What other history curriculum / plans cover this same time period? I'm interested in just seeing how they compare to SOTW...

I started SOTW 1 with my oldest in 3rd grade, when we pulled her out of PS. The younger two joined in starting in 1st grade for SOTW 2. So this year we were "supposed" to do SOTW 4, but now I'm not so sure that the content is suitable for my 8 year olds. What have others done in this kind of situation? I think my 6th grader could handle the content okay, but I was hoping to keep my girls together for history for the most part. Thoughts??? Help! :confused1:

Well, shoot. Now I'm reading the foreword and even S.W. Bauer says she wouldn't recommend it for children under 4th grade. I've been trying to keep my girls together for history. What do others do at this point when you have children 3 or more grades apart? I think I'll do a spin-off post to ask about this stuff.

Thanks for the thoughts everyone! Still not sure how exactly I'll approach this. Maybe skim over certain chapters for now? I honestly haven't actually looked in the book yet, so I'm off to do that.

We'll be using SOTW vol. 4 as our spine for history this year. Two 3rd graders and a 6th grader. I'm just curious if others have used it for 3rd graders and, if so, did you adapt the activity book for them? I just now am realizing how different the activity guide is for this volume, compared to the previous ones (not many coloring pictures, etc). Not sure that outlining is the way to go with my 3rd graders, either.

Okay, that makes sense. :) Thanks everyone!

I'm looking into creating multiple profiles at duolingo, but it looks like each profile has to have a separate email account? Just wondering how others have used it for multiple children? And perhaps even for yourself? :)

My oldest had a coop class called "Consumer Math." The focus was on learning about credit cards, job applications, writing checks, grocery shopping, budgeting, etc. - basically "real life stuff" using math. :) I think the kids have really enjoyed it!

Tsutsie, just curious - are you using it along with something else? Or on its own? With what ages are you implementing it?

Yes! My thoughts exactly. I want to spend next year working more on writing, with grammar being used in the context of actual writing. :) Someone else, with a BA in English Ed., has been giving a bit of input as well. She used FLL 1-3, as well as some R&S, with her kids. With those materials, she basically said that her kids didn't seem to retain much of it. Now that she has used Fix It, her kids "have retained more about parts of speech and mechanics of writing." She says that both the teacher's notes and student instruction notes are very thorough.

Thanks, Amy! I'm excited to try out a couple of the CLE LUs for language. When I ordered them, I just looked at the samples and scope and sequence and picked a couple of the LUs from about the middle of the levels for 200 and 500. How did you "place" your kids? I know there are placement tests, but I'd rather not have to use them - LOL. But I will if I NEED to. :) For your DD, have you found levels 600 - 900 to be super tedious and overboard? I like your idea for combining CLE with Fix It - I'm just not sure that I want grammar to take up a ton of time. I'd probably prefer either one or the other. In what "grade" is your 11 y.o. considered to be? I've been trying to put my oldest in "grade level" materials as much as possible, partly to help her self-esteem. After pulling her out of PS in 3rd grade, we had to get her caught up in some things, especially math. She's in CLE 500 math now, after backtracking, doubling up, etc. and is only 1 book "behind" where her sisters are in their level. I'm thinking, if I decide to order more CLE LUs, we could just drop the grammar that we're currently doing (EG for oldest DD), and maybe work through the rest of the CLE 200 and 500 levels from now through the summer. I'm curious - what grammar/language did you use prior to CLE? Thanks so much for your input!

Thanks, Ladies! I actually played around with how I was searching and I DID find some more posts, but I guess I'm still wondering - is Fix It really enough for grammar? It sounds too good to be true! I'm hoping to use IEW for writing this next year too (or possibly even starting this summer). I hadn't really heard much about Fix It before, but someone who knows a lot about IEW was telling me a little bit about it. I really want to focus more on writing this next year, especially with my soon-to-be 6th grader. It would be so nice to do grammar in 15 minutes or less per day! This year my DD used EG and DG, which is also pretty quick and painless, but I like the idea of Fix It and what it has the child do. It just sounds like some people have used it to supplement another grammar program, which I'd rather not have to do. Amy, what levels of CLE language have you used? That was actually my 2nd choice for grammar next year, especially for my younger two. I ordered a couple of the LUs to try. We LOVE CLE math, so I was thinking we might like the language too! I've heard that CLE Language gets very tedious as you move up, so I'm kind of hesitant for my oldest. But I want my kiddos to KNOW grammar well, too.

I've done a search for IEW's FixIt Grammar, and it's not bringing up many posts, especially not from the past couple of years. Can anyone share anything about their experience with it? And can you compare it with other grammar programs? I'm in the middle of watching the Webinar about the program, and I like what I'm seeing/hearing. I'd just love to hear from those who have used it.

Thanks Merry! That was helpful. :) I am still wondering what in the world to order if I end up going with IEW. :confused1: Also, after re-reading SWB's recommendations for writing (with the different ideas for progression), I wonder why she doesn't suggest IEW in the lower grades?

Bumpity Bump

First of all, I'd love to hear from those who have used both EIW and IEW. How do they compare? What are their strengths and weaknesses? Mostly I'm looking into these options for my DD, going into 6th grade next year. We've gone rather slowly with writing, since she got a really bad taste of it in public school. We pulled her out in 3rd grade. Since then, we've done a hodge-podge: some narrations for history and science (though not every time), some CAP, a little Killgallon (not much), and then she's mostly been doing Wordsmith Apprentice this year. If I go with IEW, where do I start? What all do I need? I'm confused by all the components on the website. I also have twin girls, currently 2nd grade. For writing they've done WWE1 (started partway through 1st grade - which was their first year homeschooling - and we've finished it now). We could maybe do WWE2 from now through the summer, and then be able to do either EIW or IEW in the fall?? It would be awesome to have a comparison chart of all the writing programs out there! I need quite a bit of handholding with teaching writing - it's just not my thing. A friend uses Writing Strands and seems to like that a lot, but I haven't actually SEEN what's in the book. My girls need something that is NOT boring! :)

Thanks! :)

And do I "teach" a lesson each day? Or is it more independent than that? I'd also like to know about how long it takes your child to complete it each day.

I have not used Horizons, but we like CLE here! Horizons is definitely more colorful, though. From what others have said, as Horizons goes up in grades, sometimes there's not as much help for the teacher as some need. CLE has more pages per lesson, but the content is more spread out with plenty of room for writing. Don't know if this helps or not. Just "bumping" this for you. :)

We've liked CLE here, but I know nothing about R&S math, which others have mentioned. For your 2nd grader, you would need the Teacher's Manuals. 4th grade can be much more independent, and some people just get the Answer Keys. We supplement CLE a bit (especially in the younger grades) with c-rods, Education Unboxed Videos online, and/or Math Made Meaningful. What math(s) have you used up until this point (so we can know what you DON'T like)? :)

Yes, writing is sooo hard to teach, and my oldest DD pretty much hates writing. We've made some progress this year, but I'm hoping to focus on it even more next year. As far as "self-instructional," we're going to try Wordsmith Apprentice for DD10 (5th grade this next year). It's geared toward 4-6th graders, so maybe your DS9 would like it? In TWTM, it's recommended for "reluctant writers." Another program I've looked into is Essentials in Writing, which is a DVD program. We're not going to go with that one at this point. It DOES contain a lot of grammar so, if we ever DO use it, we would probably skip that part since we do other grammar. We'll be doing other writing outside of Wordsmith Apprentice, but that will be DD's "main" writing program for next year.

Aww, hugs to you! I do think that, eventually, most kids get caught up. And for some kids reading is just not their strong point. Even between my twins, I have one who LOVES reading (and it comes a bit easier to her) while the other could really care less about reading and is not as advanced as her "identical" sister. Just curious...what curriculum are you using? And do you have an idea of what "reading level" your daughter is at? It may be perfectly normal to be where she's at.

While I'm sure that all responses were well-intentioned, as I've talked to some very experienced homeschoolers and done some more "research" on my own, I've come to the conclusion that yes, "It's just a test." And average really IS 50th percentile. I've realized that my "goal" should not be for my child to score 90% or above. I suppose if one knows that their child most definitely wants to be a doctor or rocket scientist when they grow up, then, yes, the child probably needs to be helped along/pushed so they can achieve that goal. But it should be a sort of mutual goal. It's great if some kids score 90% or above, but only 10% of kids will. :) Our personal goals for our kids (which are more important to me than tests) are that they learn compassion, love, perseverance, kindness, conflict resolution, etc. That they do their best. I want them to know and love God. Can we still put extra work into those "problem" academic areas? Absolutely! But academics are not on the very top of my priority list. So many things in life can't be tested on paper, ya know? My daughter has matured in so many ways in the past few years in regards to relationships, friendships, dealing with conflict, etc. Honestly, she probably excels some adults in that area! I hope that my "falling into a pit" (which I've now crawled back out of) perhaps has helped someone else or will help someone in the future! :)

Okay everyone, I think I've calmed down now. Thanks for your help! :) I have a suspicion that there are many homeschooled kiddos who don't score above the 90th percentile, but I'm guessing most people don't want to share those "below greatness" scores publicly. 90% or above is a great goal, but it doesn't mean we've failed if our kids don't score that high. I sooooo appreciate a PM I received from someone, sharing their kid's scores and their thoughts on all of this. If anyone else wants to send a PM, I would warmly welcome it! :)

Sorry to be posting so much. Just trying to wrap my head around all of this. So I'm still wondering...what does it mean when people say their child scored "above grade level?" Or at or below grade level? Are they just looking at the GE and SS score?