We did the 5th grade one with a group of kids I was teaching, and that seemed to help retention - we'd discuss the words, think of other words with those roots, (spent two weeks per lesson, one per review) they'd do the exercises on their own, we'd come back and do oral tests, and then 3 times we did a big Vocabulary Spelling bee. That said, I don't know how much she's retained, though recently she was talking about terr meaning earth (it came up in a word she was trying to figure out) and going back and forth about whether Aqua was water or sea and marine was water or sea, (So she tried to think of other words using those roots and found her answer) so something stuck... Good luck, Kris

My daughter LOVED the books (one of the few series I haven't read yet) and is loving the Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles as well - they refer to the Spiderwick Chronicles as things that have happened, and it's a cute story within story from what I gather. She loves the "encyclopedia of fairy folk" (or something like that) that goes with the books, and actually has written reports on the fairy folk in the books. She can't wait until the movie comes out! I'm sorry I haven't read the books, and can't tell you more about them. They are VERY short, and I do plan to read them before the movie. Kris

We are using Trail Guide to World Geography with a 6th grader this year, and love it! My friend has two of her kids in the younger one (they are 6 and 9) and two of her kids in this level (12 and 14) and she also loves it! I like that you can make it as simple or intense as you'd like.... We've done pretty much just SOTW geography, and maps and compasses with Girl Scouts, and in the two question a day format, this has been a really nice way to revisit world geography with a little more structure. I love the extra maps and possible writing assignments. I know there is so much more I could be doing with it, but it fits just right into our schedule this way. Good luck! Kris

We used all the Real Science for Kids Elementary Levels - we did Chemistry in 3rd, Physics in 4th and Biology in 5th. I love them! They are 10 lessons, so we planned one a month. Besides that, we used it to guide our interest in book and movie choices - the library has those Schlessinger Video's that cover every possible science topic, so we'd watch those, do other related activities, etc. I do recommend the lab sheets. They were very helpful, and really grounded Casi in the Scientific Method - they all have the objective, the hypothesis, the procedure, the results, and the discussion section. They are partially filled out at the beginning, and you fill in more and more as you go (if I remember correctly.) They have data tables right in there if you are going to need them. Biology was my favorite level. The explainations are very clear, if a little simplistic, but for anything that is of interest, that leaves room for further research! Good luck! Kris

Hey there, Life is good... loving homeschooling, loving my schooling - just keeping busy and having fun. Yikes- it has been since July! We must get together again sometime! Kris

*waving* Hi LB! Slowly going through all these great introductions, and thought I'd say hi!

I'd skip the spectrum ones... At least a few years ago when we tried them, there were a lot of mistakes - misspellings, answers that didn't match the questions, etc. It wasn't a great experience. But, at educational stores they do sell other brands we have had luck with (sorry I can't think of any off the top of my head! :) ) Kris

mine should be in my signature - it will be fun to have a 'complete' list here again!:p

Hello there, I am Kris, and am homeschooling my only daughter (11) for at least the rest of this year. We have been homeschooling since first grade, and she is in 6th now. Before that, I was a Montessori elementary teacher and she was in preschool, and I used lots of resources from TWTM in my classroom. I became interested in homeschooling before finding TWTM - our Montessori Teacher Prep program recommended "How Children Fail" by Holt, and I fell in love. (Bet they regret that, now... Otherwise I'd probably still be teaching! :) ) I am working towards my masters in counseling, and will be doing a practicum next year, which is why we are looking at private schools. My hubby was one of those computer guys, and now he manages those computer guys and does architecture for computer software, and that's all I know about that. Favorite currciulum: SOTW and Real Science for Kids and LOTS AND LOTS of books. (I also decorate with books, Peek!) We've used nearly every writing program known to man, and ended up liking a combination (every other year) of Rod and Staff and IEW. We just tried Spelling Workout this year, and I wish I'd done it all the way through, but hey, if that's the biggest hole.... We love games and books (did I already mention books? :) ) Casi is taking three classes through an alt ed program this year, and loves it: Shakespeare, Do you know what you think you know (history and philosophy) and Debate/Mock Trial. Happy Homeschooling!

I can't wait, but I am a little worried about the new nights - it's on the same night as Chuck, and I haven't yet figured out the times! Chuck takes priority in our house, since all THREE people can watch it, and it's absolutely hilarious. *Grin* Seriously, though, I don't watch many shows - why do my two faves have to be on the same night? :)

I was just rereading parts of "Dark Night of the Soul" by May last night and thought of this thread again.... Dark Night of the Soul is by St. John of the Cross, but May's 'guide' is very modern, and interesting to reread... He revisits St. John's and St. Therese's work from a modern cultural and psychological understanding with some references to how it can be intrepreted across religions, though his grounding seems to be Christian. :) Kris

I did Fallacy Detective with 4 5th graders last year, and they loved it. We only did half of the book (alternating it with Penny Candy) and plan to finish it this year. I kept a chart of the different fallacies, and they started picking them out in "Time for Kids," commercials, etc... Good luck! Kris

I have to say the motivation to become a larvae was pretty high; talk about an intermittent reinforcement schedule - I couldn't find anywhere on here HOW you become a Larvae! Now that that obsession is over, I can return to the delightful Herman Hesse. :D I have no more time to spend on the boards than I did with the old format, but I like that I can just peek in and see recent posts, rather than scrolling as I used to.... I am glad I finally found out how to view the "threads" - I was posting in some pretty random places! :rolleyes: And I love the colorful smile faces - so I am inserting even more smile faces than I usually would.

The Faith Club was also really good - a nice overview of the three faiths that share the common root of Abraham, and a very "real" dialogue about religious stereotypes (both conscious and unconscious). It's what I'd consider a "light read" (easy and interesting and quick) that has the potential to be studied in depth if desired. A new book club I am in is using it as one of our first books, because all of our book choices are going to be around questions of spirituality. :)

We're in our sixth year homeschooling, but I remember hanging out on these boards for the moral support before we made the decision to homeschool at LEAST a year before we started.... Thank goodness for the internet.:rolleyes:

I was just remembering that while I like History Portfolio http://www.homeschooljourney.com/ I wish I'd done the Brimwood Press 'History Archive Treasury' http://www.brimwoodpress.com/productlist.html for the logic stage - even though we are still chronological, many opportunities come up to fill in other time periods of history, and the Brimwood Press Binder is for all four years! Everything else that we are doing I love, so that's not a huge deal... Kris

This sounds similar to what we are doing - redo SOTW, but this time we are using History Portfolio for our binder. We added some reading from Kingfisher, and LOTS of other reading. DD (11) still loves SOTW.

We're using Rod and Staff this year (6th grade) and did it in 3rd and 4th. In 5th grade we did IEW at a co-op and it was a GREAT break from Rod and Staff, and gave her more practice and tools than Rod and Staff. We've also tried (name a writing program) and I'm now selling (name a writing program. :) ) Oh, I love curriculum....:)

Interesting question - I have seen Mere Christianity recommended frequently as a definition/explaination of Christianity that crosses Christian denominations. I loved Anne Lamont's "Traveling Mercies" (and then plan B), describing her own journey in a down to earth, non preachy fashion... but it doesn't get into what I think of as theology. And, this is probably not what you are looking for, but I recently enjoyed "Religion as a Natural Phenomenon." It looks at the cultural transmission of Religion, the belief in belief, etc... It sort of met me where I am right now in my quest... It is written by an athiest, and is more gentle than Dawkins' work. Good luck! Kris

We have always kept History at the focus of our studies, going light on other WTM areas in the earlier grades, and slowly adding subjects and depth each year. So, we did SOTW for the grammar stage, and incorporated most of our language arts, fine arts, etc around that, with Real Science for Kids as our science (10 lessons a year.) Now, to your question about the logic stage. I wanted my daughter to have more say about "what" she was studying in each time period, so we ordered the History Portfolio. We are listening to SOTW in the car, and she uses either books or Kingfisher to supplement this, but focuses on things that interest her, or things I assign that I don't think should be missed. For example, we just spent a couple of weeks on comparing English knights/castles and Japanese Samauri/castles. This was a strong interest for her, because the history portfolio is light on space for "world" history, and so we are adding it in as a comparison as we go. Next we will be doing the Crusades, and talking about the role of religion in wars around the world. We have "God Wills It" to listen to (I think they are college lectures, so we'll see how many we get through.) I think the crusades are very important both as a historical event, and as the basis for comparison for other religious wars. Because we are "logic stage" now, she does many more subjects.... I'll write about our week so it makes more sense (hopefully.) (She does fiddle each morning before the rest of her subjects.) M - spelling pretest and one page in spelling workout. Rod and Staff. Read Biology chapter. Geography (trail guide.) Math facts (2 minute practice.) Head to friends house, listen to SOTW in the car. Do biology experiment and math. Come home for art class at 3. T - Math. Spelling. Grammar. Geography (trail guide.) Math facts (2 minute practice.) Go to Shakespeare class. Come home, and read some history, do a square in history portfolio. W - our "free" day. Math. Spelling. Grammar. Geography (trail guide.) Math facts (2 minute practice.) Read a biology chapter. Decide on a history or literature project (could be drawing, 3d, cooking, etc). Read, write, etc. Homework for classes she has on Thursdays is done after her assignments for homeschooling are done. School is long and relaxed on Wednesdays. Th - Math. Spelling. Grammar. Geography (trail guide.) Math facts (2 minute practice.) Homework wrap up for todays classes. 12:30 - Do you know what you think you know - history class. 1:30 - debate/mock trial. Friday - Catch Up or head out! Anything we are behind in, tests, field trips, wilderness school days.... Weekends are often free, though she always reads, and sometimes has a bit of homework if we weren't meeting goals and Friday ended up being an out of the house day. This weekend I am having her look at a poetry contest, so she'll have some time to have it in the back of her head before writing it. Last year, we had a different structure and did Fallacy detective and Penny Candy in our co-op, and not nearly as much science. I hope that helps a little.... It looks so different in everyones house. I don't follow TWTM outlining recommendations, etc, because History is my daughters true love, and reading, doing projects, etc, keeps that love alive. She does have to ocassionally outline as an assignment, but not as a weekly thing. :) Kris

Right now one book group is doing Siddhartha, so I read that a couple times and am reading Herman Hesse's autobiographical writings. Another book group is doing Dark Night of the Soul and The Faith Club, so I read those, and I am reading some of Theresa of Avila's work and May's modern guide to the Dark Night of the Soul. I have this text book for school that I am supposed to be reading that is NOT holding my interest... something about research methods.... I'm going to dig in and do my assignment from that so I can get back to the fun stuff! I'm sure I have other things I am in various stages on, but that's enough for now!! Kris

Oh, I'm glad to see this board. I'll likely be afterschooling in the future, and am glad I'm not going to be 'kicked off' the boards for not being a full time homeschooler!! :p

We're using Trail Guide to World Geography this year, and my daughter loves it.... So far, we have just done Story of the World (and some girl scout activities) and she has always done reasonably well with geography. Trail guide is great because in two questions a day, it is familiarizing her with an atlas, and their maps and extra pages have come in really useful as I see opportunities arise. Kris