I've looked at doing all-in-one programs for my kids before and never find exactly what I want. I always feel the obsessive desire to tweak them. I'd prefer to keep them separate. I think I'm going to stick to Spectrum language arts (get 'er done) with a writing program yet to be chosen. Something simple as well. I don't think writing should be time consuming for a 2nd grader. Are you counting dictation as your writing? I'm using dictation Day by Day for my 8th grader. She will obviously have a writing program as well, but I'm not sure that that's necessary for 2nd grade.

No, it'll be just her. I think I'm thinking I may do 1 first. It's not that expensive. I think I was being cheap.

She is reading decently. Even though I love the Explode the Code books, she probably doesn't need it. I'll still use the Rod and Staff reading program. It has Bible stories through the entire Bible. This will take place of a Bible class, practice reading aloud, and check comprehension. My library does have SOTW 1. I may just buy the activity book and stick with ancients. The library was a good idea.

I just found out that I'll be homeschooling a 2nd grader next year (the daughter of a friend). I'm really excited about the opportunity, but I have a few questions. It's been a while since I've had a second grader. If we began with SOTW 2, would that be confusing to her? I already have the book and activity book. I'm trying not to spend too much on curricula. I'd prefer to use her money for the fun stuff. Also, what language arts would you prefer? Right now I'm considering Explode the code, Rod and Staff spelling and reading, and A Reason For Handwriting. What about Grammar and writing? She's intelligent and without any LDs.

I downloaded the 'Homeschool Teacher' app on Friday as part of my planning. It was $7.99 for the teacher app. The student apps are free. There is a school code that connects all the apps together. I like it because you can use it as a planner and as an accountability app. There's a section for school that includes a list of customizable subjects and courses, a gradebook, an attendance chart, a time log, and a few other things. You can then assign lessons to as many children as you like. You can schedule in advance depending on how far in advance you prefer. When they finish, they mark it as done. After you check their work, you verify that it's complete and can add a grade if preferred. There is a similar chore aspect. You can customize chores, add them to the student list, the child marks them complete, and the parent verifies them. Another nice aspect is the reward center. You can assign each assignment and chore with coin values. You don't have to if you don't like external rewards. When the assignment is marked complete by mom, the coin is earned. They can visit the reward center and eventually "purchase" rewards. I thought my 8th grader wouldn't care about this, but her rewards are Starbucks, new books, and hot topic gift cards. Now she's psyched! So I am not being reimbursed for my review of the app. I noticed a bug when I first tried it out. I had a few recommendations as well. I sent them an email on Saturday and received a reply this morning. The bug is fixed and they are taking my suggestions into consideration. Very friendly company. I told them that I would share their app since I was so impressed with the app and their customer service.

This one always seems a bit odd to me since I only have one teenage daughter. I've decided to do a tea time with her daily since we enjoy that anyway. We'll be doing: Bible reading Book on missionaries Compete on Seterra for fun (geography) Dictation Mandarin conversation I think that's it. She'll be using a good deal of BJU DVD's next year, so a midday break will be really nice.

IEW would work. Another good one is Meaningful Composition. It is very religious, but they carry a secular version. I think it's called Write On. I'm not positive. It's sold through Character Ink. Oh darn, didn't see the part about pairing with history and science. IEW may be better for that. I'm not positive.

Maybe I need to start at an earlier level so she wouldn't be overwhelmed by a lot of new words and punctuation. Then we could progress like you do. The content looks wonderful.

This looks nice as well. I will probably continue through high school, especially with my daughter who struggles in this area.

Dictation Day by Day could be used as prepared dictation though, right? I don't need to get through large amounts per year. I could just pick and choose. I really like the looks of it!

Thanks! I'll go check them out. I love this part of homeschooling. The end of the school year would be so long and boring without it.

I'm full of questions today while researching for next year. My dyslexic daughter is finishing Apples and Pears this year with great success. Yay! I'd love to move to dictating larger and more complex sentences or paragraphs. I'd like to use it as copywork early in the week, discussing grammar and spelling intricacies as they come up. Then I would dictate at the end of the week. Where could I find passages for this? I don't mind paying for something if it has what I want. I can easily teach the grammar and spelling rules without a program though.

Did you have him watch the lessons, or did you teach it to him? It seems that that would take much longer if he were watching the DVD and doing numerous lessons in a day.

I'm planning on using Epsilon and Zeta with my daughter next year. She's had a decent amount of exposure to fractions and decimals, but I don't think she's ready for pre-algebra yet. The first half of both books will probably be fairly easy for her. So what will be the best way to get through the easy lessons? I see that there are 6 sections in each lesson (A-F). Which ones should she do if she shows mastery in A? Should she do all review sections? Also, has anyone used the digital pack? I own the blocks but not the fraction overlays. She hates manipulatives but is very visual. I think she'd use the online manipulatives better. Do your kids use it? Are they easy to work with?

Just compared to years past. I began homeschooling in 2003, so I've experienced a pretty big shift. Reading the post thanking oldschoolers has me thinking about the mindset of homeschooling. There are those that blazed the trail. Since then, we have worked to fill in gaps, strengthen weaknesses, attempted to make it mainstream, etc. I'm just curious if people see the benefits of old-time homeschooling, where improvements really have been made, and maybe where we've put lipstick on a pig.

If so, how? If not, why? All opinions welcome.

What about Apples Spelling (not to be confused with Apples and Pears) or Megawords? I've personally used Apples with my son. It isn't babyish at all and is a great review. I've heard lots of good things about Megawords, but I've never personally used them.

I'm definitely interested in hearing more. The price is right with the 35% off, but I wouldn't be able to purchase that soon. I wonder if they run sales on a regular basis.

We are in a similar situation. My daughter just finished the history cycle of Veritas Press. I have had a basically identical experience with you. Games, dates, one less subject to teach. She'll be entering 8th grade. We're excited to do a missionary/geography study next year. I am planning on using the spine and notebooking pages from Sonlight. I'm not purchasing the instructor's manual. We would be tweaking it way too much. We will add in some of the books (too many books in Sonlight for my dyslexic child). We will be adding in more missions books to do a full study together plus World Religions in a Nutshell. I have some videos to add plus cooking and art projects for different countries. I think we'll both enjoy it. I am excited that it's purely an eastern hemisphere study because my daughter has shown interest in missions, especially China. Focusing on fewer areas that have such different cultures than our own is more my personal goal.

My daughter is currently using it as her main curriculum. She works with it for 45 minutes per day. I don't sit with her for most of it, but she comes to me when she needs help. I also check her activity every day. Just in our sit down time together, I can see a huge improvement. It was just what we needed to get through the rest of this school year. It seems to be shoring up some skills that will make next year easier.

Yes, the questions don't look that good. I don't want to buy the guide just for those. I keep going back and forth between simplicity and getting what I want. I'm having a hard time finding book guides for the books I've chosen. I need to do more research. Good thing I enjoy research!

Globe Trekker and Families of the World are both free on Amazon Prime. I'm planning on using these next year for our Eastern Hemisphere study. We will be discussing religion but more from a Christian standpoint and missions since my daughter wants to go into missions.

Another vote for CLE. We had the same issue with TT. My daughter used it for 2 years before I noticed a complete lack of retention. We're still trying to make up for the time that she lost.

Just finished Reign and The Crown-in a royal mood. Watching Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Sherlock (finally) Going to start Santa Clarita Diet-looks hilarious!

I just saw that you can buy the notebooking pages that correlate with the Journey to the Eastern Hemisphere spine. There's also mapping, timelines, and activity ideas included. Yay! This was what I was most nervous about coming up with. I could buy the spine and notebook and do the rest myself.