My children are in 1st and 2nd grade. So a bit closer in age. We do the bolded (above) with the questions in the activity guide. Usually I just go back and forth taking turns asking the questions. If one of them doesn't know the answer, I re-read the passage containing the answer and ask again. Sometimes we play 'quiz show'. They each keep their hands in their lap and the first one to raise their hand gets a chance to answer the question. If they don't know the answer, the other one gets a chance to 'steal'. The person with the most points wins. (They like this. However, I don't like to play this TOO often because they are already very competitive with each other.) For the actual narrations, here is what I just started doing..... Child 1 Narrates to me in the family room. I write down their narration. Meanwhile , the other child does copywork. I choose a sentence from SOTW that captures the main idea of the section. (Sometimes I use the 'example' narrations for my copywork.) Then I ask them to copy it into their history notebook. After that they draw a picture and illustrate their narrations/copywork. (We use these types of notebooks for our history studies. They have space to write and draw.) On the next day, we switch. The child who did copywork the day before now narrates. Then the other child does a copywork sentence. The only problem **I** have found personally with this method is that it is making the kids not like history. They love SOTW and all of the main parts of our history study. BUT they don't like copywork and narrations. And they are associating that dislike with history. But, I haven't found a good solution for that problem.

Thanks so much for digging up that video and posting it. Very helpful! SWB is SO very nice! How can you not like her when you watch that video? :) For those of you who own ELTL, can you please describe the workbook to me? They don't seem to have any samples of it online.

Happy box day! Yeah! We used to use Sonlight and loved, loved box day. So much fun to finally see and touch all of those wonderful books.

You are using this with a 5 year old? If so, keep in mind that she is on the young side for Singapore 1A. You know your child best....but I would be willing to bet that if you did NOTHING but review for awhile.....you could come back to number bonds in a few months and she would just get it. This has happened time and time again with my own children. Sometimes the problem isn't that you aren't explaining things correctly, it has to do more with giving the child time to mature. Also, just to warn you: Singapore 1A/1B starts out very simple---but it quickly ramps up and becomes a pretty advanced math program for such a little one. You will move on to concepts like multiplication and division in just a few short months. So even if you get past these number bonds, things don't get easier. (This is about as easy as it Singapore level 1 math gets.) If you decide you want to do something more than just review, I would look into RightStart. I really, really, really like RightStart math for this age group. It is amazing. We use Singapore math right now....but I like RightStart A-B even better than Singapore. In fact, I would still probably be using Right Start except that it is very, very teacher intensive. And I was unable to keep up with the lessons after the birth of my third baby. So I had to switch to Singpaore for that reason. With RightStart, you can expect to spend 20-30 minutes of one-on-one instructional time in math every day. RightStart has very few worksheets...so it is NOT a 'teach a 5 minute lesson and then do a workbook page' program. Instead, you can expect to be giving your child your complete attention for about 20-30 minutes per day. You will do lots of hands-on demonstrations with math, play games, etc. etc. BUT RightStart does a great job of teaching children how to think about math. I am a math person....and IMHO there is no better early math program than RightStart level B. If I were you, I would take a look at either Level A or Level B of Right Start. (She may be ready for Level B if you have already done Singapore EB with her...but I would use the placement test to be sure.) I think some work on the RightStart abacus will REALLY do a lot to help you understand number bonds. THEN, perhaps switch back to Singapore after you use RightStart for awhile. Another option would be math mammoth. It is very similar to Singapore....but if you don't like Singapore you probably won't like Math mammoth much better. I don't think the way they explain number bonds is all that much different. ETA: Like others have said, Cuisenaire rods are another manipulative often used to explain number bonds. So look into those too. HOWEVER, to me it is much more straight forward to teach things on an abacus. It is just so much less fussy than the rods. And RightStart would have the instruction scripted for you. BUT the Cuisenaire rods / online videos might be a less expensive solution.

What an ingenious idea! I am smacking myself on the forehead for not thinking of that myself. Sometimes it is the simplest solutions that work the best, but for some reason my brain ALWAYS tends to over complicate things. I've spent the last few weeks trying to mesh together FLL and WWE---- and it really is a nightmare! I think I am going to try your solution! We have (and use) the WWE book (not the workbooks). So we could easily just do FLL then fill in the rest of the year with as many WWE assignments as it takes to solidly the skills covered in WWE. That sounds so much easier to schedule!

We did AAR Pre-Level 1, AAR 1, and half of AAR 2 with my 7 year old and 6 year old. Both of my kids had terrible b and d reversal problems after using AAR....and nothing helped fix it. Nothing. We just recently changed to the I see Sam readers and the problem cleared up suddenly with both of them at the same time. I don't know if it was an age thing...or change of instructional method....or what. But now they don't seem to be having the same problem. I didn't know (and still don't know) enough about teaching reading to watch out for those types of issues.

Your reply made me laugh. :) Maybe you are right. I'm having trouble making the leap though because I JUST bought FLL 2 and haven't used it yet. I feel like it is wasted if I don't use it. And it is a fine program. Have you done a complete level of ELTL yet? If so, what is your opinion of it?

Just to clarify.... By overlap, I am not saying that BOTH manuals would have you copy over a sentence and point out adverbs (or whatever) on the exact same day. BUT, I am just saying that for being 'just' a grammar program, it works on a lot of the 'writing' skills that WWE works on. And for being 'just' a writing program, WWE touches on a lot of grammar concepts. For example, both programs have you narrate so the student can work on putting original thoughts into words. Both programs work on holding thoughts in your head by doing dictations. Both have you copy over lines of text and poetry and point out grammar issues such as parts of speech, types of sentences, capitalization, punctuation, etc. They might not BOTH tell you to narrate the same exact fable on the same exact day....I'm just saying there seems to be a lot of inefficiency in instruction with all of this overlap. I wish I could just say....."OK...we are going to discuss some type of grammar subject every day. Then we are going to narrate X times per week. Plus, we are going to do copywork X times per week. And we are going to do dictation X times per week." That type of thing. I'm just not sure how often to do those things for a typical second grader. You see..... I'm trying to put together some type of 'loop' or routine for our language arts. (This would be in addition to spelling, handwriting, and reading.) I like routine. ;) Something like this.... Day 1: Poetry/Memory Work, Grammar Discussion, Copywork sentence from read aloud pointing out some type of grammar subject. Day 2: Poetry/Memory Work, Grammar Discussion, Dictation of Copywork sentence from Day before Day 3: Poetry/Memory Work, Grammar Discussion, Narration, Copywork from Narration Day 4: Poetry/Memory Work, Grammar Discussion, Dictation of Copywork sentence from narration The reason I'm having a hard time, is that with FLL, the "grammar discussion" might be something like copy over these lines of poetry about seasons. Or do a picture narration. You know?

The Well Trained Mind suggests that we use both FLL and WWE to round out a language arts program in the early grammar stage. However, there is SO much overlap in these two programs! It feels like a lot of wasted instructional time and jumping around. BOTH programs prescribe similar copywork. BOTH programs prescribe similar dictation exercises. BOTH programs highlight similar grammar concepts through copywork/dictation. BOTH programs prescribe similar narration activities. It just seems to me like these two programs can be meshed together in a more efficient way. So my question is, how do YOU handle the overlap in FLL and WWE? Do you use one as a primary spine and then skip redundant info in the other? If so, which manual do you tend to cover primarily? Do you try to do EVERYTHING in both manuals? If so, why do you feel that is necessary? I've been trying to organize our language arts instruction so that there is less overlap. My 'engineer brain' craves efficiency! I want things to LOOK more like a lesson from English Lesson Through Literature. (I know I could just use ELTL, but I feel like FLL is a more complete program.) I'm trying to put together a language arts 'loop' for 2nd grade based off of FLL and WWE. I want something that includes all of the aspects from FLL and WWE. (Copywork, narration, picture study, poetry memorization, grammar, dictation, letter writing, oral composition, etc.) Any advice as to what that loop might look like?

Question for those with audible accounts..... When you have a subscription, you are paying to BUY these books.....right? So you can 'keep' the book forever, right? Secondly, does the audio book stream or download to your device? We listen to books a lot in the car, so I don't want to have to pay for data as I am driving. Thirdly, can you transfer the audio book to different devices? And can you burn the book to CD once you buy it from audible? I have a laptop and a smartphone. So I assume I can transfer the audiobook to both of those devices? We don't own a tablet, and the kids ONLY have CD players in their room. The kids listen to a lot of audiobooks in their rooms, so I want to figure out a way for them to do this without having to buy them tablets, etc.

Hi Everyone, I would like to start adding more audiobooks into our day. With the birth of our third baby, it is getting harder and harder to keep up with the amount of read alouds I would LIKE to do. So I am thinking audiobooks might be a good solution. I also enjoy listening to audiobooks myself. The thing is....I am trying to figure out the BEST way to do this without spending a ton of money. So tell me, what services do you utilize for listening to audio books? I already use libravox for books in the public domain. And I have also used my local library quiet extensively. But I am looking for sources to get some books that my library doesn't have (and aren't in the public domain). Has anyone tried any of the audiobook rental websites? Like booksfree.com?? If so, which site would you recommend? Are there any other sources I might not know about??

Hi Everyone, I am currently teaching Singapore 2A to my two children. I like Singapore math so far. BUT I have to admit that I have been a been a bit 'shortsighted' in my math planning. I just picked a math curriculum that I liked for the elementary years. I haven't really given much thought to what I am going to do long term. SO---can you talk me through some of my options when it comes to Singapore math. If you are using Singapore math, what are your plans for high school? If you have a high school student, can you tell me if you switched to another math program? And when did you do it and what did you use? Ideally I want the kids to be able to get through Calculus by the time they graduate high school. A strong math background is VERY important to me.

YES to this! Singapore is NOT a 'independent student workbook math program'. It is meant to be a teacher taught math program. The reason singapore math is so successful is because of the way it is taught in school (not to mention the heavy emphasis math education plays in their culture.) Their workbooks are not really anything special by themselves. You could just hand your student a singapore workbook and they could probably complete it with some breif instruction. But, that isn't really 'singapore' math IMHO. Not to mention---- there are much better math programs out there if you just want a workbook to do the teaching. (Math Mammoth to name one.) I have found that there are lots of skills and 'thinking strategies' taught through HIG instruction that are not covered in the workbook or textbook. So without the HIG you may be missing some things that make singapore math so cool. (Some of their more abstract thinking concepts for example.) Plus, the workbook alone (without the HIG) may not be enough practice for many students. Many students may need to see the examples and work through the activities in the HIG to truly have a deep understanding of the concepts. (Again, just my opinion.) I switched to singapore from RightStart because I wanted a less teacher intensive program. I have to say, I am still spending about the same amount of time teaching Singpaore as I did with right start. Singapore really isn't any less teacher intensive! However, I do like Singapore a lot more. I also dabbled in Math Mammoth for awhile because everyone says it is so similar to Singapore. (And I thought I could save a few bucks.) MM is similar in the way they teach you to think about math. But so far, I have to say that Singapore seems a bit more academically rigorous than MM. MM would be a good alternative if you want a textbook to do the teaching. It is written to the student whereas Singapore expects there to be some type of instruction.

We use singapore. I really don't think the HIG is hard to teach from at all. I keep hearing people say that, but I don't find this to be the case. The HIG tells you everything you need to know to teach the lesson and even tells you how to explain it using manipulatives and examples. Yes, the way they teach some concepts is different than how you might have learned it in the US---but keep in mind that the US isn't known for their stellar math education program. (And singapore is.) So, my advice.....just have fun with it! So many people grew up with this huge fear of math. Don't let it intimidate you! Math is not a 4 letter word....well it is....but you get my point! ;) Go in with the goal of re-learning things with your children. You might just find that you finally understand things the Singapore way. This is what a math lesson looks like in my house: 1) I QUICKLY read over the HIG for the day and make sure I understand everything. (30 seconds to one minute.) 2) I call the kids over and we warm up with the mental math stuff at the end of the HIG. (I keep track of what problems the different kids miss by writing their initial next to the problem. That way I can review it the next day.) (5 minutes) 3) I teach the math lesson using a small white board and the required manipulatives listed in the HIG. I use the HIG as my guide. Sometimes I teach this at their desks. Other times we do this on the couch. NOTE 1: I do not let the kids bring their workbooks over because that distracts them. I want them to pay attention to the math lesson. NOTE 2: The HIG tells you EVERYTHING you are going to need for the year in the front. Just have that stuff on hand and you are all set. (10 minutes) 4) Next we work the problems in the TEXTBOOK together. Again, the HIG tells you what pages and problems to cover in the text book for that lesson. I consider this part of our teacher led math lesson. (5 minutes) 5) After that, I give them their pages in the workbook and they do those independently. (This tests for understanding.) (10 minutes) IF they struggle with the problems, I can optionally pull out one of the extra practice books out. OR buy some of the math mammoth topic review sets. Then we spend a few more days on the topic before moving on. (10 minutes) Eventually I am going to add Challenging Word problems a level behind and have them work on those at their desk. Right now we aren't doing that.

Well.....that is a good point. How does one define a 'week of school'? IMO, it is sort of a vague term and really can mean any number of things. For some 48 weeks of school would still be really light. For others, they can get A LOT accomplished in 30 weeks of time. We all tend to use the phrase 'a week of school' differently and that affects whether or not 30 weeks of school is light or not. It depends on what you count as 'school'. I have noticed that some people are really slack in what they consider a 'day of completed school'. I hear some homeschool parents say...... "We went to the zoo and then baked cookies. Then we wrote up the recipe and gave it to our neighbor. That covered all of our subjects." And my OCD-former-box-checker-brain nearly explodes and says, "WHAT! That isn't school! That is being a human being in our society!" My point is.....doing 45 weeks of school that way would still be really light IMHO. You know? On the other hand, I hear other people say they don't count the day completed unless their 5 year old has completed hours and hours schooling at home including everything from math to latin to art history. And they don't count school unless they get in EVERY.LITTLE.SUBJECT For them, they could still probably do 28 full weeks and cover more than some people do in 45. My point is....the whole attendance thing (including number of days or weeks) is sort of this fuzzy, vague idea in the homeschool world. That is why I like to focus more on progression of skills vs. number of weeks. I like to ask....Did we complete our 3rd grade math objectives? If the answer is yes.....Then, third grade math is completed. Time to move ahead. It doesn't matter if it happened in 20 weeks or 48 weeks.

We started doing this too after the birth of my third baby. It was a breath of fresh air for me too. We school year round, so I even got rid of the concept of a 36 week school year! (I don't even keep track of weeks anymore! Gasp!) I was using Sonlight before this (with their gorgeous grid schedules)...so this is a big change for me. This year, our school year will be 'finished' when we complete our reading, math and spelling goals for this grade level. So I am using progress in key subject areas to keep track of grade level instead of some arbitrary number of school weeks. I think it makes a lot more sense to do things this way. Everything else will be finished when it is finished. If I finish it early, I just pick up the next level. If i don't finish our history book before our 'year is over', I just pick up where I left off the next school year. This is my process...... First, I wrote down my priorities for my two second graders. My priorities for this year look like this: Priority A: Reading Priority B: Math and Spelling Priority C: Writing mechanics like Grammar, Copywork, Narration, Dictation, Handwriting Priority D: Content Subjects like History, Science, Geography Priority F: Enrichment subjects (Music, Art, Nature Study, State History Study) So this year, I get reading (our priority A subject) in Monday-Friday no matter what. Unless the kids are sick or something---we do this subject! Even if we are taking the rest of the day off, we sneak in a quick 15 minute lesson in this subject. On the vast majority of days, I do most of these subjects working through things based on priority. However, if I get behind in one of the lower priority subjects I don't sweat it. I just get in what I can and pick up where I left off.

Yes, if you join the yahoo group you can talk with this guy named Dick who I believe is the original creator of the series. He can explain things much better than I can. Plus, there are lots of tutors / teachers who have been using these books for years and years that can offer insight. They can also help with placement and give specific advice if you are stumbling over a particular part of the books, etc. BUT, here is the basic guidelines as far as I understand it---- Student: 1) Say the sounds and read the word. 2) When you know the word, just say it; there is no further need to say the sounds. 3) No guessing! None! Read through the word. Instructor: 1) Find a quiet place free from distraction and noise. 2) Sit across from the student at a table (not a couch or a bed ;) so that you can see their face and monitor for the first signs of fatigue 3) Make sure that the child follows the rules above without exception. 4) KEEP QUIET and allow the child to think! (This is the biggest thing I have learned.) The creator of the books told me to ignore all of the instructional material that the "I See Sam" website has put in their printed versions. He (and a few of the teachers) said that they hardly ever teach words or sounds in isolation like they ask you to do in the front of the printed books. They teach them in the context of the story. (The only exception to this would be a BRAND new reader. They would need to know a few basic sounds and how to blend sounds before starting. See below where I talk about that more.) SO----When the child encounters a sound in a word that they haven't seen before, you just give them the sound. It is as simple as this. In other words, when they get to the word "See" and they don't know what sound 'ee' makes in that word, you just make the sound for them ("eeeee") and then they make the sounds and read the word. "Ssssseeeeee" The sound will then be reviewed over and over again in subsequent stories giving the child plenty of chances to practice it. And they slowly drip feed in alternate correspondences, and the entire alphabetic code through the course of these stories. AND, another thing that guy told me: Keep instructions to a minimum. Let the child do the thinking. So in other words, don't go into some lengthy discussion on all of the various 'rules' of the English language. For some children, they get so preoccupied trying to think of these rules that they can't concentrate on what they are reading. And they never get fluency down. So-- DON'T go into some long explanation on all of the sounds that particular vowel team can make in different circumstances. Or even discuss long vs. short vowel sounds. Or start discussing the various sounds the letter 'a' can possibly make, etc. etc. Just point to the letter(s) and model the sound that the letters make in that particular word and have the child 'say the sounds, and read the word'. Also, don't 'push' for automaticy in the words. Allow the child to 'say the sounds' as many times as they need to. (Actually that is encouraged!) Automaticy will be accomplished eventually and naturally because there is so much review built in. If a child forgets a sound, first give them a chance to try to remember it on their own. If they can't, then just model the sound for them again and ask them to 'say the sounds, and read the word' and move on. The sound will be reviewed many times. If a child makes the wrong sound, allow them to self correct first before helping. (Again, the instructor is going to try to talk as little as possible that way the child has a chance to do some thinking on their own.) So lets say taht they read the word "ball" with the short 'a' sound. Hopefully they hear that the word doesn't sound right and back up and to try again. If they don't, that is a sign they aren't thinking about what they are reading. There are also lots of built in checks in the story to make sure that child isn't guessing or using picture clues. They put a lot of similar looking words and letter correspondences in. When a child does guess, just say, "Say the sounds please" and have them back up and say the sounds again. -------- If your child has no idea how to read before you start these books, they WILL need to be taught the first few sounds in the first books in isolation. They will also need to be taught some basic blending procedures. (Example: They can read the word SAM by making the letter sounds and blending them together). THEN, after that, you just read the books. ------

I think a lot of this has to do with personality type. You see, I am someone who is helped by having some type of written schedule/plan. I *RARELY* follow my plan to the tee....BUT just having it down helps me to be so much more efficient with my time. I don't beat myself up if I can't do everything on my plan or if we run 'late' or over. (I think that is KEY!) I just go with the flow on most days. BUT, having the plan written out really is a help to me because I can actually see if it is even possible to DO everything that I want to do given our time restraints. (I have a tendency to be over zealous in what I want to accomplish in a day! So a written plan can help keep me in check.) It also helps me also to figure out the most efficient way I can use my time based on meal times, naps, etc. I can also visually see when older kids can do independent work, when I can give attention to the baby, and when I can squeeze in chores/housework, etc. I know plans don't work for everyone, but they do work for some people! My biggest piece of advice is this: Start with your rough draft plan and attempt to do it for a few days. BUT, at the same time, let your day unravel in its typical fashion. Compare reality with your schedule. Keep track of areas that feel too rushed or 'stressful'. (Does lunch take longer to prepare most days than you thought? Are the kids slow at getting dressed in the morning? Do you find you find that a particular subjects runs longer than you estimated? Do the little ones seem to need more attention in the afternoons vs. mornings? Do you feel too 'stretched' at any one time period? Do YOU need more time to wake up in the morning or make breakfast? etc. etc.) THEN, take all of that information and revisit your 'rough draft' schedule and make changes based on what you see. You can also keep tweaking your schedule throughout the year. (You know how it is with young children! You just get things figured out and then they change! ;) They nap less, need something different from you, can do somethings more independently, etc. etc. So you have to keep modifying your plan as they change developmentally.)

We used IEW PAL for awhile too. I would highly recommend you supplement with the "I See Sam" readers. https://www.iseesam.com/ They would be a very easy thing to just add in the afternoon or something. They would maybe add 5 minutes to your day, so not a huge commitment. (Or you could read more of these books in a row depending on the attention span of your child.) You could even just do these books in place of the 'reading practice' pages or readers that come with IEW PAL> They are SUCH a fun way to build fluency and teach the alphabetic code. I didn't use these books for the longest time because they appeared to be just another "Bob Book" or Nora Gaydos reader substitute at first glance. So I kind of kept discounting them even though people kept talking about them. But, now that I've actually tried them, I can tell you: they are much more than that! They slowly drip feed the alphabetic code and then review, review, review it. The thing is, they don't teach letter sounds in isolation. You just point to the 'new sound' in the context of a word and tell hte child the sound it makes in that word. The child doesn't even know they are learning it is so sneaky and 'pain free'. Plus, the stories are a fun way to practice. They new sounds are repeated over and over in subsequent stories, so there is a ton of built in review. They also purposely choose words that are very close in appearance so that they child can't read by sight. (mit and mat, etc.) And the pictures are very carefully chosen so the child can't guess or receive picture clues. In the past I have tried AAR, AAS, IEW PAL, OPGTR, ETC, 100EZ lessons, IEW PAL, various readers, etc. to build fluency and retention----and these books seem to be the only thing that has worked!

Maybe your kids are faster movers or better listeners than mine....but there is no way my kids would be able to roll out of bed and get dressed and get their beds made in 15 minutes. Other than that, I think it looks good. I don't know what you are using for history/science---but if it is a program that can be done with an audiobook (like SOTW) I HIGHLY recommend that you use that in your 10:30 time slot. Especially given the ages of your kidos. Also, give yourself permission NOT to do the projects and experiments if your day doesn't allow for them. Projects and experiemnts can be very fun---BUT they are a lot of work when you have little ones. And sometimes the educational payoff isn't worth the amount of effort it takes on the parent part. You know?

Hi Everyone, I am looking for a picture book where the character shows bravery or courage. (It is for a read aloud.) Does anyone have any good suggestions? Thanks!

I am sort of living in the stone age and don't have a tablet or e-reader. So I don't know what they have on iBooks. BUT, I am pretty sure only the first several sets of the books are on iBooks. I haven't actually checked yet so someone will need to confirm. But, you can match up the titles with the books on this page to see: http://www.3rsplus.com/ or this page https://www.iseesam.com/

Just as an update: Our learning to read summer is off to a great start. I gave my child the placement test for the "I See Sam" readers, and he placed in about the third set (BR3). Although he attempted to guess at a lot of the words on this test instead of taking the time to sound them out. (See this site for the placement test called 'Performance Indicators') I joined "http://www.readingteacher.com/" and got a free trial membership and was able to make it through all of the BR2 books using that site. (NOTE: Only the first 50 books on readingteacher.com are the original "I See Sam" books. The other ones they made up and they are NOT as good.) THEN---I was able to purchase the "I See Sam" readers used and just got them in the mail yesterday. We are making our way through the third set now, and my son and daughter really like the books. Right now they aren't reading too many new words / sounds, but the 'drip feeding' teaching method used in those books is really genius. It makes learning to read very natural feeling. I also love how they purposely choose words that look very similar to one another so the child CAN'T guess at words and succeed. AND, the storyline are entertaining enough to keep the attention of my children. So I would call the program a success. I will have to see how my son does when we get to the AR 1 set of books. Those start introducing a lot of new concepts. IF he struggles, I will probably pull out the AAR tiles and try to teach him the concepts using those. I also now am the proud owner of "Dancing Bears" and may use that as needed. BUT for now, I am just using the "I see Sam" books with great sucess. SO---I'm just hear to say that these I See Sam readers are really, truly awesome. I'm so glad I found out about them. I highly, highly recommend them. They appear to look very similar to any other standard 'Bob Book" or similar reader....and I almost passed by them because of that. I thought, "I have tried that kind of thing before." But there is real genius behind the books. The code really is drip fed to the kids and there is lots of chance to practice what they have learned. So they work wonderfully. THANK YOU for letting me know about them.

Hi Carol, Part of my concern is the bolded sentence above. I would love to homeschool him long term. However, homeschooling may or may not always be financially possible in our family. (I hope it will be! But sometimes things don't go as planned.) That uncertainty is part of my concern. I would like to keep him CLOSE to grade level that way if he is suddenly put in the public school system he won't struggle more than necessary. (Plus, the school district most likely won't be able to give him an hour of independent one-on-one tutoring time to catch him up.) Also, he is no where close to being able to read the IR listed in the AG for story of the world (even with my assistance). If he could read those, I would be feeling a lot more secure than I am. :) I'm trying to get him to that point this summer / fall.

I have only used the American History package. I would use them more for book ideas and skip their teachers guides. I am a Christian, but I don't care for some of the stretches they make in their guides. Frankly, what makes their programs so good ARE the books and not the teachers guides. I own the teachers guide and threw it out after a few days. the guides added nothing to the program except busy work and conclusion drawn from poor logic IMHO. :) So I would recommend just reading through the books at your own pace in historical order. We kept a history notebook and narrated back after every reading. We added key events to our timeline. Occasionally we would pull sentences out of teh books and have the kids copy them into their book for copywork. AND, we also utilized their free notebooking pages and had the kids color these and paste them into their notebooks. (They notebook pages are basically just scanned in images from the books.)