.

I took a moment to follow Zoo Keeper's link, which led to more links. I found a post by SarahV (or similar - I apologize) on how she uses it as part of a classical, LCC-inspired education with a large family. After reading many of her posts, I think the biggest problem I have with ACE is the implementation in my school. A lot of private schools make this mistake with ACE, assuming it's completely self-teaching. That was a point my school even advertised to prospective students' parents. I still have my own ideological issues with the curriculum itself - not the unrelated Bible verses, cheesy cartoons, etc. - the actual curriculum.

About activity books, I like History Pockets (Rome & Greece) and the Ancient Civilizations series by Frank Schaffer Publications (Egypt, Israel, Mesopotamia...). The questions in the Ancient Civ. series make kids think and make connections. There are some activity pages & projects in them as well. This link shows the whole set: http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Civilization-Series-Middle-Volumes/dp/B008ZGXQQQ/ref=sr_1_sc_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1357432287&sr=8-2-spell&keywords=Ancient+Civilizations+by+Frank+Shcaffer

Swellmomma, what co. do you use for the online classes, and how do you like it?

This can be a touchy subject, because just as soon as one posts they hate/love/use and it works/used and it failed/etc., someone else is there to post an opposite opinion. Some people use it and like it, but I see a large amount of negative replies every time someone asks about it here or elsewhere. With that said, I'll tell you about my experience with it. I went to a private school that used ACE in grades 5, 6, and 11. I truly learned nothing those years, except how to skim through the Paces as fast as possible. The questions in the booklets are directly, verbatim, from the text the child just read, but with blanks inserted. All I had to do was skim quickly for a sentence starting with those same 2 or 3 words and there was the answer. Then for quizzes, the questions are taken from the booklet questions, so instead of reviewing everything you've been "learning", you only have to memorize the questions. Finally, the questions for the tests at the end of each booklet are taken from the quizzes... you get the idea. It was a lot of busy work. I don't remember much or any homework from those years, except memorizing Bible chapters, but that was assigned by the school, not the curriculum. It just wasn't a challenge. ACE Paces are designed for a child to do by himself sitting alone, facing a wall in his cubicle. I realize that wouldn't likely be the case in a homeschool, but this means there aren't any fun science projects, engaging storybooks, interesting math manipulatives or even chalkboard demonstrations to bring math to life - nada. It's just the kid, the workbooks, and the wall with that goal chart to remind him to hurry. In 11th grade, I was supposed to be learning about chemistry, but I didn't. I didn't understand what I was reading, and I was redirected to the text when I asked questions. There were no experiments or even demonstrations. I passed because I was able to memorize the words and regurgitate them on quizzes & tests without understanding. The 9th grade BJU Physical Science class at another school taught me more about chemistry than the 11th gr. ACE did. I do not remember anything from 11th gr. except being frustrated with the science and the English. In my final English Pace for the year, it asked for some sort of essay but was not specific. I couldn't figure out what they wanted from me. It hadn't taught anything specific enough or given examples of what was expected, so I really had no idea what sort of paper to write. I just sort of "BS'ed" my way through it, sweating bullets that I'd get a horrible grade. I got an A+, and was shocked that I did. In contrast, the previous year I had an English teacher who let us know how many pages or words were expected, taught various types of formatting, let us know the basics he expected from us on each paper. I had to think and work hard for the A's I earned in that class. I'm not fond of the self-grading aspect either, especially not the way ACE does it. I was an honest kid, but once (and only once) I cheated on math, memorizing a whole page of answers from the grade book. I knew kids who only did their schoolwork this way, though. That is my personal experience with ACE Paces. As you can guess from it, I don't recommend it. If you want something that is in booklet format like Paces, look at Christian Light Education and LifePacs. Best of luck to you! I know what it's like to burn out & need to simplify. Also, your children are still very young, especially the 2 & unders! They don't need formal curriculum at this point.

I would start with reading the logic stage section of the WTM, with the caveat that even Bauer & Wise stated it is an example of what could be done in each subject, not what they recommend to do all at once. Afterwards gauge your gut feeling on whether WTM is covering it in a way too dry/boring, too deep, not deep enough... for your child, and adjust. A lot of folks on the logic stage board are using CPO Science and having a blast. There are kits, but they are expensive. Some put together their own using the TOC and HST/Carolina Bio. I wouldn't try to fix what isn't broken, unless you've had it in mind that you'll be switching something up come logic stage. For example, you could just do the next level of spelling, WTM reading lists, Latin, writing, WW and TT. If you've known you want to switch to another program, say R&S or WWS for ex., that will take more thought. If you want exact recommendations, I'd add beginning economics since your girl is business-minded. I would start with Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? and the accompanying Bluestocking Guide for it. For every subject, ask yourself what your end goals are - end of 5th grade, end of middle school, end of high school. Then work backwards.

I hold this group responsible for what this thread prompted me to do. :tongue_smilie: I am rewriting my history/literature plans completely. Thank you, Lisa & Nakia, I had nothing else to keep myself busy. In all seriousness, I was making a mess of things every week even though I have a nice grid from BP. I'd still scrawl my intended substitutions, lists of ideas from a gazillion other sources, etc. on notebook paper and then wonder why we could never finish a "week" in a week (that is my own issue, not BP's). I've also long wanted to streamline my literature study. So, it needed to be done since I can't (won't?) just follow something that makes it easy. All I did was open up my BP Yr 1 to see what order those 4 books are in... and now I'm digging myself out from what looks like "finals week study session" according to my high schooler. I would have never known until after the fact that these books (or other similar things) follow a logical order. I think I might be a chronological history purist at heart, after all.

I had the Abeka K4 and K5 readers on hand, so I started with those. They are very thin, short little books, perfect for those earlier OPG lessons. After those my son loved the BOB Books, though we only went through about 3 sets. Once he finished those, he was reading Henry & Mudge on his own. ETA: I made no attempt to line things up w/ OPG precisely. I just pulled out the books when he was ready.

My kids take a teaspoonful of Barlean's flavored fish oil "smoothie" blend daily - they like the lemonade kind. They make it in all sorts of flavors, with different DHA/EPA/Omega blends for different purposes. It's in the refrigerated section, but you can check their website.

I think SWO assumes the kids are getting phonics/vocabulary instruction elsewhere, such as from their MCP Plaid Phonics that sort of goes along with MCP Spelling Workout by level. At some point, the Plaid Phonics changes to MCP Word Study and becomes more vocabulary focused. One of SWB's stated reasons for recommending SWO is that in the higher levels, it teaches the meanings of affixes and foreign roots. She also recommends doing it on an accelerated schedule if possible so that Spelling is done by the end of 6th grade, although SWO technically goes through 8th. If I had it all to do over again, I'd have either started with AAS and possibly transitioned to R&S at some point, or just started with R&S Spelling. I still contemplate switching, but it's hard when there are 2 perfectly good, unused programs on my shelf that together accomplish what R&S might alone. I've currently got AAS & SWO. :tongue_smilie: I'm a phonics-based-spelling believer, so it's hard for me to use SWO alone (although it's independent so it gets done more often). If you're just starting out or are at a switching point, and you're a die-hard "must have spelling rules!" person, save yourself the headache and go with R&S! ETA: Call R&S and have them send you some grade level samples; you can request multiple levels at once to see where they're headed.

I know what you mean about the author's tone. Check out BJU & Shepherd Life Science. BJU offers DVD instruction. Shepherd Life sci. is for middle school while their biology is for high school. There's also Elemental Science for the logic stage; I'm using ES Biology right now for my 6th grader. It's easy to bump up the assignments a bit by doing it precisely per TWTM - instead of coloring & labeling a pre-made diagram, have the child sketch the diagram himself, for example. It's not hard to add Christian perspective to ES without it overwhelming the whole subject. If you're OK with secular, many here are enjoying CPO and Prentice Hall Science Explorer. RS4K makes a middle school level and each topic is short enough you could cover 2 or 3 in a year, and Ellen McHenry's materials have always looked intriguing. If you need some inspiration or more ideas, take a look at the science schedules at www.guesthollow.com.

Whoops, dp.

I second the books Kristina mentioned - the Faber Music Adventures series.

Oh my gosh, I just want to reach out and give you all huge hugs! :grouphug: Especially you, STM4HIM!! Your post made me cry. Your strength to keep on going no matter what amazes me, truly. If you can do that, I can do this. I'll inevitably think of you & your son whenever I'm debating whether to slack off or not, and trying to find the motivation. When I do, I'll send up a prayer for him, and you & the family. I hope that doesn't come across in a creepy internet stalker sort of way, because I mean it in a caring, empathetic way. Many of you are also pushing on through hardships that would make others jump ship. Give yourself a pat on the back for that! :hurray: Yay for perseverance & determination! As I read through the posts, my response to many feels similar. I hear stress, being overwhelmed, working things from all angles (weekends or late hours), as well as a deep care for your children's education as evidenced by your careful selection of curriculum - even if it's moving to K12 so things get done when that wasn't your plan, for example. That shows you care that the child stays on track, and that you're mindful of the relationship. I hear some of you clinging to curriculum that you firmly believe in, that you love, adore, enjoy, etc... but paradoxically also stating it just doesn't happen like it should. If you (collective you) don't see a way out of that pattern, I urge you to take a step back and take an honest long-term assessment of the situation: Will there be an end to the situation(s) that is taking time away from homeschooling? How many hours of homeschooling do you have scheduled, and is it "normal" for your child (subjective, I realize) or have you got too much/little listed? If there is concern about getting caught up, how long and what measures will it take to get there? Are those measures realistic given the situation(s) that caused this in the first place? I ask those things based on a hard dose of reality I had to accept lately. I was convinced that specific curriculum and ways of doing things were the only way I wanted to teach my kids, but we had fallen very, very behind. I kept re-writing the schedule over and over to squish missed work into less and less time, or push it into the future (which was also quickly getting very squished instead of regular pace). When I finally put the new "squished" schedule on paper, divided up by the time expectations, I realized why we never got it all done - it was truly too much. I now see it is time to cut my losses. I have to pick and choose, or (reluctantly) switch in some cases. My children are older now than they were when I first picked that curriculum; they are capable of more in less time and of learning harder things more easily than they were then. Is it a good use of our homeschool time to be rushing through low-level curricula if there is something else that is written specifically to get us from A to B in a year for older kids? If they are rushing through, how much will they retain? Does it matter that I loved that curriculum and believe it's the best way to learn spelling, math, etc.? Is it serving my child's best interests now? My mind was so stuck in a box that I didn't even realize it. I didn't even think of stepping off my chosen path, even if just a little, to take a year to get caught up where it counts most. Why was I still battling to get extras done if my kids are very behind in every other subject? Because my thinking was stubbornly stuck in a box. I panicked that they were behind in Latin, Logic, Art, Music, etc. It's hard to leave that panic behind, to leave those dreams behind. It doesn't mean we won't do anything with those subjects, it just means my plans have drastically changed for this year (temporarily) and I have to accept that it changes our overall academic trajectory in some areas. I wasn't willing to accept that before, and it kept us behind in everything. I share all that not to encourage you to drop electives, but to similarly assess your situation and be honest with yourself. Set yourself & your kids up for success, not for battling against an impossibly long catch-up list every day. There can be success on a catch-up schedule, but in some cases it takes prioritizing. Best wishes to you all, and I too look forward to updates down the road!

Thank you both! I hadn't thought about the fact that using the guides would impact how we study history. For now, I think I'll just have him continue reading corresponding material in his K12 book because we do history a la WTM logic stage, with outlines, summaries, fact lists, etc. I want to keep him on the same weekly SOTW topic as his little brother for ease and for shared projects & discussions. Next year when little brother enters logic stage, I might revisit the idea of letting K12 with the guides drive the bus instead of SOTW. The questions do sound useful to me.

Less-than-stellar progress has been made here, too. We've been sick since September, making us all very tired and unable to participate in field trips and homeschool gatherings. I had chronic health issues ongoing in years past which were finally getting under control over the summer, so I was looking forward to getting back on track and building consistency this year. Then the Never Ending Horrible Cough arrived with it's various side-dish symptoms. We also had grandparents for a long visit, during which next to nothing was accomplished. Changes to be made immediately are prioritizing basic self-care, devotions & prayer, sleep/wake routine (including getting enough sleep!), vitamins, nutrition (i.e., make time to cook something decent at home), and exercise. I've been putting the cart before the horse, thinking I would give more attention to these things once I got the homeschool running smoothly. If my grandma were still around, she probably could have pointed that out to me years ago. I think the only curriculum changes will be trying to cut down, streamline, and set some things up to be done independently (even if partially so). I want it all for my kids, and I picked what I have for good reason, so it's hard for me to decide between things. We never get through our list, and it's because it's too full. It seems I'm forever doing this, but I had a big realization late this fall about setting us up for success vs. failure, and what I should be doing if I want next year to be as I envision. I want to add another outside class, or more fun activities, or even just playtime with friends where I can visit with other moms. I know that is counter-intuitive to what I just posted, so I want to hold off until routines are in place and things run more smoothly. I also think it might be from being cooped up in the house with this sickness and the extreme cold (temperature, not illness).

I've been having my logic stage child read the appropriate section in K12 HO to go along with his younger sibling's SOTW chapters. I keep wondering if we're missing anything by not having the K12 Student Pages and Teacher's Guide that I've read about here. What are the student pages like? What sort of questions, activities, etc. are included? What is the Teacher's Guide like? Is it helpful? I can't find samples to look at anywhere online, so your input is much appreciated.

Does the $99 include the books? I thought it was the whole kit.

Activity Guide

You could frame it as a question vs. a complaint: "I'm having trouble grasping the grading methods based on my children's graded papers (then show the teacher what you're talking about)... I bet you can fill me in and make it make sense." ;) This is happening to my dd16 right now in math. She helps one of her friends understand concepts, but the friend gets better grades because he's not docked any points for not showing his work. He says he never shows any work. Dd gets 50% docked if she forgets to show even part of her work for one problem. I let her counselor know about the this as soon as I found out. I told the counselor that the kids ought to be crystal clear on exactly how to achieve the highest score they possibly can.

Anyone?

My 9 y.o. wants the H-Racer 2 Hydrogen Fuel Cell Car (here: http://www.hometrain...r/p/KT-HRACER2/ or if you don't want to click the link, search "Item# KT-HRACER2" at the Home Science Tools site) from Home Science Tools for Christmas. HST lists it for ages 13+, and Mindware lists it for 12+. I read the description, and I can't figure out why he couldn't have fun with it if dh & I helped him. Are the concepts behind hydrogen fuel cells and water electrolysis hard or too advanced for an academically average 4th grader (as in, he's gone as far as basic fractions and division in math, and we haven't covered chemistry or physics formally yet)? It even comes with a unit study on CD-Rom, but we'd probably only utilize the basics from it for now and revisit that in a couple years. I don't want it to frustrate him. What do you think? Or, I could get him a solar-powered race car he also wants, and the ages for those start at 7 - 9 years old depending on the model. The H-Racer 2 just looks so cool, though. :) Talk me down or talk me into it.

Oldest (high schooler) used Abeka from K4 - 2nd grade; she learned to read with it & is a stellar reader. Middle child used Abeka K4 & a mix of Abeka & Calvert for K5. 1st grade was ps with a pinch of Abeka at home. 2nd gr. was my 1st year using WTM... I had much to learn & bombed it. He remediated by doing OPGtTR alongside his little brother and reads well but will choose books below his level if given a choice. Youngest used OPGtTR and is also a stellar reader. If I had anymore kids, I'd definately start out with OPGtTR. Only if the child struggled, I'd add some Abeka materials. OPG provided a lot of sweet cuddle time and cute games. Good memories.

I'll check for the outfit at my Walmart too since I'll be there this weekend. If I happen to see a light-up stuffed dog I'll grab it.