My DS10 has just started this. We are new to homeschooling so I don't have much to compare it too, but here are my thoughts. It covers a range of biology topics, including cells, classification, studies of the plant and animal kingdom, the body, etc. There is little pre-planning required on my part. You do need to purchase at least one of the additional texts that the reading assignments come from though...I purchased all 3 because they are great resources in general. There are a few units where I am not crazy about the lab or activity suggested, so I am just going to add in my own. You could get away without purchasing the student book and copy some of the pages out of the teacher guide, and just keep a notebook with it. I think this curriculum is a good fit for my son's age/stage. It would be easy to add more to it if you wanted to get more in-depth in any topics, and they give you suggestions at the end of each unit for doing just that. I'm sure that my older DS, who is 12 and a complete science nut and is working through chemistry and physics this year, is going to want to go through some of the units in this curriculum too.

We are currently working through 2 TIP programs: ds12 is doing Growing Up Greek. It is computer based. I was not prepared for the amount of writing that it asks of the students, and also the length (it is over 20 lessons) This ds dreads writing, so we tend to just discuss most of the writing assignments instead, as I was hoping this would just be something "fun" to go through over the summer. ds10 is doing Cryptology and Number Secrets (or something along that line). This is also computer based, only about half the length of above course, and is pretty interesting. It involves using a bit of math skills, but teaches the skills or has links to websites for additional practice if they are skills the child hasn't learned yet. Of the two courses, this one is more of what I was envisioning when we purchased them.

I am brand new to homeschooling, but i ordered ES Biology for the Logic Stage for mythe 5th grader and really like the look of it. The author is working on other log ic stage coursesin earth science, chemistry and physics to coordinate with the approach in TWTM.

My ds will love this. Thx 4for sharing!

Didn't realize I could do this, still learning my way around here...thank you!

still fairly new here, didn't realize that I could search forums! :001_smile:

I am going to be embarking on the homeschool journey in August with a 5th and 7th grader. Was planning to use Saxon Math with both, did the placement test and my 5th grader placed into 7/6...although was only 1 or 2 questions short of making 8/7, which is what my 7th grader would use. I just learned of Art of Problem Solving and it looks intriguing. Is anyone currently using this or has used in the past to offer thoughts on how they like it, how it compares to other curricula? Online course vs their textbook courses? Thanks!

I will be just starting to homeschool my 5th and 7th graders in August. Was planning to do Saxon Math - my boys did the placement test and fell in the 7/6 and 8/7 categories, respectively, although my 5th grader was just 2 questions shy of placing into the 8/7 himself. I've just come across the Art of Problem Solving website though, and it looks intriguing. Is anyone using this currently or used in the past (either their book courses or the online courses) to give feedback? Thanks!

I did not see that NOEO offers a level III, I had looked only at the level 2. We've already got the Thames&Kosmos chem set that they use, so that might be the best fit. I can always supplement with ACS and other sources. Thanks!:001_smile:

I've been thinking about letting both of my ds's start some programming, will check this one out. Thanks for the rec!

Thank you all for the ideas so far. NOEO looks a little too basic for my ds. I did actually come across the ACS program before posting my initial thread and I have that bookmarked as a possible guide to follow. The paradigm program looks like it has potential, as long as we supplement it with labs, etc. I've checked out the Holt high school program too but I'm not sure that's what we're looking for. Keep the thoughts coming! :)

I have a 7th grader who LOVES science and I'm looking for a chemistry curriculum, or at least something a little more structured than what is recommended in TWTM. I've ruled out Apologia and RS4K for various reasons, and I'm wondering if anyone has recommendations for other programs I should look into???

I am beginning Latin as well with 2 boys who will be in 5th/7th. I've decided to start with LC1 this summer and try to get through that and some of LC 2 during this year, then switch over with both of them to Henle next year. Hoping it works out:)