I don't know what the upper levels are like. Sorry! My oldest switched to Singapore after Saxon 54, so I don't have any experience with it after that. I am going back to Saxon with my 2nd dd this year. She needs the incremental method with lots of review. So, I'm in the same boat as you - hoping this works out! Angela

:iagree:

Have you read through the problems? I've found that at least at this level very few of them need to be copied in each set. A lot just require reading and writing an answer. Some are word problems where they do have to write out a problem, but they would have to do this with any curriculum to show their work on word problems. When my oldest did Saxon 54, I just copied the 4-6 problems in each set that truly needed to be copied for her. HTH! Angela

We take about 4-5 days per lesson because we only do it for about 10 minutes per day. We learn the new info on the first day and review rules. We practice the words again on day 2 and review phonograms. Then we split the sentence dictation over two days, perhaps extending the Writing Station activity to another day. But, there have been steps that my kids need more time on so we will just keep practicing the words for that step day after day until they get it and then move on the the sentence dictation. This works well for us.

My oldest was bored to death by Saxon. She just didn't need that incremental method with so much review. I switched her to Singapore and she loved it! Now I'm finding that Singapore is just too fast with too little review for her sister, so I'm moving her to Saxon :). Different kids have different needs. You could try skipping ahead to a topic that would be new for you son. A lot of people only do the front side of the worksheets in Saxon K-3 if the child is doing well. You could double up on lessons. These are just ideas if you don't want to buy something new. If you think your son just needs another method, then try something else, like Sinapore or Math Mammoth. It takes all of us a few tries to find the right curricula for our kids!

You could let them do the dictation as copy work the day before you dictate it so that they will get a chance to practice it first. Or you could just skip the dictation. I'm planning to have my kids only do the narrations in WWE. My kids do dictation as part of their spelling program which has words they can spell! I may have my younger one do the dictation as copy work, but I haven't decided yet. Part of the purpose of the dictation is to learn punctuation rules, so you would want to make sure you're teaching that somewhere else. HTH! Angela

My almost 12yo did Season 1 last summer and Season 2 this summer. My 9yocompleted Season 1 this summer. They read the lessons and did the exercises completely by themselves except for a few questions here and there. I would check their work and go over anything that they needed help with. The only exception to this was the Chapter on Adverbs in Season 1 for my 9yo. I did sit with her and did all of the first day of exercises with her. After that she was able to continue on her own. I love AG! It's so thorough, and my girls have learned so much!

I would LOVE an Italian curriculum like MP! We will be using the Italian Little Pim DVDs and then the green Practice Makes Perfect workbooks from Amazon for my older ones.

You would probably want to look at the scope and sequence of AAR 1 to see if your dd needs to go through it. She may be ready for AAR 2, which I last heard would be released in September. I would go ahead and start AAS 1 and work through it you dd's pace. I would work on both simultaneously throughout the year. My 4th child (age 5) is working through AAR 1 and I'm thinking she will be ready to add in AAS after Christmas. Then she will work on both programs and progress through the two series at her pace. HTH! Angela

I'm looking for a book about the US Presidents for 3-5 graders. Do you have any that your kids have enjoyed? Thanks! Angela

I agree that it is way too early for him to specialize in anything. I'm just looking for ideas of things I might suggest to him to see what he's interested in. Maybe things he hasn't thought of before. He's right in the middle of 4 girls with a baby brother and is kind of at an age when he's wanting to be different from his sisters. I'm just looking for some things he might be able to call his own and be proud of.

Love this!!

Thank you for the ideas so far. I wouldn't mind him doing crafts or sewing like his sisters. He just doesn't seem to have any interest in it. I'm just looking for ideas that I can present to him to see what he's interested in. His favorite subject is math, so I'm not sure what kind of hobby goes along with that :) Thanks again!

Any ideas on helping my 7yo boy find a hobby? My girls are so easy - They enjoy crafts, art, sewing. I know of so many thing I can expose them to, but my mind is just blank for my son. He's enjoyed a few Lego kits that he's received as birthday gifts, but he doesn't have interest in them once assembled. I just draw a blank when trying to think of boy-things for him. Thanks! Angela

I wake at 6 and get ready and then wake the kids around 6:30.

:iagree: We are using Singapore and supplement with BA. Two of my kids went through BA 3A this summer and loved it! It was quite challenging even for my 7yo who is in Singapore 4A.

My oldest dd has completed through level 6. She will go through level 7 whenever it is released. My 2nd dd is about halfway through level 6. I absolutely love AAS! I love how easy it is for me to use and I love the results! I love the rules, the review, and the dictation. I love how i can adjust the program for each child at anytime. My oldest was having a lot of trouble with spelling and I switched her to AAS around 4th grade, I guess. She REALLY needed this approach and it has helped her a ton. My 2nd dd is really a more natural speller, but I think it has been good for her, too. I plan to use it all the way through with all of my children. My ds just finished Level 3 and I expect to start my next dd on AAS 1 after Christmas. She's working through AAR 1 now.

One of the stories he goes through in the video is "Martin the Cobbler" which is a story about how we can encounter Jesus in the people around us. This is the Christian content that people are referring to. Like the PP said, these videos are meant to teach you a method of literary analysis that you can then apply to any story you want with your children. HTH! Angela

I highly recommend Deconstructing Penguins and Teaching the Classics. Once you learn the methods in these books you can apply them at your child's level for any book. It is all done through discussion and is a lot of fun this way. You will basically learn how to talk wih your child about a book beyond a simple retelling of it. Any kind of writing out of comprehension questions and defining vocabulary lists is the type of lit analysis I had to do when in school and it made me hate it, so i don't make my kids do it. A fun discussion with mom with lots of "ah-ha!, that's what that means!" or "that's why they did that!" moments is enjoyable for all. I would do Writing with Ease narrations and copy work for the writing portion.

We were using the same program. My dd really wasn't enjoying and wasn't making any progress. She is doing so well with AAR 1 now! She really enjoys and I noticed an improvement in her reading within a couple of weeks. There are so many different ways they practice reading with AAR that it keeps it interesting - worksheets/games, magnets, cards, reader, fluency pages. I have been very happy with the program!

Is this only available on the Kindle Fire or can you get this app for the cheapest Kindle, too?

I used the Middle school level for 4-6 th grades. The comprehension questions can be purchased separately for something like $30. The lesson plans you're referring to have weekly essay questions and final exams for each book. I didn't have the 7-8th grade version that you're looking at, but the middle school version didn't have the level of lit analysis I wanted. I though the plans were ok, but not great. Have you looked at Teaching the Classics? It would be a bit less money and you could use what you learned to teach any book well. I just finished going through it, and I'm really excited about it! I feel like I can finally do good lit analysis beyond comprehension questions.

Aw, man! That looks like a really good source, too! I wonder how long it will be before the next Co-op??? :). I may have to ask for books about writing for my birthday this year!

We have also been frustrated by all pencil sharpeners we've tried. I'm encouraged by your positive reviews. This sharpener says that it can be mounted or portable. If you use it portably, is it difficult to use? Do you have to hold it still with one hand while trying to sharpen with the other? Thanks!

No, I haven't. I guess I should do that, huh? Thanks for the tip! ETA: Will I really get more info on teaching writing by listening to these than I've already learned from reading TWTM and The Complete Writer textbook?