Hey all, I know, in general, the difference between Christian light math and ACE math (spiral vs. Mastery). While I'm not a big fan of drill and kill in general, I am interested in ACE because It makes gaps more obvious, and it's encourages self-motivation. My question is, how do the scope and sequences compare? I've heard that up to 8th grade CLE is awesome and advanced, but after 8th, you lose the critical thinking and abstract math concepts. I also know that there are a lot of ACE detractors on this forum, but I graduated from private school that used ACE, and I loved it, and retained almost everything I learned, so don't hate, just inform. Thanks in advance.

Hey folks, I'm looking at starting MFW with my girls 11 and 9. I've also been looking at HOD. Have any of you used both? Could you point me towards a comparison. Also, I'm not a fan of busy work, and while I have one that would LOVE all the coloring pages I've seen, my oldest would be bored to tears. They are very creative and love out of the box kind of things. Unfortunately, that's pretty much all I've seen of the MFW curriculum - coloring pages! Any insight would be appreciated. Oh, also, is it planning intensive? I'm a working mom who's also in school, so time is of the essence.

From what I am reading, the fundamental flaw in his logic is that money fixes a broken school.

I don't know, but there was a guy who made it to the top 20 of So You Think You Can Dance with Martial Arts and Ballet training. He was brilliant. Cole Horibe, I think was his name.

This is fascinating. Like everything else with HSing it seems, you really have to find the fit that works for you and your family. My DDs are 10 (almost 11), 8, and 5, and they are all so different. I like the idea of picking bits from whatever works. I've always been the kind of mom that will stop mid track walking when I see something interesting and educational and say "HEY, kids, CHECK THIS OUT!" I think that's so much of what learning is about. Just observing. Fortunately, I retained a lot of what I learned from physical science and such, so it's easy...for now. Soon, I know, DD (10) will surpass me. She's my future chemist. Loves the stuff. DD (8) is my artist and crafter. She never tires of painting and clay modeling. DD (5) is my active child. I'm hoping to get her in to try out gymnastics. She is excited to try. Anyway, I can see how sprinkling bits of other learning styles in with a general core can help tailor it to their learning needs. Keep 'em coming. I love hearing about how everyone does this.

I've searched and can't find a topic directly related to this, so if you know of one, please let me know. Do any of you use different curriculum at the same time with different kids? For example, I think my oldest will do well with a CM learning style, but number 2 would LOVE Oak Meadow and I have no idea about DD 3 yet. Have you tried it? Did it work? Thoughts?

Oh boy. Now I'm scared. ;) I keep saying I would love life if I had a routine in place, but I am SO not the organized type. Fact is, I'm more a frustrated perfectionist. If I can't get it all completely right, why bother. I am trying to work through this now BEFORE we begin homeschooling next year.

I feel like I keep posting questions, and don't offer any real help to anyone else. I'm hoping once I get more experience under my belt, I'll have more to offer others. Anyway, I have this image of my head of my family all crunchy granola and earthy (the way I wish we were) with our own organic garden, all the girls sitting around the dining room table working away happily on their school work. We talk freely about deep philosophical things, and take these amazing field trips where my children learn things that no public school kids get to learn. Daily my kids help with the housework and we get it done easily so we all get to do more together because the house is clean. I imagine every day being an exploration and an adventure and when my girls get to be teenagers they don't hate me, and we talk through things. THEN there's my nightmare. We sit at home begging, fighting, screaming because they won't do their work, and because we're all home all the time, the house is a WRECK. So, is it unrealistic to expect my dream, and what do I do to get closer to my dream and not end up in my nightmare?

Thanks for all the info. I tend to be super suspicious, as I'm sure we all are, when people on "the big scary internet" start asking about my kids. I sent what I'm sure was a nasty reply about how they didn't need those kinds of details about my kids. The moderator responded and graciously sent me login stuff. Thankful he or she was more patient with me than I was. Thanks for taking a minute to respond!

One of the problems I have is that I can't see ANYTHING about the group until I've joined. DH says it's likely just an inactive group with an auto response to requests to join. He's probably correct. I'd feel a great deal easier about it if they had a functioning website.

I forgot to mention that at the end of the letter they noted "For more information log on to our website..." but the link was to an expired site. :sneaky2: :sleep:

I just requested to join a Yahoo group and then received a "Welcome letter" attached to a response email. The letter asked for detailed info about me, my kids, and our location BEFORE I could join the group. Does this freak anyone else out? Everything I've seen has said (and I agree) not to post details or even pix of your kids. I understand a group wanting to protect its members, but this seems more like a scam to get info off of people. What do you think?

What time do you start your school day? How long do you school daily? What does your daily schedule look like?

I've been looking at Heart of Dakota that recommends Singapore Math. I'm a bit intimidated by it, frankly. Not the math, but the placement charts!

No worries! I have an 8 and a 5 year old, so it didn't bother me at all! :)