I taught the BJU life science and physical science in 7th and 8th grade to a classroom. I didn't have the tests available to me, so I made up my own questions, which I think is better IMO. I recommend the teacher's manual and student text since, assuming the teacher's manual has the scripture references, field trip ideas, and experiment ideas. I don't think you need anything but those two items to have a great curriculum. I agree, you could combine your children in the 4th grade, but Life Science for 7th grade is great. You could probably even just order teaching text and call it a day if you really wanted to cut costs. Check homeschool classifieds for cheap versions.

Has anyone used Alpha Omega Publications Monarch/Switched on Schoolhouse science and language arts and had good results? I have trouble getting around to science and thought this would be good for my upcoming 3rd and 5th graders. We use Climbing to Good English for LA, but it doesn't seem to stick/transfer into their writing. Thoughts???

I second getting an evaluation from a private educational psych. I paid $105 for one and it was a 3 hour test. I'm so glad I did it!! She was 6 at the time and the Abeka readers just about killed her. We restarted with Starfall.com (free) and then she did some exercises in the Childrens workbooks for dyslexics. Explode the code online also helped tremendously. She can now read books like spider wick chronicles (she's 9). The ed psych that did the testing actually tutors my children and said reversals are not uncommon up to age 8. She sent me a huge list of websites. Email me if you are interested and I can forward it to you. I guarantee the money spent on getting the test done will be well worth it.

I'm torn on what to add for grammar. Should i just continue in with Climbing to Good English? I looked at their website again and it is same website as rod and staff. Same publisher I guess? Website makes them seem interchangeable, expect CTGE is workbook. I do love Mystery of History. Have you tried doing your own WWE every week? I own the instructor book, so I could do that . Just thought that might add too much to my load. I'll take a look at it again. Thanks for the thoughts.

Need help!! Please help me figure out what to buy. Looking at Abeka for LA for my ds age 7 (2nd) and daughter age 9 (4th). We have only done First Language Lessons 1 and Writing With Ease 1. I feel behind!! I'm trying to find a curriculum for LA but not spend a fortune or eat up a ton of time (baby due June and 3 yr old). My main concern is grammar and writing. We have lots of books to read, so I'm not as worried about reading curriculum, and my daughter has dyslexia, so I was thinking of not focusing on spelling. So, what products should I get? I'd like to stick with something that works for the long haul. Is this possible?

Thought about getting mp3 for history and science to make sure that gets done.

Thanks for info- I'm considering pressing on with FLL 2 combined with both kids and then WWE 1 with 7 yr old and WWE 2 with 9 year old and try to get through it. Is that crazy? Or dig up the money and buy little bits of CLE LA 100 for 7 yr old and LA 200 for 9 yr old?

Streamlining curriculum I own- okay, so I posted a few days ago asking about CLE, which looks great, but it would cost over $200 to pick up LA, reading, and Bible. I own sonlight core a,b, and books from c. I own horizons math through 4th grade, FLL 2, Mystery of History 2, wwe 1, and 2, spectrum spelling books for 2nd and 4th, climbing to good english 2, explode the code online, writing strands... As you can tell I'm a curriculum junkie. Please help me streamline this mess for my 9 and 7 year old, 3 yr old running around and baby due in June. I now feel behind because it was hard to get much done from Oct. to Jan. due to pregnancy. I need to figure out how to use what I've got. I feel good about horizons math because it seems to work (even though CLE is tempting me). Please help.

So helpful! Thank you and always looking for more input

Thanks for input

Can someone tell me how their students have performed on standardized tests or in college after using Horizons as a large part of their math education? I'm trying to decide if I should switch from Horizons math to Christian Light Education Math. Thoughts? I have a 4th grader (she's in second book of math 3) a 2nd grader (in book 1 of math 2) and a 3 yr old. I'm also pregnant with 4th.

I see lots of posts recommending CLE products. I currently have a 4th grader, 2nd grader, 3 year old, and baby due June of this year. I need to streamline my situation. How do the kids do testing wise after using CLE? Any high school grads used it?? Here's my problem: I was sick starting in October from the pregnancy and then when I felt better at Christmas, we went out of town and our house needed to be put back in shape. So, I use Horizons math (which is great), I have First language lessons 2 and writing with ease 2 and sequential spelling, but I have trouble getting these things done, not to mention history, science... So I basically focus on them reading a minimum of 45 min per day, doing one math lesson, explode the code online. Should I just start using a CLE program and get the kids stuff done? Then add in fun projects as we can from the Story of the World Activity Guide (which is awesome)? Please help streamline this mess for me. I've even thought about illuminations for a streamlined process. I like chronological history but love sonlight telling me what to do every day. I think I need some hand holding at this point in the juncture.

I have gone through the new baby thing with less kids- it's tough. I think rod and staff is a good choice and you can get workbooks of Climbing to Good English if you aren't interested in First Language lessons. I enjoy the sonlight readings, but I think if you do read aloud, you could just buy the booklist. The series are usually enjoyable and your read aloud can stem from books you are introduced to and enjoy. Mystery of history and story of the world are both enjoyable history curriculum. I have my kids sit down together at math time and they work on it with me there to assist. I use sequential spelling with my K'er and 2nd grader (would work for 1st and 3rd). Just combine what subjects you can- for sure science and history and try R&S for older. I should have structure this better. Sorry!

I have three kids, dd8, ds6, and dd1. I haven't gotten through ancient history yet, but should I follow an accerated plan to get my dd8 caught up to entering 4th grade in fall 2014 back on track with SOTW modern history and science. Or should I just pick up and have my Ds6 be the one on track? I focused more on math and lit, then added back in grammar(we are still in FLL1 and wwe1), started spelling. What should I do?

What about Climbing to Good English? It's $4 for workbook at rainbow resource and $7 for teacher manual. I had my friend compare it to R&S and she thought it looked preferable. Wish someone else could chime in on this. I'm curious myself.

Well, I can tell you what I'm doing, but keep in mind I have only had one successful day of getting everything done. We are doing year round homeschool and we have a tutor on Monday/Wednesday that works with each child independently, so I work with the other at that time to get their individual stuff done. Tuesday/Thursday is gymnastics for DD at 3:00-5:30, so that's pretty much when our day is done. Friday morning is horseback riding at 9:30 and piano lesson after around 10:30. We are home by 11:15. Unless we get up super early (I have a 1 year old, too, so this doesn't happen often), school doesn't really start until then. The schedule starts at 7:30-8:00: -Bible 10-15 minutes (during breakfast or immediately following) -Math facts for both kids (DS grade K/1 and DD grade 2) -Math Workbook (Horizons math K and 2- we are almost to Horizons 1 for DS)- I sit between them and eat while helping them as needed Then the schedule deviates to each kid working on their own projects. I start by helping my almost 6 year old son and go through his list: with me:Reading Aloud (he reads leveled books from Readinga-z.com level E) 30 minutes with me: Explode the Code online from HSBC: he has to get 3 butterflies or ladybugs (pass levels successfully) 10-15 minutes with me: Memory Verses or memory work: 5-10 minutes alone: Piano practice: 15 minutes (he usually needs a little help, but not more than a few minutes During this time, my daughter, almost 8, is completing: alone: Explode the Code online: 4-5 butterflies or ladybugs 10 minutes alone: Piano: 20-30 minutes with me: Memory Verses: 10 minutes with me: Reading Aloud (readinga-z.com) level M 30 minutes By this time, I'm starving and it's time for lunch- if the baby is sleeping, I try to get Spelling, Grammar (FLL1), and WWE 1 done. If she's starting to wake up, I get through Spelling (Sequential spelling- I love it). The rest can be done while baby runs around. I feel behind the ball with my DD, so I keep at it trying to get through material and I think I'll run myself ragged until she's caught up to 3rd grade math and grammar, etc. History and Science are rotated- I'm trying to squeeze each in at least twice a week and have kids do narration and WTM suggestions. I use Mystery of History and Story of the World and I'm still getting through ancients. I will try to finish it and get into Middle Ages before year out and then hopefully I can get my DD to modern era for 4th grade. We'll see. Hope this helps. Sorry for the long post and let me know if anyone has thoughts on tweaking or similar feelings of always being behind.

Thanks for the advice. Can I ask why you use Rod and Staff over FLL? Do you think the Writing with Style will be as good as Classical Composition or Classical Writing?

I have an upcoming 3rd grader and upcoming 1st grader. The kids and I are loving Writing with Ease and First Language Lessons. I recently ran across a thread that stated Advanced Language Lessons was shelved indefinitely. I also concerned that the kids aren't writing enough on a daily basis. So, I currently have Climbing to Good English, which other posters have stated is similar to a workbook version of Rod and Staff. Should I simply use Climbing to Good English along with FLL until we are finished with FLL4? Next question, does anyone have opposition to Climbing to Good English? Also, since I love Writing with Ease, should I just go ahead and purchase the Writing with Skill Instructor Text and start making my curriculum? I have a 1 year old and I'm afraid of getting to the point of needing the curriculum and not being prepared. Should I just count on using Classical Composition or Classical Writing? After reading all the threads on those two programs, it seems that they are both good, but Classical Composition (Memoria version) is cheaper. Any thoughts on those? Should I start Classical Writing in 3rd grade or complete all of Writing with Ease and Writing with Skill? Where do I go after that? I'm just trying to see the end game here. I don't feel confident in my ability to create the program as well as Susan's workbooks. Should I give it a try according to her instruction in the text? Help! This forum is such a huge encouragement, but then I find so many new ideas, I get swamped.

In case you guys are curious, I busted my tail this morning and timed myself. We started at 9:20 and finished at 12:20. Here's what we got done: Both k and 2nd: reading (30 min K'er and 48 min 2nd), math with drills, explode code online, wwe 1, handwriting (REason for Handwriting), memory verses for week (2 each), piano practice, and who can forget snack. Now I have FLL (if we choose), sequential spelling (if we choose), and history since my answers in genesis science hasn't come in yet. I do feel pretty good about today. Thank you for all your help!

Those schedules sound good. It seems to be working better making sure I sit with my K'er while he does all his work or it can really drag. He is a little ahead and my 2nd is a little behind in LA, so they are combined in FLL, WWE, and sequential spelling. I do year round schooling because my 2nd grader learning disability is such that she forgets easily. So, no breaks for this mama! You guys are great! What an encouragement!

If you only do one kind of LA, how does that work with sequential spelling, WWE, and handwriting? I thought those were supposed to be done daily?

Here is link for God's Design for Science by Answers in Genesis: http://www.answersingenesis.org/store/product/gods-design-life-complete-set/?sku=40-1-324

I ordered Answers in Genesis Science. It looks great, but I'll know for sure when my order arrives. I like that it follows the four year cycle in TWTM and can be used up to 8th grade with varying levels of difficulty in text. Read Cathy Duffy reviews and it looks promising. I will post more when I start using it

Thank you for the encouragement and ideas. They are very helpful. I still didn't get science and history done today, but I made sure while I was working with my ds 5, my dd 7 was completing all her work that she could do on her own (piano, math facts, phonics on computer, and math problems). I ate after them while watching my son do his phonics and ate lunch after them as well. Thank you for the advice. My kids love WWE 1 and FLL 1- they like that it's over quickly. I'm definitely going to check out the writing workshop book. Thanks for that recommendation! Will my son eventually do things on his own as he matures? What is the average for boy? Now I just have to figure out how to squeeze in Latin and rotate history or science while trying to keep up sports on afternoon. So much for my lunch time.

Thanks for the encouragement- due to my 1 year old, it can be a challenge while she's awake to get much done. Luckily, 10:00 she's down for a nap. That may be part of my problem. When do you guys eat if you read while kids eat? How many books should you go through in a year and what are your thoughts on those literature guides memoria, veritas, and progeny press sells? What do you use for logic at k and 2 grade? Do you ever feel behind? My 2nd grader is 30 lessons into grade 2 horizons math and reading at dra level 20. Maybe I'm too panicky- I used to be a teacher and I feel like its hard to relax with her being a little behind