This is my daughters first year to take a class with the WTM Academy. She is taking Expository Writing 1 with Marquita Hockaday. She has loved it!

I am thinking about adding in Evan Moor Daily Language Review and Daily Paragraph Editing for my 12yo daughter. We are also using Rod and Staff English, but I feel like she needs more review... some of the R&S goes over her head or she forgets when we do oral review. She is also taking Expository Writing 1 with the WTM Academy and that includes some grammar. I have even thought of dropping R&S for a season and picking it up later.... thoughts?

I have used Saxon for years!! My older 3 have used Saxon 1 through Advanced Math. Great program!

Just wanted to remind those who are wanting to purchase the Veritas Press Self Paced courses that tomorrow is the last day to get $100 off! I almost forgot.. Here is a link to take you there:) http://209veritaspress.refr.cc/D75G9MT

My daughter completed several of the Apologia books: Anatomy, Astronomy, Zoology... I have considered just letting her do the Chemistry/Physics and the Botany with the notebooks. I think this may be the route we go. She is a VERY young 7th grader, so I think she truly needs time to mature before we dig deeper into science. I really don't want it to be torture for her at all. I am not a huge fan of quizzes until high school... I just don't see the point. I know not everyone will agree with me, but I really want to spark some interest instead of drilling to death! Sigh....

We have given Apologia General Science a fair try... and my daughter HATES it. I am at a loss as to what to use. I have looked at Abeka, BJU and Elemental. I would love to hear what you are using!!!

I am purchasing a VP self paced course for my 4th grader, but my 7th grader wants to do one too! Honestly, after watching the samples, even I have learned a thing or two. My thought was to have her go through several of the programs in a year including the summer. I figured I could beef it up with some higher level readers and have her do more research on certain topics and have her write a few papers. I REALLY like that they memorize the timeline. Then I plan to have her start Omnibus 1 in 9th grade. I just don't think she is truly ready for omnibus right now. She is not a strong reader and feel like she may need a few more years to grow. Thoughts?

CLE does cover it ALL... It is very thorough. We are using the CLE LA 7 and one of the light units is a novel study... so she would basically apply everything she would learn from CLE Reading to a novel. I think that is the route I will go for now. I don't think I will have her do the workbook as intended for reading, but use it as a discussion guide. She tends to retain things when discussions are involved rather than just filling in a workbook. I am ordering Fig. Speaking though... looks like a wonderful resource to have on hand!

Thank you ladies!! Lori D ~ WOW... thank you so much for all of the links!! I appreciate it!

I am noticing that TWTM really does not suggest teaching analysis as far as teaching literature terms like foreshadowing, hyperbole ect.... Or am I missing something? I have been looking at Christian Light Reading and it teaches a ton of literature analysis/terms. I have not seen these types of things in any other program thus far. Is it important to learn this stuff or should I just let my kids continue to just read the books and discuss them with me?

Thank you KeriJ!

Anyone have experience with both of these programs? Cottage Press looks very good and it appears that there is more hand holding. I also really like ELTL... Pro's and Con's for each?? I am coming from 3 years of R&S and 2 years of CLE LA. We need a change:)

Thank you busymama7 :) I am also looking at Cottage Press material, and it seems a bit more rigorous. I am still leaning towards ELTL though. Such a tough decision. UGH

Found his post while searching for ELTL. Busymama7 what did you decide to go with this year. I am using CLA LA and Reading right now and considering a switch to ELTL. However, I am very scared that my kids will not get a proper grounding in LA if I do not use a methodical LA program that covers it all. I LOVE the poetry and stories included in ELTL and I think that is what has drawn me to that program. It is clear that more grammar would be learned in CLA LA and Reading, but it is just not as fun I guess. Ugh... it is so hard to know what to do!

I am considering taking a break from grammar as well. I thought about just using a handbook to go over usage as the need arises. She just started CLE and it is so technical. Or, at least do something like ELTL? It is so hard to let go though.

I am on the fence with history! I have both Notgrass Adam to Us and Biblioplan Y2 on my shelf. I love them both for different reasons. If I use Biblioplan then I can combine all the kids... HOWEVER, my 12yo really wants to do Adam to Us. If I go the Notgrass route, then I thought I would have my 4th grader read through A Child's History of the World and buy the workbook that goes with it put out by Calvary. I don't know why this decision is so hard! I am not too concerned with my 6yo at this point. I would more than likely have him listen to SOTW while he colors or something like that. My 12yo like the picture in Notgrass and likes that it is completely independent. She also does not like doing the same thing as her brother. She is more of a get her done type of girl and likes textbooks. If she does Notgrass, then I will more than likely have her continue Notgrass all the way through. HELP.. why is this so hard?

Thank you:) I personally think she will end up loving it. :) I sure hope so! I honestly have not heard one bad review about the class, and the kids all seem to love it!

I signed my daughter up for WTMA WWS 1 and she is honestly scared to death. She can be a perfectionist and does not like it when she gets something wrong. She is so scared that she will make a fool out of herself! Oh my goodness!! She is begging me to take her out of the class. I think she will probably love the class. She loves to be independent and she can be independent with this class. We have always butted heads when it came time to correct her writing, which is another reason I signed her up for a class. I thought having someone else go over her papers besides me would be a very good thing. Did anyone else's child not want to do the class but ended up enjoying it? I feel bad for her, but I am NOT taking her out of the class.

I am suffering from "decisionitis" and I am about to go crazy! LOL My 7th grader will be taking WWS 1 with TWTMA and I am trying to figure out what grammar to use. I stumbled upon ELTL and I really like it. However, I am afraid it could be too much writing. My goals this year for this particular child is to grow her comprehension and writing skills. I went ahead and bought ELTL 5 and it appears that the writing assignments are not too long at all. So I think it can be done. But I would love to hear from those who have actually done both programs. My other concern is grammar... is it truly enough? She has completed Rod and Staff 2-4 and CLE 5. Part of me feels like I should just go back to R&S and do WWS. However, I love that ELTL includes dictation, literature, poetry, writing, grammar and picture study. It gives me warm fuzzies! I would love to hear what you think:)

Oh man... I am dealing with this same decision!! I am going to go with CLE 7 and add in a few novel studies. I know that the stories in CLE are not "classic" but I love how they are character building stories. I also think that having an easier, smaller story will help my dd focus on learning the literary elements without it being too difficult. We are also using CLE LA 7 which includes a full novel study, so I think we will be good in the literature department. **edited to add** I also wanted to say that my daughter is NOT a reader. Every once in a while she will find a good book or a series that she can't put down, but it is very rare. My thoughts were to just giver her a reading program that teaches literary elements without having to read too many books right now. We did Sonlight last year and it pretty much wore her out with all the books she had to read. She read them, but only really likes a few.

This has been a great thread! I love the CM method, but have never been able to fully implement it in my homeschool. The thought of it overwhelms me!! When I try to implement CM methods, I feel like something is missing, or I am missing the mark. I NEED something to tell me what to do! I looked at ELTL and love what I saw, but for some reason, I am still a bit more drawn to CLE LA. My kids enjoy CLA as well. However, I feel bad because I feel like there is a "better" way... CLE LA does include copywork each and every day. It does drill the student, but they are truly learning from it. In CLE 3rd grade it gave the student notes about a subject and taught how to use those notes to write a paragraph. My son did great with it. BUT... since he didn't take notes from a classic literature book, but from a simple paragraph in a LA program, I feel bad!! UGH... I guess I am better at actually implementing a traditional LA program versus a CM one. Now if I can just be ok with that!

I am thinking about using this program for my 1st, 4th and 7th grader. I have been told that Level 5 is great for a 7th grader. I looked at the samples, but it is hard to really get a grasp of the program with the samples. Is this program truly enough?? My 4th and 7th did CLE last year and R&S before that and we need a change. The 7th grader will also be taking WWS with WTMA this year. Would these programs work well together? I guess I am wondering if this program is truly complete, or should I stick with CLE/R&S?

I just listened to a podcast by Susan and she said that she doesn't follow those timelines either. She said she is structured, but there was no way she could follow those timelines as written. The publisher made her put those in the book;)

Thank you for the updates:) I plan to use Fix it! for sure next year, but still debating on continuing CLE or I may do Rod and Staff orally for the most part and Fix it! I would love to JUST do Fix it! this year though.. ugh... those decisions are so tough. My 12yo will be taking WWS 1 with WTMA, and my 9yo will continue with IEW using SWI A or All Things Fun and Fascinating. They both usually get everything correct in the grammar programs, but there are still lots of silly errors in their writing. I am hoping Fix it! can resolve this issue.

Just bumping this thread for more Fix it! updates!! I am considering ditching CLE LA and just doing Fix it! this fall. I am terrified to do this, but I feel like the concepts may stick better. Advice and experience welcome!