Wordly Wise - has vocabulary and comprehension Comprehension Plus by MCP - has vocabulary,comprehension and story analysis. You can look up both of these on cbd.com or rainbowresources. These two work in addition to narration. Nothing improves comprehension better than narration. Start with a small paragraph and progress to chapters.

Ok

Dave Ramsey talks about that. I got a lot of excellent tips from him. Just listed the CDs in the for sale board if interested :)

I used AAA and loved it,but it was too much for me with everything else.... So starting in grade 2, my three dc are using Building Spelling Skills by Christian liberty press. Complete,independent,easy to use. My dc are spelling way above grade level. My second grader,who has speech delay and LDs, was tested by a psychologist Last year and he came out in the gifted range in spelling!he spelled at 5 th grade level. He did use an intensive phonics before, but BSS really helped him cement those phonics. I like the phonics reinforcement and starting in gr 4 , the greek& Latin roots, but best of all , I like that spelling is out of my hands!

I'm stressed, its a part of life. HOD makes it possible for me to homeschool, I'm very grateful for that especially after trying other curricula.

One certainly could easily combine for the content subjects and I'm sure that MFW works for many families...for us it didn't because my 9 yo comprehends at much higher level than my 7 ( with speech delay) and 6 yo. For ex. if we were doing ECC this year as we were supposed to, my youngers would be left behind again. I felt like they didn't get anything from MFW adventures. They are doing much better with their own guide,focusing on their own needs,in fact its amazing how they have grown in their narration skills, I attribute that to the LHFHG guide wedid last year. Plus, I really LOVE all the other skills integrated throughout HOD, like poetry,writing,literary analysis,comprehension,timeline,projects...etc most of these independently done, unlike MFW. Doing independent work in Preparing,was important for me this year as I was very sick, I'm part time working for home and I have the younger dc that need me. I don't think ECC or the future guides in MFW would allow me this luxury! ( I hadit,looked through itand sold it). Not to mention that I love the schedule in a box style in HOD ( many people hate these) and I like to have all my books in the package vs going to the library or skimming through the appendix, although in the early guides,HOD also has extra books recommended. Also,while you can accommodate MFW to work with a different age group, I do not have the time or desire to adapt it, I prefer instead to work with each child at their level, with their own guide and a schedule already prepared for me. The children enjoy it too, the oldest is eager to tell me his narrations or answer the questions inthe guide and the younger certainly appreciate my time with them only...another plus.

Why do you want to switch to MFW? Are you concerned that you wouldn't be able to combine with HOD? For us this is a plus. I have tried MFW before and although I like the idea of combining, it just didn't work,even if my dc are relatively close in age. I have four dc (9yo in preparing,7 and 6 yo in Beyond and a 3 yo in LHTH) and combining them would be a disaster since they are at different skills level. In preparing,my 9 yo is able to work independently most of the boxes with very little help from me,which allows me to work with the little ones. He writes decent narrations with Carrie's prompts.The Bible in preparing is very short so we add a family devotional at night (dad reads it).We also add apologia and Latin since Preparing is so efficient and allows us time for exras. The areas where I'm more involved are exactly the opposites as some pp mentioned : LA( rod&Staff English) and math ( Singapore). I make sure my ds understands grammar ( especially since English is my 3rd language!) and we do the textbook and CWP together before I let him dig in the workbook by himself. In contrast, he does read his Preparing books by himself and follows the instructions in the guide. He does an incredible job! Here are some samples of his work. http://pinterest.com/dandelion4/heart-of-dakota-preparing-hearts-for-his-glory/ I think HOD guides from Preparing&up are brilliantly designed so that our ds learn how to work independently and be responsible. I see that in my ds and it is a great skill to prepare him for college and/or work.

I'm using beyond in a sonlight way,but preparing and LHTH almost as written. Beyond is used as sonlight because my dc are above the 3 Rs and we add more science. I add or take out from all the guides, as I see fit to my dc. Usually add more science&spelling,Bible, foreign language and take out some projects. I let them do only the projects they want. Nevertheless, we are enjoying the guides so much. It's so helpful to have all planned out for a busy, brain scattered,work at home mom like me! Katrina,have you thought about asking dad to read your dc a kids devotional ? It takes less than 10 min and it does not add any more time to ( I suppose ) a full school schedule you already have. Next year,in CTC,you could add IEW instead of WWTB,which I am also planning to do. My son did IEW A in 3 rd grade and loved it,so I want to continue with that. A root word study it's easily done with English from the roots&up or any other workbooks and I don't think it would take more than 6-7 min. My son is doing both Building Spelling Skills&EFRU ( alternatively) and 3x/week dictation. It works, but he doesn't always do all the projects and he does all the reading by himself, including the T boxes,which is helpful for me when I have to do everything with the younger ones! We should not fit our kids to a HOD mold, we find a way to fit HOD to our kiddos and our philosophies .HOD is just a guide , not a jail...at least that's how I see it :)

Use both if you can. CLE used as a "memory program" as someone else said. Don't give up Singapore, it is the BEST! It gets better after 1st grade. We now use Math Mammoth as a supplement to Singapore,for one child who needs more practice. I used to be a fervent promoter of CLE,but not anymore. CLE is good enough to produce farmers,but it does not have the mathematical thinking of other programs,such as SM. CLE does not even measure up to the Common Core Standards, except for computation. I know many people don't care about CCS, but the math (and reading and writing) has higher order thinking skills than what it used to be in the past, in fact the math is very similar to Singapore.

Both! HOD is my favorite as a whole program,but the books in core A are invaluable for this age. It's easy to supplement. We just read the books from sonlight and talk about them. Occasionally, we did a lapbook and I almost always found free online comprehension questions for most books. There are also supplemental books recommended in HOD appendix that my dc enjoyed.

I'm learning from my son's narrations! He is in preparing and is doing it 95% independently. I'm still learning from what he writes or tells me,but I always loved history . I was schooled in Europe, where they put more emphasis on world history.

Still confused ,bu I guess my son and I will have to memorize these pronouns. It's hard when most people around us speak incorrectly . In French you say '"C'est moi" ( it's me) and in Romanian and most other languages I know ,the object pronoun in these cases doesn't exist. You just say he is my brother , never my brother is he! English is complicated!

Ok,thanks, but there are situations when you can't turn the sentence around. I can't think of an example right now. There must be a rule, but although I'm pretty fluent in English, Rod and Staff grammar is really a foreign language to me! However, after extensively looking at all the grammar programs, I haven't found anything better. Could someone tell me if in this narration, my son was supposed to write "to teach him and his people" or " to teach he and his people" ? Link is here, I can't attach it to TWTM forum,it says the file is too big http://pinterest.com/pin/560768591071798623/

All I can say is wow! My 8 yo can't do that,but my 9 yo was able to write beautifully since he was 5 . Every child is different.

English is my 3 rd language and I'm having a hard time understanding pronouns. This is from rod&staff English 4 , lessons 66&67, pronouns in a predicate and in a subject. Please help me understand when you are supposed to use a subject or a predicate pronoun. My son, a 9 yo who speaks &reads English better than me, says that these sentences sound correct "My brother is him" "My cousin is her" "Him and Mary" because that's how he has heard most people talking. But his rod and staff English teaches to use the predicate pronouns ( my brother is he,my cousin is she , he and Mary ) . I have never heard anyone speak like that. Don't you usually say "he is my brother" , instead of my brother is he,she is my cousin , instead of my cousin is she? Is there an easy way for my son and I to understand how to use the correct pronoun ?We are both confused. Also, in what circumstance do you usually say my cousin is she instead of she is my cousin?

My twp boys have enjoyed almost everything on this list,except coloring and lifepacs,which I've never tried. In addition, they love HOD , IEW and Singapore math.

I don't use DITHOR,but I do read the books recommended in story time. I just google study guides , activities or comprehension questions for the book I'm reading. I was able to find these free online for every book so far. We discuss genre,literary elements,characters,compare/contrast, occasionally a book report. If you listen to SWB'S audio, you'll be convinced you don't need DITHOR . We do R&S ,although boring and the kids don't like it, but I wasn't able to find anything better. Also, I add Building Spelling Skills (CLP), but use HOD's dictation as well. For one child,with speech delay and comprehension issues, I use Wordly Wise as well.

I used to live in France and a few other countries in Europe. I am in fact born in Europe and lived there until recently before I moved to US. I have never homeschooled in Europe , but some people from the church I was attending did ( in France). What a great opportunity! I'd choose France, the most beautiful and rich in history country,but of course, I am biased .

In Spain homeschooling is illegal,as well as in Germany. In France it's legal, but they have very strict laws as how to homeschool and they are often tested and have standards for each level. I think the most homeschool friendly country is UK, ut even there they have strict homeschooling laws. Why are you moving to Europe?

My son made one from HOD preparing guide . He still remembers all the parts of a cell & their role It looks soft here,but after a few hours it became more compact The white stuff is just water+corn starch, mix it ,then add the rest It's not edible though. http://pinterest.com/pin/560768591071425508/

Here are samples of the math book our state ( FL) is using and supposedly it's aligned with CCC http://ww2.bullittschools.org/ShepherdsvilleEL/?page_id=1592

Red squirrel, I mean dc who were successful in a career or college. I'd appreciate a link to swb's post if anyone has it.

Do you have any words of wisdom and inspiration for us,who are not too sure what we are doing? Did you ever want to give up or thought you were not doing enough for your dc? If you had a gifted/bright child, has she/he finished high school earlier and how did you proceed with that? Would you do anything differently?

Yes, I did and my four kids were exactly the same age as your dc when I put the two oldest in PS for three months. Best decision I've made! They liked it too,but now if asked, they prefer to stay home. I also wanted to experience ps is in America ( I'm from Europe) It's hard ,but it does get easier. Putting them in PS for a few months so you can have a break won't hurt anyone.

He read the book by himself. Maybe he didn't comprehend it right? I know it's a higher level reading and I told him to choose an easier book he had read earlier,but he picked the hobbit because he loved it so much. He had mentioned that the setting was in several places,but he did not know how to write about that...and I didn't know either. This was his last draft. He had to correct a few sentences and consult the thesaurus to replace a few words, but that was the best I could help him. Now,thanks to you ladies,I will show him the problem with which and the tense mistakes,then we just correct the paper instead of making him to write it again.