I have also used SL secularly. For the unit I have, it doesn't look any more difficult. I can see that some of the units in YR1 could be more of a problem. It is funny what we dismiss as too religious. I hadn't considered using the elementary Apologia.

Jessica, I haven't used any of those, but I have looked at them all. I would use the SSRW. I almost bought it the other day then kicked myself and reminded myself the my littlest is only 3 and I will not try to teach her to read even if she asks repeatedly with really cute brown eyes. For my dd7, the LeapFrog videos actually got her farther than most K reading programs would have. After watching them through her brother's basketball practices for one season she was reading cvc and silent E words plus a few sight words. It is not how I intended to teach her to read, it is just how it happened.

That is awesome. My ds only applied to two. I wish he had applied to nine instead.

My 17yo is reading Hamlet and Shakespeare and Co. for me. He is reading The Naked Roommate and 107 Other Issues You Might Run Into in College for himself. We are going to start Paradise Lost in two weeks. He is a very strong reader and isn't struggling with these. He struggled with Sir Gawain and the Green Knight - the Tolkien translation, but once we moved up to Shakespeare it has been easier for him. He never thought of Shakespearean English as easy until he started reading Old and Middle English.

I took my kids to the library of all things and missed THIS. I was on this morning and when I came back from the library, imagine my surprise. Oh wait, you don't have to imagine, do you?

Okay - so now you hurt my feelings ;) I am a liberal democrat. or was that libertarian? anywho - I vote to get her the Dr. Spock book. It is big and everyone has heard of Dr. Spock but most haven't actually read his books, but he is very much for many of the good parenting values that you probably would share. He is even for raising kids vegetarian, wearing cloth diapers, and co-sleeping, but it is all tucked in 900 pages of AAP approved stuff.

Arch at Home Have you tried the sample units from TOG? I would suggest that you Check out the books from the library, print out the samples and examine it closely. I have heard many times that it would be difficult if not impossible to use it in a secular manner but I just loved that the it was multi-level and had all of the background information for the teacher all nicely in there for me with books for the kids scheduled along with discussion and accountability and writing assignments and crafts. I ordered unit 1 of year 2 for next year and couldn't be more pleased. I have chosen to skip some of the books, but there are alternates suggested for just about everything. The rhetoric level has much more comparison to the Bible for each topic than the lower levels do. I am now looking forward to using TOG for many years to come. The first year looks like it would be much more difficult to adapt, but there are many parts of at least three of the four units that could be used in a secular way. For me, the benefits and the richness outweigh the trouble of filtering. My TOG unit is now in binders, and page protectors with notes and tabs and lists. I have read it completely through once already and I just got it this week. I love it. I am thinking of starting it in April or May so that my kids can be most of the way finished with it by the time the Ren. Festival starts this summer.

I am using SOTW with AG and AO. I am going to use TOG with SOTW next year.

here is mine. I think it will be in my signature. If not I will be replying again in a minute. - I didn't have a signature when I first posted. Now I do. wonder if it will add it to an edited post, otherwise you can get my blog from here My Weekly Report And in case you don't read the whole long tragic thing - we finally did math for the first time in months and we did Latin for the first time ever. It was a good week.