This recent thread may help, esp. posts 8 & 9 explaining more about SWI level A vs B: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/456621-twssswi-a-wws/?do=findComment&comment=4736465

Is this for the 10 year olds in your sig? If so, you might consider SWI level B, instead of A. (You don't have to start the SWIs at the beginning, just jump in based on age/reading level. Some of us here on the boards agree that IEW's recommended ages are a little too high. I've posted in recent threads about this as well, or if you want to know more, just ask.)

One more thing I'll offer: Even after all your research, planning, sampling, placement tests, etc., you might still pick something that turns out to be a bad fit. It's OK. Just pick something else and move on. Curriculum-hopping for math isn't ideal, but doing it once (or even twice) isn't the end of the world. (I never thought the program we ended up with would work here, but after the first program was an epic fail, we went in a completely different direction and the second choice works great for us!) You may think you know whether you want spiral or mastery, or you may be very sure of what type of math you feel comfortable teaching, but the reality is, you won't really know until you start. So try to relax and not obsess - easier said than done - but still some of the best advice I've received regarding homeschooling. You won't break her if you choose a math program that needs to be switched later. :coolgleamA:

I agree with the previous poster about solid narration skills and paragraph skills. I'll share with you what our path has been: We did most of WWE4 last year but I decided DS10 wasn't ready for WWS just yet. (Various issues on his part: level of maturity, lack of enthusiasm about writing, pencil-phobia and wanting proficient typing skills in place first.) I didn't want to have to go slowly through WWS because he wasn't really ready for it; I guess I'd rather go through it at "normal" pace at the right time. So, anyway, we took this past several months to do IEW's SWI-B and one of their theme units. (IEW really improved his confidence and enthusiasm for writing. IEW develops a different skill set than WWE/WWS, and it was very valuable for my DS.) Next, as there have been several recent threads on WWS-preparedness, which I've taken to heart, after finishing IEW we're now doing some other things for the next few months. We're alternating between 1 - selections of WWE4 (mostly for the great stories, as you mentioned), 2 - doing well-written (rough draft, edit, final draft) narrations "across the curriculum" in history and literature once or twice per week, and 3 - developing outlining and paragraph skills with Paragraph Writing Made Easy (recommended here on the boards). I am now anticipating DS will be well-prepared to start WWS a couple/few months from now. I hope that helps!

There aren't any important skills in SWI A that aren't also taught in SWI B. That is, B doesn't build on A - they are independent of each other. SWI is designed so that you can jump in at any age, just choosing the appropriate level. (The website isn't terribly clear about this. After you do a SWI, you then do the appropriate SICC, instead of the next SWI. After you do one SWI, you don't do any more SWIs.) Without knowing him, I still think B would probably be more appropriate for your DS10's maturity and reading level. Have you looked at the SWI B sample? http://www.excellenc...WI-B Sample.pdf I think IEW's suggested age ranges for the different levels are a bit off (too high). Since you already own it, I suppose you could always start A with your DS10 and see if he thinks it is too young for him. IEW has a great return policy if you decide to swap out your levels. :)

I was going to suggest Ellen McHenry as well. We've done The Elements and just started Carbon Chemistry. These are in addition to our normal science, just for fun. DS also likes the Cool Stuff books by Chris Woodford. My DS also likes these Great Courses history DVDs with Linwood Thompson: World History and Early American History. The speaker's style is a little goofy/whimsical (some don't like it, but we do) but packed full of great info. Also Drive Thru History, available from Netflix on DVD and some on streaming.

Your DD sounds a lot like my DS10, even down to the PS experience. I second the recommendation of Math Mammoth. It is written to the student, clean layout (although I agree the pages are a bit too crowded sometimes to allow showing all your work on the page, so we just work on graph paper when needed), not too cluttered or colorful, easy to accelerate where needed. It is hard to place some kids correctly in math coming out of PS. Whether you decide to start her in level 5 or 6, you could easily have her "test out" of certain chapters using the chapter reviews and chapter tests, until you decide where to dig in and start with new concepts. It is easy to do that with Math Mammoth, and easy to speed through sections that she already knows without missing anything important because the teaching is so incremental. Inexpensive program but very good, IMO. It teaches concepts, like Singapore does (as opposed to having student just memorize formulas w/o knowing why), but closer to "traditional" math than Singapore (like I was taught so that I can relate and help DS as needed). Good luck!

You might also confirm with your carrier that you are required to have landline phone service in order to keep your DSL. We recently dropped our landline phone (use cell for calls) and switched to DSL only with the same carrier. It was a significant savings. Some carriers don't advertise their DSL-only plans - you have to ask about it.

That's awesome! Great press too! Thanks for sharing.

I agree. We're using Math Mammoth as well and plan to continue with MM6 as pre-algebra. I've compared the scope of MM with a few other frequently-mentioned pre-algebra programs. I don't think MM6 is lacking much to be a full pre-algebra program. I anticipate that DS will test out of the first couple of chapters of MM6 since they are mostly repeats from MM5, and any pre-algebra that is missing from MM6 we will then cover with MM's grade 7 "worksheets" to finish out the year. So, OP, if MM is working well for you and your DD, I'd say stick with it!

As far as science goes, have you planned out which branches of science you want her to cover through the end of logic stage? My DS gets bored with one branch of science all year, so we've fallen into the pattern of doing a semester at a time and then switching. Right now we're doing Elemental Science logic stage biology, this fall we'll do a semester of ES logic earth science, then back to finish ES logic biology. Anyway, I've got a loose plan mapped out to get him to the end of 8th grade that ensures he gets a complete logic stage rotation through each branch of science, probably using a mix of CPO texts and Elemental Science. All that to say, I don't think you can go wrong with either biology or physics, as you mentioned in your post, but I find it helpful to have a plan in mind to make sure nothing gets skipped before starting high school. The only other thing I can think of to add to what others have posted is that if Spellling Workout is going well for her, you could finish out the series with G and H. SWO G & H introduce Latin & Greek root words and SWB recommends them for 6th grade in WTM. Then WTM advises switching to a formal vocab program in 7th and 8th (it recommends Vocab from Classical Roots). FWIW, my DS10 starting using Wordly Wise 3000 workbooks (switched from SWO) this year and he has asked to continue using WW next year because he likes it so much. WW also includes word roots and teaches vocab in context. If you want to know more about it, let me know. HTH! ETA: We like Hake for grammar and DS says he wants to continue it next year as well. (Previously we used Easy Grammar, which is good too, but doesn't teach diagramming and DS needs the spiral review such as that offered in Hake.)

My advice is to start out gradually, doing oral narrations once or twice per week over something he read in history or literature. Make sure it is a selection where he can easily pick out the answers and have him respond to questions like these: 1 - who or what is the selection about? 2 - what did they do or what is the problem? 3 - then what happened or how did it work out? When it is going well orally, transition to having him write it down.and/or increase the frequency per week. I have notes I took from reading SWB that say a written narration needn't be more than half a page at this age, around three to five sentences, unless he wants to do more. Also, FWIW, unless he struggles with reading, he could probably handle IEW's SWI level B just fine, instead of A. My DS10 did level B last fall and it went great. I think level A would have been too easy and would have insulted his ego, LOL. SWI and WWS teach different skills. But if he's a fairly confident writer after doing SWI, can write decent paragraphs, and possibly has had a brief introduction to basic outlining, then my impression from reading the boards recently is that he should then transition well into WWS. HTH!

I'm not much help, but just wanted to say I remember reading that thread too, back when I was still just lurking. I believe your recollection is correct - something along the lines of Rainbow Science still had SWB's quote on their website even though she said she no longer endorsed it, but I don't remember why.

This may be true if you place your student in a workbook based solely on grade level. If you place your DC in one of the workbooks according to reading level, they shouldn't have that problem. WW has the complete word lists on the website I linked in my earlier post, so you can look them over & place DC in the appropriate workbook level. In my experience, reading is really the best way to develop a strong vocabulary anyway, so placement based on reading level makes the most sense to me.

Thank you! If you get a copy, let us know what you think!

If you need independent, workbook-style vocab that includes word roots, teaches vocab in context, and requires very little physical handwriting, also consider Wordly Wise 3000. It goes through grade 12 and you can order the answer keys without having to prove that you are a homeschooler (which I cannot do as our state doesn't require registration, so we have no documentation). I appreciate answer keys at the higher levels and for saving time. At this website you can see complete word lists by level and there are free reinforcement activities (games) for every lesson - just click on "students". This is the only LA curriculum that my DS has specifically asked to continue for next year - he really likes it.

I like and follow SWB's advice on this topic. Here's a blog post she wrote: What is Literary Analysis? (and When to Teach It)

REPORTED.

Thanks for linking this!!!! Looks pretty interesting! I think my DS would enjoy it.

There may be something in this recent thread that will work for you: S/O secular science thread: Is there a science curriculum that teaches evolution?

Generally, I think it depends on the reading level that you're going for. I tend to think of Usborne as the easiest reading level, then Kingfisher and DK Eyewitness, with other DK encyclopedias approaching upper middle school to high school level, depending on the specific titles. Usborne tends to contain very short blurbs with nice illustrations. Kingfisher is slightly more narrative, generally, also nicely illustrated. Do you have specific titles in mind?

Agreeing with the others who say just read for the love of reading when young, add lit analysis later in middle school. It's hard for youngers to make those connections when they have no basis for them through life experience yet. Also, LOLing at the "Spice Girl approach". Never heard that before, but I love it!!!

I took a look and saw that Walch's website recommends this for grades 7 - 9. Are you using it with the 8 year old in your signature? Is it part of a series that can be used over more than one year? Just looking ahead . . .

Hake Grammar fits your requirements if secular is OK. It is workbook style, written to the student, independent, takes my DS 15 - 20 min. per lesson, includes diagramming. They recently made the 4th grade level available to homeschoolers. (Otherwise, it starts at grade 5, which your DC could easily do if switching from R&S.) It seems to be a popular alternative to R&S around here, if a family is needing something secular or more independent than R&S. For grammar only (skipping the writing component), you would need the student TEXTbook (our grade 5 has 112 lessons, so 3 per week) and perhaps teacher book (answer key). The writing component is exclusively taught in the student WORKbook. (The WORKbook contains about 100 pages of writing lessons plus extra grammar practice for 28 specific grammar lessons from the main text. There's so much review in the text, we've never used the extra grammar practice pages.) ETA - I forgot to include that Hake Grammar includes tests and has spiral review in every lesson. The instruction is followed by about 10 practice questions on the new topic, then 20 - 30 spiral review questions. Once diagramming is introduced, there are about 2 or 3 diagramming review questions in every lesson too. If the spiral review is too much, many people skip every other review question, or otherwise adjust to fit their DC's needs/preferences.

My DS used this Harcourt health and fitness book this year. It fits your requirements. I picked it up used but in new condition for a quarter. I've been extremely pleased with the topics and depth. It is age-appropriate and thorough. We just read through a section or two a week and then talk about it, although they do have student workbooks and a teacher resource guide available too if you want them. I'd be glad to share the topics listed in the Table of Contents if you're interested, but it fits right in with what you included in your post.