I didn't know I would get a credit for trading in my old Fix-it! I have purchased the new Level 1 and 2 books after using the old version for two years. I see many improvements in the new one! Overall, there's just a lot more details for both the student and teacher. Things are really spelled out for you. I love that the student pages have a box of all the things they are looking for each week. It also seems more incremental. The old version would introduce some new things to look for and then have several weeks to practice it. In the new one, there's an instructional page at the beginning of each week introducing only one new thing for that week. I love, love, love that the teacher guide now has a copy of the passage marked like the student's should (though I found some answers misaligned today). The old version drove me crazy how you got the incorrect passage and then the correct one and then I had to pay really close attention to make sure I found all the errors that needed to be corrected. There were a few notes on the side, but I didn't always understand them. Now there are clear explanations of everything and even suggested questions to ask your child along the way to make sure they are understanding things. There is a copy of a correct, complete passage for each week so that would will know what your child's copied passage should look like. I'm really glad I got the new books! HTH! Let me know if you have questions.

I have used AG for my current 5th and 8th graders. They will do Season 3 this summer. I love how thorough and straight forward it is. There's nothing cute or fancy about it. And I love that it works! My girls really know their grammar. I also like how it is divided I to Seasons. We use it over the summer and do the review book during the school year which frees up our regular school schedule. I plan to use it with my other kids when they are older. I haven't used the other programs you mentioned.

We love FF here! My 8th grader is finishing 2nd Form now and asked if she could go ahead and start 3rd Form this summer. I split FF into two years for my 3rd and 4th grader. I had them do the first 12 lessons on verbs slowly over a year. Then they complete the second half on nouns the second year. After that solid start, they should be ready to pick up the pace with 2nd Form as 5th and 6th graders. I've tried LC a couple of times, but I found it to be rather random without sufficient practice.

I have a dd finishing 1st grade right now. It was very helpful to use AAS behind AAR. She's not a whole level behind, but close. Learning the phonograms and touching on the rules with AAR first has made AAS easier. I don't do grammar with my kids until about 3rd grade. When doing dictation in AAS, they learn about starting sentences and names with capital letters and ending with a period. That's all I care that my 1st grader learns in terms of grammar. I definitely agree with the idea of putting together a read-aloud list. Have a great school year!

Looks good to me! You've hit all the bases and have lots of flexibility built in.

Very true!

Thank you for all of the suggestions. I'll have to think this over. I'm really considering putting this child in Saxon. I know I said "not Saxon" in the title, but I think she may need the incremental, spiraling method it offers. I just can't decide. I just don't want to short change her. I had her take the placement test and she placed solidly in 7/6. I just need to think about it some more. I could supplement it with MM and Zaccarro problems...Why are these decisions so hard ???

I have not heard of these. I'll have to check them out. Thx!

I keep thinking that my dd needs some video support for math, but I'd like something a bit more conceptual than Saxon and TT. She's been working through MM, but as we get to the tougher topics (fractions, decimals, etc.) she seems to need more visual explanation. Any suggestions? Thx!

Well, I'm not sure if you're asking how long SWI or the Elegant Essay takes, so I'll take a stab at both :) My 8th grader has gone through the SWI B this semester working about 30 minutes per day, 4 days per week. She didn't do many of the extra practice assignments in the course, though. I had her do extra practice through history assignments. She has not started the Elegant Essay, but I have received it and flipped through it. It is only scheduled to be a one semester course. I don't know how long each day of work would be, though, since we haven't actually used it. I am planning literature study and grammar review to go along with it for a full English credit.

When I started homeschooling, I used an all-in-one boxes curriculum. As I learned more and gained confidence, I started piecing together our curriculum to fit my kids and our family. I also learned about different methods, and though I can't point to one and say that's what we follow completely, I have been able to filter through and choose the methods that work best for us. I've also learned to relax more in the early years as I now appreciate how long we have to work on these skills and knowledge.

It sounds like you're in PA :). This is what I do for my portfolios. We are also required to have a book log and I list the books we have used for each subject there. When we get our portfolios reviewed, I'm just trying to stay legal. I'm not looking for great input and our reviewer goes into it with the same attitude. Is everything present that is required by law? Check. Asked the student a few questions, to count as an "interview" as required by law? Check. Then we're done!

Look here: http://iew.com/shop/shopping-resources/pathway (There's an option on the page to download it as a PDF.) The graphic on this page shows most of their writing options and their recommendations on when and what order to use them. I have heard that people have used books, like The Elegant Essay, without having gone through the TWSS or a SWI. I don't have a lot of experience with IEW. I just started using it with my 8th grader in February this year. She and I are very happy with it. She has gone through SWI B in these 3-4 months. I'm planning for her to continue with The Elegant Essay in the Fall for 9th grade. So, I can't share much experience, but I did want to share the the link with the info it seems you were asking about. HTH!

My 2nd dd is finishing 5th grade now. She starts at 8am with copy work and spelling. Then we have family religion/Bible time and memory work review from 8:30-9:15. 9:15 - 10:45. Math Mammoth and First Form Latin, English grammar (independent subjects) 10:45-11:45. History with her brother and me Lunch (reads while eating, I choose one book per month for her and she chooses once she finishes it for the rest of the month) 1:00-3:00. Science, Italian, writing. On Tuesday afternoons we have Poetry Tea Time after this and on Friday afternoons we do art instead of writing.

My dear is finishing 8th grade now. She too used to only like to write fiction. I knew she needed help with academic writing soon since high school was fast approaching. I finally broke down and got the IEW SWI B for her at Christmas and she says she finally knows how to write now and enjoys academic writing. She needed that structure to help her get comfortable with non-fiction writing. I've been really pleased with her progress. She's been able to go through it in only 4 months.

I have this and really like it. I love the book lists and really used them this year. It does have other good info in there about planning and assigning writing. I would definitely get the Teaching the Classics course to go along with it. I also think you can get it cheaper in ebook form from the Center for Lit website.

I can't think of any of the pages that are in color. Are you, by chance, seeing samples that kids have colored or decorated? I only have a B & W printer which I use to print the pages. My kids then add color if they want. HTH!

We have used it as written. The reason the punctuation rules are in the 3rd season is because you need to understand phrases and clauses well to understand where to place commas. It really does build on itself and I would think it would be hard not to use it as written. For review we use the Review & Reinforcement book. Another option for an earlier intro to the Season 3 topics is to use the JAG Mechanics book. It has a lot of good info in it. It doesn't have everything from Season 3, but it's still very good.

I have a dd in Level 2, and I tell her if a word is a compound word in dictation. I know that in time she will remember from exposure. Sometimes I have to remind her of a rule, too. For instance if she uses a 'c' instead of 'k' or vice versa, I will say, "In this word, why did you decide to use a 'c'?" If she doesn't realize her mistake, I will then ask her the rule for using C and K. My older ones have been through the program and I know from experience that she will get it in time.

I've spent about $2600 for next year for grades 9, 6, 4, 2, K. I get a budget for up to $3000.

Another vote for First Form. It's clear, it has great DVD lessons, and it has plenty of practice and review. I have an 8th grader finishing Second Form, a 5th grader finishing First Form, and a 3rd grader half way through First Form. They all learn independently with the DVDs and text and have been very successful. I check their written work and check them orally on vocabulary and grammar questions weekly.

I also have 7 kids and understand how limited your time is! My only advice is focus on the 3Rs with your favorite curriculum and let him play the rest of the time. I had a first grader this year, and she did AAR, AAS, math, HW, poetry memorization, and religion. She listened to some of SOTW 1, but not all of it. Next year I hope to add some science, geography, and narrations to her days, but I'm not overly concern about it. One thing that have 7 kids spread over a wide range has taught me is that we have plenty of time to learn, so there's no need to sweat the early years! Good luck with you decision!

We don't have experience to share yet, but our plan is for our 9th grade dd to study AoPS Geometry and Alg II concurrently starting in the Fall. My husband, a college math prof, decided this because he doesn't want her to take a whole year off of Alg. I think she's going to switch between the two day-to-day.

Since you're in the online class, is it possible for you to talk to the instructor about your concerns?

For Catholic history, I second The Catholic Textbook Project (CTP) texts. We really enjoy them here. There is also RC History, which pulls in different history and literature stories. It uses the CTP texts for some of the levels. It's more involved than just using the textbook, but you may enjoy it. You can at least look at the site for book suggestions. Good luck!