We read from the book Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare, by Nesbit and watch the Animated Shakespeare on youtube. (Upper elementary) Amy

We use Easy Grammar and Daily Grams both. In the morning Daily Grams is done independently and we work on Easy Grammar together later in the morning. I feel this is a solid grammar program. It is definitely painless. There is no prep time and it can be done quickly each day. Diagraming could easlily be added to this if you choose. Amy

For 5th grade, I have decided to take the spelling words from our Abeka Spelling & Vocabulary book plus the words from Wordly Wise to make up her spelling list. My daughter is also a very good speller and I don't see her needing a spelling curriculum at this point. She will complete all of the exercises in the Wordly Wise book but not in the Abeka Spelling book. Amy

My favorite Bible curriculum is by Children Desiring God Ministies, John Piper. Their curriculum is a bit pricey but I have a church that buys the material from me after I am finished. http://www.childrendesiringgod.org/index.php (click on curriculum) Since it is so expensive, I alternate with Suffer Little Children. http://www.rfpa.org/Scripts/prodList.asp?idCategory=9 Don't let the grade levels throw you. We have finished the first two books and I have gone through the third book on my own. All ages can benifit from these books. Amy

We have only used Wordly Wise and I have been very pleased with it. I feel that the grade levels are off a little (too easy) so we use a grade higher. The activities are great and I find that the words are remembered and not forgotten. We also add the WW words to our weekly spelling list. Samples can be found on-line. http://www.epsbooks.com/dynamic/catalog/program.asp?seriesonly=2818M Amy

My favorite is S.S. material from Children Desiring God, John Piper (http://www.childrendesiringgod.org/sunday_school_overview.php). We have used He Established a Testimony, He Has Spoken by His Son, ABC's of God, Faithful to all His Promises, and will be using To be Like Jesus this fall. This curriculum is pricey but well worth it. I have also been fortunate to sell the material to a church that uses John Piper material. There are samples on their web-site. Amy

For Kindergarten we used ABC's of God. This is actually S.S. material put out by Children Desiring God, John Piper. http://www.childrendesiringgod.org/curricula.php?id=5&grouping=Sunday_School I used Betty Lukens felt set to go along with it but this isn't necessary. Amy

I suggest Meaningful Compositions and if you need a full language arts program you can use CQLA from the same company. There are lots of samples available on their site. Amy

We started with Song School Latin in 2nd Grade and had a lot of fun. Song School was an easy way to learn 100+ words. In 3rd grade, we used Latin for Children A. Next year we will begin LFC B. We still remember the vocabulary and songs from Song School - they are short and have very catchy tunes. Amy

I have been pleased with Building Thinking Skills. Amy

I have been pleased with Rosetta Stone Spanish. The main reason that I purchased this program was so that I didn't have to be involved. It was taking too much of my time when I felt that I needed to devote my time to other subjects. This frees me up a little and Spanish is still being taught. It is nice that several students can use this program at their own pace. I also agree with just purchasing level 1 to see if it works for you. Amy

Song School Greek through Classical Academic Press. We have not used this but used Song School Latin and it was a great, fun way to get started with Latin. We have now finished Latin for Children A and my daughter still remembers songs from Song School. Amy

My favorite is Saxon. If your child is average or above in math, I would recommend using this a year ahead. My 3rd grader used Saxon 5/4. This is a complete program that is easy to teach from or can be student led from 5/4 up. We have used Saxon from the beginning. I like how the student is always being reviewed on previously learned topics. Students that use Saxon have a very good grasp with numbers and math concepts. My children have also scored highly on standardized tests. Amy

I have been pleased with their Building Thinking Skills books. Amy

You don't need the teacher's edition and we made our own flash cards. By the way, we loved this program and have finished Latin for Children A and will be doing LFC B this fall. Amy

My favorites are: Wordly Wise Easy Grammar Evan Moor Daily Paragraph Editing Scott Foresman Science (have 2nd + 3rd grade for sale) Amy

My daughter has completed Song School Latin and Latin for Children A. She will be in 4th grade this fall and we will be using Latin for Children B along with Cambridge Latin Course (their free on-line activities). Amy

Here is what our 3rd grade looks like: LOGIC: Building Thinking Skills LANGUAGE ARTS: Daily Paragraph Editing Easy Grammar Wordly Wise WRITING: Writing Tales 2 MATH: Saxon 5/4 FOREIGN LANGUAGE: Song School Latin (finish) Latin for Children, Primer A Rosetta Stone Spanish HISTORY: Veritas Press History Cards GEOGRAPHY: North America Map Study & Lapbook South America Map Study & Lapbook 50 States Unit Study SCIENCE: Scott Foresman Science 3 365 Simple Science Experiments BIBLE: Catechism for Children Suffer Little Children ART/MUSIC: Art Appreciation (Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Bruegel, Velazquez, Rembrandt) Art Masterpieces to Color (for artists listed above) How to Teach Art to Children Music Appreciation (Handel, Bach, Vivaldi, Haydn, Beethoven) Orchestra Unit Study (The Story of the Orchestra, by Robert Levine and Peter and the Wolf Amy

I am planning on using Simply Presidential for my 4th grader. Amy

My daughter has completed Writing Tales 1 and most of Writing Tales 2. She will be in 4th grade this fall and we plan to finish Writing Tales 2 and Wordsmith. For 5th grade I am planning on using CQLA (Character Quality Language Arts) or we might just use their Meaningful Composition book. I have done a lot of research on this curriculum and really like what they have to offer. This program can definitely be student led once you get past early elementary levels.

I used this for all three of my children starting in Pre-K. I agree with an earlier post that this old set is recommended for grades K-2. I totally loved this program. All three of my children learned to read at a young age using this program. They all have pleasant memories of working through this program with me. I did not use the cassette tapes at all. My children are now 16, 14, and 9 and they all love to read. I feel that the way the program is designed (very phonics based) also helped my children to become very good spellers. I highly recommend this program. I am saving my set for grandchildren!