Thank you so much for the replies!! These are great! Lori D - Love your advice! Very helpful! I am asking for a 4th and 7th grade boys. They do ok with writing, I am just having a hard time finding a program. They all seem so good, but I want one that I know will bring results. I guess that is impossible to know until I jump in and use one.

I am going bonkers researching writing curriculum!! HELP! Tell me which program worked for your child!

Thank you so much!! It is always helpful to hear good reviews before you enroll!

I am considering signing my daughter up for a class with Big River Academy. I am thinking she will do English IV. Has anyone had a child take this course? I would love some feedback!

Has anyone used any of the English or History classes from Classes from Beth? Any feedback would be great!

Has anyone looked at this? Curious on your thoughts. It looks good, but is it enough? Anyone?

I used CLE for several years and then decided to try TG&TB for grades 2, 5 and 8. We have used TG&TB for a few years now. I am starting to feel like it simply is not enough. My daughter just took a placement test for The Potter's School English and completely bombed it. I don't think that there is simply enough drill in TG&TB to really learn the concepts. I like what I see in TG&TB and it is such a "sweet" curriculum and the kids like it, but is it truly getting the job done. I wonder if the kids like it because the lessons are short, quick and don't require a lot of thinking versus Rod and Staff grammar or CLE. I feel like my kids are behind now and I am extremely frustrated. Just curious if I am the only one here...

They wanted her to take a grammar class and a writing class in the summer. They felt it would make her writing more "solid" for the class. She passed the essay portion. Shouldn't the English 2 class make her moe "solid"? I don't get it.

I signed my daughter up for English 2 with TPS. She will be a very young 9th grader in the fall. Her birthday is in July. She took the placement test and scored decent, but not great on the essay part, but only got 19 out of 30 of the grammar questions correct. They want her to take 2 summer courses or they will not approve her for English 2. Our other option is to take English 1. We absolutely cannot take 2 summer courses. Our summer is already booked. Is TPS English classes really this advanced? Sigh!! I am considering just letting her take the English 1 for 9th and continuing from there. Can I still give her a credit for English 1 even though it is really designed for 7th and 8th grade? I guess I could give her extra work? I don't know, just feeling like I have failed her. Any advice??

A friend and I are interested in starting an academic co-op in our area. We have a huge successful co-op in our area that offers "fun" classes, but we lack an academic option. Our thoughts are to offer classes that would have homework and accountability it the subjects that are either harder to teach, or would be more fun to come together, discuss and do projects with. If anyone is part of an academic co-op, could you tell me the pro's and con's of it. I would also like any advice to this endeavor as well. Are there any websites to academic co-ops you could direct me to?? Thank you!

Thanks:) We have used Rod and Staff and CLE in the past, so my 8th and 5th grader have a pretty good grasp of grammar. We are using Fix it! with IEW SWI A and B. I think it just "feels strange" that we are not using a textbook for grammar this year. My 5th is doing 2 sentences a day in book 1, and my 8th is doing 2-4 sentences a day depending on our time and what is being taught. I figure we will slow down once we get to book 3. I was able to purchase all of Fix it! on clearance at Mardel a few years ago and it has been sitting in my closet. I just looked through all of the books, and it gets meaty the further you progress.

Are you using it as a supplement or as your only grammar program?

Bringing this thread up again... any new updates?? Anyone posters above who continue to use Fix it?

We are using BJU DVD for math, science and history for 2nd and 5th grade. The science videos are never more than 15 minutes long, and most are around 10 minutes. I like them because the instructor gives a lot of information and makes it more interesting than I can. For the first time ever, science is actually getting done! They don't love every single lesson, but at least it is getting done:) I feel good knowing they are building a solid science foundation. The 5th grade science teacher, Mrs. Ingersol, is very good! Most of the time, science takes around 30-35 minutes a day. This includes the video, the worksheet (if one is assigned and if I decide he should do it), and reading the text. Sometimes I have him outline a section of his text and have him write a short summary as well. I am sure other programs out there are more interesting and fun, but I never have the time or energy to implement them. I guess for us, the best program is the program that gets done consistently, so we will continue BJU.