I’ve heard of it but never investigated before. It’s on sale now, is this the only time of year it goes on sale? I was very impressed with the sample video lessons I watched on the Bible and DS 9 enjoyed them. Unfortunately our laptop is pretty old and slow so I haven’t tried to watch the history lessons since I can’t watch them on the iPad. Any chance the history lessons are going to be available on an iPad soon? Does a child generally do one lesson at a time in either subject? I think DS would enjoy working independently. Did it hold your child’s interest? What age would you recommend? How long did it take to complete the courses? Are the earlier courses easier and quicker? I’m wondering if the first Bible course would be done quickly. If I bought the first two would I be able to pause the second one and he would still have 12 months to do it or is 12 months from purchase? I really enjoy doing history with DS and reading him SOTW and side reading of biographies or stories for that time period. Would doing both be overkill? Do you need to do the younger grade levels to be prepared for the Omnibus level? Could I just have DS do the Omnibus level for his second round of history? I’m considering just doing the Bible now. How easy is it to check your child’s progress and see what they are doing? Could I log in and watch the videos and skip activities and tests without messing up his profress? The first level Bible lesson on The Garden of Eden looked like something that DD 6 would enjoy. The reading would be too advanced for her but could I show her the videos without messing up his progress? I would love to hear all about your experience with any of the levels and subjects so I can get a better idea. Thanks so much!

DS 9 does all work at the kitchen table. I usually snuggle up with him on the couch for history reading and then he goes back to the table for his narration writing. After lunch we snuggle up for reading. He does most of his fun independent reading in his bed. I keep meaning to add on typing! But we use iPads and never use our laptop that’s old and has no dedicated space so I need to work on that I usually sit with him for about an hour as we go through his subjects and then we get to his math workbook that he can do independently after we’ve gone over the lesson. That’s when I bring in DD 6 to sit at the table for her time. I can work with her and check DS’ work. Depending on how long he’s been working I might add in some of other math or logic workbooks or he does his SOTW coloring while I work with DD. it’s getting to the point that they are starting to distract each other though. For some reason I cannot fathom DS starts watching DD sound out her AAR cards that he did years ago. I find that tedious but he’s fascinated. I think I might need to get some trifold posters so they can’t get distracted by each other since we sit together at the table. It was easier when she was younger and just did her Kumon books while he was doing his thing but now that she’s doing more aloud and needs more attention it helps to wait for her to start until DS is working more independently.

I use the activity guide for SOTW. I tend to look at WTM as a general overview whereas I use the actual activity guide as my what should I order next. I do match up the recommended reading. From there it depends on what our library has and what will interest the kids. We definitely read biographies and works like the Oyssey and the Iliad for longer than the weeks we were on that topic. It worked for use because there were a lot of weeks that didn’t have a topic with a longer read aloud. Look at the guidebook as a guide and use it how it works for you. I figure we will do shorter reads now that will be fun and hold their interest, like the Mary Pope versions of the Odyssey and the Ilad, and next time around we can do more in depth versions. Since the whole point of the first time through is to help give them a familiarity with the topics I think this works and will leave them more excited to get into it more next time around. It will definitely depend on the child. My oldest has been interested in longer harder read alouds at a much younger age than my youngest can handle. For that reason I often read a longer chapter book for him but get a picture book version for her. She can stay interested on topics that interest her, like she’s riveted by Cleoptara but has no interest in Alexander or Julius, so you might try different versions or get longer ones that are interesting to your child. If your child really enjoys the Egyptians get more books and pause there longer than you do on other time periods they don’t find as interesting. I also have separate lit readings that aren’t related to history. I usually read a chapter a day from a bunch of different books. There’s a chapter from a biography or a history time period book like the Iliad or Beowulf and then a chapter from a more literary book for fun, sometimes a classic or modern. Plus lots of picture books and some on our science topic.

The Mary Pope version is excellent. The chapters were short so when I read it aloud it held the attention of both my kids. I bought it for my 3rd grader but my K’er liked it so much she stuck around and always wanted to stay to hear what would happen next. It’s also written with large font and white space so it would be a great format for a child to read independently who was ready for that. I was impressed at how thorough it was while keeping it fast paced and interesting.

I’ve been using Elemental Science or RSO now for about 3 years. Neither is great. Both are spines with suggested readings and experiments. You don’t need to get all of the suggested reading. You generally need one spine. Like an encyclopedia. All of the experiments have been pretty basic and not always successful. My K’er enjoys some of the readings so I try to get basic picture books on her level. A lot of it is pretty dry and doesn’t always hold my 3rd graders attention. I’m not at all science-y so I like to have a spine to hold my hand. You could also do it yourself if you are science oriented. A lot of these type of teacher’s guide refer out to an experiment book so you could add on that and picture books. Our favorite science has been Science in the Beginning. It’s very well written and incorporates experiments really well. It’s the only one that actually explains a concept in the short reading. It’s also held the attention really well of both my kids and they both enjoyed the experiments. It is based on the idea of the seven days of creation so it starts first with light. I think it would be very easy to skip the biblical stuff if that wasn’t of interest to you unless it’s inclusion bothered you. It’s by far the best we’ve found. All the other science is annoying with its assigned reading without incorporating the concept well. Since I’m not up to the task of winging it I want my science to explain it well. SIB does that for me and actually seems to do the experiment to show something instead of just to do an experiment. It talks about the experiment after it’s done too high is great because it all goes together.

My DS is a voracious reader who loves modern fiction which I have no problems with but I want to add in more reading for school which I haven’t done. When I was his age I read a lot of fiction and a lot of classics but they were more girl centered like Anne of Green Gables, Secret Garden, Little Women, etc. I know those won’t appeal to him. My DH loved boy and his dog type books when he was young which don’t interest DS. DH also enjoyed Tolkien when he was young. VP has a literature guide for The Hobbit and recommends it for 4th grade. I never read Tolkien and I was bored out of my mind when dragged to a couple of those movies years ago on LOTR so I have no desire to read any of them. I feel like a guide could be a good schooly activity and verify he’s reading at all let alone carefully. We have done these guides before and DS hates reading comprehension questions. I get it. I’m more of a big picture person myself. DS hates the little questions like those in WWE. I want him to love reading like I do and he is now so I’m torn about how to add in more classics and do more assigned work with reading. What do you think?

Has anyone used these? What do you think? How are they?

I love AAR. It’s a great program and each lesson is prepared for you so you just open it and go. You can speed up or slow down to match your child. I’m doing at again now with my youngest. Highly recommend.

I’m a huge AAR fan. It was very slow at first with DS but once it clicked we sped forward and finished quickly. It gets a lot easier in AAR 2 because after silent e it’s easier to add outside books. I’m repeating the series now with DD and going slowly with AAR1.

Xtramath.org. Mine use it on the website but it does have an app. It’s free and they can access from their iPads. It’s been great here. It’s a short practice everyday before it ends the session and it adapts to the child so my k’er is on a different level from my 3rd grader.

We love GSD. Just make sure you fully investigate the breeder. GSD have health issues. Our first 2 did not live that long (3 and 6 years). To ensure we didn’t have to deal with that again we spent a lot on a dog with a great pedigree for health from a great breeder. It’s father is German. American GSD have been bred for their Black and Tan color which has led to the health issues. It is a wonderful breed. They are active dogs and want to do jobs. They train well and are very high energy. We love them but be prepared to do the work on finding the right one and training.

She just said she wouldn’t be able to speak up and even say no. I think she just knows she wouldn’t be comfortable with that. Thanks Klmama! Instead of just talking about it I will see if acting it out with her toys might help her.

Unfortunately when we talking about it last night I tried to encourage her in how to talk to the bully and it did not go well. I had trying getting her to tell the bully to knock it off (“don’t hurt/touch me”) but she said she couldn’t do it. I try to get her to just say “no” loudly, hoping it would stop the behavior and get the teacher’s attention but she said she couldn’t. I know if she can’t even imagine saying it with me when it’s just her talking to me she won’t be able to say it when she needs to. I had trying getting them into martial arts and tried about 6 different places, which are all the ones near us, but they hated them all. I had liked the idea of encouraging that inner strength but it wasn’t for them. That’s what’s extra frustrating about this because it was so hard to find activities they really like that I don’t want her to start disliking this place because of bullying when she loves the activity itself.

I feel out of my comfort level here. My DD just turned 6 and is the sweetest child. Her extracurricular teachers are always commenting on how happy and great she is. I say that because I don’t want that to change but I’m worried about her. Last week at sports practice I watched as a boy pushed her down. I was shocked. She got up and he pushed her down again. It was very obvious they weren’t playing. By the time I got over there he had done it again. I told the coach but I was seething inside watching her get picked on. We talked about it and I’ve been reminding her to tell the coach or come and get me. Yesterday she had Acrobatics. This is part of a dance studio where the kids are in rooms and parents cannot watch. When I pick her up she happily chats with me about her classes (she also has dance) on the way home. It wasn’t until I was putting her to bed that she told me about how a girl was mean to her in class. Apparently this girl cut in front of her and pushed her a few times. DD was too scared to do anything. After seeing what happened at sports I can see how she wouldn’t have said anything. I asked her if she could tell the teacher who she likes but she said no. I can’t be in class to help but obviously will talk to her teacher before class next week. As her mom I’m angry that she’s being hurt but realistically I know the bigger issue is that she needs to stand up for herself. As the Acrobatics incident illustrates I obviously cannot always be there to protect or help her. I don’t want this type of situation to happen to her anywhere. I also don’t want it to change her happy sweet disposition. She is very social and loves interacting and making friends at her activities and looks forward to them so I also don’t want that to change. Last year when my DS was 7 he had a similar situation at baseball. It wasn’t so much being picked on as it was being exposed to the group dynamic of boys on his team who were very differently manned than the homeschool kids he’s usually around. They were rough with each other physically and would spit seeds at each other. The other parents didn’t get involved even when some of the boys were pushing really hard. DS did not feel comfortable saying anything to them as much as we tried talking to him about it. Instead he mostly avoided them and doesn’t want to do team sports anymore. This year there’s a boy on his swim team who misbehaves. Again I don’t think he’s really trying to target anyone or be a bully do much as he’s not well disciplined. He pushes the other kids and is always splashing them. This time DS has no problem telling him to knock it off. DS does get more annoyed when the boys are misbehaving in the locker room and just tries to stay out of it. I’m glad he’s doing better with navigating these issues which has me wondering if there’s much I can do for DD or if it’s something that she will get better at with time/age? DS is naturally much more self-assured and confident though so I was surprised last year when he wasn’t comfortable standing up for himself. DS has also been a bully to DD at more times than I would like so I was hoping DD would be more confident standing up for herself having dealt with this before. Any advice on how to help her? Do I just keep reiterating what she should do until she’s able to? I’d love to hear your experiences with this. Thanks so much!

I just read the TM and then had DS do the student pages in the back. It was annoying to flip it around but it worked.

Xtramath.org could help with math facts. It’s really quick too so it would be easy to use everyday. It’s completely independent too.

My DD was the same way and I posted the same question. I did AAR with my older DS and he never had a problem with the letter names. DD could not keep them straight like he could as we did AAR. We are now working on CVC words in AAR1 and she has all the sounds down perfectly but there are still a couple of letters that she can’t remember the name of even though she knows the sounds.

Zane Bloser here. It introduces the letters by formation and not alphabetically. It starts with lower case and then adds in upper case.

DS Is using CA Dailies which is a simple workbook and is meant for schools so it would be easy to handout. It could be a starting point for discussion. It is many to be used a little but a day. It’s basic but it’s definitely getting information across.

Do you know what math they were using in school? That might be a good place to start. We use Math in Focus which is used in some schools. It has a recommended lesson plan which is helpful. We also use Beast but it can be a very different style so it would be harder to use. It can frustrate my 3rd grader at times so be aware of that. For Language Arts, First Language Lessons 3 and Writing With Ease 3 could be a great option. FLL 3 starts with review assuming the child had not done the previous levels and has a workbook. The lessons are short and there’s a script for you in the Teacher’s Manual. It is grammar focused. WWE is more content. Dictation, narration and reading comprehension. The first week of 3 is relating to the Grimm Fairy Tales. Each day has a different focus. The first day the child reads a two page story, answers questions you ask and writes a summary if it. Over the the rest of the week there is dictation and similar tasks. Check out the website RainbowResources.com for great prices and lots of homeschool books. The Cathy Duffy website is a great option to see materials reviewed in different subjects and to give you an idea what’s out there. I also agree with the previous advice to start slow and figure out what works. If you buy too much at once before you know what works you could just have to start over. Have you checked out your state’s requirements?

Thanks so much @goldenecho, that’s exactly what I was looking for!

We did the original non-secular books 1 and 2. The reading is integrated so I think it would be a waste to buy it but not use the readings. The dictation and exercise are taken from the reading. I think that helped hold my son’s attention with the work. FWIW I was not so sure about the readings before we got started. My DS had never had any interest in Beatrix Potter when I tried when he was younger and book 1 starts there but he really enjoyed the readings. That’s pretty much how it went with all the books. He really enjoyed Pinocchio and the Wizard of Oz. It turned out to be a great way to read the classics we would probably have overlooked. Almost every lesson has an Aesop’s Fable so he knows those really well and the morals. Every lesson has a poem and then every few lessons has a picture study. We ended up using the ELTL poems a lot in place of the ones in FLL because he liked them more. There’s also space for pictures about the story. This really encouraged DS to draw and by the end of the Wizard of Oz he had made great Tin Man sketches. It’s a very complete program.

Sorry, I think it’s an Educational Specialist or some such acronym. The price of getting money to spend is that we have to meet monthly with our ES while they make sure progress is being made in the subject areas. If it wasn’t so much money it wouldn’t be worth the nuisance! I’m really surprised that there’s not more options. Everything I’ve looked at is so basic. It looks like the Core Knowledge books we did in preschool, which were great for that age, but I expected more for K. Those preschool activity books were actually more complicated in their out in order cards for stories. My DS cannot handle how basic the EM books are so I guess I shouldn’t have expected much.

I’ve looked at that series and unfortunately it’s so basic that it seems like it should be for preschoolers. Both the K and the 1st grade books have lots of basic things like which happened first and who is older. It really seems to have no idea what children know. How many first graders don’t know that a crawling a baby is younger than a walking baby? I’m having the hardest time finding anything that will work but I’m hoping there’s something out there that I’ve missed.

I was looking for something more that I could read alongside SOTW to help my youngest really understand what we are talking about but also add in more for DS. I’m confused by the Truthquest samples. Is the guide just pointing things out and then listing other books? Do you think it really does help your children understand the events?