That's just what I needed and didn't know!! Thank you!!!

Thank you all for the fantastic ideas! I already have almost all of the books you suggested on my list, but I've added lots of activities! I think I may have too much now. :) Here are some of the things I've added: Viking ship kit Samurai cardboard armor and swords Mosque book Mosaic supplies Tapestry coloring book (and maybe making real ones) Fireworks in honor of gunpowder Explorer ship puzzle Joan of Arc book Design your own coat of arms Paint matryoshkas (though this is probably not in the correct time period, it sounds like fun anyways!) I'm still trying to decide on how I want to approach some things, like illuminated manuscripts. Make them, color them, look at them? So many choices!! I'd also like to find an easy way to implement printing in association with Gutenberg and the printing press. Maybe linoleum prints? But that's a bit too overachiever for me. I need a nice kit! I love all the ideas you've given. Please keep them coming! Thanks!!!!!

I am finding plenty of resources for the castle/knight portion of the Middles Ages, but I would love to see some suggestions for the other time periods studied in SOTW 2. For example: India, China, Japan, Vikings, Russia, Explorers, etc. I'm looking for hands on activities, not necessarily books, but a fun book, like Castle by Macaulay, would be okay. This is for a 3rd grade boy and 5th grade girl. Thanks for any help you can give!

Thank you all for your input! We did a lesson today in our IEW, and it really cemented for me that we just need to keep going with this next year. She wrote an entire long paragraph from her outline without one complaint. I'm glad I decided to come here and ask this question because I was all set to dive into WWS1 next year, and now I'm not going to. I went ahead and placed an order for SICC-A. As much as we find the DVDs annoying, it's necessary, since when I try to teach her directly, bad things happen. :) The DVDs are life savers around here. Then we will move on to WWS1 after we finish SICC-A. I feel good about this plan. Thank you all again for helping me think through this!!

So my 4th grade daughter is not in love with writing. We started in 2nd grade with WWE and went through WWE3 with lots of tears and fighting before we gave that up. This year we've tried a multitude of things: 6-Traits from Evan-Moore, online class through charter school, and finally hit on a gem, IEW Student Writing Intensive (SID-A). This has been working better than anything else we've used so far, but we're not very far into it yet to make a long term decision. However, I'm having to buy my curriculum for next year within the next month or two before I have much of IEW under my belt. As much as I like IEW, the DVDs are a little annoying to both my daughter and me. We don't like being told something we can read much faster. BUT, it's working and I don't want to mess up a good thing. On the other hand, I like that WWS is written to the student and seems to follow similar methods to IEW, and it leaves behind the narration/dictation that caused such tears in the past. BUT I've also heard it's quite difficult. So what I'm wondering is if should we continue on with with IEW and get the SICC-A and continue to put up with the DVDs? Or should we move over to WWS1? I don't want to leave gaps in her learning, so I'm honestly willing to do both, SICC-A followed by WWS1, if that is a better sequence. Does anyone have any wonderful pearls of wisdom for me on this one? Anyone used both and can give me some perspective? Thanks for any help you can give!! Amanda

So I have some extra money to spend for next year, and I've loaded up on science stuff and history books, but I don't have any fun history extras. I don't have my Activity Guide yet, so I don't have it to reference and look through. What kinds of extra projects, toys, games, etc., have you used and loved for Medieval History? I'll have a 3rd grade boy and 5th grade girl using them. The 5th grader is the one who loves history. This year they loved excavating a pyramid and doing Chinese calligraphy. They weren't huge fans of the Figures From Ancient History. Those got old very fast. Thanks for your help!! Amanda

I voted other for me because I was thinking it was definitely 10x10 I learned up to. My kids are definitely getting up to 12x12 both in their math curriculum and in various math fact games we play.

Thank you all for your input! I'm glad I'm not the only who who has had this problem! As much as I love the idea of moving her along into Town level faster so I don't feel like she's behind, I think we'll start with Town, both to take it easy, and because then I'll have the materials to do with my son next year. I also already have Growing With Grammar, and I'll have her do those pages as review, since the 4th grade level has even less content that FLL 3 and I can't just throw out a resource I already have. I'm going to skip the vocab and poetry book for Island, but will definitely pick them up for Town next year. We're just starting Latin and can't wait to do Caesar's English to support that! Thank you all again!!

Any help anyone?

So I have read through quite a few threads about the various levels of MCT and where to start students, and I'm still indecisive about what I should do, so I'm hoping those who have used it can give me their informed opinions. My daughter has done FLL 2 and 3 and the first part of Level 1 of KISS. She can recite all the memorized definitions from FLL, but honestly has a little trouble applying any of that knowledge to other things. She can fairly reliably find subjects and verbs, but beyond that she's pretty inconsistent. I really think the four part sentence analysis will help with this. So my concern with MCT is that the Island level will be just simple enough to not engage her, but then again I worry that the Town level is just a bit too much without having done MCT before. I've seen Crimson Wife's plan where she says to start with Sentence Island then move on to the Town level. Is this what I should do, or I should I just go faster through Island just to make sure she's got that part down? Thanks for any advice and help you can give!!

I used Guesthollow's Amrican History curriculum with my 6 and 8 this year. She compiles lists of books for each topic rather than working from a spine and has all sorts of activities and websites and such to go along with them. You might want to check it out to see if it gives you someplace to start from. Some of the books are probably a bit much for just a 6 year old, but it can give you an idea of sequence and topics to cover. Good luck!

We used Guesthollow's American History this year for the same ages. There were a couple topics where the book choice was a little dull, but it was nice to have it planned out and have all the extra activities already suggested, even if we didn't do many of them.

I used Guesthollow's American History this year with a 1st and 3rd. I think you could definitely use it younger, but you'd probably have to substitute some of the books, and you'd definitely have to read them out loud. I bought Elemental History's American History program and immediately decided against it. I thought it was too light on actual history. But then again, I have a history degree and am picky about my history.

I print the practice book and use the lesson plans on my tablet. Then there's those random copymasters that are needed every now and then, and I just print them as they come up in the lessons and only if I can't just draw it on the white board easier. I find it very open and go.

Thank you all for your suggestions! I'll be doing more research, but right now I'm thinking of just adding some CWP. I read her some problems from the samples and she was able to figure them out, so maybe we're not as bad off as I thought!

I switched from Singapore to MEP with my puzzle solving, logic loving son, and he LOVES it. He begs to do more everyday. He just started Year 2, and it already had him doing multiplication, though of course they don't call it that. It's just manipulating numbers in such a way that they get multiplication without letting on that's what they're learning. It's amazing the concepts that get covered at such low levels. I love this program and will continue to use it. You can see the scope and sequence here to get an idea of what is covered each year, though honestly it doesn't begin to scratch the surface in showing the depth that these topics are covered.

I love MEP! And if I could make it work for all my kids it would be perfect. But I have one that thrives on CLE, so I love it because it works for her, though if I had to do it I'd claw my eyes out. :) I really didn't like Singapore. The answers were patterned in such a way that my kids didn't have to think to fill them in. We didn't get far in it.

I'm the original poster from the other thread, and while I am looking for a supplement for CLE, I still think it is a great program for my daughter. She scores in the 90th percentile on testing, so I know she's learning the things she needs. It's a very thorough program, though sometimes that's hard to see since it's so incremental. It's the exact style of learning my daughter needed and it has been perfect for her. But I have to say, my son would hate it! So keep in mind it won't be perfect for everyone, but I think it is great on its own. I'm just wanting to push her a bit more. :)

Thank you all for this thread! I've gone back and forth between French and Spanish now for years and have never been able to make a decision. I took French in school and it definitely had the stigma that that's what the smart kids took. I've been somewhat biased against Spanish since then. I could see its practicality but just could not admit that we should learn it. Reading all your responses has finally allowed me to get over myself and admit that Spanish is what we need and will have the most success with. I've already gotten going on duolingo, and after my kids get going in Latin, Spanish is up next! Thank you all!!

OK, so after looking through our CLE 400 stuff, I guess I'm talking about a different type of mental math. I'm thinking about puzzles and logic and playing with numbers, learning different ways of using numbers rather than 4 + 4 type stuff. Maybe I should have used the words "mathematical reasoning." Thank you, Janny, for pointing out the mental math in CLE! I hadn't noticed that before.

My 9yr old daughter will be in fourth grade next year and we have happily been using CLE for two years now and plan to continue using it. However, I recognize that it definitely lacks in the mental math department and would love to add some of this in for her. We've played around with Beast Academy, but honestly it's not her style at all. She likes things straight forward. The few times I attempted to do an MEP lesson with her it just turns into a fight. She doesn't like being "taught" by me. So, friends, what kind of mental math would you add? She loves to read, so I've looked at Life of Fred. Does LoF include mental math? Would this work for what I'm looking for? What other student-driven supplements would you suggest? Thanks in advance for any help!!

I'm in the same boat. This is actually what did in CM for me. I just couldn't read enough to get through all the books and still have my voice intact. Now my kids are older and actually prefer to read to themselves, so I'm off the hook most of the time.

I don't use this myself, but found this on her website: "Personally, I would use this curriculum over the course of the entire year, using one chapter per week. I’d do the history lesson and drawing one day, and one or more of the activities on another day of that same week. However, you may use this curriculum however you want to. You may have a student who wants to zip through the drawings at a fast pace. That’s fine. Do whatever works for you." I realize this isn't a lot of detail, but it's someplace to start! Good luck!

Eccelcticmum, that's exactly how it goes at our house!! So he did listen to it on the way to and from work today, and so far the only thing he's mentioned that he got from it is that if the kids cry about a subject every time you bring it out, you should ditch what you're using. Which is ironic since the one thing my kids cry about is WWE. And sadly I can't find a local homeschool group to have park days with, so the hubs is the best I can do. I'll keep chipping away at him. :)

That's is perfect! Thank you! And he's already agreed to listen to it. It'll be good commute entertainment.