Well, I went ahead and downloaded the books to iPad and he started them tonight. Hoping it goes well and if not, I've got some other great suggestions. :)

Oh, that is very encouraging to hear! I assume you didn't feel the subject matter too mature either.

Second vote for Hake! We love it here and there is PLENTY of Grammar to be had with it. ;)

My son would like to this and I figured I'd let him give them a try, but I was always under the impression they were much more difficult.

My 11yo son just finished The Hobbit and loved it. He is not one who generally speaking loves reading, so I would like to strike while the iron is hot here. Can you recommend some books for him to read next that he might like as well? Thanks! Beth :)

You could not go wrong with either one, IMHO. I had used IEW for years and loved it. I own practically everything they have put out:D. A couple of years ago I gave birth to a very high needs baby and now toddler, so writing with my now 5th grade ds was not getting done. I had heard that MC was similar to IEW, so I took the plunge with it. We are now almost at the the end of MC 4+ and I am so impressed with what my son can do now! And he did most of work on his own! I still love IEW and think it would have been great for him too. But for me, and the season of life we are in, MC has been a great fit with great results. So, my advice would be to just start with MC since you already have it. I don't know which level you have, but I didn't love the beginning of MC 4, that is just grammar, only because we have done a lot of grammar and didn't really need it. Hope that helps! Beth

Wendy, When I look the books on Rainbow, it seems as though the writing and grammar are integrated and there is no separate grammar book. I am seeing a student textbook, student workbook, and teacher packet, but not a purely grammar book. Can you please help? :confused: I don't mind buying the integrated grammar and writing and discarding the writing portion if need be, but I just wanted to make sure I was getting the right thing. Also, could you comment if you went from FLL 4 to Hake 5 and if that was a pretty seamless transition? Thanks again! Beth:)

This post is such perfect timing! I was just about to ask this same thing. We finished FLL 4 last year. We loved it and was so disappointed to not be able to continue in the series. We have been trudging through R&S 5 and it is just not a hit here. Looks like maybe it is time to try Hake! Thanks so much! Beth:)

Can someone tell me if you can download this to your iPad or iPhone? Or will it only work on PC? Sorry ... I'm miserably bad with technology :confused:

No, but if someone could advise as to which one to get, I would. :)

We just started CWP3 to supplement Math Mammoth 4. Can someone who does this tell me if there is any more thorough explanations on how to use the bar model, perhaps in earlier books or somewhere else. I really like the way they do this and would like to give my son some more instruction on how to use it. He did the first 10 or so pages fine by himself, but used his own method, which I know the book said was fine, but I would really like him to learn the bar model. Thanks for your help! Beth

Yes, the resources are very helpful, but in my busyness (or laziness) I had hoped for something already put together to purchase.:tongue_smilie:I also probably should have mentioned, I am looking for something for 4th grade.

Thanks for the link, ohelizabeth! I gather after reading that thread the answer to my question is no! ;) Beth

Like a book list for different science topics, kwim? :) Thanks! Beth

You should definitely buy SWI-B, not A, for your children's ages. I had the same fears about teaching writing. I now own so much IEW stuff and year after year say it is the best homeschool money I spend. Also, have no fear about the money, they have 100% money back guaruntee if you decide you don't like it. And, if you do like it and use it (which I think you will), the resale on their stuff is great. So you can use it and still probably get at least 75% of your investment back if you want. Make sure you join the yahoo group IEWfamilies, it is so helpful if you have questions or problems. HTH! Beth

I completely agree with the recommendations for Precept upon Precept studies. They are amazing! Try to find a church that is having a class, as they are a little more difficult to do without the accountability of the group. I have done many of them and they have all been so rich and meaty! Nothing beats studying the Word inductively. Beth

Yep ... totally normal. For my ds most of level 1 has been review because he reads and does ETC. We went through the first 5 lessons in one night ... uhhggg. We are at a slower pace now but still doing 1 step a day, so we will be done in a couple weeks. Since we are only on level 1, I can't comment about how it will be in subsequent levels, but I am guessing that as things become less of a review and it gets harder, it will take longer. HTH:) Beth

If you are going to use Latina Christiana, you do not need any background in Latin. Just learn it right along side of your children. I did use the DVD's that go along with LC and they were very helpful especially if you don't have a strong Latin background. You shouldn't have any trouble and I don't think you need to waste time with Henle unless you really want to:confused: I just received Henle with all the accompanying guides and such and it does not look super user friendly, like LC. In fact, you may be able to skip Henle all together as Memoria has there new first form stuff coming out which I believe is supposed to me better suited for homeschoolers. It should all be out way before your kids need it. I didn't get that for my dd because she is taking the Memoria Press online class this year and they use Henle instead of First Form, right now. HTH. :) Beth

My dd 7th grade, is finishing up Sonlight's Core 100. It is all laid out and uses The History of US as the spine. It has been a big hit. I did not use every aspect of the core, but we did all the history readings and literature. It was the first time I used Sonlight and it was so nice to have something all done for me. In the past, I pulled from several different sources and this was so much less work. I bought the IG used and got most of the books from the library. Since you already own the Hakim books, it should be quite inexpensive, if that is a factor for you. The Hakim books aren't perfect but I think Sonlight does a fairly good job of discussing some potential issues parents might have with them. HTH. Beth:) Ooops... forgot something. You can also get tests and syllabus to go with The History of US books from Hewitt Homeschool. I used the tests but not the syllabus, since I was using SL but you could do that instead. http://www.hewitthomeschooling.com/book/bsingle.asp?i=2852

Unless you are looking for secular, I would recommend Mystery of History with Illuminations. That is what we are doing. You might look into: Tapestry of Grace Truthquest HTH! Beth

I will try and give you a little information. I own a couple years of classic, not redesign but I have looked into purchasing redesign. As far as differences, I think the redesign is a little more streamlined and easier to use. It definitely looks better and more easier to read. I believe she has updated some of the books that were maybe out of print or such. I believe the basic heart of the program is same though. As with any new editions, especially a first to second, it is going to be improved to serve the need better. With that said, I think the classic editions would be fine if you need to save by buying used or if they are still selling classic. But if money were not an option, I would definitely go with redesign. You can buy the four units separately or as one whole year. In classic, they came bundled in four units plus a base unit which included the writing and some other things. In redesign, I believe the writing is incorporated within each weeks plans. It was never a manual, just lots of papers 3-hole punched to put in binders. So the only difference between the digital format and regular is that they print it for you. So, to get the same thing, you would need to just print if off of your computer at one time and hole punch it. As far as how long to get through a unit, I believe each unit is 9 lessons. So if you did a lesson a week, a unit would take 9 weeks, which is for a 36 week school year. Now some people choose to do more or less stuff and do not strictly adhere to 1 week for a lesson. That is one thing about TOG, there is lots you can do, so you can extend it if you don't care about getting through the whole year in 36 weeks. I hope all of this is accurate and someone who is more familiar with redesign may correct me. Also, I would encourage you to go on the forum at TOG, they are obviously the experts over there.:) I hope this helps! Beth

Thanks Stacie! That was very helpful!

Hi Brindee, I do picture studies as described here from Simply Charlotte Mason. Unfortunately, I have tried different "art" curriculum and I am a failure at them, so this has been a good substitution. I would like my kids to learn more mechanics of art but right now it does not get done. So this helps alleviate my guilt from not following through with actually teaching "art". Sometimes we have classes in town and we do those. But I really like the pictures studies. If I can't teach my kids to draw or paint better, I am hoping to instill an appreciation for art. Beth

We'll see when the year actualy starts ;) DD 8th grade: Bible: Wisdom study through Proverbs(Simply Charlotte Mason) Math: Foerster Alg 1 with Math without Borders Science: Apologia Physical Science Writing: IEW Grammar: Analytical Grammar Latin: Henle History: Ancients using a combibation of MOH, TOG and Illuminations Literature: Illuminations Logic: The Fallacy Detective and The Thinking Toolbox Music: Piano Art: Picture studies Memory Work: Scripture, Catechism and Poetry Ballet Company member; dancing 6 days/week Tell me if you see some holes! It will be fun to see this tread come late Aug/early September to see if anyone changed plans:)

Thanks all for the tips. I am glad you all said not to laminate because my son desperately wanted to separate the cards, so I let him. I did join the chatterbee ... what a cute looking forum. I am total sucker for packaging. I am glad I had not seen the program in person before purchasing or else I may have thought that I bought it just because that bee is so darn cute.;). I couldn't believe when it showed up today in the mail, I just ordered it on Friday. Lightning fast shipping! Anyway, I am so excited about starting this program with my son. Thanks again for the help! Beth