Hi, I've been homeschooling for 8 years, and my oldest will be going into 9th grade next year. How do you keep track of grades? How do you know what your child is suppossed to take? I've looked at VP Diploma program just to take the load off of me, but I'm not sure that's what I want to do. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. I would love any advice you could give me. Thanks! :)

That does look interesting! Thanks for sharing!! What about The Story of US by Hakim? Has anyone used this?

Thank you, ladies! I appreciate your feedback. I'm trying to decide between doing VP self-paced again, Sonlight, Notgrass, or SOTW. I have all of the volumes of SOTW. I know SOTW is world history, but do you think there is enough American history for it to work? I'm thinking volumes 3 and 4.

I am trying to decide on history for my 4th and 5th grader. They just finished a VP Self-Paced history course, and now I would like to start something else with them. They haven't had a lot of American history, so I would prefer American history. I could do another VP Self-Paced course, but I wanted to hear your thoughts. What have you loved for American history for this age?

We are using Rod and Staff. They don't love it, but it is what I have always used. What level would you start a 3rd and 4th grader? Thank you for the suggestion. I will have to check that out. Thank you! I will also have to check this out. Thank you for the suggestion!

How can I increase reading fluency and comprehension for a 3rd and 4th grader? I just got their test scores back (Stanford 10), and they were not great in that area.

Oh wow! Thank you!! That helps a ton!

Wow! Thank you, Sahamamama, for your detailed response!!! That was so helpful! What are McGuffey readers? Would I buy the whole set? I think maybe that is part of my problem with ds9 and dd8. I haven't done as much guided reading. You really had a lot of great suggestions. Thank you again! Anyone else have an opinion on whether I should go with Abeka or OPGTR for phonics?

I have AAS. I used it with my oldest when she finished the Abeka phonics. I love AAS, but now that I am homeschooling 4 I've had a hard time making it happen around here. I do think it would probably be wise. I don't have the Abeka readers, but I do have Pathway readers for grade 4. That might work for my son. For my daughter, I might try to find some 3rd grade readers. That looks good! Thanks for the suggestion.

Thank you so much!!! I really appreciate your opinion. What would you do for 3rd and 4th grader that may need more phonics? What readers would you use for 3rd and 4th grader?

I taught my dd12 to read using Abeka. I wanted a change for ds9 and dd8, so I used OPGTR. I am now trying to decide what to use to teach dd4 to read. My daughter that used Abeka seems to be a stronger reader. When she was 8 and 9, she was reading better than they are now. I realize that it could just be her, but it makes me wonder if I should go back to Abeka. What are your thoughts? What should I do to increase reading fluency for my ds9 and dd8?

:lurk5: I'm just marking this page so that I can find it later. I've never heard of Step4kids. It sounds very interesting!

Classical Conversations Cycle 1 has a song to help memorize the prepositions. It is awesome!

I am starting cursive with my left-handed ds8 (3rd grade) this year. I was looking at HWOT or ARFH. I like the style of ARFH better, and I like the lines on the paper better. We are familiar with both. I used ARFH with my dd11 and I have used HWOT for the past 2 years with ds8 and dd6. What would you suggest?

Wow! Thanks for all the replies! I will have to check it all out. I did check out Mensa for Kids, and I liked what I saw. This may be a different topic, but how do you keep track of what your children have read? I have 4 children I am trying to keep up with, and sometimes I forget who has read what! :tongue_smilie:

How do you decide what your children read? Do you use Sonlight or Veritas Press lists? I am just planning for next year. Thanks! :)

Thank you!! I will check it out!

A friend was telling me about this the other day. I haven't checked it out yet, but I really need to. Thanks for the suggestion!

Thank you, Boscopup! I have not tried that, but what a great idea! Thanks for your suggestions!

That is what I've heard. That is why I want to be absolutely sure!!

So, you think I could stick with CLE and then when someone struggles with a concept, I could watch that lesson with the child and then work through a few problems? For example, dd10 is struggling with long division. Could I just find the lesson in MUS that teaches that one concept, work on it for a few days, and then continue with CLE?

I have been using CLE for 5 years. My dd10 started with CLE when she was in 1st grade. My ds8 just started CLE last year in 1st grade. My dd6 tried CLE, but it did not work for her. We are using MUS for her. I'm tempted to switch everyone over to MUS. My ds8 gets math, but dd10 is having a hard time grasping long division. I wonder if MUS offers more of an explanation to the "whys" and, maybe it's a good thing to completely master something before moving on to a new concept? What do you guys think? It drives me nuts that I'm undecided. How do you think CLE compares to MUS? Part of my problem is that most of my homeschooling friends either use MUS or Saxon. I don't know anyone, except on here :), that uses CLE....and I start to question myself. Silly, I know. So, what would you guys do? Decide for me! :-)

Wow! You guys are quick! Thank you!! I love R&S for 3rd and up, but I'm not enjoying grade 2 as much.

I was thinking about switching from R&S 2 to FLL for my second grader. Do I have to start in the beginning or can I skip to the second grade part? Thank you!

Did anyone make flashcards for OPGTR?