I agree Jr. is what you want. I got both, but I, also, have an 11yo. My 7yo only watches Jr, but my 8yo is starting to use both.

I have been looking at this, as well. I thought it covered the essay and the research paper, as well as literature. So do you think that it should be used with Writing with Skill then since it does not cover composition?

Look at Amblesideonline.com. We use their Literature schedule and biography/tales schedule. Their History and Science is a little too antiquated for me, but we are loving the rest. ~Bets

Is it worth the extra cost? I was planning to get just the teacher book and not the student response of the original. When I went to purchase it, I saw the revised edition, and it requires both. Opinions appreciated! ~Bets

I'm new, too, and struggled to find a secular science curriculum. I have finally decided to give this a try. http://www.amazon.com/Building-Foundations-Scientific-Understanding-Curriculum/dp/1432706101 (sorry cannot figure out how to insert link with the iPad). I am supplementing with Usborne Encyclopedia of Science and Janice Van Cleave's experiment books plus living books whenever I can. Sounds like you got a smart little guy there. Good luck! ~ Bets

Thanks, Ladies.

We pulled our girls from public school. They are 7, 8, and 11. I have a pretty good grasp on what I want to do with the 11yo for language arts and writing. I really like FLL and WWE for the younger two. The question is this. Do I start them with 1 or 2? One completed 1st grade and the other 2nd; however, the second grader really is still on a first grade level which has a lot to do with why we pulled them out. They both know what a noun is, that the first word in sentence is capitalized, and that there needs to be punctuation at the end of the sentence. The first grader is pretty decent with commas for a list of items. That's pretty much the extent of their grammar skills. I looked at some samples and was leaning toward FLL2 but don't want to miss any benefit that FLL1 might have that I am just unaware of. What do you all think? Thanks!

This is our first year, but dd7 and dd8 are doing time lines on butcher paper that we roll up and put away between lessons. Dd11 is doing a book of centuries. We will be doing lap books for events or people that draw their interest the most or that I think should be explored in a little more depth. Like someone else mentioned, I try to highlight important women in history as I think they tend to get left out in most traditional classes. As this is our first year, it could definitely change. I'm amazed by how much there is for ME to learn on this adventure! I'm attempting to incorporate artist,author, and composer studies in with the history as well as science to some extent. I really like the idea of an art notebook for short biographies and reproductions. I might steal that one. ;)

Hi, I'm new here. This is our first year homeschooling, and I am feeling very overwhelmed with figuring out curriculum and schedule. So far this is what I have. *Math- LOF Fractions and Decimals & Pre-Algebra (if we get there)/ Khan Academy Science- BFSU/ Janice Van Cleave Biology Experiments/ Story of Science: Aristotle/ Usborne's Encyclopedia of Science and Illustrated Dictionary of Science for references Nature Study: The Handbook of Nature Study (Trees, ?, Amphibions?)/ Story Book of Science *Spelling: Sequential Spelling ?Vocab: Wordly Wise? *English: Analytical Grammar/ Beyond the Book Report *Literature: Age of Fable/ The Lost World/ Kidnapped/ The Incredible Journey/ Legend of Sleepy Hollow/ Rip Van Winkle/ Paul Revere's Ride Shakespeare: Midsummer Night's Dream/ Tempest *Poetry: Tennyson, Dickson, Wordsworth *Copy work History: Kingfisher spine/ Oup Ancient World/ Voyages Through Time series/ Augustus Ceasar's World?/ Story of the Greeks and Story of the Romans? *Foreign Language: Spanish (tutor) *Music: flute- orchestra Art and Composer Studies: AO schedule PE: Cross Country or Soccer... We're still in debate. I know it looks like a lot, but it should come out to about 5ish hours per day. The * annotates daily work. ~ Bets