Also following and doing Earth/Geology/Astronomy/Oceanography next year. I had asked Jen over at Guest Hollow if she had anything new planned, hoping she had an earth science, because we've loved her Knowledge of Nature (chem and physics) this year! Hoping its okay to tag along as I'm planning too! I've been looking at the Science in a Nutshell kits at Delta Education site. Also planning to see if the free McGgraw Hill interactive text will work (http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/472872-mcgraw-hill-science-textbook-workbook-lab-book-free-grade-1-6/ is the thread with links to it. Earth Science is 6th grade).

I've also been looking for this without success. I find timber doodle packages inspiring when I look, but not quite fitting the bill. They do have neat kits for art, logic puzzles, and technology in their curriculums. Thanks for starting the thread, spending my screen time today browsing the links!

Not free, but I highly recommend Guest Hollow's plans for Chem & Physics. They include extra books, projects, video links, etc. We are enjoying it, much more than just the Apologia book.

The glencoe link above worked for me. The guides look really nice for being free, read thru a handful of them. Most are middle school or high school level. Anyone know of anything similar for upper elementary titles? Even if it's not free, I like this style.

Thank you both! I'm leaning towards the snap circuits too. The reviews on Amazon for little bits are mostly paid reviewers and mixed too. Since we already have and use snap, adding onto it seems the better choice.

Have and enjoy the snap 750. Current lightning deal for snap light and sound bundle. Trying to decide if I should get that, have been looking at the little bits set also. Can anyone compare first hand?

We didn't make it past the free trial of ancients. The bickering between the host characters was more annoying than funny.

Ds here is much the same but a year older. Farrar has a good point about readiness for beast being more than just math ability level and you don't want to turn them off of it with poor timing relative to their maturity. We started beast 3a, I sensed his maturity for problem solving wasn't great yet, and we flew thru sm 3a and b, then restarted beast along with sm cwp 3 to makes sure rentention was good. We will do sm 4 before ba4 too, at least that's the plan.

Same at our house.

I use Dr. E challenges sometimes for my kids and for my co op class. https://dreschallenges.com There's also robo camp curriculum packs, currently at hsbc. I haven't used those yet but considering it. https://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/robocamp/?source=HSBC-2015-11-10&utm_source=Offer+Emails&utm_campaign=HSBC-2015-11-10&utm_medium=email Also look into ev3lessons.com, and th Valk, Bendetelli, and no starch press books. Check no starch though because some of the print ad black and white but the e-book is color (strongly preferred). Valk: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1593275331?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_sfl_title_8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER Bendetelli: http://www.amazon.com/The-LEGO-MINDSTORMS-EV3-Laboratory/dp/1593275331/ref=dp_rm_title_1 Damian Kee (uses education version): http://www.amazon.com/Classroom-Activities-Busy-Teacher-EV3/dp/1491253169/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1447450702&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=Damian+Kee

I teach this at co-op. Three per kit is tight but do-able, two is best. Multiple kits and laptops are necessary for a group setting. Unless you want to teach it in a group and front the cost and recover it by teaching the course several times, it's going to be an expensive short-term product. Frankly, if she's older than 6/7, I would be tempted to wait it out for Mindstorms, which are more expensive but have way more depth and will "last" you a lot more years in terms of interest and engagement. Or scour ebay for an older edition Mindstorms if you're not sure she'll stick. I'd try Scratch, snap circuits, and other things to fill the time gap until she's ready for Mindstorms if she's young. We love our sets, and ymmv, but that's my 2 cents. Good luck!

He's 8, almost 9. Re subjects I'm not sure, other than we are in year3 for history so probably prefer to avoid themes around slavery and Holocaust until we get to them in context. Smootwater-- thanks for your suggestions! He loved the abridged Oliver Twist and Prince and the Pauper. Do you think the full versions would be appropriate? He gorged on Dahl this summer, multiple times thru all his books. Off to research the others!

The kid is reading me into the poor house. (Yes, we have a decent library, but so far the puppy's "reading" has cost me $40 in replacement book fees this month, so I've been buying used on Amazon because if I have to take in another chewed up book and pay for it, I might die from embarrassment.) This week he read Charlotte's Web, One & Only Ivan, and part of Family Under the Bridge. It is Wednesday. That was his reading and discussion time reading, not his free reading (which mainly consists of contemporary character junk or non-fiction). The comprehension is there, he can retell the stories and describe main characters, setting, plot. Thinking I need to up the difficulty level for him and give him something meatier to chew on, ideas for solid books without mature or depressing themes?

Guest Hollow has a schedule of supplements that go with the elementary Chem & Physics one. It's quite good! We are enjoying it this year. I don't think I'd like just the Apologia text alone, but as a base with the GH stuff, its been a good spine. ETA: Link: http://www.guesthollow.com/homeschool/science/knowledge/knowledge_of_nature.html

Another who will buy and recommend if thcolors are changed.

I don't know if it's better, but here's what we are doing for the first half of SOTW3: Intro, 1, 2, 3, 4 6, (additional week on Pilgrims and Colonial life) 7, 12, 13 15, 16, 17 21, 22, 23 (additional 2 weeks on American Revolution) We are doing more in depth studies of less chapters, and focusing on American history. I'm including some of the European to help transition from SOTW2 focus and because we hope to take the kids to Europe within the next couple of years, so I'd like them to have a background for some of the sights we will see.. Chapters 5, 8-11, 14, and 17-20 are mostly Eastern World history, which we may or may not cover this time thru. I have a Pre-K and a 3rd grader, so I'm okay with focusing on American and Western for now. If nothing else, we will do a Samurai unit week during our Holiday term or next summer because I've got 2 boys who would love it!

I found sotw 3 to be too jumpy for us to go in the text order. I couldn't wrap my head around teaching the Industrial and French Revolutions before the Pilgrims. We are going out of order, and with heavier American history focus, saving some of the world history for the later spring weeks, so that the American history is sure to get done.

Another "retired" attorney, and my kids' intense interests and play exhaust me as well. I crave quiet, well ordered study time and they need hands on, multi-modal, immersion style lessons. These exhaust me both planning and implementing, so I keep it just to math and language arts for those most of the time. If it's not a screen, and they aren't arguing, I generally leave them to their play so long as math and language arts are done for the day. I'm finding their play rotates thru history, science, and arts pretty naturally, and well placed read alouds, books strewn, or suggestions for play tend to direct their learning indirectly. That's the reality, although pretty far from what my plans were! On a logistical note, would it be possible to start your oldest 2 working on mom led lessons about an hour before your K? Start the K and littles with play or an educational show, so that your K's table time is shorter and staggered? I start with my older and fold in the younger. For what it's worth, my DS is just now as a 3rd grader showing semi independence. I spent the first few weeks of this school year aching the procedure of our checklist, how to complete his independent work, etc. It's paying off, but since he isn't a natural list maker and box checker, needed direct teaching to accomplish.

Ds doesn't need it but we do the workbook for building independence, we do CWP or beast with me nearby. He would fly thru singapore if I'd let him, but I'm more interested in deep long term mastery and being thorough. Ymmv, but for my particular child allowing him to speed thru things he intuited led to lack of ability to use the materials later on, he needed practice even if he didn't think he needed it, if you know what I mean.

Similar ds, we went with EIW, and it's been a good hand holding introduction to writing. We did speed up thru the grammar portions and we add to he writing by practicing the same types of writing across the curriculum (write a friendly letter form the perspective of one of the lit characters or write a narrative as a historical person we are studying, etc.).

We use the cc timeline song and sotw. I tried matching up cards, etc., but have found my main purpose for timeline is the big general overview of chronology, so I've stopped trying to line them up. Even if the timeline song is just rote memory work right now, it creates context and pegs for when we come to those events or people in sotw, and that has been valuable, and very easy to implement consistently. I would like to pick up the history sentences/songs, but coordinating them to sotw is on a future to do list. If I remember correctly, when I took a quick look at it before, it wasn't a quick drop in and go. I do remember thinking the cc app had the songs and sentences and was a sort of interactive guide? You may want to check out the app and compare.

Thanks, Kai, that was helpful. I'm looking at elementary but open to different levels. Sounds like Jr Great books 3 isn't a good fit because we will be using a separate writing program.

Any reviews or recommendations among these 3? This will be our first attempt at a lit curriculum, have just been reading whatever, whenever so far, and all over the place, so would like a little structure to lit as we move into upper elementary. Trying to choose for a 3rd grader who reads anything he can get his hands on, but is writing-phobic. He prefers to devour books instead of read a chapter a day. Will pair it with EIW or CAP Fable for writing. To be taught by a mom who likes efficient curriculum that's worth the time we spend on it, or I'll default to unschooling lit. Mosdos-- looks good, but Teacher Edition at 500+ pages, don't think I'll wade thru it and use it. Is this do-able with student book and workbook only? Is it worth it? The sample student workbook pages looked really dense-- we like clean pages (like SM standards for math). Jr Great Books-- I like the story selections, not sure my student will. Is there anywhere to see samples of teacher edition or student workbook? Is teacher edition necessary? Lightning Lit-- is it "enough"? This is my default option, simpler than the others. Like the grammar included, but wouldn't use the composition element. He would like the puzzles and colored pages. I like that it's whole books and high interest selections, but feel like he reads lots out of this group anyway on his own. Maybe that would help us implement and stick to a lit program? Help, I'm paralyzed by all the choices!

Mrs. Piggle Wiggle was a huge hit here. I just repeat what I want them to say until they parrot. It. "May I please have.." "No thank you." "We don't interrupt when others are speaking." I try to think it is a more positive form of nagging?

Thanks! That helps me understand the flow of it.