That is a good question. I should have mentioned that I want my kids to have a year of creative writing after 4 rigorous years with IEW, before they dive in and tackle The Elegant Essay, Windows to the World for Lit analysis, etc. We love IEW - there is just nothing that met our needs for this particular year - I even pretty much stumped the gal at the IEW convention booth as to what to do with IEW this year. At this point, I am leaning toward Write the Novel Way. I need the structure that a curriculum like this would provide, interspersed with reports I can assign from Tapestry Year 2.

We have used IEW for 4 years with my two oldest (11 and 13) and have been very happy with it. We have used SWI A, SICCA over 2 years, and the Bible based curriculum. I would like to take a break and try something else for writing for a year, before we go back to IEW for the Elegant Essay, etc. I am contemplating Write Shop, Wordsmith or Wordsmith Craftsman, and Learn to Write the Novel Way. Both dabble in story writing in their free time, but could certainly benefit from more help in that. I would love some suggestions!!

This is how I am planning on working it: First, take the pre-test and see which lessons dd can place out of. Then, for all the lessons she needs to do, start with solid explanation/review of the rule for that week. Work on workpages for 15 minutes/day. When it gets to the sentence dictation page , have her do all the sentences, as much as she can in 15 min per day til they are done. Then assign 25 words from the lesson list that she will be tested on. Give her 2 days to practice this list. Then test on the list. In between each lesson, I will assign a list of "personal spelling words" that I have noted from misspelled words from her other work. She will again have 2 days to practice on this list, then will be tested. After successfully testing, then back to the next lesson in Megawords. That is my plan, for now. We will see how it works once we get going!

bumping for my question about index cards..... :bigear: Thanks!

I did join the email list, thank you!! I hope those offers start coming my way!! BTW, do you make flashcards for vocab or does the program have enough built-in review?

Resurrecting this thread.... I called the company and got a discount code for 10% off (HOMESCHOOL10) - but that still does not get the price down to $80 for Level 1. Any idea how to get the price lowered to around $80, as was mentioned here? The rep I spoke with only knew about the 10% off code. Thanks in advance!!

:bigear:

I am back to this post of mine... So - those who use megawords for spelling - say you pick 20 words from the list that they will be responsible for testing on - do you go through the entire sets of lessons for that rule before actually having them practice with a list of words? In other words, you don't have them copy spelling words along with the exercise pages? I hope I am phrasing my question in a way that makes sense. I am still wrapping my mind around how to do this - if I were to allot 15-20 minutes per day for spelling.... Would they just do the exercises, and when they were done with the lesson then make them a spelling list to review and test on?

Thanks, Merry!!!!

My husband just bought this board at Costco today - and it was around $25. What size card box is recommended for all the spelling cards? I saw Merry posted this somewhere but I cannot find the post. Maybe you will see this here, Merry?? Thanks!!

Stephanie - I saw that book - mind me asking how old your son is? Thanks!!

Does anyone teach your children mind mapping as a way to outline/study from a text? I did a search on the topic but did not come up with much. My 12yodd will be starting Apologia General Science and I was thinking that mind mapping the concepts as she studies will help reinforce topics. Anyone who uses mind mapping have any resources to share? I am thinking it is basically cluster diagrams but there may be a lot more to it. Also - anyone read or had their children read How to Study by Ron Fry?

I am specifically wondering about these for a small co-op class of 4 students. The Great Chocolate Caper (also by Prufrock) looks very intriguing too! It is a longer mystery - 9 lessons, mutiple hours. Wonder if this would be exciting to go from week to week, or if it would get boring?

Angela - How do you get free Amazon 2 day shipping? Do you have Amazon Prime( but then you would be paying for it - so not really free)? Or a college student at home?

I'm curious too... anyone?? :)

Has anyone use the One Hour Mysteries by Prufrock Press? I have noticed there are a lot of Prufrock fans here :). Thanks!!

Netflix has many of these.

Thanks, holdoll. How many words do you test on? It looks like each lesson has lots of words!

Could someone please give me a play-by-play of how you would implement megawords for a 6th and 7th grader? Is it meant to be spelling lists for them? Do they just fill in the workbook or is there more to it? Thanks much!

This is from the site www.whitehorseinn.org: "1. What was the Reformation? The Reformation was really a number of people and events that all came together in the early sixteenth century in an effort to reform the Roman Catholic Church. Each reform movement tended to be localized by geography and centered on an influential pastor or prince. Two of the common concerns among all the reform movements were that the Catholic Church had strayed from the Bible's teaching on salvation and that the worship of the Church had become polluted by idolatrous practices. Eventually the reform movements in Germany, Switzerland, and England became powerful and influential enough to break away from the political power of the papacy, and secular rulers (kings, princes, local governments) established churches outside the control of the pope. 2. Who were Martin Luther and John Calvin? Martin Luther and John Calvin were two of the most important leaders of the reform movements that resulted in the Protestant Reformation. Luther came first and was based in Germany. Calvin was a second generation reformer and was based in Switzerland. Both men were extremely influential in their day and helped create churches that still bear the imprint of their thinking. 3. What are the solas? The solas of the Reformation were the principle slogans or issues around which the Reformation was centered. In Latin, "sola" means "alone" or "only." The five solas were: • Sola Scriptura: Scripture alone is the source of our faith and life • Sola gratia: salvation is grounded in God's grace alone, not any human merit • Sola fide: salvation comes through faith alone not by any other means • Solus Christus: salvation is effected in Christ alone, not by any other work or savior • Soli deo gloria: salvation's purpose is for God's glory alone, not any other end 4. How is the Reformation relevant to the modern church? More than just a historical curiosity, we believe that the Reformation recovered the essential tenets of Christianity. In our own day, those central tenets (the solas) have been lost to pragmatism and entertainment. The pursuit of a modern Reformation, then, will lead us to recover and apply the same truths in our churches and in our lives that enlivened the Reformation. We're not seeking a Golden Age, or the return to some pristine period of church history. Instead, we want to see the modern church take up the same slogans of the Reformation in ways uniquely suited to our time and place, and the challenges we face."

We did that - loved it!! Frankly, we love all of Amy Pak's stuff!!

This site has some good free ones: http://www.abookintime.com/crafts/projectsamer1700.html We did the following and loved it: http://www.homeschoolinthewoods.com/HTTA/TTS/ColonialLife.htm - lots of crafts, you would not have to do the lapbooking component - not free but maybe you could find used or borrow?

Have you seen these? I just bought one at convention - actually 2 - one for me and one for middle school dd. http://www.wellplannedday.com/

Thanks everyone! Sheryl - I was looking at that brand - Nature's Plus also makes Power Teen tablets that they sell on vitacost.com (they do not carry the chewables and my Whole Foods does not have them). But some mentioned that those tablets are hard to swallow - too big. Cut them in half - then you have those rough edges which I think make them even harder to swallow! My little guys take the Nature's Plus Animal Parade chewables and love them! I think they are a very good brand.

Does anyone have a brand they recommend - beyond One a Day Teens? I am looking for something readily digestable that is not too much of a horse pill to swallow (health store brands preferred). Thanks in advance!