DD is working through Alg 1/2. If I sit and monitor her, it takes about an hour with discussion of the lesson. If I let her dawdle, it could take 2. I've been monitoring her lately, to show her that she has free time in the afternoon if she gets it done. I'm hoping this will work to get her to do it on her own.

We're happy with Saxon 1/2 as well. Also having dawdling issues. I was having a lot of careless mistakes too, but when I insisted on writing every step, many of the mistakes disappeared. Yahoo!

I agree with bethben. Math must be taught at every grade. Saxon may have some lessons that your child could read and do herself, and making connections wouldn't matter (particularly if it is review). But the spiraling requires making connections between what they already know and what they are learning that day. How is it different? Why does it matter? What will it let you do? How might it be used in a several step problem? Saxon is working for us.

We started Prima Latina when oldest daughter was 8 (the youngest did it, too). We are now in Latina Christiana II, and doing very well. We did part of Minimus over the summer and will finish this summer (this was very enjoyable). You can look at some of Visual Latin's lessons on line (or download to take your time over it). I have purchased First Form Latin for next year. I will say my girls don't enjoy Latin as much today as they did when we began, because you must continually review vocabulary until it is in your head. But they are doing great with translating back and forth between English and Latin, using correct declensions and conjugations and tenses. I am scrambling to remember as much as they do! In addition, I found BJU's Latin book at a used bookstore (an older edition) and really liked the way the lessons were put together (it reads like a play). It made it more interactive and had good explanations for things that PL and LC I and II covered but didn't really explain (often it just said to memorize and you'd learn more about it later). Even though I found this frustrating in LC, I still think it was a good program for us. Good luck!

I'm a second vote for Rod and Staff. She will learn a lot about putting sentences together, and how they work. It is very specific, especially as you get into the higher grades. We are currently using R&S 7, and it definitely requires a lot of thought. We also use Kilgallon as a supplement, but that is really for children to get a feel for modeling excellent writing examples. It doesn't really teach the grammar behind it. Good luck!

We started out fine, but then got bogged down with a lot of outside activities. I tend to expect a lot from them, as well, and I think we just burned out (ennui?). We have fallen behind in a number of things, but I'm hoping with a couple of weeks down for the holidays, and a major attitude change by me might get us back on track. I like them to have a good break in the middle of the day, but I think we'll cut that back a bit, and maybe start a little earlier in the morning. We don't seem to get going before 9 A.M., although we've been up since 7. Our day has been ending about 5 P.M., and DH hates when he gets home at 6 and eldest DD is still working.

I used them with my oldest daughter when she was four. My younger daughter had trouble with writing, so we waited until she was five (but she caught up fast, once her little fingers figured out what to do!).

Thank you!!

If it can be done orally, we do it that way. I require the diagramming, because it will be helpful down the line, figuring out obscure sentences in college literature. If she does really know it, give her the worksheet to do instead of the lesson. Then you'll see her weaknesses.

I don't know if this will help you, but we write the words learned for the week each day, and the previous week's as well. We also make flash cards which we use right before we write the words with their translations. We also put the conjugations/declensions on cards. We go through all the cards about every other month, pulling out cards that aren't memorized yet to go over more often. Once the words are in place, more time is spent on the grammar and word placement. Good luck!

I started with the very first explode the code book. It has the letters that they learn to write. I had them say the letter sound as they wrote. Went to Bob books after that, and then to SWB's book to learn all the rest. Both my girls were excellent readers by age 6.

I commiserate. My 11 yr old dd is just the same. She says everything is "boring." My 9 yr old is a hard worker. I'll hate it when she gets to this stage!

Welcome! I agree that you shouldn't chuck anything yet. You can search on this forum about science, math, and language curriculums and get the love/hate views on each. If you have a homeschooling bookstore nearby, you may be able to look through different curriculums to see how you like them. Some will allow you to "see" some of the book online (such as Apologia, Abeka, BJU Press). It's really costly to buy curriculum, so I would look around before you make a final decision. Good luck!

My dds are both working in Latina Christiana II and planning First Form for next year. We make flash cards for the words each week and go over them quickly every day. Also, they write the words every day, including the words from the week before. The memorization is key. Everything else is grammar. I am learning along with them. I do not grade this subject; I want them to see this as a learning opportunity, not a failure if they don't get it the first time. We just keep going over it until it's understood. That said, there's nothing wrong with deciding something else is more important. Not getting a great grade in a foreign language is not a college entrance killer!

Thanks for the link!