We use CLE with Life of Fred Elementary and I think they are different enough (and simple!) that it works very well.

Reading Made Easy has been very successful here and I don't see it often mentioned for teaching phonics.

We just purchased the Wii and as one of the earlier posters mentioned, I based our decision on the games available, price (compared with Kinect), and remote/body motion. My son really likes the Lego games and Mario, and I like that they are not as violent compared to many games. Our library also has some games to borrow which is a plus. He's also really enjoying a Dora game which is probably lower than his age range, but with lots of controller action that he enjoys.

We also found it too dull and repetitive, but since you got it used, you could pick and choose elements and simply not do it all. We do like WWE, and Growing with Grammar which doesn't require much writing (always a plus around here!).

I wouldn't say my son loves them, but he doesn't mind reading from them and is interested enough to want to read the next chapter. I did buy some of the workbooks but ended up not using them (they're on my "to sell" pile). Just not our style. The books are very good at using a lot of the same words in a chapter so good for practice, but in a way that doesn't seem repetitive. New words are introduced gradually and there's a list at the end of the book of new words for each chapter. They're one of the few early reading series I've found where it seems like the kids are reading "real" books. I recommend them and have often found them used at HS book fairs.

We use CLE and like it, but as you say, it's not really FUN, which is okay. We mix it up with Life of Fred, living math books from the library (which my son loves) and math games, most of which I got from Rainbow Resource. For CLE, we don't do everything in each lesson if my son knows it, especially the drill stuff. We never do the speed drills and almost never do the tests because he doesn't need them. We also do some stuff orally to change it up. HTH!

We use CLE and like it, but as you say, it's not really FUN, which is okay. We mix it up with Life of Fred, living math books from the library (which my son loves) and math games, most of which I got from Rainbow Resource. For CLE, we don't do everything in each lesson if my son knows it, especially the drill stuff. We never do the speed drills and almost never do the tests because he doesn't need them. We also do some stuff orally to change it up. HTH!

We'll keep going with math and reading. We're finishing up SOTW 1 and I plan to do the activities from the ancients kit I bought from Hearts and Hands, so fun and hands on. Also bought the Get a Grip Lentil kit from TOPS to use outside and do something different. And hopefully some art - always seems to fall by the wayside!

The Little House recordings are wonderful. Really, really good and very clever/funny is the Phantom Tollbooth read by the guy who played Frasier's brother, Miles, in the show. He's simply fantastic.

All of the above plus The Hobbit; The Phantom Tollbooth; 20 000 Leagues Under the Sea; Tales from the Odyssey (MP Osborne)

I've seen MSB kits at Mastermind, as well as the Young Scientists Kits which look pretty good. Not sure if you want to check them out online and compare. They ship across Canada, I believe.

I bought the flash cards but haven't used them so far. Will likely do so in the future just to keep up a review as we move on, but this is also something we can review casually through the day, in the car, etc. Now that my son has his add/subtract facts, we don't do all that single digit practice in the lesson. We also don't do the speed drills and tests because he doesn't need them and they end up being another lesson. That might change as we go higher up. We do do the counting book, mainly to practice writing numbers (!) and also because I think it's useful. We are really likely this curriculum and plan to continue using it. I only bought a few books in the beginning to see how it would go, so that's one option for you to try before you totally commit!

I hear you - we're in the same boat with reading (and writing, but that's less noticeable) and social skills. His friends are reading Harry Potter and we just graduated to Little Bear. As the other poster suggested, we have also talked about LB/RB strengths, different brains, and people learning things at different rates. Every now and then we talk about his gifts eg generous spirit, passion for life (I make this stuff up as I go along), and try to find something he's good at and learns quickly (right now that seems to be trampoline). But it is difficult. My son is paranoid that I won't be in his "group" at co-op because he knows he needs me to do the reading. I am just so grateful that he's not in school because imagine how much worse our kids would feel about themselves! Perhaps if you tell her that there are lots of kids like her it might help. It's so nice to read this board and know we are not alone, because sometimes it sure feels that way.

My son is also a late bloomer with writing (and reading!) as many right brained kids are. He writes for math and does a few other things in workbooks, etc. But I don't require a lot of other writing, particularly creative writing. When he does want to tell a story (he's quite creative and has a good imagination), I type while he tells it and watches me typing. That way he can see the words as fast as he speaks them... and it takes away the stress of combining the story and the act of writing. We do use WWE and he does some copywork, but not a ton of it. He tolerates it and is getting better, but I backed off doing it too many times a week when it became too much of a battle. I also sometimes pull copywork from other sources and books we are reading, or just stuff I make up. We do all the narrations though, as well as the questions/narrations in SOTW. I think the WTM recommends copywork and narration for the grammar stage, and not that much creative stuff. I think being able to tell a logical story or narration orally will stand him in good stead when he's ready to write it down himself one day - or type it! We also do some Growing with Grammar, but also talk about it naturally as it comes up. I'm thinking of starting some typing lessons soon as well to give him another avenue. As he matures I'm seeing a big difference - he just seems to be on a slightly different timeline! It can be difficult when I see kids his age writing pages of stuff, but I'm trying (some days more successfully than others!) to be patient and as some of the other posters suggested, back off a bit until he seems more ready. I year ago he wouldn't even look at a workbook and I was doing most of his math writing for him, so there is progress! HTH.

I am also looking for notebooks for science and some other stuff and am having a hard time finding anything locally. I found this story drawing book at Rainbow Resource that looks perfect for large format - http://rainbowresource.com/wldetail.php?&id=037989 and this more for a nature notebook http://rainbowresource.com/wldetail.php?&id=049383 I had really hoped to find something faster and locally (I'm in Canada), but I might just have to go ahead and place an order... HTH.

We used it for about a year and a half and liked it. Now we use CLE which I think my son prefers because it's more spiral and moves a bit faster. However, I liked a lot of the JUMP program, especially their use of number lines and the way they teach counting with hands. There is a lot of stuff on line to help with teaching as well.

I found a copy at the library...

Yes, we did this. I just chose the ones I thought DS would be interested in and didn't try to co-ordinate them with the readings. Of course, it's taken us so long to get through WWE that it hasn't been a problem! We like it but don't do it consistently...

We are starting RSO Life and I like the look of it. I ordered a butterfly kit so we're starting with that. I'm ready for something like this. Tried McRuffy and didn't like it. Also have BFSU and it just wasn't getting done. I also have RS4K Chemistry which I like and we'll do that perhaps in between to get a break from Life if we need it... I plan to do a LOT more science over the summer!

The MOTL yahoo group is great and very helpful if you have questions. We have the complete set and I like it but haven't really used it yet, just some of the general ideas. We are using CLE to get the basic operations down and I'm hanging on to MOTL for later. Or I may sell it if we continue with CLE!

We really, really disliked OPG (I'm about to sell our virtually unused copy). We used Reading Made Easy and preferred it over 100EL. Similar idea, but much better layout and sequence IMO. We didn't so the drawing activities and didn't always use the copywork. My son has done really well with it.

My son is also a slow reader. Click n' Read has helped. He also loves the Whizzizzle card games (two sets with 6 games in all) that I bought from Rainbow Resources. It's taken time and lots and lots of read alouds. My goal has been not to put him off reading. Now he's trying to work through Tintin!

We also school year round. I'm thinking of more art (we have Meet the Masters and Mark Kistler) and something from TOPS. They have lots of great science and math and the ones with lentils look fun - perfect for outside!

Forgot to mention that I have also ordered them from Rainbow Resource. Reasonable shipping and an amazing selection.

I have bought them at local homeschool conferences. I live in Toronto, but drive to the one in Barrie (it's May 26). I have bought them new and often people have the sets second hand (I do but not for those levels). There's also going to be a booksale at the OCHEC conference in Hamilton next weekend, as well as one on Railside Dr June 2 (best if you can't drive...) HTH.