The "B" doesn't imply revision, its just the second half of level 6. There was a 6A and a 6B before the revision process too. As PPs said, you can tell if your hard copy is the revised version by the color of the cover. Pastel = original, dark/bold = revised.

Have you tried using the new Math Mammoth review workbooks? It says they are redundant if you already own Light Blue, but they're dirt cheap, and maybe having something separate already set up and open-and-go would make your life easier? I wish these had existed when DS was working through MM.

Agreeing with previous posters. My DS used WWE4 and then IEW in 4th and 5th grades, prior to starting WWS in 6th. He could not have done WWS in 5th without many tears and frustration. Waiting until 6th made a world of difference. He's getting so much more out of it now by waiting for that extra year of maturity to kick in. Some may say try WWS1 anyway and put it away for later if its too much, but that type of approach kills my DS's confidence and makes him think he's failed. The longer I homeschool, the more I see that we try to do too much LA too early, IMO, and it doesn't get us to a better place any faster. Being on the other side of the transition to WWS, I'd advise you to stick with IEW for a bit longer if its working. You know your DD best, so go with your gut. Try the other age-appropriate IEW products besides SWI/SICC if the videos annoy you. (I know Pudewa's style isn't for everyone.) Either way, IEW makes a nice bridge into the challenge and rigor of WWS, when the student is ready.

Yes, definitely feel free to mix up the order of the chapters. Mix up the "oddball" (for lack of a better term) non-sequential chapters on measurement, geometry, etc. IMO, Math Mammoth 4 and up are the best levels of the whole program. Hang in there! When DS used Math Mammoth, we used the provided chapter reviews and cumulative reviews sprinkled in with the new material as we kept moving along. For example, we might do 4 days of new material each week and then do a review sheet on the 5th day, or do a lesson on new material with fewer problems assigned that day along with half of a review section, etc. I didn't have a problem with using the same chapter review more than once with an interval of time in between. I don't think I've ever used a curriculum straight through from page 1 to the end, LOL. I make the curriculum fit us, not the other way around. :laugh: Starting in 4th grade, I also had DS do one page from Math Minutes every day to keep concepts fresh. Math Minutes is just 10 problems on a page that spirals around to all the concepts typically covered in that grade. No instruction, just review problems. It didn't align perfectly with Math Mammoth but I was OK with that. Here's a link to Math Minutes grade 4. I like Math Minutes so well that we're still using it now (starting our 4th level of it, 7th grade). I could have created by own review sheets to accomplish the same thing, but I liked having it done for me in a single, inexpensive workbook.

Yes, the revision of level 6 appears to be complete. This is from Maria's January 2014 newsletter: "Math Mammoth Grade 6, revised version is now ready! We're still rolling the updated version into Currclick and Lulu (it should be there within a few days). Printed versions at Rainbow Resource will be in slower. I will be sending an email with download info to people who have bought the complete Light Blue series in the past." So if you previously bought level 6 from Currclick or Lulu you should be able to get the revision through them. If you previously bought the complete package of light blue (levels 1-6) in one purchase, contact Maria directly via her website.

Figuratively Speaking.

Mostly consider this a bump, since I saw no one had responded yet . . . Have you looked at Galore Park's So You Really Want to Learn Science book 2? It covers the 3 major science fields and could possibly be challenging enough for a 9th grader who has previously had not much formal science. I bought it for my DS and what I've read in it so far seems quite challenging and a considerable step up in difficulty from the first book in the series. You could check out the sample pages and see if it seems suitable for your DS. Another one I have is Hewitt's Conceptual Integrated Science. (Yes, I have a problem with collecting science books I won't need for a while, LOL.) It is a college entry-level text, but it seems quite readable to me, so maybe that would be worth a look too. Hope you get more responses.

I bought it as a hardcopy textbook a year or so ago, used. Here's a link for it on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1601530188/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1 As far as I know, there are no hardcopy student or teacher guides for volume 3, like there are for the first two volumes. Apparently that portion (student and teacher guides) of the course content was only available online through K12 at the time the text was printed. I haven't looked in a while but I heard some time ago that K12 was moving entirely to online content only, so if that is true then any hardcopies of their materials that are out there will probably become more difficult to find. HTH.

Thanks for starting this thread, Halcyon! Most of our 7th grade materials will be just the next level of our current stuff. We're really happy with this year's lineup and things are going well, so I'm not going to change it up too much. Writing: finish WWS1, start WWS2, use parts of Killgallon's Paragraphs for Middle School when we need a WWS break Grammar: finish Hake 7 (started in 6th grade, taking it slowly, after this I expect to be finished with formal grammar since Hake 8 is a repeat of 7's topics and his writing shows he's retaining/applying what he's learned) Vocabulary (I think he could drop vocab as a separate subject but he's asked to keep it, seems to have an interest in linguistics): Caesar's English 2 (first semester) and Wordly Wise 9 (second semester) Literature: Mosdos (love!) level Jade and a homemade book list from which he can choose about one book per month to be discussed, the rest he just reads Math: finish PreAlgebra with video lessons from LiveOnlineMath and a Ron Larson text. I'm also pulling from Dolciani and a Blair/Tobey text for supplemental problems, and I have Math Mammoth's PreAlg worksheets and Math Minutes 7 for keeping things fresh. Might be ready for Algebra by halfway through 7th grade, haven't decided yet what we'll use for that, but I just bought Foerster and the related Math Without Borders video lessons, and it seems like that might be a good fit - we'll see. I'm cracking down on serious note-taking and showing all work, neatly, and I'm pleased to see DS is rising to that challenge. Science (DS's favorite subject, so this looks like a lot): CPO or Holt Life science as a spine (have both in pdf, will let DS choose), McHenry's The Brain and maybe also Cells, and Mr. Q's Anatomy & Physiology. DS also likes doing one-day classes at a nearby science museum so I sign him up for those as often as I can. History: finish our 3-year world history rotation with K12's Human Odyssey 3 (Modern Times to Contemporary Era) Logic: The Fallacy Detective and The Thinking Toolbox (DS grabbed these and read through them independently this year, but I want to go through them together slowly at some point) and Perplexors (love!) Other: Review US and world geography occasionally via SheppardSoftware.com, do art & music appreciation informally via documentaries and local performances/exhibits, continue Visual Link Spanish, continue martial arts & competitive swimming

That looks great! Thanks for posting.

We like Visual Link Spanish here. DS started it after GSWS and he likes that it is independent, online and self-paced. You can sign up for a free trial. It isn't crazy expensive anyway but the various levels go on sale quite frequently if you can wait a bit. You'll get email sale notices if you sign up for a trial. There's a link to it in my sig. ETA - We have pretty good high speed DSL internet and still had issues with the VLS website (some parts slow to load, jumpy) using the online version. We switched to the download version and have had no problems since. HTH.

Elemental Science TMs offer suggestions for keeping different ages of students working together. Its the most open and go science I've used. It has memory work, vocabulary, written work for the olders, weekly hands-on activities, etc.

We had good results at that stage by simply following SWB's advice in her article What is Literary Analysis? (and When to Teach It). She provides lists of questions that can be applied to guiding your discussions of any story, novel or biography. There's plenty of time for formal lit guides later. :coolgleamA:

Not necessarily. Its all variations of the same thing to a degree. The pertinent individual factors are: curl pattern, porosity, density, width and length. You can learn all about it here: http://www.naturallycurly.com/texture-typing

Totally agree. Also, the right products are just as important as a good cut. I highly recommend this website for learning more: naturallycurly.com Armed with the info on this website, I'm more knowledgeable about curly hair products and cuts than nearly all of the stylists I've ever encountered.

This may not be what you're looking for, but it is free: Grammar Bytes / chompchomp.com As shown on the website, they recently (late last year, I think) started an online MOOC. If a MOOC isn't your thing, there are also lots of interactive grammar exercises on the website, apart from the MOOC.

My DS has taken the ITBS and the Stanford 10. According to him, the Stanford 10 was easier. The ITBS is timed and can be given by a parent at home if the parent qualifies (has a degree). The Stanford wasn't timed the last time we did it, and I had to use an approved independent test administrator for that one, as parents weren't allowed to administer it. That may have changed since then though. (We used Classical Conversations Testing Services even though we aren't in CC.) Adding on to previous posts, elementary standardized test sections on science generally assess reading comprehension about a provided reading selection and assess interpretation of charts/graphs. In other words, they don't actually test science knowledge, just comprehension of the reading or charts/graphs that are provided on the test itself. For social studies (specific history facts generally aren't covered, IME), beyond reading comprehension and charts/graphs, familiarity with map skills will be the most helpful. A workbook like the Complete Book of Maps and Geography might be useful preparation if you haven't done anything like that before.

Yes, we modified the dictation in WWE4. Even SWB herself didn't do them exactly as instructed in the book. Check out her video series on YouTube called Dictation with Dan. She keeps it real - gives shorter phrases, repeats more, offers more help & support. Here's a link to the first one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9fXrQVOOo8 BTW, I'd encourage you to watch all of SWB's YouTube videos. Very inspiring and informative!

Well, I hate to ask the obvious, but my first thought was, did you buy the golden worksheet series, or the light blue/blue full curriculum?

What grammar are you using now and what do you not like about it? That might help with other suggestions. In TWTM, SWB recommends Rod & Staff grammar after FLL. If you need secular alternatives, SWB listed these, in post #41 of this thread: Warriner's, Stewart English, Voyages in English. Analytical Grammar and Hake Grammar are also popular and frequently discussed on this forum. There are many to choose from. That should give you lots to look at it! :coolgleamA:

There is some writing instruction, not a lot, and we don't use it. The writing lessons are not integrated into the main textbook. The textbook contains the grammar lessons, and there's a separate workbook that contains the writing lessons plus some extra grammar practice pages. My son's Hake 7 textbook is 110 grammar lessons (including spiral review) over about 665 pages. The workbook has 31 writing lessons over about 80 pages. (BTW, both books are paperback and the pages are printed on thin paper, so they probably wouldn't be durable enough to be non-consumable and passed down, for most families. This is probably my only complaint about Hake. I allow my DS to write in the textbook.) ETA: You can see samples and tables of contents at the Hake Grammar link in my sig if you're interested.

I'll take a shot at answering your question and hopefully a bump will help garner more responses too. I don't have specific knowledge of R&S grammar, but my personal experience is that most standard grammar programs repeat very much year to year. I generally wouldn't see a problem with moving from one standard program to another and just staying at grade level. Also, I am realizing that, for most students, grammar instruction isn't necessarily needed each and every year. I believe I have heard that R&S grammar picks up in intensity quite a bit in the middle school years, not sure if that is level 6 or 7, though. My opinion after using Easy Grammar 4 with my DS is that a student can be nearly independent with Easy Grammar as long as you check their work after every lesson. That is, all or nearly all of the pertinent instruction most students would need is in the EG student workbook rather than being confined to the TM. Easy Grammar does have a simple layout and is not colorful, with just plain black and white pages, if that's important to you. BTW, I really like Hake Grammar for its thorough, clear, concise instruction, written to the student, and it only takes my DS about 15 minutes to do a lesson. If the spiral review is too much, it is easy to adjust. Again, though, Hake is not colorful.

You might like The Complete Book of World History as a spine/high-level overview for use during one year. It's aimed at grades 4+ but I don't see why you couldn't use it as a read aloud and jumping off point for areas of interest. http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Book-World-History-Books/dp/1561890898/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1390612843&sr=1-1&keywords=complete+book+of+world+history

How about TOPS science? Here's a list of all their booklets by grade level. Each booklet has a bit of teaching and step by step instructions for every lab. IMO, their supply kits are worth the price, too.

K12's Human Odyssey series does that. It is comprised of 3 volumes that covers ancients to modern, geared to middle schoolers. We're using one volume per year (independent of K12's services, purchased used) to do a 3-year world history cycle, and we really like it. The books are textbooks but not at all like typical textbooks. They are narrative but not annoyingly wordy, with beautiful art reproductions and some excerpts of primary sources, and are visually uncluttered. There are no end of chapter questions within the texts as in typical textbooks. Hard copy student guides and teacher guides are currently available on the used market for the first two volumes, but not for the third volume since they are available online only via K12. (I heard K12 has recently stopped publishing the student and teacher guide hard copies altogether, so they may become harder to find.) I use the teacher guides for some discussion questions and mapwork but otherwise use the texts WTM-style (list of facts, outlining, etc.)