Agreeing with all the PPs. Great responses. Also, IMO, a good writing curriculum that gets done is *always* worth the investment and for me it is the subject that is the most important. I resisted IEW for a good while, but after trying it, I'm totally a believer. :coolgleamA: I've found that writing is most often the subject where we "get what we pay for". I'll scrimp on everything else except writing curricula. When I've spent less money on other writing programs, I've usually been disappointed.

There's the Oxford University Press series The World in Ancient Times, which are chock-full of details and wonderful if you love history. (Too overwhelming for my DS, but he's only 10 and doesn't love history, prefers spending time on science.) And the Early Times Series by Suzanne Strauss Art. Here's a link from a post I wrote on them yesterday: http://www.rainbowre...a79e61506064c07 (edit: another link http://www.rainbowresource.com/prodlist.php?subject=14&category=4022) And the related description from Rainbow Resource: "This series provides a very thorough, detailed study of several different past civilizations. Each book has three units (several chapters each) and reviews the civilization chronologically. The books not only cover general information about food, religion, trade, education, art, and government, but also specific details of wars, time periods, events, and famous people. The books are formatted and read like history textbooks and can actually be used for a year’s worth of study or for unit studies. There are review questions after each chapter to make sure students are catching important details. There is no answer key in the books for these questions, but the answers can easily be found in the text. There are a dozen or so short answer questions, and then there are several deep thinking questions for every chapter, which encourage students to develop their opinions or critical thinking. A few project ideas are also included after each chapter, which prompt students to draw maps or timelines, write essays, and read recommended books that correlate with the chapter. Each book includes black and white maps, diagrams, drawings, and photographs, as well as a timeline of important events in each civilization. An index and pronunciation guide are included, along with the complete list of recommended supplementary readings."

Either the full TWSS or an SWI would set you up very well to do a theme pack next. We did SWI-B (previously very writing-reluctant 10 year old, strong reader, young 5th grader) and then the ancients theme set, and I don't regret doing it that way. This isn't what you asked, but for other future readers: Some people do a theme pack as their first go at IEW products, because TWSS and SWI are both kinda pricey, but I'd recommend either TWSS or SWI before a theme pack. The theme packs do have teacher guides, but I think theme-only users would miss too much of the best parts of the program if they skip TWSS or SWI.

For us, SWI-B worked great. But I watched it along with my DS, so I could then help him if he got stuck while doing the assignments. *I* needed more hand-holding than the TWSS gives, plus having the source materials and assignments laid out (in SWI) was what I wanted, instead of doing it myself (TWSS). TWSS was IEW's original product, then they came out with the SWIs to provide even more support for their users who want it. (Sort of like SWB's standalone WWE hardback guide that teaches the teacher vs. the 4 scripted WWE paperback workbooks that contain both student and teacher pages, if you will.) If you follow IEW's schedule, the SWI videos are usually around 30 or 45 minutes about once a week or even every two weeks, depending on the lesson. So the videos are integral to the SWI program, but they're not too time consuming. More time is spent on the writing assignments themselves.

Mostly bumping for you. We might do Dolciani Pre-Alg next year too, as a follow-up to MM5 (which has gone really well), adding in MM6 lessons where Dolciani doesn't go as deep. Since you have Dolciani PA in your hands, have you already compared the Table of Contents to that of MM6? That might help you if you haven't already. MM6A TOC MM6B TOC Keep us posted on what you decide!

Agreeing with Ellie and other PPs. Also, my DS struggled with the geometry output in MM4 (i.e., sloppy), but by the time we re-visited geometry in MM5, his output was MUCH better. More maturity and improved fine motor skills were the biggest things, I think. So don't stress too much! :coolgleamA:

My DS used Dance Mat to learn touch-typing in 4th grade too. It is free, and also structured, being organized into separate levels and lessons. And he thought it was fun!

I haven't seen this one mentioned yet: I'm thinking about adding The Story of the Middle Ages by Suzanne Strauss Art. It was written for middle schoolers. Here are some additional links: http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/sku/012617/05cd334aba79e61506064c07 and http://www.exodusbooks.com/author.aspx?id=3251 (the best place to view samples of her various books, though not all have them, but to give you an idea) And the description from Rainbow Resource: "This series provides a very thorough, detailed study of several different past civilizations. Each book has three units (several chapters each) and reviews the civilization chronologically. The books not only cover general information about food, religion, trade, education, art, and government, but also specific details of wars, time periods, events, and famous people. The books are formatted and read like history textbooks and can actually be used for a year’s worth of study or for unit studies. There are review questions after each chapter to make sure students are catching important details. There is no answer key in the books for these questions, but the answers can easily be found in the text. There are a dozen or so short answer questions, and then there are several deep thinking questions for every chapter, which encourage students to develop their opinions or critical thinking. A few project ideas are also included after each chapter, which prompt students to draw maps or timelines, write essays, and read recommended books that correlate with the chapter. Each book includes black and white maps, diagrams, drawings, and photographs, as well as a timeline of important events in each civilization. An index and pronunciation guide are included, along with the complete list of recommended supplementary readings."

Thank you!

Welcome! Bumping your post for you. Great advice from SilverMoon above. Also, here is a thread where folks were posting their plans for 8th grade. Maybe reading through it will give you some additional ideas on where to start or more curriculum ideas. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/448902-8th-grade-plans/page__hl__+8th%20+grade%20+plans?do=findComment&comment=4706128 Then perhaps if you have more detailed questions you can come back with those for more help. :grouphug:

I placed an order for some of their clearance items at 11:30 pm Monday night, and received the entire order today. I live one state away. Non-expedited shipping, just the standard $4.95.

OP, there's a current thread right now on the logic board that might have helpful info for you. The OP of that thread is asking about MCT materials and placement for an "older" child (6th grader) who hasn't used MCT before. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/466295-okay-mct-people-help-me-out/

There's How to Look At and Understand Great Art by The Great Courses . . . isn't geared specifically to children though. Love these videos, all done from an expert's POV. Wait until it goes on sale.

Thank you for this! We use Wordly Wise and I see it is on the Vocabtest site too! Never heard of it before.

In this thread, Lori D. told us her method of using English From the Roots Up, if you're interested. (hers is post #7)

English from the Roots Up is a terrific program, but it is best used interactively with a teacher, not as an independent student working alone, IMO.

:bigear:

Thanks for posting! I love hearing about different curricula that don't get mentioned here that often. I'm looking at things for my rising 6th grader, so I'm going to take a look at your 6th grade "winners". Thank you!

Yep, I was going to mention this one. Starts out basic and is complete. The TM is very helpful as an evaluation tool, too, even if you aren't using the student books that go with it.

Wow! Thank you!

This is our plan as well. Human Odyssey 1 in 5th grade has worked very well for us. I've already purchased American Odyssey (LOL), and it looks like it will be a challenging but good fit for DS by the time he's in 8th grade.

I second Elemental Science. It makes WTM-style logic stage science open-and-go for us and we add in a few TOPS kits for certain topics.

Have you looked at Wordly Wise 3000 workbooks? We really like them and they fit the criteria you mentioned. Good exercises with the words in context. My DS completes one lesson every week, by working on it two days per week, about 15 minutes per day. I believe each level has 20 lessons, so he does two levels per year this way with great retention. You can buy student workbooks, teacher manuals, and answer keys, without having to prove you are a homeschooler, from all the usual sources, Amazon, etc. Also you can see complete word lists & there are good free online activities to reinforce the lessons at wordlywise3000.com, and you do not have to register to use them.

Thank you!

I strongly agree. I also wouldn't do level A with a 5th grader, use B instead. It is somewhat about quantity of output, but also the reading level of the content/sources. A would probably feel baby-ish to most 5th graders. Also, I know some have done it, but I wouldn't have a kid do a theme book without having them first go through either an SWI or having you teach them after doing TWSS. I personally don't think you will be as happy with the result and you will miss a lot of the strengths of the IEW process if you do a theme book without either SWI or TWSS first.