. Thanks for the suggestions. I looked back at my question and realize that it looks like I want her to do other subjects independently, but that isn't what I mean. I want her to have some ownership, not feel like she needs me to do EVERY subject. We do SOTW with my older children and would like to find a science appropriate for her. I will check out the ones mentioned--thanks!