Thanks! Can you tell me what swayed you to EE vs Rainbow? I'm loving the look of Rainbow right now so I wondered what made the difference for you? Also, what are your thoughts for 8th grade since you will already have covered physics? I was contemplating Apologia Physical Science, but obviously, with either EE or Rainbow, that won't be the case. With Rainbow, I could stretch it out to the 2 year plan they offer, but with EE . . . what do you pick for 8th? :)

My DS has read probably 100 books on weather this year (checked out of the library, for his own enjoyment) even though we've actually spent the year studying Anatomy (Aplogia)! He says he really wants to 'study' weather either over the summer or next year. I'm all for going with his interests at this point but since he's already read so much, I'm thinking a unit study is probably all we'll manage - no way I can stretch out a whole year or even semester on weather! ;) I'm guessing Curr-click has cute lapbooks on weather, but I wondered if there is an actual study or even text that someone can recommend so he feels like we've actually "studied" it. I pointed out that often research through reading (like he's done) is the best way to "study" something, but given this is our first year at home, I think he still feels if it wasn't a "curriculum" it doesn't count as much. LOL (We even did a science fair project on weather and wind speeds including building an anemometer out of dixie cups!)

Thanks - that does look good! Did you order the Advanced kit/course? My only concern would be the degree of difficulty with it being geared towards 7-12th graders.

Very cool! Thanks for the link - it's now on my bookmark list for when we start purchasing curriculum for 2012-13! :001_smile:

This was our first year at home (6th, 4th, 2nd) and we picked Apologia Anatomy and Physiology for science - it was an all-around success. We all got so much from it and I felt it was easy to tailor to the 3 grade levels we had in our homeschool classroom. Now for 7th I'm stumped on what to do. I'm vacillating between just letting my DD do General Science on her own or having her do science with us again (we're leaning towards another Apologia study this year - possibly Swimming Creatures). I feel as though there is a lot of repetition in General Science because half the book covers anatomy (which we have done - very thoroughly) and I've also heard it's very "dry" - which I think will be difficult for her if she sees how much fun we're having with our Swimming Creatures text. I've enjoyed us all doing science together this year - makes experiments, science-oriented field trips etc very easy to coordinate, but if General Science is what she needs, she is fine to work alone (relatively self-motivated/will stay on task). What are some solid science options for 7th and (I guess the bigger question is . . .) what is the determining factor for 7th gr science? I figured it was just an extension of preparation for upper level sciences? Also, we prefer a Christian-based curriculum.

I'm actually glad to see someone mention this - it's one of the programs we've considered for our 5th and 7th graders next year!

We've used Easy Grammar this year and enjoyed it. I'm on the fence about if we'll use it again next year, but if we do, I'd still like to introduce my 5th grader to diagramming. Can anyone recommend a relatively simple program that introduces diagramming? A quick Amazon search turned up a plethora of options, but I don't know if any of them are good or not - too many choices!! :001_huh: I'm thinking of a daily worksheet approach perhaps? I'm a writing major, so I'm happy to teach it to her, I just need something to reinforce it and offer her an opportunity to practice it.

I think she does still need practice. It's readable only because we've worked hard on it this year. My concern is that if she isn't using it regularly, she'll lose her hard work and it will look like chicken scratch if she's ever called upon to use it in the future! ;) Thanks for the link! I really like the look of that copywork book - I wish it was based on Medieval history though because we'll be working through that next year. I suppose I could just have her practice writing passages from the literature selections we'll be using. I just like the idea of it already being planned out and in a separate book.

I was originally planning to just have my rising 7th grader practice her cursive on her writing assignments but she really prefers print. Is there any purpose to having her continue to work in cursive? It's a skill I'd like for her to have, but beyond a dedicated handwriting curriculum (we've been using ARFH - it ends with 6thg = book F) I'm not sure how to give her any real "practice". I'm also not sure I want to continue to devote precious "subject time" to it in 7th when I want to add in a few other skill sets. I know I could just find some practice sheets online etc but I wondered what the consensus of thought is on this - or if there is a consensus? ;)

Found it! Thanks!! :) http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=302255&highlight=combining+SOTW+HO

I did a little searching and came up with this post: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1965306&postcount=1 Hope it's helpful to others attempting to do this combo of SOTW and History Odyssey! :)

Thanks! Aren't the Usborne and Kingfisher references included in the SOTW AG? I'm using the AG for Vol 1 this year and they seem to have page numbers at the top for Kingfisher references but I'm not sure if it's the same thing?

I would love to know this too! I'm trying to make SOTW 2 work for my kids gr 3 - 7 next year and would love to use the HO guides for my 7th gr. I just thought I'd have to pick the lessons based on what we were studying in SOTW but if someone has already detailed out that list, it would be a major time-saver for us! :)

:bigear: I'm considering this for my 5th and 7th gr DDs next year also and was wondering the same things!

Thank you! :) I do need to breathe! LOL I wondered about this: The girls both did Abeka Language Arts at the school they attended previously. After a horrific year on Language B (5th gr for my eldest) I went with Easy Grammar to recover the basics she missed that year. How does Abeka Language translate to Rod and Staff? If someone was coming from 5th grade Abeka, would they not go to Rod and Staff 6? I guess I would need to review the concepts taught in there. I'm not sure it's the right curriculum for her either - she isn't pencil allergic ;) but she is mildly phobic of a textbook that looks even remotely confusing or intense when it comes to grammar. The Rod and Staff samples I've seen look very dry and "textbooky" so I'm not sure what the best thing for her is yet . . . and I'm afraid to google. LOL

I really want to help my DDs focus on their writing skills next year (5th and 7th gr) so I've been researching various writing curriculum options including WWS or TCW, Bravewriter, IEW (no idea which one?), Apologia Jump In!, and Write Source 7. As you can see, I'm all over the map with it, so feel free to weigh in on a popular choice and help us narrow it down! :bigear: The thing that's confusing me, is that because we used Easy Grammar this year (and loved it!), we added in our own creative writing component. If I switch up their grammar choice next year to something with a more comprehensive scope & sequence, won't it be overkill or at least overlap to include a separate writing class? I don't want them having to learn about outlines and essays in both language arts AND a separate writing lesson. It seems like every other language curriculum I'm looking at includes at least some writing component. On the one hand, I don't want to "fix what isn't broken" because we all really did like Easy Grammar - on the other hand, I'm second-guessing myself that it isn't "enough" to do just that + a writing course and they must be "missing something". We're so new to this gig, I think my 2nd year shopping for curriculum nerves are kicking in! :confused:

This is exactly why we let our kids choose this year. I really wanted them to pick Spanish or Italian because I can speak enough of both to be helpful, but they all wanted French! I decided to let them go with it and we've been using SOS Elementary French. They are actually learning it and enjoying it. I figured they would be motivated because they picked it and they are! My SIL is fluent (majored in French) so we can skype with her for further conversation skills or pronunciation practice. I'm not sure how long we'll continue with it, but the idea of letting them choose was the right one here.

My older 2 learned Abeka when they were still in private school, but we all went with A Reason For this year when we began homeschooling. I used the transition "T" book and taught cursive to my 2nd grade DS - and he's done very well. His sisters declared his cursive style to be much prettier (ironic, since it uses far simpler letter construction IMO) and I like it too. It probably comes down to personal preference, but I felt A Reason For was a slightly more "modern" script by comparison to the Abeka version of cursive.

We actually really liked Easy Grammar this year. I'm a writing major, and I felt it provided a very solid foundation for our grammar/writing studies. I was happy to supplement with our own writing exercises since it really is just "straight grammar". I used Abeka for my youngest because it was our first year and it's what he was used to, but the older 2 really enjoyed the change! I highly recommend it!